Tell me how YOU run combat

[Quadstriker]

Specificallly with tracking initiative and keeping track of buffs, debuffs, hp, and the like.

As a newish GM, it can seem like a lot to do. Locally I have seen a few different methods.

1. Pathfinder Combat Pad - it is nice looking and is what I have used in my first few GMing efforts.
PROS - Easy to adjust initiative order during combat
CONS - not much space to write on the individual character tabs. Squeezing a name, initiative #, and damage received on there is a tight fit, and forget it if you want to slip a -2 debuff to something on there. How are others using this more effectively?

2. Whiteboard - Similar to the official combat pad, but instead writing down all the PCs and mobs down by initiative order each battle.
PROS - Plenty of space.
Cons - takes longer to write down all the information at the start of every combat and to switch initiative around.

3. Notecards method - a method I've seen used very effectively by Mrs. TOZ and a couple others locally, this involves giving each character and npc their own half sized notecard and stacking them up in one hand, flipping through as the turns go by.
PROS - easy to write down buffs and debuffs. great method for putting a pc on delay - hand them their card and say 'give it back when you are ready to go'
CONS - no quick glance at the entire turn order.

So tell me, how do YOU run combat? Do you use one of the methods above or one of your own devising. Give us your best tips and tricks. C'mon now don't be shy!

[Matthew Downie]

I like to have all the monsters' key stats written down on paper before the adventure starts. Damage taken is noted there. This can be combined with using the Combat Pad.

[DesolateHarmony]

Well, I do it several ways, including the three you mention there.

1. The PF combat pad works well, but only write the name on the marker for that character. The initiative only matters at the start of the combat, and then the order takes over. I write the buffs and hit points on the other side of the pad, in the big open space.

2. A whiteboard is good, but does involve erasing, and locks you into the paradigm that individual rounds need to be tracked. I like the combat pad better.

3. The notecards work really well, and follow the actual rules for initiative better than the other two. You don't need to actually track rounds after the start, all that is important is who goes next. Once you have started, initiative is a cycle, and turn-dependent items work on the individual character's order.

The cards allow for readying an action just as easily as delaying, just turn or lift the card so it sticks out. Then, until that character acts, it can be readjusted to the new initiative--right before the other character that triggers the ready goes.

For a small combat, such as the party and a single opponent, I sometimes just note on a piece of paper. I have even done it in my head before. This does not work well at all, for situations such as a combat with familiars and animal companions as well as multiple critters in opposition.

Sometimes a square on the battle mat serves as a whiteboard. It means nothing else needs to be manipulated, and is right there handy for everyone to see.

[TetsujinOni]

DesolateHarmony wrote:

Well, I do it several ways, including the three you mention there.

1. The PF combat pad works well, but only write the name on the marker for that character. The initiative only matters at the start of the combat, and then the order takes over. I write the buffs and hit points on the other side of the pad, in the big open space.

I abandoned the combat pad after a while. It's not a bad product but it's too fiddly and needs to much support paper to be useful.

DesolateHarmony wrote:

2. A whiteboard is good, but does involve erasing, and locks you into the paradigm that individual rounds need to be tracked. I like the combat pad better.

That paradigm is relevant. as are a couple of other things, coming below.

DesolateHarmony wrote:

3. The notecards work really well, and follow the actual rules for initiative better than the other two. You don't need to actually track rounds after the start, all that is important is who goes next. Once you have started, initiative is a cycle, and turn-dependent items work on the individual character's order.

The cards allow for readying an action just as easily as delaying, just turn or lift the card so it sticks out. Then, until that character acts, it can be readjusted to the new initiative--right before the other character that triggers the ready goes.

For a small combat, such as the party and a single opponent, I sometimes just note on a piece of paper. I have even done it in my head before. This does not work well at all, for situations such as a combat with familiars and animal companions as well as multiple critters in opposition.

Sometimes a square on the battle mat serves as a whiteboard. It means nothing else needs to be manipulated, and is right there handy for everyone to see.

Some other systems I've used over the years:

* Folded index cards. NPCs get "Bad", "Worse", "Bigger Bad", "OMG", "WTF", and "BBQ". If i need more than 6 NPC categories in the initiative the scenario will usually suggest a way to add another category ;). This has all the advantages of the players knowing how the order looks, and is easy to plunk new combatants into as they appear in the combat for wave fights. It takes a lot of room, and fails in a similar fashion to the next one....

* Playing cards. Deal high to low in a red suit to the players (and stat blocks of NPCs), and the same numbers in a black suit is your turn tracker. It's a "pointer-based" ring priority queue at that point.

Now here's the part where things get painful for all of these except the combat pad: You need to know the initiative count when an effect started to track effects with round based durations, and low caster level minute durations (pronounce it with me as 10 rounds/level).

