Dungeon Master Assistance

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Wasted Wizard, who sent me their product free in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own. If you make a purchase using my Amazon affiliate links, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

When playing D&D around the table, I typically play with miniature figures on a 1” square grid. In 2019 I bought a set of 64 “condition rings” to make it easier to track which character and monster currently has which condition.  They are 1 1/2” dia. clear plastic rings, about 1/16” thick with a 1” hole in the center.  Printed in different colors around the ring are the names of each of the 15 D&D conditions plus “concentrating” (4 rings of each condition). For most miniatures I can place the ring around its base, and for larger ones I can hang them on the mini.
   The problem is that my eyesight isn’t all that good and it has become harder for me to read the name of the condition printed on the ring, so last year I spent some time on Amazon seeing if there were any that would work better at my table. After looking at all the different options, I found “WASTED WIZARD Stackable DND Condition Rings.” For several reasons that I will describe later I decided that I would get me a set of these. But, because I wasn’t currently playing a game at my table, instead of ordering it I added it to my Amazon shopping list.
   Then, a couple of weeks ago, the Wasted Wizard contacted me and asked if I was open to doing a review of their stackable condition rings on my blog. In return they would send me a set free of charge. I agreed and was pleased to receive their produce a couple of days ago. The following is my review.

WASTED WIZARD Stackable DND Condition Rings

   The main difference in these and the other condition markers for use in your D&D game (or most other RPGs) is that rather than sitting around the base of the miniature, the mini sits in the recession on the top of the ring that is only a little bigger than the base of the mini. Multiple condition rings can stack on top of each other, under the mini. The name of the condition is printed on the side of the ring.

The Box
   The product is well packaged. The box is good looking and well-made of heavy cardboard and the lid fits snugly. I will be able to keep all of the condition rings in the box they came in. The box contains a foam rubber insert with cut-outs for each set of 4 condition rings, each a different color.

The Conditions
   There are 4 identical rings for each condition. Each set of 4 is a different color. There are rings for each of the D&D fifth edition conditions: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Incapacitated, Invisible, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Stunned, and Unconscious. In addition to these standard conditions, it also includes: Aid, Bane, Banished, Blessed, Concentration, Fairy Fire, Hasted, Hexed, Hunter’s Mark, Madness, Polymorphed, Raging, Slowed, and two more for anything else you might be need labeled; Magical Effect, and Physical Effect. For a total of 120 pieces.
   The addition of the magical and other effects is a welcome inclusion.

The Rings – Color and Text
The rings are of hard plastic in dark colors with the conditions printed in white so they show up quite well. The condition is printed in all caps on both front and back with a symbol, unique to each condition on the two spaces between the condition names.
   It won’t take long to remember the most common conditions by the color of the ring.

The Rings – Fit
   I measure the overall diameter if each ring to be 1 1/16”. The top has two precisely made recesses. The bigger one is scaled to accept a standers D&D mini (25mm or 1 inch). The smaller, just below the upper one, is scaled to accept a standard Pathfinder mini (20mm).
   Every mini I tried with a 1” or smaller base set securely in the recess on the top of the ring.
Unlike condition rings that set around the mini, these won’t get in the way when the PCs and/or monsters are standing next to each other.
   The base of each ring is slightly recessed to allow the rings to securely stack. You can stack 10 or more rungs with a mini on top without worry of it easily typing over.
   They don’t work as well for larger minis. You will have to hang them on the larger mini. On some there may be room on the base, between their legs, or a place to sit them on top, like a hat.

The Felt Pads
   At my table I typically use 1/8” clear Plexiglas over a 1” square grid.  I have never felt the need to put felt pads on the bottom of my minis. I have never experienced scratching of the Plexiglas or any battlemat. So I don’t think I will be adding the felt pads to the bottom of the rings. But, for the purpose of this review I added the felt pads to 4 of the rings.
   Following the clear instructions, I did have a little difficulty in getting the pad to line up exactly with the bottom of the ring. I don’t think it would take much practice to improve, but I only felted 4 minis.
I found the rings didn’t stack as securely with the added felt pads. Even with a stack of only 4 rings, the top ring tended to tilt awkwardly, and would shift whenever I moved the stack. Again, this may have been because I hadn’t properly centered the pads.
   This won’t be a problem for me. I never intended to felt them in the first place.

Visibility
   Here is the only real problem I have, and it is because of a situation particular to my specific gaming table. The table is in the center of a rather small room. The only light source is directly above the center of the table. This causes the sides of the condition rings, either singular or stacked, to be in shadow and thus be difficult to read.
This was upsetting at first, before I realized that I always have an ink pin within reach that is also a laser pointer and a small flashlight. Pointing the flashlight at the ring makes the words easy to read.

Conclusion
   Even with the unexpected shadow problem, the fact that they don’t take up any additional table space is a plus.
   Another plus is that when you have multiple condition on a single character, they stack! And when stacked, you can still read them.
   Speaking of stacking, even though I have clear plastic stands to use for flying characters, rather than taking the time to dig them out, I can pull out a stack of 4 rings of a condition that I’m not currently using, and place a mini on the stack to indicate a flying character. I could then use a stack of 8 under a mini to indicate flying at a greater height. The minis are surprisingly stable on a tall stack of rings.
   Unless you feel that you need them, I would recommend just not using the felt pads. The only problem I found with them is when stacking the rings, and frankly 90% of the time I only use a single ring on a character. But it is good that they are provided for you should you prefer to use them.
   I like them. I will be using them on my games played IRL.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Here is a link too the Wasted Wizard website.