What's your prefered initiative tracking method for DCC RPG?

[Arijuna]

I know there are many ways to do this. I've written it down on scratch paper, had players write their name on index cards (order them after rolls are made), Paizo's Game Mastery Combat Pad, and I've even not bothered with it at all. Any others?

Also, do you feel there are any considerations to make in DCC RPG that differ from other D20 games?

[Rostranor]

I tapped into Army mode and whipped up a dry erase board with thin electrical tape a la motor pool status board style. I sue colored magents for each player, track the number of rounds and effects and I can write notes on it. When combat kicks off I just pass it around the table and everyone moves their own magnet to the correct spot. When it gets to me I place the monsters and then we battle!

I think its homemade ghetto awesome.

[marshal kt]

I have them keep track of their own. I roll a seperate d20 for all the npcs and then put it on the description.

If the players forget their's, tough. It's now lowered to what you remember. I SUGGEST they take the d20 and leave it in front of their character sheet with the modifed number.. If they roll it and forget to put it back, tough.

[Gameogre]

If you don't have a dry erase board get index cards(or even just folded up paper) and write 1-10 on them. Each initiative just had out the paper in order of initiative.

I did that with folded paper so they stood up so everyone at the table could see who went in what order and it worked great.

Half the time I don't even bother with individual initiative though and just have the group roll a D6 verse my D6 for the bad guys(players win ties).

I like it simple and one less thing to keep track of.

[jonky]

Somewhat Savage Worlds style. We draw from a deck of playing cards. Init +1 draws two cards and uses the higher of the two. Init -1 draws two cards and uses the lower of the two. I remove diamonds and clubs so only spades and hearts remain in the deck. Hearts always goes first if it's a tie. So far i find this to be very fluid.

[viruswithshoes]

I use small folded pieces of card stock with the character's names on them. I write the initiative number on it and hang them on my GM screen in order. After each character has their turn I move that paper down to the back of the line. That way the whole table knows at a glance who is up next.

I have to say, tracking individual initiative is tedious and slows the game down. I'm seriously considering moving to the classic d6 method per side.

[Skyscraper]

The group init (e.g. one 6-sided die per side) is simple and quick. However, one problem with having all PCs act and then all monsters, or vice versa, is focus fire. Say you have 6 PCs battling 6 opponents. If the opponents are intelligent, they should try to focus the most important PCs down. Without the possibility of having PCs act in-between the opponents, you get much higher likelihood of PC death. Unless the opponents are very weak.

Of course, this is a two-way deal, so the same goes for the monsters. But this game is not about the monsters, so no one cares if they die.

For my online D&D 4E game that my group and I have been playing for about 3-4 years, we've been doing the group init method. Well, almost: I have players roll init for each of their PCs, and I roll a single init for the monsters. Those PCs that win init over my monsters, get to act first, then we start to alternate: all the monsters go, then all the PCs, and so on. The order in which the PCs act amongst themselves is not important, nor is the order in which the monsters acts. (in game terms, a PC can delay his actions anyway.)

This works well, but I have to be mindful of avoiding focus fire and try to find ways to explain why the opponents would not focus fire one of the PCs. So I tap into NPC emotions, why this one will react to the one who attacked him instead of (logically) attacking the same opponent as his two nearby friends; why this other one will target the paladin because of the holy symbol he wears; why yet this other one will attack the rogue because of the staring contest they've been having prior to combat; and so on. This has to be done almost every battle. Or else, having 5 creatures gang up on a PC, however you look at it, that poor guy or gal is pretty much going to die. If not this battle, the next.

[Karaptis]

Totally digging the playing card method.

[GnomeBoy]

For many years, I've used index cards, and then been able to sort them into initiative order, hand them out when someone wants to delay ("hand it back when you want to act"), flip them sideways when someone is unconscious or otherwise wonked out... etc., and it's worked great.

But I have dabbled with the playing card initiative, with a new draw each round -- and I do like it a lot. Not sure if it's the novelty alone yet, that makes it enjoyable...

[maxinstuff]

Other: Have a player do it however works for them.

I'm a delegating guy

[ThickSkullAdv]

I use the Game Mastery board, and actually give it to one of my player's to keep track of so that I can focus on doing all the monster stats behind the screen. It works out pretty well. Obviously you could do something similar with cards and what not, but the player's seem to have fun with the magnets.