The combat pad handles this best, with note cards working fairly well until delay/ready moves the combatant that started the effect's initiative. At that point, I stick a notecard in the tracking ring for effects which are likely to matter, like nauseated from stinking cloud. It's important to note that things like ghoul paralysis ends right before the initiative count that the paralysis started during. (AOOs and round-counting status effects make this particularly fiddly).

The things I don't like about the combat pad is fitting a name proxy in the magnet, keeping track of the Q@#!@!@$ fiddly bits between sessions (I would be buying a third combat pad if I wanted to use it...), and the fact that I've moved to using wet erase markers for almost nothing in GMing would be a step back toward Funny Colored Hands.

Another common technique used is to use a sheet of scrap paper. At the bottom center of it, oriented landscape, note the initiative totals of the NPCs, and then matching the table positions of the players, their characters' initiative totals. Round based items can be tracked next to the character they belong to, HP totals are easy to note as well. I don't like this all that much for keeping players aware of who's coming up, which can help keep mid-tier and higher play moving faster. This can be a corner of a battlemat, as well, though that is Funny Colored Hands territory too.

Oh, I guess Funny Colored Hands is my other complaint about wet-erase tech.

[Lamontius]

one thing that has helped my wife and I lately is to pre-roll and write down the initiatives for the enemies the PCs encounter as well as have the PCs pre-roll a half-dozen or so Initiative scores and Perception checks at the very beginning of the game

[DrParty06]

I run all online, so I obviously use the built in tracker there, and I've considered using that if I ever do any in person GM'ing, for my own convenience. The GM of the game that I do play in person uses his laptop to run and has a Excel sheet that he uses for Initiative and most everything else. Select and sort is a nice feature.

[GM_Arrule]

I use index cards cut in half lengthwise to track initiative.

Each has the name of a PC or monster and I hang them over the top of my GM screen in initiative order, removing them as they get dispatched.

Easy to move if people refocus or delay and a visual, in your face representation of whose turn it is and who is next.

I've also cut thin strips of an index card width-wise and hang them on the cards with condition names for conditions.

[Leathert]

I usually task one of the players with tracking initiative by asking volunteers and handing them a marker and telling them to write the numbers down in the shape of the table. If something changes, it's easy enough to wipe the flipmat, even without water. If one player has more than one character to run (like animal companion, or me as the GM having more than one enemy character), just use simple letters to designate them.

I usually run from computer, where I'll have my statblocks as separate text files for each combat, and each statblock on it's own page. Spells I'll look up in Perram's Spellbook, and save them for off-line running just in case (these are home games, so there usually is internet available). I track hitpoints and other stuff like that in the text files or if there are lots of combatants with the same statblock, I just open Notepad and use that.

[trollbill]

I use the PF initiative board for initiative and circle the round short duration effect expire on using the round tracker. For damage and other effects I jot down notes in pencil on my copy of the adventure, next to the monster stats.

I used to use the backs of a bunch of old business cards as they were about perfect size, but I eventually ran out of those.

The cards had the benefit of keeping everything in one place. However, I discovered I was much more likely to accidently skip someone's turn using them. What would typically happen would be I would flip to the next card when someone said they were done with their turn only to have the player change their mind that they were done or someone else would interrupt me. When whatever the interruption was ended, I would turn back to the cards and reflexively flip to the next one, skipping whoever's turn it was. This happened less often with the board as you could see everyone's turn all the time and it forced you to hunt for the right person's initiative when you got back to it, rather than just flipping a card.

[Jiggy]

Quadstriker wrote:

Specificallly with tracking initiative and keeping track of buffs, debuffs, hp, and the like.

As a newish GM, it can seem like a lot to do. Locally I have seen a few different methods.

1. Pathfinder Combat Pad - it is nice looking and is what I have used in my first few GMing efforts.
PROS - Easy to adjust initiative order during combat
CONS - not much space to write on the individual character tabs. Squeezing a name, initiative #, and damage received on there is a tight fit, and forget it if you want to slip a -2 debuff to something on there. How are others using this more effectively?

I don't try to write a lot on the little tab thingy. Usually it's just the baddy's first initial or some other shorthand, or even "XP 1" (which I blatantly stole from another local GM), plus their initiative bonus. I use the space to the side to track HP, and use Condition Cards to track most debuffs (since they usually tend to be conditions).

Quote:

2. Whiteboard - Similar to the official combat pad, but instead writing down all the PCs and mobs down by initiative order each battle.

PROS - Plenty of space.
Cons - takes longer to write down all the information at the start of every combat and to switch initiative around.

Can't comment as I've never used or seen this one.

Quote:

3. Notecards method - a method I've seen used very effectively by Mrs. TOZ and a couple others locally, this involves giving each character and npc their own half sized notecard and stacking them up in one hand, flipping through as the turns go by.

