Monster and PC images used with permission from Hugo Solis - check out his gallery at butterfrog.deviantart.com

When I developed TTopRPG, first and foremost, I wanted it to have a combat tracker. The tracker needed to track whose turn it is and support delaying and readied actions, as well as offer timers to track effects or conditions expiring.

I tried to develop the combat functions in a way that would make them fast and easy to use, but also incorporate many of the important aspects of combat that occur in 3.5 and 4e systems.

All functions affecting combat are available only to the GM, except for the ability to roll initiative with the I key.

Here is an index for the discussion:

  • Single map at a time only
  • Starting/ending combat and Rolling Initiative
  • Altering an icon's initiative roll
  • Advancing the turn
  • Combat Status - Normal, Delaying, Readied, Out
  • Conditions and Effects
  • Round Timers
  • Combat Form
  • Final Thoughts

    • Single map at a time only

    Currently, TTopRPG only supports combat on a single map at a time. This means that once combat starts, you won't be able to load a different map until combat ends. This is because the combat variables involve data from icons on the current map, which would be lost or unavailable if you load a different map. Note that ending combat wipes out the initiative rolls on the icons.

    As limiting as this sounds, the need for more than one map for a single combat doesn't come up very often. But I thought it fair to warn you about this limitation.

    I do realize this creates a problem for GMs that end and save a session during combat and want to modify or add another map between sessions. To do so, end combat on the map, then load up the new map. However - and this is the most important part - when TTop asks you if you want to save the campaign when you load the other map, DO NOT SAVE IT. That way, when you load the map with the combat again, it will still be in combat and you can pick up where you left off there. Once you have the other map loaded, you can save the campaign as you please without affecting the map that is still in combat.

    In the future, my goal will be to allow the GM to load in other maps during combat and conduct the combat across multiple maps at a time, including moving figures from one map to another as the need arises. Unfortunately, I have yet to meet this challenge. Fortunately, being aware of this limitation, I have prepared all my maps accordingly and haven't needed multiple maps in combat, yet. To prevent this need occurring in your games, I highly suggest you set up your maps to involve all areas where a single combat could possibly occur (such as all floors of a keep where complex keep defense is a possibility), or be prepared to sketch in portions of other maps on the fly to give yourself a playing surface in the event that combat spills over into them.



    Starting/Ending combat and Rolling initiative

    To start combat, click the Start Combat button.

    To enter the initiative order list, icons must roll their initiative by hitting I while the icon is highlighted. This rolls a d20 and adds the Initiative modifier value on the icon. Players will see PC icon initiative rolls, not monster rolls.

    As initiatives are rolled, the icons appear in the proper order in the upper left corner of the map display. You can highlight the icons in the initiative order list just as you can icons on the map.

    As the GM, you can control how much information in the initiative order list is displayed to the players (show no initiative order, show only PC icons, or show all icons). Note that invisible monster icons never appear to the players, nor do they see the turn counter advance to an invisible monster icon - for them, the turn counter remains on the last visible icon that had a turn.

    When initiative is rolled, TTopRPG automatically adds a random .000 to .999 decimal to the value to help prevent duplicates. If a duplication does occur, the icon already in the list is pushed down and the new icon is awarded its place. If this occurs, all Round Timers set on that icon's time are also pushed down (see Round Timers).

    You can end combat at any time by clicking the End Combat button. A confirmation will appear asking if you are sure. Ending combat wipes all initiative rolls but keeps the Round Timers (see below) intact for when combat starts again, so you'll need to clear out the Round Timers in the Combat Form if you don't want to see their notifications again.

    I typically only roll one initiative for a group of common icons (like minions for a big bad guy) and allow that icon to represent them in the initiative order, taking their turns all at the same time. If you do this, be careful not to remove that icon from combat, set its status to Out, or delete it. Otherwise the turn counter won't land on that icon again and you may forget to take the minions' turns in future rounds.

    Altering initiative

    If you need to adjust an icon's initiative due to a initiative bonus or some ability that allows the icon to replace its roll, hit I on the icon again and enter the adjustment.

    You can also directly alter an icon's initiative roll by accessing the Combat Form, discussed later.

