This is a question for TTRPG GMs. What RPG books, supplements, or accessories do you find yourself using year after year? Which RPG products provide the biggest regular impact at your table?
My most used book is my copy of Dungeon World but my most used accessory is definitely my notebook, filled with session notes, sketches, and stories. Ah the thrills of the forever GM.
Monster tokens are probably one of my “unsung heroes” of gaming when it comes to travel; I know people (myself included) probably always go to with minis, but if i’m going to a convention, traveling for the holidays, etc. tossing a whole pile of tokens into a bag make for great addition. No particular brand, just whatever i’ve picked up over the years.
I use blank dice in different colours and I can write on them with the wet erase markers I draw the battle map with!
It’s really convenient and allows for player expression on their dice, as well!
My favourite brand of tokens is Skittles.
…i’m tempted to say physical dice, but in truth i have many sets and switch them out for each campaign, so my most-used accessory is probably my nice padded rolling tray, followed closely by my staedler stick eraser…
…my most-used books, despite my meticulously-curated physical and PDF libraries, have turned out to be the player’s handbook and dungeon master’s guide on DnDbeyond; i always keep them open on an ipad stand during gameplay because it’s really tough to beat indexed hypertext for ready-reference during gameplay…my players use the heck out of my shared campaign subscription, but it’s becoming tougher now that DnDbeyond defaults to 2024 rules, so that use pattern may well change as the platform evolves…
…even as a player, though, i feel like a good DM’s screen might be quicker!..the problem of course is tabletop real estate, but it seems like there’s an untapped market for player’s reference screens during remote sessions, where most folks have more tabletop real estate to play with physical accessories…
…i’m considering crafting a player’s reference screen with panels focused on core rules, house rules, and class rules which can be readily swapped-out…
A wet erase map probably. Though I don’t know if that’s an ‘accessory’ since it’d be like saying dice, or notebooks are accessories they are so central to the whole thing.
I think one thing I really like since about last year is ‘origami’ miniatures i.e. miniatures folded out of paper, there’s just something that speaks to me when I put down a bunch of paper frogs or a paper dragon as a miniature. They are ‘abstract’ but honestly it’s not like it needs to be super detailed. Plus I don’t have to worry about it getting damaged or lost, plus I can give it to people, which if you are running a game for kids, you’ll want to bring more than just one paper dragon miniature.
As for supplements I quite like the Book of Challenges from 3.5e and WallyDM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters both help me with just coming up with challenges and puzzles since I can page through it a bit then make a new puzzle/challenge.
A wet erase map probably
Second this. probably the most used accessory i have. Others come and go, but that vinyl map i’ve had kicking around for 20+ years is still used almost every game.
For d&d? 5e.tools’s DM screen on a laptop is excellent, it has an encounter tracker, calendar, dice roller, and I can pin whatever rules and statblocks I need this week.
Also a giant battle mat is really useful.
Playing PF2e mostly these days and the Archives of Nethys are my life raft. I would be utterly lost without them. That and Pathbuilder to help have a handy character sheet accessible for theory crafting or whatnot.
Otherwise, I use the compendium in Foundry to look up conditions or rules on the fly.
Although when I GM I use Notion for prep, Lazy Dungeon Master’s Guide for some guidance here and there, and just a lot of flying by the seat of my pants. :B
@Suck_on_my_Presence @rpg yay!
Woah! A celebrity!
Hey Sky, I just want to thank you tons for all the work that you do. The scaffolding you built into Notion alongside the book have really been a life saver and an eye opener.
<3
I don’t put much stock into generic gaming aids.
The worst single product for it is the 5E DM guide, because it has next to no useful information in it.
I think for digital gamin,g it has to be foundry. If there is a module for your game of choice, then it’s just better then Roll20. The Fabula Ultima module is pretty great.
Roll 20 is a honorable mention because the bar of entry to it is so damn low. It is a pile of jank though.
My graphics tablet is also a great too, I sometimes just sketch things for my group in real time. The same thing can be done with a whiteboard in your gaming room for physical games.
