My Dungeon Master Toolkits, The Gear I Use and Why I Use it | House DM

I used to be an outdoor educator who also taught a Dungeons and Dragons after school program twice a week. I needed a small Dungeon Master toolkit that had everything I needed to run those after school campaigns and still not take up too much space in my bag. It also needed to be light weight, inexpensive, and fairly durable (three things that never work out together).
In this video, I show you my both of my current DM kits AND my minimalist one back from my outdoor educator days. I hope you all find this breakdown useful and enjoy it as much as I did making it. Cheers!
_______________________________
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:54 1st Minimalist DM Kit
03:46 Current Minimalist DM Kit
08:23 Main DM Kit
_______________________________
Become a House Guild Member on Patreon: / housedm
Questing on Instagram: / jakehousedm
Into the Shadowlands PDF: www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
_______________________________
DM GEAR I USE (These links are Amazon affiliate links that allow me
to earn a small kickback from your purchase, thanks for supporting the channel!)
TABLETOP STUFF
Games Workshop 12mm Skull Dice: amzn.to/3FXurCu
Chessex Battlemat: amzn.to/3zP41A6
Wet Erase Markers: amzn.to/3GnKGaD
Camera case for dice: amzn.to/3mZola8
Turntable "Lazy Susan": amzn.to/3HDB38b
Auto Turntable: amzn.to/3r4iiX0
Backgammon Pieces + Dice Pack: amzn.to/3QkWAXg
Legion Skull Dice: amzn.to/3QwFF3O
Jumbo d20: amzn.to/3QAN02c
Dwarven gold coins: amzn.to/3MZaGdO
5e character coins: amzn.to/3bgogMN
Paladin D2 Coin: amzn.to/3VOJh2x
Gold tokens: amzn.to/3xIaXwd
Red tokens: amzn.to/3xBQ4CJ
Blood tokens: amzn.to/3OlBC8y
Fire tokens: amzn.to/3OjzvSY
Dice Bag: amzn.to/3Qm3FHe
Anker Soundcore Speaker: amzn.to/3zOuRIh
BOOKS
ICRPG Master Edition: amzn.to/3RhTAKh
Viking Death Squad: amzn.to/3UJF4ht
MÖRK Borg: amzn.to/3LJ4tnl
Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master: amzn.to/3eSRjZ3
Dungeon World: amzn.to/3gt9kxb
Necronomicon: amzn.to/3vLOyNW
Symbaroum RPG: amzn.to/3vItgR0
Super Sick D&D Notebook: amzn.to/3UFs8sM
MINIATURES
Oathmark Dwarf Infantry: amzn.to/3JXAEQl
Oathmark Dwarf Light Infantry: amzn.to/3PXbipw
Oathmark Dwarf Heavy Infantry: amzn.to/3PQbqXK
Oathmark Goblin Infantry: amzn.to/44oFG0i
Oathmark Skeletons: amzn.to/3pL6jNO
Frostgrave Knights: amzn.to/3k03chG
Frostgrave Barbarians: amzn.to/3WVKyGs
Frostgrave Wizards: amzn.to/3WTMBdY
Frostgrave Cultists: amzn.to/3jWK707
Frostgrave Soldiers (Male Models): amzn.to/3WUsKLZ
Frostgrave Soldiers (Female Models): amzn.to/3jYsBZl
Miniature Doors: amzn.to/3NdHkIU
Terrain Crate Doors: amzn.to/3TpC9d6
Terrain Crate Dungeon Debris: amzn.to/3TmBZmy
Terrain Crate Dungeon Essentials: amzn.to/3e6nXoU
Beholder Mini: amzn.to/3B3lMvL
Red Dragon Mini: amzn.to/3gAGATq
FILM GEAR
Mic: amzn.to/3PG8cpv
Primary Light: amzn.to/43aRYrM
Secondary Light: amzn.to/3NDC3fG
Tripod: amzn.to/435PGtP
_______________________________
#HouseDM #JakeHouseDM #CraftingDM #dungeoncraft #DungeonsandDragons #dungeonmaster #dungeonmastertoolkit #dungeonmasteradvice #birdsaretight
_______________________________
Music:
Music created by Ean Grimm and Alexander Nakarada.
Sources: www.serpentsoundstudios.com/

[@HouseDM]

Do you have a go-to DM toolkit? What are your essentials besides your notes and dice? If you're a traveling DM, do you bring more or less than what I show in this video? Let me know and thanks for watching!

[@johnharrison2086]

Battle grid or small white board, dice, tokens by Sidequest TTM, pencils, whiteboard markers, index cards, eraser and phone with game content.

[@verus2471]

One of the main things is actually a website xD like a digital dm-screen with initiative counter, statblocks from most 5e encounters, loot generator and so on. It's super helpful :)

[@zowiecastillo4059]

My laptop since it's my GM screen, post it notes and pencil for quick drawings of hard to explain things, even more paper to make enemy minis and cookies

[@Traeumeer]

I bough the Game Master Companion by Dragon Shield a few months ago and am fairly impressed by the quality of it. It includes a universal 3 panel GM screen, a small phone holder, a bunch of plastic index cards that fit a slot at the top of the GM screen, and a big box with foam layers with cutouts for minis and other stuff. Only thing I miss is the option to customize the foam layers because once something doesn't fit the cutout, you have to apply pressure which I don't like. But all in all a good purchase that I can recommend. Additionally, I use transparent token holders by Greenstuff World that fit 1 inch round paper tokens, a big bag of dice for me and my players (that I should start to organize soon), the big version of the Chessex battle mat, some pens, and my trusty iPad. Since I am a mobile GM I feel a bit encumbered when I use public transport with all that stuff but when I use the car, its no deal at all. Still roughly fits one large backpack.

[@crunchydragontreats6692]

Travel Tokens: At one point a friend was moving and they were throwing away their round metal curtain rods. I took the decorative ends and use them as tokens. I’ve also used chess pieces as I sometimes have my travel chess set with me. I’ve had several travel chess sets so I’ve kept some of those pieces as well for the different sizes, styles and shapes. I also have various sized cardboard bases with small round magnets. Some of my chess pieces have magnets and this makes a medium creature token large or larger by taking up more squares. Side note: arcade tokens make great inspiration coins. Grab your ketchup and crunch away my friends.

