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Speaking of Power Cards..

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
quizzit_dup
Oct 07, 2008 16:03:22 I am curious as to what you guys all do to keep track of powers, usage and whatnot.
#2
undrave
Oct 07, 2008 16:50:41 Index cards. Keep all my bonus on them too. Flip over the encounters and dailies as I use them.

Which remindsm e I need to make a new Beacon of Hope one :p
#3
Bargle0
Oct 07, 2008 19:35:04
I am curious as to what you guys all do to keep track of powers, usage and whatnot.

I make my own power cards. I use some homebrew hackery to generate PDFs suitable for printing on perforated business card stock. I'll throw those in to the adhesive-based self-laminating sleeves you can buy at Staples or Office Depot. I use wet erase markers to write in bonuses and stuff. I find the sleeves work better if you use them "stiff side up": the front of the card should face the "stiffer" side of the sleeve.
#4
battleaxefield
Oct 07, 2008 20:20:46 I use power cards, but I take it one step further. Basically, my entire character sheet is on cards. I have one for skills, one for abilities, one for each feat, one for character description, one for equipment, etc.

When DMing, I have initiative cards with stat blocks on the front, and a table to record current hit points, etc. on the back.
#5
doomsought
Oct 07, 2008 20:28:48 I'm just startign to go into 4ed as a DM but as long as I have been DMing I've used index cards for my creatures. Looking at the powers I've seen so far, you can get four to six on a big card.
#6
drmorganes
Oct 08, 2008 12:06:32 I use the character sheet system at Myth Weavers.
#7
d.a.dervish
Oct 10, 2008 7:46:52 I'm currently trying out the use of power cards. So far I have found that the number of powers I have are actually easier tracked mentally or on a scrap sheet than with all these cards. Now the character isn't that high level (5th), and I'm blessed with fairly good memory, so there isn't a whole lot to keep track of.

While DMing (and I tend to find myself in the high seat more often than not) I usually have two A4 sheets in front of me. One printed with the relevant stat blocks from the Monster Manual merged into a single sheet for quick reference, and one with monster hp totals and space for writing down ongoing effects and tracking recharge. The funny thing is the short-hand you develop for noting effects on monsters. E-character name means effect ends at the end of that characters turn, S-next means the effect ends at the start of the cretures next turn, and so on.
#8
Crimson_red
Oct 10, 2008 14:01:09 I use index cards. I print the power on the back with blanks so the players can write the modifiers and variables in by hand.

I've since had the players use the lined sides for calculating the modifiers, variables, and criticals; they're mostly new players, some have had a hard time getting a handle on the underlying math.

I use green cards for at-will powers, red for encounter, and white for Dailies and keeping notes of handy feats and class features.
#9
axterix
Oct 10, 2008 14:11:11 I use a list that includes most of the power descriptions and lightly put a slash in front of the ones I've used with a pencil.
#10
Tony_Vargas
Oct 10, 2008 18:01:22 Hand-written color-coded index cards. Red for encounter, green for at-will, yellow (because who makes black index cards and what'd you write on them with, anyway) for dailies. The rest of my character - stats, skills, equipment, etc - is also on plain ruled index cards, no character sheet.
#11
lord_psynister
Oct 11, 2008 21:39:45 I use a character sheet for character info, equipment list and list of powers and such, but use cards for the powers. I use cards for the class features too as some of my players forget they have certain abilities if there's not a visual reminder for them.

If you've got sneak attack, then throw it down with the power you're using, and then put it back in your "available stack" when it's resolved. Precise Shot? Same deal. (you get the idea)
#12
Enlightened1
Oct 12, 2008 16:26:15 I've been using cards-on-a-sheet: that is, power cards, but printed together on regular letter paper, so there's several 'cards' on a page. It seems easier to handle and track than a deck of cards, and puts the maximum amount of data in front of my face most easily. Power usage I just track by little pencil marks - by the time marks and erasures become an issue, I'll level up and have to redo all the numbers anyway.

Seperate cards are nice, but it seems like they would be easy to lose or damage during or between sessions. Sheets get tucked in the same slot as the character sheet.

I'm still not sure which will work our better in the long run - I'll have to play more and level up (and have to deal with a larger number of powers) before I can settle on one solution.
#13
lord_psynister
Oct 12, 2008 16:55:16 I don't see cards on a sheet giving any more benefit than just having the information on the character sheet itself. Maybe I'm just not understanding you here.

