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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 5036016" data-attributes="member: 150">I have experimented with a variety of different systems for conditions, we we use a variety of stuff at the table.  For a long time we've used Alea Tools' excellent magnetic disks -- still have a wide variety of colors around. But what I'm really liking these days is Dark Platypus's Action Stands. Both work best with a surface that is magnetically receptive, of course . . . and that maybe tricky.  These days we're playing on a sheet of metal I bought at a surplus yard, with a couple of sheets of white easel pad paper held down with magnets.  We use a projector for maps, so a plain white surface works best, but using 1" grid easel pads lets me create maps if I'm not using the projector.  Still, even with the flags and disks, I'm not using those for everything -- conditions on NPCs that only last until the end of the player's next turn we just ask that the players remember and remind the DM.  BUT . . . here's our initiative system - with conditions included -- and idea for you that you might like, especially if you don't want to spend money.  Use small index card tents to track initiative.  These we make by cutting an index card into quarters, folding each quarter in half to make it a small tent.  On one side, the PC or NPC name is printed big enough that it can be read across the table.  On the other, the Name is at the top, along with the initiative bonus (to break ties), then the PC or NPC's actual initiative score is written.  And, then we usually make some small notes there of passive insight and perception.  Then, initiative can be tracked in an array right in front of the DM -- or even better, by one of the players.  This is huge, because it puts the initiative in the hands of the players, takes tracking that off the DM's plate.  It's the easiest way to keep the players thinking about their place in the initiative -- which pays huge speed dividends, as well.  Once your'e doing that, use the little post-it note bookmark flags to track conditions & marks but sticking them on the initiative tents. That way, when a new figure's turn comes up, right there on the initiative tent the flags are there to remind you of the conditions on that figure.  That works great for PCs . . . works okay for NPCs so long as you're not using the same tent for too many of the same figures.  I've tried all kinds of initiative systems -- the combat pad, flipping through index cards, a couple of different software solutions . . . and in the end I like the little index card tents the best.  Our group does a lot of readying and delaying, and being able to flip the tents around like a hustler dealing three-card monte is far faster and more reliable than any other system.  It pains me, as a gadget nerd, not to be using the computer or some magnet doo-dad for it . . . but i've yet to see a system that really mades it easier. -rg</blockquote>

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