(Part 2) Best products from r/DMAcademy

I'm going to try to be more detailed than is strictly necessary in an attempt to cover all the bases, so apologies if I cover something that seems obvious to you, since I'm not sure what does and does not!

The main responsibility of the DM is to prepare and "run" a single, or series of adventures, either written by themselves or someone else. Most pre-written adventures have some background on exactly what to do when running it (information to pass along to the players, boxed text to read, etc.), and writing your own adventure is a bit daunting, so I'd recommend starting with a pre-written one.

That might be what you mean when you say "Adventurer's League Campaign Book," but I'm not sure: is this a published hardcover? What is it's title?

If you DON'T have a pre-published adventure and are looking to select one:

Lost Mines of Phandelver is the adventure that comes with the starter set, and is widely regarded as a good starting point for both new players and DMs. It also has the advantage of having all monster stat blocks included. I personally like any of the Places by the Way series by Douglas Sun (particularly Treasure on the Rocks and Secret of Oyster Cove, which form something of a pair), which are smaller and can transition into other adventures with relative ease, though these require the monster manual (though they are almost certainly workable with basic rules monsters with a bit of adjustment)

The official hardcovers are sort of a mixed bag. Waterdeep Dragon Heist and Ghosts of Saltmarsh are both geared towards being "starter set" type adventures, whereas Out of The Abyss or Storm King's Thunder are quite advanced. I believe also that at least some of these require the Monster Manual.

You can obtain any or all of these by going on dmsguild.com. This is Wizards DrivethruRPG storefront, where every DnD module is available for purchase as a PDF. You can also browse around for other introductory modules for characters level 1-5, though make sure you are buying 5th edition products (as previous editions don't work with newer rules without a great deal of adjustment). Some homebrewed modules are even Pay What You Want, if money is an issue, though I cannot speak to the quality of these

Either way, you should read through your chosen adventure. If you don't feel like reading it through cover to cover, don't. But in either case, read through the first few "encounters": these are usually indicated by numbers in prewritten adventures. Try to read through about 8 or so, though this will almost certainly be far more than you will get through your first session. Familiarize yourself with the monsters and NPCs contained therein and devote a little time to thinking how exactly the encounter will go, what moves the enemies have, etc. This is more for mental preparation than anything else.

After that, it's up to how you personally organize your thoughts. I personally am not a note-taker: when I prep a prewritten adventure, I usually don't take notes beyond post its to help me find pages or references, or occasionaly redrawing maps for use on a battle map. Some people like to copy almost the whole book onto a separate sheet. Find what works for you. Just do whatever it takes to feel like you "know" the adventure, so that when your players inevitably do something the adventure doesn't predict, you can roll with it.

If you are dead set on writing your own adventure, I recommend starting with the formula detailed in Matt Colville's Running the Game series: a low level monster gang, headed by a slightly higher level monster, has stolen something precious from town, and it is up to your players' characters to retrieve it. That will be enough for a first session.

Beyond prepping the adventure, make sure to come prepared just for the game. Bring pencils, a notebook (and graph paper), index cards, and post its. A DM screen is a very popular accessory, used to hide notes and secret dice rolls from the players, though it is by no means mandatory. You can make one yourself out of binders or folders if you don't want to purchase an additional product. Despite our protestations, the DM often has a secondary duty to "manage" the table. That means you should bring extra pencils, extra dice, a copy of the rules (ensuring there's at least one copy at the table), because someone will forget them.

If you want to do gridded combat, you'll need some kind of battle-mat, with 1" squares or hexes. This can be a printed sheet of paper or a product like this. You will also need miniatures or tokens to represent your characters and NPCs. These can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. I use disks of foamcore posterboard, a handful of molded plastic minis, and M&Ms for NPCs. Gridded combat is by no means mandatory, so if you're not comfortable with it, feel free to leave these for a different day.

Familiarize yourself with the rules. All players should know the rules, but you act as the "referee" in cases where the rules are unclear or no one can be bothered to look them up. So it behooves you to know the rules at least as well as the player who knows them best.

