Keeping track of prepared spells...

[Thanee]

I just made a list of all the spells in my spellbook in Word (2 columns) with five of those Wingdings checkboxes at the beginning of each line, so I can print it out and then just check which (and how many of which) spell I prepared with a pencil and erase those used up. I also included a 'slots free' entry for each spell level and a number of potential metamagicked spells, which I would use, in the appropriate spell levels (depending on whether the metamagic comes from the feat or a rod); I only put those in, which I would actually use, of course, otherwise those become way too many.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mark]

The More Better Indispensable Character Formfolio


Some found the Formfolio was not as useful as it could be because they did not have the full version of Adobe Acrobat, and therefore could not save a filled in form. However, it has since been shown me that this Foxit Reader allows precisely that (and is free).

Very nice to be able to adjust your character between games and, also, make up a number of spell lists for various standard occasions, such as traveling in the wilderness, traveling in a dungeon, spending time in town to rest, spending time in town to research, etc.

All clean and easy to read.

 

[TheYeti1775]

I used to have a set of lists for my first d20 wizard character for "standard choices" for expected situations. For example I'd have an "every day" list, a "travelin" list, an "undead bashing" list, etc. I'd state which list was appropriate for the time, and sometimes tweak them based on what we knew (for example, add in Protection from Evil if I thought we'd be dealing with Mind Influencing creatures).

I've used this method quite a bit, the DM has a copy for his reference. Only really have to worry about it if I need to change it up.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I use index cards with the spell information printed out on them (as well as the book and page number for each spell). When I "prepare spells" I go through my box of index cards and select the ones I want ready and then keep them in a handy little index card holder that snaps into my binder with my character sheet and the like.

It keeps things nice and organized and I never have to play the, "now what book is that spell in?" game.

 

[Avatar_V]

I used to have a set of lists for my first d20 wizard character for "standard choices" for expected situations. For example I'd have an "every day" list, a "travelin" list, an "undead bashing" list, etc. I'd state which list was appropriate for the time, and sometimes tweak them based on what we knew (for example, add in Protection from Evil if I thought we'd be dealing with Mind Influencing creatures).

I do something very similar. Since I play with my laptop open, I have a notepad file for my mystic theurge where I have several lists - my 'general' list, my 'in town' list, my 'combat' list and except in rare occassions I just let me DM know which of those lists I'm using. Then, I type a little x next to each spell as I cast it. Next morning, delete the x's and I'm good to go.

 

[rgard]

Anyone got some tips on keeping track of prepared spells? I'm playing a wizard/archivist at the moment, eventually going to be a mystic theurge, so I need a way to quickly, easily organize my spells prepared. Even now at level 1 in each, it's kind of a chore to pick out my spells each day (not helped by my lack of experience with a prepared spellcaster, so my spell selection is still fluctuating greatly while I try things out and find my groove).

What I've been doing is writing the spells down, seperated by level but not class, and then drawing circles next to each spell that I have prepared (or multiple circles for multiple preparations). Then I put Xs in the circles as I use them.

There's got to be a better way... I'm thinking about trying out some grid paper just to make it a bit more organized, but that's not really a big leap. What do you do?

Back in 1e & 2e, I built a lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet for this. I have it on a 3.5" disk someplace. I'll look for it and see if i can update it for the current version of excel. It allowed you to select spells then concantenated the list into a printable sheet.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Asmor]

Some found the Formfolio was not as useful as it could be because they did not have the full version of Adobe Acrobat, and therefore could not save a filled in form. However, it has since been shown me that this Foxit Reader allows precisely that (and is free).

... I love you.

I've been looking for a way to save PDF forms forever! Plus, I've got some PDFs which Acrobat tends to choke on (they're typically graphically-heavy ones, but it's odd because I've got others with even more graphics that acrobat runs fine, but I digress) and FoxIt runs through those very quickly and smoothly.

Excellent.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I used to have a set of lists for my first d20 wizard character for "standard choices" for expected situations. For example I'd have an "every day" list, a "travelin" list, an "undead bashing" list, etc. I'd state which list was appropriate for the time, and sometimes tweak them based on what we knew (for example, add in Protection from Evil if I thought we'd be dealing with Mind Influencing creatures).

Same here. I make up different lists, depending on what I expect to be doing that day. I sometimes change one or two spells from the list and it is just a simple case of noting the changes and letting the DM know.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Hypersmurf]

The people I play with aren't, on the whole, fond of resource management and fiddliness.

When I ran a mid-level one-shot with them, I steered well clear of prepared casters - I had a Beguiler, a Favored Soul, a Bard...

When our regular DM had me create characters for our current campaign for people to pick from, I swung the Spontaneous Divine Casters variant from Unearthed Arcana for the clerics and the druid. I did have a wizard in the mix, but nobody picked him (so our primary arcane caster is the bard!).

I know it's not a lot of help to the original poster, but that's how I've addressed the issue of preparing spells with our group

When I played a cleric in the past, I had a spreadsheet I printed a few copies of, with the names of the spells I was likely to prepare, and multiple days' worth of paired prepared/cast boxes. So I could note that I'd prepared two Spiritual Weapons, and check them off with tally marks as I cast them.

If I'd gone to higher levels with the character, I'd likely have gone to the 'package' system people have described above, with preallocated loadouts already filled in on the sheets for most normal situations.

-Hyp.