    Advancing the turn

    Currently, the only way to advance the turn counter normally is to right click and select Advance Turn from the menu (it is bolded to make it easier to find).



    The first time you advance the turn in a new combat round, everyone gets a message displaying the current Round number. This is the best time for the GM to roll new initiatives for new icons entering combat after it has already begun.

    Whenever the new turn lands on a PC icon, the players receive a notification of whose turn it is.

    If the turn advances to an invisible monster icon, the players will not see the turn counter advance - for them, it remains on the last visible icon.

    Advancing the turn also triggers and expires Round Timer messages (which only appear to the GM).

    In the future, I may provide a quicker forward and backward button on the interface, but I didn't want the GM to mistakenly advance the turn when it wasn't intended.

    Setting position of turn marker



    When advancing the turn counter normally, you should always use Advance Turn. However, if needed, you can set the turn counter manually by right clicking and selecting Move Counter. This function is only available when you have advanced the turn at least once and received a Round number notification. Using this, you can reset the counter's position to the beginning of the round (which is the best time to roll initiatives for new combatants), or set a chosen icon to be the current combatant. You will receive lengthy warning messages about these operations, but they aren't destructive.

    When you manually set the turn counter's position, you will not receive Round Timer notifications, nor can you advance to a new round by doing so (the only way to advance to a new round is by Advancing the Turn normally while on the final icon in the initiative list).

    Note that if you receive a Round Timer notification in a given round, then set the turn counter to a previous icon and advance it again normally, you will receive the same Round Timer notification again (its number of rounds remaining will be the same). The rounds remaining on Round Timers are not reduced until combat advances to a new Round.

    Combat Status - Normal, Delaying, Readied, Out

    Every icon has a combat status. You can set the status by right clicking the icon and selecting Combat Status or hitting S on the icon.



    Normal is the usual operating mode.

    Delaying places a blue circle on an icon and signifies it is waiting to take its turn.

    Readied places a yellow circle on an icon and signifies it has an action readied that will trigger because of some event, typically during another icon's turn.

    Out places a thick X on the icon, removes it from the initiative order list and skips it as the turn advances. This is usually used to remove an icon from combat due to being incapacitated or killed. If its status is changed from Out, the icon will retain its old initiative roll (until combat is ended, when all initiatives are wiped).

    Note that the Delaying and Readied indicators are not visible to players on monster icons, only PC icons.

    The Normal, Delaying and Readied options are available for icons that have not yet rolled initiative.

    Trigger Readied (Go now)

    When an icon is not the current combatant, you can right click the icon (or hit S) and select Trigger Readied. This moves the icon to the current combatant's position in the initiative order and forces that combatant icon down the list (along with Round Timers with the same time value).

    Using this function allows an icon to take an action it had readied against another icon's actions (such as readying a spell, counterspell or an attack).

    Using this function automatically sets an icon's Combat Status to Normal.

    Note that this operation alters the icon's initiative value but does not alter any Round Timers initiated on that icon, meaning that spell and effect expirations will still occur on the old value.

    The icon does not need to have the Readied status for this operation to work.

    If this operation is performed on an icon that has not yet joined combat by rolling initiative, the icon is added at this time.

    End Delay (Go next)

    When an icon is not the current combatant, you can right click the icon (or hit S) and select End Delay. This moves the icon to just after the current combatant's position in the initiative order, allowing it to take its turn after the current combatant's turn ends.

    Delaying is usually used in combat when a player wants to wait for the right time to perform an action, for a buff spell to go off, or for an ally to move into flanking position, among other possibilities.

    Using this function automatically sets an icon's Combat Status to Normal.

    Note that if you mistakenly advance the turn to the next combatant before a player notifies you of the intent of ending a delay, you can either move the turn counter back using Move Counter so that you can use End Delay in the correct place, or just use the Trigger Readied option on the delayed character, which accomplishes mostly the same thing (it moves the icon to where the current turn marker is, which is after the icon they intended to take their turn after anyway).

    Note that this operation alters the icon's initiative value but does not alter any Round Timers initiated on that icon, meaning that spell and effect expirations will still occur on the old value.

    The icon does not need to have the Delaying status for this operation to work.

