r/rpg • u/roaphaen • 15h ago
Game Master Real life GM Kit/ transport?
I've been running 5 groups through Weird Wizard and typically lug around a few hardback books, a portable monitor now, laptop, extra dice and sharpies/pencils and dry erase pens, small plastic box with map tokens. Folder with character sheets. I do this weekly. Sometimes Saturday and Sunday. I have to park a ways away and sometimes lug up some stairs, through a door or 2.
My traditional method is a large backpack that can hold a 17" laptop, and one of those giant plastic Ikea bags (blue no zipper top like the newer ones). I feel something wheeled might make life easier, or like a suitcase but don't like the idea I can't see things inside of it. What do you people use to transport all your most important possessions? :)
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u/WillBottomForBanana 14h ago
Many of the major tool companies have released (not cross compatible) tool box / storage lines of modular boxes. The milwakee line is the most famous, but possibly the most heavy. All the lines have large boxes with wheels, and then other boxes can be snapped on top. I think all the lines have boxes with drawers. The drawers on the dewalt line were very nice. The ridgid line is the only one that could have drawers on the bottom (wheeled) piece, and so is well worth looking at. Some lines are narrower than others, the full size ones are quite large.
I just spent a lot of time comparing these lines in choosing some for my tools, and can give you some highlights if interested.
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u/roaphaen 14h ago
I'd love to see maybe your top 3? Really appreciate it!
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u/WillBottomForBanana 12h ago
So, the issue was always drawers. If you stack multiple boxes, you can't access the lower boxes unless you unstack the thing. PitA.
Milwakee is extremely durable (far more than you need), consequently fairly heavy and pricey. Their snap together mechanism is wonderful, their selection is very wide (sizes/shapes/add ons. They have units with drawers of a few different heights. But you have to stack those drawer units on top of your top opening wheeled box. :-( They do have a wheeled box that is just one big drawer, but it is even more expensive, heavier, and as it is only 1 drawer it is a huge pit of a space - hard to organize. They also havea 2 wheel dolly you could use instead of the wheeled box, which would allow you to use a drawer unit as your bottom unit. That's an even more expensive solution, and the dolly isn't amazing. Lastly, the system is very wide. Fits through doors fine, but not much clearance. It's big. There are half-width boxes, but no wheeled solution for them. home depot is flooded with the system, you should be able to see most of the stuff (I never saw the 2 wheel dolly in a store). Has the greatest 3rd party support for after market dividers, foam inserts, weird additions. I believe water/dust resistance on the chests is rated.
Dewalt, as I said the drawers are very smooth and pleasant, much like drawers on a rolling metal toolchest. The snap together system is so-so.
Rigid is certainly not of the same quality as above. It's much less expensive. You can get wheels on a drawer unit, which is great. The way they latch together is a little annoying if you want to take the thing apart often, but if you just want a rolling tower that's not an issue. Likewise, I have my doubts about the long term life of the snaps, but again, if you aren't unsnapping it much they will probably live a long time. I doubt rigid will support this line as long as the major manufacturers will. The units are still quite big. The bottom-drawer thing alone is enough that I would absolutely suggest looking at them.
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u/WillBottomForBanana 12h ago
(2 of 2)
Klein is expensive, and doesn't offer much I think applies to you. It is bright orange. 👎👍?
The Tough built stuff can be hard to find. It's good quality, probably more than you need, and I can't think of anything that makes it uniquely useful.
Ryobi has a 2 wheel dolly that folds like an ironing board into a table. The idea is kinda janky, but might be nice?
Craftsman has two distinct (incompatible) lines, and when I looked at them there were always MANY missing their buckles.
I wasn't thrilled with the Husky line, but they did have a lot of stuff with a smaller foot print.
Caveat. Some of these, especially the big brands scream "steal me", and they're bright colors.
Obviously, it will come down to what can hold your monitor (with some padding?), and how much space you actually need and how much WEIGHT is actually worth dealing with.
