Initiative cards?
Zarchery
Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
Essentially, the cards would contain the character's names and some
other information. After initiative is resolved, the DM would stack
the cards up in a pile and just move through them in the order, with
enemy cards also interspersed in there.
It sounds like a cool idea. I'm starting up a campaign on Saturday,
and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
information that would be useful there.
So if whomever came up with this system, or has any insights on how to
implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
-----Zarchery-----
Neil Cerutti
I believe I got the idea from this group, also.
I noted current damage on each card.
Very usefully, effects with a duration can be marked on the cards
and counted down whenever the character's card comes up.
Shuffling the cards around is a little distracting, but it
may be worth it.
--
Neil Cerutti
Tim Fitzmaurice
> I remember not too long ago on this group, a DM (I believe it was
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
We dont use a card, we use a sheet of paper and one of the players keeps
the order and calls each player/NPC group in turn for us.
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
Dex is handy so if anything adjusts you can sort them correctly without
reference to the players if you want. You need the actual initiative count
somewhere so as to handle incoming groups/NPCs. Beyond that - not a lot
really - everything else is far too fluid.
You could make some time dependant notes eg Stunn effects and tick them
off round by round but its difficult to say what precisely as this sort of
thing is ever changing - so I guess just leave some space.
Tim
--
When playing rugby, its not the winning that counts, but the taking apart
ICQ: 5178568
Brad Murray
Z> It sounds like a cool idea. I'm starting up a campaign on Saturday,
Z> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
Z> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
Z> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
Z> information that would be useful there.
I just use standard index cards and put the bare minimum information
on them for everyone. For players I just put name, initiative number
and AC. For monsters I put name (or some indicator that matches up
with their counter/mini), HP, AC, and initiative number. I make these
up at the point of combat so it needs to be short and sweet.
Z> So if whomever came up with this system, or has any insights on how to
Z> implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
Don't spend too much energy on it -- it's supposed to make your life
easier. :)
--
Brad Murray * "It is possible to forget that the vital idea of democracy
VSCA Founder * -- government of the people, by the people, for the people
* -- does not constitute a form of escape from government."
* -- Joseph Tussman through John Dixon
Marc
> It sounds like a cool idea. I'm starting up a campaign on Saturday,
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
Spot values so that the DM can roll secretly for the players. AC values
for surprise shots. Listen score too, for the same reason as the spot
values.
--
Marc
24/09/2003 12:29:46
http://www.marcmywords.com
Syuivel
Wow! That is a great idea! I DM frequently and I always have trouble
with keeping track of initiative. I wonder whether card board or cue
cards would prove as a better backing for the init. cards?
Jason Wilsey
http://www.thegamemechanics.com/freebies/index.asp
about half way down the page.
Jason
Brad Murray
JW> Visit the following site for free PDF of these cards:
Holy crap, a PDF is incredible overkill for a simple concept. These
kinds of people probably also draw their maps in AutoCAD.
Pencil and paper, folks --- it's still good enough after all these
years.
Brad Murray
S> Wow! That is a great idea! I DM frequently and I always have trouble
S> with keeping track of initiative. I wonder whether card board or cue
S> cards would prove as a better backing for the init. cards?
Standard index cards work great. A nice side effect of this system is
that it blurs the beginning/end of a "round" and combat feels like the
continuous cyclic thing it's supposed to be. Even effect durations
can be tracked by just scratching in a hash every time you go past the
card, so you never really have to deal with "beginning" or "end" of a
round. This makes combat play seem much smoother to me.
Bradd W. Szonye
> I remember not too long ago on this group, a DM (I believe it was
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
Yes, that was me!
> It sounds like a cool idea. I'm starting up a campaign on Saturday,
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
You'll need at least the character's names and initiative numbers. I
recommend writing the names along the short edges of the cards: When a
character delays or readies, I turn the card 90 degrees, which hides the
names if you write them on the long edges.
I highly recommend that you record anything that you need to keep track
of every turn, like fast healing and regeneration, so that you don't
forget about it. "Reload" times for breath weapons is another good stat
to have handy on the card.
I recommend against putting AC, hit points, and other defensive
abilities on the cards. Remember, the card will be buried in the deck
when you need this information. It's much quicker and less error prone
to put defensive abilities on a separate sheet of paper.
Anything else is optional. I try to keep my cards simple so that the
important information (like regeneration) stands out. Also, it makes it
easier to recycle cards -- less stuff to erase.
With a little extra effort, you can use a word processor or typesetter
to print whole stat blocks on the cards. I did this for a while, but
stopped because it was more trouble than it was worth to me. If you do
this, be sure to highlight the important stuff like regeneration and
offensive abilities.
I recommend color-coded cards. You can buy colored cards or just run a
colored stripe along the edges with markers. I use blue for PCs, green
for cohorts and other player-run NPCs, yellow for neutral NPCs, and pink
for enemies. Pick out a color scheme that works for you. The color isn't
necessary, but it helps me to quickly spot whether it's my turn or a
PC's turn.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd
My Usenet e-mail address is temporarily disabled.
Please visit my website to obtain an alternate address.
Bradd W. Szonye
> I believe I got the idea from this group, also.
> I noted current damage on each card.
IME, putting damage on the cards is more of a distraction than a help,
because the card is buried in the deck when the creature takes damage.
Werebat
I'm thinking plain old index cards. I get many of my gaming supplies
from Staples.
- Ron ^*^
Neil Cerutti
Szonye wrote:
> Neil Cerutti <hor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I believe I got the idea from this group, also. I noted
>> current damage on each card.
>
> IME, putting damage on the cards is more of a distraction than
> a help, because the card is buried in the deck when the
> creature takes damage.
Now that you (and Brad Murray elsethread) mention it, yes, that
is exactly what I found distracting about the scheme I
adopted--having to look up and modify important information on
the cards, such as current damage.
Sorry for giving bad advice. Carry on.
--
Neil Cerutti
Bradd W. Szonye
> Wow! That is a great idea! I DM frequently and I always have trouble
> with keeping track of initiative. I wonder whether card board or cue
> cards would prove as a better backing for the init. cards?
I use colored index cards.
Jacob Frey
I would have thought that SAVES would also be important.
--
JJ
Leif Magnar Kj|nn|y
We use a superficially similar system: An initiative track (numbered)
along one edge of the battlemat, and post-it notes with character
names and such on them. (Typically including a bunch of generic "NPC #3"
and "Monster #2" notes). Stick the note in your position on the track,
move it if you refocus or delay or whatever.
