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<blockquote data-quote="Ogrork the Mighty" data-source="post: 2141547" data-attributes="member: 19042">A couple things...1) I use Excel spreadsheets as character records. These prove invaluable when players are absent, especially the combat section where I've preprogrammed it to auto-calculate all attack and damage rolls (complete with random number generator to simulate the d20 rolls). If you have a lot of combatants, it isn't that difficult to set something up beforehand to minimize the work you'll need to do during the battle. In the past, I've made quick sheets that had all the monsters and their attacks on it so a simple F9 rerolls every attack and damage roll on the sheet.2) Use initiative cards. Not only does it make keeping track of initiative easy, but it also allows you to make little notes on each character's/monster's card for spells in effect, status, hp, etc. I have a card for the start of the round on which I mark each round so I know how long the battle has been going. If I want to track spell durations, I just shorthand the spell and then note what the last round of effect will be (so if it's round 10 and the spell last 10 rounds, I'll mark round 20 as the last round for X spell).3) KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). If you're controlling a lot of monsters, they don't all need to be making special attacks and using tricky modifiers. Keep it simple (maybe make all monsters trip or disarm for one round, then attack for another).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ogrork the Mighty, post: 2141547, member: 19042"] A couple things... 1) I use Excel spreadsheets as character records. These prove invaluable when players are absent, especially the combat section where I've preprogrammed it to auto-calculate all attack and damage rolls (complete with random number generator to simulate the d20 rolls). If you have a lot of combatants, it isn't that difficult to set something up beforehand to minimize the work you'll need to do during the battle. In the past, I've made quick sheets that had all the monsters and their attacks on it so a simple F9 rerolls every attack and damage roll on the sheet. 2) Use initiative cards. Not only does it make keeping track of initiative easy, but it also allows you to make little notes on each character's/monster's card for spells in effect, status, hp, etc. I have a card for the start of the round on which I mark each round so I know how long the battle has been going. If I want to track spell durations, I just shorthand the spell and then note what the last round of effect will be (so if it's round 10 and the spell last 10 rounds, I'll mark round 20 as the last round for X spell). 3) KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). If you're controlling a lot of monsters, they don't all need to be making special attacks and using tricky modifiers. Keep it simple (maybe make all monsters trip or disarm for one round, then attack for another). [/QUOTE]

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