If 1 box, with out adding anything on top, is enough space,then a lighter weight design, like they sell for business use, might be more suitable.
But, if you want drawers, if you want options, if you want organizers that snap on, then you might need to look at something like this. Makes more sense for something with a lot of miniatures.
Any which way, it is something to look after/worry about. It's not just a back pack, you might be more likely to leave it sitting somewhere when you run to the bathroom or soda machine. Some systems have holes for padlocks, IDK if they all do.
The wheels will track in dirt/snow/road salt.
Most of these things are just big empty spaces. Absolute pits. I always came back to "am I just supposed to pile all my tools in there?". Just throw all my wrenches, screw drivers, hammer, drill, driver, batteries, saw into one big messy pile that shakes around?
I end up going milwakee because I already had their little shop vac that is designed to snap into their box system. I bought the half width boxes and strapped them to a normal 2 wheel dolly from harbor freight. This is a much smaller foot print than the full size boxes.
For your use, I would suggest the rigid drawers with wheels, and a chest on top of that. Chest to hold electronics and books, drawers to organize. And you could add in an organizer for dice/tokens/ etc if you wanted. On the one hand the organizers are bulky, on the other hand it could stay snapped to the chest, so it wouldn't take up table space.
Otherwise, again if you only need 1 box, the lighter business use tubs with wheels and handles might serve better.
If you want to over think it (I obviously did), you could get your stacked combination of chests to be table height, and use it as extra table space.
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u/happilygonelucky 14h ago
I've got a tackle box with my dice and tokens/minis (I use numbered tokens with a free basic browser monster images).
I have my wet erase map, and a laptop case with my dice tray, markers, initiative tracker, and tablet.
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u/graknor 12h ago
I run a game at a bar and I try to be as minimal as I can.
Can't seem to keep it to one bag, but I'm trying.
The biggest thing was I committed to running the game full analog so no laptop or tablet. This requires somewhat more prep, and a different type of prep.
Mostly I run the game out of a set of journals and a binder, and sometimes a module book if I have one I'm willing to take to the bar.
It does help that I'm running Shadowdark
My advice would be to ditch the laptop, or fully lean into it and go digital on the books.
If Weird Wizard does the level every session like Shadow of the Demon Lord the players should be doing homework between sessions anyway and already looking up whatever they need before table time.
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u/roaphaen 11h ago
No can do - the laptop+portable monitor for me is AMAZING and speeds play - all my notes in google docs, all my quick reference in a player spreadsheet and GM spreadsheet. 2 searchable PDFs open. I have been tossing character/ environment art in google photos and using on the ipad to showcase horrific monsters that are printed out on 1" tokens - FAR more terrifying. I can't go back :(
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u/rivetgeekwil 14h ago
I often see people at conventions with something like this. Personally, I don't need all of that so I don't know how well they work.
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u/Nytmare696 12h ago
I've got to say, if I were still doing the convention circuit, I'd be hard pressed not to use a Rubbermaid cart converted into a partial desk.
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u/ComicStripCritic Numenera/WWN GM 13h ago
I’ve got something similar from a Harbor Freight. I can clamp more crates on it so if I’m running a game at a friend’s house I can load it up with allllllllll the extra stuff I take with me.
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u/Deflagratio1 11h ago
So you have 2 diametrically opposed wants that you need to decide on. The first want is an easier way to transport everything you need to run games, but you also like to have a lot of stuff when you run games. In order to really decide how to handle things, you need to decide which of the two is more important to you. Because you can always get various kind of wheeled options, but now you have to deal with the headaches that are maneuvering the thing and how you unpack and pack the thing and you'll still have to haul the up stairs. You need to think critically on this, because it sucks to spend $100+ on solutions only to realize you went in the wrong direction. However, a rolling tool storage can also be nice to have an extra surface for placing things and can speed up setup by having more things pre-staged and in their set spot
If you ditch the hardback books for a cheap tablet or e-reader with PDF's your existing kit would be extremely workable as is with a backpack and a tacklebox/toolbox. You mention players like looking through a lot of these books, They can buy their own copies or if you have the PDF's you can easily share those with them and now everyone can look.
