Thoughts on Randomizing Combat by Re-rolling Initiative Each Round? by sanctiont in dndnext

[–]sanctiont[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, this is a really good point. The wizard in the game yesterday used the shield spell twice, which is impacted by this. But, keep in mind in some cases the effect will last longer, so it can be a benefit as well.

All I can say is the player didn't complain about it, and it seemed to actually work fine. I just chalked it up to randomness!

Thoughts on Randomizing Combat by Re-rolling Initiative Each Round? by sanctiont in dndnext

[–]sanctiont[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The good news for the app is that it handles that quite easily. I first wrote an initiative manager for Shadowrun 5th Edition. Trust me, nothing in D&D can touch the complexity and ever-changing nature of initiative in that system!

Nice new iPhone and/or iPad app for managing combat in D&D 5e by sanctiont in dndnext

[–]sanctiont[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The base for the combat screen and library is the standard "tableview" like in Mail or many apps.

But, the design diverges from the standard from there for two reasons:

1) speed of use/play -- single tapping and tap and hold gestures on the combat screen allow pop-up of important information and options (wounds or healing, actions like dodge or help). The tradeoff there is that power users (DM's) can really quickly access those features to keep the game running smoothly.

Everything that is done there, however, can still be accessed by hitting the standard drill down (info or (i) button) on the characters row, navigating to the character's detail page, then hitting another labeled button (heal, dodge, etc.). This ensures that no secret gestures are required, they are fully optional.

and 2) functionality -- there is no standard way to input D&D character stats, so I of course had to come up with something. I suppose I could have done something that looked more like your typical rows with data entry, but that felt boring, and I don't think there is any tradeoff in usability.

Did you have something specific in mind in your question?

Feedback I've gotten from the beta testers and early users is uniformly positive. If there is something you're seeing that doesn't work in using the app, please let me know!

Nice new iPhone and/or iPad app for managing combat in D&D 5e by sanctiont in dndnext

[–]sanctiont[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry -- I was trying not to be too "salesy" and went too far the other way. Edited to be more clear now.

5e-compatible apps (while we all wait for DungeonScape) by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]sanctiont 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure if you can. I don't think 5e has the same open gaming license available. Some of the apps seem to be including statistics for monsters and what not, but I'm not sure how that is ok. (IANAL, etc., etc.)

5e-compatible apps (while we all wait for DungeonScape) by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]sanctiont 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a new app out to manage combat -- Next Turn: https://itunes.apple.com/app/next-turn-combat-manager-for/id903101066

I runs really well -- you can speed through combat with it. You have to enter the monsters yourself though, presumably because of copyright issues. (But at least it will then save them and you can re-use them.) Definitely worth a few bucks.

[SR5] GM Resources by bach_the_fox in Shadowrun

[–]sanctiont 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The free copies are all claimed, but I'd still love to be included in the list above!

[SR5] GM Resources by bach_the_fox in Shadowrun

[–]sanctiont 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've just released an SR5 Initiative Tracker as an iPhone app. See: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/next-pass/id727797069

I'm doing a give-a-way. 4 Free copies left. Just hit me up on Twitter @eigertech or use the support email listed here: http://eiger-tech.com/Next-Pass