Dungeons & Dragons offers a lot of accessories that you need for playing, but with which you can also easily enhance sessions. MeinMMO editor Caro has also bought a few things for her campaign since she started playing the tabletop game and reflects on which of them were really necessary and which are just for fun.
I am lucky to have been playing Dungeons & Dragons with a wonderful group of friends for 2 years now, which I can never get enough of. In the past two years filled with adventurous Sundays, which made our kitchen a much more exciting setting than it appears on other days, a few things have accumulated that are regularly used in our group.
Reflecting on it, I can say: I have probably invested significantly more money in Dungeons & Dragons than was actually necessary. Still, there is not a single purchase I truly regret.
In this list, I would like to introduce you to which accessories or gadgets are absolutely necessary for our sessions and probably yours as well, and which things are less important, but still fun or make nice gifts for fans.
Let’s start with the absolutely relevant things that belong to the essential “standard equipment” for Dungeons & Dragons.
Therefore, I name the most important accessories for D&D:
Player’s Handbook/Game Master’s Guide
Depending on whether you are a player or a game master, it makes sense to at least own a copy of the Player’s Handbook and the Game Master’s Guide. The two books serve not only as references for the most important rules in D&D – they are also particularly stylish.
I must admit, my group and I own a digital copy of both books, which contains all the rules, but we usually google specific rule questions and solutions instead of flipping through the PDFs.
Later, I bought the Player’s Handbook to quote articles from the rules, but primarily because I consider it a cool coffee table book with its illustrations.
Conclusion: The group should own at least one copy of the rulebook to refer to the rules. These do not need to be physical but can also be purchased digitally. D&D veterans may sometimes forgo the purchase.
Game Master’s Screen
I honestly did not buy the Game Master’s screen, but our game master did. Still, it should be mentioned in this list, as a separation between the shady machinations of a DM (Dungeon Master) and the poor, little players is essential for an exciting campaign.
The Game Master’s screen allows the lead person to hide their notes and rolls from the rest of the table so that the players do not experience their adventure as omniscient demigods. Often, a Game Master’s screen also has a few hints and quick rules printed on the inside, which can solve some questions faster than having to wildly search through the book or check online.
Conclusion: A Game Master’s screen is a good tool for a quick overview for the game master and to maintain tension. However, one can also create a separation in other ways. I classify the screen as not absolutely necessary but a helpful object.
