4e Fan Creations and House RulesWorking on variant powers? Statting up a PC race or your version of a monster? Creating or converting an adventure? Put it here!
Fun to find this thread! (New member, first-time poster).
I've been working on the same concept, albeit in a different format than MtG-sized cards. Mine are landscape-format, third-of-a-sheet pieces, created in Adobe InDesign -- I hate reading small text, and there's a lot of detail in some powers, particularly the advanced Wizard spells we've seen in the DDXP page previews. The design is not as lavish as some of examples here, since I tend to eschew backgrounds for readability (and ink savings!).
I've used color-coded borders for classes (to make it easier for different players to find their own cards and fish them out of the discard pile after the encounter, for example) with a different border style to distinguish encounter from daily powers (since I figure at-will should go on the character sheet).
I think I've figured out how thumbnails/attachments work, so I've attached some examples.
THIS I like much more. Big and clear - that's what I need. That's how I'm gonna do them. Great job!
Using the magic items listed in the Pre-Release Rules Compilation, here are some of the cards I've created:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WotC_RichBaker
In related news, I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate your 3.5 rulebooks, and force you to convert to the new edition. Where do you live?
mikekannard, what program did you use to make your card? (I'm looking for something that might work on OS X)
Do you still have the template?
Thanks
Well I used Microsoft Expressions Designer, mainly because I have an MSDN subscription, and learning how to use that program helps me design future WPF applications. A similar application that is cross-platform is Adobe Illustrator. I still have the files for the stuff I did, but it wouldn't really help unless you can open it in Expressions Designer.
Enclosed are a few of the cards I've made. I started making cards with photos, using the images that LordThanatos used , but I didn't like how much of the card was used for the image (and I'd have a problem getting images for all the powers). Still, I enclosed one just to show what it was looking like.
The others are samples from the pre-gen wizard class and a couple of monsters from Raiders of Oakhurst - Reloaded . I'm still experimenting with the colors and font sizes in the monster's stat blocks, as seen in the Dragon card, and have yet to give a lot of thought to the fonts I'm using.
Any suggestions or corrections are welcome.
Notes:
I made these to print on photo paper. They are a bit more difficult to read when printed on plain paper.
I have the DPI set to print them 6.5cm x 9cm, about the size of a poker card. They are, however, much larger. I also used jpg compression to reduce the file size for posting here.
Known issues:
The quotes on the bottom are a bit difficult to read. Will make Bold or change font.
I just noted that I have the OA icon in the top right of InfernalWrath. Since it is a personal spell, it does not provide an OA on the caster.
Last edited by Lindorie; 13th April 2008 at 11:07 AM..
Reason: Replaced Kobold Skirmisher with Kobold Minion
Lindorie I like your monster cards, but they somehow feel a little 'busy', I know it's probably not easy to fit all those monster stats on a single card. I would suggest removing the side bar, that info seems distracting. The alignment and xp value could probably fit in the subtitle, or beside it. Or use colors to convey meaning instead of words, put the level bubble in black to convey 'evil alignment', etc. If at all possible I would also remove the abbreviations, maybe use symbols or reduce the font.
Aside from space constraints, I think they are very cool!
Do we really need Power Cards? I mean we really know how many powers you will total above first level? I have seen or heard anything about how many total power you gain beyond 1st level.
We need status cards stat! Bloodied, stunned, etc. It's weird, but D&D is turning into a hybrid mini's card roleplaying game and I'm really, really starting to like it.
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Aside from space constraints, I think they are very cool!
Thanks! It is tight, which is why I used the abbreviations and symbols for things like implement or melee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ianleblanc
I would suggest removing the side bar, that info seems distracting. The alignment and xp value could probably fit in the subtitle, or beside it. Or use colors to convey meaning instead of words, put the level bubble in black to convey 'evil alignment', etc.
Good suggestion on the color-for-alignment, although I wonder if there would be too many alignments to easily represent in colors.
