DnD Accessories I Wish I Bought Sooner 

My 48 year old eyes saw those tiny dice and instantly said, “Don’t think about it, old man.”

on minis! I stopped using minis when I saw a Reddit post about someone who used various sweets and monsters and whatever player killed them got to eat them, I have trained my friends to have a pavlovian response to combat.

The best D&D accessory I own is a phone box, one of those small rectangular cardboard boxes you get when buying a cellphone: the box replaces the dice bag, the lid the dice tray, and they can be easily modified for other things (mine also has mini storage, I turned one into a easily portable dice tower for a friend).

Id suggest to handle weather differently. Having a calendar with predetermined weather for each day/region is great since you can plan and look back at it.

For the dice, you can just use regular dice and write a table out. 1=clear, 2=cloudy, 3=rainy, etc.

Notepad hacks: #1 always leave a few pages at the beginning of the pad to use as an index, #2 number the pages as you go #3 record the numbers of the pages you want to refer back to in the index.

Personally, the number one thing missing here are index cards. For me they are the most versatile item at my table. I use them in prep to organize encounters, they can be quick initiative trackers, they can replace magic item cards by writing the magic item on them, you can use them for handout notes and messages, you can draw terrain features on them, etc etc.

The best D&D accessory you can buy is your own house to play in. I gotta say, the amount of players who don't have a Player's Handbook is infuriating. Especially if they're playing on a regular basis. When I started in the 90's, the idea of not having your own book was crazy. That's where the rules are! And the spells!

One of my best weird dm accessories I got is a d6 that has; Yes, No, Yes and, No and, Yes but, no but. This dice has been so helpful for those moments when you’re unsure of something. I often get my players to roll it and it’s been really fun, mostly when they ask if there’s something in the room I haven’t planned for or something like that. Also sand timer. For moments where you want to build tension.

I think it's worth mentioning, that out of the 3 core books - the Dungeon Master's Guide is the least necessary, especially for a new GM and a group that's just starting out. It is useful, don't get me wrong, but you can safely leave it for later if you need to cut costs somewhere. This is because it's mostly focused on creating your own worlds, adventures and campaigns, and new GMs would most likely run official campaigns, or standalone modules prepared by someone else. Player's handbook is (quite unintuitively) a necessity for a GM, and Monster Manual is REALLY helpful, as it is referenced in most adventures you can find online.

On your GM note pad: If you can find one that is quad rules (grid paper), even better. This makes sure you can't confuse your GM pad with work/journaling note pads. It also makes it easier to make your maps and write notes. Bonus feature, you can write your notes in either portrait or landscape mode.

I use Lego minifigures for mini's a lot of the time as they're not too expensive and allow for a lot of customisation. Plus if you get the custom mini stands from Wicked Bricks they fit perfectly in a 5x5 square on a battle map.

i highly recommend a white erase board. They are fantastic for tracking initiatve; hit points etc. it allows you to track non-permanent notes in a non-permanent manner; as you can easily erase and re-write the same information for the next combat. it's also lighter and thinner than a notebook.

I'll say a resin printer is a great addition to the list. A little expensive for a one time purchase but I've print over a hundred unique minis

The mini dice are too cool. I love that they come with a key ring case.

Yes the bag is awesome. I use the weather dice a lot since the Druid in the party always wants to know the weather before he cast call lightning

If you’re a budding DM, hold off on buying the core books for now. New ones are coming out next year, they’ll be more useful. Much more useful, in the case of the DMG. Use a Starter Set in the meantime. I recommend Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, but Lost Mines of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak are both decent as well.

I would really disagree w probably 50% of your recommendations... they just aren't necessary or important. But, the video is very well made and I appreciate your hard work.

DMG and MM I'd put at intermediate, but there's some solid player options in the DMG like races, subclasses, and action options (trip & disarm). Glad you included the cards! Wish every adventure module came with cards for items & npcs, and even printable minis for the monsters. But not many of these are needed if playing virtually...

The Game Master's Book of series are some of the best 3rd party books on the market in my opinion. Fantastic reference tools if you need something quick or tons of inspiration. Glad you recommended them! I'll never fail to sing the praises of them.

