Battle Board - Initiative Tracker & Combat Manager

Battle Board is a powerful initiative tracker and combat management system for Owlbear Rodeo. It transforms your tokens into a comprehensive combat interface with automatic range overlays, real-time distance calculations, health tracking, and advanced group management—all seamlessly integrated with your scene.

Key Features

Smart Initiative System with decimal tie-breaking
Automatic Range Overlays for movement and attack ranges
Real-time Distance Calculations between all tokens
Advanced Group Management with staging capabilities
Comprehensive Health Tracking with customizable player visibility
Role-based Interface (separate GM and Player views)
Math Input Support for quick HP adjustments

Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

Add tokens to your scene on the CHARACTER or MOUNT layer
Right-click any token → select "Add to Battle Board"
Open the Battle Board sidebar from your extensions
Click "Start" to begin initiative and start tracking turns

That's it! You now have a fully functional initiative tracker with automatic range overlays and distance calculations.

First Combat Setup

Use "Add All in Scene" to quickly add multiple tokens
Players and GM roll initiative normally - edit values by clicking on them
Expand any row (click the chevron or name) to access advanced controls
Hit "Start" when ready to begin combat

Core Features

Initiative Management

Adding Tokens

Context Menu Method:

Right-click any CHARACTER or MOUNT token
Select "Add to Battle Board" (for tokens not yet added)
Select "Remove from Battle Board" (for tokens already added)

Bulk Add Methods:

"Add All in Scene" - Adds every CHARACTER/MOUNT token
"Add Visible Only" - Adds only tokens currently visible to players

Smart Initiative System

After players and GMs roll initiative, Battle Board uses a sophisticated ordering system:

Whole numbers first - Higher integers go before lower ones
Decimals break ties - Lower decimals act first within the same integer
Alphabetical fallback - Name-based sorting for exact ties

Example order: 15 → 14 → 13.1 → 13.5 → 13.9 → 12

Using Decimals to Break Ties: When multiple creatures roll the same initiative, use decimals to establish order:

Multiple creatures rolled 13: Assign 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 based on tie-breaker rules
Need to insert someone mid-combat? Use 13.5 to place between existing 13.2 and 14
Boss with minions all on 15: Boss = 15, Minions = 15.1, 15.2, 15.3

Turn Management

Start/End Combat - Activates the initiative system and begins tracking
Next/Previous Turn - Cycles through initiative order
Round Counter - Automatically increments when reaching the end of initiative
Active Highlighting - Current turn is clearly marked with visual indicators

Token Stats & Health Management

Editable Stats

Every token row provides quick access to combat-relevant statistics:

Initiative - Click to edit, supports decimals for tie-breaking
Armor Class (AC) - Inline editing
Hit Points - Separate Current/Max HP with temp HP tracking
Name - Automatically syncs with token labels

Math Input System

HP fields support mathematical expressions for quick combat adjustments:

Damage: Type -8 to subtract 8 HP
Healing: Type +5 to add 5 HP
Complex: Type 25-3+2-1 for multi-step calculations
Absolute: Type 15 to set HP to exactly 15

Health Status Display

Battle Board automatically calculates and displays health status:

Healthy - Above 50% HP (green)
Bloodied - Below 50% HP (yellow)
Dying - 0 HP Player Characters (red)
Dead - 0 HP NPCs (red)

Health visibility to players is fully configurable in settings.

Range Overlay System

Automatic Range Rings

Battle Board can automatically draw range indicators around tokens:

Movement Rings (Green, Dashed):

Unattached circles showing movement range
Stay in place when tokens move (tactical positioning)

Attack Range Rings (Red, Dashed):

Attached rounded rectangles following token shape
Move with the token for dynamic range visualization

DM Preview Mode

Each token has a radar icon for DM-only ring previews:

Toggle individual token rings on/off
Visible only to the GM
Perfect for planning encounters

Complete Customization

Expand any token row to access full styling controls:

Colors: 16-color palette picker Line Weight: 8 thickness options (2-28px)
Patterns: Solid or dashed lines Opacity: 0-100% transparency control

Distance Calculations

Automatic Distance Panel

When you expand a token row, Battle Board calculates distances to all other tokens:

Edge-to-edge measurement (not center-to-center)
Sorted by proximity (closest first)
"Touch" indicator for adjacent tokens (< 5ft)
Real-time updates as tokens move

Smart Measurements

Distances account for token size (not just position)
Uses Owlbear Rodeo's grid measurement system
Supports all measurement modes (Chebyshev, Euclidean, etc.)
Helpful tooltip: "Measured edge-to-edge; attack range must be greater than distance"

Group Management

Groups serve two primary functions in Battle Board:

1. Minion Management

Group monsters that act on the same initiative to streamline combat:

All group members activate together - One "Next Turn" click activates the entire group
Shared initiative - Edit once, applies to all members
Reduced clicking - Manage 8 goblins as one group instead of 8 individual turns

2. Multi-Encounter Planning

Use groups with staging to pre-plan multiple encounters on a single map:

Stage encounters in advance - Place tokens for later encounters and mark groups as "Staged"
Quick encounter transitions - Activate staged groups when players move to new areas
Reinforcement management - Stage reinforcement groups to activate mid-combat

