Gamemaster's screen?

[Jace_Terrik]

Why do you need a gamemaster screen for, anyhow?

To be truthful, the gamemaster is one of those prissy, extra-costing things that I've never gotten around to buying. It's a sort of novelty item, anyway, in my opinion.
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There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no chaos; there is harmony.
There is no death; there is the Force.

[RedFox]

I like quick-reference sheets, especially for games that I'm A: not totally familiar with yet or B: need constant reference. Deadlands Classic is a good example of B.

There's nothing wrong with having a Star Wars D6 screen around for A.
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Ooo, a droid! Can I fix it?

I have Star Wars stuff!

[Hellcat]

[Vartax]

The quick reference tables for damage in starships and vehicles has always been a help. Also the damage and healing chart is a good thing to have close on hand to keep the game moving quickly.

[RedFox]

Also, I'd like to put together a sheet with the table from Tramp Freighters or Pirates and Privateers, I forget which ... that had the rules for targetting ship systems on an attack roll.

"I attack the engines!"
_________________
Ooo, a droid! Can I fix it?

I have Star Wars stuff!

[Firehawk0220]

I personally have never used a GM screen. Not for any game I've ever run.

Which of course leads to my NPC villians occasionally getting their butts kicked out of place in the story.

I'd like to think I'm pretty adaptive and can work with anything quickly. So I just change things up. Or throw something in to rescue or bail out the villian.

One nice aspect of it is that I roll my die where the players can usually see the results. This they seem to like as it shows fairness and impartiality. Even when they get killed.

Of course, for the sake of a story I can't always work it that way, so often I'll simply stop rolling die altogether and just tell them what happens. If its a scripted "event".

[MA-3PO]

I always use a screen. My players trust me to be fair and I am. There are just to many fun things to do besides the obvious convience of having the charts in front of you. I like to pick up dice and roll them at random times. My players are always like, "Why the heck did he just roll?" Also, when someone gets hit for damage I always like to roll about ten dice (I roll the actual damage as a different color) which keeps combat tense and exciting. They hear the ten dice rolling and think, "Oh god, my character is so dead." I guess it just keeps my players on their toes.

[Gry Sarth]

That's cruel

[Firehawk0220]

[Maximilian Bernas]

[Firehawk0220]

[Vanion]

(for someone who rarely memorizes charts and tables) I find the old GM screen handy for a lot of the cover modifiers, damage tables, astrogation modifiers, and the old die caps (which I prefer over the later +D/-D system).

I also like using fake die rolls for dramatic, tension building effect. I don't think it's cruel, but I do think it gets the group's attention and builds their excitement.

For the purposes of an adventure... if another ship or character must survive for the sake of the adventure, then I can always use the screen to hide my roles. Some people may say this is cheating, but I don't do it to 'screw over' the characters, I do it to make the adventure better and more exciting. How fun would it be for either the GM or his players if they defeat the campaigne's main villain on the first encounter? (Return of the Jedi certainly wouldn't have been as good if Luke had been able to kill Vader on Cloud City)