Conceptualization and Inspiration
- Initial Concept: My design was inspired by several similar designs I saw online: all of them having TVs integrated into the table for virtual battle maps
- Refined Design: I added onto the basic game table design with a dedicated desk space for the Dungeon Master
Design Decisions and Features
- Choosing the Shape: D&D Tables and other TTRPG-focused game tables are typically either square or rectangular. I opted for a longer rectangular table because I have six players and also felt that the long rectangular style would fit the physical space in my house most efficiently.
- Desk for the Dungeon Master: I wanted to make sure that I had enough space to DM campaigns, and I am glad I did so as I am currently co-DMing a campaign and have just enough space for myself and my co-DM to have all of our materials. I planned out the desk space knowing that I would need to fit my desktop PC that I use to run all of the electronics, a monitor, a keyboard and mouse, and of course the essentials for running a campaign: dice tray, snacks, and drinks.
- Player Desk/Table Space: The player “desks” were designed to give the players adequate space to use paper character sheets, notebooks, laptops/tablets, or whatever combination of those materials they wanted. Most designs that I saw online – especially designs that doubled as dining tables – had little to no table space for these physical game materials. They were typically just giant dice pits with a tiny wooden rim around the exterior. For our purposes we wanted more desk space per player. By having one long desk per side we can easily change how many players sit on each side, as opposed to other designs where the desks have barriers in between player spaces. We set our table height at a comfortable height based on the chairs we knew we were going to use at our setup.
- Soft Dice Pit: We used a faux suede for our dice pit because it is soft enough to cushion the impact of the dice yet still allows them to bounce. We considered faux leather, but opted against it as some of our players use metal dice or very sharp resin dice and did not want to scratch the dice pit surface just from regular use. The dice pit fills the interior from the edge of the player desks to the edge of the integrated TV.
- Electronics:
- Integrated Outlets: From our previous design iterations and play styles, I knew I would need a lot of power outlets near my setup for both the table electronics and players’ devices. I have two separate outlet integrations – one on each long side of the table. Each integration consists of two separate two-gang receptacles. Some of these outlets are used for the table electronics and the remaining ones are typically used by players for laptop chargers during sessions.
- Integrated TV: I cut a hole in the center of the table about a half-inch reduced from the outline of the TV to mount it into the table. This is used to for virtual battle maps and showing other virtual campaign content. We had originally put a thin sheet of plexiglass on top of the TV to protect it from minis that we put on top of the virtual battle map, which also enabled us to use whiteboard markers on top of the battle maps. The plexiglass sheet was broken when we took it off during one of our remodels, and honestly we’ve just been too lazy to replace it. But I would highly recommend putting some sort of covering over the TV to protect it, even if you don’t want to use whiteboard markers.
- DM Computer: The workstation powering our sessions is contained in a cabinet below the DM desk area. It is connected to two monitors: one for the DM(s) that also doubles as a partial DM privacy screen, as well as the TV. The TV is configured as a separate display rather than mirroring the DM screen so that the players are not seeing what the DM is seeing.
- Sound Bar: During sessions I connect via bluetooth to a nearby soundbar that we have on our media console near our setup. This provides a more room-filling ambience as opposed to the TV speakers which do not sound great under normal circumstances, and are worsened by being put in a table.
Building Process
- Materials and Tools: Coming Soon
- Construction Phases: Coming Soon
Visual Journey
- Photo Gallery: Coming Soon
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