[@liambrennan7410]

Hand on heart I just clicked to see if that was really a Zippo lighter 😆

[@HouseDM]

Hahaha it really is lol.

[@NoalFarstrider]

But why burn the character sheet?

[@egg3255]

@@NoalFarstrider "because it's a dramatic way to send off PCs" as he said

[@DjigitDaniel]

Ditto. And niiiice.

[@ScottCalvinsClause]

Me too

[@amby_7z]

It's heartwarming to know there are teachers like you that introduce D&D to students. It really can be a creative awakening for people!

[@HouseDM]

Wow thank you for your kind words Ambee! Kids have such incredible imaginations and doing something like playing D&D comes so naturally to them. More often than not, its adults who need to re-remember how to simply "play". Cheers!

[@BOBSMITH-YouTubeStoleMyHandle]

Little tip.... Always roll your maps/ plans , image side out. That way they don't curl on the tabletop when rolled out. I learned that lesson hard my first week working for a civil engineering firm. nice video

[@remakethestars2683]

Looks cooler when you roll it out and it curls, tho

[@RandomPerson-nd2ey]

@@remakethestars2683 yeah, but then you may have to put paperweights down. If you place minis, stones, or whatever that's too light on the edge then they'll likely get lifted up and moved by the paper curling up.

[@claraestrada5080]

the one he showed was double-sided. the other side was a hex grid. so no matter which side you roll it you will always have a side that rolls up xD

[@AlexE5250]

On the contrary, I roll my battle mat with the hexes on the outside, squares on the inside (I use squares pretty much exclusively) because it protects the square side from damage

[@chand911]

Or always roll them image side in so you don't mess up the image... and take the 2 seconds to base the corners.

[@michaelmoran9020]

I prefer the minimalist kit, I find it increases immersion to have the most abstract representation possible so you can fill the void in with your descriptions

[@Sanguivore]

I certainly agree! The more advanced and detailed your terrain/minis, the less people imagine things I find. The more abstract, the better!

[@michaelmoran9020]

@@Sanguivore my preferred kit is chess pieces with character appropriate faces drawn on in sharpie

[@SmashSquatch30]

@@michaelmoran9020 That is amazing! you have pics on imgur or similar? I would love to see that.

[@Alex-cq1zr]

​@@Sanguivore Depends on preferences. Minimalist kit is good due to it being small. 3d miniatures take up a lot of space. 3d built terrain - even more maybe Plus, 32 mm scale nowadaya popular in wargames and dnd doesn't help the space use. Pawns and 2d minis are a nice compromise. 2d tokens with images or just tokens are minimalist and most efficient if you want tactical combat. More minimalist i going theatre of the mind

[@jonathancasais6491]

​@@Alex-cq1zrI love the 2d tokens but God are they a bitch to find I might just have to make my own 😂

[@Librivore42]

I love that you have a minimalist kit for after school and outdoor education I'm a high school teacher and this is exactly why my bag always has a bag of dice, assorted paper, and a massive pencil case of coloured pens. We're very lucky have a little lawn and when the weather is right I take them outside to feel the grass, breathe the air, smell the plants. These are usually our creative writing days and we use dice to help us make decisions when the choice paralysis starts setting in. DnD felt like a natural thing to introduce after that and they LOVE it, and especially because we're outside they get up, walk around, grab leaves off the ground to 'track' or point to distant points on the horizon. The importance of play in the life of a highschooler, who society has decided must outgrow it, cannot be overstated.

[@LadyGreyAgeingDisGracefully]

Kudos to you for making it ok for teens to play. Adults can loose touch with their inner child.

[@jlastre]

I’m a bit old at 58. Recently was diagnosed with a chronic illness and become disabled. Wanted to get back into RPGs. You’re video was helpful and impressive. Back when I was starting to learn DND, and before there were any specialized items you could buy, the minimalist kit I had was graph paper, dice, pencil, eraser, rule book, and book bag. So yeh, really all you need is imagination.

[@jackielinde7568]

Hehehe... back in the day, my minimalist bag was my school backpack. At 51, can confirm getting old sucks and don't recommend people do it. Nobody ever takes my advice.

[@senpaislytherin3212]

i appreciate the advice, ill make sure to not get old (:@@jackielinde7568

[@ellinorvandentop]

As a 22 year young chronically ill first time DM I just wanted to say: We've got this!! Lots of love❤

[@stef4981]

I like your kit! Another pro tip: buy a cigar box (find one with a latch!) from a tobacco store, you can get some nice ones for like $2-$5! I personally use spray adhesive or craft glue to attach the felt, but hot glue would definitely work. I also use 2 layers of felt for that little bit extra cushion. Anyway, now you have a rolling tray that you can pack stuff into and close up! I used one that I made like this for a long time, and it's honestly still dope and all my players are jealous of it! Plus, I added a divider that's half the height so I have a spot to set my dice in it when I'm not rolling them!

[@HouseDM]

Thats a sick idea! Those old cigar boxes are so beautiful too. I bet I could find a dope one and do some wood burning art on it. Thanks for the recommendation, Ill keep an eye out.

[@stef4981]

@@HouseDM oh man that sounds super dope! I have this one where the lid lifts straight up, I think it's Amazon Basin? That could make a really nice one too haha But yeah I'm always looking for ways to make neat DND tools haha

[@Sanguivore]

Dude, that is genius! Thanks so much for the idea! :D

[@playlistaccount1842]

I use exactly this for my dice storage. I even glued some dowel rods into the lid and use those as dice shelves. Make sure to weight the bottom down a bit if you do that, though, as sometimes the dice can outweigh the box itself and it will tip. I used a bit of leather for a rolling surface and some coins to weight it.

[@RedHotCaterpillar]

Crazy coincidence for me here! I just did this earlier today with an old cigar box I found in my garage! This works great and my dice now have a nice place to roll around :)

[@rafaelbacelar1757]

A portable chess and d20 kits. Chess is great, simple and versatile. You can use the diferent pieces to sign as pc/npcs/scenario. You have the squared grid. Or can flip the board to use as a dice case (I prefer it because normally play using theater of mind).

[@HouseDM]

Hell yeah! And if you got a custom chess board with cool minis like the Lotr one, they probably look amazing too huh? Thanks for sharing Rafael!