Check your player's character sheets to ensure they created them correctly. If your players rolled for ability scores out of your sight, consider either making them use the point buy system, or making them reroll the characters together at the table (for some reason, rolling ability scores ahead of time tempts even the purest hearts, and they come with a character with two 17s and nothing below 10 on their sheet). This will be your first "ruling" as a DM: if a player complains, gently remind them that it is your responsibility to ensure the rules are enforced consistently and fairly, and to that end character creation is your choice to make, and that they gave you this power when they asked you to be DM.

Finally, have fun.

I just ran my first session as a new DM with LMoP last week! I'll jot down my experience running a group of 4 beginners. (so take my advice with a grain of salt as a beginner that has not finished the campaign)

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First, read through the books in the Starter Set! (If you can afford the Player's Handbook, that is a good idea as well.) I highly recommend going through the rulebook (or Basic Rules) then at least skimming through the entire LMoP module. You don't have to memorize everything but as a DM it is important to have the idea of the setting in your head.

For combat, you have to decide if you are going to run "Theater of the Mind" or battlemat+miniatures for combat. Theater of the Mind is more flexible and requires less preparation but battlemats give great visuals at a cost of preparation and supply.

Then you have to decide if you think your players would want to make their own characters or not. For my beginner group, I decided that they would be a lot more invested/excited if they could identify with their own creation so I chose to not use the pre-generated character sheets. Once you are comfortable with the rules of D&D enough, set a date to meet with your group.

Since we had to make characters, I held a Session 0 to introduce the basic concept of what to expect in committing to D&D as well as character creation. I highly suggest making characters together a separate day before Session 1 because it usually takes a decent amount of time for the first time (3ish hours for me).

My Session 0 looked like this:

• Introduction to D&D
  
  
• Explaining all races, classes, backgrounds and letting them pick
  
  
• Giving character sheets, rolling stats
  
  
• Guiding them through the char sheet by referencing DNDBeyond for background/race/class bonuses
  
  After everyone was done, I let them take home the character sheet and work on character appearance, personality, and background story.
  
  The week after, we had Session 1. Make sure you actually read through the LMoP module in depth, at least up to Part 1-2 beforehand. I also decided to take some elements of this supplement Part 0 for LMoP to use as a tutorial for my players. Then, begin your adventure! My party took a lot longer than I expected and only got to the entrance of the Cragmaw Hideout after 3 hours.
  
  Good luck to your campaign, I'm looking forward to my second session!
  
  ---
  
  Some recommended guides I used:
  
  
• Matt Mercer tips (all DM's love this man)
  
  
• Don't Stop Thinking guides (great graphic visuals and in-depth coverage)
  
  
• Matt Colville tips (gives a good idea of how D&D should look like at an advanced level)
  
  
• DungeonDudes (channel that covers good topics)
  
  
• DNDBeyond (amazing website for the Basic Rules, classes, and races)
  
  
• OneCritWonder LMoP tips (helpful overview of the module)
  
  
• LMoP enemies (generator that adapts to how many players you have)
  
  ---
  Supplies I personally prepared (BUT ARE OPTIONAL):
  
  
• Beginner dice (shared with my beginners, they are planning to get their own sets soon)
  
  
• Custom character sheets (a bit overwhelming at first but I find helpful for each class)
  
  
• Spell cards (I don't think many people use these but I find it an amazing resource to give your players if they are spellcasters)
  
  
• Battlemat (use with Wet-Erase markers)
  
  
• Paper minis (dedication and time required, can use coins, legos, or anything instead or even real miniatures if you can afford it)
  
  
• DM Screen (the official and most standard and affordable screen)

Here is some good history on dragons in D&D; there have been a lot of iterations, although they have kept to the basic theme of chromatics, metallics, and gemstones (later).

In all fairness, 5E Monster Manual is pretty thin on material to build out dragons as more than stat blocks, but part of that is because the MM is mostly stat blocks, a bit of behavior. Earlier editions like 2E and 3E gave a bit more to work with, and the 1E Rules Cyclopedia had a fair amount as well. Dragons, to play them well, should get the full NPC personality treatment to flesh them out, and should be done before focusing on the stat blocks - they should have a reason to be there, rather than another big scary thing. They are (mostly) highly intelligent, have strong personalities and interests, and won't just mindlessly attack without a good reason.

