Hi all

This is specifically for those players and GMs who don't use maps during their games.

What's the best way your table has found to keep track of range bands? I like to work without a map but, for me, remembering that A is at long range to B and at short range to C, while D is engaged with E, is by far the trickiest thing about it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

I have the same problem.

When you describe the area or room just state the max range. The room is long range end to end, 1/2 in the middle is medium, anything less than half is Short/Engaged. I find most combat ends up being medium or less anyway.

When I'm writing down initiative and making space for tracking wounds on NPCs, I'll usually note what range they are. Otherwise, do what the pirate tells you and describe the maximum range of the engagement area first and then describe where each target is.

My problems mostly stem from the PCs splitting up, and the NPCs being split up as well. They might start out with all the PCs together and the NPCs in one group at short and one at medium. Then one of the players takes cover off to the side, one advances into melee, others stay put and shoot. And then they move some more, new NPCs arrive at long range and the whole thing gives me a headache until I draw a rudimentary map.

I use a layout at times with the same general guidelines and I tell PCs to position themselves. For complex multi target fights minis and tokens are good I think, I just don't get bogged down in some fiddley grids or hexes and dealing with measuring or facings and such. Keeps it simple but adds a visual reference to help with what you are talking about.

Yeah, that's where I've been headed. If I know there will likely be a combat at a certain location I'll sketch up a quick map (no hexes or lines) and just sort of eyeball things from there.

But he fact that the progression from engaged to extreme is not linear is bugging my OCD...

I do very rough sketches in my little black book of scenario ideas, and what the PCs get is even rougher in many cases, then we just set up minis/tokens on the table.

I don't sweat the range thing, it's intentional to have any kind of engagement at extreme, and even long range would probably be limited to hangar bays and the desert sands of Jaku. Everywhere else has just got too much stuff.

I put some of the responsibility on the players. Cooperative story, cooperative responsibilities.

That's good also, when you ask what range they are at and they say "I dunno", you make it long, and they'll get in the habit of remembering.

That's good also, when you ask what range they are at and they say "I dunno", you make it long, and they'll get in the habit of remembering.

Ha, I like that!

I jot it down on a pad of paper behind the screen. I keep everyone's relative ranges on it; how far the PC's are from one another, how far they are away from the enemies, and how far the enemies are from each other. Then, when someone moves, I note it on the paper. I say "paper" but I actually have a wet erase board I keep handy.

Last session, there were two groups (of two) stormtroopers who was lying in wait for the PC's at the entrance of a landing bay. I described the scene, narratively, and at the end, I added, "okay, so you guys are at medium range away from the two groups, and they are medium range away from each other." Then we rolled initiative. Eventually it got all crazy, with a couple strormtroopers ducking for cover in a doorway, and some of the PCs in the next doorway over, while some stormtroopers were across the street while other PCs were behind crates. So PC A and B were short range from one set of stormtroopers, while medium from the other, both with cover, and similar circumstances with PC C and D. So, the PCs would tell me who they wanted to hit (PC A: "I want to fire again at one of the stormtroopers taking cover in the next doorway, at short range." Me: "Okay."), and it went pretty smooth.

It probably sounds more convoulted than it played out, but it did really go rather painlessly!

So as all of my sessions are learning experiences as a new GM, I've come to the conclusion that it works best for me to draw maps rather than explain multiple times what the layout is of the settings. I don't do anything fancy, just simple overhead views in MS Paint so everyone has an idea of where they are at, where they need to go, what doors are locked/unlocked. Tested it last night and it worked out great!

For more open engagements we drop minis on the table, but without a map under them. But I'll provide an image or small map to get the creative minds running. Then we put a number of tokens between each mini equal to the range between them. The tokens are cheap poker chips, but anything stackable will do

When things are close, in a building etc, we just described our positions

Dry Erase board here with a hasty sketch and tokens or just numbers/letters for the combatants. Im thinking of switching to an on screen sketch tool of some kind though (Paint or whatever) as my computer screen (48") is right at my side when GMing

Dry Erase board here with a hasty sketch and tokens or just numbers/letters for the combatants. Im thinking of switching to an on screen sketch tool of some kind though (Paint or whatever) as my computer screen (48") is right at my side when GMing

You'd probably be better with something like PowerPoint. Put the map in a slide and use the annotation tools that are available in PowerPoint while presenting to highlight and move things around. Works better as it is non-destructive, unlike drawing stuff in Paint on an image.

Or more advanced might be Photoshop, Illustrator or GIMP where you can have different images on different layers so you can move players or groups around while leaving the base map image undamaged.

I honestly just wing it. It's not really hard, most combats are between short and medium range anyway.

I use the old original Traveler grid to track range bands. Abstract and easy.

Dry Erase board here with a hasty sketch and tokens or just numbers/letters for the combatants. Im thinking of switching to an on screen sketch tool of some kind though (Paint or whatever) as my computer screen (48") is right at my side when GMing

You'd probably be better with something like PowerPoint. Put the map in a slide and use the annotation tools that are available in PowerPoint while presenting to highlight and move things around. Works better as it is non-destructive, unlike drawing stuff in Paint on an image.

Or more advanced might be Photoshop, Illustrator or GIMP where you can have different images on different layers so you can move players or groups around while leaving the base map image undamaged.

That seems highly impractical to do. Even the sketching on paint seems less practical than grabbing just pen & paper and do a sketch on the actual game table. Though maybe my group is just to old and has bad vision, so that 48" screen would still be to small ;-)

To get back on topic: Pen & Paper works for us since 30 years best. If there are any questions about the location you fight at, grab a piece of paper, draw a few lines, make a few x for the enemies start positions and maybe, just maybe use a few tokes, dice, minis. whatever. Though having the players saying and/or pointing where they want to move makes the ranges usually quite easy to remember.

My problems mostly stem from the PCs splitting up, and the NPCs being split up as well. They might start out with all the PCs together and the NPCs in one group at short and one at medium. Then one of the players takes cover off to the side, one advances into melee, others stay put and shoot. And then they move some more, new NPCs arrive at long range and the whole thing gives me a headache until I draw a rudimentary map.

"Can you construct some sort of rudimentary lathe?" - Not a comment on the need to draw a map or anything, it was just the first thing that popped to mind. I agree, having multiple moving units on the table at the same time is confusing, especially when you have to recalculate range bands to multiple targets. I personally also find that the range band system makes it very difficult for me to visualize the same thing another player or the GM is trying to describe.

That's good also, when you ask what range they are at and they say "I dunno", you make it long, and they'll get in the habit of remembering.

My character Tav and his tricked out Model 38 would be agreeable to that.

I use a ranger tracker - https://www.dropbox.com/s/fioi7mvw4uo8i9j/Range%20Tracker.pdf?dl=0 and glass pebbles for PCs & NPCs.

Im thinking of switching to an on screen sketch tool of some kind though (Paint or whatever) as my computer screen (48") is right at my side when GMing

I've tried using concentric circles in space combat, it works pretty well until the protagonists are not in the same ship. I've tried all manner of digital and physical tools (colored chits, pipe cleaners, diagramming software) and I can't get a good consistent experience....so I usually wing it.

I am a devotee of Ye Olde Drye Erase Boarde and Othere Tooles Whiche Have Unecessaryie Es(e).

Scale shifts as needed; range bands scrawled as necessary.

Every turn: one maneuver, usually a move in range. I have no problems keeping track