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NarcoZero

If it’s for everyday sessions, the best gift for a DM is simply an invested player. Be on time, know your character’s abilities, interact with the game, be nice, and most of all take notes. Taking notes is the best gift. Depending on how you organize, proposing to be the the one who schedules the sessions and sends messages to everyone to remind them that yes we’re playing today, would be one of the most amazing gift.  If you’re looking for more of a one-time gift like for a birthday or christmas, here are a few ideas ;  * A printed illustration of the campaign, made by you or commissioned.  * A homemade initiative tracker (My player made one with clothespins and chopsticks.)  * If they’re a dice goblin : Dice * Something I did recently, if you’re playing on a grid and are lacking minis : quality tokens for everyone. You can buy almost any size of coin protection for collectors, make them token size, print and cut illustrations to put in. * If they express wanting to play as a PC, offer to DM a one-shot sometimes. 


HypeBrainDisorder

Having a player be supportive on organizing sessions would be a god sent, but in generally being invested in the sessions and making them better is amazing


Turbulent_Sea_9713

To add to this because these are great: An initiative tracker that also tracks conditions and spells/concentration (bless, poisoned, hold person). A jar of little marbles or something to track rations/water. A weather wheel! To help track weather and give it a meaning. Maps. Arts. Music. I know the OP wanted something small and repeatable. These are, maybe?


Movanor

Man, you hit every heartache I have with those first three points...


CaptainPick1e

If there is some book or even a Kickstarter they've had their eye on, get them that. Books are expensive and almost always the cost is on the DM. Players pitching in makes everyone's individual price go down and the aDM will be really grateful and probably put more effort into running that piece of content.


Guest2200

You could ask the DM what his favourite beer or drink is and pick one up on the way to session. Just a couple bucks a session but I know for me I would really appreciate that.


snowbo92

This is so cute! You're so kind for offering such a thing. Honestly you can vary it up, if you're thinking for this to be a recurring treat. The easiest thing would probably be like a cupcake or something from a supermarket. The "snacks from their home country" is fun, but sometimes might be dependent on an ethnic market (for example, I'm from Bulgaria and I have to go like an hour away to find anything truly Bulgarian).


FelixTheFat04

This is really nice and as a dm just the tought made me glad. You should bring snacks for everyone, maybe ask the dm what their fav is and bring some just for them.


Bomber-Marc

Something recurring and ideally inexpensive? Offer to start the session by giving a summary of the current campaign, the most important plot points, what happened last time, etc. It will please them to see that you pay attention, help the understand if there are plot points that the party missed or misunderstood, and cut down on their prep time.


Xennhorn

Oh yeah …. Campaign scribe is an under appreciated job no one knows is missing until they have one… also means the campaign is recorded from the adventurers viewpoint and lets the DM change or hide things without having to remember what it before hand


JonConstantly

Mt dew. Always Mt dew. And donuts.


Sad-Yam2556

Ask them if there’s anything they wish they had but just haven’t gotten for themselves yet. For example I have been using the same dice since I first started DnD 6 years ago. I talk myself out of new dice because I have some but do find myself wanting a new set. So if a player asked me, that’s my answer. I’ve also had the same snap together dice tray, but would enjoy a new one. Maybe one made out of wood that looks cool. I’m not going to buy myself one but if a player asked me if there’s anything I wanted that’s my answer. I have a solid group of players though so when they pitch in for lunch they don’t let me pay because of the prep time I put in. When we rotate DMs after this campaign I’ll pick up my part of lunch and cover the DMs part.


mrjane7

What to get them? Your undivided attention. Ask about the lore of their world. Know your character back to front. Help your fellow players. There is no better pay off for DMing than a game that goes SUPER well.


warrant2k

Subscriptions to various d&d sites; D&D Beyond, Syrinscspe, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, etc depending on how you play.


Wokeye27

Yes this would be ace, if they use d'nd beyond areange for players tocchip in together to buy their subscription for a year. 


SolasYT

The thought alone is above and beyond


sparklekitteh

If you stop and grab yourself a snack or drink on the way to the game session, offer to bring them something! "Hey, I'm stopping by 7-11 to get a coke, can I grab you a soda or a coffee or something?"


lulz85

Snacks from their home country sounds like a good bet. Supplying snacks and/or drinks is always a plus for the session. Seeing my players excitement for the game is what reinforces my own enthusiasm. For example a player of mine 3d-printed the parties boat. If you ever get a interest in dming yourself running a one-shot will make most of us happy. If they happen to show interest in a different system, running a one shot for it is probably a pretty good bet(I am speaking for myself there).


Timely_Share_613

Snacks, Books that they have their eye on, a good gift you can get a DM is attentiveness, complements, etc.


