The rummikub ones with a small mod should work well for things that I want to see all at once. A couple cards can stand up side by side, with 2 more rows to put cards behind them.

I conned my group into trying out initiative cards too. I think we’re going to keep using them. My DM used 1 racko rack for our initiative cards. Really helped speed up our combat rounds.

Avlor: That’s an excellent idea! How well do the racks work?

I liked the index card ideas so much and was too impatient to wait for an order online. So, I went to Walmart and bought the board games Rummikub and Racko and took the card and domino racks out of them. (8 racks all together for about $17)

I have a set-up on excel that fits in 2 3/4″ x 4 1/2″ labels and I can print out I think 8 on a page. Gives pretty much full stat blocks and are easily altered for different monster types. I can then easily cut and paste for easier entry. I’ve prepped entire modules in about 45 minutes and just pull the cards. It can be very convenient for Judges like me who never want to consult books when running my games.

Because the labels are opaque white, you can re-use your cards a few times by just slapping a new label on it.

As initiative mods don’t usually change often, you can laminate or just use clear packing tape over the PCs cards, using a sharpie to correct if something changes.

M.

Troy: Prepping initiative cards — such a simple idea, but one I’ve never heard before! I like it.

Ken: If you lose your initiative cards easily, you might try the 4×6 ones instead. That may not not do the trick, but it’s worth a shot.

I used to use them to track initiative, but I found that I was recreating them ever week because, ahem, I kept losting them. I like the idea of using them for lists, particularly name lists or random encounters (I envision printing out the lists, then taping them to the cards).

Hmmm. Maybe I need to go pick up some more index cards after work today … thanks for the suggestions!

A regular part of my game prep is to create all the npc/monster cards needed for a given encounter, then paper clip them to the same page as their corresponding encounter in a 3-ring binder, which holds my notes for the adventure. The cards then go into the shuffle with the PC cards during any combat.

This works great for DMs like me who often skip players or forget where they are after an interruption. Unfortunatly this doesn’t work super great for DMs who like to fiddle with what’s in their hands, as they might unorder the cards, ruining 1/2 the point of them.

Also, keeping the brief stats of the characters on the cards is handy in the middle of a session and out, giving you an overview of what a character is capable of.