Everybody knows this rule:

"In addition to the standard Basic Actions available to all characters (assuming they meet the individual action's requirements), creatures and NPCs have access to some specific, thematic actions. These are represented in each spread in a similar manner to standard action cards. The information, icons, and terms used are identical to those used to describe Action Cards, as shown on page 49 of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Rulebook. One special distinction is how these special actions recharge. When a creature or NPC action is recharging, no other creatures can use that action – it is unavailable until the action has fully recharged. Further, recharge tokens are not removed after an individual creature's activation. Rather, one recharge token is removed from every re-charging action at the end of each round." (On page 47 of the Tome of Adventure) .

I don't use the rule because to me it has no in game logic at all. I think this rule only exists to support the card based system of 3rd edition. Without this rule, the standard hardcopy approach of cards and recharge tokens of the 3rd ed will become unbearable in large encounters. Without this rule, in one of such encounter, the GM will need to keep track of several recharging counters for the same action card and wich tracking counter belongs to wich creature. Imagine an encounter against 8 gors, each one using the action cards individually...no way to handle it without any additional or support material.

What have you done?

Do you use the rule as it is, and don't care about the lack of logic (or realism)?

Have you found an in game logic to the rule and you want to share it?

If you don't use it, what do you do /use to track recharge counters in large encounters?

I'm almost tempted to try ignoring tracking tokens altogether for generic NPCs. The monster cards seem pretty lackluster anyway, so it's not like you are popping out a PC killer action with them.

Named or important NPCs I'd still track individually, whether or not they had the same action card(s) as some other monster/NPC in the fight.

Maybe have some kind of monster action dice pool, and use it like A/C/E, except it costs a die to use an action card, and then just ignore the recharge (unless it's a unique kind of action say like, fire breathing), and let them use actions freely as long as they have action points to spend or something. Yet that is more to track so I'm not so sure.

I ditched recharge and just wing it.

No, it doesn't break the math..because....

* WFRP3's encounter system is not based on math anyways.

* Combats take FOREVER if you don't beef up the monster's attacks and lower their wounds. I thematically use their "special" cards, but that's about it.

We played an encounter from blackfire pass last night: 2 orcs, 3 groups of henchmen, 2 baby squig. I was a player. It took longer than it should have and I could see one of my fellow players squirming in his chair with "let's get this moving" kind of looks at the table.

I'm of the opinion that they could do away with recharge entirely and just make the cards either weaker or "once per encounter" instead and that's what I do when I GM (currently I'm a player).

jh

If it has a RECHARGE of 2+, i just use it as a ONCE PER ENCOUNTER approach and forget the recharge, anything else is reusable at will.

I keep the recharge but let them burn aggression on to get rid of it aswell, because a troll vomiting twice worth any amount of lost aggro.