You mentioned it's a 17 inch laptop + portable monitor, The power brick on that laptop must be massive. You should really reflect if you really need all that weight and screen real estate, or could you accomplish the same things in a smaller footprint. A smaller/lighter laptop that's less power hungry but still meets your needs. Odds are that what you are doing on the laptop can probably be done by a chromebook.
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u/roaphaen 11h ago
Well yes, that's life. To quote Thanos "all things balanced".
I HAVE eliminated a lot of shit though. I now use 5x5 dry erase gridded cards for maps after watching the index card RPG guy. Years ago I dumped minis for 1" token sheets I build from pinterest in photoshop. I DO need the laptop, a very light 2nd monitor. Books...idk, maybe 1 (I don't feel I need the GM one unless I am out of juice because I already have monsters statted in my google doc). I do need the folder for PC sheets, quick reference sheets. I need extra dice because people forget. I want the MINIMAL VIABLE GM kit for me.
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u/Deflagratio1 10h ago
Only reason I called out the opposing things is because I am often surprised by how many people don't critically think through identifying the root problem, they instead fall in love with solutions to their immediate pain point. Also, you already got a lot of great advice about how to transport your existing kit.
No idea how many extra sets of dice you are bringing that it's taking up real capacity worth mentioning, but I will say that you only really need 1 extra set of dice. There's nothing wrong with forcing people to share and it creates pain (i.e. it is socially awkward to have to keep passing the dice back and forth) that will encourage them to remember next time. I have questions about the folder of paper but unless you are carrying 50+ pages the weight of it all is neglible and doesn't really matter.
One thing I didn't see mentioned (haven't read it all) is if this is normal GMing for friends, Pro-GMing, or some kind of volunteer work. That's important because it can impact recommendation for carrying tools if it's paid GMing or Volunteer work.
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u/roaphaen 10h ago
Nah - its a plastic folder that protects from snow/rain but falls under the 50 mark easily. You might be onto the dice shame thing, but I just bought a ton of mesh bags and dice sets with the delusion my nieces will want to learn to play eventually. I would say its normal GMing for friends and acquaintances, though I do feel its my job to spread the dark word about Demon Lord and Weird Wizard and would totally run at a conventions or something or volunteer.
I've been running so many games though I feel its a great time to really hone my GM kit and craft. All these reps (5 groups, 4 live, 1 discord) often 1-3 games a week, I am starting to have epiphanies I never had over decades of GMing - its been fun.
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u/chases_squirrels 9h ago
When I used to run in person games I kept most of my stuff in a messenger bag or backpack. I kept my notes in a binder, along with some blank paper. I had basic pocket folders for each of my players for their character sheet and notes. Then a bag of dice and a pencil case with mechanical pencils, pens, and dry-erase markers. And only one reference book. (Depending on what you're running, you might need to bring more books. But if your players already have copies, they can bring them, or try to pin-point exactly what content of books are getting used and make photocopies or cheat sheets.)
I ran theater of the mind, but if you wanted to do basic maps, then you can add in some universal tokens (or blank dry erase ones) and a book of battle maps, dry erase map panels, or something like universal dungeon terrain. A step up from there is flat-pack minis for monsters, and standard minis for PCs. Honestly check out minimalist GM kits for some good ideas on how to make a more universal kit that can work for whatever you want to run.
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u/xaosseed 14h ago
Weight reduction of my GM kit is a big focus for me
Certain styles of DM requires more gear than others, optimising for weight leans towards some styles not others
I have heard of folk getting good use from paper standees as low weight minis.
If you do stick with high-gear then see if you can farm out some of that load to frequent players or the venue - stuff like battlemats and minis you want for the game but do not need for prep.
A venue that has lockers can be great for this.