D&D Basics (Getting started)

The Absolute Basics

First you will want to grab either the Basic rules (Free), the Starter Set (Cheap), or the Players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Probably Monster Manual

Then you need to have at least a few items

• Dice (Phone apps will work if absolutely necessary, or these)
  
• Paper & Pencil (for notes)
  
• Character Sheet (In the free PDF or an app)
  
  The starter set is nice because it does a bunch of the work for you, it has an easy to follow adventure, pre-made characters, Dice, and rules for the DM and players. And at half the cost of just the players handbook AND including an adventure, it is an incredible value.
  
  Once you finish that then looking at at least a players handbook for the extra races, classes, backgrounds, and other things is a good deal. That should let you run free adventures people have put online.
  
  The DM's guide will let you get deeper into rules and the right way to call them, break them, and make them.
  
  The monster manual can be a great tool to make better encounters.
  
  If you want to run a commercial adventure after the one's included in the starter set, "Tales from the Yawning Portal" includes the Sunless Citidel, considered by many to be an excellent adventure for those new to the game and just recently brought up from 3.5e into 5e
  
  

  Common Tools of the Trade
  

  
  As you start running more complex adventures you are going to want to have a few tools to keep things moving, either as a player or as a DM.
  
  

  As a Player
  

  
  The bare essentials every players should have are listed above, but most players agree having a few extras can make the game run really quick.
  
  

  Spell Cards
  

  
  These cards have all the spells available for specific classes or from specific books on really well organized cards that make it easy to set aside your prepared spells and quickly reference all the core details.
  
  Cleric, Arcane, Ranger, Druid, Bard, Paladin, Martial Powers and Races, Xanathars Guide to Everything
  
  

  Binders & Sheet Protectors
  

  
  Keeping everything neat and organized can be a huge time saver and make it much easier for you to find what you need. Binders can be a great way to keep your notes and other materials organized. In addition many sheet protectors easily erase dry erase markers making it easy to keep track of spells and other changes without ruining character sheets with constant erasing.
  
  

  As a DM
  

  
  DMs have their work cut out for them. But a few simple tools can make the game run smooth and leave everyone having that much more fun.
  
  

  Index Cards
  

  
  A set of index cards can go a long way to speeding up the game. Players can put details on spells or magic items on them. You can prepare loot for the game ahead of time and hand it out allowing players to look over the gear as the game continues. You can also use them to hide portions of a battle map or commerical map to give the effect of fog of war.
  
  

  Game Mats
  

  
  A game mat let's you make single maps by drawing on them with dry erase or wet erase markers. Many are made of vinyl and can last a long time. Normally they will have either 1" squares or hex shapes.
  
  

  Minitures
  

  
  These things can be expensive, but giving your game that 3D upgrade and helping players better manage space in a game can be well worth it. You can use actual miniatures (Like those from Reaper), Create custom ones on Hero's Forge, or even just buy some cheap stand in tokens from Game Mash.
  
  If you just need a cheap way to keep track of positions army men, bottle caps, colored game pieces, and even legos can all play the role.
  
  No matter what you use, you can pick up colored rubber bands to mark status conditions or other information.
  
  

  Where Can I Play?
  

  
  You can find tons of places to play D&D.
  
  

• Get together a gaming group.
  
• Find a Guild or club in your area. Meetup.com,
  
• Most hobby shops and especially comic book and gaming shops offer games, usually Adventure League. WotC offers a tool to find stores here.
  
• /r/lfg can be a great way to find others to play online with.
  
• Play by Mail sites like RPoL allow you to play by forum post.
  
  

  Also:
  

  
  Critical Role - Voice actors playing DnD, Matt Mercer (The DM) is an amazing Dungeon Master and shows how the game should be played.
  
  Matthew Colville - Amazing videos on being a DM, must watch material for every DM. Even when your opinions differ he gives good reasons and great advice.
  
  

  Compendiums
  

  
  These let you ciew all the free open rules (SRD & Basic Rules) for D&D 5e at no cost.
  
  Roll20 Compendium - Has all the open rules for the game, so a good source for monsters, items, spells, etc.
  
  DnDBeyond - A more official source for the content, plus you can buy all the materials released by WotC to use, and has a great character builder.
  
  

  Adventures & Maps
  

  
  DMsGuild - Tons of free and paid adventures and other materials. The quality can be varying, but many are free and that can be great.
  
  /r/dndmaps/ - What more can they say, D&D Maps.
  
  Mike Schley Makes many of the maps for the D&D Adventures.

