High level 3.5 - tricks for keeping the numbers game quick and easy?

[kenobi65]

the players putting up folder paper signs in front of them with the spell/effect, making sure that if something new goes up or comes down they let everyone know.

We do that, although I have the players hang the signs on my DM screen, so they're easily visible to all (and the Prayer sign has a "DM's side", since it has a negative effect on the bad guys). In most cases, the effects last the entire combat, so I don't worry much about what expires (and thus would get taken down), but if there's something that does (like bardic music), I'd put a tick mark with a pencil on the sign each round, on the appropriate player's turn.

 

[Cam Banks]

I'd just like to point out that the singular of bonii is bonius, whatever that is. There isn't a Latin plural of bonus, since it's an adjective, not a noun. In English, it's "bonuses."

Wow, that was pedantic. Anyway, this is a great thread! I'm in the same boat, with high-level characters that can sometimes be a hassle to manage. So I'll go back to reading it.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Gentlegamer]

A spreadsheet for D&D combat? This is at least one reason I maintain that d20 3.5 is not D&D . . .

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

A) Don't sweat the small stuff too much. So you forgot the bard's song should have dropped? Big deal. Sooner or later, you'll forget to add it in one round. Little mistakes even out over the long haul.

B) I've houseruled power attack so that it is always either +5 or +BAB, whichever is lower. I can't stand players that sit there and try to finesse power attack like it's the volume knob on their stereo.

 

[Stalker0]

I think I agree with most all the other comments...preplanned stat blocks is the fastest way.

This doesn't involve numbers but its a way to speed up high level combats....dice boxes.

Basically they are just walled areas to roll dice. However, a really good dice box has seperations (think of it like a tick-tack-toe board).

Now what makes this very fast is you use two dice boxes...one for attack rolls and the other for damage.

So when I roll my first attack, I roll the dice into the upper left corner of the box. When I roll damage I roll it into the upper left corner of the other box. This way its very easy to see what damage goes with what attack...and it makes it convienent to roll damage and attacks at the same time which really speeds up high level play.

 

[GlassJaw]

A spreadsheet for D&D combat? This is at least one reason I maintain that d20 3.5 is not D&D

Don't sweat the small stuff too much. So you forgot the bard's song should have dropped? Big deal. Sooner or later, you'll forget to add it in one round. Little mistakes even out over the long haul.

As much as I like d20 and D&D, these two factors continuously irk me the more I play.

So if the battle gets too complicated, I should just ignore certain rules? That seems backwards to me. High-level play in a "standard" D&D campaign is extremely accounting-heavy. Unless everyone (players and DM) do a lot of pre-planning, it can get very slow.

d20 was made with Excel in mind IMO (which is a little scary).

 

[Rystil Arden]

You don't really need to do any preplanning at all as long as you are good at adjudicating these kinds of things in your head. I haven't had a problem in any of my campaigns, including the one that is just about to go epic and has many epic spellcaster NPCs.

 

[iwatt]

Hmm, iwatt I think I see what you're getting at, but I guess that I just don't have the same stacking/non-stacking problem with my players. They know which spells stack, and they don't bother to even prepare ones that they know won't stack. I guess maybe it helps when everyone in your group either has or is working towards a degree in either Math or Computer Science.

Hey I play with an all engineer group.

Once you quit college, you start depending heavily on those computer tools and less on the old Mark I brain. Specially when you're only chance to play is evenings during weekdays, you really try to keep things simple. The old brain get's plenty tired after 9-10 hour work days ( one of the "benefits" of living in Latin America).

getting back on topic: using spreadsheets is a very good option. You don't need a laptop, just need to print off some charts with common stat combos.

B) I've houseruled power attack so that it is always either +5 or +BAB, whichever is lower. I can't stand players that sit there and try to finesse power attack like it's the volume knob on their stereo.

I feel your pain. As one of the miriads of players that have developed spreadsheets for PA, i can tell you that actually fine tuning PA in combat even with the help of spreadsheet is a pain in the rear, and really brings down the mood. That's why I'm in the camp of APAATT (all power attack all the time) .

 

[Breakdaddy]

I'd just like to point out that the singular of bonii is bonius, whatever that is.

I always thought it was boner, thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Arc]

Last high level game I played in, we had a whiteboard/battlemat to play on, and everyone had at least a corner or two. We kept initiative on one side, active spells in one corner, and everyone had some space to scribble their own info. Being able to write out and easily change your various attack bonuses, AC buffs, HP, spell slots, etc without having to pull out the eraser really makes things easy. Not everyone did this, but it was really obvious who did, since their turns consisted mostly of dramatic description, not frantic scrambling through sheets of paper.

Even if you don't have a battlemat, buy a small whiteboard. They make them in tablet sized versions that should be just big enough to keep track of initiative and various global effects. Put it in the middle of the table/gaming space, and designate someone initiative/buff monkey for each combat. Most likely, the rotation will mean nobody feels overworked, and eventually, somebody will probably take on the task for most of the time. In my group, I took on the role simply because I was fast at it, and kinda enjoyed the extra level of involvement. I'd recommend getting a personal board as well, simply to have a space to keep track of your own stats.