Question for DMs on 3.5

>>52474531
Play 5e

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>>52474531
By doing it digitally.

>>52474553
Are you using excel sheets or something?

>>52474531

By this point, your party should be able to keep track of the numbers themselves. They're 6th level, and they know how their characters work, so let them.

This is also an exercise in trust, as it causes you to rely on the honesty of your players.

You don't need to shoulder the entire burden yourself.

>>52474687
>By this point, your party should be able to keep track of the numbers themselves.

Seriously.

>>52474614
There are several programs, a few of them being free, that take care of the math for you. The one that immediately comes to mind is Roll20, where people have flexible sheets that do complex calculations and are capable of tracking debuffs, buffs, and the creation of custom macros.

>>52474687
>>52474697

Hm. . . Yeah, maybe you're right.

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>>52474614
I use excel.

Write down initiative order in some cells off to the left-ish side. I write down the damage monsters have taken in their row and total it up if I'm not sure whether they're dead or not. If someone has a buff/debuff I put it in the row to the left of them. A child could do this.

>>52474687
This. My players helped to draw the battlefield and other elements (one of them was very talented, another was very organised and one was a good leader) and we managed a 11 people 10 years campaign. 1-40th level.

>>52474531
You're not an inherently bad GM (not DM, DMs are always bad), but you're running a horrible system at the level where it starts to really break down.

You can become a better GM by not being afraid of looking into different, i.e. better systems. There is no reason to be afraid, because few other systems feature as much pointless and purposeless complexity as D&D 3.5.

>>52478122
>simple additions are difficult

the players keep track of the PC buffs. Is simple lie that.

>>52479451
What are you even quoting?

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>>52474531
Sorry I'm still in time to meme?

>>52479635
that anon I quoted that finds difficult add 2 to a +7 bonus.
>muh system
no, is your primary school teacher that failed you.

>>52480123
Nobody wrote anything of the sort.

>>52480517
>as much pointless and purposeless complexity as D&D 3.5.

>Keeping up with a bunch of level 6 characters, their buffs, enchanted gear, and all of that is turning into a serious mess of frustration

>>52480604
Right, and what does that have to do with simple addition?

>>52480642
There's a difference between "simple addition" and "thirty different effects"

>>52474531
Yooooou don't need to keep track of anything. The player's do.

>>52480649
Yes, that is what I was getting at.

>OP can't handle 4 players

You haven't seen shit until you run a game for 7+

>>52480649
Make little effect cards, put them on the char sheet of every player affected by them. Helps tremendously with remembering buffs and shit.

>>52480642
>>52480649

The effects are spread on different players. Each player track his own, perhaps written on a piece of paper in front of all, near the map.
Most stuff does not even come up all the times. Even if the party is buffed with Death Ward, it does not come up if you are fighting dinosaurs.

Also, stuff like enchanted gear is automatically written on the sheet. The bonus to attack of a sword is not changed unless such sword is into an AMF. In that case, if the sword is, say, +3, such bonus is not added anymore. Now please tell me that subtract 3 to a number already written on a sheet is difficult.

The only things that can be difficult are durations. In that case, just give wide intervals between encounters - in this way, round-per-level stuff is technically per-encounter buffs.

Don't blame the system for a gaming group unable to organise simple things and get its shit together. I do wonder how people manage to work or study if they fail at simple tasks like these.

>>52474886
Jesus Christmas senpai, I hope you greentext some of that one day.

>>52480937
It was epic in every sense man.
> High school friends and friends of friends
> Some of them of the same town
> Played during the transition from 3.0 to the end of 3.5
> almost all the manuals
> kitchen sink setting and material from D&D world and pop culture
> campaign centred on Baatezu taking over the multiverse, with the later realisation that they are a necessary evil
> started as rag-tag, ended with building empires and demiplanes, living as exiles on the east (Rokugan-like), reconnecting with the upper planes and literally take coffee with gods later on
> sub-plot of magitek with a connection with two of the characters for different reasons, led to building fantastic machines
> loads and loads of secondary NPCs
> attempt to shift the tone from silly to epic and switch in base of the mood generally succeeded, with many memorable moments and in-group memes
> At the end they were Fighter 40, Monk (with like 2-3 PrCs) 40, Generalist Wizard/Archmage 40, Samurai(OAdv)/Ftr/Iaijutsu Master 40, Barbarian/Frienzed Berserk/Berserk 40, rogue/Void Incarnate 40, Cleric with undead (Kemlevor-like) PrC 40, Fire themed Cleric with anti-fiend Prc 40, Druid 40, Sorcerer/Incantatrix 40.
>They played well with each other ther melee were always well equipped (wizard took many crafting feats, had a goblin and gnomish entourage and built the group's Weatherlight) and buffed
> many solo adventures including one with the Rogue/Void stealing a trapped Elder Dragon from the City of Brass using ALL the possible skill and class features and tricks
> fought shit like demon princes, archdevils, xyxecals and phanes
> travelled the known multiverse, campaign interrupted before a big one to the outer realm

I could sperg about this hours. Feel free to ask

>>52474531

Having players record their character's buffs and such? Like I make sure my players record what spells they have, use and so on. I as DM only manage the world. The players manage themselves. If they cheat and I find out then they are kicked, if they cheat and the party knows then I kill them all and we start over. The adventure becomes null and void and we start anew; even if its the same story I change things so they cannot meta game me.

>2017
>Not having players be responsible
>They should know how their characters fucking work.

I run for a group of 5, and as people have already said, the key is making sure the players handle their own shit. I've had newbies play, and we hold their hand for a while, but if you're five levels in and you still can't figure out how to calculate your to hit modifier, or keep track of what buffs you have, its not the DM's fault.
That said, it does imply a certain level of trust in the players.But if you don't think they'll keep accurate track of their buffs, hp, whathaveyou, then you have a bigger problem of shit players.

Try GMing a game of Pokemon Tabletop United and you'll be glad for the moderate level of crunch of 3.5.

>5 trainers
>each with their own mix and matched abilities (approx 15 each)
>each trainer has 6 Pokemon
>each with 6 moves, 3 abilities and multiple special capabilities
>totaling 35 character sheets
>210 stats
>735 abilities
>on top of 8- 12 NPCs at any given time
>and wild Pokemon on the fly

Now try keeping track of all of that as one person.

>>52481509
>210 stats
what the fuck
how, why, and, most importantly, what

>>52481625
oh wait i'm dumb
you meant 7 stats per pokemon
i thought you meant literally 210 different stats in the game..

>>52481625
It's 6 stats (Hp, Atk, Def, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, Spd) per trainer and Pokemon. They have a base value that can go up or down depending on certain moves and abilities and have to be changed on the fly. You can either write a chart per sheet consisting of every variation, or keep a calculator on you (which you need anyway to calculate damage values)

It's overly crunchy. Probably the most crunch heavy system I've ever played.

>>52481699
I guess that's what happens when you're too faithful in adapting a video game to tabletop