There are some great suggestions in this thread on source books, but I also encourage you to look at D&D fiction books like Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books to see how dragons' personalities are beyond the monster-stat block side. Also, look at non-D&D fiction to explore dragons - The Dragon and the George is unusual but fun, the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik are a very different take on dragons that is all about their interactions with humans. E. E. Knight's "Age of Fire" series is excellent in terms of giving a natural history and political exploration of dragons (but the editing in the last couple books is terrible, sadly).

In the end, you can make any monster/adversary interesting, but you have to be willing to do the work to develop them. I've been on a kobold kick lately to research what has been done and to come up with ways to give them actual personalities and a society. Dragons are much easier as there is so much material out there, and you have so much to work with.

Full disclosure: have been obsessed with dragons since He-Man's Granamyr and "Flight of Dragons" the animated movie. Watch those too.

You can talk to them. In person. Respectfully and clearly.
Maybe try to brainstorm with the group on how to make this work. Maybe no phones except at break times that are scheduled throughout. Or you find a way to play on another night somehow. But you need to talk to them.
Have that out of game meeting. Be polite but clear.

Frankly, I find it incredibly rude for them to always be on their phones but if they made it clear from the beginning that the Fantasy League is their priority then you actually kind of set yourself up for this issue. The two priorities are not compatible. If they are always on their phones they cannot pay attention to the game, which makes it much harder to get engaged in the game which means that all your hard work and their main purpose for being there (to play DnD) goes down the tubes. Maybe this just isn't going to work out. You need to really think about that. Are you willing to keep going as is? Kick players out? Do something else with this group on that night and find another group to DM for on a different night? Honestly, if they are really prioritizing Fantasy League over the game it seems kind of pointless to keep going unless you want to shift focus to a casual game that has little to no plot and they are just there to goof off.

If they don't want to prioritize the DnD game, be honest with your players that this is not fun for you anymore and you are tired of putting in all the prep behind the scenes for something you no longer enjoy. You think you would like to end the game if playing really isn't something they are truly interested in and willing to invest time into. Don't be angry or hurt. Just matter of fact. Share that you are putting a lot of time and effort into things behind the scenes but it won't ever matter if they really don't care.

Ask them honestly if they want to continue with DnD in particular or if they really don't care as long as they have something fun to do together. If they want to do something else instead that doesn't require so much effort from you, bring up other options. There are great board games out there that might work better, including a Pandemic game where consequences from the previous session carry over. It is sort of like an RPG in a way. https://www.amazon.com/Pandemic-Legacy-Season-1-Blue/dp/B00TQ5SEAI/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=pandemic&qid=1572379404&sr=8-3

Then consider on a different night doing DnD with some other group that can prioritize the game.

The Angry GM did a very good article recently on metagaming. (If you're unfamiliar with Angry, he has a very different style than most gaming writers. If you're able to get past his "f&%$s" and "s@#&s," you'll find some very well researched and reasoned advice, and some good humor as well.)

I've been actively DMing for about four or five months now, and one of my players is the group's original DM and a DM for a Roll20 group. She uses the more prevalent definition of "metagaming," while I use Angry's, and it's been an interesting transition in the group.

Essentially, if the players are able to come to the correct conclusion about a major part of the storyline, while circumventing all of the deflections and delays I had put in their path (as happened recently), I don't see any reason to punish that. I rewarded that player with additional XP for clever thinking, even if I had to jump well passed what I had planned. If the bard knows a monster's weakness, they probably heard about it in some ballad. If one player acts on information on another player that they haven't formally discussed in character at the table, well, they've been traveling together for the better part of a year in game; the characters must have talked about it in the would-be-boring travel scenes that I gloss over.

As far as the monster inventory situation is concerned, I recommend getting some Pathfinder Pawns (I've linked to the two boxes I have on Amazon). They let you surprise your players with a huge variety of them. If you go on Paizo's website, you can buy printable versions for cheaper. The art is pretty good, and it's hard to beat the variety you get for your dollar.

In the end, everyone has a different playing style. I prefer to resolve differences when I can. Encourage some frank, open discussion at the table and away from it. If you can't resolve your different styles with your roommate, it might be best if they don't continue with the group. The overall group's fun level is really the deciding factor.

Ebay has solid deals, but you need to hunt for them.

I got a bunch of cool lizardfolk from Etsy seller RetroFools.

There's a great deal on Monolith's Conan boardgames on Amazon – some of the best unpainted minis I've found yet. Really great deal.

I've heard good things about the minis found in the boardgame Massive Darkness, but I haven't yet invested in the game.

I'd highly recommend the following:

- Minis ($175): Arcknight flat plastic miniatures https://arcknight.squarespace.com/shop/flat-plastic-fpm-core-10pack, store easily, great art and good quality.
- Pens ($15): Staedtler colored pens https://www.amazon.com/Lumocolor-Watersoluble-Marker-Sf-Set/dp/B0007OEDP2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542862329&sr=8-3&keywords=staedtler+pens+wet+erase, good for use on your battle mat and really great quality

- Bluetooth speaker ($20-$100): Search the web for what works for your price range and your equipment. Using music really helps set the mood

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Save the remaining $100-200 for small things that will come up as the months go by. You might see a good deal on something simple or notice you'd enhance your game more with an item and use that money to buy it

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I played 1e and 2e for many years, and every group I was in always used theater of the mind. When I returned to D&D a year ago, the group I was playing with used a battle mat and minis and it was a revelation for me: I really like being able to see where all the creatures are, and having a good set of wet-erase markers means we can draw anything we need to on the mat. When I started DMing again, I bought a battle mat and a set of markers and it makes things very easy, especially for younger players (one of my groups is 4 11-year-olds). Being able to make a custom mini (using something like HeroForge) means that everyone can get a mini that really expresses their character concept, which helps people get invested in the game. Also, Lego minifigures are almost exactly the right size, which is awesome, and you can print your minis on paper as well (better for monsters, IMO).

Having said all that, Sly Flourish has a really good guide to Theater of the Mind combat and there's a lot to recommend it.

Check these out. They're a great for noobs learning to play. It's simpler and needs no DM. Great way to get your feet wet and learn the basic mechanics. I took one when i deployed and used it introduce new players to the game.

https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Dragons-Ashardalon/dp/0786955708

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/

If you still want to dm, these are great supplies to get started:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ (i highly suggest you get this)

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Spellbook-Cards-Accessory/dp/0786966726/r (i find these really helpful)

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Spellbook-Cards-Arcane/dp/B01MRVJ1TB/

Also, check out your local gaming store. They are a great resource. Also ask about Pathfinder, which was created based off of D&D

The dice linked will be good enough as each person will probably have two sets and you can roll and add up but if you need to make large rolls I use a dice rolling app named “Dice Ex Machina” it’s on IOS and I believe android and google store.

Regarding minis the 2d cutouts are quite nice and easy to use there is also a kinda blandish minifigure collection

SCS Direct Fantasy Creatures Action Figure Playset - 90pc Monster Battle Toy Collection (Includes Dragons, Wizards, Orcs, and More) - Perfect for Roleplaying and D&D Gaming https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746TKNSL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_n8apDb6TPTRBB

And the cutouts

Pathfinder Pawns: Bestiary Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255616/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_h-apDbW0DB1MW

The mats you’re talking about sound great, I would probably just buy those

And the monster stats can be found on the website I linked, they can be printed or just used from the site and I would go out and got a pack of coloured markers to draw on the mats

This website has almost all monster and spell stats

The easiest thing is to get parchment style printer paper, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L2OMUHS/

Then just use a simple word processing program, like Microsoft Word, or Google Docs, to create the handout you want, using any kind of script font (just not one that is hard to see) to create whatever letter/handout you want.

Then you can stain it a bit with coffee, burn the edges a bit with a lighter, and/or crumble it up into a ball then unfold it a few times, to make it look old.

I also go this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F3XG9VW

and some wax so I could do real wax seals on envelopes and things.

These make great thematic hand outs. You could use the same paper to print out your modifications to races/classes, just skip the stuff to make it look dirty/old.

We use this book: https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965

I think it might be the same as yours.

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We haven't started converting it to 5e yet. We agreed to do a few one-shots with the original system and if people feel like it needs work we will convert it. I you start doing it sooner then us I'd be more than interested to take a look at it, converting a whole game to a different system is no small job and I wish you the best of luck!

