DM Combat` Tabs

Initiative and Condition Tracking Kit

Track initiative, conditions, and more on any DM screen. 37 tab types plus customizable tabs with form fillable options. 2 racks for quick tab use in game: DM screen rack or tabletop stand. Cutting and folding required, plus assembly for an optional storage box.

Sample file by STERLING HERSHEY www.sterlinghershey.com

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast.

©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2016 by Sterling Hershey and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. Graphics by Sterling Hershey, original stonework photo by David Wagner (publicdomainpictures.net).

DM Combat Tabs Cutting:

"OK, you're prone and deafened. Let's see if the • SAFETY FIRST! Take great care when cutting the monster recharges that power…" tabs apart and use adult supervision . Using a paper — DM to an unfortunate PC trimmer is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Not only is it This kit contains 37 different types of tabs designed safer, it helps keep the cuts straight. An to make it easier for the Dungeon Master to track inexpensive Fiskars brand paper trimmer was initiative, conditions, selected Player Character stats, used for prototyping the tabs. See monsters, nonplayer characters, allies, and various www.fiskars.com for example products (this does temporary and ongoing effects during combat. The not constitute an endorsement of Fiskars by tabs are intended to hang on the DM screen for easy Wizards of the Coast, nor of D&D by Fiskars). • reference and visibility by all players. Some tabs can Cut along the dark lines. Do not cut along be customized. The kit includes two types of racks to thinnest grey lines , as those indicate where to organize the tabs for quick access during play, as fold the tab. • well as for storage. A custom storage box provides The fuzzy lines allow for less precision when an optional method of storing and carrying the tabs. cutting, as well as mimicking a hand crafted style. However, try to keep to the middle of the line if using the DM Screen Tab Rack. Preparing the Tabs • Folding the tabs can be done simply by hand or by using the straight edge of a tabletop or ruler. Using this kit requires printing the pages on letter sized paper or cardstock, cutting the tabs apart, and folding them where indicated.

Printing: • Cardstock is preferred for easier use and handling, but heavy paper is also an option. This kit has been tested using 65 lb. (176 g/m2) cardstock. Check your printer specs to see what cardstock it can handle (if any) and if it requires using a thick paper or similar setting in the printer preferencesSample. file • Set scaling to "none" or the equivalent. Do not set the print options to fit to page or shrink to fit. • Borderless printing is generally not recommended, but this may vary with different printer models. Borderless settings may produce unexpected Paper trimmer (showing customized tabs, filled in results or sizing issues. with text and monster images prior to printing). • White paper or cardstock is recommended. Other colors of paper may work, but some tabs may be difficult to read on darker or textured paper.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DM Combat Tabs 2 Preparing the Tab Racks This kit contains two types of tab racks. The DM Screen Tab Rack allows quick access to the tabs without giving up precious table space behind the screen. The Tabletop Tab Rack is much simpler and requires only folding (no cutting) to create. • Cardstock is highly recommended for the racks. • Thicker cardstock improves rack rigidity. • The stone wall background graphic can be hidden if desired by turning off the Stonework Background layer. DM Screen Tab Rack This rack is intended to be used as two separate racks, but can also function as a single large rack. The condition tabs are intended to be stored on one rack, and the monster/NPC and other effect tabs on the second rack. The DM may organize the tabs as desired. See the photos for a suggested layout. • Cut out the racks. Divide into two racks if desired. • Cut out each area marked "REMOVE." • Fold at each of the lines near the top of the rack. • If the two fold lines provided at the top of the racks do not match your DM screen thickness, adjust the fold location as needed. • Hang the rack(s) over the top edge of the DM's screen. They are sized for use with the official D&D landscape oriented screens.

