Tokens, pogs, markers, oh my!

[Kzach]

By now there must be a bajillion and one ways to track statuses and effects in 4e. I'd basically like to hear about them all so that I can collate the information and, no promises, make a poll to determine the best method.

One method I was recently introduced to was bottle cap rings. You know the little plastic rings you get from plastic soda bottles when you open the lid? Different colours are just popped over the appropriate mini's head.

A method I use doesn't use anything on the mini itself but rather I have status cards for players and for monsters. I keep monster cards as well and use a collectible card plastic sheath (nine card slots, see through and double sided) for initiative order. Because the cards are colour coded on the top (thanks Weem!), I only have to have them sticking up from the sheathe enough that it reminds me it's still active.

Any other methods you can think of that work well for you or for other groups?

 

[webrunner]

By now there must be a bajillion and one ways to track statuses and effects in 4e. I'd basically like to hear about them all so that I can collate the information and, no promises, make a poll to determine the best method.

One method I was recently introduced to was bottle cap rings. You know the little plastic rings you get from plastic soda bottles when you open the lid? Different colours are just popped over the appropriate mini's head.

A method I use doesn't use anything on the mini itself but rather I have status cards for players and for monsters. I keep monster cards as well and use a collectible card plastic sheath (nine card slots, see through and double sided) for initiative order. Because the cards are colour coded on the top (thanks Weem!), I only have to have them sticking up from the sheathe enough that it reminds me it's still active.

Any other methods you can think of that work well for you or for other groups?

I bought a bunch of colored and lettered and numbered stickers that i just stick on minis to note status effects (and to differentiate multiples of the same monster)

 

[blalien]

I use Alea Tools magnet markers. One of the best purchases I've ever made. You can get your foot in the door for about $30.

I have a system that uses magnet circles as tokens. To pull this off, you need:
*A collection of images - I recommend either the Wizards Art Gallery or Counter Collection Digital v3.0
*Tokentool, a freeware program
*Photoshop, or any art program that lets you specify the pixel ratio and CMYK printing
*Glossy photo paper
*A one-inch hole puncher
*One-inch magnet circles - Alea Tools sells them at 20 cents each
*A set of gemstones to use for minions

It's expensive to start, but the quality really shows and most of these are one time purchases.

 

[Joshua Randall]

For status effects (dazed, slow, etc.), I use the little flag-thingies you can buy from Fiery Dragon Games in their battle-box.

You can either just hang them on the minis, or put them into their plastic base and put them near the mini. Theoretically you could give them to the players, but in my experience, no-one ever pays any attention to anything you put on the table unless it's on or near their mini.

For mark / hunter's quarry / divine challenge / etc., I like the rubber bands (hair bands) that a lot of people use. I don't personally own any of these, but enough of my semi-regular players do that it's not a problem.

I have seen people use bottle cap rings, but it seems like it would be a lot harder to come up with enough different colors of bottle caps, and in enough quanity, than it would be just to buy rubber bands.

Oh, BTW on the bands, I'm talking about the big ones, that a girl could put her pony tail in. Not the tiny little annoying ones that won't even fit over your pinkie finger.

I dislike magnets as they, naturally, want to attract or repel each other and I don't need that going on during combat.

 

[bbjore]

I use twist ties (the things on the end of a bread bag). Then I attach some highlighter tape to make them different colors or to write on them. It makes it really easy to attach them to the minis.

If you don't want to go the highlighter tape route, you could just buy a bag of a bunch of different colored ties. Heck, you could even just pierce bits of papers with the twist ties to make whatever manner of flag you want. So far it's been simple, cheap, and effective.

 

[Stumblewyk]

8.5" x 11" sheets of colored foam, and a 1" hole punch. I've got multiple colors for marked, cursed, quarried, bloodied, dazed, ongoing damaged, etc. Sure, my minis tend to "grow" as more and more effects get layered under their bases, but it works for my group, and foam tends to "catch" on itself, so the pieces don't topple over.

 

[giant.robot]

I bought a bunch of plastic pawns from Rolco Games in different colors and use them for monsters. I wrote numbers on the sides using a sharpie so I can keep track of which monster is which. I use different colored pawns for each different type of monster. To track statuses I use the colored pony tail band method since they also work well on miniatures as well as pawns.

Recently I picked up several sets of dungeon tiles to go along with my Game Mastery write-on sheet. I like using the WotC dungeon tiles because I feel like they give a better representation of the space the characters are in and I can easily hide sections of a dungeon they haven't visited yet by simply not putting that part on the table until they get there. I've got enough tiles now I can make fairly large rooms with lots of little flourishes in them.

I also have a bag of plastic stand-up bases from Rolco as well. These are the kind that you can stick a piece of paper in to stand it up. I've used them for Battletech (I print out 'Mechs on card stock because I'm cheap) and they work really well for D&D. You can print out some monster and PC pictures and stand them up on the map. They're a little more personalized than pawns and miniatures but not quite as durable. If you've got the artwork and a printer this method is a relatively cheap way to have a wide variety of "minis". I suggest printing them on card stock rather than paper as they will last a lot longer.

 

[Reaper Steve]

I've tried lots of different markers, but I just discovered the plastic soda ring (courtesy of slyflourish.com) and they suit my needs best.

1) Stickers and Post-it flags are too fiddly and sometimes don't stick. Plus you have to pick the mini up.
2) I don't like magnets or any tokens that go under the figures because they elevate the figure and ruin the aesthetics for me. Plus, you have to pick up the figure.
3) GF9's DM Tokens were my favorite. You don't have to move the mini, but you do have to move the tokens when you move the mini. And lately I've had some combats with a lot of tokens all over the place.

I love the soda bottle rings for several reasons:
1) If you like soda, they're free
2) Plenty of colors are available
3) you can just drop it over a mini or hang it off of it without having to pick it up. (Yes, I have found that constantly picking up minis to apply stickers or place tokens underneath is a pain.)
4) the soda rings fit perfectly around the DDM medium base figures, which is also the most aesthetic option. If I'm not in condition-tracking hell, I prefer to place the ring around the base. But once effects start flying, the figures start wearing them.
5) the rings move with the figures, since they are around the figs.

FWIW,
RS

 

[Ryujin]

I use Alea Tools magnet markers. One of the best purchases I've ever made. You can get your foot in the door for about $30.

I have a system that uses magnet circles as tokens. To pull this off, you need:
*A collection of images - I recommend either the Wizards Art Gallery or Counter Collection Digital v3.0
*Tokentool, a freeware program
*Photoshop, or any art program that lets you specify the pixel ratio and CMYK printing
*Glossy photo paper
*A one-inch hole puncher
*One-inch magnet circles - Alea Tools sells them at 20 cents each
*A set of gemstones to use for minions

It's expensive to start, but the quality really shows and most of these are one time purchases.

I bought thirty 3/4" magnets for about $8.00 and a set of acrylic paints for $5.00, then painted the edges of the magnets in different colours, to represent bloodied and the various marks. Conditions on players are handled with notes.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Just discovered these guys in the ad bar at the top of this site:
www.dapperdevil.com

I love the recessed miniature bases. I'm considering just getting a bunch of red ones to mark bloodied. (I use small colored and numbered circle stickers to identify goblin 1 from goblin 2.) Although it may be easier for the players if each monster is in a different color ring with a corresponding color tray. Hmmm...

I also really like the tracking tray concept. It keeps conditions front and center without cluttering the game board/mat/tiles, leaving room for marks/quarrys/curses.

Dang, just when I thought free soda bottle rings were the way to go...