--
Leif Kjønnøy, Geek of a Few Trades. http://www.pvv.org/~leifmk
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home.
Void where prohibited by law.
Batteries not included.
Brad Murray
NC> Now that you (and Brad Murray elsethread) mention it, yes, that
NC> is exactly what I found distracting about the scheme I
NC> adopted--having to look up and modify important information on
NC> the cards, such as current damage.
If the deck is small enough I'll keep damage there, but when it
becomes painful I keep a table on scrap paper instead.
Leif Magnar Kj|nn|y
>
>If the deck is small enough I'll keep damage there, but when it
>becomes painful I keep a table on scrap paper instead.
I've been using the ol' scrap paper log thing ever since I first started
GMing. Top of the page, a table with pertinent info on the PCs and
whatever friends they may have along (stuff like AC and skills that the
GM often needs to roll for in secret, like Listen and Spot and so on).
Rest of the page left for jotting down opponent hit points, the passage
of time, possibly stuff that is happening offstage, little stickmen with
big noses, etc.
Bradd W. Szonye
> Standard index cards work great. A nice side effect of this system is
> that it blurs the beginning/end of a "round" and combat feels like the
> continuous cyclic thing it's supposed to be. Even effect durations
> can be tracked by just scratching in a hash every time you go past the
> card, so you never really have to deal with "beginning" or "end" of a
> round. This makes combat play seem much smoother to me.
I usually use separate cards for effect durations, so that they expire
at the right time even if the caster delays or readies an action. (I use
white cards for effects, since it's the cheapest and most plentiful
color of index coard).
Pope Jubal
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
> Essentially, the cards would contain the character's names and some
> other information. After initiative is resolved, the DM would stack
> the cards up in a pile and just move through them in the order, with
> enemy cards also interspersed in there.
for the original thread and get lots of good info there.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> Spot values so that the DM can roll secretly for the players. AC
>> values for surprise shots. Listen score too, for the same reason as
>> the spot values.
This kind of thing works better on a separate sheet of paper, IME.
Jacob Frey <jfr...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
> I would have thought that SAVES would also be important.
And this definitely doesn't work well on initiative cards, because the
card is always buried in the deck when you need the data.
Bradd W. Szonye
> We use a superficially similar system: An initiative track (numbered)
> along one edge of the battlemat, and post-it notes with character
> names and such on them. (Typically including a bunch of generic "NPC
> #3" and "Monster #2" notes). Stick the note in your position on the
> track, move it if you refocus or delay or whatever.
I used to use something similar, with little 3M sticky "flags" on a
sheet of paper. Sorting the list got to be too messy and cumbersome, and
the flags eventually lost their stick. Index cards are quicker and
easier IME.
Steven (Silverblade)
columns are rounds, rows are people.
That way we roll initiative, I put down (as DM) the order, and then can mark
off what happens round by round including spells.
Hm should I put this up on my website for download? Me thinks I may :)
--
Silverblades Suitcase
www.silverblades-suitcase.com
I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons,
than a King who believes in Nothing
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Steven (Silverblade)
columns are rounds, rows are people.
That way we roll initiative, I put down (as DM) the order, and then can mark
off what happens round by round including spells.
Hm should I put this up on my website for download? Me thinks I may :)
--
Silverblades Suitcase
www.silverblades-suitcase.com
I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons,
than a King who believes in Nothing
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Brad Murray
BWS> I usually use separate cards for effect durations, so that they expire
BWS> at the right time even if the caster delays or readies an action. (I use
BWS> white cards for effects, since it's the cheapest and most plentiful
BWS> color of index coard).
Ooo, nice idea. I think it starts to violate my internal KISS
detector though. I'll try it out next time I run a combat (could be a
long time --- the quasi-medieval game I've set up looks like it will
run many sessions before anyone needs to get anyone dead).
Brad Murray
SS> I use a document file with a table: names on one column, the rest of the
SS> columns are rounds, rows are people.
Computers at the gaming table? That always ruined my suspension of
disbelief instantly for some reason. Not sure why --- it's surely a
personal thing.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> I usually use separate cards for effect durations, so that they
>> action. (I use white cards for effects, since it's the cheapest and
>> most plentiful color of index coard).
Brad Murray <bjm-...@vsca.ca> wrote:
> Ooo, nice idea. I think it starts to violate my internal KISS
> detector though ....
It's still very simple. Here's how I do it.
A 5th-level wizard casts haste. I grab a white card, write "haste 5" on
it, and put it on the bottom of the deck. At the end of the wizard's
turn, I put his card on the bottom (under the effect card).
Next round, the effect card will come up just before the wizard's card.
I put a tick mark next to "haste 5" to show that one round has passed. I
stack it on the bottom, and now it's the wizard's turn again. He casts
bull's strength on a fighter. I grab the effect card from the bottom,
write "bull's strength (fighter) 5 mins," and put it back on the bottom.
After a few rounds, the effect card will accumulate 5 ticks next to
haste. When it does, I cross off the haste effect and notify the party
that the spell has ended. Likewise, the bull's strength card may
eventually accumulate 50 ticks (if it's a *very* long fight), ending the
spell.
At the end of the fight, I can pull all of the effect cards from the
deck and quickly see how much time is left. If the fight lasts a few
rounds, I know that there are still 4 minutes left on the bull's
strength spell.
Frank Emanuel
"Bradd W. Szonye" <bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:slrnbn3kmg.4...@szonye.com...
> Neil Cerutti <hor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I believe I got the idea from this group, also.
> > I noted current damage on each card.
>
> IME, putting damage on the cards is more of a distraction than a help,
> because the card is buried in the deck when the creature takes damage.
I use 2 devices for that reason. I have a standard Monster/NPC sheet with a
space for their specs and grouped HPs to mark off.
The other sheet is a round numbered grid where I keep track of everybodies
initiative as well as I am able to mark off the round when timed effects
wear off. Cards would not work well with 2E as the initiative is rolled each
round. But for d20 Modern I use cards for the same purpose - stack em and
go! But damage is better in a central location (as DM that is). Two sheets
or a sheet and a deck are easy to work with.
happy DMing,
Frank
Justisaur
Brad Murray wrote:
>
> Jason Wilsey <jason....@noaa.gov> wrote:
> JW> Visit the following site for free PDF of these cards:
>
> Holy crap, a PDF is incredible overkill for a simple concept. These
> kinds of people probably also draw their maps in AutoCAD.