1. Book coverage: Waterdeep is a lot like a broad template at times - like reading the Wikipedia recap of a TV episode. Many aspects are fully fleshed out. Others say "The players are tasked with finding three bandits who stole a necklace" and then you just have to figure that out yourself. Get ready to improv!
   
   
2. I would only consider doing voices if you think you have 30+ unique voices in you already. Otherwise, they'll all sound mostly the same, and your players may get confused. Learn a few of the most important characters (the main villains, vital NPCs, etc) and make a voice for them. For everyone else, generic fantasy British works most of the time!
   
   
3. Buy one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O) and a set of wet erase markers (https://www.amazon.com/Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Markers-Assorted/dp/B00006IFGX/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=wet+erase+markers&qid=1564073953&s=gateway&sr=8-5) and never worry about battle maps again - unless you REALLY want to make unique and custom maps for every single thing the players see. I find that the flexibility of being able to quickly draw out a big rectangle with some trees and barrels on one of these maps for those encounters you couldn't have planned on outweighs the benefit of having a detailed battle map you custom-make for everything (unless you just have the time and money to do so!). The official Dungeon Tiles are also great, and you can lay them on top of the map I linked earlier. (https://www.amazon.com/DUNGEON-TILES-REINCARNATED-CITY/dp/0786966297/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=d%26d+tiles&qid=1564074069&s=gateway&sr=8-4)
   
   Also, check out the official Waterdeep: Dragon Heist subreddit for an entire host of questions, answers and resources just for that book. https://www.reddit.com/r/WaterdeepDragonHeist/

Personally I got them on Amazon EU. Dunno if it's just the stock but the prices there seems a bit lower.

 

The Monster Codex is showing on Amazon US for like $27 here and most of the others can be found there as well for a moderately lower price.

 

I will agree the one off price seems higher in comparison to say a small box of mini's for $10, but the mini per dollar value is just superb. You're looking at $0.10, per mini for one of the $30 dollar boxes, not including postage, as they average 250-300 tokens per box.

 

If the price is putting you off there are a few ways you can have a similar effects making your own, assuming you have a printer. Example, just search about in the various DnD subreddits (/r/dndnext , /r/dnd, /r/DnDBehindTheScreen etc.) for paper craft mini's and such.

If you’re looking for low cost I would recommend reaper bones or wizkids deep cuts/nolzurs marvelus miniatures. Depending on the size /set it’ll run you $4-$100. $4 being an individual Meduim sized mini $100 being a boxed set of a lot of them or a single large set piece like a huge dragon. Both of these options are unpainted and you should be able to find whatever you’re looking for. If you just want best bang for your buck I would recommend pathfinder pawns they’re card stock minis and usually get a couple hundred for around $15-$40 depending on the set you get. Another option is to find board games that use minis like zombiecide or some of the d&d board games

Covering with paper works, but I like to use the small interlocking tiles and predraw the map on those, trying to get only seen areas on each tile. The 5" tiles work well because you don't have to draw a bunch of stuff they can't see yet.

I draw these ahead of time using a sharpie so it doesn't accidentally wipe off. When you want to clean sharpie from a dry erase just color over it with a dry erase marker and it will wipe clean, though you might need a spritz of alcohol to aid the cleaning, it usually isn't required.

https://www.amazon.com/five-inch-interlocking-role-playing-miniature-tabletop/dp/B016H14JFM/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1492706141&sr=1-2&keywords=dry+erase+interlocking+tiles

Not sure how "mini" you want, but I just ran a few sessions in an arcane academy with a fairly large chapel using all 3 sets of these: https://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Hobby-Gothic-Building-Small/dp/B001FFZBJE (small 1, small 2 and large).


You could probably get away with 1 for a small church, and 2 for a fairly large one. I managed 3 decently large buildings with all 3 sets. They're unpainted, but they are a nice dark-grey if you don't want to paint them. If you do, its fairly easy - just basecoat and drybrush. They don't have roofs, but I just cut some foam-board to shape and it socketed in easily with the nubs on the tops of the walls.

