Initiative organization idea

[Banshee16]

One of the players in my group mentioned an idea one of his other DMs had come up with. The DM prepares Qcards for each character in the party, as well as for the opponents they'll be fighting in a game. Then, at the start of combat, initiative is rolled, and the Qcards are organized into the initiative order. Then, as each character/NPC acts, it is moved to the bottom of the pile.

They found that this helped the DM to avoid missing anyone's actions, or getting them in the wrong order.

Also, the Qcards could contain things like the PC's spot checks, listen, etc. so the DM has that data on hand to be able to make surprise rolls when needed, like when an opponent is sneaking up, and you don't want to tell the PCs there's something there.

Has anyone else done this, and was it helpful?

Banshee

 

[the Jester]

Absolutely. This is one of the best organizational tools I have ever found as a dm, although I admit that it's not perfect; it's easy to lose track of a card, and sometimes two of them stick together when I'm flipping through them. But especially given the prevalence of readied and delayed actions, it's a great way to keep organized!

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

yeah, I've been doing this for about 5 years now, and I've gamed with other DMs that do so, as well. I make a 3x5 index card (using MS word) with stat blocks and equipment for every monster that they may encounter in the adventure. That way I can run the encounter without having to constantly look back at the adventure I'm running, just switching through the cards (with cards for PCs interleaved) in initiative order.

Ken

 

[DonTadow]

I switched back to this method a a few weeks ago after I had used a laptop to track initiative for a couple ofyears. This method was far easier and made combat much quicker. I was quite surprised.

 

[cmanos]

One of the players in my group mentioned an idea one of his other DMs had come up with. The DM prepares Qcards for each character in the party, as well as for the opponents they'll be fighting in a game. Then, at the start of combat, initiative is rolled, and the Qcards are organized into the initiative order. Then, as each character/NPC acts, it is moved to the bottom of the pile.

They found that this helped the DM to avoid missing anyone's actions, or getting them in the wrong order.

Also, the Qcards could contain things like the PC's spot checks, listen, etc. so the DM has that data on hand to be able to make surprise rolls when needed, like when an opponent is sneaking up, and you don't want to tell the PCs there's something there.

Has anyone else done this, and was it helpful?

Banshee

Yes, we use this system, I initially brought this to the table in the form of The Game Mechanics Initiative Cards. The cards typically have the character's skills that you would need to prevent them from being tipped off by asking for, say, a Spot check.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I switched back to this method a a few weeks ago after I had used a laptop to track initiative for a couple ofyears. This method was far easier and made combat much quicker. I was quite surprised.

I've used cards, and I've used my laptop - I prefer using the laptop now. I've got a little Excel spreadsheet set up, with a macro to resort anytime anything changes - it's lightning fast and I like it quite a bit.

When I used cards, I didn't see the point of having much info on them - I only want to refer to the card on top - the person currently acting - I don't want to have to refer to another card - so I track everything on a seperate piece of paper. Or on my Excel initiative sheet...

Cards are a lot better than just jotting them down, though. Especially if your players do a lot of readying and holding actions.

 

[Hjorimir]

We've been using the cards ever since we started playing 3e. Turn the card 90 degrees on a ready (so you can easily pull it out and place it on top) or drop it out of the pile on a delay.

 

[DonTadow]

I've used cards, and I've used my laptop - I prefer using the laptop now. I've got a little Excel spreadsheet set up, with a macro to resort anytime anything changes - it's lightning fast and I like it quite a bit.

When I used cards, I didn't see the point of having much info on them - I only want to refer to the card on top - the person currently acting - I don't want to have to refer to another card - so I track everything on a seperate piece of paper. Or on my Excel initiative sheet...

Cards are a lot better than just jotting them down, though. Especially if your players do a lot of readying and holding actions.

I feel more connected to the game now though. Things ran fast on a laptop but because I"M always turning and referring to the laptop or having to click something or type something it wasn't balancing the time. Now I use the laptop as a reference tool all of their stuff is up (DM Genie) so I can refer to things like AC, conditions with a glance.

THe connections to the players though really balances everything out.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I use the cards (my own version, of course), have for several years, and find them very nice.

Dave