Dungeons and Dragons comes with a near endless possibility of optimization and customization, from the story to the mini you play with. You can play through an official module, make a spin of it or harvest ideas from the endless well of homebrew floating around the internet, thanks to forums like reddit and DnDBeyond. You are only limited by your imagination, and the accessories are no different. Here are just a few of the things I have found to be useful overtime.
Rolling Tray
Purchased From: Amazon
I used to think rolling trays were gimmicky, and they still kind of are. But depending on what surface you are playing on they can be invaluable. Especially as you pick up new dice that may be more fragile, or have sharper edges that could impact the table. Be careful that whatever rolling tray you pick will be good for your dice. For example: I have a sharper set that can sometimes get stuck when rolling in a felt tray versus a leather tray.
Hexagon/grid Dry Erase Board
Purchased From: Amazon
My dream is to one day create a tv-top terrain table, or even buy the terrain maps and layer them with clear grids, but for now a grid dry erase board has done wonders for combat. With inter-connecting pieces we can lay out as much or as little of a map as we need, and it has made dungeon delving that much more fun. It also keeps players from being too meta.
Status Rings
Purchased From: Amazon
I first saw these featured in the Second Campaign of Critical Role, and immediately wanted them. So many times during combat I, or a member of my party have forgotten about a spell effect or concentration that could have totally changed the outcome. Once you start delving into higher level combat with 5+ players it can be tricky to keep track.
Initiative Counter
Purchased From: AxeNShield on Etsy
I play in two campaigns that use this, one where the DM has us pre-roll our initiative every 3-5 encounters and he manages it, and then another where we manage it as the players. It certainly helps us stay aware of what’s going on and keeps us on track. So far, we have seen a reduced rate of combat pauses from players unsure of what to do.
Spell Template Markers
Purchased From: TheArcaneFoundry
These have kept us honest. There are plenty of times when we are in combat where we come down to, “Okay, but is it in that square? Does it cut this way diagonally?” It has also surprised us at times where the spell actually hit. Because these can be tricky to use, we primarily use it for AOE effects.
Combat Risers & Aerial Terrain
Purchased From: TheArcaneFoundry
When we first started playing D&D, we didn’t really have a need for risers. We were low level, and didn’t know spells like fly, or play characters with races like Feral Tieflings or Aarakocrans. Obviously, over time that changed. While combat risers were enough to get started, we soon found ourselves hosting complicated aerial combat with multiple layers. It was helpful to have a combination for accuracy, and to know they were adjustable.
Critical Success & Fail Decks
Purchased From: Nord Games
This one is for the DMs. We found ourselves bored with typical natural successes and failures, so with Tyler’s searching we obtained both the “Critical Fail Deck” and “Critical Hit Deck for Players” from the Game Master’s Toolbox at Nord Games. There is an additional deck for “Critical Hit Decks for GMs”, but we have yet to try it.