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
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