Keeping track of it all

[Festivus]

At the moment I am fairly low level (5th) in our campaign, so things like spell effects (e.g. Bless) are pretty easy to keep track of. I can see in the future that things might get a little crazy in terms of effects and what changes that makes upon characters (e.g. Str buff might add to your Str bonus).

One thing I saw that I thought was a good idea was that the caster of the effect wrote down the spell name and effects on a index card, and then placed dice for countdown counters on it. When it was his turn, he decremented the die count.

What methods do you all use to keep it all straight?

 

[mvincent]

What methods do you all use to keep it all straight?

I only choose buffs that either last all day (1 hr/lvl buffs, sometimes cast with a metamagic rod of extend), or last several hours (10 min/lvl... long enough for most dungeon crawls).

I also maintain my characters on spreadsheets. When I print the (auto-calculating) spreadsheets, I can choose to print the buffed version (with the multi-hour buffs) or the non-buffed version (with only the daily buffs), depending on the adventure.

 

[Particle_Man]

I use a scrap paper with columns for: attack bonus, damage bonus, AC bonus, save bonus. I add as needed.

The caster of each spell takes care of the duration, and announces when it is over. I subtract as needed.

I never play spell-casters (except Warlock) so it works for me so far.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I use a laptop with a character sheet in excel - it is the only way that I can keep things straight (especially useful with my Psywar Monk)

 

[Dross]

Unfortunately it depends. My grou pas a rule do not use buffs often (and nether do I really)

Scrap paper for uncommon buffs.

Sheet of paper for common buffs.

Notes in character sheet for buffs that i commonly use on others.

The (obvious) trick is to pick whatever is right for you/your group (they may not be the same) and stick with it. Consistency is generally a good thing in these situations.

 

[Deng]

I use a scrap paper with columns for: attack bonus, damage bonus, AC bonus, save bonus. I add as needed.

The caster of each spell takes care of the duration, and announces when it is over. I subtract as needed.

I use this method as well (as both spell caster and non spell caster)

My current character has gone through about 50-60 A4 sheets of (scrap) paper keeping notes on current bonuses/scores in the last 6-8 months but at least I don't have to do lots of calculations in my head each round and slow the game down.

When casting spells it's much the same, I just have another sheet for durations.

Other members of our group don't note them down and just try to remember them but I can't keep track of everything with that method.

 

[The Levitator]

I use DM Genie on my laptop and it tracks everything for me. Not only does it make DM'ing less of a headache but it allows me to focus on telling the story, not looking up stats. The other great thing is that it's completely customizable. My version of DM Genie is very modified from the original, incorporating variants like Opposed Defense Rolls, ArmorDR and even some IH variants. While I often look back fondly to my days of paper and pencil, I can't honestly imagine running my current campaign without DM Genie.

 

[Space Coyote]

As a player I use a chart to keep track of bonuses to things like attack, damage saves and AC. The chart lists the name of the buff, its duration, how much time has elapsed, then what the bonuses are. For other buffs (like Longstrider) I just right down the spell names at the top of my character sheet.

As a DM I keep a "time record" sheet. I have a numbered list with blank lines. As the party casts spells I write the spell in a blank line and who the spell was cast on. Then in the "time" section I write the corresponding number. I think use 'ticks' to mark of 5 minute intervals. I use this to advise the players when spells have ended. I only do this for spells with 10 minute/level duration. If the spell has a short duration like 1 round per level, these are quick enough to not bother keeping track of. Also, the spells with 1 hour per level last long enough that they usually do not run out.

 

[Vrecknidj]

As a DM, I have one of those enormous d20s that I place on the table, leaving it on a 1. Whenever combat starts, I keep track of rounds by turning that die up a number at the beginning of each new round. I ask my players to keep track of all their buffs and whatnot. Sometimes, we've probably made a mistake and some character should have had a +4 instead of a +3 or vice versa. But, I don't really worry about it too much. (Then again, I usually have 8 or so players.)

The spreadsheet is a good idea, but I've tried using a laptop while DMing before and I find it more of a distraction than an aide.

Dave

 

[Festivus]

I was debating the laptop at the table idea but I too thought it might be a bit of a distraction. DMGenie is nice looking but it seems like a lot of up front work to get it to work nicely. Perhaps I will give the demo a shot in actual play and see how I feel about it.

I was thinking of printing up cardstock cards that will have spaces for spell name, effects and duration, and a place to put down a couple d6 dice to act as counters. On each players turn they can decrement the counter. I do like the big d20 round counter idea, I'll be using that one.

Thanks everyone for input.