My Custom GM Screen
Over at Bard of Valiant there was some discussion about GM screens. I mentioned my custom screen and people were excited enough that they wanted to see and know more.
The picture above is the front of the GM screen. It is constructed out of corrugated cardboard that is bound with tape. I also taped over the rough-cut edges. The front is covered in artwork I downloaded and printed out. I just used regular glue to affix the pages to the screen.
This is the back side of the screen. Two panels are covered in often-used charts for 4ed (again printed and glued.) The right panel holds a platform. I use it to stash pre-selected minis, cards, and other implements for the game. Under the shelf there is enough room to hold more minis or a cluster of dice.
This is a closer shot of the underside of the platform. When I first added the platform, I discovered that the weight of a handful of minis was enough to cause it to sag and slope. To remedy that, I took some thinner scraps of cardboard and glued them directly underneath. The flaps serve as additional structural support to the platform and articulate back on themselves when it is time to fold the screen up.
One of my favorite features of the screen is the mini erase board. Here you can see it attached to the front of the screen. I purchased the dry erase board from an office supply store for super-cheap.
Here you can see the magnets on the back of the dry erase board. The trick is that I glued two strips of metal (spaced the exact distance of the magnets) to the front of the screen before gluing the artwork over top. I’m sure any lightweight magnet-reactive metal will do, but I used two Tokken cards that I got for free from Origins a couple years ago.
It has been requested that I provide some instructions on how to make your own screen, but I’m afraid mine was haphazardly kit-bashed together, so any description of how arrived at the final product would be both convoluted and not user-friendly. I will gladly give advice and answer question to those more interested.
This makes me want to build my own GM screen…but out of Legos!
Bonus geek points for the predominance of duct tape in it’s construction
Great! Love the miniatures platform :-]
Very well done. The magnet white board is an excellent touch. What sort of things do you use for the white board?
If you are asking what I use to write on it: grease pencils, although I suspect wet-erase or dry-erase would work too.
If you are asking what I write on it: I sometimes use it for initiative order. Sometimes I will keep a visual tally of a skill challenge. Very often I will write a funny or taunting message on it before the game session starts. Things like, “In the dungeon, no one can hear you scream–except the wandering monsters.” (while they were exploring a massive underground city.) Or, “Dwarf blood makes the grass grow!” (when they were about to lead a dwarf troop against a dark elf strike-force.)