Love your channel. Appreciate the insight into DM'ing as someone pretty new to it!

thank you so much. i'm planning to be a DM for the first time and this video helped a lot

Dice, go for easy to read dice, 2d20, at least 4d6 and probably 4d8 too. Minis, use dry wipe counters for enemies and a dry wipe battle map or whiteboard. With a spell template you really don’t need a grid , a few 3d dungeon doors you can move about are good but not required. Honestly, if you’re buying books leave the DMG until last, PHB and MM are your priorities

I’ve got a die with body parts on it so when a player hits you can vividly describe what limb they’ve damaged and they(and I) love it

Quite the wishlist. I find my players appreciate having the Gale Force Nine spell cards more than anything else mentioned in the video.

As a DM I use Rory's Story Dice for random inspiration sometimes. You'd be amazed at how often they random roll up a narrative when either my plans fall through because of player agency or because I just came in on full improv mode between milestone sessions.

Oh yeah the dice tray is an absolute must have. I also recommend The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns from Eldermancy and the Remarkable Cults and Guilds from Lore Smyth.

I highly recommend the book Treacherous Traps as well!

You just blew my mind with the "upside down glasses for flying characters" hack. Woah.

you could add the old grimtooth traps stuff. extremely high quality traps in there making it easy to throw your group into (controlled) disarray :)

As a person who is very new to DnD and a day 1 DM, I suppose I'm already "advanced"? So thank you for validating that! BUT! What I will say...glasses/cups as a battle riser...blew my mind! Why didn't I think of that!

This was a GREAT video! Great information and wonderful editing Clear speech. I loved it and thanks for the suggestion on weather sice and moods! Didn't even know that was a thing! 😮❤

I think he linked to a smaller bag

I will not do HeroForge's Colors. Maybe as a guide after ordering, but some of their colors do not translate. I am going to have to say watch your added items, My Ice Shield for my Frost Giant broke in transit. the strange plastic is powdery. I love my minis but just giving a warning to some of it's problems.

My dad had this directional die. Not cardinal directions, but arrows. He used it for weird stuff, but he mostly used it in combat to maybe see what direction a NPC gets knocked into after a gust of wind or a blast.

Speaking of dice without numbers, I found a d20 for death saves with hearts and skulls on it for failures vs successes

Don't use adhesive putty on your minis. It's very adhesive, and can pull the paint off even if you sealed them. Use silly putty. It's a lot safer for your paint.

Some good suggestions, having been out of gaming for 20 years, I had no idea how much very useful stuff is now available. Started back on the original white box dungeons and dragons.

Are the weather dice still available?

What bag is in the video, the linked bag is different and I am interested in the bigger one on video

Last boss sheet: Name: Eggs and Milk Spells: well cooked +5 to every save Sounds ominous

once we used to imagine/create things like dungeons, weather conditions, items, etc... Now there's a guide for everything.

