If you use status markers, such as poker chips, tiddly winks, mini rubber bands, etc. to indicate conditions on a miniatures, which colors do you use to represent which conditions?
I'm interested both in just a list of colors you use and also suggestions for the specific color palette below.
After trying a lot of different options, I finally spent the money and bought a set of Alea Tools magnetic status markers (Ultimate Gamemaster Pack, original colors).
VTT's and physical systems other than color markers of some sort are outside the scope of this post. Yes, I know VTTs are great and track this for you. I also know Galeforce 9 has condition markers, but I'm just looking for a color code in this thread. I've made my choice of tools, I just need to figure out what colors will represent what. I figure others have gone through this and would like their thoughts on what worked and didn't work for colors representing 5th edition conditions.
I'm using white and red for numbered bases. If there are lots of allies, they will be white and adversaries red.
That leaves:
Light Blue
Medium Blue
Dark Blue
Light Brown
Medium Brown
Dark Brown
Orange
Yellow
Medium Purple
Dark Purple
Light Green
Medium Green
Dark Green
Light Gray
Dark Gray
Black
I'm not adverse to buying additional colors for greater contrast.
While I can certainly select a color on the fly, I think it would be helpful to be consistent from one game to another. Or maybe I'll have consistent colors for the most common conditions and just select others on the fly.
So here is where I am at, using the Alea original Gamemaster Ultimate Kit colors.
Blinded = BLACK
Charmed = DARK PURPLE
Purple makes me think of magic and the fey. Medium purple is otherwise unused, so it will also be used for the Charmed condition. Charmed is common enough that it doesn't hurt to have more markers for it.
Deafened = Orange.
Mainly because orange was left over. It was between Orange and one of the shades of Brown. I think many of us who are not deaf would choose some muted color like gray or brown, because you are losing a sense. Yet I'm thinking lose of hearning makes sight that much more important and so a vibrant color like orange makes a kind of sense to me.
Exhaustion = No status marker.
This so rarely comes up in combat for the baddies. Players track exhaustion on their character sheets and I can easily make a note of player exhaustion levels on my scratch pad to keep the forgetful honest. I searched all published 5e spells for the condition "exhausted" using the DnD Beyond advanced filter and there are no spells than apply this condition. So it would only come up if the players are chasing or being chased by baddies for a long time. In that case I would be inclined to make GROUP exhaustion checks for the baddies, so not need to mark them all individually. For creatures like Golems and undead that are not effected by this condition, I don't need to a marker to distinguish them from those that are affected by exhaustion.
IF this EVER actually comes up in game where I need to mark different exhaustion levels on different baddies, I would just select from unused colors on the fly.
Frightened = YELLOW
Cultural. In English (at least in USA), calling someone "yellow" is calling them a coward.
Grappled = No status marker.
This isn't a condition that imposed by remote spell or on a group. I just wrap a rubber band around the mini doing the grappling and the mini that is grappled.
Incapacitated = No status marker.
As far as I can tell, this condition is contingent on another condition, namely: grappled, paralyzed, petrified, stunned, and unconscious. If you are are subject to one of those five conditions you are also, always subject to the incapacitated condition. Incapacitated is an effect of one of those other 5 conditions. I suppose it could be a condition itself. But that's never come up in any of my games, so I don't see the need for it having its own marker and I'm certainly not going to put two markers for, say petrified & incapacitated. I just need to put petrified, and so on.
Invisible = No colored status marker.
I use invisible marker sets, such as those made by Litko or WoTC for this. If I know that there is the uption of mass invisibility for the bad guys, I have a Silhouette paper-cutting machine. I would just take one of my existing paper mini patterns and cut out them out on plain white paper so I have the shape of the creature only. Any of these options allow me to use a base with a magnet on the bottom and transfer any status and number markers. I used to use clear plastic dice boxes and tubes but I don't like fiddling with them at the table (pick up box, move mini, put box back over it) Any of these options are far more intuitive than some colored marker under the mini. Also invisible-miniatures are fun!
Paralyzed = LIGHT GRAY (like petrified)
Petrified = DARK GRAY
Dark gray makes me think of stone.
Poisoned = DARK GREEN
Because "Mr. Yuk" is dark green. The government did its research and Dark Green = poison, at least to the past few generations in America.
Since poison come up fairly frequently and often from multiple combatants, I may reserve all shades of green to distinguish different instances of poisoning.
Prone = Nothing. I knock the mini over.
Restrained = LIGHT BROWN
Mainly because only light brown, dark brown, and orange are left over as easily distinguishable colors and brown makes me think of mud as in "stuck in the mud."
Lots of things can restrain you, so I will just use all three shades of brown for restrained, similar to how I use all shades of green for poisoned.
Stunned = LIGHT BLUE
I like using Blue for consciousness-related statuses
Unconscious = DARK BLUE
Fully unconscious, so dark blue, as opposed to mostly conscious but "out of it" like stunned, for which I used Light Blue. Medium Blue is otherwise unused and the unconscious condition is not uncommon, so I will likely use medium blue for unconscious as well.
So, using the Alea Ultimate Gamemaster Pack, original colors, I have (the numbers are the number of markers that come with the kit):
10 Red = Adversary. I've applied numbered edge marks to these 1 through 10. Used to just distinguish orc 1 from orc 2, etc.
5 Orange = Deafened
5 Yellow = Frightened
10 White = Allies. I've applied numbered edge marks to these 1 through 10. Used to just distinguish soldier 1 from soldier 2, etc. I can also use for bad guys to have another 10 markers.
5 Light Gray = Paralyzed
5 Dark Gray = Petrified
5 Light Blue = Stunned
5 Medium Blue = Unconscious.
5 Dark Blue = Unconscious
5 Medium Purple = Charmed
5 Dark Purple = Charmed
5 Black = Blind
5 Light Brown = Restrained
5 Medium Brown = Restrained
5 Dark Brown = Restrained
5 Light Green = poisoned
5 Medium Green = poisoned
5 Dark Green = poisoned
Additional buys? I plan on buying at least another 10 red and another 10 white. Alea only sells edge marks to 20. But at least I could go to 40 with white 1-20 and red 1-20. After going through this exercise, I don't think I need to buy any of the Kickstarter (neon, etc) colors. I have more than enough for most adventure-scale combat encounters.
If you use status markers, such as poker chips, tiddly winks, mini rubber bands, etc. to indicate conditions on a miniatures, which colors do you use to represent which conditions?
I'm interested both in just a list of colors you use and also suggestions for the specific color palette below.
After trying a lot of different options, I finally spent the money and bought a set of Alea Tools magnetic status markers (Ultimate Gamemaster Pack, original colors).
VTT's and physical systems other than color markers of some sort are outside the scope of this post. Yes, I know VTTs are great and track this for you. I also know Galeforce 9 has condition markers, but I'm just looking for a color code in this thread. I've made my choice of tools, I just need to figure out what colors will represent what. I figure others have gone through this and would like their thoughts on what worked and didn't work for colors representing 5th edition conditions.
I'm using white and red for numbered bases. If there are lots of allies, they will be white and adversaries red.
That leaves:
I'm not adverse to buying additional colors for greater contrast.
While I can certainly select a color on the fly, I think it would be helpful to be consistent from one game to another. Or maybe I'll have consistent colors for the most common conditions and just select others on the fly.
Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated!
So here is where I am at, using the Alea original Gamemaster Ultimate Kit colors.
So, using the Alea Ultimate Gamemaster Pack, original colors, I have (the numbers are the number of markers that come with the kit):
Additional buys? I plan on buying at least another 10 red and another 10 white. Alea only sells edge marks to 20. But at least I could go to 40 with white 1-20 and red 1-20.
After going through this exercise, I don't think I need to buy any of the Kickstarter (neon, etc) colors. I have more than enough for most adventure-scale combat encounters.
I use this.
Feats - Hermit Crab & Superhero Landing
Item - Alertness & Skeleton Key