With AD&D not every table is summarized in an appendix like it is in retro-clones. I don’t have an later D&D rulebooks, so I don’t know about them. For example, there are three tables that are used for player character generation in the DMG, secondary skill, height, and weight. Only two of those are together, the third is back in the NPC generation tables. Combat tables and saving throws are in the same general area in the DMG and on the DM’s Screen, but I lost that part and had to print them off and make my own screen.

In addition to my mostly re-built collection of AD&D books, I have all of the books in PDF from DriveThruRPG. I have printed off the tables that I feel are needed most often, and plan to organize them with cut and paste, not in a word processor, but old school cut and paste, to collect them in a sense that makes sense to me. For example, all of the tables for character generation will be together to avoid page flipping.

The other issue I have is my DM’s Notebook. I organize things by topic, then I still can’t find it when I need it. I pull out the information relevant to the player’s current scenario and put it in a manila folder, or clip it together with a binder clip. Even the few dozen pages that might be get shuffled around going between my map and the monsters/opponents and any helper NPCs. That is the most frustrating part that slows down play.

I have two white plastic folding tables I use, one is a 6′ long 30″ wide table for players, then I put the 5′ serving table on the end to make a ‘T’ and I have an end table and a wooden TV tray on my left, for books and less needed stuff. To the right of the table is a desk in the living room with a short bookshelf next to it. I put my CD player on the bookshelf for incidental music. I sit with my back to my office/computer room. To the right of where I sit is a wall, which is for the closet in my office. I try not to spread out too much, so I can find stuff I need. Part of my struggle is that my sons and I don’t get to play very often, so any system I come up with fades from memory.

No matter how well I plan my organization to smooth out play, the plan never survives actual play. The same goes with planning the sandbox, the players always choose to go somewhere that I have planned the least, or planned so long ago, that I forget what I planned and need to review it.

These are the struggles of every DM/GM. Learning to go with the flow and let the player’s choose among their known options. They always seem to ignore the advice of NPCs, but still manage to find adventure and survive. The main things is that we have fun, and they want to keep playing. At least I have a hook to get them to spend time with me because they want to.