Introduction
A GM screen is useful only if it reduces friction. It should collect the decisions you make during prep and live play, not every rule in the game.
Use this with GM guide, rules, combat, skills, equipment, classes, ancestry guides, and archetypes.
Fast Screen Build
| Panel | Put here | Why it earns space |
|---|---|---|
| Live play | conditions, dying, Hero Points, basic actions, skill actions, detection, cover, concealment | These are the rules that interrupt turns. |
| Adjudication | simple DCs, level-based DCs, difficulty adjustments, secret checks, Aid, exploration activities | These are the rules you improvise under pressure. |
| Encounter prep | encounter difficulty, party-size adjustment, terrain, hazards, treasure, recovery, morale | These keep prep connected to GM Core math. |
| Campaign notes | rarity access, variant rules, safety boundaries, downtime policy, source permissions, house rulings | These prevent table drift and mid-session arguments. |
| Party panel | class loops, key skills, languages, senses, movement modes, healing, crafting, consumables | This makes the screen fit the group instead of a theoretical party. |
Hot take: the best GM screen is aggressively incomplete. It should remember the stuff you forget, not impersonate a hardcover.
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Player Core Foundation
Player Core material belongs on the screen when it is used constantly: actions, conditions, dying, Hero Points, exploration activities, skill actions, basic DC logic, spell areas, and common traits. Anything rare can stay in a linked reference.
| Player-facing item | Screen reminder |
|---|---|
| Three-action economy | Common one-action activities, reactions, free actions, Sustain, Ready, Delay, Interact, Seek, Take Cover. |
| Conditions | Keep the frequent conditions visible: frightened, grabbed, prone, slowed, stunned, sickened, concealed, hidden, dying, wounded. |
| Death and dying | Keep dying, wounded, recovery checks, Hero Points, and stabilization procedures close. |
| Exploration activities | Remind yourself who is Avoiding Notice, Defending, Detecting Magic, Scouting, Searching, Tracking, or Investigating. |
| Skill actions | Keep common combat skills near the table: Athletics, Acrobatics, Intimidation, Deception, Medicine. |
| Detection and senses | Hidden, undetected, unnoticed, precise senses, imprecise senses, Seek, and special senses. |
Player Core 2 Updates
Player Core 2 adds table reminders for uncommon ancestry access, new class loops, alchemical items, archetype access, and expanded feats. The GM screen should not list every option, but it should remind you to account for the expanded party toolkit.
| Player Core 2 presence | Add this reminder |
|---|---|
| Alchemist | Consumables, splash, persistent damage, weaknesses, Crafting, item access, and formula pacing. |
| Champion | Reactions, ally protection, sanctification, enemy target logic, and moral tension. |
| Investigator | Clues, Recall Knowledge, Pursue a Lead-style pacing, and pre-fight information. |
| Monk | Speed, stances, flurry pressure, verticality, and action compression. |
| Oracle | Divine support, curse pressure, focus pacing, and encounter length. |
| Sorcerer | Spontaneous spell access, bloodline expectations, tradition limits, and scroll gaps. |
| Swashbuckler | Panache skill hooks, movement, style opportunities, and flashy objective play. |
| New ancestries | Senses, movement, poison, terrain identity, storage, uncommon access, and social reactions. |
GM Core Procedure
GM Core material belongs on the screen when it affects prep pacing: encounter budgets, party-size adjustments, simple DCs, level-based DCs, treasure expectations, hazard basics, subsystem choices, Hero Point awards, and downtime or retraining reminders.
Live Play Panel
| Prompt | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| What is the current mode? | Encounter, exploration, downtime, or narrative pacing changes which procedures matter. |
| What is the immediate stake? | Players make better choices when success and failure are visible. |
| Is this check secret? | Knowledge, detection, and uncertainty often work better when the result is not fully visible. |
| What is the consequence of failure? | A roll without consequence is often narration wearing dice. |
| Does Aid apply? | PF2e rewards teamwork, but Aid should still fit the fiction and action cost. |
| Which condition changed? | Track conditions immediately, especially frightened, grabbed, prone, slowed, stunned, dying, wounded, persistent damage, and concealment states. |
| Who has a reaction? | Reactions define many class and monster turns; keep them visible. |
Prep Panel
| Prep item | Screen note |
|---|---|
| Encounter budget | Use encounter building, then adjust for party size and actual party roles. |
| Party-size adjustment | Use adjusting encounters when a player is absent or the group is larger than default. |
| Monster role | Brute, soldier, skirmisher, controller, caster, support, hazard, or objective. |
| Terrain job | Cover, elevation, water, doors, rubble, darkness, weather, crowd, or route pressure. |
| Treasure | Check treasure by level, consumables, permanent items, formulas, scrolls, and item access. |
| Hazards | Decide trigger, clue, detection, disable, consequence, escalation, and bypass. |
| Recovery | Note whether Treat Wounds, focus recovery, refocusing, repairs, and rest are expected before the next scene. |
Adjudication Panel
| Need | Reference |
|---|---|
| Fast task difficulty | Skill check DCs and rules DCs. |
| Leveled obstacle | Level-based DC logic for creatures, hazards, items, spells, rituals, and level-scaled threats. |
| Circumstance shift | Easy/hard adjustments, tools, time pressure, visibility, help, and approach quality. |
| Hidden information | Secret checks, Recall Knowledge, detection, searching, and false certainty management. |
| Social pressure | Social encounters, attitudes, leverage, consequences, and influence pacing. |
| Complex scene | Subsystems, victory points, chases, influence, infiltration, research, and reputation. |
Quick Reference
| GM question | Use this when |
|---|---|
| Live play panel | conditions, dying, Hero Points, exploration, common DCs |
| Prep panel | encounter budgets, treasure, hazards, party size |
| Adjudication panel | simple DCs, level DCs, adjustments, secret checks |
| Campaign panel | variants, rarity access, downtime, session zero agreements |
What Not To Put On The Screen
Do not crowd the screen with rules you rarely use, spell lists, full item tables, or class text. A crowded screen is slower than a search. Keep the screen opinionated: the procedures you forget, the numbers you need, and the links you open every session.
