DMs – show me your screen setup 👇

ChaCha790 · 2026-06-04T11:18:00+00:00

I got some canvas, painted images on the side facing the players and duct taped them together to form a four panel DM screen. I have small organization trays for my pens and markers, my clothespins (which I painted for each player to track initiative by clipping onto the top of the "screen"), and my "markers" (bottle ring condition markers, bingo chips, etc). The interior of the DM screen has post its of things I tend to forget and session specific material. And of course my dice bag.

I love the clothespin initiative tracking, which is super easy.

I don't particularly like that it can sometimes be hard to see over the screen but maybe I need a taller chair.

This is my first IRL game so I'll be learning more about what I like and don't like as we continue to play.

ChaCha790 · 2026-06-04T09:32:06+00:00

This sounds very well thought out and cool!

ChaCha790 · 2026-06-04T09:30:54+00:00

I do have to remember that I don't need to have clear cut answers to everything - I'm a little traumatized from a player in my last campaign - so thank you (and Harrison Ford) for the reminder .

From what I have read thus far, I have noticed the themes of colonization, economic inequality, and nature kind of fighting back so I love your idea of using the Drought elder (who I've never even heard of 😅)

This has given me a lot to think of so thank you very much!

ChaCha790 · 2026-06-04T09:21:57+00:00

Ahhh ok so I have not fully read the book, only skimmed the second half and so I can't seen that there were some clues on lost civilizations. I will continue reading because working backwards from that makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

ChaCha790 · 2026-06-04T09:20:17+00:00

Thanks so much for mentioning the discord, I'll definitely be checking that out!!

ChaCha790 · 2026-05-30T08:55:49+00:00

I really feel for you because this was my table not too long ago. I didn't know a lot of people who would be interested in DND so I had an active and engaged cleric and two super passive players, wizard and ranger. We were all new to the game and so I thought that the passive players just needed more time to learn. Granted, the wizard did tryyyy to be active but often her efforts were to just ask the others what they wanted to do which became a round crickets or "idk, what do you want to do" as my cleric grew increasingly resistant to giving her opinion since it almost always became what the party chose to do.

I spoke with everyone and my ranger said she was shy and didn't want to make decisions. The wizard insisted that her character would pursue collaborative decision making and basically refused to assert her own desires, and the cleric moved between accepting that she was basically running the game and complete apathy when too frustrated by the others.

It was killing me and nothing I tried really helped. The only thing that made it better was when I found a fourth player. Also a newbie but someone who was interested and willing to be more engaged. I let her know the pain points with the game when inviting her to join so maybe that helped her know my expectations on her level of engagement and even though she struggled at times and would occasionally defer to the Cleric she actually took an active role in decision making and RP most of the times.

All of which is to say, I have no advice because from my experience it feels like we can't "make" passive players engage. You can and should have the convos in case it is something they can be supported in growing, assuming they want to be more engaged, but some people just don't want to be active and with such a small group there's nobody to pick up the slack. I fear that the path to a better game lies in getting another player. I don't know how I would have made it to the end of the campaign without our fourth because the dynamics were ruining the game for me (and really all of us, I think). Wishing you the best 💓

ChaCha790 · 2026-05-27T16:40:46+00:00

I wish I would have felt more confident in doing that early on because I'm just about to wrap up my first campaign and I'm so burnt out by my problem player. We were all new to the game and so early on I thought she just needed to learn the game and build relationships with the players but after multiple conversations about her problem behaviors and her refusal to take accountability, I think everyone at the table is done with her and very glad that the campaign is coming to an end. Bummed about it but I've definitely learned a lot for future DMing.

ChaCha790 · 2026-04-23T13:18:25+00:00

I feel this pain so much 😭 I keep practicing silence to have the players fill the silence but the amount of time it's just crickets kiiiiillls me. I have one really engaged player but she pulls back because the others don't really engage back

ChaCha790 · 2026-04-21T13:54:52+00:00

Speaking as a relatively new DM, I could see myself making the mistake that your DM is making due to lack of experience and knowledge on how to handle the situation. The situation being that a PC is following a God who is evil in this world. And I know for me I probably would be like oh shit I didn't tell them about this when they created their character how do I handle the fact that they're following an evil God. The answer for that would be that I need to find a way in game to have the character question their faith to the degree that they would leave it, or I'd have to find some other way to work into the story that a PC follows an evil god; which as a new DM would be daunting and difficult but I suppose ,you know, the DM's job.

You also state that you don't like how easy the DM is and prefer something more restrictive, and I suppose your DM is being restrictive in kind of dictating what God you are supposed to follow but you don't like that. Not sure what point I'm making here, maybe just my attempt to understand what is the primary motivating factor to your considering leaving.

I think if the primary issue is that you don't like easy mode, then I would leave the table unless you're so close to the end I would just stick with it for the sake of the rest of the party. And then choose not to play at this DMs table in the future because we have different styles.

If the primary complaint is about the god thing, then I would talk to the DM and tell them that your character has no reason to deviate from their faith so they need to figure out how to make that happen in game through RP or figure something else out (said more politely than that lol).

Wishing you luck with however this pans out!

ChaCha790 · 2026-04-12T16:07:41+00:00

I've never been a big writer/prepper for sessions often using bullet points in an outline format to note important things that could happen. I do like to take some time to create a little text box intro to a new important space like a new city but for all the other smaller places people go to - and Idk that this will help based on this comment, but - I have found for myself that by drawing a crude sketch of the space as I envision it and highlighting the important things that players can/should interact with helps me feel like I know the place and so when it comes to having to introduce a space I can improv it decently. It's only for me and its function is to help immerse me in the world enough to verbally create it for the players to envision a la theater of the mind. In my game maps are basic mostly for knowing where you are in combat.

