An initiative tracker that lives on the map
FreeCombat is where most VTT sessions slow down. Someone is reading a stat block, someone is scrolling for the initiative order, someone can't remember if the ogre is still poisoned. RollQuest's Battle Mode keeps all of that on the board where the fight is happening.
An online initiative tracker built into the VTT
Press the Battle button and the scene switches to combat. Initiative rolls for every token in the fight, players and enemies, using the initiative bonus on their sheets. The tracker sorts itself and the first turn starts. Nobody types a number.
Each turn, the active token is highlighted on the map. HP and AC come straight from the character sheet, so when the fighter takes 12 damage, you click the token and lower it there. The sheet updates. The player sees it. The GM decides who sees each token's hit point bar and AC.
How it works in RollQuest
Drag the enemies you need onto the map from the Enemies panel. Each one has a stat block, so you can read the attack and the save from the same place you're tracking its HP. Hit Battle. Battle Setup ticks the party for you, and one click on Monsters adds every enemy the players can see. Point at a name and its token lights up on the map, so you know which goblin is which. Roll for initiative, or let it roll. Then go round the table.
Conditions are icons on the token, and so is concentration. Poisoned, prone, grappled, concentrating: pick from the list and it sits on the token until you remove it, visible to everyone who should see it. In a 5e or 5.5e game it changes the rolls it should as well: a Poisoned character's sheet rolls attacks and checks with disadvantage by itself, and a hit on a concentrating character asks for the save. No separate tracker, no sticky notes.
The fireball hits six goblins? Select them all and Apply Damage hits every one at once, each listed by name. And for the moment before the fight, the GM can line up a held action: thunder, a pause, then the fireball, fired one step at a time.
On Pro, spells that last stay on the board until they end. Bless shimmers on everyone it touched, Spirit Guardians makes a ring round the cleric that moves with them, and Web fills its square. RollQuest counts down what's left and clears each one when its spell ends. See lasting spell effects.
When the last enemy drops, end Battle Mode and the scene goes back to exploring. The initiative order clears. The conditions you leave on tokens stay until you take them off.
Is this fight fair?
In a 5e or 5.5e game, Battle Setup weighs the fight before anyone rolls. It adds up what the enemies are worth from their challenge ratings, compares that with what the party can take on at its levels, and says which way the fight leans, such as Favours the party. When it isn't balanced, it makes one offer: leave the ogre out, or add two more goblins beside the ones on the board. The Encounter Planner does the same before the session, with creatures from the library that aren't on the map yet, and places them when you're ready. Only the GM sees either, and it's a guide, not a rule. See how encounter balance works.
Battle music
If your scene has battle music set, it starts when Battle Mode starts and stops when it ends. The players hear the fight begin. It's a small thing that gets a big reaction. Battle music is part of audio and available on every plan; playlists that swap between tracks are on Starter and Pro.
Works with
Character sheets feed HP, AC, initiative bonus and attack rolls into the tracker.
3D dice roll initiative and attacks on the board, in front of everyone.
Fog of war keeps running in combat, so enemies round the corner stay hidden until someone looks.
Frequently asked questions
Is the combat tracker free?
Yes. Battle Mode, the initiative tracker, conditions and the Enemies panel are all on the Free plan.
Does it roll initiative automatically?
It can. Press Battle and initiative rolls for everyone using the bonus on their sheet or stat block. You can also roll by hand or type a value in.
Does it tell me if a fight is too hard?
In a 5e or 5.5e game, yes. Battle Setup and the Encounter Planner show Encounter balance, worked out from the enemies' challenge ratings and the party's levels, with one offer to even the fight out. The other systems don't have it.
Can I hide enemy HP from players?
Yes. Everything starts hidden, and for each token the GM chooses who sees its hit point bar and AC: for an enemy, the GM and the players separately.
Does it work with the 2024 rules and other systems?
Yes. Conditions and initiative follow whichever game system the game uses: 5e, 5.5e, Ashfall (a d10 plus Initiative), Brightline (a d20 plus Initiative), Drownwake (a single d6, for tables that want a turn order) or Ninefold (a d10 plus Initiative).
Can I run combat on a TV with players in the room?
Yes. Plenty of groups use RollQuest as a digital battle map for in-person play, with the GM's laptop driving a TV on the table.