DM Tips: Tracking damage
- Thread starter SlyFlourish
- Start date
When I prep for an adventure, I do up a monster stat sheet for the creatures the PCs will be encountering. I track each monster's name, Initiative, saves, AC, attacks/damage, and hp, plus an abbreviated form of any special attacks or qualities that will have a bearing in combat. If they cast spells, I also list the spells they have prepared or available. As the monsters take damage, I jot down their current hp as it gets lowered, and tell the players when the monster's looking like it's at about half its hit points, just about done for, or whatever. (And it doesn't help during play, but lately I've added each monster's CR rating in the corner of its abbreviated stats, to aid me in calculating XP values after the adventure's over.)
Johnathan
Johnathan
I track them on the white board alongside initiative. Damage done and conditions. The players don't know exact damage totals though they can figure them out when a creature gets bloodied. Each square in the board is numbered (like in chess) so monsters also have a position tag on them for easy tracking.
CraigAT
First Post
Ok - so I own Alea Tools, so I am a bit biased here... saw the couple comments on using our markers. Here's how we do it... We take a bunch of white markers and right numbers on them with dry/wet erase and put them under identical minis... that way you can tell one hobgoblin from another. We then use yellow-orange-red to indicate being aboue 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 down in hit points. With the advent of 4e, most people use red for bloodied, but we still like to be able to show progression towards dead... we don't actually show this progression for all creatures - for example, we figure most undead start out looking pretty dead, so maybe our characters would not get great visual clues on the effectiveness of their attacks.
But numbering using markers and that simple tracking of how bad things are hurt were the core mechanics that drove us to invent the little markers we sell. We use them for those functions in every battle and it saves us a lot of time and confusion.
cja
But numbering using markers and that simple tracking of how bad things are hurt were the core mechanics that drove us to invent the little markers we sell. We use them for those functions in every battle and it saves us a lot of time and confusion.
cja
Oompa
First Post
I give each monster a letter and number, same monsters get same letter..
So goblin warrior will be A1, goblin warrior will be A2 and goblin hexer B1.
I have a piece of paper behind my screen with:
A1- 35
A2- 35
B1- 70
If A1 takes 8 damage i cross out 35 and place 27 next to it..
Other conditions i write before the numbers..
Initiative is tracked by me..
I do the same for player damage..
(My players are slow and i have enough time to write it all down)
So goblin warrior will be A1, goblin warrior will be A2 and goblin hexer B1.
I have a piece of paper behind my screen with:
A1- 35
A2- 35
B1- 70
If A1 takes 8 damage i cross out 35 and place 27 next to it..
Other conditions i write before the numbers..
Initiative is tracked by me..
I do the same for player damage..
(My players are slow and i have enough time to write it all down)
megamania
Hero
On colored paper I created numbered squares.
PCs would point to the creature being attacked and I would track it accordenly. If they don't give a number I would either choice for them or if a habit had begun they hit either nothing or the least dangerous foe for them. (evil DM)
When I used to paint all of my figures I always had color themes with minor adjustments for IDing purposes. Either base was dark brown vs copper, Light Brown black etc or they had blue trim vs red or etc....
I had to use the colored squares in Darksun when a group of five battled 50+ Gith of various classes and levels. The others work well enough in most games. Mixing DDM figures with Reaper with DnD metal with Chainmail and various other companies also allows for specific IDing.
PCs would point to the creature being attacked and I would track it accordenly. If they don't give a number I would either choice for them or if a habit had begun they hit either nothing or the least dangerous foe for them. (evil DM)
When I used to paint all of my figures I always had color themes with minor adjustments for IDing purposes. Either base was dark brown vs copper, Light Brown black etc or they had blue trim vs red or etc....
I had to use the colored squares in Darksun when a group of five battled 50+ Gith of various classes and levels. The others work well enough in most games. Mixing DDM figures with Reaper with DnD metal with Chainmail and various other companies also allows for specific IDing.
brainstorm
First Post
HP Pool
I also use a HP pool, as described earlier in this thread. It has made my life as a DM so much easier and it also makes it harder for the players to guess how many hit points any single miniature has.
I also use a HP pool, as described earlier in this thread. It has made my life as a DM so much easier and it also makes it harder for the players to guess how many hit points any single miniature has.
Nightchilde-2
First Post
That's pretty much what I do.
