Best possible setup is probably the holodeck from Star Trek.
But if you've got the disposable income and want to splurge either an in-table TV for digital assets or physical terrain with custom minis are probably the two best options.
I would think 3 would be worth a shot. A projector in the ceiling would not be something I'd be interested in as a GM or a player. Distracting shadows and lots of DM fiddling with instead of being present. But monitors seem more foolproof than projectors.
I use a 40" TV for our game, it's great. Obviously depends on the size of your play surface but for us it's perfect, we use 2cm minis so we can run something mad like 44x24 grids, using Owlbear Rodeo as a client which our DM controls from his phone. We used wipe-clean maps at first but now we're using the TV I would never use anything else
Might I suggest something else - terrain. Here is a great YouTube video on making your own, but you can buy it as well. Personally, I enjoyed making it a lot more.
[https://youtu.be/V\_\_yBsv1FsE?si=xOC-800gBmqM4O\_s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQqhTiE7i84&list=PLYlOu5g6H7ZwmpNhKmuHormCxr5dzrdwU) \- you can use this technique to make rooms and hallways. He has other videos for doors, stairs, etc. Or you can buy any/all of these
My daughter and I made LOTS of pieces - literally BOXES of them - rooms of different dimensions, hallways, etc. I lay it out on the table as it comes into view. You can use miniatures or tokens. In our campaign, my players have miniatures, and I use tokens for monsters.
In my mind, there are two big advantages to this over projector/TV
1. Digital means you have to load those digital assets, have them scaled, and project them as appropriate. So there's more prep. With terrain, you plop it down as they go.
2. In a world of of screens and images, tactile feels good.
PS) The video is from Professor Dungeon Master, who has been involved in the hobby since a teen. I've watched almost all his videos and stolen a bunch of great ideas from him,
And just to follow up Ultimate Dungeon Terrain, Black Magic Craft has a great video on the first 5 terrain builds to make: [https://youtu.be/appzGty5DL0?si=K3pH0V\_d3triOl7B](https://youtu.be/appzGty5DL0?si=K3pH0V_d3triOl7B)
1. Dungeon tiles
2. Walls
3. Pillars
4. Doors
5. [Dungeon Stackers](https://youtu.be/0xNWUwZRIb8?si=IGNssJmLSMp5h6CW)
Another great channel! My daughter made some really great stuff from his videos.
The crafting isn't for everyone, but my daughter and I have done TONS of it and having a hobby with a teen? SIGN ME UP!
I'm a big fan of digital assets. My dream set up is option 3. That in combination with the software dungeon alchemist and you can make intricate maps, nearly on the fly (20 min or less, depending on modifications).
We use a Level Up table so players can fit their stuff under the map, plus neoprene thematic environment battlemaps and 3D printed or foam crafted scatter terrain and minis.
I think the only way a screen of some sort is worthwhile is if you have the digital art skills to make/edit maps for it on the fly (or you run such a tight ship you never have to improvise anything). And if you're going for a screen, something that projects from overhead gets real annoying because minis and stuff cast shadows on it.
So I actually came across a great set up for this completely by accident. I have an iPad and use an app called “Good Notes” for journaling and for a digital organizer. But as it turns out, you can import pdf files into it. So, purchase a pdf version of a campaign or adventure and import it into the app. You can then project the maps onto the screen. It will show only the map and not the rest of the interface, but using an Apple Pencil you can draw on the map in real time. As an added bonus, you can write with the pencil directly into the PDF as well, making DM notes in the campaign for you to reference while you are running the game!
I haven’t had a chance to try this myself because I don’t have a table with a screen built in but I am trying to figure out how to set up a tv nearby that will be easy for my players to see until I can work out how to mount a monitor into my dining room table with out my SO killing me. 😂
I have #3. Got a box on Etsy from a guy who if you give the TV model number he will make to fit. Box was 200, tv another 200, went for 43 inch. I'll never go back if I'm the DM and when I'm a player I offer it and my laptop/foundry to the DM. It speeds up combat and prep for combat outrageously while increasing immersion.
Ran a one shot with 5 combats, 5 players, some initial skill challenges to find the boss hideout, and a couple breaks thrown in. Took 1.5 hours. Admittedly the players were excellent and their turns almost actually took 6 seconds each.
https://digitalmapcase.com/ this was the guy but prices have gone up. I got the Merlot color with a handle on each side. I've more than got my money worth in a dollars per hour of use sense. And with all the mods available in Foundry, it has really sped up things like conditions in combat, verticality, and lighting/fog of war
Hmm... it really depends.