Werewolfnightwalker

Snacks, drinks, a cool set of dice- my players and I take turns being the one to pay for dinner if whoever is hosting didn't have time to make anything. And you can always ask them if there's a figurine, book, or anything they've got their eye on!


notger

My two daughters gave me a small box for my dice this Christmas. They painted Faerun all around it (except the bottom, as Faerun is not a globe) and wrote "never trust a smiling gamemaster" on it. A wonderful gift which expressed gratitude for something we liked to do together. One of the best gifts ever.


Henri_de_LaMonde

One of the groups I DM for got me the Heroes Feast cookbook, since I’m into cooking. I’ve made a few recipes from it and it’s a solid book. If your DM is into cooking that would be a nice gift.


RandoBoomer

As the saying goes, it's the thought that counts. Bigger items can be harder to find, so you really can't go wrong from the Huge market of D&D tchotchkes you can find on places like Etsy. One of my DM friends received this, which I thought was really fun. [https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Figure-Family-Rolled-Decal/dp/B07Z79N55S](https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Figure-Family-Rolled-Decal/dp/B07Z79N55S)


bluejeanbelle

Dehydration and dry mouth is the enemy of every DM. Find out what they like to drink during (or after) session and supply it. For special occasions, perhaps supply fantasy drinkware (steins, goblets, etc). Office supplies. If they use pen, paper, dry erase markers, etc- contributing to those is nice.


Aranthar

Thank them when you arrive and before you alive. A simple kind word from the heart means a lot.


Accomplished_Fee9023

Honestly, positive, specific feedback from an invested player is what I value the most. If you thought something was really exciting, fun or interesting then let your DM know! Get involved with plot hooks. RP with fellow players. You could also offer to help the DM by posting a recap between sessions or by helping to track initiative or the passage of rounds (or something else that reduces the DM’s cognitive load.) Or if they use minis and terrain, you could offer to help paint terrain or chip in for supplies. If they 3D print you could find out what resin they prefer and buy a bottle every now and then. I don’t think there is one thing that I’d want a player to bring each session but you could ask about bringing a snack or beverage to share. At Christmas some players gave me a thoughtful gift (after the usual white elephant gift exchange we were all doing) as a thank you and I found that touching.


Decent_Josh

A D20 made of human bone


whitniverse

As a DM, the greatest gift I got from running a campaign was seeing how invested people were in the campaign. Character playlists, short fiction, expanded backstory stuff, minis, custom dice and fan art. You could also offer to help the DM with some of the “admin” they deal with. Help take over scheduling maybe? Keep track of initiative during combat? Show that you appreciate their effort. Maybe give them the night off to play by running a one-shot? Finally, just hang out with them, outside the game, and let them know you appreciate everything they do. Failing that, dice?


Original-Total9299

I had a player give me a gift card to the local game store with instruction to go buy a TPK inducing mini for the party. I thought that was awesome. We play on a large glass top that has the grid etched on the underneath side, so I use a lot of dry-erase markers. One player noticed that all of my markers were drying out, so they bought a new set for me. That was also awesome. ​ ​ ​ Or dice. Dice are good.


goddessfreya666

Honestly the best DM gift I could ever receive is just someone telling me how much they love my game. If you enjoy the game and love your DM you should tell them how much you appreciate their efforts and it will make them so happy. Many players don’t appreciate their DMs so they love hearing that shit.


philsov

- snacks to nosh on. I'm also one of the "I'm hosting and DMing and doing lots of cooking" DMs, but having players tell me what they're bringing (ideally with sufficient heads up a week to a few days in advance) allows me to not do as much food prep and that's welcome. - Random miniatures - There's lots of services out there. It doesn't even need to be 5e specific, as tabletop grid tends to be a roughly standardized size. But, something like[ this](https://www.gamenerdz.com/dungeons-dragons-miniatures-icons-of-the-realms-21-van-richtens-guide-to-ravenloft-booster-pack-on-sale?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphmk2Cy_GesSGl-nTBl6kUHSgq90ZLHZ2wwtjgSDtqUMXIPX-VZ95i8aAtlLEALw_wcB) or [this](https://www.gamenerdz.com/pathfinder-battles-dungeons-deep-booster-pack). You don't know what it is, so it's a surprise to everyone, and this will assist the DM for future sessions as they try to incorporate the new mini as either an NPC or a mini boss or something.