>
> Pencil and paper, folks --- it's still good enough after all these
> years.
>
They do look a little overkill. But they look nice. I think I'll print
em out and try em next game.
--
- Justisaur -
check http://justisaur.tripod.com/well.htm for my encounter generator,
xp calculator, and other usefull documents.
gary
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
> So if whomever came up with this system, or has any insights on how to
> implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
>
> -----Zarchery-----
look on the RPGA Network home page. They have them in downloadable 3x5 PDF format.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/downloads
g
Justisaur
I know at one time someone mentioned blank playing cards for something
else. I'm wondering where one would get those and if they might be
easier to deal with being smaller, and sturdier.
Wurm
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
> other information. After initiative is resolved, the DM would stack
> the cards up in a pile and just move through them in the order, with
> enemy cards also interspersed in there.
>
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
>
> implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
>
> -----Zarchery-----
Thats actually a damn good idea. The info that I would find very useful on
them would be their current +tohit +dam scores, which in our campaign change
alot considering the ridiculous amount of buffs that my cleric and the bard
toss around the party. Easier to modify the values on the card which also
lets the DM verify them then always erasing / writing on one's character
sheet. Other good info would be (as someone else suggested) the timing for
certain buffs / effects.
Gotta talk to my DM now about this :)
Brad Murray
I like it --- that's extremely simple.
EvilDM
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
>
cards. On them he includes some skills, some basic combat stuff, any
really weird stuff he'd have to keep in mind about the character:
Balance, Sense Motive, Initiative, plus, for example, that the PC has
an always-on item which allows a 50% chance of the detection of magic.
What I would add to this are any skill checks which asking the player
to make would spoil the surprise - Spot, Listen, Sense Motive, Scry,
in some cases Bluff, etc.
I personally don't use these cards (though they seem like a great
idea) because I've noticed that my players /love/ to roll things.
Instead, I sometimes have them make several dozen Spot/Listen/Sense
Motive/etc checks before they're needed, and write them down on a
card. I then mark them off one after another without telling the
players. This has several benefits:
1. No one can accuse me of cheating on the rolls. If there's a
question, I can just pull out the list of checks and point to the most
recent one, and usually I can explain what each marked-off check was
used for.
2. It's hard to keep track of what was rolled, if you're the player,
and thus you don't know what's coming next. If I'm worried about a
player thinking ahead and knowing what he rolled, I can just reverse
the list or use every other roll or something like that. So far I
haven't met any players who /could/ keep track of 10-20 rolls each of
Spot, Listen, Sense Motive, etc.
3. I don't give anything away by rolling.
4. If there ever /is/ a need for fudging, it's possible to do so
without alerting the players or messing with the dice. Just toss a few
extra, easy checks into the story, let them fumble or pass those, and
then get to the difficult one that has the result you need them to
have. It's a very story-oriented way of fudging, and thus suits my
Authorish mindset perfectly.
It's all about trust - my players are willing to trust me with the
story, but not their all-important dice rolls. Yours may be different.
Use whatever works.
-EvilDM
Bradd W. Szonye
> Bradd W. Szonye <bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>> It's still very simple. Here's how I do it.
Brad Murray <bjm-...@vsca.ca> wrote:
> I like it --- that's extremely simple.
Oh, good. I was afraid that you might be put off by all of the "stack it
on the bottom," etc. It's easier than it sounds. The hardest part is
developing the habit of using them consistently.
Bradd W. Szonye
> Thats actually a damn good idea.
It's worked very well for me in practice.
> The info that I would find very useful on them would be their current
> +tohit +dam scores, which in our campaign change alot considering the
> ridiculous amount of buffs that my cleric and the bard toss around the
> party.
That's a good idea. Our group tends to forget about stuff like that.
Heck, I play a bard, and I often forget to apply my own buffs! My only
concern would be flipping through the whole deck to write down the
modifiers for whole-party effects; it increases the risk of accidentally
shuffling the deck.
Someday, I will finish my turn-tracking software so that I don't need to
deal with this stuff manually anymore.
Brad Murray
BWS> on the bottom," etc. It's easier than it sounds. The hardest part is
BWS> developing the habit of using them consistently.
No, that's very simple. Operationally, "put it at the bottom and
every time you see it, mark it" is about as simple as you can get. :)
Consistent use is indeed the biggest obstacle to adopting smart
systems --- inertia is very hard to overcome.
Zath, the Spider God of Zamora
more speedy, mas rapido, easier, and just as accurate. You won't ever drop them either.
Write it like this:
.......Init1
DM.....14
Jay....17
Marc...22
Ripley.7
Heidi..4
Zoe....9
Pre-rolling the number helps at the beginning of the session and be sure to leave yourself
some space at each line in case you want to make a couple condition modifiers.
jh
--
..
Beyond Conan! Roleplaying in Hyboria and other Barbaric Worlds:
www.yahoogroups.com/group/d20conan
..
Jeff Heikkinen
> I highly recommend that you record anything that you need to keep track
> of every turn, like fast healing and regeneration, so that you don't
> forget about it. "Reload" times for breath weapons is another good stat
> to have handy on the card.
I usually put a seperate card of a different color for spell effects
with limited durations, just in front of the person the effect is on. I
can tick off the spell duration on this card; and this way if the
person's initiative changes, I can leave the spell effect in the right
place.
Jeff Heikkinen
> Syuivel wrote:
> >
> > stabosz...@yahoo.com (Zarchery) wrote in message news:<a858fa41.03092...@posting.google.com>...
> > > Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
> > > Essentially, the cards would contain the character's names and some
> > > other information. After initiative is resolved, the DM would stack
> > > the cards up in a pile and just move through them in the order, with
> > > enemy cards also interspersed in there.
> > >
> > > and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> > > sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> > > character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> > > information that would be useful there.
> > >
> > > implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
> > >
> > > -----Zarchery-----
> >
> > with keeping track of initiative. I wonder whether card board or cue
> > cards would prove as a better backing for the init. cards?
>
> I'm thinking plain old index cards. I get many of my gaming supplies
> from Staples.
Just came back from there myself :-). Though it was for supplies for
organizing my stuff, not for actual in-play use (this time).
Geoffrey Brent
> A 5th-level wizard casts haste. I grab a white card, write "haste 5" on
> it, and put it on the bottom of the deck. At the end of the wizard's
> turn, I put his card on the bottom (under the effect card).