[@connorkennedy1794]

There are really great ideas in here. Wet-erase backgammon pieces, generic dungeon corner-pieces and doors, coins to use as meta currency, colored stones for treasures/monsters/etc, fire markers, keys to represent keys, IT ALL MAKES SENSE. I need to try some of this.

[@fyr3st0rm35]

I'm still scratching my head at needing actual fire, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[@connorkennedy1794]

@@fyr3st0rm35 Fair. Maybe they play Ten Candles or Mork Borg? Or maybe they simply like candles for ambiance like some of my D&D friends.

[@christophermitchell8351]

I don't know if this counts as a minimalist kit item, but it's something I add to all my terrain builds now. Get some magnet tape and stick it to the bottom of your terrain pieces. You can get it in a pretty slim profile so it doesn't take up much space. Then you can lay down a magnetic white board and your pieces hold in place way better!

[@fangzntalonz]

That's definitely not minimalist, but it's a very cool idea.

[@RandomPuddles]

Wow, I didn’t know so many people use so many items to play dnd. I use a dm screen (if I remember to bring it), paper, a pencil and dice. Theater of the kind has always been favorite for me. Maybe I’ll have to try using miniatures some day 😁

[@ThoinFrostaxe]

I'm the same way. In the online game I ran, I had a picture to display of the setting, but I never used battlemaps or minis. I've always preferred TotM play, as it lets my players be more immersed in their imagination, vs looking minis. That being said, one of the listeners of the podcast made minis of all my player's pcs, and I adore having them on my bookshelf.

[@jackielinde7568]

Having done both Theater of the Mind and the physical stuff, I can appreciate both. But working with minis/tokens/markers/etc. It's much easier to communicate what's happening and who's where.

[@Delmworks]

The thing with minis is that the upfront cost is money and time, but during play you save a fair bit because you’re not constantly trying to remember where everything is

[@DJLMOON]

I was camping with some friends and we spontaneously decided we wanted to play around the campfire. All we had were a few d20s. I just asked everyone what class they wanted to play and started DMing. We all had a good time!

[@markuslouw3727]

Outdoor educator team for the win! My summer camp kit is soooo heavy and I love seeing how folks slim down to the essentials

[@HouseDM]

Ayyyyyye summer camp. Yea, minimalist is the way. And then you can bust out your heavy kit for the epic finale.

[@bruced648]

my minimalist GM kit: 1 - spiral bound note book 2 - pencil and eraser 3 - (truly minimalist) 2D6 or 3 - 1 set of dice ( 3D6, D4, D8, 2D10, D12 and 5D20) that's it, done, ready to play!

[@DiceTTRPG]

I used to feel I needed so many things and books with me. Learned over time that all I really do need is something similar to your own kit, along with just my Kindle.

[@HouseDM]

Yeah! Going minimalist is just so much better.

[@DiceTTRPG]

@@HouseDM One thing I am happy I did, was I bought a some bases for minis. I bought a set of each size, and just put a single drop of paint on each that was a different color. Same idea you have with your pieces, just using the bases instead.

[@daniellugo6461]

I love how much you love DMing. It makes me smile.

[@HouseDM]

Thanks Daniel! Collaborative story telling through playing games really is a passion of mine.

[@laughingpanda4395]

I'm a traveling DM and it's not easy. At all. Everything I bring fits into a large box. 1- binder for notes/side quests/oneshots 2-folder with monster statblocks for the session. 3- Tomb of annihilation book 4- 3 large see through tackleboxes for minis 5- crown royal bag of dice. 6- small note pad On top of that I also bring a large case that fits the bigger minis that do not fit into the tackleboxes. Dragons/tomb tappers/froghemoth etc. The place i play has a VTT so all the terrain I built stays there as well to avoid carrying it back and forth. Once you've played with a vtt/terrain and minis you'll never want to go back to Theater of the mind.

[@HouseDM]

Sounds challenging to be a traveling DM with all of that! I don’t own a printer so I just use my laptop and take notes on monster stat blocks in a google doc and what not. Thanks for sharing!

[@ifohancroft]

What's a VTT?

[@laughingpanda4395]

@@ifohancroft a virtual tabletop. We have a large table with a 43' tv in it for battle maps and video. We put 3d terrain on top of it for trees, houses, walls, etc. Its a really fun set up.

[@ifohancroft]

@@laughingpanda4395 Oh, that's awesome! Thanks for taking the time to clarify.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Very nice kits I like using minis and terrain I once DMed a game on the hiking trip. No dice no books no character sheets. More or less they told me what they wanted to do and I would nerrate what happened.

[@Pai262]

I gm for Call of Cthulhu (or sometimes Indie games) but I love finding inspiration in other systems. My travel kit contains a gm screen, basic rules, flowcharts and Character creation overview (in transparent covers), character sheets, pencil and eraser, my favorite set of dice, my notebook + whatever scenario I plan to run. Most of the time I also bring a small Bluetooth speaker for background music. Love to see how people get creative!

[@l.a.k]

I once ran a game with just my laptop and a single set of dice. I had eight players at the table XD but we used theatre of the mind. I also once played with skittles on a cutting mat with a centimeter grid.

[@GortarMegdor]

I’ve never played dnd but I’ve always been curious about the game. Have you thought of recording a super introductory video explaining the game mechanics in very simple terms? I.e. character creation, movement, what’s gameplay point in having a compass, how players are expected to respond to the GM’s story and so on

[@AAAAA-jm3xn]

