What are some effective ways to keep track of my character's various abilities? I would prefer cheap or free tools.
[RPG] How to keep track of abilities for D&D 4e
dnd-4etools
Related Solutions
See my answer to What is a good combat tracker for D&D 4th Edition? for several common techniques.
We use stack-able 1" tokens (I cut them with a laser cutter), hand-cut translucent folders for non-mobile area effects, and pipe-cleaners for smaller, mobile effects like stances.
Another clever thing I've seen is all paper (download them at By Decree of the Czar)
A few other KotS remixes I've found:
http://web.comhem.se/mwester/Shadowfell/Documents/H1-H3_Orcus_Conversion.pdf http://www.wizards.com/DnD/TOC.aspx?x=dnd/4new/dutoc/155
This thread at enworld talks about it. http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/305851-best-version-keep-shadowfell.html
Best Answer
I print out my power cards as shown in character builder (9 per page), and then use a marker (candy, pennies, beads) and just place it on the sheet when it's used. For special powers (like dailies that can be used 2x per day or something) I just put multiple markers on them. Keeps things very simple. At the end of the day, I just eat... er... remove all the markers.