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This four panel screen is smaller in terms of height than some older game screens but should still be just as effective at hiding die rolls and notes. The material is a sturdy cardboard with a good weight to it, not as thick as the current World of Darkness screens but still having enough heft that it can take some punishment.
The product also comes with a full color poster map of Khorvaire. This is a wonderful addition and very helpful, especially when hung on a wall or spread out over the table for the PCs to decide where to go next. In play I found the large map to be a useful tool and will definitely use it in future games. My only regret is that the map only covers Khorvaire – I would have preferred a world map, but I suspect most consumers will get far more use out of this one.
Under the Cover
A lot of helpful charts are presented in order to speed up game play. As far as I can tell only one of these charts is incorrect or otherwise missing information. House Jorasco (the Halfling house focused on healing and hospitals) is missing from the Dragonmarks table, which seems to be an unfortunate oversight. A few pen marks can fix the problem with ease, but it is a mild irritant.This is the only official D&D 3.5 screen, so I’m going to separate the charts into those generally useful for everyone and those only useful for folk playing in Eberron.
Generally useful for any D&D game: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points, Substance Hardness and Hit Points, DCs to Break or Burst Items, Items Affected by Magical Attacks, Size and Armor Class of Objects, Object Hardness and Hit Points, Walls (break DC, hit points, etc), Doors (break DC, thickness, etc), Turning Undead, Influencing NPC Attitudes, Attack Roll Modifiers (dazed, invisible, etc), Armor Class Modifiers (grappling, prone, etc), Climb Check DCs, Listen Check DCs, Actions (free, move, or standard required for different tasks, does it provoke an AoO), Concentration Check DCs, Skills (trained/untrained, AoO), Movement and Distance, Maximum Distance for Spot Checks, Light Sources and Illumination, Detect Magic, Detect Evil, and Hampered/Armored Movement.
Specific to Eberron: Dragonmarks (race, house, influence), Months of the Year, Days of the Week. That’s it, they don’t even take up half of one panel.
In play I found the product to be very useful. The Dragonmarks chart was helpful when I couldn’t remember the name of a certain House, though the Months of the Year were a little too uncommon of a reference to be useful (plus I make my own calendars for the campaigns). The rules references largely aren’t needed every moment of the game, but things like Hardness and status conditions are much easier to deal with thanks to the screen.
My Take
There are only two things I wish were different with this screen. First, I wish the error involving House Jorasco being left off the Dragonmarked list hadn’t happened. Second, I wish How to Start a Grapple was a table. I have it down cold, but I often meet players and GMs who are unclear on the grapple rules and have to refer to the PHB. It would have been a nice inclusion over, say, the Eberron months of the year.Otherwise this is a wonderful product both for newer players and veterans. The Eberron functionality is minor (but nice for Eberron players) and doesn’t interfere with this being an excellent investment for any Dungeon Master. I will continue to use it in my future campaigns and look forward to less mid-combat page flipping than I used to have.
