I can’t remember which video was the first to appear in the YouTube recommendations on DM kits. But I suspect it was the Jim Murphy video.

In that video he went through his DM kit and folder. And that got me thinking and searching YouTube for other similar videos.

I suppose with the impending third session for my campaign I hit upon these at an opportune moment. There is a bit of me that leans towards taking everything including the kitchen sink for a session. Which is strange when I think back to my light weight journey when backpacking. So it looks like I may be starting a similar journey with being a DM.

Let’s face it taking the three core D&D books, plus say the Sword Coast book, all that 3D stuff, minis, etc etc gets pretty heavy and cumbersome. Could I cut back?

I also needed to sort out my session notes. I work with printed copies of stuff, despite between sessions storing everything digitally.

I liked the use of the 3 by 5 index cards, and the DM folder by Jim. I also took away from the video about having some mechanical pencils and notebooks to give to new players (or existing ones) plus making up dice sets incase they are needed.

Another two videos I liked are The Arcane Library video and the
Sly Flourish (of Lazy DM fame) video.

Both Sly and Arcane Library recommend these flat plastic minis by Arcknight. Which would be nice to cut down on weight and amount of stuff to lug around. But they are not readily available in the UK, and the international shipping/import isn’t something I want to even think about.

I also like the home made token idea from Sly a lot. I’ve seen that in another video or two as well. Something to look into doing.

It’s been an interesting exercise watching these videos and one or two others, and picking and choosing the bits I like the look of. And thinking just exactly what do I need to be taking with me.

One of the great finds in all of this were Dry Erase Index Cards. These will be a very flexible addition to my toolkit. They can be used for initiative order (although I do have the cards for this from the Essentials kit), they can have a condition written on them to remind a player, used for messages to players, and whatever else I can think up or need them for on the day. So some of them have gone in the index box.

The index box will also have a handful of official D&D monster cards in it. These will be the cards for monsters I need for encounters in that session, plus some to use in a random encounter if needed. By doing this I don’t need to carry the Monster Manual with me.

Over time I see the index box building up into an invaluable part of my DM’s kit. Hopefully it will be as useful as the one Jim Murphy has with characters, npc’s, maps etc inside it that can be used at the drop of a hat to create an entertaining, fun adventure. Although I am having a hard time finding 3 by 5 grid index cards in the UK. I got some A6 ok. Which I can cut down. But 3 by 5, easy to get in the US, nigh impossible in the UK.

In one video, can’t remember which they included a couple of timers to use during sessions. I got a set, and will just get it down to a couple of them to use.

I suppose I could cut out the books totally, and go digital. I have everything digital. But call me old fashioned but I prefer to have the physical copy. Hence why my notes are printed out. Devices fail, as do internet connections. I think dropping down to the Players Guide and the DM Guide will help a lot. Plus an organised DM folder, instead of having my notes just lose and unorganised will make a difference.

I now have the Wilderness tiles that WotC currently do. I’m able to make something from them that loosely resembles a coastal road for use in the session. Plus a road section will be ideal for organising the party walking order. But whether I’m carting along 3D tiles and minis, cardboard tiles, battle maps or combination of will be dependent on the session.

Naturally everyone’s DM kit is unique to them. But there will be some commonality between them. I’ll post a photo of what I ended up taking at the weekend as part of the session write up.