>
> Next round, the effect card will come up just before the wizard's card.
> I put a tick mark next to "haste 5" to show that one round has passed. I
> stack it on the bottom, and now it's the wizard's turn again. He casts
> bull's strength on a fighter. I grab the effect card from the bottom,
> write "bull's strength (fighter) 5 mins," and put it back on the bottom.
Ooh. I think I'll use this.
Bradd W. Szonye
> Card's are OK, but a chart in the corner of your adventure note paper
> is quicker, faster, more speedy, mas rapido, easier, and just as
> accurate. You won't ever drop them either. Write it like this:
>
> .......Init1
> DM.....14
> Jay....17
> Marc...22
> Ripley.7
> Heidi..4
> Zoe....9
That's very error-prone; it's easy to miss a number, since they're not
sorted. Also, it works very poorly if anybody readies or delays.
Varl
> The other sheet is a round numbered grid where I keep track of everybodies
> initiative as well as I am able to mark off the round when timed effects
> wear off. Cards would not work well with 2E as the initiative is rolled each
> round.
Specific initiative d20s work best I've found for
keeping track of initiatives in 2e, since it changes
every round.
--
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for
good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke
Bradd W. Szonye
>> I highly recommend that you record anything that you need to keep
>> track of every turn, like fast healing and regeneration, so that you
>> don't forget about it. "Reload" times for breath weapons is another
>> good stat to have handy on the card.
Jeff Heikkinen <o...@s.if> wrote:
> I usually put a seperate card of a different color for spell effects
> with limited durations, just in front of the person the effect is on.
> I can tick off the spell duration on this card; and this way if the
> person's initiative changes, I can leave the spell effect in the right
> place.
I do exactly the same thing (except when I forget to do it). Just got
done describing it in another message. (Note that you can put the effect
card on the top or the bottom of the deck; either way it ends up "just
in front of" the caster.)
Geoffrey Brent
> Jason Wilsey <jason....@noaa.gov> wrote:
> JW> Visit the following site for free PDF of these cards:
>
> Holy crap, a PDF is incredible overkill for a simple concept. These
> kinds of people probably also draw their maps in AutoCAD.
When my wife was studying electrical engineering a couple of years back,
the lecture notes were only available by download on the Web. Since they
were mostly fairly simple B&W line diagrams of circuits, they were of
course stored as high-resolution colour - I think tiffs pasted into PDF
or something equally stupid.
IIRC the lecturer's record was several megabytes for a week's notes. My
wife managed to convert this to 35K without appreciable loss of clarity
by using a more sensible file format... but not until after having to
download the bloody thing over a 56k modem.
Meanwhile, my work prefers to store B&W line diagrams as PowerPoint
files, for reasons I'd sooner shoot myself than attempt to understand.
*sigh*
Zarchery
> Regarding "effect duration" cards in the initiative deck.
>
> > Bradd W. Szonye <bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
> >> It's still very simple. Here's how I do it.
>
> Brad Murray <bjm-...@vsca.ca> wrote:
> > I like it --- that's extremely simple.
>
> Oh, good. I was afraid that you might be put off by all of the "stack it
> on the bottom," etc. It's easier than it sounds. The hardest part is
> developing the habit of using them consistently.
A thought just occurred to me after reading this: it'd be a good idea
to scribble down the initiative order on a separate sheet. You never
know when a sudden bout of clumsiness sends that neat little pile of
cards tumbling out of order.
-----Zarchery-----
Zarchery
I'm thinking I'll get a pack of big initiative cards, so I have plenty
of room. I'll put the character's name and the player's name side by
side on the top. I figure I'll pencil the initiative number in next
to these, just in case I drop the cards.
Then I'll basically fill the rest of the card with whatever is bound
to change round by round. It'll be stuff like status afflictions,
spell effects, time left until a certain action can be taken again.
Checking off spell durations on a card is gonna be a lot easier than
the old method of using a die as a counter.
Anyway, this system will probably evolve as the campaign wears on.
-----Zarchery-----
Frank Emanuel
"Varl" <bsm...@premier1.net> wrote in message
news:vn4dnk2...@corp.supernews.com...
> Frank Emanuel wrote:
>
> > The other sheet is a round numbered grid where I keep track of
everybodies
> > initiative as well as I am able to mark off the round when timed effects
> > wear off. Cards would not work well with 2E as the initiative is rolled
each
> > round.
>
> Specific initiative d20s work best I've found for
> keeping track of initiatives in 2e, since it changes
> every round.
You mean using a d20 for each participant turning it to their score? Isn't
it just as easy to jot the numbers as they come up? What happens IMC is the
PCs declare their actions, then we all roll initiative. They figure out
which round(s) they go on and I record the numbers on my chart for all the
baddies. Then I begin at 0 and count up - once all the PCs have gone I just
finish my guys up in their order. We use oodles of modifiers on initiative
too - size, weapon speed, dexterity, magical bonuses, etc. So that gives the
mathies their woodies for the night. Calling the order expediates things -
when the conversation begins to drift I just start calling out numbers again
until inevitably someone goes - thats me <roll of dice at this point!>.
Combat goes reasonably fast this way - we have a good mix of people so we
don't want to go too overboard on the mechanics.
Frank
Bradd W. Szonye
> A thought just occurred to me after reading this: it'd be a good idea
> to scribble down the initiative order on a separate sheet. You never
> know when a sudden bout of clumsiness sends that neat little pile of
> cards tumbling out of order.
There's no point in doing that. You need to write the initiative numbers
on the cards to sort them, so re-stacking the cards is easy. If anybody
readies or delays, you can update the numbers on the cards, but I don't
usually bother.
Bradd W. Szonye
> All right. So thanks all for the input. It's a great help. I'm
> thinking I'll get a pack of big initiative cards, so I have plenty of
> room. I'll put the character's name and the player's name side by
> side on the top. I figure I'll pencil the initiative number in next
> to these, just in case I drop the cards.
I don't put the player's name on the cards, only the PC's name.
Likewise, I call out turns by character name. It helps everyone learn
the PC names (and it's necessary when a player has cohorts). Also, I
pencil in the numbers at the bottom center of the card. It makes them
easier to erase.
> Then I'll basically fill the rest of the card with whatever is bound
> to change round by round. It'll be stuff like status afflictions,
> spell effects, time left until a certain action can be taken again.
