How to keep track of statuses and conditions?

Question

Every round someone is getting dazed, marked, bloodied, quarried, cursed, blinded, slowed, penalized, buffed, stunned, or taking ongoing damage... the list goes on.

At paragon tier with a six-player party it's starting to get overwhelming to keep track of all the different statuses both as a DM and as a player. We're forgetting to make saves and mistakenly ignoring statuses just because they were imposed so long ago (a full round can take up to 30 minutes sometimes). I can only imagine how much more chaotic it will get as we progress.

What strategies are there to keep track of all this information visually, so that all players can clearly see and remember what's going on?

Answer 1

See my answer to What is a good combat tracker for D&D 4th Edition? for several common techniques.

We use stack-able 1" tokens (I cut them with a laser cutter), hand-cut translucent folders for non-mobile area effects, and pipe-cleaners for smaller, mobile effects like stances.

Another clever thing I've seen is all paper (download them at By Decree of the Czar)

Answer 2

My group handles this with Styrofoam squares and colored pins. You can use either random Styrofoam packaging materials or dinner plates to cut up into squares for creatures of medium size, large size, etc.

Define whatever color coding you like. For us,

Red    = Bloodied
Green  = Cursed
Blue   = Marked
Orange = Quarried

Answer 3

We use status rings. Basically, hang a coloured ring onto the model affected by the status. Coloured rings can be purchased (curtain rings!), or just collected from drink bottles (the rings used to seal lids).

We have a generally-agreed-on colour scheme - red for bloodied, black for stunned or immob'd, gray for dazed, blue or yellow for marked, white for slowed, bright green for ongoing damage, gold for cursed.

This is essentially the same system as the magnetic dots from Alea Tools, but on a smaller budget. If you have spare cash, the Alea Tools system is also very good, with the added benefit of not having to keep the rings attached to models as you move them. The downside of the Alea Tools is having to put magnets on all minis used - not an issue for players, but a bit harder for a GM.

Answer 4

The Combat tracker link listed in yhw42 is a good place to start, but I feel that it is missing one thing.

Dark Platypus produces a product that we use at our table which pretty much handles all of your concerns and works very fast.
See the product Here

They have a magnet grid mat that is pre-printed with one inch squares and can handle magnet objects, dungeon tiles and dry-erase markers. To go with this is their set of magnet flag posts (they look like miniature lamp posts). they are magnetic on the bottom and on the top, so they stick the board and stay put. They come with a large set pf status fags that you attach to mini-magnets. Once this is done you can just stack them on the posts and easily see what is going on right on the battle filed. You do not have to pick up or handle the minis to change these condition flags. Each post has a number on it so can be used to track initiative too.

For my money this is the best. the price is not too bad and the mat is very rugged and will last as long as you take care of it. I purchased 3 set of the posts with different colored numbers, 2 mats and a bunch of the magnet bendy walls, and have never looked back. The bendy walls are great too.

I assign two players at the table to alternate keeping the flags up to date. Works fantastic that way and off loads a large amount of work from me, the DM.

Answer 5

I'm using a Gamemastery Combat Pad to keep combats organized when I DM. To organize conditions and the like I write down the imposed condition or status next to the creature's entry in the pad's sidebar and strike it out when it's gone.

I've left my pad at a friend's house so I can't post a photo of it, but it generally looks like this:

The players are responsible for tracking conditions and effects affecting their characters themselves, so the burden is not put solely on the DM's shoulders.

Answer 6

Check out InitiativeBoard for iPad - tracks Initiative as well as statuses/conditions, and is modeled after a magnetic board.

Answer 7

A good combat tracker is one thing that can help, as @yhw42 has mentioned in comments.

Another common means of tracking statuses are tags, pogs, rings, or other items that you can place on, under, or near a creature's miniature to identify that it has a status effect on it.

A way to track things at the table, but off the battlemap, is to do so on your initiative board. You're probably already tracking initiative with pencil and paper, but I recommend switching to a good-sized dry-erase board. (Or use an empty corner of your wet-erase mat, if you have one.) This way you can track and update initiative, and annotate each creature's initiative line with their status effects. Keep this up-to-date, and within easy view of the currently-active player.

Answer 8

As GM I list effects next to each enemy's HP. When an effect is removed I cross it off. At the end of each enemy's turn I scan the effects to see if any require a save.

I trust my players to handle their own status effects. They do something similar, though some prefer to use a note card for each sheet. That said, I run a very collaborative game and rarely have to play referee. For players who did need a referee making sure they didn't neglect their penalties, I'd tag each mini. We use colored paper clips to denote marking. I'd do something similar for other effects.

Other effects are the responsibility of whomever put the effect into place. If someone throws up a buff for extra damage, nobody writes it down but the buffer makes sure to ask if people included the buff. What I like about this option is it gives people things to do when it isn't their turn. I have a tactical warlord who does this and he's busier on his allies' turns than on his own.

Answer 9

Mentioned this one in the related thread, but its worth mentioning for completeness sake here.

Our group uses mini M&M chocolate candies with the D&D essentials monster tokens. We keep a bowl at the table and when a character imposes an effect they choose a color and place that color candy on the effected target. They are equally handing for marking zones. It can be a bit confusing when there are multiple status effects on a token or there are half a dozen different colors out, but its usually easily resolved.

Answer 10

Our DM tracks ongoing-effects on monsters on the same sheet he uses for initiative and their health points. If a player gets an ongoing-effect the DM writes the effect on a post-it note and gives it to the player who puts it in front of him. When the effect expires, or the player saves the post-it is returned to the DM (who then might hand it to another player if that player gets the same effect).

When a player or NPC is bloodied we put a red felt square underneath its miniature. We do the same thing for marks and curses. Every player basically takes a color and gets some felt in that color from a hobby store and cuts 1 inch squares from that to use. My warlock uses a few pieces of purple felt and ours fighters use yellow and blue.

Answer 11

I use a magnetic whiteboard as a combination initiative/status tracker.

I can move the cards up and down in order of initiative, putting the monsters where they belong. I use whiteboard marker to mark combatants bloodied, dazed, stunned, etc. These are easy to mark and easy to clear, and since I scribble in English, nobody has to remember colors, and it's very fast. (No manipulating the mini, mini-base magnets, pins, etc.)

Answer 12

First of all, search the web for any of the many sets of D&D condition cards. Hand these out to your players for convenient reminders of the conditions in effect. We have ours mounted on stand-up triangles so everyone can easily see who's affected by what.

(As has already been suggested, keeping track of status on your initiative chart is also a good idea, as it's bound to remind you at the right time.)

I like Alea Tools magnetic markers for keeping track of conditions, but a cheaper alternative is easily possible with stacking poker chips or other plastic discs. Just agree a colour code and stack them under the miniatures. Some people prefer to put plastic rings around the miniature instead of counters under it.

Answer 13

We use a combination of things... First we use www.aleatools.com magnetic markers and such to mark our miniatures. We use red for bloodied... etc..each person has their own color for marked or quarried...

We also use a magnetic white board similar to the one listed above to list turn order and so the GM can track conditions and status of players and NPCS and monsters...

Works really well...

Answer 14

Poker chips! Put them under the miniatures. Cheap to get and with different colors.