I think it can't hurt to have as many versions as your professor mentioned (though I'm sure it feels like it's hurting now haha). I'd say for most of the interviews I've conducted recently (at a branding and packaging agency), most people had website portfolios or PDFs that they projected in our conference room so multiple people could see them at once. A few did show up with proper physical books though too. Whether you go digital or hardcover portfolio, if you have any final printed pieces you're proud of I'd bring those along as well, as they're nice to have. Some applicants have also shown sketches, although that's not something I personally look for necessarily, but I know some agencies/designers like to see them.

A lot of the other comments are right though—different places have their own preferences on how they'd like to review work, and it varies a lot between the different types of agencies, so I think it's better to be prepared than to have to scramble right before an interview or job application. Or to show up for an interview where they want to project everything to a group and you only have a book. I haven't personally been interviewed in awhile but I tend to show my work just on my website or in a PDF if they specifically ask for that, though I try to avoid that if possible haha.

For a physical portfolio, I'm not sure it has to be as specific as the one your professor mentioned. I think she might be referring to something kind of like this (Portfolio1 or others like these (Portfolio Options)) that were used a lot in the past (maybe still today too although I haven't personally seen one in awhile at an interview).

I viewed mine back in the day as a way to further demonstrate my personal brand and style, so I purposefully chose a more unique one for that reason. Mine was sort of like this one (Portfolio) in a glossy white that I carried in a sleeve kind of thing, and then had supplemental final printed pieces in a nice box or large envelope/folder. 11x17 seemed to work fine for me, especially since it's easy to print pages at that size, but I guess slightly larger wouldn't hurt either. Just try to choose something that's relatively easy to swap projects in and out of to tailor to certain jobs (or to just replace projects as you develop stronger work over time), and one that's large enough to display your work at a nice scale without having the book take up an entire table haha.

I'm pretty sure my first physical portfolio was basically the same as my first PDF portfolio, just printed out and put in the sleeves of that screwpost binder if that helps haha. And I'm also pretty sure I haven't touched it since I got my first job 10 years ago, though I felt much more prepared having it in the early stages of interviewing for sure. I wonder how embarrassing it would be to look at now haha—I might have to go dig it out!

Good luck with everything! I know It's super daunting at the very end of school but you're almost there!!

I bought 2 of these(though they were only $17 when I bought them) after already having a full case using the hobby lobby/broken token solution. The hobby lobby case was nice, but it's just too bulky and heavy after you start to get a full collection, excellent so long as it all nicely fits in just one box.

Just took both of those and put my cards in 3x3 card collecting pages. Easy enough to put sets of 10 in one slot without them stretching bad at all. Then I put all of my Copper/Silver/Gold/Estates/Etc in a small card box. I think it was one of the smaller sets of cards against humanity, but anything would work. Put my tokens in a dice bag and it's all good to go.

The only thing I've left out are the randomizer cards since I use a phone app for that anyway.

I'll add some pictures when I get home from work, but I definitely recommend this solution. It's not "pretty" or necessarily elegant, but it works really well.

I've got a cheap sheffield and a cheap Winchester multitool, and a nice but very old Leatherman that doesn't open properly because I tried to cut wire that was WAY too thick with it and warped the cutters.

Now that I've got a new flashlight on my belt, I'm considering adding another multi tool. Not much room left in my pockets. Most days I could add a small multitool with the Burts Bees and leave the lighter home, but some days my phone has to join that pocket depending on the pants, or maybe a disc golf mini marker if I'm out playing.

So I'm pretty sure I want a leatherman, but 1) I don't know what my best value tool is (I wanted the Wave about 5 or 6 years ago and never bought it) and 2) I'm a little disappointed they don't come with a leather pouch any more. Wal-Mart has them locked up and in a clamshell so I can't really get them out to play with them.

What do you recommend, /r/EDC?


Here's the rest of my EDC:

Wallet - Dyno Mighty - Mighty Wallet - Wealth of Knowledge

Knife - Byrd Cara Cara 2

Flashlight (On Belt) - Nitecore P12 - 2015 Version

Pistol - Kahr CW9

IWB Holster (not pictured) - Comp-Tac Infidel

Spare Mag Pouch for Pocket - Desantis Mag-Packer

Phone / Camera - HTC One M8

The most important thing you can do is to set yourself up an environment conducive to working, where the chance of becoming distracted is as low as possible. Make it comfortable and enjoyable so that entering that environment doesn't feel punishing. Bring yourself some drinks and snacks so that you don't end up with excuses to get up and wander around, and good headphones for listening to motivating music (and drowning out environmental distractions). Wear comfortable clothes. Make sure to have plenty of pens or pencils (with plenty of lead and erasers) and a good notebook for scratchwork (even we professionals tend to work a lot of stuff out on paper). Finally, and probably most importantly, go in with some kind of plan so you don't just end up dicking around on reddit.