| Usually leave off | Better replacement |
|---|---|
| Full spell lists | Links to spell guides and current party spell pages. |
| Complete class rules | One-line reminders for each actual PC's class loop. |
| Every item table | Treasure by level, equipment, and active wish-list notes. |
| Full monster text | Stat block guide, current encounter notes, and creature traits. |
| Rare subsystem rules | A link to subsystems and the one subsystem currently in use. |
Screen Layout That Actually Helps
Put the fastest decisions closest to your eyes: simple DCs, level-based DCs, difficulty adjustments, conditions, dying, Hero Points, and encounter difficulty. Put prep reminders on the side: treasure by level, party-size adjustment, hazard basics, and subsystem selection. Put campaign agreements where you can see them before improvising: rarity access, variant rules, tone, safety boundaries, downtime policy, and treasure style. Player Core 2 belongs as a reminder, not a catalog: uncommon ancestry access, new class roles, alchemical item pressure, archetype use, and expanded source permission. The goal is speed, not completeness.
Party-Specific Screen Notes
Customize one panel for the current party.
| Party feature | GM reminder |
|---|---|
| No dedicated healer | Put recovery windows, consumable treasure, and dying rules where you can see them. |
| Heavy summons or companions | Keep companions and familiars, summoned creatures, turn timing, and battlefield blocking in mind. |
| Strong crafting | Keep Crafting, formulas, repairs, alchemical items, and downtime visible. |
| Strong social party | Keep attitudes, influence, reputation, Society, Diplomacy, Deception, and Intimidation visible. |
| Investigation-heavy party | Keep Recall Knowledge, clues, secret checks, and research procedures close. |
| High-mobility party | Keep terrain, falling, climbing, jumping, swimming, cover, doors, and chase pressure close. |
| Spell-heavy party | Keep counteract, areas, cover, concealment, traditions, saves, and common traits nearby. |
Session Start Checklist
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who has Hero Points? | The session economy starts here. |
| What source books are allowed today? | Remastered source access, rarity, and new options should not become mid-session debates. |
| What unresolved conditions or diseases exist? | Persistent consequences are easy to forget between sessions. |
| What is the next likely mode? | Exploration, combat, downtime, travel, social pressure, or subsystem play changes the screen focus. |
| What treasure or clue is pending? | Rewards and information are pacing tools, not afterthoughts. |
| What safety or tone note matters tonight? | Campaign agreements belong where the GM will actually see them. |
Reference Links To Keep Open
A digital GM screen should keep a short stack of links open: this GM guide, skill check DCs, encounter building, adjusting encounters, hazards, treasure by level, Hero Points, conditions, dying, exploration, and the current party's class pages. Add Player Core 2 pages for any new class at the table. If there is an Alchemist, keep alchemical items and Crafting nearby. If there is an Investigator, keep skills and Recall Knowledge guidance nearby. If there is a Swashbuckler or Monk, keep movement and terrain rules nearby. The best screen is customized to this party, not every possible party.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Treating the rule as isolated math | Connect it to character choices, scene stakes, and consequences. |
| Ignoring Player Core 2 options | Check whether new ancestries, classes, archetypes, feats, spells, or items change the party's tools. |
| Hiding every procedure | Keep mystery in the fiction, not in the basic rules the players need to make decisions. |
| Overbuilding the scene | Use the lightest GM Core procedure that creates useful pressure. |
| Copying a generic screen forever | Rebuild one panel around the current party and campaign. |
| Listing rules instead of decisions | Put prompts and procedures on the screen, not walls of text. |
| Forgetting session-start state | Hero Points, conditions, clocks, treasure, and unresolved choices should be visible before recap. |
| Hiding house rulings in memory | Write variant rules, rarity access, and source permissions where players can expect consistency. |
| Treating digital tabs as a screen | Keep only the links you actually use. Twenty tabs is just clutter with a browser frame. |
Best Links
Use skill check DCs, Hero Points, encounter building, adjusting encounters, treasure by level, hazards, environment, subsystems, social encounters, conditions, detection and senses, and rules.
Hot Take
A GM screen should reduce decisions, not become wallpaper with rules on it.