i’ll chip in to try and answer your questions and give you an idea of what to look for on youtube to expand further;; D&D is an improvisation based tabletop RPG that allows you to create whatever character that you want, that can do whatever you want within in the loose rules of the Player’s Handbook. Character creation starts with an idea for someone you’d like to play through a story as. It’s important to talk about this with your DM, (check out some videos about a session 0!) as it’s much easier to have a satisfying story if your character fits into their world. You’ll pick a class, roll out their stats, figure out your dice roll modifiers based on those stats, and choose your gear. It’s a lot more crunchy than that, but there’s plenty of videos that make it easy. Once you’ve got a party, your DM will typically give a brief background on the world and current events, and describe a scenario in which your characters all meet. It is a game, so there should be an expectation that everyone wants to go on the adventure that the DM has outlined. The edgy lone wolf is a terrible character. This is basic table etiquette, and i’d recommend checking out Brennan Lee Mulligan’s series ‘adventuring academy’, which elaborates on pretty much every aspect of this in an amazing way. For most things, there’s no expectation or proper way to respond to a DM’s prompts. You ‘should’ act in a way that you think that your character would, based on the ideals and PC traits that you came up with during character creation. If it’s your first time playing, I’d recommend creating a PC that represents yourself, be it an idealized version of yourself, or an aspect that you’ve always wanted to explore. This can help get you out of the “its what my character would do” conundrum that new players often struggle with when getting into the role playing aspect of the game. Movement depends on what’s happening in the game. Typically as a DM i’ll describe areas that are available to the party, and they’ll agree on where they’d like to proceed, after which i’ll describe that area, etc etc. In the “open world”, it’s a bit like a text-based video game. In a dungeon crawl, each DM i’ve played with does it differently. I use dwarven forge terrain to map out dungeon rooms, describing each as the party enters. If a combat encounter breaks out, we’ll throw down some miniatures and track movement that way. This is what a compass would be useful for, as each person sitting around a table can have difficulty tracking which side is up a lot of the time. Other than spatial awareness, there’s not much practical use for having a real compass. Cheers if you read the whole thing, hopefully you were able to get some answers and/ or direction towards the right youtube videos.

[@wrensays6256]

@@AAAAA-jm3xn im so late to this but this helped me personally so much! im gonna be dming for a few of my friends and its my first time ever really playing dnd, so knowing even the barebones basics as youve laid them out helps a LOT

[@AAAAA-jm3xn]

@@wrensays6256cheers glad i could help! wishing you luck on your DM journey 🔮

[@bunnyniyori5209]

You can tell you enjoy being the DM. Players have all the inevitable player gear, but the DM is the one that needs to have it 'all together' for running a fun game.

[@TrueBrewDesign]

Love the compass idea! So simple but adds so much info for players!

[@dothvarter]

I like the idea of cloth maps over paper so they don't tear as easy and roll up much more compact. Can easily make your own with heat transfer paper and a laser printer.

[@eskurian8565]

Minimal kit: a sheet of paper, a pen and one set of dice. Works fine. If you have a combat coming up and play a system that works with positioning a lot, like D&D, then also: hex or grid map, white board marker black&blue and a handful of coins or glass pebbles as markers. I have some old Dutch coins (before we got the Euro) I use as in game currency or markers sometimes. Has a nice feel to it. (-:

[@UnknownJorge]

Oh man, this is super inspirational to see, thank you for sharing!

[@naconisteele9352]

My D&D CLAN plays at my home so I don't have kits like you do, but I do use the, "educator" approach when I run my Campaign. I stand up and walk around while my players sit. I'm the second generation of Dungeons&Dragons players in my family so I have access to lead figures and I have a battle grid similar to yours. Great Job, I love seeing other Dungeon Master tools.

[@cad323]

I just started DM'ing about 1 month ago and came across this today, I'm soooo glad I did, I love all the kits because my players have been wanting visuals for gauging distances between them and the creatures they are fighting and you have just given me TONS of inspiration!!!! Thank you sooo much!!!!

[@hamishbuchanan2334]

Awesome video! Love the outdoor Ed kit! Man, what a role model you must have been from the kids. As someone who has just finished highschool (now a DM myself) I'm super greatful to the teach that introduced me. Made me acknowledge a creative side that I didn't before.

[@lukelcs8934]

I just drew a bunch of rooms on some spare pieces of paper. This weekend I'm continuing the campaign, and going to do my first real dungeon. I made a bunch of really basic room outlines in gimp (basically free photoshop) and am going to print them up. I drew some icons for various objects that I'm going to print up and cut out, so I can put them in rooms and in battle spaces as I like. I'm also getting a better and better idea of what sort of maps you actually need to run a campaign (you only need enough visual information to tell players where they are in a battle space, you can describe the rest) Since I'm still pretty new. Over all though, I'm really happy with what I'm putting together, and excited to watch it go completely to plan. 😁👍 (ok but my dad is super cooperative, I literally told him "there's a cross in the roads and a sign that says : nothing this way, something this way but check it out later, and 'Far Reach'. And HE WENT TO FAR REACH) I plan on trying to suggest multiple places he could go with rough ideas of what might happen there so that it'll be much less scripted from here on out, and I'm excited to see how that goes.

[@Sanguivore]

I’m looking to pare down my setup quite a bit, so the idea of minimalist kits gets me really excited. Thanks for the inspiration! :D

[@christenh359]

Yes! I’m using flat marbles for enemies too! Glad to see someone else using non-fancy stuff.

[@SSJ4Brohan]

Thank you for sharing. Loved your setup! 😎

[@kilo35jw]

Your vid popped up as a recommended. Always happy to see how other DMs run their kit, especially minimalist!

[@HouseDM]

Hey Phoenix! Glad to have you onboard!

[@redrocker109]

This is so very helpful, I've been playing for years, and finally getting into DMing thank you!

[@Bantregu]

Loved this video. It took me a lot to go minimalistic in an agile way and now my entire kit finally fits an A5 format: - No rulebooks (got a custom made OSR system that fits 1 page, still couldn't bother to flip even when playing 5e, Vampire, etc) - Folding GM screen = 4x A5 pages (PCs, NPCs, Campaign Fronts, Rand tables and names) - 4x A5 battle mat (paizo cut) - A5 GM binder divided in sections (Current quest max 4xA5 pages each, campaign ideas, filed quests, development/work in progress) - Flat basic tokens - Stack of 3x5 - 12-15 high contrast dice - pencil, whiteboard markers, eraser, microfiber sheet All fits in the binder and doesn't need a dedicated bag

[@HouseDM]

Awesome! And yeah, who needs rulebooks anyways?

