Updated Dungeon Master Kit | Best Dungeon Master Tools 

Playing catch up so a little late to the party. I've added standard envelopes to my DM kit. There's lots of uses but my standard is if the party finds some potions but can't identify them. Just write what it is on an index card. Put in the envelope. Seal it and write something like "Green Potion" on the outside. If they later id the potion then just open the envelope. This way I don't have to dig through my notes and find that potion the party found sessions ago. Also, it's great drama at the table when the party is desperate when they decide they are going to drink that potion not knowing what it is.

Pogs… the currency of my elementary education

One piece of kit that I have found to be super useful is a bit of cordage that has a knot every inch. It makes measuing distances super easy and is much easier to pack than a ruler.

I use old wooden Scrabble tiles in lieu of minis. Low-value letters like A or E for mobs of low-level foes, high-value letters like K or J or Z for lieutenants and bosses. They can indicate facing if needed and fit perfectly inside 1 inch squares.

Love the fact that you open roll. I have been doing this for years and this adds so much tension and challenging credibility (no fudging here). Also your setup is very KISS oriented which brings me back to 90's style roleplaying but with added tips and tricks acquired over the years. Great content and amazing stuff, look forward to more videos like these.

Agreed. I roll in front of the players and state the DC and AC aloud. This really helps with collective cheers or groans with the result.

The Pathfinder pawns sets are an amazing lower cost alternative to the acrylic minis. They were almost exclusively what I used for years until I got a big board game collection recently and my current campaign this year has shifted in that direction. It has started to get a little cumbersome since I'm a traveling DM and those PF pawns are looking pretty nice...

As a long time dm I ve always lugged around heavy boxes and dungeon tiles and scenery and piles of figures etc etc etc Since finding this video I ve swapped to this much easier dm kit So thank you

Awesome kit Kelsey! can't wait for Shadowdark!

I love my flat plastic minis. Your first video about your kit is what brought me to use them. For maps I just use an assortment of 3'x4' maps I got and put them in a plastic art tube and it works great for travel. Also, for my terrain I mainly use Dungeon Craft. Its amazing. If I wanna be really minimalist and portable I just use grid paper I draw maps on then put it in a plastic binder sleeve and let players mark where they are on the map during encounters, when I do this my entire kit fits in a case-it binder for super portability. Might be something to look into especially for cons.

Kelsie... super appreciate all that you share in your videos! So many good ideas! Those flat minis are fantastic and I think that's what I'm going to ask for as Christmas gifts.

Well done! I’m excited to have found your channel. Thank you Questing Beast, thank you Professor DM!

I have a basement full of minis and terrain and I love using them but there is always a part of me that wouldn't mind going more minimalist. I am planning on running some sessions of Vaesen after my current 5e campaign concludes and it will definitely be minimalist, using only occasional hand outs and images. Great list and I am looking forward to the Shadowdark KS.

This is so helpful and inspirational! I really want to run a table at a convention at some point and getting to see how you handle it makes it seem very approachable. Thank you.

This came out at the perfect time. I’m going to go DM at a game shop this weekend and I was already rolling around what I thought I would need for it. Thanks a bunch :)

That first DM kit video is a classic. I was excited to see this one. 🧙‍♂️

Thanks for the video! A lot of great stuff in that kit! 😀

"the chaos cubes"! I want dice to always be called that now lol

I was excited when I saw you had a new DM’s kit video. Your last one was pretty inspiring. It’s something I keep in mind when organizing my own kit. Mine is an artist’s toolbox rather than a bag. The hands down most useful thing I have in my Kit is a “Gamemaster’s Apprentice” deck by Larcenous Designs. I bought a deck off Drivethrurpg several years ago and it is insanely useful. Each card has a listing for Odds (both good and bad), a full set of Dice results so you can draw a card instead of rolling dice, some abstract visual prompts, a collection of sensory details- One each for sight, sound, touch, and smell, then some random names, and some random belongings, an adventure prompt, and a location. They are extremely useful in generating information on the fly. The next items in my kit that I find extremely useful is a full set of “Objects or Intrigue” decks (Wilderlands, waterways, dungeon, and Underground) by Nord Games. Each card has an evocative description of an item: a campsite, a ancient altar, a metal chest etc, and then a roll table for various results from interacting with it (monster, Treasure, curse, etc). I also have a similar product from Loresmyth called “Wonderous Expeditions: Forests” which is a deck of cards with various locations of interest one might find in a forest, plus prompts and complications. These last two items I find are useful when looking for inspiration for plot hooks and adventure ideas. Oh, also a standard deck of cards because I like to make my own “card draw” tables For various encounter ideas that are campaign specific.