Ok I have only a notebook and dice

The first several mentioned are common sense and obvious, but definitely worth mentioning. The three core rule books are essential for a DM who does in person games if they're not using some digital option like Beyond, though I'd argue even then they're good to have on hand. My players would often go to look up a rule or something and I'd get to it quicker most of the time with the book than they even could online, plus there's just something different and better about having the physical book in front of you to look at. For a DM, all 3 are extremely useful. People often underestimate the usefulness of the DM's Guide because it's not as essential as core rules, player character creation, and enemies to fight. However, it offers you a massive list of magic items to use and reference as well as many useful tables for determining item value and things like traps, diseases, molds, madnesses, treasure tables, vehicles, encounter tables, artifacts, reward options, downtime options, boons, poisons, variant/optional rules and more. It does also add a few player/npc creation options too, if you don't have another supplement book that covers the same option. (ie, Aasimar, Eladrin (subrace), death domain cleric, oathbreaker paladin). As for the notepad, I agree, although in the beginning if you have a laptop or tablet you're set for more complicated or in-depth notes on that device to reference during play, while you jot down session notes and information in your notepad. Onenote is free and perfect for the job on the digital front. A lot of the rest are extremely dependent upon how and where you play and how much you want to spend. The travel bag, for example, would be very useful if I traveled to DM, but seeing as I'm also the host and don't travel to DM, it doesn't help me. Mini's can be expensive, not just initially, but over time. I don't use mini's, although I have and occasionally use a battlemap, I have homemade tokens for that. The way I do things is use my desktop computer and TV during play. I create or use battlemaps I find online, on my computer and project my screen to my TV. My computer is right behind me where I DM, so I just quick turn around in my office chair to make alterations. The players can see homemade digital tokens of their characters move on the battlemap to represent their current location in the fight. Sometimes I will also use this method for mini adventures. I use a variety of tools from Dungeondraft to Photoshop for this. I can also easily show AoE and other effects on the battlemap with digital options. At the end of the day it's no less effort than it would be to use minis, but I do save money and the players seem to enjoy it. I also play music from my computer using fantasy music from various video games as well as some purchased fantasy music which I then created several categories for via playlists on my media player, and ambient sounds and noises from youtube playlists containing ambience for different locations. I have also created my own magic item cards, although I'm not against buying some nice ones. One major thing I haven't seen mentioned, if you're a DM and a host of the game, one of the biggest challenges I've seen and often see people leave unaddressed is comfort. I have been a player in games where the seating was awful, the lighting was awful, and it was a struggle finding places to put things and so on. My cheap option I use is two matching rectangular foldout tables. I bought them together and put them side-by-side in my living room when it's time for a game. It makes for a large playing surface with plenty of room to fit several players around. For chairs, I use whatever I have on hand, as long as it's not terribly uncomfortable. A cheap option that isn't overly uncomfortable are foldout camping chairs. The bonus of this, is that you can set your tables and chairs up just about anywhere and play outside or elsewhere. Additionally, I get to use the same set up for non D&D related gatherings for eating and other games also. As for status trackers, if you're not using minis like I'm not, I use a notepad page with numbers from -3 to 35 to track initiative and I just write current status effects near the number of an affected npc/pc and erase the effect when it's gone. There is probably a better way to track initiative and status effects and I've tried many, so far this has worked best for me but I am hopeful for something even better down the road. Another mention that I didn't see on the list is cheap seconds to minutes hour glasses. You can usually get a bundle of them together that range from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. I find them a very cheap solution to giving my players timed obstacles and challenges. There is always the free digital timer option, of course, but nothing says "suspense" like your players watching an hourglasses sand move from top to bottom as their time slowly slips away from them. You can also use these, and/or a digital timer, behind the DM screen for things you don't want the players knowing is timed. As for weather dice, I think those are really cool and I'll probably pick some up one day to try out, but until then, the simple method I use is deciding weather with a notepad and regular dice. I like to use a D20 actually, because I don't like the idea of there being an equal chance of a storm vs. clear skies for example. I often want it to be more likely to be a certain type of weather (based on locale) and so I'll do something such as 1-7 is clear skies, 8-12 is cloudy, 13-16 is rain only, 17-18 are thunderstorms, etc. And then if I choose how that weather effect is, or I roll another option. For example, if it's 8-12 cloudy, then I may roll a 1d4 to determine how cloudy. I will often also incorporate weather in encounter tables for travel, making it so a perfect day with a clear sky might turn into a raging storm during travel. There are a lot of cheap and/or free options available if you look and perhaps deploy a little creativity. If you're on a budget, don't despair. At the end of the day, the only thing you TRULY need to play D&D and most other TTRPG's is your imagination and some people to play with (preferably lol). Everything else after that, even the SYSTEMS themselves, just add to the experience, but they don't create the experience. You do.

Really good video, thank you! I had some trouble with the audio in the desk sections. The desk-mounted mic is causing problems with the bass, greatly amplifying any contact with the desk. Even when you gently rest your hands on the desk, it comes across on my speakers as a loud booming noise. Easiest fix is probably to attach the boom to an independent mic stand, or maybe to filter the bass in editing.

And above all, you can buy some games that emulate D&D very well and cost a fraction of the official triptych...

6:32 for my table I have 2 versions of those bottles. One that contains the dice, and another that contains a beverage. It's usually Hawaiian punch, but I allow them to change up to whatever there taste prefers that I make before the game's session. It adds an optional immersive flow to the game and my players really loved the idea, PLUS they get free little drinks. :) One of my current projects is finding drinks to fit each of the potions for DND. If you guys/girls/others have any ideas let me know!

Definitely gonna use the glass trick

As an older player I've became fond of dice with big numerals in clear fonts printed in high contrast colors. Much easier than having to squint.

Excellent!

This had a lot of great tips. Thanks for the video.

Ironically, I went for larger dice because you can give a GIANT inspiration dice too.