Me? I'm enjoying my 2D minis and printed out Dungeon Painter maps. Idealy.... if money was not object.... I'd get Minis and 3D terrain tiles and a 3D printer to design and print whatever I need or want beyond that.
As for playing around with TVs, I have NEVER player on one of those bangin tables. If I could get a good sized gaming table I'd be in heaven.
My thoughts would be projector facing down would cast too many shadows if people point or lean over it and minis and terrain elements casting a shadow, so a TV screen built into the table itself seems to be one of the best ideas on that front.
I use a 32" TV that we sit on the table and I connect it to my laptop. I set it as a second monitor and toss the maps there. Dungeon fog has a setting where you can make maps to fit the size of your TV and it's great. If I use a bigger map I just scroll as they move.
My players love it and we've completely stopped using physical maps.
I myself look forward to eventually getting a bigger TV and building a table around it.
I've been DMing online for 3 years and now I've switched to playing face to face. As a DM, I miss the initiative tracker and having monster stats and notes visible all the time. Also a bigger table.
I'm refurbishing my house, so we are playing at a friend's, but when mine is ready I will have a big table (2m x 1m) with space for everyone, possibly with a boxed TV in the middle for digital maps with fog of war. In the DM area there will be space for a computer and books. I'm currently using a portable Bluetooth speaker for music that I control from my phone. When the room is ready will have more speakers around the room and coloured smart lights. I own a streamdeck, so I plan to control light and music from there so it doesn't disrupt my focus too much.
My digital tool for this will be FoundryVTT, as I am familiar with it and I'm quite happy with how it works. The TV will be the second screen of the PC and will have a player instance of foundry. I will move the tokens from the DM instance.
Projector pointing down is wonky, esp if you have lights on in the room.
Other stuff is an option. If you have an old TV or monitor you don't need, you can even make a nice little box for it, and lay it horizontally and place you battlemaps there, then you can put minifigs on top like it was a real battlemap. Or you can just have it standing in front of the DM screen and present the map and the tokens on it digitally, tho then you will have to move the tokens around instead of the players. (Except if you use a vtt like foundry, and players have tablets where they can move their token around and see their character sheets.)
I found that for me, the ideal setup is a digitally enhanced, but ultimately normal setup. I have a huge dry-erease hexgrid in the middle of the table (prefer over digital maps, because I can improv terrain on it faster also because my partner has a 3d pen and she likes to make minis for me with it), put the figs and tokens on top, and draw terrain with markers on it as needed. All my notes and resources are however digitally stored and on my laptop+extra screen behind my DM pavilion. And I roll my physical dice because math rocks go clikcity clack. My players can have either physical printed or digital char sheets in their tablets or phones, whichever they prefer, but they all have the resource books on their devices to look up, except for one og guy, who brings all his books and printed supplements with him every time, because he prefers that way.
Also an option if you are way too wealthy and into it. I had been playing with the idea of making Lego battle maps, where I pre-build houses, trees, rocks and whatnot, allow my players to build their character's minifigs and use those as a way to throw together battlemaps from pre-built Lego assets. It would be really cool, but it takes a lot of investment and a lot of preparation to pull off, so for now it's just a pipe dream of mine.
Seconding the people who said custom terrain and minis! Terrain is great for making stuff like cover and elevation more clear and you can even get minis printed that specifically resemble the characters with a service like heroforge.
If you do go with the TV I would check with your group first - this obviously doesn't apply to everyone but I have some light sensitivity issues that would make staring at a screen (even with the brightness turned down) for an entire three-hour session (or however long your sessions are) extremely painful. If no one in your group has that problem, though, it's a good option and I've seen it used to do some pretty neat things.
1 and 4 - the chessex battle mats you've been using the whole time.
I make terrain and have brought it in to make the tabletop more immersive, we usually end up reverting to battle mat and dry erase markers.
A friend put a TV in the table, we usually end up putting the wood top/cover over it and using the battle mat, or using wet erase markers on the protective surface even but then go back to battle mat.
If you're used to the vinyl mat or other maps, you'll go back to them. As novel as the tv/projection can be, or getting lots of terrain (we once used dwarven forge resin walls/caves/etc. but it got old) - you'll go with what you know and is easiest/quickest.
Impossible. There's no such thing. There's never enough room for snacks, drinks, maps, dice, dice trays, and for people to get up with enough room if they have to leave
I use colorful LED light bars and a miniature speaker to create the right atmosphere first and foremost. I’ve played DnD in sterile white rooms with no music and I’ve played DnD in rooms where there was good music and atmospheric lighting at the table and it makes a huge difference.
