Virtual Combat Cards (VCC) was created to replace my real combat cards. These were blank business cards that I used to register HP and other information to run my D&D 4th Edition battles. This is a method recommended in the Dungeon Master guide. I also use numbered chips made of Cold Porcelain. This option is much cheaper than miniatures (though not as pretty), and the number allow for quick reference of each combatant. These two aspects are key to the current VCC design.

You can see my old setup in the picture below.

Numbered tokens and combat cards

While effective the cards have some short comings:

• You have to write and erase conditions;
• You have to do all the math, which takes a lot of time: "let's see how much is 173 minus 27...";
• You sometimes skip a card, or remove the wrong one;
• Tracking effects that last until the next turn can be hard;

All in all, this quote from a friend has made it clear that a computerized version was needed: "I like playing RPG, but computer should take care of all book keeping." As time to play becomes scarcer, having something to help run the game really helps.

VCC is not the first attempt to do something like this. However keeping the design simple and loosely following Agile Development made it a reality. The design is simple, yet effective. And with experience and more time new features can be included. Help will sure be welcome.