[@seanfsmith]

hey don't spose there's a way I could take a look at that one page OSR system eh

[@tenchraven]

My minimalist kit fits in a sandwich container. 3 11-piece sets, plus two pairs of percentiles and 8d6. I do d20, Shadowrun, GURPS and occasionally WOD, so that gives me everything I need. Directional dice, compass and relative ("You crited your perception check in the middle of nowhere. You hear shrieking, like someone is being skinned alive. Where? Roll the die for me... And that screaming is under you. Under the grass. Or maybe it is the grass.") 8 standee bases cut from wine corks, and a packet of blanks. A half roll of pennies for markers. Pen, pencil, eraser, and markers (Shortie dry erase and sharpie in red and black, shorty highlighter, and black wet erase). Sewing tape measure, to measure movement and range w/ mapless play. A pad of small postits. A few rubber bands hold a notepad to the top along with several pieces of salvaged clamshell packaging cut to size- you can write on them with any of the pens, and even Sharpie comes off with the white eraser. Microminimalist, altoids tin. 1 set of dice, plus 3d6. 2 corks, a bundle of blanks. Little nub of eraser. Always carry a pen, sharpie and pencil. One lives in my car, another in the overnight bag which lives in my closet prepacked. Big kit.... The minimalist kit, box and all, goes in an ammo can. Water tight, nigh on indestructible. More dice and markers and standees are already pack in there. Figures as applicable. Supplemented with a clipboard for character sheets, and the operational information for every weapon, spell, vehicle, etc for that character so I don't need to drag around books for reference. Everything goes in sheet protectors so I can use all the markers. If I'm playing, not running, this is what I bring if I don't have space or mass premium Full kit.... Is a tool box with wheels. 20 sets of polyhedrons, half a dozen lose d20s, 2 10d10 sets, and about 100 12mm d6s. Folding dice tower, a couple of wooden blocks that turn clipboards into a GM screen. Sharpies, wet and dry erase markers, each in red, green, blue and two blacks. Highlighters. Erasers. Pens and pencils and spare leads and a telescoping pointer. Tape measure. Index cards and posits. Clipboards with notes, reference binders, note books, core books, and I have photo albums of 4x6 cards for generic NPCs and critters, and to hold standees both NPC and terrain. Corks for the standees. Tokens of various types. Lego minifigures and their props, any small documents and maps I've printed. A roll of tape plus thumb tacks and wall putty. I strap PVC tubes the top that hold dry erase sheets (laminated 17x22 sheets), game mats and larger drawings, along with a folding tripod as needed. It gets reconfigured for specific games I'm running. If I'm going to a con, I'll stack another locking box or two on top of the first. Weather proof and impact resistant and it lets me find anything in under 30 seconds. Full kit means full kit.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I love watching this video again and again. Brilliant.

[@HouseDM]

Thanks Professor. I love that you enjoy this video 🍻

[@sannfdev]

I love how kitbashed everything is. Perfect D&D vibes!

[@HouseDM]

Haha thanks! The kit evolves on the regular too. Things I find myself not using get removed for things I do use 🤘🏼

[@emmakrszjzaniek7312]

Love your simple tokens! My D&D group always used dice for miniatures - whichever die was least likely to get used by a player (normally d12) would represent their character to make it easier to keep track of who was where and enemies were from a big set of single color dice our DM had.

[@TheKOHunterTri]

I got a small chest from hobby lobby that turned out the be exactly the right size. I 3d printed a spacer to section it off into 3 parts, a thin section to put 3 small booklets where I keep all my dm notes, a section my all my dice, and a section to keep minis in. The lid of the heat is just deep enough to slip my dice tray in and have a few pens/pencils slotted into my spacer. The lid works well for a staging ground for minis I’m going to use soon when open

[@raymondwilliams379]

Bulk green and red d6s are a lifesaver. Especially if you get different sizes. I love big combats and seeing what size, type(num facing up) and quickly whether its a friend or foe is SO sick

[@andymurray8620]

I really dig the minimalist kit. I see a lot of KZbin D&D with super fancy over the top stuff, which can be cool - but sometimes I think it sends the message to people that you need lots of "stuff" to play D&D. When I DM'd the most back in college (late 90s/early 00s), I had a bunch of dice and a DM screen, and my books (and notebooks full of stuff). When we played, the *only* thing I used was a graph paper notepad and some pencils. And we would go for super long sessions and campaigns and never feel like we were missing anything without the miniatures etc.

[@HouseDM]

Totally agree. The "stuff" can be fun to enhance the game, but totally not necessary. More often than not lately, I find myself gravitating back towards simplicity.

[@goatnerd]

As someone who may be starting a D&D club for teens at the library (And does NOT have much money), I think that first kit may be perfect for me, thanks for the tips and the vid!

[@blackrabbit6858]

Glad I found the channel. I DM for a school club. My backpack with 1 DMG, 3 PHB, MM, and now the Multi verse book. My dice. I give all my kids their own set. For minis we use wooded boardgame tokens from craft store.

[@StreetShots79]

This is the first video of yours that I've watched. Dude, I love how you have built a little set behind you. Thats awesome.

[@HouseDM]

Hey thanks! It changes from video to video depending on which crafts I am working on/finishing. Welcome to the channel! Glad to have you!

[@alfienice3636]

I love the idea of burning your character sheet as a dramatic send off like a funeral pyre

[@HouseDM]

This is the way.

[@carlybelliveau4775]

I was interested in this video already but then you really closed the deal with being an outdoor educator, birds are indeed tight

[@robbywings]

I squeeze a lot of stuff into my minimalist DM's kit - and it all fits into a small messenger bag. - I've got one of those corner-pinch folding dice boxes - A custom mini DM's screen with 3x A5 panels I can swap out with new content when I want. - An A5 card folder from MagicTG I believe, it holds 112 monster cards & is less than 1 inch thick, also has a sick dragon on the cover. - A deck of 52 custom playing cards I designed, which are 2x6 dungeon tiles, double-sided plastic with walls, door, treasure, traps, etc. - My coup-de-gras is a small tackle box (4.5 x 7.5 x 1in) where I have a bunch of dice and a lot of small Lego monsters and 72 Lego microfig mini's of various human-type folk, monsters and misc. - I also have a small pencil case with various pencils/pens - And lastly an A5 binder organizer which I put a lot of campaign notes into, but also have a couple of plastic sleeves filled with a bunch of 2D hand-drawn terrain. - The newest addition to my DM's kit is a scroll case I made from a strip of chessex mat rolled over a small cardboard tube, the awesome thing is I have plugs for the tube so I can store other rolled up paper, scrolls or spare pens inside this as well. Also while technically not part of my DM's kit, these are also in my bag; a small med kit and a swiss army knife.

[@HouseDM]

Those dungeon cards you are referring to sound awesome! What a great low key idea for building a dungeon on the fly. And you designed them yourself? Brilliant. Thanks for sharing!

[@origaminosferatu3357]

This is super cool. As a long time player and also teacher who's thinking of introducing kids I teach to this kind of stuff I love the idea of a minimalist set that I can just pack up and carry with me. So cool.