Sidenote: As a software engineer, I highly recommend:

• the Five Star Flex binder
  
  • the covers are durable, somewhat flexible plastic
    
  • the edge is bound with some tough synthetic cloth like nylon
    
  • the rings are durable, flexible rubber that won't eat your hand
    
  • it's the best goddamn binder I've ever had
    
  • I recommend adding a stiff cardboard insert to allow you to write when you don't have a suitable writing surface, since this thing is not especially rigid.
    
• decent-quality reinforced notebook paper
  
  • holes are reinforced for tear-resistance
    
• and (optionally, but very useful) an engineer's computation pad
  
  • front writing/drawing area is blank
    
  • back side is graph-ruled and is faintly visible on the front when writing
    
  • this lets you draw or write on the front of the page, using the faint ruled lines as visual guides, while keeping your notes and drawings nice and legible. Very very handy for drawing legible algorithm and data structure visualizations
    
  • also great for math classes
    
  • if you get the computation pad, I'd also recommend a thin, durable straight edge and a shape-drawing tool (has drawing guides for various-sized circles, rectangles, squares, and triangles) to keep your lines and shapes nice and neat. Not especially necessary, but shitty hand-drawn shapes are one of my personal pet peeves in my notes.

Hmm. These flexible Five-Star brand ones have been kinda popular. I've used them once I think; thought they were pretty nice. They don't stand up on a shelf for archival like other binders though.

The flexibility may actually help with durability. They won't crack on impact or anything like that, and that Poly cover will do a good job of protecting your notes. We use a similar material on the covers of our pocket notebooks and we don't get complaints.

These things claim to be heavy-duty and have some good reviews:

If you need the paper itself to be durable, I'd definitely recommend our loose leaf. Our paper is water-resistant, so if you spill or something you'll be in the clear.

I bought graph paper the summer before I started taking math classes after Calc II, and I haven't opened the package yet. I had Number Theory, Calc III, Vector Calc, Abstract Algebra I and II, a Problem Solving course and Geometry and found no need for graph paper. I saw it for a dollar and thought it might be useful. If there's anything that needs a graph, I find that a sketch works just fine.
I'm kinda weird when it comes organization. Everything needs to be exactly where I want it (I'm one of those people). So what I do is separate the binder into sections with these exact Binder Tabs. I use this Binder. You may want to try a 2" binder though. The only reason I don't is that I don't want to carry the 2" binder around.
So there are 8 sections in the binder. My last section is for extra paper. The other 7 cover 3-4 classes. I use 2 sections for a math class: one for the notes and one for the homework and other problems. I date every sheet to make finding things easier. With the remaining section after 3 math classes, I will put a random humanity or philosophy class. They only need one section. Economics took only one section for me, but I had a really easy professor. I've never taken a programming course (until this upcoming fall), but most of my friends are computer science majors (why I'm on Reddit), and I've never seen any of them take notes for any computer science classes.
Upper level math courses are fun with the right professors. A horrible subject becomes fun with a good professor; a great subject becomes dreadful with a bitch. You'll need patience to succeed. It gets really frustrating sometimes.
Also, I'd like to add that one of my teachers took notes on a tablet instead of the whiteboard, and she posted them online. The notes looked nice and I'd recommend the tablet if you feel like spending the money. I don't like using tablets, and there are many hundreds of things I'd rather do with $300, so I just stick to paper.

Amazon is probably your best bet. These are the best card sheets available in my opinion, but it's unnecessary for, say, individual sets or master sets; I mostly use them for my binder of rare and valuable cards. These are probably the second best option and are good for any type of card, otherwise the regular ones found at Walmart and Target are fine; the only thing is they tend to sag at the bottom if the binder is standing vertically but it doesn't damage or affect the cards at all.

For binders, I haven't played around with too many different kinds, but I am very satisfied with the Avery brand. Here's the specific kind I use.