The monster cards have been a lifesaver as a DM! They're a quick reference without a zillion tabs open. Ambiant Sphere is creating the most user-friendly ttrpg music creator where you can change mood and setting rather than needing to build a playlist - huge time saver and always relevant. Gyld just finished their kickstarted of weather dice that roll D&D RAW so you're getting the same odds (rather than "fun" dice with other odds). They even have temp variation (RAW odds) if it's a sunny/snowy day. They've made the game more exciting by affecting travel and elemental spells in the outdoors. Definitely recommend!

I meticulously kitbash and sculpt minis for each of my players once they get invested and committed to their characters. Using premade minis is an awesome base (from really any tabletop game) but adding mixed medium, custom bits, and character-specific details makes it something that your players will genuinely cherish and adore

Thank you for the ideas!

Pencil, paper, dice, imagination & a good understanding of the rules are the only accessories needed for any RPG

I have the weather/emotions dice and my players go CRAZY for them!!

A bit late to the party, but I have 2 things in my DM kit that I think are amazing and I don't see talked about enough: a timer (I use a small digital timer) and a large d20. The d20 has been used for big important rolls in front of the table, but it's more common use is a turn count down timer. As for combat risers, I use the clear Chessex boxes that some of my dice sets came in. This way, they serve a dual purpose. If I need to denote altitude, I just write it on the box in whatever marker I'm using for initiative / marking the map.

I'll be honest, I feel like "the rules" and "dice" are not accessories, they're literally required tools. so for the beginner's section I'm underwhelmed that 1-4 are not really "wish i'd bought sooner" items.

If you are playing at a table you don't need a dice tray. Pick up die to roll, roll it around in your hand, place your other hand on the table sligtly cupped and roll the die toward said hand. Job done.

Back in my day pro D&D accessories included 3ltr Mountaindew and jumbo Cheetos packet.

Awesome very usefull set

Thanks for this, something for everyone.

I love this video! I personally already had the beginner and intermediate items. My only feedback is that the bag linked in the info is not the aame bag as the one being shown. I ordered the one in the link, it was way smaller. There were only 16 slots for figurines, amd only 5 books fit. I would love to know the actual bag beong shown.

The backpack is my favorite suggestion. The more advanced things would help with larger groups when playing but not some much when its only the DM and 2 players.

Growing up our family cat used to steal lego men from me and run into the cellar under the clothes drying rack. I think the cat was just did it when she was bored.

You do not need a dm screen. Some of us don't use one at all, and fudge in the open. It's a matter of DM style.

Are core rulebooks and dice 'dnd accessories I wish I brought sooner'

Don't buy the core books! If you're a beginner DM, buy the starter set or the free rules! Nobody ever says this. Like they expect you to drop £90 to play this game Also, I hate the DMG. DMs, don't buy one

The way I learned to be a player in DnD was by playing BG3 now im a player in my first campaign and its super fun and probably much less overwhelming

The rules are free online and have all of the information in the players and book and dm handbook. It’s also much easier to search through a computer document.

I am always looking for things to either help my DM session or to enhance the player experience. Plus different points of view are most helpful. my issue was always is and will be whats behind the screen. I started DM'ing 2 years ago almost full time after being on the other side (player side) for over 20 years so it helps watching and learning how better DMs do their setups.. Game Changers if you will are always great to see. I use Bottle Cap Rings since they are somewhat cheaper, I also use Lego Mini Figures since i have been collecting and playing with them for over 40 years so i have a bunch :-D my son and I made dice towers from LEGO because he has an 'issue' actually rolling the dice. I will use the idea of the players selecting the soundtrack for the session that hopefully fits the scenario. otherwise ill just put on the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.

For the dice without numbers, the DnD Solo Adventurer's Toolbox holds a ton of tables to randomly generate details, NPCs, encounters, and other things. For example, instead of cute weather dice, one could also simply roll a d20 (or some such), and refer to the table(s). A less-dice goblin, but much cheaper option.

This might be an odd question, but do I need to fully read the PHB? I've been playing and kinda dming for a year and dming for a couple months, still very new, and I've skimmed the PHB, but I haven't read it like a normal book.

actually--for the flyers, as it turns out the most simple thing I could do is what worked the best: I got a bunch of straws and hot glued a base and a top to each one: done. Later I spray painted them blue and white--but they work perfectly, incredibly cheap and simple to make for various heights.

