Running a fight

Combat · guide 2 of 3

Once a fight is set up, Critsmith keeps track of turns, hit points and conditions, so your eyes stay on the table.

Share it with your players

First, press Share with players. The pill turns green, and the fight appears on your players' Combat pages.

Roll initiative

When your campaign lets players roll their own initiative, each player types in their roll. Until they do, their card says Waiting for roll.

For everyone else, press Auto roll initiative for everyone but the players. Every monster, NPC and freeform combatant gets a roll in one press.

To set one by hand, type it in and press Set. If two tie, the higher tie break goes first.

Tick Surprised before rolling, and that combatant rolls initiative with Disadvantage.

Take turns

When the order's ready, press Start combat. Round one begins, and the first card lights up in amber.

When they've acted, press Next turn. Monsters and NPCs at zero hit points are skipped, and the round counts up for you.

Damage and healing

To deal damage, type the amount and press Damage. Temporary hit points go first, and the bar and numbers update straight away. Press Heal to give hit points back, up to their maximum.

At half health or below, a creature is marked Bloodied. At zero, its card folds away and says Dead, one press from opening again.

Player characters' hit points come from their own sheets. If one drops to zero, their card shows their death saves.

Conditions

To add a condition, open edit initiative / HP / conditions, pick one or type your own, and press Add. Each tag has its own cross to take it off.

Add Exhaustion again to raise its level, and the cross brings it down one level at a time.

Change sides

An NPC or freeform combatant can change sides mid-fight. Press Hostile to make them Friendly, and your players see their real hit points.

End the fight

When the battle's won, press End combat. Critsmith writes the fight into your session log, saving you a job.

If your campaign levels by XP, the fight's rewards appear: the XP from every hostile monster, split between the party. Press Give to hand it out.

Ended too soon? Press Reopen combat, and the fight carries on.

Once it's over, press Stop sharing to take the fight off your players' screens.

Critsmith does the bookkeeping, so you can do the storytelling.