Late to the game, but a large picture frame with a standard grid or nothing in it is what I draw battle maps when running a game at home, and i use a 2-yd sheet of clear furniture protector vinyl for gaming on the go - its super cheap and good for dry erase! I also like more free form movement and range, so i use cut up, specific lengths of paracord if distance needs to be measured for moments where it's dramatic to make the measurement - otherwise, my game uses abstracted movement and range categories.

Oh wow. I ran across your original one years ago which got me started using Ark Knight minis and keeping them in a little card book. Lost track of your channel and found it again through the ShadowDark kickstarter and discord. Didn't realize it was you until just now though. Thanks for the tips and the update!!

I usually DM in my game room, so we use regular minis, but those flat minis with the binder is an awesome idea for anyone on the go. I am the same as you with the DM screen, I tried several times to use them, but I found I had to constantly stand up to see over it, and it mostly just got in the way.

Those flat minis look amazing. I’ve been using different colored plastic chips to save space, but have been looking to change them, and those are the perfect upgrade!

I've seen your first video like ten times. I'm constantly altering my mini DMs kit. I really enjoy using a foldable plastic book stand instead of a screen because it allows me to see the players while keeping my notes from laying flat on the table. For battle mats I use a light 1inch grid printed on individual sheets of 8.5x11 laminated paper, it's nice being able to use the blank back, and I really don't like dealing with folds in maps. I'm able to fit my supplies in a trapper-keeper. Thanks for a great video!

Great video! I've gone slightly minimalist in recent years, and so I don't have a lot of space for super-specific items, as they are simply clutter whenever they aren't in use. Versatile tools like this are the best for someone like me. I love all the great ideas you shared, and those Arcknight minis are awesome. How have I never before seen them?! I'm new to this channe, born (subscribed) yesterday new. I am very impressed with how incredibly useful your whole library of content appears to be. I can't it to dig into this.

I'm just about to start a new IRL D&D campaign (The Elvenflow Saga) so these are handy tips! I basically use the same stuff but usually carry pregens in my pack too. Will check your campaign notes video later!

It's always fun to see what other DMs use as their go to bag/ kit. I love the idea of storing the minis in the trading card folder. I'm going to use that. I don't have the nifty ones you do; I just print my own paper minis and laminate them with some packing tape. But those plastic minis look sweet. Lovely ideas. I have an old thinkgeek messenger bag I put all my stuff in. I seriously need to clean it out and organize it.I was rooting around in it and found some old True Dungeon tokens from Gencon from 8 years ago :P

I really love this ethic! It's both pragmatic and keeps the game accessible. I'm just starting to get back in and i want to be a great DM so this is massively helpful. Also dot grid notebooks are the best!!

Nice video, as I always say "less is more": the moment you realize that you really need only few stuff to play well, it opens your mind and gives you a different look on all the sundries out there. For the minis, I've gone even more minimal: cardboard tokens (round ones, but I think I'll be switching soon to square ones, which seem better for a grid). I've cut them from a shoe box in different sizes (5e ones) and quantities (the bigger the size, the fewer the tokens) and they are very useful, because I can write/rewrite with a pencil the monster's name on them every time I need another one. When the monster is hit or gets some status, I can write that as well, though of course on small tokens I usually write only the name and the hits the monster suffered (fewer space than bigger tokens). For my players, I've got colored tokens based on the classes' ones from Owlbear Rodeo, which look cool.

That mini DM Screen is about as minimalist as I get! It's insanely useful!! ...along with a couple of books with encounter tables!

those minis remind me of the pathfinder pawns. Amazing.

Whoa, a Kånken-bag! That makes you look très scandinavian!

Love your minimalist kit. I've been trying to pare mine down over time. Went through a "great purge" of my WotC minis to resale sites and used the money to replace them with some ArcKnight sets as well as a subscription to Skinny Minis. The reclaimed real estate was incredible. Anyway, very nice setup. I'm curious how you handle conditions on the minis and also initiative tracking

I just started with my minimalist kit. I keep a notebook, a DM folio instead of a screen, decorative glass beads for minis, wood circles that I've painted to as enemies, animals, and environmental hazards, and a little 5x5 grid map to show adjacent, near, medial, Far, and remote distances. I have extra pencils and note paper for my players but, that's all I need to run a session for my players

Thanks, as always Kelsie! She risks the wrath THE TACTICAL grod counting people who swear that grid counting is the only fun part of the game.

She is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites.

Great video, keep it up boss!

Remember Alf? He's back. In pog form.

I love those flat plastic minis. Living in the UK there is no chance of buying them here. I can only look upon them with envy.

Nice kit I’m trying to get it down to one bag

It’s very interesting to me that your whole kit fits in one bag but it’s still an “all of the above” kit that has everything needed to run a wide variety of games. I love terrain and clutter, but I’d like to try and be a little more like you.

double upgrade..whoa!

You Shadowdark Quickstart set came in the mail today, cannot wait to run it.

