Condition Tracking

[jsepeta]

Since 4e came out, I've tried marking conditions in a number of ways. Attending to Origins and GenCon last year meant seeing how other DMs mark conditions. I personally prefer the system that my buddy John uses, but it requires an investment in time and effort that I don't have, so borrowing from what I saw at the conventions last year, I'm now developing a system that uses the little plastic rings from pop bottles. i tried milk jug circlets but they're just too darned big.

Anyway, I've printed up a couple of sheets of paper with labels that I'm glue-sticking on to a plastic lure organizer I got from Walmart (~$5) and the actual rings from plastic bottles are basically free, as long as you're willing to drink a bunch of pop or fizzy water (64 cents at Walmart, lots of flavors = lots of colors).

The players really do benefit by seeing visually who has which effect, and unlike the paper markers that WotC have designed, these go ON your mini not BELOW your mini, which makes more sense, especially as you head into the paragon tier and end up with all kinds of conditions affecting play simultaneously.

I'll post a couple of photos in the next day or so to show y'all how my system works.

 

[Jdvn1]

Better than milk jug circlets, I think, are girls' hair bands. You can get hundreds for a dollar, and they come in a variety of colors.

 

[jsepeta]

girls' hair bands.

i looked for a couple of weeks and couldn't find any that were a bunch for cheap.

**

Here's some photos of the condition markers I put together.

the condition markers in their box
www.lo-res.com/dnd/conditions1.jpg
www.lo-res.com/dnd/conditions2.jpg

the condition markers in use
www.lo-res.com/dnd/conditions3.jpg

 

[Chris Knapp]

I keep a bunch of different colored pop rings in with my dice for LFR games. When people first see them they all say: "Wow, ghetto. . ." But everyone always ends up using them.

Some of them are a pain in the A$$ to get off the bottle though.

 

[TheGogmagog]

We started with girls headbands (got a giant bag for $2). You had to stretch them or just loop them over the head if the effect wasn't going to last long.

Now we use 'Magic Springs' You can get them at any dollar store or party supply store. I found a 'teacher supply store' that will sell them individually for 30cents. I used a red and black spiral for bloodied and fighter marks, and a rainbow one for other. Not only do they come in colors but shapes too, I just picked up a hexagonal one last time I was there.

Cut the spiral with scissors just short of a full loop, and now you have markers for about a penny apiece. They also have 'full size slinky' sizes that are 'ok' for zones. Since it's round the corner people have to stand on it and it gets annoying if the zone is going to move much. We resort to marking the center target with the hair bands for those.

 

[Starfox]

I use packing strips of various colors. The kind you use to seal sacks of garbage or make bundles of cables. Not 100% what the English word is, they are called "buntband" in Swedish. You pull them into a ring suitable for placing around a mini, then cut the loose end off.

This is more practical with some minis than with others. A raised sword is good, as is the head of medium to large monsters. Fitting on to a galeb-dour is a pain (I use the plastic D&D mini as a placeholder for many medium "blob" monsters and earth elementals.)

because you often place these over the heads of monsters, I've come to think of placing conditions as "collaring" the monster.

 

[Nytmare]

Better than milk jug circlets, I think, are girls' hair bands.

I, and the teeming hordes of other D&D-playing dudes with long, flowing tresses, thumb our noses at you. Girls' hair bands, harumph!

 

[Jdvn1]

i looked for a couple of weeks and couldn't find any that were a bunch for cheap.

Did you try a dollar store? That's where I found them.

 

[Jdvn1]

I, and the teeming hordes of other D&D-playing dudes with long, flowing tresses, thumb our noses at you. Girls' hair bands, harumph!

Heh. That's what it said on the bag! And they're very colorful! What do you do with the pink ones?

 

[Jdvn1]

I use packing strips of various colors. The kind you use to seal sacks of garbage or make bundles of cables. Not 100% what the English word is, they are called "buntband" in Swedish.

Twisty ties?