[@HouseDM]

This is the way. Glad this video helped you!

[@rishsamonina2695]

Go-to kit: iPad, huge bag of dice, A4 folder with sheets and maps, pencil case, candy for minies. You kill it - you eat it. :D

[@pricklyboyangel7903]

Both those sets were fantastic I'm new to d&d so I learned a lot just watching this right now so thank you from the inspiration

[@HouseDM]

Of course! I’m glad this video was helpful to you and best of luck with running your own games!

[@foomples]

I have an extremely simple kit, mostly because I am working on a student budget and my players have a great imagination. I use a small zip-up laptop bag (one of those freebie ones you get from work or conventions) to hold everything in place. I bought a 4 pack of those collapsible dice trays with the snap buttons to assemble them and my players like them a lot. I have a small laminated grid dry erase sheet that fits in my folder with my extra player sheets and quick reference rulebook. I have a basic cardboard screen, notebook, and writing utensils, plus my bag of dice with extras in case anyone forgot theirs. The last thing I have are those cards you get in the D&D 5th ed starter kit with conditions and initiative order. I thought those would be kind of a throw away item, but my party and I love using them. My whole kit as of right now fits in that small bag and only weighs a couple pounds. I may have to find some of those marbles you had in the vid, they are a great idea as budget minis.

[@David-su4is]

I still prefer theater of the mind, so my DM kit is dice campaign notes, and maybe a DM screen. Some scratch paper if I need to draw something quick for clarification.

[@HouseDM]

Theater of the mind is such a great tool and a wonderful exercise on collaboration with your players. You have a “true minimalist” kit.

[@David-su4is]

@@HouseDM 🤣 cheap and old school. Our (my?) First group had one set of rules and one set of dice, all owned by the DM.

[@MonikerMonkey]

I have two bags of stuff and I love it. I can't imagine going minimalist unless its because im going somewhere and playing dnd. I have my laptop, my tablet, fold-able battle map, dry erase markers, dice box, flash card box of prepared magic items to give. I have two bags because sometimes I use props! Like a plague doctors mask to to establish well, a plague doctor XD

[@crisrody852]

My kit = - Notebook (computer), light, easy to travel with, can carry all the info I'll ever need. - One or two A3 paper sheets with the dungeon maps literally printed on; way easier than making a battle map, I just print a dungeon map and put it on the table. - A small box for roling my dice and the dice I'll use. - A bluetooth speaker, while I could just use the sound from the notebook, having a separate speaker makes things much nicer, while also helping to preserve the notebook battery and never needing to go on cables. - A few printed minis, paper minis are extremelly helpful, easy to use, and I feel no guilt when destroying one since it takes 15minutes to get a new one. I can carry everything in a small backpack + a map tube, it usually will have space for me to bring a soda and a few snacks as well inside it.

[@DesmondZhou]

Glittering gold, trinkets and baubles, paid for in blood.

[@Lumautis]

Hey first time here. This is awesome! I have been a player for years and beginning to take some interest in DMing. I love seeing how you package things and have great universal terrain options. I think this may have been the video that has finally inspired me to get started.

[@HouseDM]

Hey Lumautis! I’m stoked for you! Being a DM can be a lot of work but hopefully my videos inspire you and help it not feel that way. Cheers and thanks for watching!

[@addis1004]

This brought back memories of my childhood. The white tokens in your minimalist kit are a brilliant idea!

[@HouseDM]

Thank you Addis! Glad you think so.

[@Rinaldic]

I started DMing like 10 years ago, with only 2 dice sets for the whole group, some paper an the Dnd sheets, it was a mess, bua we had a great time! Then after some time, I started playing only online, and now i'm returning to a presencial one shot, and i'm making my maps on dungeon alchemist, and printing them, I hope it will work well! Nice video, and thanks for the ideas

[@rathorrath401]

I'm about to use the UDT or ultimate dungeon terrain by Dungeon Craft. Seems like a great way to travel and DM

[@HouseDM]

Awesome! It’s super nice to use that board when traveling. Hope your session goes well with it!

[@lazerbeams2536]

My in person kit is currently a vinyl mat, a handful of markers, an eraser, a spray bottle (so I don't need to spit on the eraser to wet it), my laptop and a big pile of dice. I've only used it once because it didn't come in time for the other in person session but most of my players have ADHD and it really helped them focus

[@HOLYdEYEver]

hey so like you just popped up in my recommended videos. first impression. love you bro. subscribed.

[@whiskeygamesnerdstuff789]

Love the idea of having 2 different kits, I do something similar.

[@ShonicBurn]

minimalist dungeon master kit is 2 sets of mini dice. some paper miniatures I made, printed off 8.5x11 paper maps a Sharpe and a pencil and pen kit. It's smaller and does more then both these kit's so i'm kinda proud of that.

[@TheMemo659]

DMG, PH, MM, a DM screen, several notebooks (one for each campaign), mechanical pencils/pens and a big bag of dice all stuffed into a cloth shopping bag. Bag leans against the wall next to my desk, ready to go at any time. I have been using excess dice instead of figures on the table for as long as I can remember. Who needs a complicated battle map? "OK, this glass is the tower. This piece of paper is the lake...." I even use the upward facing pips to represent the enemy's apparent health state (will roll the pip on a 6 sided to a 3 at about half health to indicate a bloodied opponent). Not to say I am unimpressed with elaborate table top set ups, but I've never felt the need myself. Theater of the mind only needs a little help to track who is where in a round of combat.

[@oKingLexx]

I love both your kits. My forever DM kit consists of my laptop, a ton of index cards, 2x4' dry erase board. Full set dry erase makers. Monster manual, players handbook. Pencils and notebooks. Old game tokes and colored stones. Other then the dry erase board, books, laptop. All stuff from the dollar store. I could dm a whole series from the boards, index cards and books.

[@squirrel_82]

Jeremy is the man! Love his videos and this video too.

[@HouseDM]

Tyty

[@Thats_Griffin]

I find using a nice tackle box for dice storage to be very easy and organized :] (one with removable walls to customize!)

[@minedark597]

My friend group's current DnD setup is aseprite for the board, character sheets made in excel, a discord bot that generates us dice rolls, and a lot of troubleshooting. We're all broke students in different towns and such, so this way we can all still play. and it's been a blast so far!

