Paizo fails again

Paizo does many good products, but they do not get the message about one of their really very crappy product. I can safely say that I will not purchase any of Paizo's GM screens.

And I love GM Screens.

Why? Because they make them the "thin and high" rather than "long and wide". Their screen links the long edges together and this make it a product that loses all value to me.

Unlike Paizo, WotC has got it right (one of many things). WotC's GM Screen are linked by the small edge, making their screens lower and much wider.

A lower GM screen allows for the privacy a GM wants and needs when running a game: hide maps, art of what the PCs have yet to encounter, module notes, and a bunch of other things. A GM screen is not merely used to hide dice rolls (though that IS one of its function).

Another great benefit is that when the GM sits down, the low screen makes it so there can be a flow of discussion, it does not completely cover the GM's face. I feel like there is a feeling of community and shared experience rather than the ultimate tower of GMing. If you know me and my GMing style, I encourage discussion not just with the NPCs, but between the party as well and the low screen allows me to fade into the background yet hear everything that is happening.

A low screen makes it easier for me to reach and access miniatures or draw on the map without having to put an armpit in a player's face. Okay I don't do that, but you get the point that I have to reach over or around everything and invade someone else's personal space.

For some GMs and their style the high vs low screen does not matter, either because they simply do not use one or use one off to the side/ on a side table. But I use the screen on the table in front of me and I like to feel included with the players (if only to plot their later demise and backstab them at the right moment).

So although the screen is visually nice and filled with nice and useful information, it will remain on the shelf of my FLGS. I do have a 4e game screen AND a 5e one. Both of which are low and wide and have used both.

I will leave you with a repost of a picture of the Rhym one-shot to show you what I mean. You can see my bald head in the background. The screen is up, but the players can see me move my hands and I can easily reach over... And that is why I will not buy a Paizo screen until they make them useful. And mean low and wide.

Btw, I don't need them wide because I'm a big guy myself... But it helps.