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Someone please sell this to me!

Garboshnik

First Post
One aspect of 4e which has begun to cause more problems at higher levels is keeping track of all the different conditions and effects placed on PC's and enemies. Placing tokens next to figures and players helps to some extent but won't work in crowded combat scenes with multiple conditions per miniature.


The best tools for keeping track of these that I have seen so far are:

- Alea Tools stackable magnetic markers
=== These seem ok but require you to pick up miniatures and rearrange the stack every time a condition is added or removed. Also I imagine it would get tough to keep track of conditions in crowded areas.

- Numbering all miniatures and keeping a big whiteboard with a conditions list.
=== This could work well from an organizational standpoint but I still need a way to number all the miniatures.


I spent some time trying to come up with a better solution and ended up with the creations you can see in the attached images. Basically they consist of a base which the miniature sits on, a clear pole, and a set of condition labels which magnetically attach to the pole. This system has a number of advantages:
- Condition flags have the name written on them and can also be color coded to match a condition reference sheet.
- Conditions are elevated above the miniatures and are easier to see in crowded conditions.
- Easy to add/remove conditions in any order.
- Don't need to move the miniature to add/remove flags.
- Can pick up the miniature using the pole which can be useful when things are crowded.
- With some sticky tack any miniature will attach to the base :)


I messed around with trying to build/sell these myself but I don't have the time or resources to do so. I am posting this in the hopes that someone else can run with this idea and make a good product out of it! Let me know if you are interested or have any questions.
 

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Please tell me that I don't have this level of complexity to look forward to. I just got out of an epic 3.5 game where I had a 17 page character sheet to keep track of bonuses. Tell me that I won't need semafore flags for mid-level 4e.
 

I limit myself to tracking only bloodied and the various marks in the game with Alea markers, and it tends to work out okay. It can get tricky (and unintentionally hilarious) trying to adjust the marker of someone in the midst of a crowd, but I tend to just see that as part of the fun. :)
 

Please tell me that I don't have this level of complexity to look forward to. I just got out of an epic 3.5 game where I had a 17 page character sheet to keep track of bonuses. Tell me that I won't need semafore flags for mid-level 4e.
You won't. They might be helpful. But I can manage with a regular sheet of paper. ;)
 

There is a company that has something like this that is magnetic and seems to work very well.

The alea ones I really like. It has not been an issue picking them up or having crowded areas.
 

Basically they consist of a base which the miniature sits on, a clear pole, and a set of condition labels which magnetically attach to the pole. This system has a number of advantages:
- Condition flags have the name written on them and can also be color coded to match a condition reference sheet.
- Conditions are elevated above the miniatures and are easier to see in crowded conditions.
- Easy to add/remove conditions in any order.
- Don't need to move the miniature to add/remove flags.
- Can pick up the miniature using the pole which can be useful when things are crowded.
- With some sticky tack any miniature will attach to the base :)

...
I am posting this in the hopes that someone else can run with this idea and make a good product out of it! Let me know if you are interested or have any questions.

I believe you are in luck! Check out my preview from Origins of Dark Platypus Studios (scroll about halfway down)
Origins 2009: Exhibit Hall in Words, Pictures, and Sounds | Critical Hits

And here's the direct link to the product on the page that sells them (he'll be at GenCon too)
Action Stands figure markers for Role-Playing and War Games

I think the only one that it doesn't do well is "Remove conditions in any order"
 


We use the Alea tools markers exclusively. Once you get used to them, it's nothing to swap markers during combat. I spread the colors out along the battle-mat and we all know what colors = what condition, making it easy to grab what's needed for a specific condition/mark, etc...

The only down-side is keeping up with the magnetic bases. When you have 2,000+ miniatures, it becomes a bit of up-keep to continue purchasing the bases.
 

Into the Woods

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