Thank you for suggesting yhat players should read the rulebook. This needs to be mentioned way more often just about everywhere. Players who dont read the rules are my pet peeve. My first time expressing interest in D&D, my brother handed me a thick tome and just said, "Read this." I've been running games for 15 years since.

The one other dice thing to look at are crystal dice. Specifically, crystal d4s are wonderful things, as they're not caltrops, instead a square cylinder with pointed ends.

I use a small whiteboard, it has saved my game more than once! 😆😆

I'm been DMing like 20-22 years since I was 13, and having small dice are the best fot😢 traveling if you are a handicap person as my self. Really good recommendation. Also I would like to say that if you need inspiration, just steal from Google, from the movies/manga/myths/culture you like, or you are from. In my worlds normally my dwarfs culture are really Jew-like, cuz I'm Jew in a Catholic country, so no one here understand a thing about my religion, so I look like a really good dm just for getting dark references. Good play to all :3

One thing I noticed that was pretty cool. He said "Subscribe" and the button did a glowing thing.

The best thing to invest in is a bigger table xD

Not everything in the list seems like a must to me and more a matter of taste, but all the items that make combat go faster and overseeable are of great help. I'd like to add condition cards and spell effect props (we use Wizkids). These are essential in our group. Also index cards for homebrew monsters or other monsters that have no official card. And also a larger scale map of the area the party is roaming to help visualizing their journey and destination. Prefereably one for the players and one for the DM with the encounters and places of interest written on them.

Its wild to me that this channel has as few subscribers as it does with the content and views these videos provide. This video is also great in general

I also get my players to DJ. So much to keep track of 😂

Which Website is used for the Character Creation?

There's a few things in here that you never need to play. Battle maps, minis, apps, cards, which gets rid of things like rises, storage, status rings, measuring discs, etc. I literally play my games using nothing but dice, books, my tray, a screen to hide my written material, my laptop to play sound effects (not music, as my personal preference is ambiance for roleplaying and not a movie-like feel) and a whiteboard to outline maps as the characters see it. Maps, terrain, minis, all of the mini add-ons, none of that is needed to run a great game.

2:18 "The representatives from the Costermonger's Guild are here. Master Eggs and Grandmaster Milk." It's been a running joke at my table that every town has pairs of guards named Louie Louie and Mony Mony, and the captain of the guards is named Ringo. I forget how it all started, but we've been doing it since the '80s

Before reading the books, check with your dm. Some (all of the ones i have played with), prefer that players go into it knowing nothing. *Less chance of number crunching *More suprises during play, what is that monster's weakness? *Less, "nuhu, the rulebook says this" So yeah, check with your dm what they prefer. The dm im playing with now, is DMing a community build homebrew or whatever i should say. Hidden behind a paywall so even if i wanted to check everything i cant. And after playing it i cant go back to vanilla anymore.

3d printing would be awesome for to make characters, maps, dungeons and towns i bet

How are those little ladder things better than a glass for flying minis?

I love these type of gm kit videos, have you see the random terrain generation dice by dicefall battles? They create randomly generate encounter maps for TRPGs.

I would strongly suggest against the DMG and monster manual DMG because the information it gives you is lacking/ not useful. The monster manual because all of that information is widely available. Not to mention all the free homebrew monsters.

Yo... A dice to determine npc mood?! I didnt know how much i wanted one until now

My game changed so much we are playing Trail of Cthulhu now!

Player's Handbook a guide where nothing is explained well just like laws. There is as many interpretations of rules as many players are.

Instead of minis. I bought a set of 16d6 dice. Each player picks “oh I’m the green 4” or “I’m the red 2”. Plus half the dice have a skull image on the 1 for enemies and the other half has a dragon image on the 1 for allies and Npcs. Cheap, effective, colorful! (I also have little rubber gumball-machine dragons for big enemies

I had to become the DM my very first time playing. I just got a DM screen. Other than that, I just use a note book, and pad.

I'm laughing the the books you have to read now-a-days to play D&D. I have friends that have gone old school and have started playing by that classis "Basic Rules" booklet. They say it's less stressful, less complicated, and much more fun.

You only need some Friends and a DM. But it's a good guide for someone outtside of roleplaying who wants to gift someone who does play.

Build my own sets, maps etc. Don't require them either... Pros know how to engage an audience...