[@dogboyautism]

We used to use chess pieces, quarter machine toys, and these Minecraft blind-box things for minis, whatever worked really. Used to put that all in an old tupperware too, now we use some actual minis but we still store it in a dome shaped cake cover :D We've departed a bit from a lot of the lower cost solutions (still use a dry-erase battle map tho) but I still remember it all so fondly. I still use minimalist/low budget options like using the plastic tops of glasses cleaner to show height, and Model Magic + craft wire to make minis. Probably my favorite mini I've got is a purple worm I made from toilet paper rolls and that clay lol

[@saravelasco5807]

Pencil, paper, dice, phone (obviously), minis, index cards, a simple grid map (at least 20 in x 20 in seems to work for me), and a hard flat surface of some sort. That’s my go-to list at least. Personally, I also like throwing in speakers, minimum one binder of notes (preferably the one associated with the campaign), something to use as a dice tray, water or soda (bottled to minimize spills), and some comfort items. (warm blankets, a stuffed companion, a stress ball or toy, or a couple of pillows to lie against - helps the anxiety sometimes.)

[@chillbluesnake7085]

This is the most helpful D&D related video i've seen so far

[@HouseDM]

Thank you! Glad to hear it.

[@chillbluesnake7085]

@@HouseDM You're welcome :) I always love to create support system for my campaign, maps, tokens, but I tend to overdo and accumulate overspecific accessories and projects, and it's not feasible. This is a very smart way to level up your campaign or single-session experience without losing the freedom to create different scenarios. I'm gonna search the shops for this generic trinkets, and probably buy the vynil map for infinite possibilities :)

[@vikiai4241]

Using a test-equipment bag (your second kit)! I have dozens of these floating around at work and never realised, but they are a perfect size!

[@jackielinde7568]

Sadly, I don't have a minimalist DM Kit. Do love the Sterlite snap on boxes. I have two sets where one has a pull out divider (so instant dice tray). I use them for glass beads of different colors, plastic boxes for stuff (including flying) and also the pencils/notepads/erasers/etc. (You know, the player forgot their X again.) and a pair of reading glasses. (Getting old sucks. Don't do it.) I also bought two pounds of Chessex's "Pound o'" crap dice in a plastic tub for "forgetful players". (The job of the DM Parent never ends.) I also have a catalog case for the rulebooks, my campaign notes, extra notebook, etc. But that'll get replaced when I can afford a laptop. (Building a new gaming rig at home, plus daughter in college. Laptop is going to be a while.)

[@chechema1010]

I had one GM who made battle maps by: cutting gift wrapper with gridded backside into four A4's size and plastic laminated it. its very convenient if we have a small table (we used to play in coffee shops). no curly maps!

[@spookwoop1295]

When I started off all I really needed/used was a few sets of dice and a chessboard with Chess and Checkers pieces. I also later grabbed a few Jenga pieces to give more layout to places. Later I bought a more proper board that I could draw things on. So I guess my basic kit would be a large bag with a bunch of different dicesets, a small cardboard box with the playing mat, whiteboard markers and small book with basic rules, and a I'd probably take a Chess/Checkers set along with me as well. Pretty much fits all into my bag, together with my laptop. Sadly I don't get to play D&D much in person, but fortunately I can play it online.

[@KabukiKid]

The inclusion of the Zippo honestly cracked me up! lol :-D That is hysterical!

[@HouseDM]

Glad you enjoyed that piece.

[@tomasstibrany5320]

I bought some 2minutetabletop assets with trees, plants, rocks, walls, tents, etc. I print them in color, glue them on thin cardboard and cut them out. I carry them in an envelope. I throw these tokens on the pathfinder flip mat and voila. The whole map setup, with many many tokens to choose from, has the size of a small notebook and the resulting maps look very good. Definitely way better than anything that I could draw on the spot with a marker. There are two downsides: 1. The tokens are not very durable. However, they are pretty cheap to make and once you get the hang of it, also pretty fast. 2. They don't stick to the mat, so you have to be a bit careful around the map after you set it. It's not an issue for my group, but it may be different for yours.

[@Sp33dyD4v3]

Hi so Im late to this video but Id like to say as a brand new DM my party almost always plays from the mind but I have worked and used my drawing paper to make a sort of grid for my players to use from now on. We roll dies and the like online as its easier with the distance between us. Back to the grid. I made sure to draw each square inch to inch keeping everything consistent and plan on lamination for the piece, also I drew out 4 of these and connected them all and I plan on using it countless years from now. Hope this inspires someone new and to do the same! Happy Questing!

[@asafoetidajones8181]

I have four "sets". At home I have hundreds of minis, dozens of homemade terrain pieces, about 10 square feet of foam gridded battlemats (everything 1.5" ala wyloch), a 5×8 bookcase full of TTRPGs including every edition but OD&D & 4e, candles & wax warmers, sand timer, dice trays, counters, condition rings, initiative indicator, ammo counter, mdf HP counters, laser pointer, preprinted handouts, colored lighting, a laptop, speakers, dozens of handpainted posterboard sized maps both grid scale and overview, a box of props full of knives, jewelry, knickknacks and full size prop weapons. But not a dice tower; I'm not prone to excess or anything. My backpack kit, for when I don't host, is just the AD&D 2e PHB, DMG, MM and the complete fighters and thief splatbooks, a single set of dice, a sand timer, a laser pointer, 3 ring with campaign info, and laminated blank grid, wet erase markers, and glass bead tokens. I bring the minis and terrain in plastic document boxes, held together with a belt for a strap like an Edwardian schoolboy. Also a Bluetooth numberpad for remotely triggering sound fx without having to be sitting down looking at the computer. Although once I leaned on a table with it in my hoodie pocket and a ghost moaned when it wasn't supposed to. My players were like wtf was that and I couldn't spin it I had to just cop that it was a mistake. I use this set often. My kit for when I just play and don't DM is a little purse with folded up character sheet, small plastic box with pluck foam holding one mini, one dice set, and some pencils and paper. Of course I've never actually been a player since I made it. Crying emoji My ultralight DM kit is a fabric pencil pouch with mini dice set (10mm iirc), cotton duck battlemat, custom painted with a 3/4" grid, one grey speckle side, one green side. The tokens are 3/4" mini poker/bingo chips, handpainted with monster & NPC portraits. Larger monsters are punched from card. Terrain is painted cardstock strips, cut into grid compatible shapes to loosely represent walls, pits, objects on the battlefield etc. They look like tetris pieces basically. Just black, grey, brown shapes. Some stubby pencils and 3x5 cards. It weighs basically nothing, is almost entirely flexible, and has little bulk. I've also never used this one, because I'm either hosting or using the backpack. My crazy idea is that I will carry it daily and somehow somewhere a game is going to break out spontaneously in public. I would run this with OSE or something I guess.