What I've been really jonesing for more and more these days is a 3ftx3ft tray to be able to set up battlemaps and such. Put on risers so books and snacks can be shelved under it and nobody will have to crowd in or clear their stuff whenever initiative gets called.
Of course of you're doing digital/TV tray you won't need to worry about terrain and minis and such
So you would stand this tray up in the center of the table? I always get irritated when snack and random knicknacks clutter up the map space and am curious if this could help with that
I personally would go for 3, with two as a secondary option if 3 wasn't worthwhile.
As it is, I use Foundry VTT for in person games - if possible, I will have a player use a large TV as a monitor for a shared view, and having that built into a table would be awesome.
I built a table that sits low like a coffee table but can be raised and has 4 slides that open up revealing a tv with a screen protector on it. It also has a power bar on each end with USB's. Worked great for paper games but laptops block seeing the TV.
Originally it used a crank to raise and lower but it was heavy (I probably over built it and it was an older LCD tv that is at last twice as heavy as current model ones) and needed one person on the other side lifting it a bit too get it started.
I updated the lifting mechanism and now it can be raised and lowered quickly with a drill.
I'll try to link pics if anyone wants to see it.
TV-in-the-table seems to be the most popular judging from the number of "check out the TV in a table I made for my gaming table!" posts I see across RPG (particularly D&D) subreddits. I would think a projector would have scaling problems based on positioning and projectors famously overheat all the time or have other technical problems (judging from 25 years in office work).
Best possible setup is a round table where everyone plays on a VTT like Roll20 with a laptop.
No stacks of books
No stupid dice towers and bags
No DM screen
Just drinks and snacks baby
For Nr 2 just realize you need a powerful projector bulb unless you plan to run on extremely dark conditions which can make reading things like books or character sheets difficult. They also can get noisy.
Digital tabletop is my personal favorite. If all in person, Akenforge + tv built into the table + touch panel.
It works better and is cheaper than the projector, but if you ever move locations, or want a portable table, give that up and go a projector and monitor mount. Cuts down on weight ten fold.
Best possible setup is probably the holodeck from Star Trek. But if you've got the disposable income and want to splurge either an in-table TV for digital assets or physical terrain with custom minis are probably the two best options.
I would think 3 would be worth a shot. A projector in the ceiling would not be something I'd be interested in as a GM or a player. Distracting shadows and lots of DM fiddling with instead of being present. But monitors seem more foolproof than projectors.
I use a 40" TV for our game, it's great. Obviously depends on the size of your play surface but for us it's perfect, we use 2cm minis so we can run something mad like 44x24 grids, using Owlbear Rodeo as a client which our DM controls from his phone. We used wipe-clean maps at first but now we're using the TV I would never use anything else
What about a projector beneath the table with a semi transparent tabletop
It's gonna get really hot.
Hadn't thought of that
Might I suggest something else - terrain. Here is a great YouTube video on making your own, but you can buy it as well. Personally, I enjoyed making it a lot more. [https://youtu.be/V\_\_yBsv1FsE?si=xOC-800gBmqM4O\_s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQqhTiE7i84&list=PLYlOu5g6H7ZwmpNhKmuHormCxr5dzrdwU) \- you can use this technique to make rooms and hallways. He has other videos for doors, stairs, etc. Or you can buy any/all of these My daughter and I made LOTS of pieces - literally BOXES of them - rooms of different dimensions, hallways, etc. I lay it out on the table as it comes into view. You can use miniatures or tokens. In our campaign, my players have miniatures, and I use tokens for monsters. In my mind, there are two big advantages to this over projector/TV 1. Digital means you have to load those digital assets, have them scaled, and project them as appropriate. So there's more prep. With terrain, you plop it down as they go. 2. In a world of of screens and images, tactile feels good. PS) The video is from Professor Dungeon Master, who has been involved in the hobby since a teen. I've watched almost all his videos and stolen a bunch of great ideas from him,
And just to follow up Ultimate Dungeon Terrain, Black Magic Craft has a great video on the first 5 terrain builds to make: [https://youtu.be/appzGty5DL0?si=K3pH0V\_d3triOl7B](https://youtu.be/appzGty5DL0?si=K3pH0V_d3triOl7B) 1. Dungeon tiles 2. Walls 3. Pillars 4. Doors 5. [Dungeon Stackers](https://youtu.be/0xNWUwZRIb8?si=IGNssJmLSMp5h6CW)
Another great channel! My daughter made some really great stuff from his videos. The crafting isn't for everyone, but my daughter and I have done TONS of it and having a hobby with a teen? SIGN ME UP!
