Monster Stats at the Table, 4e

[DrSkull]

When I played 3e, I used to put all the monster stats I used onto 4x6 index cards, keep them in a card box and so would have an instant handy reference for use at the table, that could be used over and over again.

I sent hundreds of people my card collections at various times, and even wrote a collection of stat blocks for the d20 version of Traveller. But, it got to me. I just completely burnt out on d20/3e stat blocks. I had to walk away from d20 games because of it.

I was really happy with some old-school D&D for awhile, where you could get all the stats you needed for a monster on 1 line on a sheet of notebook paper, and all the stats for a dungeon level on a single page. It was awesome.

Now I'm fixing to DM some 4e, and don't relish typing up stats for easy reference anymore, and don't want to be flipping from page to page in the MM if there are 2 or more monsters on the field at a time.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mysst]

I suppose my suggestion is technically illegal, but its what I plan on using for any home brew adventures. I have the core books for reading and planning from, and I also downloaded the pdf so I can copy the stat block of the monster into a word document. I am putting together a single page of stat blocks for each encounter so that I don't have to keep flipping pages.

 

[Dalamar]

The RPG side stats for DDM minis should be correct from next set onward (I think), and WotC has usually provided those for free download on their website some time after the release of a set, so those could be handy.
Unfortunately, it would take at least a couple more sets before there are enough of them to actually work with only those.

 

[Is_907]

I've seen both the hand written cards and the print out method suggested above from two different DMs in 4e.
Now, one thing that might be more efficient is to wait until someone else distributes some cards like the ones you used to make
Or, have a few friends help you put them together. Get two or three MMs and two or three friends with laptops at a coffee shop. Use a Word or Pages document template for the cards and then all you have to do at home is print and cut.