PROS - easy to write down buffs and debuffs. great method for putting a pc on delay - hand them their card and say 'give it back when you are ready to go'
CONS - no quick glance at the entire turn order.

This always sounds good, but it's very easy to accidentally flip two cards that are stuck together. Similarly, you could flip a card, get interrupted by a question or something, then go back to your cards and flip again. This still happens sometimes with any method, but at least with a Combat Pad (or similar) you can glance at the whole lineup easily and have a chance at noticing that the last guy didn't actually take a turn.

Quote:

So tell me, how do YOU run combat? Do you use one of the methods above or one of your own devising. Give us your best tips and tricks. C'mon now don't be shy!

Something I've experimented with is drawing stick figures of PCs on the corner of my battle mat, in the order the players are sitting, along with their names. Write down their initiative results next to their pictures/names, and baddies' initiatives in the center or off to the side.

PRO: You don't need space for a board/pad, and it helps associate names and visuals with the players (enabling smoother roleplay).
CON: You don't get to actually put things in order, so at the end of each turn you have to look at that person's initiative score and go looking for the next highest. It's not actually as bad as it sounds, but it is an inconvenience, and also gets nasty fast if there's lots of pets.

[RCW]

COMBAT MANAGER!!!! A great piece of free software (thanks to Kyle Olsen).

Combat Manager tracks everything you need for combat. You can easily keep track of initiative, what round it is, and hit points. Also, say a few bad guys are dazed or bleeding, you can turn on these conditions quickly and even add durations for them as needed.

The monster tab has all of the statblocks for all of the bestiaries, and most of the PFS scenarios. You can add them into the combat screen and then save the entire encounter. This way when you get to the game, all of encounters are ready, you just need to open them up.

You can also create custom creatures, great for PFS scenarios. It also gives you the option to print, which I prefer, so that I can have that in hand.

There is also a dice roller, which keys of the creatures stats, so if you don't want to roll for claw/claw/bite just hit the button. It also considers critical threats.

I could go on for awhile about this, but this software keeps combat time for the GM down to a minimum, and keeps fights from going overly long. This means more time for exploring and roleplay. Important in a 4 or 5 hour slot.

[Woran]

I use a scrap of paper. At the start of the game, I write down the names of the players (NOT THE CHARACTERS), as their names are a lot easier :P
I always write them down left to right, from my perspective. They it pretty much becomes a table, where I write everyones initiative next to their name. Bad guys get to the top.

For statblocks I print everything out and use a clamp to get them all neatly aligned at the back of my GM screen. For trackign HP, I just make another little table.
Example table for HP, where the full HP for the monster is 10:

10|
------
-2|8
-1|7
-5|2
-4|-2

As its all on scrap paper I can adjust however I want. I am the only one to see it. It works better with four then six players, I will give you that.

[Elder Basilisk]

Historically, I used 3x5 cards.

Recently, I tried using d20 combat manager for Android. It worked pretty well for me.

I use the stat-appendix from a printed module or a sheet of scratch paper to keep track of monster abilities, hit points, etc. It's much easier than thumbing through the cards write down hp damage. If I were really prepared (which I rarely am), I would probably use color coded stickers on the base of my minis to differentiate between monsters so "3 hp damage on kobold #9" would be "3 hp damage on the red kobold miner."

[Jessex]

I use the combat pad. I write the party members names on their tabs and then a short something on the enemies to identify them. I use the sidebar to track hit points for the baddies. I use condition cards for buffs and debuffs since those tend to universal or I can write on the pad which one is affected. It is far from perfect but PFS battles are not usually that long or that complicated so it works out pretty well.

[Sammy T]

I use a Combat Pad as it allows me a macro view of initiative. It lets me call out who's on deck and eyeball the upcoming flow of battle. I simply keep track of debuffs or total damage taken on an unused part of the map.

[LazarX]

Quadstriker wrote:

3. Notecards method - a method I've seen used very effectively by Mrs. TOZ and a couple others locally, this involves giving each character and npc their own half sized notecard and stacking them up in one hand, flipping through as the turns go by.

PROS - easy to write down buffs and debuffs. great method for putting a pc on delay - hand them their card and say 'give it back when you are ready to go'
CONS - no quick glance at the entire turn order.

Beginning of each session I hand out index cards with the following instructions.

Upper Left Corner,
Character Name,
Real Name,
Gender/Race/Class
Faction

Upper Right Corner
Init Modifier
Special Senses/ Low-Light, DarkVision, Trapspotter, Unflankability
Perception Modifier

When initiatives are called I write them down on the cards and order them. Some takes themselves out of initiative by pausing/readying/dying, I set the card aside. And then reinsert when they return.

[WalterGM]

My general tips for running combats are:

• Be sure to keep combat exciting. Things drag out if left unattended, especially in higher level play, and if you don’t keep the pace and the action going, expect to see players checking their phones or yawning during the game.
  
• Make dice math fast. This could mean letting a player next to you add up your NPCs fireball damage or having the rogue player math up his sneak attack while you move on to the next combatant—whatever it is to keep that pesky mental math from bogging down your exciting game.
  
• Let your players know if they are coming up in initiative soon, and encourage them to have their next actions thought out. If you have players that roll inordinate amounts of dice, allow them to roll ahead of time, provided someone sitting next to them is watching (if you’re worried about cheating, that is).
  
• If needed, don’t hesitate to suggest combat options for newer players. Combats really lose momentum when people don’t know what to do. With newer players, this can get especially bad, so I typically suggest 2-4 good combat options they could do (move to get flanking, help reposition the injured person, use your tanglefoot bag, etc) to help get the mental ball rolling.
  
• Set the speed you want the combat to go at by being expedient in your actions. This doesn’t mean making poor tactical decisions as a GM, just be as fast as you want your players to be. Set the standard for pace you want your combat to go at. I’ve had awesome, back and forth combats that lasted over a dozen rounds be resolved in less than an hour because everyone was moving at a good pace. On the other hand, I’ve had combats that were only 3-4 rounds take just as long because not everyone was on point. Set the speed you want the combat to go at.

I also have some detailed thoughts I’d like to share about my process for initiative tracking. The short version is I use method #3 (notecards). The TLDR is below.

-------------------------------------------
After doing this for a while, I’ve gotten down an initiative tracking system for use during combat that works really well for me. Here’s an imgur link with my initiative set up. Below is a detailed description of how I use it.

I have a series of playing cards that have unique character images on them. These cards are then put into colored card sleeves. Personally, I have a set of artful promo magic cards and general character images that I’ve printed off the internet. I have about thirty unique cards in three different colored sleeves—green, yellow, and red.

At the start of the game, I get everyone’s class (or character type, if their class doesn’t define them), their character’s name, and their initiative bonuses. I then find a green sleeved card with an image that reminds me of their character, use a wet erase pen and write their character name and initiative bonus on the card. For example, “Nili, +6.” If I am trying to learn a player’s name as well, I will write that in parenthesis on their card. I then place the cards in a line from left to right, following the seating of my players. This allows me to quickly know which player is playing which character at the start of the game, and typically before the first combat I can remember well enough that card placement no longer matters.

When combat begins, I have everyone roll initiative. I then pull out an appropriate amount of yellow and red cards equal to the opponents or other NPCs that will be present in that combat. Typically, red represents more important creatures, while yellow or even green represents the other combatants. I turn all my NPC cards over, so that their solid color backing is all that is showing.

I then roll initiative for my creatures while asking for everyone’s initiative in the following manner. “Who got above a _____,” where the blank is filled by my creature that got the highest initiative. I then place initiative order using cards in front of me from left to right, with left being the highest. I then repeat this process down the initiative trac, dropping 5-10 numbers each time. In practice, it goes like this. “Who got above a 24? Ok. Who got above a 20? Ok. Who got above a 15? Ok. repeat” If any PC or NPC got the same number for initiative, I can quickly check their card to see which combatant acts first.

Once I am done, I have everyone’s card, including my creatures, laid out left to right in initiative order. This process typically takes less than 30 seconds when implemented.

In combat, the cards work like the combat pad. If a character readies, their card is moved down, if the character delays, their card is turned sideways. The active card is pulled up so everyone can see whose turn it is. Whenever one of my NPCs takes damage, I use a dry erase marker on the sleeve to note their damage taken. I can quickly edit this number as combat progresses by using dry erase over wet erase. Whenever a target is afflicted with a status condition, such as fatigue or nausea, I can place a condition card over their card. If that condition lasts a certain amount of rounds, I can place a die denoting remaining rounds on that card as well.

At the end of the game, clean up is easy as wetting a paper towel, cleaning off all the cards, and returning them to my plastic card box. The entire package (character cards and condition cards) fits into a single box for mobility.

-------------------------------------
My initiative set up has developed from a few different styles that I’ve used and seen as a player at other tables, and combines a lot of elements that I enjoy having in Pathfinder combat.

First, the initiative order is openly displayed to the players. As far as I’m concerned, after the first round, initiative order is open information that players should be aware about in order to make intelligent tactical decisions. Second, the PC name is associated with the player on a regular basis. Instead of “Walter, you’re up,” I can say “Nili, you’re up.” This is a boon when trying to encourage more in character roleplaying. Third, adjustments to the initiative order are incredibly easy. Delaying and readying happen without any difficulty, with just a shuffle of the cards. It’s a good visual reminder for players that if they delayed or readied, their initiative order has actually changed. The last thing that I really like about this initiative system is that by design it allows for improvements. It developed out of hundreds of sessions, and I adjust things with it every few months. The more I play, the more refined it gets, which is great.

[BigNorseWolf]

*makes circular motion in the air* Perception checks! (on the rare occasion someone announces taking 10, i said "nope, something is trying to eat you")

Have everyone roll initiative. Point at people around the table clockwise ask for init, write it down leaving some space and hoping that we don't have a pileup at 12....Surpised people get a checkmark for the round.

Down the initiative. Make it pretty clear when the PCs hit, just miss, miss by a mile, or the bad guys have some funky defense going on. If you see a definite hit just call hit, because if their ac is 15 it doesn't matter if the pc hit AC 27 or 29.

If someone kills something they get to describe the manner of their death.

Run down the combat, banter with the good guys, wash winse repeat.

[Paz]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

Have everyone roll initiative. Point at people around the table clockwise ask for init, write it down leaving some space and hoping that we don't have a pileup at 12

Oh good, I thought it was just me that did it this way.

Quote:

....Surpised people get a checkmark for the round.

I like this idea.

[Jiggy]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

If someone kills something they get to describe the manner of their death.

I had a GM once who did this, asking "How do you kill him?"

Made my wife a little uncomfortable, along with (if I read them right) one or two other people at the table.

So, use with caution.

[Lava Child]

I second combat manager - I can run high level fights quite quickly. Keeps track of initiative, effects and also autorolls attacks, saves and skill checks for monsters. Really cool. And free to try- it's a donation system. If you like it, I really hope you donate, I've donated like 4 times.

http://www.combatmanager.com/

Nick

[Brother Fen]

Combat pad is the way to go. Sounds like you're trying to put too much info on the pad. Track the initiative along the side and use the open space for monster health, buffs, etc. It's pretty foolproof.

I use Character Pads to track the PCs saves, stats, attacks, etc so this is separate from the combat pad and I never slow combat or encounters asking players for info on their characters.

[gnoams]

I write all the PC's names in a circle at one corner of my battlemat, corresponding to where the players are sitting. That way I can call players by character name, which I wouldn't remember otherwise, and I write initiatives, status effects, etc by their names. Monsters/NPCs get the same treatment.

[Codanous]

I've only had a game with Walter once but I enjoyed his method so much I've adopted for myself as well. I don't GM as much so I don't use fancy magic cards or card sleeves but I use 3x5 cards cut in half and write people's name, initiative and passive perception (10+perception modifier). I do this to speed things up, when people tell me they look in a room I look at their passive perception and give them information as such. If they wish to know more then they can take 20 or roll.

I have a worn blank flip mat, the grey side/brown side one. I was tired of using it so I cut it into different squares and rectangles. That way if I need to recreate a map pack I can use sections. I also use one of those sections for hit points of my monsters and tracking buffs, debuffs and rounds. So I guess I use a combination of Walters note cards and a pseudo white board.

[WalterGM]

Codanous wrote:

I have a worn blank flip mat, the grey side/brown side one. I was tired of using it so I cut it into different squares and rectangles. That way if I need to recreate a map pack I can use sections.

This intrigues me. I think I'll have to do the same.

[Jayson MF Kip]

I've used the back of unused map-pack tiles (the white side) for notes; I mainly just use the combat pad.

I used the index card/table tent thing a few times, it's just a lot of clutter, in my opinion.

[bugleyman]

Walter Sheppard wrote:

Codanous wrote:

I have a worn blank flip mat, the grey side/brown side one. I was tired of using it so I cut it into different squares and rectangles. That way if I need to recreate a map pack I can use sections.

This intrigues me. I think I'll have to do the same.

Seconded. I have some pretty ratty basic flip mats anyway...

[SCPRedMage]

Nicholas Milasich wrote:

I second combat manager - I can run high level fights quite quickly. Keeps track of initiative, effects and also autorolls attacks, saves and skill checks for monsters. Really cool. And free to try- it's a donation system. If you like it, I really hope you donate, I've donated like 4 times.

http://www.combatmanager.com/

Nick

I swear by Combat Manager. I set up each encounter ahead of time, saving each encounter at each subtier, with and without four player adjustments, organized by folder (Scenario\Subtier\Number of players). That way, I just have to load the right file, roll initiative, and get started.

That said, while I use what Combat Manager rolls for the NPCs' initiatives, I let the players roll their own, since players tend to prefer that. I do get their init bonuses at the beginning, so Combat Manager can properly sort ties.

Of course, I also use a few other things for my games...

[Quadstriker]

Thanks to everyone who put down some ideas and thoughts here. It's given me lots to think about and try.

[Michael_Hopkins]

As do I. The perception tidbit is a good one to use, and so I shall, as well as note cards with basic stats.

I'll be using a mix of combat pad, and note cards to help out in overall quickness. (First actual GM gig is in May, so I'm pretty excited)

[John Spalding]

I let a trusted player manage initiative. As a GM, I have enough to do, and managing initiative is a ministerial task. As an added bonus, you can keep players on their toes by adding extra initiatives or setting a thing to happen at initiative 0.

I think most of my crew does the same now, having concluded that keeping initiative yourself isn't all that helpful.

[WalterGM]

Upon reflection, I think that the reason I like having personal oversight of initiative the most is so I can help advance combats if they start to lag. I can easily look down at the order and say, "Alright, Walter--you're next, so get ready." I also use my cards for HP and status tracking, so it's more like a 1 stop shop of combat oversight.

I also offer my services as an initiative/condition tracker to the GM at the start of most scenarios. "You want me to run initiative for you this game?" holding up the card box

It's about a 50-50 split of GMs that prefer me tracking initiative to them doing it themselves. Most GMs with the pad also use that initiative space to track HP and other things, so tend to decline the offer, where other GMs that write their initiative elsewhere tend to accept.

Now that I think about it, as a GM I would turn down my own offer as a player. Must be a style-driven choice.

[Blackbot]

I recently bought the Combat Pad and I love it. I kept getting confused with initiative cards, lost track with them, forgot how many turns something lasted, somehow always lost at least one of them and so on.
Excessive delaying gets confusing too.
Before I always had one player write the order down onto the map (home game though, not PFS), but that gets really confusing once people ready actions or delay their turns.
Depending on the group however I like to hand Combat Pad-duty off to a player less busy then the rest, usually a fighter, ranger, barbarian or monk (theoretically. Never seen a monk in my area...) - of course, I'll still track hp and buffs and all that by myself.

[Auke Teeninga]

Combat pad, but I use a Fine marker for the pad instead of the Medium markers I use for flip-mats. Cause of the fine marker there's enough room for Name, Initiative Modifier and Initiative Total. After sorting I get rid of the Initiative Total and use the space for damage dealt and status effects (bleed, dazed)

[Silbeg]

I am also one who uses the combat tracker... has been a great boon for me... much less likely that I'll mess up compared to cards, or whatever.

I do use the right hand side for keeping track of damage and conditions. One note that I'd like to make is that I keep track of damage not current HP -- this gives the players (who are looking) an idea of how much damage that they've dealt, but not how close their opponent is to death.

Also, using a trick that my Venture-Captain Jon Dehning told me a while back, I write the PC's information (name and init bonus) on their tab with a Sharpie, and then use dry erase for the total rolls. The Sharpie comes off easily by rubbing a (fresh) dry erase marker over it when I am done.

A few other notes...
I always roll in the open... often with my LARGE dice (the Paizo purple D20, and a similar size Chessex "hurricane" speckled purple die, which has been nicknamed the "Die of DOOM" by some of my players), for a few reasons.

1) Players can see the rolls, which can add tension as a 1 or 20 comes up on the die. Plus, the know I am not fudging the rolls.

2) The characters (even at 1st level) are experienced combatants, and should know whether the hit was a lucky one (I rolled a 18 for a total of 19 to hit), or it was a trivial swipe (I roll a 3 and get the same 19 total). They can also see the damage dice, which can give them information on how powerful the attack was (He rolled a d4 and STILL dealt 13hp? OUCH!)

3) On the lower tiers (1-5 for sure, often 3-7) I will give suggestions much like Walter suggests. I haven't perfected that game, since it is a fine line between giving enough, and giving too much. You just have to play that by ear.

4) While I don't really "softball", I tend to be a little more cautious with my tactics at the lower tiers. However, once you hit the 5-9s and 7-11s, the kid gloves are definitely off.

[The Human Diversion]

I use index cards. I hand them out to players beforehand and ask that they write in large text, above the red line, their character name in the upper left, and their character's initiative modifier in the upper right. Below the red line in smaller text on the left, I ask that they write their name and then below that their perception mod, sense motive mod, and will save mod - these are the most common things I'd want to roll in secret.

When combat starts I write inits on the right below their modifier and arrange the cards (including bad guy/NPC cards) in order. If a player delays I take their card out of the stack and say, "let me know when you wish to come off delay." If a player readies an action, I turn the card sideways so it is sticking above the rest and say, "let me know if your readied action goes off."

I keep track of hit points on the bad guy's cards, and use a combination of colored pipe cleaners and Paizo condition cards to keep track of things like blindness, invisibility, slowed, etc.

[TetsujinOni]

On the Initiative Cards, I have a longer list as my "normal" - partly from running a LOT of the middle levels of PFRPG.

Character Name - Initiative Mod

What does an NPC see looking at you (race, obvious equipment, wayfinder, holy symbols, etc)
If you look different through true seeing. -- only relevant once things start wandering around that have it, but I always ask.

Perception
Sense Motive
Will
Any conditionals that modify above

Continual effects I might not expect

And for some scenarios I'll ask for specific other skill modifiers and their conditionals.

New classes with funny toys like Investigator, Lore Oracle, Dual Cursed reroll as a buff, Samurai Mettle, and the Bardic Take 20 on Knowledges trick *are* all relevant and make 'hidden roll' protocols funky in modern PFRPG.

[bdk86]

1) Sign in sheet for the PCs with room for companions asking for race/Golarion ethnicity (if applicable), class & archetypes, sense motive, and perception with space to note conditional modifiers. If the scenario calls for it, I may include a field asking for Will saves or some other item. I might even just ask to see sheets ahead of time for other weird things I want to check for and note it. I encourage players to let me know if they have anything out of the ordinary related to these so I can note it.

2) Original version of the Harrow Deck in card protectors is used for initiative. I have players write their PC name on one of their choice in vis-a-vis with initiative modifier. I have cards pre-set for encounters and set aside. Otherwise runs like a notecard "stack" once we've rolled initiative.

I find this helps me remember folks, not skip them, etc. both because of the 'stack' and because I can associate acting parties in combat with a Harrow card in my head.

3) Damage is tracked in front of me on the matt in a small scribble of notes. I otherwise mark off spells/limited us things in pencil on the physical scenario. If I'm having to run it digitally, I mark things as used by their damage.

4) PCs are encouraged to have their actions ready to go. I become stingier on this the higher the tier, if only for time's sake.

5) Rolls are only made "secretly" for things where prompting the players to roll ruins it from a metagame standpoint (a lot of passive perception stuff, Will saves, some Fort saves for a certain module, etc.). I may roll in the open and not say who is rolling and what for with a NPC, but that's about it.

[bdk86]

TetsujinOni wrote:

New classes with funny toys like Investigator, Lore Oracle, Dual Cursed reroll as a buff, Samurai Mettle, and the Bardic Take 20 on Knowledges trick *are* all relevant and make 'hidden roll' protocols funky in modern PFRPG.

My general take is thus: If you have a re-roll ability that isn't "you roll twice, all the time and take better", you can't activate that on rolls for your PC that you aren't aware are being made because they are occurring passively. (vs. actively looking around for perception, actively scrutinizing for sense motive, etc.).

That said, I'm also not going to make life or death rolls secretly because that's not fun for the players.

[Kilmannan]

I don't actually use a D20 in my games for initiative. I make my players fight it out and the first one to get in the seat nearest me gets to go first.

[Hayato Ken]

An idea i stole somewhere and used with great efficiancy lately:
Took some wooden clothspins and glued parts of a pad on one side.
The pad can be written on and is erasable, just like a whiteboard.
At the beginning of the game, i write character names on some of them, rest is for the foes. Those i seldomly write with names, just numbers.
Only known foes with big names get their names on them.
Then in combat after they rolled initiative i sort it out and attach the clothspins to the GM screen or some minis box, so that players and sometimes even myself can see it.

This can be elaborated. You can either move the spins, or have another colored spin as marker, have an arrow pointing order, etc, etc.

If you do it big enough and use magnetic board on the spins, other stuff can be attached for conditions.

Other things like damage etc i note on a paper.
Mostly the same paper where i note player numbers etc on.
Seldomly need more than 1 DINA4 page for a scenario.

[Sebastian Hirsch]

Benjamin Falk wrote:

An idea i stole somewhere and used with great efficiancy lately:

Took some wooden clothspins and glued parts of a pad on one side.
The pad can be written on and is erasable, just like a whiteboard.
At the beginning of the game, i write character names on some of them, rest is for the foes. Those i seldomly write with names, just numbers.
Only known foes with big names get their names on them.
Then in combat after they rolled initiative i sort it out and attach the clothspins to the GM screen or some minis box, so that players and sometimes even myself can see it.

This can be elaborated. You can either move the spins, or have another colored spin as marker, have an arrow pointing order, etc, etc.

If you do it big enough and use magnetic board on the spins, other stuff can be attached for conditions.

Other things like damage etc i note on a paper.
Mostly the same paper where i note player numbers etc on.
Seldomly need more than 1 DINA4 page for a scenario.

As someone who has been on the other side of your screen, the clothpin thing definitely works quite well.

Personally I prefer giving my combat pad to a reliable player (it turns out that my VO is pretty good at keeping the group at a decent pace in this role).

[Goddity]

Seeing as I need to reference the PFRD for stuff anyways, and its easier to just have the PDF open, I just use my computer. Excel works pretty good. You can have a column for name, a column for initiative, damage taken, random debuffs and you can add more on the fly.

