Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Nevvur Feb 08, 2015 21:23:11	Awhile back someone posted a printable notecard for tracking PC resources (HD's, spell slots used, etc.) between sessions. It got me curious, because for the last couple months I've been noting resources as they are spent, in the spiral notebook where I track combat stuff. Keeping track of PC resources probably sounds like a lot of extra bookkeeping for the DM, but it's become a quick and fluid process for me.   I trust my players to know their own resources, but I like to see at a glimpse how much oomph they've got left in them. So my question, do any of you other DMs track PC resources during the session, or do you leave that entirely in the hands of the players?
#2 Imaculata Feb 09, 2015 3:44:44	I don't track their resources, but I do occasionally ask them how much food and gunpowder they have left. I trust my players enough to play by the rules. I rarely ask them about their spells or hitpoints.
#3 Azylynne Feb 09, 2015 4:57:03	I have my players track their own resources.  I tend to run more episodic sessions, where each session is "complete" unto itself, and we'll have at most 3-4 combat encounters within a "game" day span, if at all.  That said, my players have constantly joked about how their keeping track of gold, or whatever, is in essence arbitrary (this coming from the other GM which in part pisses me off a bit), and they should just lie about how much gold they have.  I threatened them that that will take away from my role as storyteller and my work in keeping track of the story elements within the game and it'll just slow everything down if I start not trusting them and keep track of resources on my own.  I know most of the players are honest about their resources, but some are making mistakes (really peeves me that a few players don't even take the time to read the basic rules).  I do not want to run "House Keeper, the Accounting RPG", they know that too, but if they keep pestering me and giving me reasons to distrust them then I'll take my sweet ass time to record keep while they wait around goofing off.  /ranting on - I really should post this in the pet peeves section, but it's really wearing on me that my older, friend group, gaming group is giving me all sorts of meta game trouble - while my newbie group which include several kids have not been giving me problems at all.  /rant off.
#4 bawylie Feb 09, 2015 7:21:19	Poker chips & cards, River stones, glass beads, empty beer cans.
#5 iserith Feb 09, 2015 7:45:24	I never keep track of PC resources and only demand rigorous tracking of them if it's a point of drama in a given scenario. For example, in my recently concluded Ravenloft game, starvation was rampant in the domain in which the PCs found themselves, game was scarce, and the buying and selling of food was illegal. So keeping track of one's food supplies was relatively important because a lack of food meant an interesting dramatic complication: Do we go out scavenging? Do we seek out the black market at our peril? It also inspired me to have it where specters were "starving ghosts" that would Life Drain you and drop your maximum hit point total and the only way to get them back would be to eat extra days worth of rations.   But otherwise, I don't pay much attention to mundane PC resources.
#6 Noctaem Feb 09, 2015 7:47:27	bawylie wrote:
#7 Noon Feb 09, 2015 19:08:11	It's probably worth not knowing, simply so you don't go kid gloves at just the most convenient time.
#8 CCS Feb 09, 2015 22:30:43	The players are required & trusted to be honest about expended resources - hp, spell components, spells, ammo, food, etc. $ as well, but they KNOW I've got a record of that.... every now & then errors occur. But if those errors become persistant? Or there reason to believe intentional? Then for that character it's always "that dramatic moment" & we roll a die to see if you've got the resource handy atm.
#9 fepriest Feb 12, 2015 19:03:46	New to Next, and a new player group: For me, it's trust: I don't know these players yet. I don't know what I can and can't do to them, and so I'm scared to really plumb the depths of the rules.
#10 miados Feb 13, 2015 10:48:23	I only have one player who cheats. The thing is it is for encounters and he has a mild autism. I adjust things involving him to compensate for the fact I know he cheats (he isn't exactly that good at being sneaky about it) and sometimes ask what his health is at, but that is about it. After all in encounters you are meant to be more flexible as a dm to let the new players learn and enjoy. Now in my personal campaign I am a bit more strict about resources, but that is me asking questions from time to time not keeping track of every mushroom they eat and bolt that they shoot.
#11 Nevvur Feb 13, 2015 19:52:26	Thanks for sharing, everyone. For the record, when I refered to resources in the OP, I meant HDs and HPs, spell slots left, class features used, etc... Not food and water, ammunition, and so on. I definitely do not track those, nor do I expect the players to do so (except when their shortage is supposed to be part of the drama).
#12 Noon Feb 13, 2015 20:36:58	miados wrote:
#13 gregsc Feb 15, 2015 7:07:31	Players have cards with 'HD' written on them for each hit dice.  Casters have cards for spell slots, fighters have them for second wind and action surge. When a player uses a feature that requires a rest to recover, they give me the corresponding card. When they recharge that feature, I give them the card back.
#14 Oriet Feb 17, 2015 4:58:34	I mostly play via MapTool with a framework I scripted myself, so HP, HD, and spell slots are displayed when hovering over their tokens.  It's how they keep track of it for themselves and allows me to also quickly see what they're at.  I plan on scripting in keeping track of prepared spells, and after reading what others have posted am now thinking of scripting in keeping track of other expendable reasources/abilities (like innate spells, class features, etc) so the players can easily keep track of them (though I'll also be able to check up on what they've used).  I trust my players to keep track of their resources, but I also like keeping an eye on it so I have a better idea of what additional encounters I can throw at them before different rests.
(Reply to #7) Nevvur	Noon wrote:
#16 Archon007 Feb 17, 2015 11:24:59	gregsc wrote: