What apps do you use for PC/Tablets when doing initiative and encounters? My son download an app at the last minute for his first game as a DM. The app worked OK, but we are looking for recommendations to make his second game go more smoothly.
I was looking for something too and never found anything good so I built one myself. I first decided not to answer you, because I thought this wouldn't help but then I saw the tux in armor so maybe there's a chance you're fairly technical with computers. I wrote a script in 3ish hours that has the party init modifiers and lets me add/remove monsters between round.The script rolls everyone's init and just tells you who's turn it is every time I press enter... It doesn't deal with surprise round, but it's pretty easy to deal with that since you just skip whoever is surprised.
It's pretty simple, but it does what I need which was to speed up the setup of the fight. You would have to teach your son on how to start it from the command line ofc, other than that it's pretty easy to use from the command line.
If you want the script I can share it here. Let me know...
I find Evan Bailey's Improved Initiative to be very good. You can group enemies easily, quick-add combatants on the fly, prepare and organize custom statblocks if you want to, and it includes all the Basic Rules statblocks to begin with. The fact that it automatically prompts for concentration checks is particularly helpful for me personally.
Signing up to Evan's Patreon will let you sync your statblocks and settings on his site's database so you can use them on different devices without having to explicitly export and import them, and at higher levels lets you customize the look and feel of the UI.
It's also on github and can be run locally if you want to be able to use it when there's no outside network access. For running locally you'll need Node.js, and if you want it to persistently keep your statblocks/settings without exporting them, mongodb.
Prefer to just use old school paper and pencils for everything. Have little initiative cards for dry erase markers. I figure it's a table top rpg not a PC game so it feels better just using tried and true systems instead of having a phone or tablet or laptop open. Kind of think that by using those it could encourage players to be on a device a bit too much. Which gets distracting for some. To each their own of course.
I still think that the slickest initiative tracking system is simply small tents dropped into the DM's screen as initiative is rolled for. Couple this with designating the job to the players and its really fast and effortless.
"I still think that the slickest initiative tracking system is simply small tents dropped into the DM's screen as initiative is rolled for. "
"Tents"? What?
Just get some small index ed cards folded in half. On the front side, facing the players as they drop into the top rim of the DM screen is the player or character name. On the reverse, facing the DM is the name, their AC and a few other bits of info useful in combat. As initiative is rolled drop them in order (including a genetic monster one) onto the top of the screen. This gives folk both sides of the screen a visual initiative queue that can't get muddled. It's fast and easy.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
What apps do you use for PC/Tablets when doing initiative and encounters? My son download an app at the last minute for his first game as a DM. The app worked OK, but we are looking for recommendations to make his second game go more smoothly.
I was looking for something too and never found anything good so I built one myself. I first decided not to answer you, because I thought this wouldn't help but then I saw the tux in armor so maybe there's a chance you're fairly technical with computers. I wrote a script in 3ish hours that has the party init modifiers and lets me add/remove monsters between round.The script rolls everyone's init and just tells you who's turn it is every time I press enter... It doesn't deal with surprise round, but it's pretty easy to deal with that since you just skip whoever is surprised.
It's pretty simple, but it does what I need which was to speed up the setup of the fight.
You would have to teach your son on how to start it from the command line ofc, other than that it's pretty easy to use from the command line.
If you want the script I can share it here. Let me know...
I find Evan Bailey's Improved Initiative to be very good. You can group enemies easily, quick-add combatants on the fly, prepare and organize custom statblocks if you want to, and it includes all the Basic Rules statblocks to begin with. The fact that it automatically prompts for concentration checks is particularly helpful for me personally.
Signing up to Evan's Patreon will let you sync your statblocks and settings on his site's database so you can use them on different devices without having to explicitly export and import them, and at higher levels lets you customize the look and feel of the UI.
It's also on github and can be run locally if you want to be able to use it when there's no outside network access. For running locally you'll need Node.js, and if you want it to persistently keep your statblocks/settings without exporting them, mongodb.
Lol, I have written several programs in Java and C++. I just did not want to reinvent the wheel if someone has something already created.
Prefer to just use old school paper and pencils for everything. Have little initiative cards for dry erase markers. I figure it's a table top rpg not a PC game so it feels better just using tried and true systems instead of having a phone or tablet or laptop open. Kind of think that by using those it could encourage players to be on a device a bit too much. Which gets distracting for some. To each their own of course.
I still think that the slickest initiative tracking system is simply small tents dropped into the DM's screen as initiative is rolled for. Couple this with designating the job to the players and its really fast and effortless.
"Tents"? What?
Just get some small index ed cards folded in half. On the front side, facing the players as they drop into the top rim of the DM screen is the player or character name. On the reverse, facing the DM is the name, their AC and a few other bits of info useful in combat. As initiative is rolled drop them in order (including a genetic monster one) onto the top of the screen. This gives folk both sides of the screen a visual initiative queue that can't get muddled. It's fast and easy.