[Dhjika]

Sammy T wrote:

I use a Combat Pad as it allows me a macro view of initiative. It lets me call out who's on deck and eyeball the upcoming flow of battle. I simply keep track of debuffs or total damage taken on an unused part of the map.

When I remember to bring the pad - I have also found that you can give multiple round spells their own initiative magnet and so know when they come off or sometimes when they trigger. Wierd things happen when NPCs delay or ready and sometimes the caster moves to a new initiative where his/her spell stays on a different pass.

Note cards are where I have ended up when I run offline games - but then again, I put eidlons and animal companions on their own intiative so it and I can keep track who ACs are ordered to fight last.

[G-Zeus]

The easiest way I've seen as well as the most efficient I run is using the board/map and putting initiative in a semi circle. This was allows for me know who is who without knowing names or things this also allows for fluid shifts and delays by just writing a d above or putting a plus sign or minus. The only downside is sometimes you overlook people because of how many things you are doing.
For buffs and de buffs I simply initial the bad guy on tap in a corner and put any notes on him. This is also the area where I put the dmg he has taken not his current h
For counters I use this area and tick away whenever a round passes using. The standard 4 marks then a line through it.
If people are particular or I don't know them I will often put their names in a semi circle and put the initiative underneath. This works well because people rarely ever move seats after the game has started. I most of the time either call out name, character name, or class depending on which comes to mind first. If someone is taking too much time constantly to decide their turn I will hold up six fingers and do a slow count to zero at which point their character delays" though I rarely use this method it does come in handy when the entire table has forgotten there is a time limit and realistically their characters only have six seconds per round

[Hayato Ken]

The clothspins on GM screen with player/character names on it and a marker whose turn it is does exactly that.
Since it´s visible to all players, everyone knows their turn is soon, what helps them to prepare.
I found this a good way in several aspects, making combat and the game itself as interactive as possible.
Step away from the god-like GM approach to a moderator GM approach.
Even in very railoraded scenarios there can be a feeling of sandbox that way. Of course this depends on the storytelling powers and the players a bit too.

Educating players to have color-coded dice and rolling attacks/damage/miss chances at the same time goes a long way too.

[Zach Klopfleisch]

Quadstriker wrote:

Specificallly with tracking initiative and keeping track of buffs, debuffs, hp, and the like.

As a newish GM, it can seem like a lot to do. Locally I have seen a few different methods.

1. Pathfinder Combat Pad - it is nice looking and is what I have used in my first few GMing efforts.
PROS - Easy to adjust initiative order during combat
CONS - not much space to write on the individual character tabs. Squeezing a name, initiative #, and damage received on there is a tight fit, and forget it if you want to slip a -2 debuff to something on there. How are others using this more effectively?

I use the combat pad for tracking initiative. I put the name (Bad 1 through Bad N for enemies) and their initiative count on the small movable bits. The initiative count is just for sorting at the beginning of a fight. I push them to the left for delay and to the right for readied actions, and keep track of damage on the right side of the board using the numbers meant to track rounds for the bad guys: Bad Guy 1's damage goes to the right of round 1, etc.

I use a couple methods for keeping track of conditions: If there is one condition, or if it's fairly long I'll use a die to count down: 9 rounds of nausea? Put a D10 on 9 and decrement it each round until it drops to 0. If it's a short thing, I sometimes put a hash mark on the name tag to count it. The method isn't foolproof, it's easy to forget a count especially if there are a lot of conditions going around. Also, I track non-lethal damage by using a different color marker: Blue is my standard color, so if someone does non-lethal to an enemy I'll use red or green, then add up the total to see how much damage that enemy has taken.

When I started GMing I was really bad at reading stat blocks on the fly so I created a Google doc that formatted things in a way that was easier for me to read and copied all the stats into there while I was prepping. It had two benefits: I could find all the information I needed at a glance instead of looking for those stupid saves that always seemed to hide, and the process of copying the information over made me much more familiar with the monsters. I don't use it much now as I've gotten a lot better at reading stat blocks, but it's still useful on occasion.

Here's the template.

Here's an example of one that's filled out. ( WARNING! PFS 04-01 Rise of the Goblin Guild spoilers in that link. It's a great scenario to run, though!)

Make a new tab for each encounter of each tier, there's a separate place to track HP, and I would put the Con score by the name there to let me know when they actually die. I'd also add the important information (to me) for spells enemies might cast and information on traps in extra boxes so I didn't have to look up most things.

[bdk86]

If you're new to GMing, I also cannot recommend http://www.pfsprep.com/news.php enough.

[JohnF]

bdk86 wrote:

If you're new to GMing, I also cannot recommend http://www.pfsprep.com/news.php enough.

Linkified

[Jussi Leinonen]

I use the combat pad, and I often hand it over to a volunteer player. That mostly offloads the task of initiative tracking from me and I can concentrate on more important things, and it gives the player something to do with their downtime.