Keeping Track

[Black_Swan]

I'm looking for a little guidance to help my group track their bonuses and resolve combat a little faster than we have been.

My character and the archer of the group each have anywhere from 3 - 5 attacks per round/ depending on bonuses..spells cast n' whatnot.

How do you guys handle all of this die rolling? We've just steadily been adding different colored dice to our rolls so that we can declare our action, roll the dice, and then use each color to resolve an attack. This is getting time consuming for us. Espescially since we use a 3d6 variant instead of a d20.

Not only this..but dependant upon where someone is standing they may get a bonus from aura's and other special effects. I try to keep everyone aware what bonuses I give by trying to pay attention to what's affecting them at the moment but it's getting really tedious. between crunching my own numbers, helping others figure out their bonuses, and keeping everyone aware of effects to make sure we don't miss out on any bonuses, the game is really starting to slow down.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[helium3]

It's tough to do. You might consider using notecards or something to keep track of the various modifiers.

I have a dream of some day writing a computer program to track all that for me. Perhaps such a program already exists and can be downloaded from the internet.

My hunch is that a number of people will shortly suggest you try a pared down gaming system.

 

[sniffles]

I've always had trouble myself keeping track of my own bonuses from spells, feats, etc. I write the modifiers down on a large sticky note and apply it to my character sheet. My fellow players help me out by asking me if I remembered to add bonuses.

Also be aware that no matter what you do (unless you switch to a completely different system), combat will get slower as characters increase in level. It's an unavoidable adjunct of the system. Be patient and try not to get frustrated by the increase in time and complexity.

 

[Black_Swan]

My hunch is that a number of people will shortly suggest you try a pared down gaming system.

The funny thing is that we decided to go whole hog and use just about any book for D&D that's out there. Not only that but we use the By the Numbers System, combined with Action Points, Iron Heroe's Token Pools, and just about anything else we want.

So while the clerical side of things is getting more and more complicated..I've never had so much fun spending my XP. =P

Yes we're overpowered but the GM does a good job of countering us and it fits the story as well. It's fun, just frustrating at times when you have to calculate a ton of modifiers or you watch someone else struggle with theirs.

 

[Festivus]

I usually write out the buff on an index card, and set a countdown die on that card. At the beginning of my turn I decrement the counters and remove any cards that have expired. What I find harder is tracking and remembering what buffs other folks have cast that affect me (e.g. Bless).

 

[Danip]

My group uses two different tools. The best thing we have found are little plastic sleeves to put over our character sheets.[easy to find at office supply stores] You can write on them with dry erase markers and erase with just a tissue. You can write all your mods right over the stat in question. Keeping track of the number of turns left on buffs is also easy too with these. Also great for hp tallies.

We also occasionally keep track of the turns left on things on the whiteboard we use to keep track of initative order. "Rounds till cavalry arrives=8, bless=5" and that sort of thing.

Also if buffs are getting out of hand, just dont do them so much. Im sure the cleric would rather memorize fun offensive spells. Buy continous use items not potions, etc. Sure, maybe not the optimal powergamer solution, but go with what is fun.

If you have alot of things like action points, some sort of physical token [cards, coins, etc] can be a helpful reminder.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Yes we're overpowered but the GM does a good job of countering us and it fits the story as well. It's fun, just frustrating at times when you have to calculate a ton of modifiers or you watch someone else struggle with theirs.

Nah, you're not overpowered if the GM scales all the NPC's and monsters to fit. In almost any comparison between one group of players and another, someone is going to think that somone else's character is "overpowered." In my opinion, as long as you're having fun, nothing else matters.

That said, I would recommend statting out all of your different and common combat scenarios. Some suggested scenarios:

1. Basic all-out attack.
2. Attack with Common buffs.
3. Attack when unprepared and/or surprised.
4. Common ranged attack.
5. Totally prepared and holding no spells in reserve.
6. Etc.

Plastic sleeves is a good idea too, but I would recommend buying a fully-operational Gamer Robot (TM) from Gameco. It will keep track of all of your numbers and can be upgraded to project a holographic display of your game. Only $24,995 from Gameco while supplies last.

 

[Shallown]

We used folded note cards with printed labels that we stuck on them for what spell was up and what benefits it granted including type. Each person kept track of what they were affected by. At high level we may have 5-6 cards out at once. Folded into a tent with the spells info on both sides.

It made things a little easier.

Later

 

[Mark CMG]

One way I do it sometimes is to have everyone keep track of their own bonus(es) on their edge of the battlemat with wet erase markers that I hand out. It's right in front of everyone and easy for everyone to see and help check. I also would keep a running tally of the rounds that have gone by on my end.

 

[blargney the second]

Get everyone to add up their modifiers *before* they roll the dice. I've found that people get so excited about the roll that they can't do basic arithmetic afterwards.