Just take this and print it on card stock (I used 110 lb). It ends up looking like a triangular prism and it does the initiative "-15" math for you.

It looks like this when you're done.

From concept to completed prototype in about an hour. So you'se guys should knock it out in a few seconds.

Display Name wrote on Mar 18^th, 2015 at 10:38pm:

LOL!! I had not noticed the similarities until you pointed that out!   

I thought it looked like a Toblerone.

Dang it GUYS...

Now I want a cup of Darjeeling and an Almond Toblerone... And I'm fresh outta both! 

That would require some TINY text... and I would have to eat a Toblerone in order to find out...

wait...

After messing with mine for a couple of days, I would recommend leaving the margins on the inner piece. Mine hangs up when I try to look at the top or bottom of the scale. The edge of the inner piece hangs up on the edge of the window.

With a little work, It could also be a dice and pencil carrier.

When you reply to this message look under the box where you are typing. There is a row of "Smileys". Under that row of "Smileys" is a button marked "Choose File". Click that and select your spreadsheet.

Also - Thanks, Dude. I do loves me a spreadsheet

Yup, XLSX is a no go, you have to save it as a XLS for it to load (I think)...

<edit>
Finally looked at it (kinda busy day so far). Looks really nice! Simple, clean, and (best of all) it WORKS!
Thanks for posting that.
</edit>

I have always thought the V&V logo (and the FGU logo to a lesser extent) look pretty cool so it's neat they're on the "initiative  Toblerone."

And I found this handy little file - also an Xls so I had to zip it to put it in here.

Basically, it does (most) of the combat calculations for you...

It's sort of a beta thing-so lemme know if there are issues.

Phrennzy wrote on Mar 21^st, 2015 at 2:22pm:



Phrennzy,

Since you use your laptop, Chrome-casting seems a good idea for visuals.  I am not any kind of an artist, so I rely on what I can find on the 'Net. It is easier to put up a picture of the villain,  thing they are working, etc. It beats passing a paper around.

I am also working on creating sound bites for different situations.  A theme for each recurring villain, a call to combat, background music for different situations and the like. Anything to enhance the experience.  Hell, movies use music to that effect, why not us?

Is anyone else here using sound as an aid in running the game? If so, I'd love to know what you use it for and share any files with you.

As for the maps, I have not yet put that into practice.  I am not sure how easy it will be to move the character markers around but I do like the idea of only revealing what the characters can see on a map and what they have seen. It keeps them guessing as they would in a real situation and not formulate strategies based on what they could not, at that time, know.

As I work things out, I will keep them posted.

Ironnerd wrote on Mar 22^nd, 2015 at 11:31am:



Very interesting, thanks for the tip.  I was thinking of using Photoshop and using layers to reveal sections as appropriate. I never thought of using PowerPoint. I'll have to tinker and see how that works.

For game sessions, I have been using foam presentation board I coated with a paint for dry-erase markers. I drew the 1" grid on the board and applied the paint.  It goes on clear and is pretty good for dry erase. he board itself is 36" x 48", so there is plenty of room and you can often use 1" squares even for exterior maps.

One of the nice things about it is I can use different colors to signify different items on the map. Also, it cleans up with Windex, so moving on is a snap.  The only issue is the board is a tri-fold and the paint does not stay in the creases, so eventually, you need a new one because the marker residue forms a line at each crease.

AK, any chance you could load this on the FGU "Freebie" download page?

Just out of curiosity...
Has anyone actually built one of these? (other than me).

So I finally worked out how to make the Initiative calculator I posted earlier sort. The file is zipped and attached to this post.

You will need to enable macros when you open the file, if you do not have the option already permanently set.
The file is safe.  The Hero Code will not allow me to present a harmful file as safe.

To use this version, type in the character names in the Identity column and their corresponding agility in the next. In the next column, you type in the roll for initiative for each round.

Click the "Sort Initiative" button below the grid and the macro will run. It will sort all the character names by the phases where each can use an action.  Read the order of actions from top to bottom in columns M & N.

It also takes in to account the RAW and puts characters with the higher agility score before characters with a lower agility score when each have an action in the same phase.  For example, in the file as attached Charlie and Juliet both have actions in phases 29 and 14 but Juliet will go first because her agility score is higher than Charlie's.

Over the actions is a cumulative power cost for using that action.  In other words, if you have and take three actions in a turn, PR = 4 for all three actions as the first costs no power as an action and each subsequent action has a PR of 2. If you lose or skip one of those actions and only burn 2, your PR = 2 because you took only 1 extra action.

When the turn is over, click on the "Clear Initiative" button below the grid and the initiative rolls and current action sort will clear and you are ready to go again.

This version will handle as many characters as you need, simply by adding names, agility scores and initiative rolls in the appropriate columns.  It will handle characters with agility scores up to 109.

Hope you like it and find it useful.

Well... the "Toberlone" is pretty low tech. I have a new player I GM for, and he uses the toblerone without any issues.
I think I'll have to print and build a few more for the group - and me.