[@Sturmjager]

As a TTRPG fan and and EDC enthusiast, this was the perfect intersection of those two interests.

[@HouseDM]

This makes me so happy to hear! I’m also a big EDC enthusiast/exgearhead so that’s kinda what I was going for. Cheers!

[@profsusansatsumas]

that's interesting to see your analog stuff! I find it much easier and cheaper to go digital with all but my dice, but i really admire how cool all of this looks!

[@McCheese-xc9ig]

A little tip for GMs both on the go and at home: invest in 3x5 cars and manila envelopes. What I do is I take a bunch of 3x5 cards, and on them I'll write out all the stat blocks, the map layout, loot table, notes, pre-rolled initiative, and all the other extraneous info I need for said encounter. Then I'll place them inside of a little manila envelope along with whatever minis I'm using for said encounter. I'll make a bunch, and then stick them in a collapsible folder along with a bunch of maps I drew. All of the maps are number and color coded, so I can easily jot down which map to use for which encounter on a 3x5 card, and the maps are modular enough to be used as a small map, or put together for a bigger map, or strung out in order to make a big dungeon. So when an encounter breaks out, wither a room in a dungeon, a random encounter on the trail or even a spontaneous bar fight, all I do is grab the envelope, lay the cards out behind my screen, grab the map and layout the minis. I'm usually done before the players are even finished rolling intuitive. It's fast, it's hassle free, it's easy to carry around, and best of all, it's cheap.

[@raremage]

I love the backgammon chip trick!

[@HouseDM]

Just used em’ this past weekend 🤘🏼

[@solomonkane1712]

I’m glad this popped up on my feed. I’m going on vacation with some friends new to TRRPGs & I want to run EZD6.

[@HouseDM]

Do it!! Can’t wait to give EZD6 a try. It’s on the list!

[@ballistickitten2163]

Me, with a Swiss Army backpack I've had for 6 years, carrying 4 different 5e books, and a massive book for another system, a legal pad, a folder for character sheets, several adventures, my leather dice tray and DM screen, a pack of pencils, two calculators and a mini speaker, and a random cloak I haven't taken out of my bag in years 🧍

[@stematart1327]

As someone who loves to run impromptu oneshots and is going to run a campaign on the road in a few months-- I needed this😂 thank you! I love your kits❤

[@HouseDM]

Awesome! That’s so great and I love traveling GM’s. Best of luck in your quest!

[@fakehunterasdf6368]

I really liked the backgammon pieces thanks!

[@HouseDM]

Hey glad I could help!

[@noxxcelious8588]

My kit overall is; a pencil, eraser, Index cards, a coin, and extra dice. I used to break out my Legos in high school but it's been a while since I've used a battle-map or tokens.

[@helixex]

I use the same kinda of grid map with markers, 3d print minis and terrain, we use dicecloud for character sheets, we have a 3d printed dice roller, and the whole group brings their own dice

[@sidarahighwind527]

I'll say one godsend to have as a dm is some sort of tablet with a pen, an Ipad or samsung tablet. Its so incredibly useful for writing down notes, keeping things organized, even having digital copies of books is incredibly nice. Plus, keeping a bluetooth speaker with you so you can play music through it all in one go. Plus its something I almost always have on me when I go to hang out with friends, so if they have company over and wanna try a short one shot, I have almost every resource just on that alone.

[@djdrew11]

I would recommend, if you have 3D printer access, printing modular tiles! Preferably ones that don't need magnets, but those are fine as well. If you want what I use, look into the Z-Axis Optimizes Domain (abbreviated as ZOD), or the OpenLOCK series of tiles. I personally like ZOD, but both are nice.

[@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff]

My DM travel set: Dice bag, some tokens and the like, dm screen, tablet/pad, a bunch of different color pencils and a block of flip over paper. The flip over paper has a blank side and a side with inch squares. It's stored in a cylinder with a shoulder strap, so it's easy to take with me. I'm looking into making a smaller cylinder to go inside the rolled paper and use that for the pencils, dice, tokens and maybe a small bluetooth speaker. And since you don't really need a DM screen I'll just have to bring the cylinder and my phone to have all I need.

[@michaelistoma8356]

My god this looks amaing and so stylish. I love it!

[@HouseDM]

Thanks!

[@goofywibble]

Most of my sessions are in my own home, but I don't like accidently losing stuff, so I just keep some basic dice, beginner D&D books (I'm relatively new to D&D), my laptop + charger, a sketchbook, and a printed map of the general world. I'm trying to see if I can get some minis started, so this video was a good motivation.

[@douglasreid699]

i dungeon mastered once for me and my wife as i really wanted to paly dnd and the campaign we play in was on holiday for a few weeks. we used crafting cardboard and bluetac to make minis, drew some goblins and drew some characters. for the map, a big drawing pad we had in the cupboard, drew some outlines, i had a warhammer messuring stick to guage movement. for when i go to play dnd in real life (we online based most of the time as live far apart) i take my tablet, i have made a stand for it out of plywood. i also have a 4meter long usb charging cable, so i could walk about the room with it on charge . end of the day you dont need much to play the game. i am hoping to have my own garage/workshop in near future, i have seen some of the cool ideas wyrmwood have made like their dm screen with magnets in it to join it, i reckon i can make my own not to there quality standards but something i can be proud of and get a wow factor from.

[@GeneBrodeJr]

Finally some inspiration for all the worthless coins and random bits & bobs I've stashed in various places for the past 30 years haha.

[@HouseDM]

Hell yeah. Bonus points if your storage container looks like a treasure chest 😉

[@xa1a]

Running a session with kids at the school I work at as well. We started using chess pieces, as a lot of my kiddos have developmental disorders and its easy in the heat of the moment to get over excited and a piece gets lost! I like the Backgammon idea though, and will give it a shot! Thank you!