Keeping track of bloodied, marked, etc...

[erik_the_guy]

In practice I find that remembering which monsters are bloodied works for me. This just comes naturally sine I have been playing the game forever. Also I tend to use glass beads to represent the monsters, so you could flip them over to represent bloodied monsters.

For player controlled effects such as Riposte strike or mark, it is up to the player to remember, and to remind you on the monster's turn. If the player forgets to mention the mark effect then they don't get the advantage. The player should remind you when you make the monster's action. If the fighter wants to make an opportunity attack against an opponent who shifts, he needs to remind you of his mark BEFORE you shift.

Twist ties are a great idea if you are using minis. Also remember that using a lot of minions makes for easier book keeping since you don't have to worry about bloodied or HP.

 

[The Little Raven]

I really wish they would've had the new (less powerful magnet) version ready for the inevitable 4e purchases, but I'm digging them thus far.

Are they actually doing a new version? Do you have a source for this? I've been using them for several months now, with different games, and the horizontal effect on eachother is the one of two minor drawbacks (the other being that the adhesive on the conversion circles can be a little weak).

 

[shocklee]

At a convention game the GM used color tiles - they are one inch colored plastic squares that are available at educational supply stores ($20 for 400 in four colors). The crystalline counters from Three Sages Games also seems like they would work well. I also liked a suggestion I read that suggested using poker chips for tracking action points.

Mark

 

[Corey_Austin]

My group uses dice for monsters, so we just use a big dry erase board table, and write the group's status.

As an example, a row might say "Blue Die 1 | Grick Flanker | 12 | Bloodied, Poison 5/rd

 

[MacMathan]

IMC we are using the Alea magnetic markers and they have been great so far.

The big set has enough colors for each characters powers to be different and I still have enough left over for all of the badguy effects.

 

[SSquirrel]

We put a glass bead on the mini for marked, a red one for bloodied. Bleeds and such we have a dry erase board

 

[Crowley42]

we bought little peices of paper made of light flexible foam and cut out squares that fit the grid we use and show under the minis. they also are visible if bloodied and marked and such stack. works well enough for us. 89 cents at AC Moore for one sheet of any color.

 

[DanmarLOK]

I've switched to using little sandwich boards that I made that I plan to flip over to each player as they need them, I also create and print stat cards for the monsters use MSE and I just stick the markers as I need them on the cards.

The obvious problem I ran into trying to use magnets is when you've got several characters with status effects next to each other they're constant sticking or repelling each other. I though about getting some tiny rare earth magnets and then sticking them into disks of appropriate size thinking that that might help with the sideways pulls. I've also heard that by putting sheets of metal under your gaming board you can eliminate the sideways pulls and pushes and as a bonus it helps things from moving accidentally.

But for now the paper markers in front of the players or the monster sheets seems workable. The markers are fairly easy to cut out and create and each one has a paraphrasing of what the effect actually means.

A picture and link tot he pdf if you're interested can be found here: http://www.keyourcars.com/2008/07/19/status-markers/

 

[senorcoo]

Are they actually doing a new version? Do you have a source for this? I've been using them for several months now, with different games, and the horizontal effect on eachother is the one of two minor drawbacks (the other being that the adhesive on the conversion circles can be a little weak).

The power of the magnets is irrelevant if you just purchase a sheet of galvanized metal at a Lowe's/Home Depot, etc. Make sure it isn't ALUMINUM, tho, because the ALEA magnets will not stick to aluminum. The galvanized steel (air conditioning ductwork, essentially) works great and we have had no problems.

 

[Bob4E]

Thought I'd shared something my GF and I put together this weekend. We went to a local craft store and picked up: Tray of Beads (Perler) in 16 different colors, a set of pierced earing backs, and a set of 2 inch head pins. Total cost ~ $10. Put the head pins through the bottom of the earing backs and whala, instant stand to hold the beads. Each bead color represents a different status or condition. The earing bases are small enough to rest next to the minis without causing much problem and the head pins are long enough to hold several different beads and provide a small handle to grab for relocation purposes. Just another idea...