> Checking off spell durations on a card is gonna be a lot easier than
> the old method of using a die as a counter.
Good idea.
> Anyway, this system will probably evolve as the campaign wears on.
For me, the technique has definitely evolved over time, as I learn which
things help and which things just get in the way.
Frank Emanuel
"Justisaur" <rpil...@rcsis.com> wrote in message
news:3F71F53F...@rcsis.com...
> I know at one time someone mentioned blank playing cards for something
> else. I'm wondering where one would get those and if they might be
> easier to deal with being smaller, and sturdier.
I found them in a learning supplies store. Although I bought them with the
intention of making a rage deck - I still have most of them. They are
flimsier than recipe cards.
Frank
Marc
> Pencil and paper, folks --- it's still good enough after all these
> years.
Yawn, more anti-technology rants.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 00:34:34
http://www.marcmywords.com
Marc
> I usually use separate cards for effect durations, so that they expire
> at the right time even if the caster delays or readies an action. (I use
> white cards for effects, since it's the cheapest and most plentiful
> color of index coard).
Good point.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 00:37:29
http://www.marcmywords.com
Marc
> I would have thought that SAVES would also be important.
You would, would you? You know, so would I.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 00:39:14
http://www.marcmywords.com
Brad Murray
M> Yawn, more anti-technology rants.
You missed it -- that was a pro-simplicity rant. Extra technology is
not always extra simplicity.
Chip Bell
news:a858fa41.03092...@posting.google.com:
> I remember not too long ago on this group, a DM (I believe it was
> Bradd Szonye) who said that he had "initiative cards" for the players.
> Essentially, the cards would contain the character's names and some
> other information. After initiative is resolved, the DM would stack
> the cards up in a pile and just move through them in the order, with
> enemy cards also interspersed in there.
>
> It sounds like a cool idea. I'm starting up a campaign on Saturday,
> and think the idea worth implementing. What I want to know is, what
> sort of information would go on the initiative card. I'm sure that
> character/player names are important, but there's probably some more
> information that would be useful there.
>
> So if whomever came up with this system, or has any insights on how to
> implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
>
> -----Zarchery-----
My cards have the name in the upper left hand corner, and the initiative
(modifier and current initiative result) in the upper right. Down the
card, justified to the left, are each of the entity's attacks, in the
format +5 Atlatl 1D8+5 20/x3 50' or whatever. Justified to the right
are notes about feats and special abilities usable in combat. Across the
bottom row are hit points and saving throws. Details of spells and items
go on the back. Monsters get their CR listed after their name. Currently,
I have cards for every creature in the 3.0MM up to CR 3 or so in a nifty
alphabetized Stack of Doom. If need be, I could shuffle the stack, draw
at random, and have encounters that way.
Scott Rutter
<g.b...@student.unsw.edu.nos.pam.au> wrote:
>Meanwhile, my work prefers to store B&W line diagrams as PowerPoint
>files, for reasons I'd sooner shoot myself than attempt to understand.
Wouldn't that be you'd sonner shoot up work than attempt to
understand? :)
"I wish I was dead. No, wait a minute, I wish everyone else was
dead." - Calvin, Calvin & Hobbes.
--
To Reply: Take off every Zig!
EAC - Director of Temporal Adjustment
Ordained Minister - Universal Life Church
Scott Rutter
<bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>Wurm wrote:
>> Thats actually a damn good idea.
>
>It's worked very well for me in practice.
>
>> The info that I would find very useful on them would be their current
>> +tohit +dam scores, which in our campaign change alot considering the
>> ridiculous amount of buffs that my cleric and the bard toss around the
>> party.
>
>That's a good idea. Our group tends to forget about stuff like that.
>Heck, I play a bard, and I often forget to apply my own buffs! My only
>concern would be flipping through the whole deck to write down the
>modifiers for whole-party effects; it increases the risk of accidentally
>shuffling the deck.
Write down whole party effects on a seperate card and keep it on the
table so everyone can see it so they don't forget about it.
Varl
>>Specific initiative d20s work best I've found for
>>keeping track of initiatives in 2e, since it changes
>>every round.
>
>
> You mean using a d20 for each participant turning it to their score?
Yes.
Isn't
> it just as easy to jot the numbers as they come up?
Yeah, if you're into writing. I've already got too much
writing to do when running the game. I draw the
adventures out on grids for my players. Initiatives are
just easier to keep track of with dice. They're convenient.
What happens IMC is the
> PCs declare their actions, then we all roll initiative. They figure out
> which round(s) they go on and I record the numbers on my chart for all the
> baddies. Then I begin at 0 and count up - once all the PCs have gone I just
> finish my guys up in their order. We use oodles of modifiers on initiative
> too - size, weapon speed, dexterity, magical bonuses, etc. So that gives the
> mathies their woodies for the night. Calling the order expediates things -
> when the conversation begins to drift I just start calling out numbers again
> until inevitably someone goes - thats me <roll of dice at this point!>.
> Combat goes reasonably fast this way - we have a good mix of people so we
> don't want to go too overboard on the mechanics.
This is exactly how we run it too, only with dice. The
only drawback to my dice method is if someone
accidentally bumps the table hard. Other than that,
modifiers are just as easily added to the number rolled.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> I would have thought that SAVES would also be important.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> You would, would you? You know, so would I.
On initiative cards? Just shows that you haven't really thought about it
and you didn't read the whole thread before replying.
Marc
> On initiative cards? Just shows that you haven't really thought about it
> and you didn't read the whole thread before replying.
You just look for things to attack me with. Your assertion has no
relevance to reality. In other words, you lie.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 12:06:21
http://www.marcmywords.com
Bradd W. Szonye
>> On initiative cards? Just shows that you haven't really thought about
>> it and you didn't read the whole thread before replying.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> You just look for things to attack me with.
I do? Hm, and I thought I was being conservative, passing over about
three quarters of the stupid, half-baked crap you say.
> Your assertion has no relevance to reality. In other words, you lie.
That's not what "lie" means, you sad Justin Bacon wannabe.
Marc
> I do? Hm, and I thought I was being conservative, passing over about
> three quarters of the stupid, half-baked crap you say.
Which shows your lie, for you just lied again.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 13:42:05
http://www.marcmywords.com
Marc
> That's not what "lie" means, you sad Justin Bacon wannabe.
Now that was uncalled for.
