The best initiative tracker is the one that matches how your group actually plays. Use cards or a whiteboard when everyone is at one table, a spreadsheet when you want a flexible shared display, or the tracker already inside your virtual tabletop when the map and tokens are already there. For a D&D 5e group that wants a browser-based encounter tool without changing platforms, Improved Initiative is a strong starting point.
Do not choose by feature count alone. Before a session, decide whether you need to show the order to players, track hit points or conditions, prepare encounters in advance, or simply keep turns moving. A simple list is often the best initiative tracker for a small in-person game; more automation only helps when it removes work your table is really doing.
Quick picks: choose by table setup
- Screen-free in-person game: Use index cards, tent cards, or a whiteboard. Everyone can see who is next, and there is no account, battery, or connection to manage.
- Shared display with custom rules: Use a spreadsheet. It can sort names, show round markers, and hold the fields your system actually uses.
- D&D 5e encounters in a browser: Try Improved Initiative, a focused 5e combat tracker and encounter builder.
- Several systems and an offline-capable browser tool: Try HeroMuster Encounters, which offers local storage with optional sync.
- D&D Beyond maps and owned digital content: Use D&D Beyond Maps; its combat encounters can populate from map tokens and track initiative, rounds, and turns.
- A game already running on Roll20: Use the Roll20 Turn Tracker so you do not copy the same encounter into a second tool.
- A game already running on Foundry: Use the Foundry Combat Tracker, which works with the scene and tokens you already use.
1. Cards, tent cards, and whiteboards
Physical trackers are the right answer when the table needs visibility more than automation. Write each combatant on an index card, place the cards in order where players can see them, and add a small marker for the active turn. Tent cards over the GM screen work especially well when you want the current order visible without handing around a phone.
Use a whiteboard when the order changes often or you need a running note for conditions. Keep the columns deliberately small: name, initiative, a short condition mark, and a turn marker. Do not turn the board into a second character sheet. If hit points, durations, and monster abilities demand more than a glance, move those notes behind the screen or into a digital encounter record.
2. A spreadsheet for hybrid and custom systems
A spreadsheet is the most adaptable option for groups that play in person with one shared screen, play over a video call, or use a system with unusual turn rules. Add a row for each combatant and sort by the value your game uses. A basic sheet can include initiative, a round number, short condition notes, and a visible marker for the current turn.
Its real advantage is that you decide what matters. A game with rerolled initiative can keep a fresh column each round; a game with clocks can place the clock beside the order; a game with simultaneous phases can group rows instead of pretending every system works like D&D. Duplicate a blank encounter tab before each session so old notes stay recoverable.
3. Improved Initiative for browser-based D&D 5e combat
Improved Initiative is a focused D&D 5e combat tracker and encounter builder. Choose it when you want to prepare an encounter, track turns in a browser, and keep the tool separate from a virtual tabletop. It is a good fit for a GM using a laptop at an in-person table or sharing an encounter view remotely.
It is intentionally a D&D-specific choice. That focus is useful if 5e is your game, but it is not a reason to force another system through a 5e-shaped tool. Test one ordinary encounter before game night and decide what players will see, what stays private, and who advances the turn.
4. HeroMuster Encounters for system-flexible prep
HeroMuster Encounters is a browser-based encounter builder and tracker designed for multiple game systems. Its current app describes local browser storage, offline-capable use, and optional account-based sync. That makes it worth testing when you want a dedicated tracker without committing your whole table to one VTT.
Use its campaign and encounter structure only if it saves prep. For a small, improvised fight, a short list will be faster. For a recurring campaign with reusable NPCs and several encounters in one session, a purpose-built encounter tool can reduce duplicate entry.
5. D&D Beyond Maps when your 5e game already lives there
D&D Beyond Maps can create a combat encounter from tokens on a map, record initiative, and advance rounds and turns. It is the most natural option for a 5e group that already keeps maps, characters, and purchased content in D&D Beyond. Its player-facing order also lets the GM hide tokens that should remain unseen.
Maps is still labeled beta, so run a short test with the exact browser, map, and account setup you will use at the table. If you mostly play theatre-of-the-mind combat, do not add a map workflow merely to solve initiative; cards, a spreadsheet, or a lighter browser tracker may be more direct.
6. Roll20 and Foundry: use the tracker inside your VTT
If your encounter already has tokens in Roll20, use its Turn Tracker rather than copying names and hit points elsewhere. The practical win is a single source of truth during play: the map, tokens, and order stay together.
Foundry's Combat Tracker is the stronger choice when your game is already hosted in Foundry. It can add token combatants, roll initiative according to the active system, manage turns and rounds, and control whether a combatant is visible to players. Foundry modules can extend that workflow, but start with the core tracker before adding automation that the table must learn.
Set up a tracker in three minutes
- Write down the player characters before the session starts.
- Choose one visible signal for the active turn: a card, highlight, arrow, or VTT indicator.
- Decide whether players see enemy names, conditions, and hit-point information.
- Use short labels for conditions and put timing details in a separate note when needed.
- At the end of each round, say the round number aloud and clear only the effects that actually expire.
This setup works for fixed initiative, rerolled initiative, and systems that use phases instead of a single descending list. The important part is making the order legible before the first player has to ask who is up next.
Choose the method before you choose the tool
An initiative tracker cannot fix an initiative method that does not fit the game. Some systems want a fixed order for the whole encounter; others reroll each round, use side initiative, or let the group decide who acts next. Read Fixed vs. Dynamic Initiative Systems before assuming a D&D-style descending list is the default.
Likewise, a tracker becomes more useful when it reflects the pace of actual play rather than becoming another screen to manage. For practical choices about player-facing displays, timing, and real-time table flow, continue with Initiative Trackers for Real-Time Play.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best initiative tracker for TTRPGs?
For most in-person tables, cards or a whiteboard are the best first choice because everyone can read the order immediately. For browser-based D&D 5e combat, start with Improved Initiative. If your group already uses Roll20 or Foundry, use the built-in tracker so the encounter is not split across tools.
Do I need a digital initiative tracker?
No. Use digital tracking when it removes real work, such as recurring encounters, hidden GM information, shared remote displays, or many conditions. Use cards or a simple list when the extra setup would be slower than the encounter.
What should an initiative tracker show players?
Usually the current turn and who is next are enough. Show more only when it improves play. A clear order helps players prepare; hidden enemies, secret conditions, and GM-only notes should remain private when the game calls for them.