For my class I have to buy a specific piano book, but yes, I agree on a separate binder for music. I’m going to get this for my other classes (music fundamentals, rock styles, English & math. I’ll also keep the syllabi in here as well and extra stuff I may need). I actually play three instruments, piano, guitar, and bass clarinet. However, I only need to focus on piano now, since I’m taking that class this semester. Next semester I’m taking guitar (I’d rather get real teacher instruction instead of teaching myself at this point), and outside of school, I’m getting clarinet lessons. My ex boyfriend was helping me learn the clarinet but things are kinda weird with us now, and I don’t know where to go from here. There’s things he couldn’t help with since he played the bassoon but he has clarinet experience. Im required to join concert band next year. I would’ve this year but I stopped playing band in high school, and the instructor advised me to take at least a year of lessons before joining the band, which I’m fine with. Thank you for the suggestions though. I’m also going to buy some staff paper, just in case.

The closest I am finding is the following:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0792L8R4T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0TPrDbPQZEDNR

Personally I use the TUL discbound planners and I enjoy them because of the ability to easily change out pages as you have mentioned. The discs that come with them are relatively small and more like a small binder but I have upgraded to larger discs as to increase the amount of pages I can store.

What is nice about discbound planners is that you can easily take out a page and work on it then place it back into the notebook. This helps me a lot as I am left handed and many binder rings get in the way of my writing. I also like them because I am a perfectionist and if I mess up on a page I can easily replace it.

I can't really think of any A4 sized leather bound notebooks, but what I can recommend is a leather A4 Padfolio and a Rhodia pad. The No. 18 pad is lined, 3-hole punched, and has perforated pages.

This route is what I use for notes most of the time, and the best part is that it's refillable and customizable. Just about any Padfolio will work though, just make sure it's A4 sized or Letter sized. I'll see if I can dig up a link to my favorite inexpensive one for you. I'm currently on mobile, so I need to close this to find it.

Edit: [this](Case-it The Chief Padfolio with Letter Size Writing Pad, Black (PAD-20) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQDEJ1E/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Xx74wbF5NH76W) is my favorite sub-$20 Padfolio. I use this every day. Its tough, cheap, and has lots of pockets to store papers in. There are obviously better Padfolios out there, but as you may or may not know, they can get very pricey very quickly.

Here's what we ended up doing. We talked a lot about the pros and cons of buying a pack where you don't know exactly what you'll get and individual cards where you do. In the end, I bought my son the Mega Powers Collection Box (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZXVMWNR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and a binder to store his cards (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y57AFCW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). My son loved this pack and the binder! My son also chose to use some of his own money to purchase four individual cards. He did a lot of research to decide on which cards he wanted to buy and to also make sure he was getting real cards, not fake ones (apparently this is an issue). It was fun watching him spend time searching around on Amazon to decide what to spend his money on. In the end, he picked four cards and is thrilled with them!

Good luck!

Our friend officiated our wedding wearing a suit that coordinated but didn't match with the men in the wedding party. I ordered this 3-ring binder that looks like a book from Amazon. It's not a full-size binder so he could easily hold it in his hands while performing the ceremony. Worked perfectly!

You can see me filling out some binders in this way here:
https://youtu.be/-2CTiWGkeS8?t=5m54s

I use the following products:

• KMC Hyper Mat Clear Sleeves and KMC Perfect Fit Inner Sleeves
  
• Ultra Pro 18-Pocket Platinum Side-Loading Pages
  
• Case-it 4 Inch Zipper Binder
  
  The binders come in 2 and 3 inch sizes as well, I believe. Regardless of what binder you use, I cannot speak highly enough of how perfectly the KMC sleeves fit in the Ultra Pro sheets. Definitely give it a shot.
  
  Also, if you want to see a more detailed review of the binder itself, I look at it here:
  https://youtu.be/6eyj8xvqROE?t=3m32s

[This] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NOXCRG/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=HEWLHYQZ4GD&coliid=I3LUEI0LF38OGR&psc=1) awesome smelling candle. I bet it smells delicious! I know scents make me happy and I bet it might cheer you up a bit.

As for myself, [this] ( http://www.amazon.com/Executive-Zippered-Padfolio-Removable-PAD-40/dp/B007SQZE5U/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1397263541&sr=8-7&keywords=portfolio) portfolio would be really nice for my upcoming summer job in Colorado.

Get him a few of those write in the rain notebooks. you can probably get them cheaper from somewhere. They may give these out for free now, but I had to buy them when I was in. I have like 5 filled with all sorts of notes and useful shit. Also a decent watch that allows multiple time zones and has a decent count-down timer.

EDIT: One of these would also be useful too.