--
Marc
25/09/2003 13:42:31
http://www.marcmywords.com
Bradd W. Szonye
>> Hm, and I thought I was being conservative, passing over about three
>> quarters of the stupid, half-baked crap you say.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Which shows your lie, for you just lied again.
Which part am I lying about? That I thought I was being conservative?
That I ignore most of the garbage you write? That you mostly spew
stupid, half-baked crap?
Answer: None of the above.
Justisaur
Marc wrote:
>
> On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 15:54:07 GMT, Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
>
> > On initiative cards? Just shows that you haven't really thought about it
> > and you didn't read the whole thread before replying.
>
> You just look for things to attack me with. Your assertion has no
> relevance to reality. In other words, you lie.
Bradd is right in this case at least, even if his diplomacy score needs
some serious work.
First I have to bring back the original statement, since you
conveniently dropped it.
> On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:41:53 GMT, Jacob Frey wrote:
>> I would have thought that SAVES would also be important.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> You would, would you? You know, so would I.
To reiterate from the rest of the thread, this wouldn't be much use.
Mainly because it's a defensive score, so one would have to dig it out
of the order to look it up, which makes it much more trouble than
writing it down on a separate sheet.
The only thing useful on initiative cards are offensive scores (which
may not be very useful for the players), and things that depend on
initiative such as effect durations.
-
- Justisaur -
check http://justisaur.tripod.com/well.htm for my encounter generator,
xp calculator, and other useful documents.
Geoffrey Brent
> On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 11:04:04 +1000, Geoffrey Brent
> <g.b...@student.unsw.edu.nos.pam.au> wrote:
>
>
>>Meanwhile, my work prefers to store B&W line diagrams as PowerPoint
>>files, for reasons I'd sooner shoot myself than attempt to understand.
>
>
> Wouldn't that be you'd sonner shoot up work than attempt to
> understand? :)
I stand corrected :-)
Marc
> To reiterate from the rest of the thread, this wouldn't be much use.
> Mainly because it's a defensive score, so one would have to dig it out
> of the order to look it up, which makes it much more trouble than
> writing it down on a separate sheet.
Perhaps, but that hardly means I didn't think about it, or read the
thread, Bradd's stupid assertion. And I don't agree with your conclusion.
We're not talking about a dozen cards here, usually up to six. No big deal.
--
Marc
26/09/2003 00:09:58
http://www.marcmywords.com
Geoffrey Brent
We're not? Five PCs, five opponents, two ongoing spell effects, and
we're already up to a dozen cards, and IME that's about average complexity.
Six cards is barely enough for a typical party, let alone opponents and
spells.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> To reiterate from the rest of the thread, this wouldn't be much use.
>> Mainly because it's a defensive score, so one would have to dig it
>> out of the order to look it up, which makes it much more trouble than
>> writing it down on a separate sheet.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Perhaps, but that hardly means I didn't think about it, or read the
> thread, Bradd's stupid assertion. And I don't agree with your
> conclusion. We're not talking about a dozen cards here, usually up to
> six. No big deal.
In an encounter with a standard PC party, you'll have a *minimum* of 5
cards. More if the PCs have cohorts or allies. More if the enemies
aren't homogeneous. More if you use effect cards. And every time you
flip through the cards to check a stat, even if there are only a few
cards, you greatly increase the risk of an accidental shuffle.
Then again, you're so confused all the time, this may have escaped you
even if you did think about it.
Bradd W. Szonye
> I personally don't use these cards (though they seem like a great
> idea) because I've noticed that my players /love/ to roll things.
I use initiative cards, but I still have my players make all the checks.
They roll, and I record the results on the cards.
Bradd W. Szonye
> My cards have the name in the upper left hand corner, and the
> initiative (modifier and current initiative result) in the upper
> right.
I find that the numbers are too hard to erase if I write them on a
corner, so I put them at the bottom center instead. Otherwise, nice
layout for your cards. I'm usually too lazy to do more than write names
on them. Occasionally, I remember to record fast healing/regen. (If I
don't, I forget to apply them.)
Chip Bell
news:slrnbn7jkt.a...@szonye.com:
> Chip Bell <ch...@efn.org> wrote:
>> My cards have the name in the upper left hand corner, and the
>> initiative (modifier and current initiative result) in the upper
>> right.
>
> I find that the numbers are too hard to erase if I write them on a
> corner, so I put them at the bottom center instead. Otherwise, nice
> layout for your cards. I'm usually too lazy to do more than write names
> on them. Occasionally, I remember to record fast healing/regen. (If I
> don't, I forget to apply them.)
I layed it out with readability in mind. That is, I want to be able to
see the important numbers off of a card that's out of order with a
minimum of messing with the cards. That's why the saves and hit points
are on the bottom. That way, I can thumb through the upper left corner to
find the right name, then nudge that card down so I can read the bottom
line to get the info I need. Even with the stack getting up past ten, it
doesn't take me any longer to get the info off the card than it would to
get it from a summary sheet.
Marc
> Then again, you're so confused all the time, this may have escaped you
> even if you did think about it.
Cheap, dishonest shot.
--
Marc
26/09/2003 10:00:55
http://www.marcmywords.com
Bradd W. Szonye
>> Then again, you're so confused all the time, this may have escaped
>> you even if you did think about it.
Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Cheap, dishonest shot.
Again, dishonest how? Knock off the Justin Bacon shit.
Marc
>> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 04:53:53 GMT, Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
>>> Then again, you're so confused all the time, this may have escaped
>>> you even if you did think about it.
>
> Marc <master...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Cheap, dishonest shot.
>
> Again, dishonest how? Knock off the Justin Bacon shit.
Useless to discuss this with you, you just keep putting crap insults
herein.
--
Marc
26/09/2003 12:36:40
http://www.marcmywords.com
Bradd W. Szonye
>>> Cheap, dishonest shot.
> Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
>> Again, dishonest how? Knock off the Justin Bacon shit.
> Useless to discuss this with you, you just keep putting crap insults
> herein.
They're not "crap insults." They're well-deserved insults, because you
keep writing nonsense and then claiming that I lie when I call you on
it. If you don't want people to insult you, then quit writing loony
nonsense.
Jeff Heikkinen
>
> "Justisaur" <rpil...@rcsis.com> wrote in message
> news:3F71F53F...@rcsis.com...
> > I know at one time someone mentioned blank playing cards for something
> > else. I'm wondering where one would get those and if they might be
> > easier to deal with being smaller, and sturdier.