Storage Options: Sample file • Box: Build a cardstock box using the box template. Carefully place one rack in the box (with the tabs still on the rack). Set the divider on top of it. This prevents the tabs from interfering with those on the second rack, which is placed on top. Close the box lid. Note that even a sturdy cardstock box may be crushed by books or other objects, so take care. • Leave on Screen: Carefully close the screen with the racks in place. Position the screens so they are not across from each other. When stored in a messenger bag, box, or shelf, the pressure applied from books to either side of the screen can keep the tabs in place. Do not use this method with thin screens or if you don't want to risk warping the screen over time. • Envelope: Use large manila envelopes to store the racks with the tabs in place. Cut the bottom of the envelope open. Slide the rack in from the bottom and out from the top. Fold and clip the openings to keep wayward tabs from falling out.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DM Combat Tabs 3

DM Screen Tab Racks, box, and divider.

Tabletop Tab Rack Create the Tabletop Tab Rack by folding at the lines on the page to form a fanfold or saw tooth shape. This creates ridges on which the DM hangs the tabs in any order desired. Adjust the ridge angles as desired. Additional space may be created by printing and folding additional pages.

Storage Options:

Sample •file Envelope: The easiest storage method is to place a second Tabletop Tab Rack page over the top of the first with the tabs still on the lower rack. Carefully Assembled Storage Box squeeze both sheets together and slide into a large envelope for storage and transportation. Note the tabs will slide around during this process. • Box: Take the tabs off of the rack and store them in the storage box or a large envelope. Paper clip the tabs together to keep them from becoming mixed up in the storage container.

Using the Combat Tabs The tabs are best suited to combat encounters, but are helpful in other situations. The tabs are most useful in encounters with many combatants or ones with many magical or other effects to track. Smaller encounters may not need all or any tabs. DMs may find they use some tabs more often than others and may eventually wish to pare down the available tabs Tabletop Tab Rack to those most useful to their games.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DM Combat Tabs 4 Character Tabs substitute fonts or otherwise affect the look of the The kit features large tabs for tracking Player text. The form fillable pages allow DMs to create Characters, monsters, nonplayer characters, and tabs for specific monsters or regularly occurring allies. These tabs show different information on the events that aren't necessarily conditions. player versus DM side of the screen. The long end of It is possible to add PC illustrations to the PDF the tab faces the players. prior to printing by clicking on the large picture area on each PC tab. Testing shows that different PDF viewers treat the size, location, and acceptable file type slightly differently. You may need to experiment. Adobe Acrobat Reader requires the image to be a PDF. Foxit Reader accepts JPG and other image file types, but not PDF. Other readers may have other requirements or not import images at all. • The PC tab image area is roughly 2.1"h x 2"w. • The narrow monster tab image area is approximately 1.75"h x 1" w. • The large monster tab image area is approximately 2"h x 2"w. • Images larger than this will be reduced in scale to On the player side, the PC tabs show the character fit the area while keeping their proportions. name, race, level, player name and a have large area Smaller images are not resized, in order to for an illustration or sketch of the PC. The DM side preserve their resolution. Adobe Acrobat centers includes similar information and adds spaces to the image in the area, while Foxit Reader aligns it record armor class, hit points, passive perception, to the lower left corner. Other readers may vision type, and vision distance. produce different results. The monster, NPC, and ally tabs are similar, but • The customizable monster tabs allow for text each has spaces for a name, brief notes, armor class, and/or an image on the front. Click on the form and hit points. While these can be helpful in some field to enter text, click adjacent to the form field encounters, it is not uncommon for GMs to simply to open the insert image dialog box. Using both leave them blank and use the tabs to track initiative text and image may require experimentation and conditions. and/or abbreviation for readability. Sample file

Customized monster tabs with images or text. Typical Use The DM hangs one PC tab on the DM screen for each Player Character. During noncombat encounters, they provide useful reminders to the other players, and the DM may refer to the PCs' passive perception The tabs may be filled out by hand after printing, and vision type when needed. or using the form fields within the PDF. Filling the character tabs out using a dark pencil is During Combat Encounters: recommended as it allows the DM to easily update • the character's stats for advancement. Note that PDF The DM arranges the PC, monster, NPC, and/or readers other than Adobe Acrobat Reader may ally tabs in initiative order. The DM should decide

