4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

I should be able to do something like that relatively easily.

My only concern is that the mechanics of the power are getting lost in the text.

Ideas:
Range: As on the power cards, this indicates the range of the power associated with the item.  Obviously, we’ll need a null option for items without a power.
Action: As on the power cards, this indicates the type of action the power associated with the item takes to use.
Power Frequency: Change the color of the top border to represent this.  The bottom border and the boxes down the side stay the item gold (providing a strong visual cue that this is an item).  Healing surge power items would use the recharge color while items without powers would use the standard gold.
Item Slot/Type: Put this where the Source icon goes on the power cards.  Use icons.
Enhancement Bonus: Put this where Attack goes on the power cards.
Critical: Put this were Defense goes on the power cards.
Properties: These go in the main rules text field, which is in the same spot as on the power cards.
Flavor Text: Same field and spot as on the power cards.
Item Value: Put this in the upper right hand corner where class/race is on the power cards
Item Level: Put this in the upper right hand corner where type and level are on the power cards.
Power mechanics: Those not mentioned above go in the main rules text below the item’s properties.

As for the items with two powers, I think we’re better off ignoring them for now.  Their at-will power is just as easily expressed as a property (when you attack with this weapon you may decide to deal fire/cold/lightning damage instead of regular damage) and we can thus focus on their other power as the important one.

Also, I see what you were saying in the other thread about the orange in the circle looking bad.

Cameron - 15 July 2008 07:01 AM

I was thinking about something like below.

Good call on the idea of art on the back.

For what it is worth, I still like the idea of a very different look to the card. It would be nice to really set them apart from the other card types.

I like labeling the at-will/daily powers. We have no idea what might come in the future, and I expect higher level items to have various powers. Tagging them with a color makes it stand out. Just a simple gem-style icon could do it. (I’m thinking of the 3.5 books and the fake gems, which would be very much in line with a gold-metal background and the idea of this being valuable treasure).

I’m ambivalent on whether it is useful to really iconize the rest of the item information. I see the benefit, but most items aren’t so easily translated into icons. What might be useful is some separation in terms of all-the time qualities (a plus to defense) and those that can be used in certain conditions (the at-will, etc.) or which are situational (a bonus to a skill under certain conditions).

Just for fun, here is the B&W version I am using in my game. It uses the Lord Tirian design with images from the WotC galleries. I like the look a whole bunch, I must say, even though it could be better.

(Anyone in my gaming group - please don’t open this!).

Apologies, I’m using the Word plug-in and it forces this to have an initial blank page.

Teos

Edit: I uploaded the images for another post, figured I would go ahead and link them here as well.

Alphastream - 15 July 2008 11:52 AM

For what it is worth, I still like the idea of a very different look to the card. It would be nice to really set them apart from the other card types.

This is a good point.  It’s more work, but it might be worth it.

I’m cool with this.  Portrait layout, I assume?

Need some starting points and then I can get to work on the base design.

Ideas that are occurring to me here:

Take the circle out of the title bar and place it in the center of the footer bar (maybe overlapping into the parchament area like it currently does).  In this circle we’ll put some kind of pictoral representation of the item’s slot (maybe with a gem like look?).

Remove the boxes down the side and instead place two near the top below the title bar (separated).  One will be used for enhancement, the other for critical.  These boxes should float (i.e. not be part of the card background) so that they can be made to disappear for items which aren’t weapons, implements, or armor (and thus wouldn’t need these stats).

I’m sure that’s not the only possibility, but it’s what just occurred to me.

Good ideas.  I’ll try to mock something up tonight.

Okay - here’s a first quick swag at it.

A couple cards - redesigned a little because the texture made the last ones look like orange peels.

Lower “Dungeons & Dragons” and the gem so that the footer doesn’t require quite so much room.

The mounting prongs on the gem make it remind me of the blazon that fire departments are always using.  Do you think there’s some other way of doing that to avoid that association?

Try adding the leather texture to the colored bar behind “At-Will”, “Daily”, etc.

Property needs a color other than black, green, or red to set it off from the powers.

I thought we were going to put images on the back of the card?  I like the look here, I’m just concerned about the narrowness of the text columns on either side and the cramped look that gives to the text of the power.

While I agree that the leather texture on the gold does look kind of like orange peels, I don’t particularly care for the replacement texture.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any real helpful suggestions here though.

Black Plauge - 17 July 2008 07:01 AM

Lower “Dungeons & Dragons” and the gem so that the footer doesn’t require quite so much room.

That’s easy.

The mounting prongs on the gem make it remind me of the blazon that fire departments are always using.  Do you think there’s some other way of doing that to avoid that association?

Sadly I saw the same thing when I looked at it this morning before I saw your post.  I will definitely need to change that. Yuck.

Try adding the leather texture to the colored bar behind “At-Will”, “Daily”, etc.  Property needs a color other than black, green, or red to set it off from the powers.

Easy enough.

I thought we were going to put images on the back of the card?  I like the look here, I’m just concerned about the narrowness of the text columns on either side and the cramped look that gives to the text of the power.

I think that’s a better idea, but there was a lot of blank space.

While I agree that the leather texture on the gold does look kind of like orange peels, I don’t particularly care for the replacement texture.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any real helpful suggestions here though.

What don’t you like?  The fading (206,124,0) orange to white.  I didn’t apply any texture other than that.  It looks like there’s a lot of artifacting from the JPEG compression

I think that’s a better idea, but there was a lot of blank space.

There’s a lot of blank space on some of our power cards too.  So long as we take that into consideration in the design, the blank space can serve to help the card look uncluttered.

Two suggestions for dealing with blank space near the top:
1) move the two blocks in away from the edges.
2) place the flavor text in between the two blocks

This is probably a case of only one or the other being appropriate, but it would help fill space at the top of the card.  Space in the middle can be handled by the positioning of the properties and powers.

The fading (206,124,0) orange to white.

Yes, that.  The artifacting from JPEG compression doesn’t really enter into why I don’t like it.

What effect are you going for there?  Just the fade to add something to the color bars/boxes or something specific?  I found the an image on google that I was able to modify real quick to the attached.  Is that kind of what you were going for (though obviously in the right color)

What effect are you going for there?  Just the fade to add something to the color bars/boxes or something specific?  I found the an image on google that I was able to modify real quick to the attached.  Is that kind of what you were going for (though obviously in the right color)

I just wanted a gold sheen, but that failed.  I did have something pretty good, but then GIMP crashed, so I moved on.  I’ll show you what it was after I eat lunch.

Okay - I stole the symbols from Grandpa at ENWorld and recreated the gem look.  Here’s a few samples.

Can you add a sheen to the gem setting?  The dull gray looks too much like a shadow which makes me interpret the prongs as cuts in the gem at first glance.

Other than that they look good.

Black Plauge - 17 July 2008 09:11 AM

Can you add a sheen to the gem setting?  The dull gray looks too much like a shadow which makes me interpret the prongs as cuts in the gem at first glance.

Other than that they look good.

Thanks. Is this better?