>
> I found them in a learning supplies store. Although I bought them with the
> intention of making a rage deck - I still have most of them. They are
> flimsier than recipe cards.
The ones I've found, though a more convenient size than index cards, are
flimsy and hard to work with due to rough edges. They seem to be made
*very* cheaply. They're still sitting unused at the bottom of a drawer
while the index cards get all the glory.
azothath
> ...card initiative system, or has any insights on how to
> implement it, is around, your input is appreciated.
>
> -----Zarchery-----
I think the most practical method is to sit the PCs by DEX score in
descending order in a clockwise fashion from where you (GM) sit. This
means the person to your left will have the highest DEX.
Next you can run individual initiative using cards, index cards, list
on paper, list on laptop... or just go around the table. It depends
solely on the level of psuedo detail you want to enforce. It has been
shown (by me) that the d20 initiative system is incorrect based on the
d20 model using quantization, so it's just a convention used for
organization of play.
For ease - it might be best to just write PC names, HPs, and ACs on
individual 3x5 cards so you only have to track HPs dynamically and
check ACs on their actions. You don't want to make the cards too
valuable or with too much info as that info changes and
trashing/losing a card then becomes a big deal.
I'd do this for individual PCs and big monsters or by groups of 3 to 5
monsters (trying to keep paperwork down).
azothath
Bradd W. Szonye
> I think the most practical method is to sit the PCs by DEX score in
> descending order in a clockwise fashion from where you (GM) sit. This
> means the person to your left will have the highest DEX. Next you can
> run individual initiative using cards, index cards, list on paper,
> list on laptop... or just go around the table.
Wouldn't it be better to seat them in order of initiative modifier?
> It depends solely on the level of psuedo detail you want to enforce.
> It has been shown (by me) that the d20 initiative system is incorrect
> based on the d20 model using quantization, so it's just a convention
> used for organization of play.
WTF are you talking about?
> For ease - it might be best to just write PC names, HPs, and ACs on
> individual 3x5 cards so you only have to track HPs dynamically and
> check ACs on their actions.
It's much, much better to put this information on a single sheet of
paper in tabular form. Cards only work well for information that you
typically use on your turn; they're very inconvenient for stuff that
happens on other people's turns.
> You don't want to make the cards too valuable or with too much info as
> that info changes and trashing/losing a card then becomes a big deal.
Huh?
> I'd do this for individual PCs and big monsters or by groups of 3 to 5
> monsters (trying to keep paperwork down).
I usually use one card for each major NPC and one for each homogeneous
group of minor NPCs. (If any of the minor NPCs delay or ready, you'll
need to add a card, but minor NPCs rarely do that IME.)
Kershek
g.b...@student.unsw.edu.nos.pam.au says...
> We're not? Five PCs, five opponents, two ongoing spell effects, and
> we're already up to a dozen cards, and IME that's about average complexity.
>
> Six cards is barely enough for a typical party, let alone opponents and
> spells.
Now think about animal companions, summoned monsters, and a bunch of low-
level baddies and you have a veritable stack! :)
Justisaur
Jason Wilsey wrote:
>
> Visit the following site for free PDF of these cards:
>
> http://www.thegamemechanics.com/freebies/index.asp
>
> about half way down the page.
>
Don't know if you are in charge of these, but I just started filling
them out, and I can sure see one thing wrong with them. The initiative
spot is waaay too small. It needs to be 2x to 3x larger (in both
dimentions). Also some effects cards might be nice.
I'm going to try them anyway on Sunday and see how well they work out.
--
- Justisaur -
check http://justisaur.tripod.com/well.htm for my encounter generator,
xp calculator, and other usefull documents.
Rupert Boleyn
wrote:
This is why I don't use cards. I know the darn stack will get bumped
off the table or scattered by a passing breeze (or cat) at some point.
I use a table I whipped up in Word, printed on light card and covered
with clear plastice contact. I use waterbased overhead-projector pens
to write everyone's initiatives on - red for bad guys, green for PCs
and allies, and blue for spell effects. Whenever someone delays or
redies I put a little note beside them, and when they act I remove
them from their old place and write them in at their new initiative
point. It works really well, especially as I use the same pens to mark
in terrain, etc. on my battlemat.
--
Rupert Boleyn <rbo...@paradise.net.nz>
"A pessimist is simply an optimist with a sense of history."
Tone Marie Berg
news:3F74FC71...@rcsis.com:
<URL:http://www.thegamemechanics.com/freebies/index.asp>
> The initiative spot is waaay too small. It needs to be 2x to 3x
> larger (in both dimentions).
I'm curious; why do they need to be larger?
> I'm going to try them anyway on Sunday and see how well they work
> out.
I've used these cards for a little while, and I like them quite a bit.
They aren't perfect, and I probably will make something similar for my
own use when I've pinned down exactly what I want to change and how.
Tone
--
Excuse me, but your reality check just bounced.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> Now think about animal companions, summoned monsters, and a bunch of low-
>> level baddies and you have a veritable stack! :)
Rupert Boleyn <rbo...@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
> This is why I don't use cards. I know the darn stack will get bumped
> off the table or scattered by a passing breeze (or cat) at some point.
We have a cramped gaming room, two dogs, and a fan for circulation, and
somehow I've managed to avoid this potential problem. Perhaps I've just
gotten likely. It probably helps that I don't set down the deck much.
> I use a table I whipped up in Word, printed on light card and covered
> with clear plastice contact. I use waterbased overhead-projector pens
> to write everyone's initiatives on - red for bad guys, green for PCs
> and allies, and blue for spell effects. Whenever someone delays or
> redies I put a little note beside them, and when they act I remove
> them from their old place and write them in at their new initiative
> point. It works really well, especially as I use the same pens to mark
> in terrain, etc. on my battlemat.
I used to do something like that, but my sheet always got overcrowded,
and it was far too hard to sort the information. Also, I tend to forget
stuff when I use that kind of recording. With the cards, I always know
whose turn it is, and I have important per-turn information right on top
of the deck.
But if your method works for you, that's all that counts, isn't it?
Rupert Boleyn
<bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>I used to do something like that, but my sheet always got overcrowded,
>and it was far too hard to sort the information. Also, I tend to forget
>stuff when I use that kind of recording. With the cards, I always know
>whose turn it is, and I have important per-turn information right on top
>of the deck.
>
>But if your method works for you, that's all that counts, isn't it?
Yep.