Another EDIT: This is all stuff I found useful. I was in the Marines back in 04-07, so we had to buy a lot of stuff ourselves. He may get these issued, but it's always good to have extra gear. Saw pouch For saw ammo, but also a good general purpose pouch that can be attached to a pack for extra storage.

Waterproofing bags Was issued one, but bought a few extras. Good for organizing stuff in a ruck.

Other small shit I always found myself buying (Stocking stuffers) AA batteries, 550 cord, duct tape, electric tape, zip ties, map pens, regular pens, new socks, tobacco products.

Hardware

I'm seeing a lot of software solutions which is great but if you take math/physics they are paper heavy so for those I really needed a binder full of paper

• Binder -- https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-3-Ring-Binder-Inch-4-Pack/dp/B01BRGTWOA/
  
• Binder dividers -- https://www.amazon.com/Smead-Three-Ring-Binder-Dividers-89415/dp/B003Y3N44O/
  
• Filler paper -- https://www.amazon.com/Five-Star-College-Reinforced-17010/dp/B01BLVANG2/
  
  Now how do i divide them?
  
  
• I have 3 classes so I use 3 binders.
  
• A binder goes like this
  
• Syllabus + Past Exams
  
• divider
  
• Notes (I put the date on top)
  
• divider
  
• Homework (Chronologically)
  
  Save those exams, you will need the midterm to study for the final
  
  

  Software
  

  In the beginning of the quarter, I also put in all the important dates (Midterms, Finals, Big projects, all the due dates if you feel like it) to my google calendar. I set it up on my phone so I get reminders.
  
  The reminders goes like this
  
  

• Midterm -- 2 week prior
  
• Finals -- 2 ~ 4 week
  
• Projects -- 1 ~ 2 week
  
• Homework -- a few days
  
• Class meetings -- 30 min prior

I have a bookshelf next to my desk dedicated just to embroidery stuff. For floss I just use 6 of those plastic thread organizer boxes. I keep a long pencil tray, like this, where I keep random odds and ends that I want within easy reach (like needles, scissors, Fray Check, etc.). Fabric (whether flat or in a long tube) get stacked neatly on another shelf. I also keep a small bucket of scrap fabric there, which comes in handy when I want to test a new stitch or see how colors look together or something. Another shelf near the bottom holds rarely used supplies. And I have a magazine holder like this for patterns.

As for WIP and finished pieces, they go in this large binder. WIP go in the rainbow accordion file in the front (the fabric & pattern) - one per divider. I put finished projects in a clear plastic sheet protector on the rings. It's fun flipping through seeing everything I've done, and it's nice having most of them in one place to show other people. Large projects that don't fit in the binder when finished are usually gifts or one of the few things I put on display.

I use this organizer to store the thread colors of current WIPs so I don't have to put them back in the main storage every single time I stitch (plus small scissors and needles), and it is also quite convenient to slip in a bag or purse if I want to bring a project with me.

The best thing you can do is memorizing your most common spells, abilities, saves, and DCs. No paperwork needed!

Notecards can be a solution in tandem with this: I often jot down standard buffs/spell slots/modifiers on a 3x5 notecard in pen, and write on it in pencil at the table so I can add and erase stuff.

You can also make flash-card style 3x5 cards with basic stats or notes on them if you're summoning monsters, want reminders, have a weird spell you always get wrong, etc.

----

You can also go digital and use a tablet or spreadsheet.

----

For situations where more is needed (for example, organized play where you have to lug around tons of paperwork), I use Five star flex binders with sheet protectors around the character sheet, and wet erase markers to write on the character sheet.

Something like this might help you organize and save space if you're more comfortable printing out every little ability or spell.

I do indeed! :) Here's another close-up.

​

I make binder templates in Photoshop if anyone needs them -- don't have them for all sets yet, but I also provide the original psds and they're pretty easy to edit. I go with these folders for storage.

Ultra Pro sheets are definitely cheaper too. You can buy 100 for $20. I also have a massive 4 inch 3-ring binder that holds all the pilot and upgrade cards I am not currently using.

If you want to carry around only the upgrades that you play with then /u/neexneex has a good option. If you want something cheap and efficient to store your extra cards then my way works just fine.

I have 3 of these BCW Folio

Similar to wht you linked, but cheaper. I'm very happy with them.

All of my decks are double-sleeved in the previous gen kmc pro-mattes and perfect fits, and inside color-coded ultra-pro magnetic faux-leather boxes.

I'm all for SC merch! The more the merrier!

I've love to see an Executive Style Padfolio. Like this Leather Padfolio

The front could have a very small Star Citizen logo or Sq 42 logo and then inside it could come with a full 8.5 x 11 note pad with matching watermark and pen!

I was really disappointed with their card / post it note / pen thing. I want a full portfolio like the above.

Not really. https://www.amazon.com/Case-Mighty-3-Inch-Zipper-D-146-BLU/dp/B01EUPCLDY

This zip binder could comfortably hold a handgun and a quite few magazines.

Also a magazine in itself isn't really recognizable on its own Someone might just see a end of a plastic piece in a mesh bag.

Edit: rereading this what I mean is unless you actually see the full profile of the magazine or the bullets on top, a magazine can easily look like something innocent such as a glasses case or a pencil case.

If you want to consolidate, you can always get this binder: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GIP208/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have all of the sets in there pretty nicely, and then I just carry around the Base Set Cards in their box. I have my cards arranged by expansion and then alphabetically. When the next expansion comes out, I think I'm going to arrange them alphabetically across the board for the sake of simplicity (and give people who don't know the sets as well as I do the ability to find things more easily).

These are wonderful! They're the perfect size for a playbill, and much cheaper than the binders you can get at playbill.com.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006HV8V2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XKW45Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this Avery binder and these inserts! The inserts are nice because they are bigger than the standard so they cover the entire playbill. The binder is just the right size to cover all the playbills, and it holds about 20, give or take a few. SO much cheaper than the playbill brand and it works great.

I have two of these which I use with card binder pages. They work absolutely perfectly! I like them more than a box because they're a lot more future proof in terms of adding additional cards.

Kokuyo also makes these smart ring binders that are refillable! The paper is pretty much the same (plus holes) and as an added bonus, you get to rearrange the pages!

My first solution for just playing D&D was this storage clipboard from Office Depot. The storage is just the right size for a PHB plus a few sheets of paper, a couple of pencils on the bottom, and one set of dice in the corner storage.

When I started playing other games and wanted to carry things to run games myself in one package I got a combination file-folder and binder. I can't find the specific model or brand I got, but something like this to be an RPG kit. It ended up being overkill as I don't need the binder rings when all my sheets go into the file folder, but my dice and extra pencils go in the pocket in front of the file folder (the one I have has several small mesh pockets instead of one big one). If you frequently take notes on scratch paper, or have your character sheets in plastic binder inserts so you can write over them in dry-erase, the binder part will be more useful.

Alternatively, if you don't need the file-folder to hold a lot of loose sheets, you could get a regular binder with pockets for your character sheets and some mesh pockets to hold components (this was my plan before I saw the combination binders).

Binders

Ultra Pro 9 pocket 3 ring binder sleeves

Ultra Pro 4 pocket 3 ring binder sleeves

Honestly card organization can be as cheap or expensive as you want, but these are what I've spent a majority of my money on in the last year 6 boxes of the 100 per box 9 up sleeves, 2 of the 25 per box 4 up sleeves and no less than 20 binders. Finally finished card organization project I started two years ago. Just need to print the cover pages/spine inserts.

Best belated birthday present to myself/husband ever!

WHOA. That seems incredibly steep. I've gotten 50+ page perfect bound color booklets done as a one off for ~$40 at a local place. If I was you, I'd look into the binder like the one I linked. I don't think anyone expects your portfolio book to be bound and then you can use the same binder forever and switch out work. Then all you have to pay for is printing, there's a lot of online printers that would do it for under $100 I bet.

Here's one similar to mine on amazon for $40. Other places sell them for up to $140, so definitely shop around.

What does the 'pro' $475 option entail?

well you clearly missed the BCW Z-folio, and from my experience its really one of the best ones out there

https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Z-Folio-Zipper-Portfolio-Playset/dp/B00YG78KUU

Good ideas. Consider getting something with a non-rigid cover and beefier document protectors. I use something like this, but with the rings replaced with Flex-O-Locks. Functionality is the same but with better fasteners and no chance to bend the cover in a way that it won't bend back.

It’s the Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring Binder :)

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0066LZLEC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vtaIDbV2S7H47

So... serious question - I'm looking for a geeky wallet and tried amazon, but this was the best I could find:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0093JFWGQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3GERB2Q0PK2F7

Then I remembered that I saw this thread yesterday, and visited the subreddit and used "wallet" with a focus on relevance. Unfortunately, I don't see what wallets you guys are referring to... the majority are from years ago and many don't even exist on amazon or on the page linked.

Of course! I live in Canada, but I’m sure you can find this on the US’ Amazon site too!

