Today's Tips: Tracking Consumable Items

- From: Loz Newman

Getting confused about consumable magic item use, duration, and effect? Players succumbing to temptation and forgetting to scratch items off equipment lists?

One of my players recently came up with a neat idea to squash the temptation and simplify equipment use. Every time a player gets a consumable magic item (potion, scroll, etc.) the DM hands out a small square of paper with the item's name and details on (dice to roll, duration, etc.). To use it, the player hands it to the DM, who rolls effect dice and bins the chit.

This ensures the DM is fully aware of the item's use, and makes sure items are removed from equipment lists and adjudicated fairly.

We also use pre-printed A6 'note' sheets for in-game tracking of:

* Hit points

* Willpower points

* Lost missiles used

* Luck re-rolls used

* Karma points spent

Here's an example Excel file I print out for tracking purposes. I often print/photocopy this sort of stuff on the back of scrap paper just to keep the recycling conscience gremlins and paper costs down to a muffled roar.