Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rickenbacker 10-13-05, 05:54 PM	I'm looking for any tips/ tricks you guys use during combat. Specifically, my problem is when the party is fighting mutiple foes- keeping track of foes' hit points. Who's down to what. It's sometimes a drag because foes often move & fight other pcs, then I end up having to keep track of them. "Ok, the skeleton fighting Joe moves to you Mike. The one YOU just hit, now tries to finish off John...uhh how much damnage do you do to it last round again?....uhhh..." AHHH!! So have you got any suggestions on how to keep track nice 'n' easy? If it helps any, I use index cards during my combat rounds. Even for multiple foes, I have all collectively on one card. Maybe that's what's throwng me off?
AlphaSquirell 10-13-05, 06:04 PM	I keep track of monsters in two ways: I have a list of them on a piece of paper (with HP & # only, stats are below) and it looks like this: Kobold (1) 12HP Kobold (2) 11HP Skeleton (1) 11HP Then, I mark them on the map. (I point out to players in advance, that this Kobold is #1 and this is #2. That way, they can say "let's attack #1" and focus on it, and they all know which one it is) Later, if the PCs run into the same monster again, I point that out. (I mean, PCs would usually be able to tell which one they fought earlier, so I point out which one that one was by his former number) It sounds complicated, but for me and my PCs, it is really easy. (that, and having 2 PCs out of 7 AND a DM with a good memory helps alot, too)
Salla 10-13-05, 06:05 PM	It definitely helps if you differentiate your minis on the map so you know who's attacking what easily.
ermedic 10-13-05, 06:10 PM	This link brought to you by the vast mind of Fixxxer. Combat Reference (http://www.dndarchive.com/downloads.html) It's a pdf download that is very well organized.
20goingon1232 10-13-05, 06:25 PM	I'm looking for any tips/ tricks you guys use during combat. Specifically, my problem is when the party is fighting mutiple foes- keeping track of foes' hit points. Who's down to what. It's sometimes a drag because foes often move & fight other pcs, then I end up having to keep track of them. "Ok, the skeleton fighting Joe moves to you Mike. The one YOU just hit, now tries to finish off John...uhh how much damnage do you do to it last round again?....uhhh..." AHHH!! So have you got any suggestions on how to keep track nice 'n' easy? If it helps any, I use index cards during my combat rounds. Even for multiple foes, I have all collectively on one card. Maybe that's what's throwng me off? Use a square lined book to create tables for the monsters. Mark off as appropriate. As a sidenote: Don't ever try the 100 goblin rush without a table. Man, did that one go messy fast...!
Rickenbacker 10-13-05, 07:05 PM	It definitely helps if you differentiate your minis on the map so you know who's attacking what easily. Yeah, but wouldn't you still need to somehow know who's got how many hit points & whatnot? It's not a problem for me to diferenctiate em. Got plnty of minis. But if/when they inevitably switch around.....
Thomar_of_Uointer 10-13-05, 07:21 PM	I use paper minis (http://www.snipersquad.net/tom/MediumFoldup.pdf). They're always unique because I hand-draw them, but I could just write a number on the base so that I know that, "this is warrior/monk ninja #4."
aazan 10-13-05, 07:38 PM	What I do is write everyones initiatives down on a notebook. Then right next to that I write names of all the monsters and number them. Then I put their total HPS next to their names. So when one gets attacked I just subtract the amount of HPS from their total and write down their new HP total next to their max. I continue to do that until they are dead. Works great for me and my players.
Karelzarath 10-13-05, 07:53 PM	So have you got any suggestions on how to keep track nice 'n' easy? Being the giant nerd that I am, I put together a nice, detailed Excel spreadsheet that helps me track initiative, skill checks, HPs, brief combat stats, etc. I also raided the local craft store for a bag of wooden shingles, which I trimmed to 1"x1" and numbered in various colors. When I run battles, I refer to the color and number of the shingle under the mini and deduct HPs as appropriate. I'd be more than willing to share, if you send me a PM with your email address (it's under 100k, I believe). Sadly, I don't have a publically accessable website anymore (stupid ISPs and their dynamic IPs), so I can't host it.
Bruunwald 10-13-05, 07:57 PM	I use cards for each creature within reason. So there will be duplicates of some cards in the stack currently in play on the table. I also keep cards for the PCs in the same stack, and the stack is ordered according to initiative. That way, I can just shuffle the top card to the back and I know whose turn it is. As for hit points, I actually write them on my current piece of note paper. I also keep the ACs there. Pretty much everything else seems easy for me to remember. I don't have a problem remembering whose hit points are whose, so long as I have them written down. But one trick I just realized I do, is I write the AC and hp on the paper in something resembling the formation of the figures on the board. I seem to recall that on occasion, I have drawn an arrow from the hp to the new position on the paper when they move. So I must be doing that unconsciously. One other thing I do is to shuffle the cards quickly when damage is dealt, and write it in on the corner of the card. Now, that seems a bit daunting when you have a lot of cards in your stack. But once you get to doing it enough, it becomes second nature. Maybe you could arrange your index cards on the table, in a formation that mirrors the miniatures on the grid?