Losing them isn't really an issue unless you play on a sofa or something where they could slide off between cushions or whatever. As long as you put the cards in sleeves there's not much of an opportunity for damage either. Much easier to tear a piece of paper or crinkle(sp?) it up than it would a card. I've got plenty of MtG start deck boxes that I can keep all of my cards in for each of my characters, so no issue there either.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 quizzit_dup Oct 07, 2008 16:03:22	I am curious as to what you guys all do to keep track of powers, usage and whatnot.
#2 undrave Oct 07, 2008 16:50:41	Index cards. Keep all my bonus on them too. Flip over the encounters and dailies as I use them. Which remindsm e I need to make a new Beacon of Hope one :p
#3 Bargle0 Oct 07, 2008 19:35:04	I am curious as to what you guys all do to keep track of powers, usage and whatnot. I make my own power cards. I use some homebrew hackery to generate PDFs suitable for printing on perforated business card stock. I'll throw those in to the adhesive-based self-laminating sleeves you can buy at Staples or Office Depot. I use wet erase markers to write in bonuses and stuff. I find the sleeves work better if you use them "stiff side up": the front of the card should face the "stiffer" side of the sleeve.
#4 battleaxefield Oct 07, 2008 20:20:46	I use power cards, but I take it one step further. Basically, my entire character sheet is on cards. I have one for skills, one for abilities, one for each feat, one for character description, one for equipment, etc. When DMing, I have initiative cards with stat blocks on the front, and a table to record current hit points, etc. on the back.
#5 doomsought Oct 07, 2008 20:28:48	I'm just startign to go into 4ed as a DM but as long as I have been DMing I've used index cards for my creatures. Looking at the powers I've seen so far, you can get four to six on a big card.
#6 drmorganes Oct 08, 2008 12:06:32	I use the character sheet system at Myth Weavers.
#7 d.a.dervish Oct 10, 2008 7:46:52	I'm currently trying out the use of power cards. So far I have found that the number of powers I have are actually easier tracked mentally or on a scrap sheet than with all these cards. Now the character isn't that high level (5th), and I'm blessed with fairly good memory, so there isn't a whole lot to keep track of. While DMing (and I tend to find myself in the high seat more often than not) I usually have two A4 sheets in front of me. One printed with the relevant stat blocks from the Monster Manual merged into a single sheet for quick reference, and one with monster hp totals and space for writing down ongoing effects and tracking recharge. The funny thing is the short-hand you develop for noting effects on monsters. E-character name means effect ends at the end of that characters turn, S-next means the effect ends at the start of the cretures next turn, and so on.
#8 Crimson_red Oct 10, 2008 14:01:09	I use index cards. I print the power on the back with blanks so the players can write the modifiers and variables in by hand. I've since had the players use the lined sides for calculating the modifiers, variables, and criticals; they're mostly new players, some have had a hard time getting a handle on the underlying math. I use green cards for at-will powers, red for encounter, and white for Dailies and keeping notes of handy feats and class features.
#9 axterix Oct 10, 2008 14:11:11	I use a list that includes most of the power descriptions and lightly put a slash in front of the ones I've used with a pencil.
#10 Tony_Vargas Oct 10, 2008 18:01:22	Hand-written color-coded index cards. Red for encounter, green for at-will, yellow (because who makes black index cards and what'd you write on them with, anyway) for dailies. The rest of my character - stats, skills, equipment, etc - is also on plain ruled index cards, no character sheet.
#11 lord_psynister Oct 11, 2008 21:39:45	I use a character sheet for character info, equipment list and list of powers and such, but use cards for the powers. I use cards for the class features too as some of my players forget they have certain abilities if there's not a visual reminder for them. If you've got sneak attack, then throw it down with the power you're using, and then put it back in your "available stack" when it's resolved. Precise Shot? Same deal. (you get the idea)
#12 Enlightened1 Oct 12, 2008 16:26:15	I've been using cards-on-a-sheet: that is, power cards, but printed together on regular letter paper, so there's several 'cards' on a page. It seems easier to handle and track than a deck of cards, and puts the maximum amount of data in front of my face most easily. Power usage I just track by little pencil marks - by the time marks and erasures become an issue, I'll level up and have to redo all the numbers anyway. Seperate cards are nice, but it seems like they would be easy to lose or damage during or between sessions. Sheets get tucked in the same slot as the character sheet. I'm still not sure which will work our better in the long run - I'll have to play more and level up (and have to deal with a larger number of powers) before I can settle on one solution.
#13 lord_psynister Oct 12, 2008 16:55:16	I don't see cards on a sheet giving any more benefit than just having the information on the character sheet itself. Maybe I'm just not understanding you here. Losing them isn't really an issue unless you play on a sofa or something where they could slide off between cushions or whatever. As long as you put the cards in sleeves there's not much of an opportunity for damage either. Much easier to tear a piece of paper or crinkle(sp?) it up than it would a card. I've got plenty of MtG start deck boxes that I can keep all of my cards in for each of my characters, so no issue there either.