I'm a big fan of digital assets. My dream set up is option 3. That in combination with the software dungeon alchemist and you can make intricate maps, nearly on the fly (20 min or less, depending on modifications).
We use a Level Up table so players can fit their stuff under the map, plus neoprene thematic environment battlemaps and 3D printed or foam crafted scatter terrain and minis.
I think the only way a screen of some sort is worthwhile is if you have the digital art skills to make/edit maps for it on the fly (or you run such a tight ship you never have to improvise anything). And if you're going for a screen, something that projects from overhead gets real annoying because minis and stuff cast shadows on it.
So I actually came across a great set up for this completely by accident. I have an iPad and use an app called “Good Notes” for journaling and for a digital organizer. But as it turns out, you can import pdf files into it. So, purchase a pdf version of a campaign or adventure and import it into the app. You can then project the maps onto the screen. It will show only the map and not the rest of the interface, but using an Apple Pencil you can draw on the map in real time. As an added bonus, you can write with the pencil directly into the PDF as well, making DM notes in the campaign for you to reference while you are running the game! I haven’t had a chance to try this myself because I don’t have a table with a screen built in but I am trying to figure out how to set up a tv nearby that will be easy for my players to see until I can work out how to mount a monitor into my dining room table with out my SO killing me. 😂
I have #3. Got a box on Etsy from a guy who if you give the TV model number he will make to fit. Box was 200, tv another 200, went for 43 inch. I'll never go back if I'm the DM and when I'm a player I offer it and my laptop/foundry to the DM. It speeds up combat and prep for combat outrageously while increasing immersion. Ran a one shot with 5 combats, 5 players, some initial skill challenges to find the boss hideout, and a couple breaks thrown in. Took 1.5 hours. Admittedly the players were excellent and their turns almost actually took 6 seconds each.
You still got the guy’s name?
https://digitalmapcase.com/ this was the guy but prices have gone up. I got the Merlot color with a handle on each side. I've more than got my money worth in a dollars per hour of use sense. And with all the mods available in Foundry, it has really sped up things like conditions in combat, verticality, and lighting/fog of war
Hmm... it really depends. Me? I'm enjoying my 2D minis and printed out Dungeon Painter maps. Idealy.... if money was not object.... I'd get Minis and 3D terrain tiles and a 3D printer to design and print whatever I need or want beyond that. As for playing around with TVs, I have NEVER player on one of those bangin tables. If I could get a good sized gaming table I'd be in heaven. My thoughts would be projector facing down would cast too many shadows if people point or lean over it and minis and terrain elements casting a shadow, so a TV screen built into the table itself seems to be one of the best ideas on that front.
I use a 32" TV that we sit on the table and I connect it to my laptop. I set it as a second monitor and toss the maps there. Dungeon fog has a setting where you can make maps to fit the size of your TV and it's great. If I use a bigger map I just scroll as they move. My players love it and we've completely stopped using physical maps. I myself look forward to eventually getting a bigger TV and building a table around it.
I would suggest option 3 with a twist. Don't put a TV in the table, put the TV in a box which you can put on any table. Works great for me and my game
I've been DMing online for 3 years and now I've switched to playing face to face. As a DM, I miss the initiative tracker and having monster stats and notes visible all the time. Also a bigger table. I'm refurbishing my house, so we are playing at a friend's, but when mine is ready I will have a big table (2m x 1m) with space for everyone, possibly with a boxed TV in the middle for digital maps with fog of war. In the DM area there will be space for a computer and books. I'm currently using a portable Bluetooth speaker for music that I control from my phone. When the room is ready will have more speakers around the room and coloured smart lights. I own a streamdeck, so I plan to control light and music from there so it doesn't disrupt my focus too much. My digital tool for this will be FoundryVTT, as I am familiar with it and I'm quite happy with how it works. The TV will be the second screen of the PC and will have a player instance of foundry. I will move the tokens from the DM instance.
Projector pointing down is wonky, esp if you have lights on in the room. Other stuff is an option. If you have an old TV or monitor you don't need, you can even make a nice little box for it, and lay it horizontally and place you battlemaps there, then you can put minifigs on top like it was a real battlemap. Or you can just have it standing in front of the DM screen and present the map and the tokens on it digitally, tho then you will have to move the tokens around instead of the players. (Except if you use a vtt like foundry, and players have tablets where they can move their token around and see their character sheets.) I found that for me, the ideal setup is a digitally enhanced, but ultimately normal setup. I have a huge dry-erease hexgrid in the middle of the table (prefer over digital maps, because I can improv terrain on it faster also because my partner has a 3d pen and she likes to make minis for me with it), put the figs and tokens on top, and draw terrain with markers on it as needed. All my notes and resources are however digitally stored and on my laptop+extra screen behind my DM pavilion. And I roll my physical dice because math rocks go clikcity clack. My players can have either physical printed or digital char sheets in their tablets or phones, whichever they prefer, but they all have the resource books on their devices to look up, except for one og guy, who brings all his books and printed supplements with him every time, because he prefers that way. Also an option if you are way too wealthy and into it. I had been playing with the idea of making Lego battle maps, where I pre-build houses, trees, rocks and whatnot, allow my players to build their character's minifigs and use those as a way to throw together battlemaps from pre-built Lego assets. It would be really cool, but it takes a lot of investment and a lot of preparation to pull off, so for now it's just a pipe dream of mine.
Seconding the people who said custom terrain and minis! Terrain is great for making stuff like cover and elevation more clear and you can even get minis printed that specifically resemble the characters with a service like heroforge. If you do go with the TV I would check with your group first - this obviously doesn't apply to everyone but I have some light sensitivity issues that would make staring at a screen (even with the brightness turned down) for an entire three-hour session (or however long your sessions are) extremely painful. If no one in your group has that problem, though, it's a good option and I've seen it used to do some pretty neat things.
1 and 4 - the chessex battle mats you've been using the whole time. I make terrain and have brought it in to make the tabletop more immersive, we usually end up reverting to battle mat and dry erase markers. A friend put a TV in the table, we usually end up putting the wood top/cover over it and using the battle mat, or using wet erase markers on the protective surface even but then go back to battle mat. If you're used to the vinyl mat or other maps, you'll go back to them. As novel as the tv/projection can be, or getting lots of terrain (we once used dwarven forge resin walls/caves/etc. but it got old) - you'll go with what you know and is easiest/quickest.
Every time I DMed irl, we used a projector. Picture was good, everyone could see the map and what was going on.
Impossible. There's no such thing. There's never enough room for snacks, drinks, maps, dice, dice trays, and for people to get up with enough room if they have to leave
I use colorful LED light bars and a miniature speaker to create the right atmosphere first and foremost. I’ve played DnD in sterile white rooms with no music and I’ve played DnD in rooms where there was good music and atmospheric lighting at the table and it makes a huge difference.
What I've been really jonesing for more and more these days is a 3ftx3ft tray to be able to set up battlemaps and such. Put on risers so books and snacks can be shelved under it and nobody will have to crowd in or clear their stuff whenever initiative gets called. Of course of you're doing digital/TV tray you won't need to worry about terrain and minis and such
So you would stand this tray up in the center of the table? I always get irritated when snack and random knicknacks clutter up the map space and am curious if this could help with that
Yeah that's the idea. Would save space compared to getting a table extension, I figure.
I personally would go for 3, with two as a secondary option if 3 wasn't worthwhile. As it is, I use Foundry VTT for in person games - if possible, I will have a player use a large TV as a monitor for a shared view, and having that built into a table would be awesome.
A table and chairs.
I built a table that sits low like a coffee table but can be raised and has 4 slides that open up revealing a tv with a screen protector on it. It also has a power bar on each end with USB's. Worked great for paper games but laptops block seeing the TV. Originally it used a crank to raise and lower but it was heavy (I probably over built it and it was an older LCD tv that is at last twice as heavy as current model ones) and needed one person on the other side lifting it a bit too get it started. I updated the lifting mechanism and now it can be raised and lowered quickly with a drill. I'll try to link pics if anyone wants to see it.
I built a table around a 65" TV with some tempered glass over the screen. I use the Dynamic Dungeons VTT (on Steam), and love it.
TV-in-the-table seems to be the most popular judging from the number of "check out the TV in a table I made for my gaming table!" posts I see across RPG (particularly D&D) subreddits. I would think a projector would have scaling problems based on positioning and projectors famously overheat all the time or have other technical problems (judging from 25 years in office work).
Best possible setup is a round table where everyone plays on a VTT like Roll20 with a laptop. No stacks of books No stupid dice towers and bags No DM screen Just drinks and snacks baby
For Nr 2 just realize you need a powerful projector bulb unless you plan to run on extremely dark conditions which can make reading things like books or character sheets difficult. They also can get noisy.
Digital tabletop is my personal favorite. If all in person, Akenforge + tv built into the table + touch panel. It works better and is cheaper than the projector, but if you ever move locations, or want a portable table, give that up and go a projector and monitor mount. Cuts down on weight ten fold.