Initiative tracking is very important when it comes to running a Dungeons & Dragons game. Gamers all over the internet have come up with some unique and creative ways for tracking initiative. I thought I would take a moment to talk about a few of my favorite initiative tracking tools.

DM’s Tracker by kbarapps
DM’s Tracker is my favorite tool to use when tracking Initiative, but I am somewhat wary to talk about it. DM’s Tracker is an initiative tracker for your iPhone/iTouch. The application allows you to set up players, monsters, and encounters. You can also use it to track each player’s condition. Whether they are bloodied, stunned, dazed, and so on. My wariness to talk about this app is because of how buggy it is. I have used it long enough that I am pretty aware of the bugs and how to avoid them or work with them. According to kbarapps twitter page the program is undergoing a rewrite and when the update gets published all the existing bugs should be squished and new features added. I am really looking forward to the update.

Printable DM
My second favorite option is the Printable DM created by Nephilim. Just download the PDF, print off the sheet and you instantly have a way of tracking Initiative order as well as conditions.

Index Cards
This is a cheep and easy method for tracking player Initiative and it certainly fits under the “keep it simple, stupid” methodology. Pull out some index cards for your players and your monsters. On the top left label each cards write the names of a different player or monster till you have enough for your encounter. On the top right of each card write down their HP and Bloodied numbers. Underneath the Characters name write down their AC, Fort, … On the bottom right of each card write down their initiative number order. (ie: 1, 2, 3…) That way if you drop your cards you can easily put them back in the right order. It’s also easy to track conditions.

What is your preferred way to track initiative? I want to know.

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