    If this operation is performed on an icon that has not yet joined combat by rolling initiative, the icon is added at this time.

    Conditions and Effects

    Conditions on an icon are accessed by highlighting it and hitting C (or right clicking and selecting Conditions). This pops up a quick check menu noting all of the conditions on an icon. If any condition exists, a red box appears around the icon, showing everyone that some condition exists. Certain conditions might make other symbols appear (circle for prone, square for unable to act and diamond for helplessness). If players highlight their PC icons, they can see a list of the conditions on each icon. This list does not appear to players for monster icons, although the red graphic on the icon still displays.

    I included many of the conditions that exist in 3.5 and 4e, but not all are there due to space constraints in the icon data list and my desire to keep the menu small.



    Effects can be accessed by hitting E on an icon (or right click and select Effects). This pops up a small form that allows you to add or remove small descriptions to and from an icon. This effect list is visible to the players for PC icons only. Effects are used to describe spell buffs, ongoing conditions and other modifiers not covered by conditions. They do not automatically affect any dice rolls.



    You can also set Conditions and Effects for multiple icons by ctrl-selecting a group of icons and hitting C or E on one of them (or right clicking and selecting Conditons or Effects).

    Conditions and Effects are also available outside of combat, but they are most commonly used during combat to help the GM and players to be aware of anything affecting the icon's abilities.



    Round Timers

    A Round Timer is a message that repeats every round, reminding the GM (only the GM) of how many rounds remain on a specific effect or condition. Each Round Timer counts down at a specific point in the initiative order.

    Round Timers are usually started during combat by right clicking an icon (or hitting S) and selecting Add Round Timer, although you can create one in the Combat Form as well by right clicking a combatant's entry. Right clicking an icon sets the initiative value for the timer automatically and is the recommended way of doing so.



    Only the GM receives Round Timer notifications as the turn is advanced.



    Round timers are used to notify the GM of timed effects taking place or expiring. The duration of a spell effect (such as a buff, weakening spell, or area spell) or some condition (such as a dragon's breath weapon recharge, assassin's death study, etc.) can be tracked using these timers.

    When you create a new Round Timer, it asks for a description, number of rounds left, and the initiative value when the timer should be counted down. The initiative value is set automatically for the icon you selected to add a timer for. It also asks if you want the notification to occur at the beginning or end of the icon's turn. Use end of turn for spells and beginning of turn for expiring situations (like the breath weapon recharge and assassin death study).

    Round Timers can be modified in the Combat Form.

    Round Timers are automatically removed when they are expired and the turn advances to a new round. Nothing on existing icons is modified when this occurs - it's up to the GM to modify each icon as needed.

    Note that whenever an icon's initiative order is adjusted because of another icon's readied action or a new icon entering combat, all round timers coinciding with that icon's position in the initiative order are also adjusted to prevent timing issues.

    Combat Form

    Clicking the Combat button opens the Combat Form. From this form, you can alter the state of combatants and Round Timers. Try the various right click menus to see the possible functions.



    Most commonly, you will use this form to set an icon's new initiative value (when you don't use the Adjust Initiative value on the icon by hitting I after it has already rolled initiative), remove an icon from combat to allow it a new initiative roll (this is NOT the same as setting the icon's Combat Status to Out), or alter or remove Round Timers.

    The Combat Form also stores campaign notes that you might want to track for the campaign (that a PC has a disease, that some PC has gained some notoriety, etc.). This might not be the best place to put campaign notes, but currently, this is the only way to store them.

    Note that when you move the mouse off from the combat form, it will usually disappear on its own, although you can close it by clicking the Close button in the lower corner.

    Final thoughts

    As a final note, be aware that the combat tracker in TTopRPG is only there as a helpful guide. It isn't meant to entirely enforce what happens. Ultimately, whose turn it is and what happens and when falls squarely on the judgment of the GM.

    An icon isn't required to have the readied or delaying indicator on it to gain the benefit of those conditions (Trigger Readied and End Delay will still work on the icon), nor does an icon need the current turn indicator to take a turn in combat. Round timers also don't absolutely dictate the sequence of events.

    If the combat tracker in TTopRPG is more of a burden than a benefit, you can most certainly use your own way of tracking combat.