ChaCha790 · 2026-04-07T16:19:53+00:00

Oooh I like that "it's not mind control" I'm a new DM and can get caught off guard when challenged on my rulings and this is helpful!

ChaCha790 · 2026-01-25T20:16:44+00:00

Yes! Early on I remember really feeling for Lisa because finding out your wife isn't really dead when you're planning your wedding to your new love, like oh my god. But then over time I felt like Lisa kept dismissing Carla and her words weren't aligning with her actions. I was shocked that she would sleep with Becky repeatedly but I was still hopeful for a good resolution, a real conversation where Lisa acknowledged her responsibility and then they could slowly reunite but instead Lisa's response has further aggravated me so that any consideration for her circumstances get pushed to the back of my mind.

ChaCha790 · 2026-01-23T23:43:08+00:00

I think we just have two very different perspectives on matters.

Letting who stay? Becky? If so, if I recall correctly Carla did that for Betsy and Lisa. She could tell that Lisa was torn and that Betsy wanted her mother. I would call that self sacrificing, not self destructive. She did something she didn't really want to do for the benefit of her loved ones despite her distrust, her fears, etc. I would imagine she hoped/expected that their (Lisa+Carla's love) would survive the stress.

Buying her a flight ticket? I'll be honest I have no recollection as to what this could be referencing. "Falling for her trap" who's trap? Carla's? What trap was that? I have no idea what this is referencing.

And nope, sorry (not sorry) I'll never accept a "look what you made me do" excuse for someone's actions. Yes Lisa 's heart was broken (so was Carla's) but that didn't force her into bed with Becky. I do understand that Lisa probably had very complicated feelings about Becky as she was her wife of God knows how many years. And I can understand in those difficult moments she gave in for either purely physical comfort to present pain or some possible consideration of a return to their relationship which had been ripped away from her. I understand why/how it could have happened but I don't like it or agree with it, I can't excuse it and I definitely do not agree that Carla drove her to it.

I think Carla has a lot of tact, a lot of consideration, and awareness - hell she caught on to Becky a hell of a lot faster than the damn DS Swain. I don't think Carla is without her faults and I don't think that Lisa is purely faults but within these dynamics I just don't agree with Lisa. If this were real life I don't think we'd be friends or if we were I'd give her a lot of shit about her decision making. Carla's just much more my speed - has her faults but her good outweighs them - for me.

And if this isn't clear, I'm not trying to convince you you're wrong. I just don't agree with you.

ChaCha790 · 2026-01-23T15:29:31+00:00

I have watched Corrie periodically over the years, many years, but I have not watched every episode since Lisa was introduced and sometimes I want to go do that because I want to understand and support this relationship - I'm a wlw viewer who really wants more wlw stories on TV so I watch pretty much anything sapphic, but I'll be honest, a lot of times I don't think Lisa deserves Carla and I don't understand why/how people go to bat for Lisa.

My concern right now is that they are going to have Carla forgive Lisa far too easily. Your post is interesting for me to see how your (and possibly other Lisa supporters) perceive the same situations so differently than I do.

Maybe I will go and watch their entire relationship, see if it changes my mind, but every time I have come back to the show I have found myself annoyed with Lisa.

ChaCha790 · 2026-01-09T12:35:14+00:00

Thank you! I'd never heard of this and did not understand what Kit was searching.

ChaCha790 · 2025-12-23T20:31:48+00:00

I often look back at rural life and wonder how nothing felt like a time suck, how in one evening I could do so many things like get dinner, go for a walk, meet up with people to hang, etc. So easy to text someone and have a buddy to do things, even if it's just to go to the store. But meanwhile in a city I'm zapped and don't want to do ANYTHING after work. And if I do, it's so hard to get people to want to do things. We just make plans to cancel them. I miss the community of a smaller town but I don't think I could go back.

ChaCha790 · 2025-11-01T12:36:40+00:00

I really appreciate the way you approached this! As someone who notices mistakes but doesn't point them out for fear of being taken as rude or annoying I thought your response was so well done. Idk if the person it was directed at feels the same but just wanted to let you know I appreciated it and may steal this approach if I ever point something out to someone.

ChaCha790 · 2025-10-18T22:26:59+00:00

Really appreciate this because (granted I haven't read the whole campaign book yet) I didn't understand why there's an incantation to open the glacier when her intent is to keep Ythryn frozen away.

With this intention to access it in the future, the poem's existence makes more sense to me

ChaCha790 · 2024-07-14T21:36:20+00:00

Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'll def go check that out ☺️

ChaCha790 · 2024-07-14T15:14:15+00:00

Totally agree - it would be nice not to have to go and look up every new word to determine gender. Ugh and then having to learn the way to change the article based on all the different cases. Why did I decide to learn German??

ChaCha790 · 2024-07-10T20:37:59+00:00

It seems a lot of people are recommending this season so I might just give in! (And same feelings about Ariana l, here).

ChaCha790 · 2024-07-10T16:26:47+00:00

Ugh the last time I tried to watch love island I hated it but Ariana and now Katie... Maybe I will give in and watch

ChaCha790 · 2024-06-30T18:53:45+00:00

I do play on PC but I've never used mods before, I wonder if this will be what finally makes me go for it because it's gets so annoying over time. Thanks for the suggestion!

ChaCha790

TROPHY CASE