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DM Combat Tabs 5 if the order will be left to right or right to left as to no instructions to see if it worked beyond my own read by the players. To help keep track of the individual needs when running a game. It did. current player's turn, the DM hangs the "Your When the DMs Guild emerged, I thought others Turn" tab on the active character's tab (long side might find it equally useful. It needed more towards the players). development. In particular, one of the main • As conditions come into play, the DM hangs the drawbacks was finding a particular tab quickly appropriate tab on the affected character. enough to avoid slowing the game down. I wanted • The concentration, inspiration, reaction used, and the right tab immediately at hand when needed. A ready action tabs track transient situations. second drawback was storage. A simple envelope • The advantage, disadvantage, roll to end effect wasn't cutting it as the tabs got jumbled up too easily. tabs remind everyone when these are in effect. That's where the racks came in. The first was the • The "other" tabs are for unusual situations. DM screen rack because I never seem to have • The recharge tab reminds the DM to roll to see if enough room behind the screen. I realized that with special monster abilities can be used again. the first D&D 5e screen, there were a couple of areas • Lair action and legend used tabs to track the that could be covered without losing much incredible powers of truly imposing enemies. information. It worked extremely well, though some • The spell effect tabs have numbers and colors. care was needed getting the tabs in and out of the Since there could be several different spell effects rack slots. in use at the same time, the DM can use these in In a fit of laziness, I discovered I could just close combination to note which conditions are the DM's screen with the tabs inside and carefully affecting which characters. slide it into my messenger bag. So far, the screen has held up, though I am concerned it may warp over While the narrow monster, ally, and NPC tabs time. It hasn't been a problem yet. allow for more space on the DM screen, they can With feedback from players and friends, I adjusted occasionally prove too small if more than a couple a few things and added additional sheets of tabs. I conditions are affecting the character. The more discovered I could add the form fillable features and problems tab provides an expanded area to hang user-inserted images. The inconsistent behavior of additional conditions. the images and form text in various PDF viewers was Alternate UseUsessss a disappointing and frustrating discovery. I wanted to include a simpler rack scheme and Some DMs and players use individual PC table tents thus came up with the fanfold idea. My DM in front of each player. In this case, the Combat Tabs playtester pointed out that using a second fanfold to can be handed out and hung on the table tents cover the first made it easier to compress the thing instead of the DM screen. The PC tab could be foldeSampled file like an accordion and put it all inside an envelope to form a tent, but it isn't intended to be used as such. without spilling tabs everywhere. DMs and players are advised to seek out table tent The box template was created with the aid of styles of their liking on DMs Guild or create one. http://www.templatemaker.nl/ . It is free and easy If the game uses miniatures, the tabs can be placed to use. Need a bigger box? It can create a variety of right on or next to the affected mini. This method is box sizes and types. (This does not constitute an most useful when the DM needs to differentiate endorsement of the site by Wizards of the Coast, or between multiple minis that represented by a single of D&D by templatemaker.nl.) Monster tab (usually when they are the same I thought of ways to create freestanding racks monster type). using paper craft methods, as well as more robust Creator Notes versions to go on the DM screen. However, those will take more time to develop, if I do so at all. Hanging initiative trackers similar to this have been around for several years in the D&D and RPG Playtesters community in the form of index cards, binder clips, • Rob Quillen II (DM) and his D&D campaign players clothes pins, and various experimental forms. I never • Mary Hershey, providing ongoing advice, critique, found one exactly to my liking, so I started creating and occasional editing. this set for my own use after the release of D&D • The players of my own ongoing D&D campaign. Next/5 th edition. I gave an early version of it to a friend and regular D&D DM and playtester with little

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DM Combat Tabs 6