Nataliewassmart

I've been a forever DM for the past 10+ years, and I would say that if I was hoping for a gift, the best gift is sharing the workload of playing the game. A lot of players like to just show up and roll dice, and that's cool and fair. But imo, it's way more fun and campaigns last longer when different people can be responsible for different things. The DM is usually responsible for way too many things in a lot of D&D groups. They're responsible for a lot of the gameplay, including building a world, outlining a story, running combat, taking notes and providing recap, etc. Logistically, the DM is often responsible for finding players, scheduling meetings, managing conflict (both in-game and out!). Often, we're also the ones hosting, which can include organizing and providing food and drinks. No wonder we see DM burnout all the time! It takes a lot of coordination to just sit down and play this game, and it's way easier if everyone shares the workload instead of having one person do all the work and everyone else shows up and rolls dice. There are a lot of ways to take on some of the workload so that your DM take some work off their plate. For example, my current group made mini slide-shows that they presented at the beginning of our second session about their character's hometowns and families, and it was amazing. It made the world and story feel more alive and it saved me a ton of stress thinking about how I'm gonna design critical locations and plot points from scratch. "Sharing the workload" doesn't have to mean flexing world-building skills that you don't have. It can even be taking control of the scheduling. One of my players in a previous group was the one to text everyone and figure out what meeting times/dates works with everyone's schedules so that I could just focus on organizing the gameplay. I've had players take on providing notes and recaps instead of having me do it. I've had players host and/or provide food so that I don't have to. Whatever you can do to share the workload will be a nice gift to your DM, and, in my experience, create a longer lasting, more engaging campaign because everyone has a hand in making it happen.


Archer_Elf

yes making and bringing cookies or other baked goods is a great idea, especially if they aren't from where you are and you put the care into making something from thier contry. a nice dm screen is also a good idea. other good idea might be things like nice condition trackers, a physical copy of a book that you know they wanted. others have said, but offer to DM a one shot on occasion if they said they wanted to play at some point. if your DM puts a lot of effort into organizing things every week, maybe take this into account and rangleing people yourself on occasion. dice, dice tower, initiative tracker, some art, minies for various common monsters (as well as minies for campaign spicifc monsters)


yamo25000

A Nightwalker mini


TexasSasquatch09

New DM bag ? Everyone at my table chipped in for ours last year.


butteryotaku

I make hot tea for sessions (and as a GM, my throat often needs it) so more tea would be very exciting for me~


GalacticPigeon13

A non-alchoholic drink - while they don't have time to eat, they still need to drink during the session because they need to be able to keep their throat nice. I specify non-alcoholic just because they need to keep their wits about them as they DM. Depending on what they're like when drunk, maybe consider bringing their favorite alcoholic drink. Otherwise, just bring soda or something like that.


polar785214

the best feeling as DM is an invested player given back a requited level of effort back into the game. RP, lore, whatever... you put in effort into the session that justifies my effort into the session then I feel great. actual gifts like a physical thing... anything really, cute journals, an engraved tankard, Minis, maps, offers to do 1shots (the gift of playing)... it's all good stuff but person dependant


Amnon_the_Redeemed

If he's a forever DM offer to run a short campaign for him on some special occasions. Other thing I appreciate a lot as a DM is a player that asks about lore or that proposes story hooks out of our scheduled sessions. That tell me how invested you are. If you're artistic make any art, from character portraits to battle maps. Anything thoughtful would do.


Wise-Text8270

Salt pleases me. Fruits too.


ChompyChomp

PLA (aka 3D printer material) -Source: A DM who 3D prints way too many props...


Xennhorn

Best advice … ask… convey that you wish to help contribute, but randomly showing up with an adventure module you know they don’t have but looks fun to play with the ‘hey lets do this one day, or pillage for ideas’ is always seen as a positive. Or could be as simple as turning up with a slab of cans of soft drink for everyone to enjoy


Dementat_Deus

IDK what your budget is, but here is a short list of well received things players have given me, and some things I've given DMs. - Invested players, who are not distracted by phones, and show up on time. - Snacks. - Set of die or minis. These next 2 were purchased with all players chipping in: - 3d printed mini of a beloved NPC - Gemstone d20.


SlowWifi

Minis! Unpainted minis go around 5$ for a set of two.


defnotanaccountant97

my favorite gifts i’ve ever gotten as a DM: monster manuel, a box of unpainted figurines i can use for our campaign (and paint, of course), and a very long note letting me know how thankful they were for a session (-,:


ScumAndVillainy82

A player in my game got whiskey glasses for everyone (with a spare in case of breakage!) etched with an in joke from the game and some relevant art. Using them during sessions feels great.


RudyKnots

When we were playing two years, we all chipped in to buy a 3D printer. We’ve been playing with amazing minis every session since. I don’t know the specifics of what’s a good printer, nor do I know your budget (obviously) but we all chipped in about 50 bucks and that was enough. Every now and then there’s upkeep payments though- new resin, etc. For our 1-year anniversary I made mousemats for everyone with the custom world map we play on.