Rickenbacker 10-13-05, 07:58 PM	That last idea (aazan- among a couple of others) sounded good. And I could easily keep things simple...If the monsters never moved to different PCs. So if/when *that* happens, (I use minis) what's a good easy way to keep track of their hps?
Bruunwald 10-13-05, 08:04 PM	That last idea (aazan- among a couple of others) sounded good. And I could easily keep things simple...If the monsters never moved to different PCs. So if/when *that* happens, (I use minis) what's a good easy way to keep track of their hps? I think I, myself might start using the idea I put forth a post up: arrange the cards to mirror the mini's positions, and write the hp on the cards. The problem with that is, it takes the intiative order of the cards away. Hmmm... if it's not one problem, it's another. Perhaps if you felt a little more familiar or intimate with each mini, it would be easier. If you related in your mind, the actions that resulted in the damage, with the shape of the individual figures, it might become easier to remember which hit points belong to who. Just a thought.
Rickenbacker 10-13-05, 08:09 PM	one trick I just realized I do, is I write the AC and hp on the paper in something resembling the formation of the figures on the board. I seem to recall that on occasion, I have drawn an arrow from the hp to the new position on the paper when they move. Ah ha! I'm thinking I'll try this one!
prawn 10-14-05, 01:53 PM	I don't keep track: I let the players do it. THey keep track of how much damage they have done, and that way all I need to do is know how many total HPs an opponent's got. My players are very good at keeping track of multiple opponents. Usually whoever is fighting an opponent keeps track. P
MasterRookie 10-14-05, 01:59 PM	Simple get a silver sharpie and a black sharpie. Write a number on the miniatures base that cooresponds to a number on an index card of the NPC's stats. Then when you want to remove the mark just color over it in black.
FriendoftheDork 10-14-05, 03:12 PM	well i usually forget using a combat planner anyway, thus use the basic: a piece of paper and a pencil. I generally have HPs from the MM or pregenerated characters, so all i need to jot down is damage and effects. Every foe is assigned a number, and I record damage under the numbers. I usually don't bother to vary hps between minions anyway, so it's easy to remember how damaged they are, and it matters less which one i record damage at, only their position matters. Sometimes I don't even record numbers, and just remember that there are for example 2 attacking each PC and one extra attacking PC # 3. Then I just remember which PC has damaged foes, and always ask if they attack same foe or undamaged one. Except for a very few mistakes, this runs fast and effective enough for my purposes. Most of my mistakes is forgetting who is stunned and etc, especially when foes are changed. If things get confusing I add #s in the middle of combat.
jasper 10-14-05, 03:29 PM	yellow post it note number 1 -4 etc on it with hps. and keep running total. Ok bob takes out monster number 3. Bob number 2 and 4 are attacking Rob. 4 looks healthier. Etc.
polt 10-14-05, 03:31 PM	You might wanna check this (http://creationforge.blogspot.com) out.
Worguron 10-14-05, 03:44 PM	My group uses Dice on the combat diagram to represent various beings. The DM uses red, yellow, and white dice as the enemies, and he writes down what each die is before we start the combat. "Ok, the 6 white d6's (with the numbers 1-6 facing up) are humans in light armor with ranged weapons. The 3 yellow d6's are elves in medium armor. The 4 red d6's are humans in heavy armor with two handed weapons. Have fun!"
astute1 10-14-05, 04:29 PM	You can number the bases of your minis with whiteout. It helps considerably when keeping track of which enemy is which.
VerinBlod 10-14-05, 04:39 PM	I keep track of HPs by assigning every monster a number and giving the mini on the board the same number. To represented the number on the battlemat I use mu dice. So everyone can instantly see what they're up against and the players can yell out which number they attack. It's a very easy system and only requires a lot of dice... And who doesn't want to have a lot of dice? ;)
Cathon 10-14-05, 04:53 PM	When the PCs are attacking a bunch of identical figures I generally call the first one they damage #1, the second #2, etc and just track them that way. They normally focus on taking out the injured ones anyways. (Of course, these PCs don't have mass damage spells so it is a little easier) In really big battles with groups in formation, I've sometimes marked damage on the battle map itself. Particularly when NPCs were attacking NPCs and weren't necessarily concentrating their fire.
