What methods do you GMs use to keep track of Minis?

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

I've found it's really easy to get a set of paint pens ($10 at a hobby store) and put colored dots or numbers on the bases of my miniatures. 10 identical orc figures become "Orcs 1-10" for both PC and GM reference. Then I have a spreadsheet on my laptop so I can record which orc took damage or whatever.

This is extremely handy, and we use it here, too. Of course, my husband is a Warhammer nut, so he just hand painted the numbers on, but if I had to do it myself I'd do the paint pen route.

Another less permanent route is to get a packet of the little round or rectangular paper stickers for putting hand-written prices on items - you can usually get white, or a mix of fluorescent colours (for sale prices I assume) - these can have numbers or letters written on them, and as an added bonus you can use the fluorescent type to colour code items.


For tracking hitpoints, a spreadsheet with a simple Summing macro for each column is a godsend. I make one of my players track HP for me, so that's one less thing I have to worry about with the minis :D - the player doesn't know the totals for each character, just how much has been taken. They update me whenever the character is injured, so I can track level of injury.

Lacking a spreadsheet, assigning a player to manually tracking the totals works - columned paper or grid paper is a big help, as is a little calculator. Addition may not be the hardest thing around, but when things are coming in fast, it's often easier to write down individual numbers and then sum it up when you get a quick moment - and the calculator makes that faster so you only need a VERY quick moment ;)

Another trick for more visual people is small beads or candies. Get a divided tray for organizing screws or fishing tackle, or a muffin tin for very small muffins, or some other divided container. STick stickers on each cup with numbers on them so you can associate them with characters, then put beads/candies in the cups according to who's got how many arrows (or whatever), then pull them out as they're used up. This works with HP too if the NPC is likely to surrender when beat down to 0 HP, OR you can start putting in beads of a different colour when they go negative (Red is good ;)