I’ve not seen the thread before, but the idea has some merit. Personally I won’t be buying power cards unless I can get them in an editable electronic format. I much prefer to customize the cards to my character than to have to recalculate the various variables (attack bonus, damage, # uses, etc.) each time I want to use the power.
Granted, that means I’m going to be going through a lot more cards, as I’ll need to replace them every so often for even a single character, but I think the time savings at the table is worth the extra paper and ink.
I actually would like to see WotC release nice glossy decks of preprinted power cards. I’d buy that as long as a single deck included ALL PHB powers for all classes and wasn’t random or anything.
Here’s the first attempt. I used the XCF file for this one. The Magic Set Editor files have all been updated in that thread that I might end up using that one instead.
One one hand, I like the idea of cards to keep track of powers (especially from a DM POV, as I have often forgotten a special attack or such when running a BBEG or Monster).
Other hand, I can see the $$$ in the eyes already. If they do release the ‘nice cards’, as Kyle suggested (and I am inclined to think they’d give it a shot at least), I see it as a Random thing. Which would suck.
I doubt it will be random, but I can see “The Fighter Deck”, “The Warlord Deck”, etc. How many powers are possible for each class? Will there have to be Heroic Decks and Paragon Decks and Whatever-they-call-the-21-30-level-characters Decks? They will probably either come in decks of about 60 cards or “boosters” that cover special paths or something.
Of course I won’t be buying them, I’ll stick to playing Role-Playing Games.
I have a couple others to add. I tried both other styles from ENWorld, and they all have their good points, but I like the Quindia Studios version best. If I could drop the transparency from the other version, I think I’d prefer that one. The transparency is there in case you want to add artwork, but I don’t want to do that. I’ll edit this post with the most recent attempts.
I like them being modeled on the D&D Mini’s cards better than the ones I’ve see that were modeled on Magic cards.
One thing I don’t like about the ones you posted on the left is the redundancy of some information. Several items appear on the card twice, creating useless clutter, in my opinion. The ones on the right avoid that (for the most part), but do it by making simply transposing the stat block from the PHB to the card. That format works great for the PHB write-ups, where I’m expecting a whole bunch of powers on the same page, but I think a card (which only has one power to worry about) could utilize something different that would look nicer and be easier to use. Maybe I’ll play around with that at some point.
Oh, and on a side note, I don’t think that individual cards are necessary for at-will powers. Since they are always available, you don’t really need to keep track of them the way you track at-will or encounter powers. Thus I think a single at-will power sheet would be a better use of game table real estate. The only card you might need in relation to an at-will power is a condition card for one that imposes an on-going condition on another character.
I like them being modeled on the D&D Mini’s cards better than the ones I’ve see that were modeled on Magic cards.
I agree.
One thing I don’t like about the ones you posted on the left is the redundancy of some information. Several items appear on the card twice, creating useless clutter, in my opinion.
I see that too and think I’ll try to play with it some myself to avoid that. Particularly things like action and Wis vs. Will, etc. The color of the cards are supposed to indicate At-Will, Encounter, Daily, so that text can go away too. The ones I just posted were done in MSE, which, while fairly simple, isn’t not as easy to modify. I’ll be sticking with GIMP and making a new mockup myself to avoid some of the pitfalls you noted.
The ones on the right avoid that (for the most part), but do it by making simply transposing the stat block from the PHB to the card. That format works great for the PHB write-ups, where I’m expecting a whole bunch of powers on the same page, but I think a card (which only has one power to worry about) could utilize something different that would look nicer and be easier to use.
Again, I agree. I think some combination between the left and the right would be ideal. The left one moves things out of the text block, but I like the overall look of the right one.
Oh, and on a side note, I don’t think that individual cards are necessary for at-will powers. Since they are always available, you don’t really need to keep track of them
I would just put these on the character sheet. I’ve seen a couple sample sheets, but none that I like. I’m working on my own right now and I think At-Will powers will get blocks on the front page of the character sheet.
The only card you might need in relation to an at-will power is a condition card for one that imposes an on-going condition on another character.
A condition card is a whole other can of worms. I’ll be looking at that myself.
I would just put these on the character sheet. I’ve seen a couple sample sheets, but none that I like. I’m working on my own right now and I think At-Will powers will get blocks on the front page of the character sheet.
I totally agree with that placement idea. Personally I haven’t really started looking at character sheets, but when I do, I’ll be looking for something with a place for at-will powers that is nice and prominent.
Hmmm… I have some further suggestions for you to consider:
1) replace that gear thing with the attack type icon. This will make it bigger and easier spot at a glance.
2) You’ve got 5 boxes on the left, I’d try to come up with some kind of standard for what goes in each box. Perhaps Action, Attack, Targeted Defense, Range, and Weapon/Implement/other required instrument. For those powers that don’t require a certain entry (like melee attacks not needing a range entry) the appropriate box should just be left empty.
I would just put these on the character sheet. I’ve seen a couple sample sheets, but none that I like. I’m working on my own right now and I think At-Will powers will get blocks on the front page of the character sheet.
I totally agree with that placement idea. Personally I haven’t really started looking at character sheets, but when I do, I’ll be looking for something with a place for at-will powers that is nice and prominent.
Hmmm… I have some further suggestions for you to consider:
1) replace that gear thing with the attack type icon. This will make it bigger and easier spot at a glance.
2) You’ve got 5 boxes on the left, I’d try to come up with some kind of standard for what goes in each box. Perhaps Action, Attack, Targeted Defense, Range, and Weapon/Implement/other required instrument. For those powers that don’t require a certain entry (like melee attacks not needing a range entry) the appropriate box should just be left empty.
To be clear, the template you’re talking about was the creation of Trolls on ENWorld. The other one was by Quindia. I’m currently making my own in GIMP.
Really? I thought you had already converted their MSE templates into something that you were using (and modifying) in GIMP.
Anyway, maybe I’ll play around with my own design ideas this weekend. I’m not sure what program I’ll use to make the cards though. I’m tempted to use CC3 because I can turn the elements that need to be swapped around into symbols (making placement easy and accurate) but CC3 isn’t exactly a universal standard.
Though I could export the various elements to pngs with transparencies. They could then be assembled using GIMP… Hmmm… Well, I’ve got to stop thinking about this for now. I’ve got to get some real work done today.
Really? I thought you had already converted their MSE templates into something that you were using (and modifying) in GIMP.
I have, but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t thought that I was the original author. The templates were still made by those guys and I just moved them into GIMP. I’m authoring my own now.
Though I could export the various elements to pngs with transparencies. They could then be assembled using GIMP… Hmmm… Well, I’ve got to stop thinking about this for now. I’ve got to get some real work done today.
That’s what I’m doing, but within GIMP. (And already done my real work.)
EDIT - Here’s my original work. I used some of the template stuff (the icons), and kept the same color scheme as the previous cards, but I worked it in my own style. I still have 2 blocks to add stuff to. One of those blocks will be for damage type (radiant, acid, etc) and I’m working on creating icons for them. The other block is open for suggestions (well, the whole thing is open for suggestions).
The icons listed here are, from top to bottom, Ranged, Standard, and Divine. I was considering icons for AC, Dex, etc, but I’m thought that would then become too many icons.
