DM Workspace 2

Well, here it is, my workspace.  It's not fancy, and it works great!

See you next week!

The DM's Workspace

Well, last time I talked about how I've set up my gaming room, and this time I'd like to talk about the next most important piece, how I set up my personal workspace when I run a game of Dungeons and Dragons.  First off, I run my games using a laptop, I find that it means that I am taking up far less space than when I ran games on paper.  All of my ntoes are easy to get to and never get disorganized.  I also have a DND Insider subscription which means that I have access to their Adventure Builder.  That means that I always have access to every monster written, and that I can edit them easily.  I still track HP and efects on paper though, I find that it helps me to stay quick if I'm not switching between applications all the time.  I like to keep my books close, but not at the table, so I have a bookshelf nearby to house my books.

I do use a screen, and I keep my binder of info and my netbook behind it, as well as my dice.  I keep my minis in a three drawer unit organized by size next to my chair.

I use crayola markers on a laminated sheet of graph chart paper as my grid.  It works well as a wet-erase board and the markers come in a wide variety of colours.  I keep the markers out near the grid because sometime I draw the maps, and sometimes my players do.  I keep pencils, erasers, and a sharpener nearby for those forgetful folks, and I have a cupboard to store props and other goodies in.  I'll post a picture of it all set up later in the day.

Setting the Stage

Well, I've just moved into the new house, and that means that I'm going to be hosting my party's Dungeons and Dragons games from now on. I have a room just for gaming, both board and role-playing, in the basement, and I was excited to get it ready. There's a lot to consider when building the space for Dungeons and Dragons. Some things are necessities, while others are just nice. I knew that I needed a big table, and at least six chairs. I also knew that I didn't want to spend a lot of money, and that I wanted to make the room feel "right" for D&D.

For furniture I hit a couple of the local thrift stores. I found what I needed. A table about three and a half feet wide and about two feet long that took leaves to make it up to eight feet long. That meant that I could adjust the length of the table to just about any working number of people for any game that I might want to play. It wasn't pretty, but it was cheap and solid. It also set the aesthetic for the room. Rather than build a fancy room, I was going to focus on comfort, and build a tacky "bachelor suite" gaming room. I picked up a collection of old, moderately ugly chairs and put them around the table. It was enough for our group of six, all I needed for a start. The room was already finished in terrible seventies decor, so I was ready to go!

Now I need to set the mood. I have a few traditional role-playing game accoutrements: oil lamp, candles, incense, and easy access to a computer with tons of music on it (some bought just for D&D, like the Survivor soundtrack). But I wanted things to feel a little magical as well. MY in-laws gave me a plastic Buddha with a blue plasma ball on top, and I placed it in a corner. I plan to light it up in the dark with a few candles and an oil lamp burning when they come in, the smell of incense still heavy in the air. We might not play our whole session with the lights off and the blue light flickering, but it should be enough to elicit the right mood and a few laughs. I'm always trying to navigate a mood that falls somewhere in between Middle-earth and Discworld.

Now that the stage is set, we'll see how it plays out.

Thursday I'll talk about setting up the table and surrounding area for DMing, at least, how it works for me.