Creating and Managing Groups

Creating Groups:

Right-click any token row → "Add to Group"
Select existing group or "Create New Group"
All group members share initiative and act together

Group Controls: Groups appear as expandable sections in the initiative list:

Group Initiative - Edit once, applies to all members
Member Management - Add/remove tokens from groups
Collective Actions - All members activate together on their turn

Group Staging System

Active Groups: Participate normally in initiative order Staged Groups: Visible in the list but not participating in initiative

Staging Controls:

Activate Group - Bring staged group into active initiative
Stage Group - Remove group from active initiative (but keep visible in list)
Visibility option - Optionally hide staged group tokens from players
Ungroup - Moves all grouped participants from group to main initiative as individual items

Common Use Cases:

Room-by-room dungeons - Stage groups for each room on a large map
Reinforcements - Stage backup monsters to arrive mid-combat
Encounter phases - Stage different monster sets for multi-phase boss fights
Environmental hazards - Stage trap or hazard groups with delayed activation

Player vs GM Experience

GM Interface

The GM sees the complete Battle Board interface with full control:

Complete Initiative List with all tokens and stats
Full Stat Editing capabilities
Range Ring Controls and DM preview toggles
Group Management tools
Settings Access and customization options
Combat Controls (Start/End, Next/Prev turn)

Player Interface

Players see a streamlined view focused on essential information:

When Combat Started:

Initiative Order with creature names
Health Information (if enabled by GM)
Active Turn Indicator with visual highlighting
Range Rings for active Player Characters (if enabled)

Before Combat Starts:

Simple message: "Initiative has not started yet."

When Disabled:

Clear message: "The DM has disabled the player initiative list."

Permission System

The GM has granular control over what players can see:

Initiative List Visibility - Show/hide entire list
Health Information - None/Status/Numbers per creature type
Range Rings - Enable for Player Characters during their turn
Distance Information - Available in player expanded views

Advanced Features

Comprehensive Settings

Display Settings - GM Columns

Control what information appears in your GM interface:

Armor Class Column - Show/hide AC values
Hit Points Columns - Toggle Current/Max/Temp HP display
DM Ring Toggle - Show/hide the radar icon for ring previews

Display Settings - Player Columns

Configure what players can see:

Health Status Master Toggle:

Enable/disable all health information for players

Per-Faction Health Display:

Player Characters: None / Status / Numbers
NPCs: None / Status / Numbers

Range Ring Display:

Show movement/attack rings for active Player Characters

Info Panel Settings

Distance Calculations - Enable/disable the distance panel in expanded rows

Gameplay Settings

Player Initiative List - Show/hide the entire initiative interface from players
Group Staging Controls Visibility - Whether staging/unstaging groups affects token visibility

Data Storage

Battle Board saves all information directly to your scene and token metadata:

Stats and Health persist across sessions
Initiative Order maintained between browser reloads
Group Memberships stored permanently with your tokens
Ring Preferences remembered per token

Tips & Best Practices

Initiative Management

Roll initiative normally - Battle Board tracks the results, doesn't replace rolling
Use decimals for tie-breaking - .1, .2, .3 are easier to manage than complex decimals
Plan for insertions - Leave gaps like 15 → 13 → 11 for mid-combat additions
Group similar creatures - All goblins can share initiative and act together

Health Tracking

Set Max HP first - Current HP auto-adjusts proportionally
Use math input - -8 is faster than calculating 23-8=15
Track temp HP separately - It automatically layers on top of current HP
Monitor status colors - Green/Yellow/Red provide quick visual health assessment

Range Management

Start with defaults - Green movement, red attack ranges work well
Use DM previews for planning - Toggle rings to visualize encounter positioning
Customize per creature type - Different colors for different monster abilities
Test range interactions - Use distance calculations to verify attack possibilities

Group Strategies

For Minion Management:

Group identical creatures - All goblins, all zombies, etc.
Keep bosses separate - Major creatures deserve individual initiatives
Use shared initiative - Let groups of minions act on the same rolled initiative
Reduce turn complexity - One "Next" click for an entire goblin warband

For Multi-Encounter Planning:

Pre-place all encounters on large dungeon maps
Stage groups by area - "Goblin Barracks", "Throne Room Guards", etc.
Plan reinforcement timing - Stage backup waves for dramatic encounters
Use visibility controls - Hide staged tokens until they're needed

Large Combat Management

Bulk add tokens first, then organize into logical groups
Use player visibility settings to reduce information overload
Leverage distance calculations for quick tactical decisions
Stage complex encounters in phases rather than overwhelming players

Player Experience

Configure health visibility thoughtfully - Status often works better than raw numbers
Enable PC rings for enhanced tactical play
Keep initiative list enabled unless you need complete secrecy
Communicate group actions - Let players know when minion groups are acting together

Support & Development

Battle Board is actively developed and supported. For feature requests, bug reports, or to support development:

GitHub Repository: Battle Board on GitHub
Support Development: Patreon - Missing Link Dev
Community Support: Join discussions in the Owlbear Rodeo Discord

Battle Board transforms your Owlbear Rodeo sessions with initiative tracking and combat management. From quick skirmishes to complex multi-group encounters, Battle Board scales to meet your needs while maintaining the simplicity that makes Owlbear Rodeo great.