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GM screens: Do you use them?

Started by JongWK, September 25, 2006, 04:08:50 PM

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Bagpuss

Quote from: Mystery ManUnless your dice are huge it's hard to see what the number is anyway.

Well we have 6 players and a GM sat round a dinning room table, it's very easy to read someone elses dice, since we are virtually shoulder to shoulder.
 

Caesar Slaad

Quote from: BagpussWell we have 6 players and a GM sat round a dinning room table, it's very easy to read someone elses dice, since we are virtually shoulder to shoulder.



It's going to be pretty hard for the two player sitting next to the GM to NOT notice the roll unless they are otherwise distracted or intentionally averting their eyes. I only really see the people sitting on the other end of a 6-seat table really having any problem seeing my dice.
The Secret Volcano Base: my intermittently updated RPG blog.

Running: Pathfinder Scarred Lands, Mutants & Masterminds, Masks, Starfinder, Bulldogs!
Playing: Sigh. Nothing.
Planning: Some Cyberpunk thing, system TBD.

Mystery Man

Quote from: BagpussWell we have 6 players and a GM sat round a dinning room table, it's very easy to read someone elses dice, since we are virtually shoulder to shoulder.

:) I forgot, I'm probably at an advantage in that we have a massive gaming table in a finished barn all to ourselves. There's no way for me to see anyones dice rolls and they the same. Trust is a big thing. I'll admit if I was shoulder to shoulder with my players I would probably still be using a screen.
 

Bagpuss

That sounds sweet. I've an 8ft by 4ft table for my double garage but (un)fortunately we don't play at my house.

When I use to play at University we played in classrooms, which had plenty of space and a blackboard for diagrams and notes, that was cool. In the Star Trek games we arranged the desks like stations on the bridge.
 

Imperator

Quote from: Caesar SlaadHaving the players know the result of such rolls authentically impacts the feeling of suspense in the game.

Not neccessarily, IME. When you read a book or watch a movie the suspense is not impaired by the knowledge of the sure triumph of the heroes.
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

Caesar Slaad

Quote from: ImperatorNot neccessarily, IME. When you read a book or watch a movie the suspense is not impaired by the knowledge of the sure triumph of the heroes.

For me, it is. That's one of the reasons I enjoy gaming despite having access to hundreds of hours of TV entertainment on disc, and I find television shows like 24 that WILL kill significant characters particularly engaging. I still recall an episode of Andromeda wherein the ship was stuck inside a giant space beastie, and the crew is caterwauling "oh, we are so gonna die", and I was rolling my eyes and totally failing to catch the drama because I knew they were so NOT gonna die.

And I think I instill this in my players. Once my players know that I am going to push them to the precipice and the end the session having barely scraped by (or pehraps having lost a team member or two), that's when I know I have them and they will be back in weeks and months to come.
The Secret Volcano Base: my intermittently updated RPG blog.

Running: Pathfinder Scarred Lands, Mutants & Masterminds, Masks, Starfinder, Bulldogs!
Playing: Sigh. Nothing.
Planning: Some Cyberpunk thing, system TBD.

David R

I don't use them. I put on a good show and so do my players -  GM screens get in the way of the action. I don't fudge rolls - not anymore - so that's really not a problem (actually even when I was fudging it was not really a problem). My notes are handwritten ( probably only I understand them) and besides, who would want to look at them anyway. A screen takes up space which could be used for other stuff - ashtrays, drinks, snacks etc

Regards,
David R

Imperator

Quote from: Caesar SlaadFor me, it is. That's one of the reasons I enjoy gaming despite having access to hundreds of hours of TV entertainment on disc, and I find television shows like 24 that WILL kill significant characters particularly engaging.
Oh, I'm cool with that :) But I assure you that's not always the case. Of course, it can be totally true for your group, and that's great.
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

LostSoul

I use one - but I keep it folded up until I need to look up the hit points of a  strong wooden door or something.
 

ColonelHardisson

Quote from: Mystery Man:) I forgot, I'm probably at an advantage in that we have a massive gaming table in a finished barn all to ourselves.

That's a helluva thing to forget.
"Illegitimis non carborundum." - General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell

4e definitely has an Old School feel. If you disagree, cool. I won\'t throw any hyperbole out to prove the point.

Blackthorne

I used one forever. The last campaign I ran, i didn't, just because I moved my chair from the end of the table (where everyone could see me and vice-versa) to closer to the center so I could reach the battlemat and the miniatures. And the screen was in the way. I could still roll in secret if I needed to.