How about Several huge litters of puppies all at the same time? Three large dogs all have 12 pups each. They are tasked with taking them somewhere else to find homes for them, because that little town can't handle that many dogs, and certainly not large ones like mastiffs or great danes. This gives a little traditional road action, an inn to stay in on the way, etc.

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Terry Pratchett characters: https://www.candyapplecostumes.com/fo79488.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwt_nmBRD0ARIsAJYs6o01Rz1IQ7-1-FIJ3JdRketgxZwpzsRIybqw5SMoyFSUnm6yXvOeakAaAgEyEALw_wcBhttps://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Maurice-Educated-Rodents-Discworld-ebook/dp/B000YGIIPO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ISB62C85DAT6&keywords=the+amazing+maurice+and+his+educated+rodents+by+terry+pratchett&qid=1558213293&s=gateway&sprefix=The+Amazing+Maurice%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1 (great book overall, but has smart animals and dumb people. This is a 'childrens book' that's so well written it's enjoyable for an adult to read too)

I'm forgetting the name of the street dog who shows up in all his books that take place in Anhk-Morpork, that can speak human because he spent too much time sleeping on the roof of Unseen University. That one is a fun one too

These tubes of minis are probably the best value: 90-100 minis for ~$20. They can give you a good base, and then you can purchase specific minis for more important characters (PCs, important NPCs, BBEGs, etc.)

Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, Orcs, Dragons, Unicorns, Skeletons, Fairies and Centaurs

Fiends, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein), Lizardfolk/Dragonborn (Godzilla), Mummies, Cyclops, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Giant Spider, Giant Moths, Sahaugin (Creature from the Black Lagoon), gravestones

I have a few flip mats and I am not a big fan. They fold instead of rolling up so they crease really bad. Because they are a laminated they don't ever seem to lay flat and the creases make lumps across the mat. My Favorite are the Battle Mats. They don't always like to lay flat either, but all it takes is something on each corner and they flatten out nice, and there are no creases. I also really like the tan color as its easy on the eyes and everything is easy to see.

Flip chart grid paper is probably my #1. We have a pad that's lasted us months for half the price of a proper vinyl battle mat, but personally I'm going to go with the battle mat for next time because it's much easier to deal with overall.

Still, paper is great for prepping maps ahead of time, especially for one-time use, but also, if you can keep them in good condition, for maps you'll come back to repeatedly (rather than a battle mat that you're going to erase/redraw every encounter).

I recently got these tiles as well, and they are a godsend. I was drawing the map as they went but this is way better. I am able to prepare my maps beforehand and not have to worry about trying to hide the unexplored bits. These are the ones I got. or you can get the bigger ones.

I just got these: BattleMat

They are great! They also have different packs, some with 10x10 squares, some mixed 10x10 and 5x5. I just got the 36 5x5 squares. You can make BIG battle mats or even small little rooms, piece by piece as they adventure.

I bought a pack of this stuff, and draw my maps with Sharpies:

https://www.amazon.com/Post-Sticky-560-Premium-Sticking/dp/B00006I9V8

They have 1" squares pre-drawn in a nice light blue, and at 25 x 30 that's more than enough for most battlemaps. You get a 2-pack of easel-style pads at 30 sheets each, for about $0.67 per sheet. Less than $1 USD per map is a price I'm okay with.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQHECUR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_L7j7CbQ9RS4K0

This is what I use, comes with a nice scroll case too

If money isnt an issue, this bag is the one I've been using. It can carry a dm's screen, 4 books, dice, notebooks, pencil, a battle map, and has a dedicated mini storage for I believe 15 standard sized minis. It's a really good bag but the price is very up there. Otherwise I've seen alot of people use old cardboard boxes for mini storage and three ring binders for everything else

https://www.amazon.com/ENHANCE-Tabletop-RPG-Adventurers-Bag/dp/B07KJMP49F/ref=asc_df_B07KJMP49F/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128107912&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8404473713647315703&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026808&hvtargid=pla-595262781264&psc=1

yeah, you can buy it here https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521698985&sr=8-1&keywords=wheel+of+time+RPG and you might be able to find a PDF of it online somewhere

Amazon has the core books for around $30 each.

Dry erase dungeon tiles.

I love these things.