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<blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 6911221" data-attributes="member: 93">Do you use any sort of combat tracker tool to help run initiative?&nbsp; I have an initiative tracker on my iPad (and most count rounds too, which is really handy for me as thats something I've struggled with), but if you're going lo-tech, notecards with the PC's names works quite well.&nbsp; I've seen some groups where the DM will actually have one of the players manage initiative order, and that can help offload some of your work load.Also to keep things moving, I'll announce the next PC or two who is up in the combat order &quot;OK, it's Jim's turn, Sue is up next, Ted after that&quot; so that those players will start thinking about their actions.In my notes I will make a note of spells that i don't know - very simple; something like &quot;Big Blasty Spell (range 60 ft, damage 5d10, dex save for half)&quot; etc. Keep to the sorcerors and such who have simple spell lists until you're comfortable with that.&nbsp; Keep in mind that though they have limited spells selection, typical NPC's don't last long enough for the PC's tpo notice that they're not actually all that complex.&nbsp; If you don't tell them, they'll never know.For enemy decisions, keep it simple; most enemies will attack the closest foe, or the one who hit them last.&nbsp; Smart enemies may gang up on a single PC to take them down quickly (but thats not that fun for the players so I don't use that tactic all that often). If you use mini's, again, you can use your players to help with the workload, just tell them &quot;move all those guys up to the PC's; they can move 30 ft&quot; and let them move all the minis - only jump in if one of them moves a guy where you don't think they'd go. If the combat doesn't require it, don't use the mini's and that will speed things up a bit too.I'm not sure what you mean by &quot;mobs&quot; if you mean that you're literally using tons of enemies to challenge your PC's or if its just a short hand expression; I like to have at least one enemy per PC in most fights, but also change it up to have singular enemies from time to time to vary things (and cut down on the raw dice rolling).Consider using little colored beads or something to track conditions.Hope some of that helps!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kid Charlemagne, post: 6911221, member: 93"] Do you use any sort of combat tracker tool to help run initiative? I have an initiative tracker on my iPad (and most count rounds too, which is really handy for me as thats something I've struggled with), but if you're going lo-tech, notecards with the PC's names works quite well. I've seen some groups where the DM will actually have one of the players manage initiative order, and that can help offload some of your work load. Also to keep things moving, I'll announce the next PC or two who is up in the combat order "OK, it's Jim's turn, Sue is up next, Ted after that" so that those players will start thinking about their actions. In my notes I will make a note of spells that i don't know - very simple; something like "Big Blasty Spell (range 60 ft, damage 5d10, dex save for half)" etc. Keep to the sorcerors and such who have simple spell lists until you're comfortable with that. Keep in mind that though they have limited spells selection, typical NPC's don't last long enough for the PC's tpo notice that they're not actually all that complex. If you don't tell them, they'll never know. For enemy decisions, keep it simple; most enemies will attack the closest foe, or the one who hit them last. Smart enemies may gang up on a single PC to take them down quickly (but thats not that fun for the players so I don't use that tactic all that often). If you use mini's, again, you can use your players to help with the workload, just tell them "move all those guys up to the PC's; they can move 30 ft" and let them move all the minis - only jump in if one of them moves a guy where you don't think they'd go. If the combat doesn't require it, don't use the mini's and that will speed things up a bit too. I'm not sure what you mean by "mobs" if you mean that you're literally using tons of enemies to challenge your PC's or if its just a short hand expression; I like to have at least one enemy per PC in most fights, but also change it up to have singular enemies from time to time to vary things (and cut down on the raw dice rolling). Consider using little colored beads or something to track conditions. Hope some of that helps! [/QUOTE]

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