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0006HV8V2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

For the poor college student:

There are kukuyo campus notebook knockoffs at Daiso for 1.50. the Quality isn't bad and for most notes: pencil, pen, etc it's fine. I don't rec if you're going to use fountain pen for your notes.

pencils: rOtring goes on sale on Massdrop quite often. You should be able to pick up 2 for $30ish.

pens: Uniball signo all the way if you are ok with caps. If not the standard G2 are great all around pens.

Since I don't like actual bound notebooks and prefer looseleaf, I bought this thing called a "notebook binder" and just buy refills for it.

I tried these ["spiral notebook binders"](https://www.amazon.com/Kokuyo-Campus-Smart-Ring-Binder/dp/B0066LZLEC/ref=pd_sim_229_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41zklYlfOiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=ZRDHP6SVGYA3R9J207G8) and I honestly hate them because it's twist to open and they kept opening >(

That’s a good one, I use it for my sock drawer cc’s. And when I started to collect VGCs I bought a 1000-card binder, something like this one

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y57AFCW

Like one of the comments said, do not bring all your games at the same time, you lose 1 container, you lose all of them. For travelling, I suggest you just bring a small bag that has at least 3 (or 6 games) you can play on the go.



But I like to live my life dangerously :D




At first I was settled in 4pcs of these: 28 in 1 Cartridge Cases but I ended up getting more games than I should (Gotta catch them all) and They were a bit bulky to bring. Soon I did a bit of digging on what's on the market.


Found some interesting stuff like:




The Mario Block


Club Nintendo Card cases



And even considered the metal Attache case.






What I settled for Involves this thing:



Coin Pocket Pages - I tried one that doesn't close at the top but they kept falling off. You need to punch holes for these since they aren't made to size for the regular 3 ring binders I bought.




For the main storage I got this:



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P48ZRY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1





Soon I bought more and upgraded to this:





https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EUPCLDY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I carry papers like this in a zippered portfolio like this. I have a nice leather one that I got for $1 at a yard sale. I see them all the time at thrift stores too.

I got this idea from a GM at a con, but it has worked out very well for me.

I got a large zippered binder ( http://amzn.com/B001GIP20S ) for each of the bestiary and the NPC codex.

Then I got baseball card/photo insets that fit in a 3-ring binder. I get Ultra pro 4 pocket Page for the biggest pawns, 9 pocket Page for large pawns, and Ultra pro 15 pocket Page for small and medium pawns. I ordered them from here: http://www.republicjewelry.com/

Then I cut up the boxes and glued the front to the front of the binder so I knew which was which, and put the back inside in one of the pockets.

For rise of the runelords pawn set I basically did the same thing but with a much smaller binder. (I happened to already own this one)

Pieces go in by size then numerically. Then its a quick matter of looking at the back, seeing the size/number of the pawn you want, and pulling it out.


Here is am image gallery of how it all looks: http://imgur.com/a/tcIGC

After looking at those expensive Playbill binders for a long time, I ended up getting these, along with the sheet protectors Amazon suggests with them.

It's the same thing as far as I can tell, it just doesn't say "Playbill" on the spine. For that, I cut off the tops of Playbills people don't want and tape the logo neatly on the spine.

You might be interested in this for taking notes because this binder is like a notebook where you can flip it to the back.

I’ve had success with these , fitting up to 13 in a single slot, sleeved.

Needed two of these to carry them all.

I use this binder/notebook. It's small and light, like a notebook, but I can move pages around and reuse it, like a binder.

I personally have a Hybrid NoteBinder I got on sale as my choice DM Notebook. I enjoy the removeable pages for old notes, it has only ever torn the first page I used in it, it holds enough for 3 active campaigns, and I can bring it anywhere with my laptop.

When I was starting up my business about six months ago (just after the conclusion of the 2012 Presidential Election) I needed to buy a couple dozen binders and went to Amazon. When on Amazon I always shop by reviews. Couldn't find a damn binder due to Romney's "Binders full of women" comment. Everything was rated Five Stars due to the binders' prodigious abilities to hold all the women.

I got one of the Five Star Flex Binders and it is wonderful for organization:

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Star-NoteBinder-Capacity-72011/dp/B003O3H2G0

I use that for papers/handouts and syllabi and then I use a five subject notebook for notes/lectures,etc. I also bring my tablet with me for anything else I may need.