Kensan_Oni 10-14-05, 04:56 PM	Well.. this only works for your CR 1-3 monsters, but this is how occasionally I do it when I am feeling lazy. I use dice. Let's say you have a goblin horde. You know the players are going to clean house, but you want to have a good number out there. You pick up your handy cube of d6's and toss them out there. The pip they land on is their HP's. You can use different colors for the shaman, even. It's easy, and it's fast to deal with. We normally use d12's to repesent monsters, and they can handle even more HP's. Ultimatly, you can use d20's, but unless they are the M:TG kind, they are hard to roll to the right number quickly. ... of course, you could always use some Graph Paper, and write the HP's down in a row, but that's just me. :'D
Telis_the_Deadeye 10-14-05, 11:38 PM	My DM uses a sheet of paper in a sheet protector and uses a grease pencil on it. Down one side of the sheet are numbers 30+, 30, 29... all the way to 1, 0, 0-. As every one gets theyre initiative slot, he marks that line with a name or symbol, like K1 might be kobld 1. The other half has like 16 blank boxes that he puts the monster name/symbol in a corner & hp in another and then keeps track of hp there. So if he has 9 monsters, he puts a K1 or what ever in 9 of the boxes with the hp. Duruing initiative, he will put the name/symbol down for each (he says group bad guy initiative is stupid). As PCs hurt the monsters, he tallies of hp in the box with hash marks. He always keeps the mobs straight, hp & init. You should try it too.
Bob Loblaw 10-15-05, 10:39 AM	Something I do when I have hoards of monsters for the PCs to deal with is I assign a value of how many hits each PC would need on average to kill each of them. Then I simply keep track of the number of hits. For example: Doug (monk), Sara (bard), Joe (barbarian), Tim (swashbuckler), and Pete (wizard) are fighting 10 troglodytes and 2 trolls. Doug needs 2 hits to kill a trog, Sara needs 3, Joe needs 1-2, Tim needs 2, and Pete will vary depending on the spell he uses. For the trolls, I keep track of the actual hit points because they are tougher and have regeneration. The players don't feel cheated and I don't have a lot of excess work to do.
olshanski_home 10-15-05, 11:06 AM	Our group has multiple sets of percentile dice. One of the players tracks damage done to each creature with the dice. If the creature moves, the dice follow it. If the party encounters a set of 3 identical creatures, they'll all have the same hit points. If there is a boss-type monster, I'll use a different mini to distinguish it. There is nothing wrong with letting the players know how much damage they are doing. A combatant should be able to see how thier blows are impacting the creature. If the creature has some sort of damage resistance or immunity, that should also be visibly obvious to an attacker.
SneakyPetey 10-15-05, 12:35 PM	Being the giant nerd that I am, I put together a nice, detailed Excel spreadsheet that helps me track initiative, skill checks, HPs, brief combat stats, etc. I do this also. We play 2e, so there's not quite as much stuff to keep track of. I have a "DM's logbook" which is loosely based on the official TSR product of the same name from the 80's. I use one page that details PC abilities and stats. Another page tracks earned XPs throughout the session. I also have sheets that keep track of bonus XPs (for roleplaying, etc); marching order, light sources, and provisions; and an adventure timeline. In addition, every monster/encounter is fully "statted out" in an adventure log. Then I add a (relatively) new sheet I call a "battle log" that details initiatives and character actions. We use a white board to detail movement during combat. The biggest challenge is (as you said) keeping track of which "S" (for skeleton) has how many hit points. I use a simple code. If there are three skeletons fighting the party, I'll write "S1" "S2" and "S3" on the whiteboard. I track their hit points on the aforementioned adventure log under the corresponding "codename." This system requires good organization skills and a good deal of space, but it has worked well for me. If you would like to see these Excel forms, send me a PM. I hope this helps! Have good gaming! :)
rbrt_Spade 10-15-05, 01:14 PM	i just use the combat matrix in the dmg, but added on some things.
Slyde Shadowdart 10-15-05, 01:47 PM	I use paper monster counters with letters on them for tracking. At the start of combat, I throw say, 3 kobolds onto the mat where they go, then check the letters. I write down the creature name and letter on a piece of paper along with HP, and then just track them as they're hit.
Horatio Hornblower 10-15-05, 01:57 PM	In one campaign I'm playing in the DM is very organized. We use miniatures and counters. Each miniature has a number on its base and there is a corresponding counter with that number. Of course, behind the scenes he has a list of creature stats that is also numbered. The miniatures are on a battle mat and the counters are on an initiative track. The initiative track is a row of numbered squares from 30 to 0. It's easy to keep track of and change initiative. This is a big help in large battles. With the initiative track out in the open the players can assist the DM in keeping track of the turn. Sometimes he will use a flip chart to keep track of how much damage the creatures have taken. We don't know what their hit points are, just the damage. This way the players don't waste time asking which creatures are hurt. We can decide on which one to attack by looking at the chart. Of all these game aids I say the initiative track is the most important.