Totally agree about no GM screen & roll in the open. My players love being terrified (I assume). :D

The premade maps are from WotC, I have the digital version. It's the Tactical Maps Reincarnated bundle.👍

My DM-kit looks a lot alike. But instead of Arcknite I still use pathfinder pawns. It's the same concept but cardboard instead of plastic. I also role in the open but I like to have a small DM screen. Not to roll behind but to keep my list of random names to create NPC's on the fly and some notes. This way my players can't tell wich NPC existed before the session and witch I just came up with.

Between books, miniatures, dice, dry-erase maps, pencils and pens, my DM bag has become extremely heavy xD I'll be stealing some ideas to thin it out a bit!

I love your kit! Have you ever heard of dice fall battles random terrain generation dice? I love them in my game

This is so amazing! My only question is that I like drawing out maps because I like to be really detailed about the environment. The last time I did this, however, I couldn't articulate the proper distances and made the map a slog to get across. What's your tip for drawing a tactical map on the fly?

I’m actually thinking of using Chess pieces as Minis. Maybe painting pawns and using them as the players and the black pieces as the monsters.

Maybe generic tokens or meeples instead of the flat minis? Packing smaller

You should check out Big Book of Battle Mats!

I will now be referring to "dice" as "chaos cubes." You're really great at renaming stuff! Stingbats 4 lyfe!

Thanks

I was inspired by your last video, so I went out and bought a bunch of flat minis and the folding maps. I do love them, but I find that I play almost exclusively online now. We switched at the pandemic and then people moved away, so we're kind of stuck this way now. I should start a new in person group. Seeing your kit gets me excited for it. Do you still use the monster cards? I found them really useful for running combat for my in person games, mostly for tracking initiative order.

Great video! I love readable dice, but they often don't look as great as my other dice. The ones you have here (and in your last video) are lovely! Do you remember where you got them?

Wish Ultimate Guard had some page options for the large/huge/gargantuan FPM (I have arcknight and skinny minis I'd love to organize better). I see you have larger ones (dragons for example) in yours - did you cut the wall to the pocket for that (didn't really think about doing that).

I am absolutely LOVING Shadowdark! I play mostly with my my son and my wife (who only plays for the sake of my son), and I was wondering if you have any advice or could possibly do a video on how to apply your Shadowdark rules to a printed WotC adventure like Waterdeep Dragon Heist or Out of the Abyss?

Nice

Not sure if you'll see this but I only recently saw this video, and I love your bag. What size is that one? I have seen a few of them online for sale but never know what size is which.

Only 6 sets of dice ??? Armature. 😁 I still really enjoy your adventures from your site, some of the best I've played.

Pogs!

Nice kit, I love the POG idea. I use Skinny Minis as my miniatures for most games, similar to Arcknight, great for DM's that lack storage space or need their kit on the go.

I love this videos! I'm stealing your kit 👺

Index cards. Ingrid Bernal will be proud. 😊

Would you consider making a video about your awesome RPG, Shadowdark?

I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I'd love to start publishing adventures but I don't know what the best software to use to compile all my art and writing. Do you have any suggestions???

some paper, a pencil and one D6... let's play! anything more is not necessary.

Is that the same iPad mini from the last video?

What size notebook do you use?

Is it better to Fold those maps or roll them?

Loved the set. Stolen the idea of giveaway pencils. Can't wait your videos about your rpg

So when can we buy Shadowdark?😃

I have to stop looking at other DM's toolkit... What I have is already fine... Is it fine? Is it really the perfect setup? I will change only this little thing here, and this one... and this... understand the trend? By the way, any news about the shadowdark rpg kickstarter? or any news at all?

For me, a laptop is 90% of what I need.

I don't think I've ever used a DM screen. I tend not to fudge any rolls. The PCs and NPCs live and die by the dice, so if the villain rolls high and downs a PC so be it. Fate was not with them that day. Same with the villains. If the players are rolling great I just go with it and really narrate the hell out their next level ass kicking. I might like the death knight, but I'm still going to let him die (and of course he's undead so I can always have him come back some how if I really need him to).

ok the "roll in front of players" thing .. what if they look for a secret door? thats gotta be hidden .. if they succeed, and theres no door .. they know FOR SURE theres no door. Theres other examples, like social skills. Should there not be some GM only rolls? Combat rolls I totally get .. but there are some others you need a screen

Huh flat minis, guess I'll go check that out ... ... ... *Looks at wallet* Damn it.

I use dice instead of enemy minis and my players bring a mini of their character.

Just an FYI, the people at Archnight kind of suck. I stopped using them years ago, after they complained Jeremy Crawford was making the game political, because he posted something pro-LGBTQ+ . I don't know if they're any better, but I switched to buying flat minis from geek tank games.

But first I need friends