Combat is truly the bread and butter of DnD. It’s intense and thrilling, but tracking it can be a daunting task even for a seasoned DM, let alone a rookie just trying to get a hang of running a game. There are so many things to keep track of – who goes when, where is everyone positioned, how much damage was dealt, is somebody paralyzed, blind or frightened, etc. – it’s truly a lot. However, if you want the game to run smoothly, proper and detailed combat tracking is essential.
In this blog post, we’ll be delving into some of the most effective DnD combat tracking tips that will keep you on top of your game whether you’re a newbie or a veteran. Choosing a system and sticking to it can take a ton of weight off your shoulders and make combat encounters far more enjoyable for you and your party. So read on and hopefully by the end you’ll find a new way to streamline your combat tracking!
What You Need to Keep Track Of
There are a few key stats of both player characters and monsters a DM should be aware of at all times during combat:
- Initiative. This is essential when determining the order of attacks. There are two options for keeping track of everyone’s initiatives – making a visible list for everyone to see or doing one for your eyes only. There are pros and cons for both options and ultimately it comes down to your personal preference.
If you’re letting everyone see the initiatives, the players will know when their turn is coming up and can prepare in advance, but it also takes away the element of surprise in the first round. Personally. I like to keep my players in the dark about the sequence of their and their opponents’ attacks, so they are caught unawares when the monsters strike during the first round. This is also great if there’s an enemy lurking in the shadows, waiting to surprise attack.
As for the different ways to keep track of initiative – you can use the trusty old pen and paper combo, an erasable whiteboard, or index cards. They are even some good, reusable ones for purchase online!
- Hit points. Since damage is dealt left and right during combat, it’s super important for the DM to keep track of it. Players will usually pay attention to their own hit points pretty diligently, but I suggest the DM do it too, just to eliminate any possible miscalculations.
But let’s focus on the monsters’ HP now. I think the best way to do it is in secret, so your party doesn’t know how close they are to finishing the creature off until they actually do. This way will let you build suspense and keep your group on their toes until the very end of combat.
If your party is dealing with multiple enemies of the same race, I suggest you give each of them a description that you’ll also use in your tables. This method will help you distinguish the different monsters and know which one is slain at which time. You can use their names, or better yet – descriptions of physical features. Let me explain. If my party was battling four goblins, I would put them down on my spreadsheet as “goblin with skull hat”, “stupid goblin”, “goblin with a spear” and “goblin with a big scar”.
This works when you have less than ten enemies, but when there’s a horde of them, it may seem too hard or labor-intensive. So, in those situations, when your party is battling so many enemies that they stop looking at them individually, you might consider not tracking individual HPs, but the group one. In order to do this, you should add up everyone’s HPs and track the damage your party deals. When the dealt damage reaches the HPs of a single monster, just take one off the battlefield and announce to the party that there is one less, and so on and so on.
- Armor Class. Your AC score in DnD is basically your entire line of defense against enemies, so it’s essential for the DM to have everyone’s written down before combat starts. This will only matter to you, so there’s no need to make it public information. In fact, knowing the opponents’ AC scores will take a little mystery and tension out of announcing your rolls to the table.
- Positions. When determining their next move, it’s incredibly important for players to know their positions in relation to their allies, opponents, and the environment that surrounds them. This is why DMs typically use a combat map and props that will represent the participants. The map can be quickly drawn using a pen and paper or a dry-erase marker and whiteboard (and a dash of elbow grease), or it can be prepared and printed out beforehand. Even though miniatures and figurines are a great addition to any campaign, you don’t have to use them by any means. My DnD group uses Lego figurines and chess pieces, but in a pinch, even different rocks or coins will do.
If you’re going the route of narrative combat, you won’t need a board or props, but that’s a story for another day (and blog post).
- Conditions. The conditions characters suffer can majorly alter their capabilities during combat, so it’s very important to keep track of them. As always, the good ol’ pen and paper combo or a whiteboard is top-notch for keeping tracks – they’re cheap, easy and you can simply cross a condition when it’s done. Some players and DMs choose to use tokens or markers to distinguish different conditions. You could assign different colors for different conditions aka blue means somebody is paralyzed, red is for blindness, etc. If using magnetic tokens, you can put them on the whiteboard, and easily move them around or take them off when the effect stops.
- Monster Stat Blocks. Since the DM has to roleplay all the monsters and choose what actions they take during their turns, having a creature stat block handy during combat is a must.
My preferred method is keeping the Monster Manual at my side at all times. In order not to be maniacally flipping through pages during combat, have some sticky tabs handy and bookmark the monsters that are going to appear in the current session beforehand.
Some other ways you might consider are having a screenshot on the computer, looking up the stat block online as the combat starts, or copying the stat block on a piece of paper. I wouldn’t really recommend doing the last one, though, since it’s going to take a whole lot of time and effort to copy multiple monster stat blocks for every session.
- Time Elapsed. The final thing you should keep track of is how much time has passed in combat. This is usually considered optional, but I want to mention it anyway, for those really conscientious DMs.
Why should I even bother, you might ask? Well, most spells are time sensitive, so in order to know when their effects stop, you need to know how much time has passed in combat. Typically, a round is considered 6 seconds long, so for a minute-long effect to expire, 10 rounds of combat need to pass.
DnD Combat Trackers
All of the methods I’ve suggested above are tried and true, but require some elbow grease. If you’re looking for a way to make your life easier, you can also put your laptop or PC to good use. Make an Excel spreadsheet, use Google Docs or even an online combat tracker.
There are a few really good ones available out there like the one on Roll20, which is great when you’re playing from a distance. Then there’s the D&D Battle Tracker that lets you track all the key stats – the creature’s name, initiative, HP, and the conditions that have affected them. It’s super user-friendly and has a great interface too. Some other ones I’d recommend you check out are the one on D&D Beyond, then Hero Muster, Encounters+, and Improved Initiative, the last of which is considered the best one there is by a whole lot of players.
These are all great choices, but ultimately, which one you choose to use will depend on personal preference, so check them all out and see which one is the best fit for you.
Combat music?
