Does initiative, mook hp and all the other small stuff really

If it's a large group of mooks, I have them act together, or in a couple of groups so that I only keep track of a few initiative scores. For health, depending on what kind of system you're using, you can use dice to track how much damage any individual enemy has taken, just put it next to their name or next to their mini.

>>50499848
why not just get rid of all the numbers entirely? do what I do and just pretend you're keeping track of everything, make things die when it seems like they've taken enough damage

milestone leveling made my life a million times easier, that's why I apply it to all aspects of my games

>>50499875
I haven't actually played any combat with minis. Either the system didn't even try to specify it or I was just too comfortable with "the trolls are like ten meters in front of you side by side" style.

But yes dice are pretty nice until you accidentally knock the tracker dice over.

>>50499848
You should check out some systems that handle fights differently than the D&D method.

>>50499953
I actually started thinking about this after I got interested in Exalted's 3rd edition. Initiative shifts up and down with every attack.

I guess games like Call of Cthulhu don't really need an easier bookkeeping. Combat is simple, damage is simple, you're dead in three short turns or something anyway.

>>50499949
I mean, I can see that being a problem, but I haven't done that once is almost a decade of gaming. Depends on how clumsy you are or spergy your players are I guess

>>50500029
Maybe it works better in rpgs. But it seems frowned upon when playing cardgames. I've seen some heated debates about using dice to track money in Netrunner. I mostly use dice because I hate dealing with dozens of tokens. But at the same time I want to try something more idiot proof. Because I have knocked over dice and had opponents do the same.

>>50500081
Well the abacus isn't a bad idea if your mooks have a maximum of 10 health, which is a lot of non d20 systems. Essentially just having each line be a mook. You still have the problem where it can be knocked around though.

>>50500293
That's why I said creatively. What about using reds as fives and meeting in the middle? You can get 30 per row. Or calling them some other value and getting even higher.

>>50500956
I get what you're saying, but why come up with a super complex way of keeping track of things? You're likely to end up worse off than before if you go too complex

>>50501099
I admit I haven't tried it. But it sounds more comfortable than writing it all down over and over.
I don't see why it would be complex either.

>>50499886
That's pretty much what I do, and our game rolls forward pretty smoothly.

Most mooks get taken down in one hit, fatties in two, commanders in 4~5, Boss's after a few rounds of some back and forth.

>>50499848
Using a whiteboard as a DM screen helps a lot of things.

>>50499886
This. Ditch mook HP, characters level up when you say so (when you feel it's time), group initiative for mooks.

>>50501607
What about systems where you don't have levels and instead just have ability scored you buy up?

And sadly, exalted which I mentioned earlier really requires initiative. It's far more important than "you go first"

>>50499848
>Initiative
I think playing cards might be nice to try. Fast characters get all 4 of a number, slow characters only get 1. Shuffle the small deck, and draw the turn order. For every turn, draw another card afterwards: that player gets to know who will act next in turn order. If it's STILL their card, they get a bonus somewhere and you draw the next card, etc.
>Player A has 13 speed - 4 Kings
>Player B has 10 speed - 2 Jacks
>Monster A has 9 speed - 2 9s
>Monster B has 3 speed - 1 3

>A Jack was drawn first, Player B get's first turn
>Next card was a King, so Player B knows that Player A can follow-up with another attack
>Player A's turn, next card is another King. Player A get's a bonus, and draws again.
>Next card is Monster A, so Player A can choose to focus down Monster A first.


>Mook hp
Don't track all of their hp. Keep tabs on whether individuals ones would be pasted by an attack, but otherwise track MORALE. Reward overkill or inventive ways to discourage the enemy from fighting. They don't have to run away if their morale is broken, just be so utterly lost that they stop actively moving and get oneshotted by anything.