I use plain printer paper + a three hole punch, and a few of these notebook/binder hybrids (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O3F2R6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_IMGfAbF89FQ0T). I usually print out slides too, so the notebook/binder allows me to organize and move notes around. This has been working fine for me, but I think I may invest in an iPad and pencil because I don’t like using so much paper. There’s just too much clutter with this much paper.

Get these. More expensive but last forever and you can fold them back like a notebook.

Thanks for all the suggestions, sorry for being picky, just trying to find something specific. I am looking for something that holds tools and such like my original case, but is the size of [This] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EUPCLDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_K8TzxbTC5CAVW). If there is such a thing. Maybe 3 ring inserts that hold tools instead of documents.

I bought a zipper binder and two pocket insertable tabs for it to hold all of my log sheets. Definitely makes things a lot more manageable.

The smart ring binder is like a thin notebook and the pages can be rearranged.

I got one of these and i like it a lot.

Five Star Flex NoteBinder, 1 Inch Binder, Notebook and Binder All-in-One, Black (72009) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O3F2R6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OmzYAbY9PZ7HB

I think on the first day I'd start out with a simple "padfolio" - something like this. Then I'd look around at what the other engineers are doing and move to something similar. You're not going to be carrying around a lot of stuff on your first day and there's a reason why the other folks are using whatever it is that they're using; it works. So don't run off and buy an expensive [whatever] when you don't even know that it's suitable/appropriate.

I have a BCW Z-Folio LX. It’s large - 12 pockets per page. Padded outside and stiff construction. I’m a fan




https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Z-Folio-Zipper-Portfolio-Playset/dp/B00YG78KUU

You can get them on Amazon UK if you don't come across any in the shops. Those are kind of pricy though so you could just get some binder rings and a plastic pouch to keep them in.

Z-Folio - https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Z-Folio-Zipper-Portfolio-Playset/dp/B00YG78KUU

This is what i'm currently using. Have been using it for months almost completely filled with cards and have had no problems with it. Would always prefer top loading to side loading but I believe the only way to achieve in a binder is the original FOUR binder. FOUR V2 is side loading.

I would think so. As for slanted, the straight edge on the "D" is at and angle (for those who don't know). It looks like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GIP208/ref=twister_B01COSKDP2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Two of these, Red and Blue for runner and corp. I plan on buying a third when rotation hits. They're getting a bit tight with all of the cards, I will admit.

I bought one of these when I was in high school. Its been three years since I graduated and I still use it , It's highly durable, and I can vouch for it. Plus, Its only $15 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Star-Hybrid-NoteBinder-72011/dp/B003O3H2G0/ref=cm_rdp_product

I use two 5 in binders called caseit. I have room for all cards in all sets plus little extra room for tmnt set. For dice I use beading trays. Here's the link for binders http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005FUGOQE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1463027404&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=case+it+zipper+binders&dpPl=1&dpID=513-EaNtg0L&ref=plSrch

I use this binder:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006HV8V2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_F8TCDbJYMCVXS

And these sheet protectors:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XKW45Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_I.TCDbBS43725

Try notebooks instead of loose-leaf.

There's also these that are somewhat more low-profile than a metal 3-ring binder

you need some of these

I'm using this with a bunch of Ultra-Pro card binders. It's very snug, but it fits everything, sleeved, although I don't own Cornucopia or any promos. I've got a second binder in reserve for those.

https://www.amazon.com/Hybrid-NoteBinder-Binder-Notebook-72011/dp/B003O3H2G0 - this is what im talking about.

Campus sells notebook binders type things that have lined paper that also has dots. That's the closest I have found to what you're describing.

I use this binder. It has pockets that can handle all the paperwork, manuals, character sheets, etc.

I use these for the small map pieces They go in the binder.

I use these for larger map pieces. They also go in the binder.

All dice, tokens, and cards go in this box.

I ordered the box inserts for all the boxes from these guys. That covers all the minis except for the largest stuff (AT-STs), which got a case from them instead.

The hoodie https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9JNQHM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YwBRAbS5HFMGK

The bottle in Dunder mifflin Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ACAXJ50/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OxBRAbKQZTJEE

The Dunder Mifflin Decal on the bottle (tough as hell won't peel)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/270699638/dunder-mifflin-the-office-vinyl-decal

To hold your Dunder Mifflin brand paper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O3H2G0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cABRAb38NHKRN

Cheaper Decal (last guy had it at $3 now its $5) just tell this guy what you want and he'll make it for like $3.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/553725612/dunder-mifflin-sticker-the-office-tv

Buy a Five Star Flex. I am horrible on my notebooks and I hate binders. This thing is amazing!