Ed Chauvin IV
>> It depends solely on the level of psuedo detail you want to enforce.
>> It has been shown (by me) that the d20 initiative system is incorrect
>> based on the d20 model using quantization, so it's just a convention
>> used for organization of play.
>
>WTF are you talking about?
Yeah, I'd like to see an explanation of what that means, and I'd also
like to see the "math" behind it.
Ed Chauvin IV
--
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the Beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
"I always feel left out when someone *else* gets killfiled."
--Terry Austin
Bradd W. Szonye
>>> It depends solely on the level of psuedo detail you want to enforce.
>>> It has been shown (by me) that the d20 initiative system is
>>> incorrect based on the d20 model using quantization, so it's just a
>>> convention used for organization of play.
> Mere moments before death, Bradd W. Szonye hastily scrawled:
>> WTF are you talking about?
Ed Chauvin IV <ed...@wherethefuckaremypants.com> wrote:
> Yeah, I'd like to see an explanation of what that means, and I'd also
> like to see the "math" behind it.
He may be talking about the fact that it doesn't quite model "six
seconds leading up to your turn" nor "six seconds following your turn."
Or stuff like the "commoner railgun." But that's not "incorrect" -- it's
just an abstraction that breaks if you abuse it.
David Alex Lamb
Bradd W. Szonye <bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>> This is why I don't use cards. I know the darn stack will get bumped
>> off the table or scattered by a passing breeze (or cat) at some point.
>
>We have a cramped gaming room, two dogs, and a fan for circulation, and
>somehow I've managed to avoid this potential problem. Perhaps I've just
>gotten likely. It probably helps that I don't set down the deck much.
I imagine dogs are less of a problem. Our cats love to sit in the middle of
whatever we're doing at the table. We joke about "tarrasque attack" when a
cat shows up.
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)
Bradd W. Szonye
>>> This is why I don't use cards. I know the darn stack will get bumped
>>> off the table or scattered by a passing breeze (or cat) at some
>>> point.
> Bradd W. Szonye <bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>> We have a cramped gaming room, two dogs, and a fan for circulation,
>> and somehow I've managed to avoid this potential problem. Perhaps
>> I've just gotten likely. It probably helps that I don't set down the
>> deck much.
David Alex Lamb <dal...@qucis.queensu.ca> wrote:
> I imagine dogs are less of a problem. Our cats love to sit in the
> middle of whatever we're doing at the table. We joke about "tarrasque
> attack" when a cat shows up.
You haven't seen our dogs! They don't actually hop up on the game table,
but other than that, they're just as intrusive as cats. Probably moreso,
since dogs especially like human attention.
Rupert Boleyn
<bradd...@szonye.com.invalid> wrote:
>You haven't seen our dogs! They don't actually hop up on the game table,
>but other than that, they're just as intrusive as cats. Probably moreso,
>since dogs especially like human attention.
I long ago decided that whoever in vented the coffee table didn't have
dogs. They're at just the right height for a medium-sized dog's tail
to sweep them as it turns, or simply when its excited.
Bradd W. Szonye
>> You haven't seen our dogs! They don't actually hop up on the game
>> table, but other than that, they're just as intrusive as cats.
>> Probably moreso, since dogs especially like human attention.
Rupert Boleyn <rbo...@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
> I long ago decided that whoever invented the coffee table didn't have
> dogs. They're at just the right height for a medium-sized dog's tail
> to sweep them as it turns, or simply when its excited.
We have lap dogs, so they're not big enough to sweep off a coffee table
with their tails. However, since they're lap dogs, they're not trained
to keep off the furniture, which causes different problems.
Justisaur
The inititative spot is going to be the most changed spot on the cards,
it's going to get difficult to read after a short time. Actually after
using them last night, I found it a bit difficult to read after erasing
and writing once.
It also needs somewhere on the cards you can write the initiative
modifier seperately.
I tried to use them for tracking HP, but I got them all mixed up a
couple of times. Fortunately with the initiative on them I was able to
get them back in order, but it took a min or two each time.
All the other stuff on them was a bit cluttered.
Ed Chauvin IV
>azothath wrote:
>>>> It depends solely on the level of psuedo detail you want to enforce.
>>>> It has been shown (by me) that the d20 initiative system is
>>>> incorrect based on the d20 model using quantization, so it's just a
>>>> convention used for organization of play.
>
>> Mere moments before death, Bradd W. Szonye hastily scrawled:
>>> WTF are you talking about?
>
>Ed Chauvin IV <ed...@wherethefuckaremypants.com> wrote:
>> Yeah, I'd like to see an explanation of what that means, and I'd also
>> like to see the "math" behind it.
>
>He may be talking about the fact that it doesn't quite model "six
>seconds leading up to your turn" nor "six seconds following your turn."
>Or stuff like the "commoner railgun." But that's not "incorrect" -- it's
>just an abstraction that breaks if you abuse it.
I thought he was going to say that it somehow didn't mesh with the
"D20 model", which I took to be the concept of rolling d20, adding
mods and higher is better. I'd really like to know what he actually
means though.
Bradd W. Szonye
> The inititative spot is going to be the most changed spot on the
> cards, it's going to get difficult to read after a short time.
> Actually after using them last night, I found it a bit difficult to
> read after erasing and writing once.
I had exactly the same problem at first, when I wrote the numbers in the
corners. It's much easier to erase them thoroughly if you put them in
the middle of the bottom edge.
> It also needs somewhere on the cards you can write the initiative
> modifier seperately.
That might be handy, but not really necessary IME.
> I tried to use them for tracking HP, but I got them all mixed up a
> couple of times. Fortunately with the initiative on them I was able
> to get them back in order, but it took a min or two each time.
That's why I don't do that.
> All the other stuff on them was a bit cluttered.
And this is why I only put really important notes on the cards. I
specifically use them *only* for stuff that I really don't want to
forget on the creature's turn, like regeneration. Put too much on there,
and it defeats the purpose of putting reminders on the cards.
Brad Murray
BWS> corners. It's much easier to erase them thoroughly if you put them in
BWS> the middle of the bottom edge.
That's one reason why I avoid elaborately printed cards --- I just
cross things out and write in the new value. Index cards are cheap.
--
Brad Murray * "It is possible to forget that the vital idea of democracy
VSCA Founder * -- government of the people, by the people, for the people
* -- does not constitute a form of escape from government."
* -- Joseph Tussman through John Dixon