Regarding the side bar: I know that takes up space, so I kept debating taking it out completely. The reason I left it in is to allow me to put the cards in a 3x5 index box. Then the side bar would be at the top, allowing me to sort by level, then monster name or XP. If I needed to create an encounter, I could pull out my box and quickly thumb through to find an appropriate monster. This is all theoretical, of course, since I only have about 6 monsters created for the Raiders of Oakhurst.
My group has already had one combat using the pregen character sheets and monster stat blocks in Second Son. When we do Oakhurst next weekend, the wizard will playtest the power cards I created while I playtest the monster cards. We'll see how useful they are then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ianleblanc
If at all possible I would also remove the abbreviations, maybe use symbols or reduce the font.
Do you really mean "reduce" the font and not "make it bigger"? I had no abbreviations, but the font was smaller than my aging eyesight liked. I pulled up some online DDM card photos and used abbreviations found on those, also adding EONT for "end of [the monsters] next turn". I find that using no abbreviations helps the first couple of times the card is read. After that, abbreviations are fine. So I envision the books to be the monster introductions, and these to be gaming aids.
Note: My comments on the font are when I print it 3.5cm x 9cm, which was my original intent. If I do print it 3x5", I may be able to reduce the font while keeping the text legible.
Last edited by Lindorie; 14th April 2008 at 03:40 AM..
Reason: Added note at end
Do we really need Power Cards? I mean we really know how many powers you will total above first level?
The reason I created the power cards was because during combat, several of the players kept forgetting to use a power or feat they had. There were also a couple of times they tried to reuse an encounter or daily power they already burned, or spent time going through their sheet looking for a single stat for the power (e.g. damage). We will hopefully playtest these cards this weekend.
The reason I created my monster cards is because of playtest reports I read in these forums. Several times, the DM's wrote that they forgot a monster's powers, or forgot to roll for a recharge. Although I haven't used them yet, I hope having the cards laid out in a consistent format with coloring hints, icons, etc will help.
We need status cards stat! Bloodied, stunned, etc. It's weird, but D&D is turning into a hybrid mini's card roleplaying game and I'm really, really starting to like it.
Yah, I'm thinking status cards and continuing-effect cards; having a card to 'attach' to a monster for each ongoing effect would be useful. I may try putting such effects on a half business card (split longways, I think) so they can be placed on the mat (with an arrow at one end to point to the target). That might get messy if a single creature got too many effects--but I'm hoping that's rare in any case.
On the other hand, being able to turn my character sheet into a hand of cards would actually be fairly neat!
Good suggestion on the color-for-alignment, although I wonder if there would be too many alignments to easily represent in colors.
If the alignments are actually Lawful Good, Good, Unaligned, Evil, Chaotic Evil then you only need 3 colors (white, gray, black) and two 'modifiers': say a Blue square on the white alignment for LG, and a Red squiggly circle (or chaos multi-arrow) on the Black alignment for CE.
On the other hand, being able to turn my character sheet into a hand of cards would actually be fairly neat!
It's wonderful. We don't have to do this, but since the game is easy enough to do...it's so nice. I'd love to have a mess of Status cards. Many copies so I can keep status for PCS and NPCs easy to follow.
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It's wonderful. We don't have to do this, but since the game is easy enough to do...it's so nice. I'd love to have a mess of Status cards. Many copies so I can keep status for PCS and NPCs easy to follow.
Color-marked status cards go great with the Alea Tools magnetic markers.
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I was thinking of taking away grids all together. Just use a tapemeasure and Warmachine style minis. Gonna see how that changes the games. Firecubes and all.
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I almost decided to make my own template, but figured the MTG style wasn't really that bad, especially if you took advantage of all the color options.
These are all the D&D Experience character abilities. I know they have been posted already, but I wasn't happy with the fonts or color selection for those. Here is my system - your mileage may vary!
The card color represents the class (paladin, warlock, etc). For the Warlock, multiple colors represent the class (black) and focus (green = fey).
Powers based on Races use the Land texture, and Items will use the Artifact texture.
I took advantage of the Power/Toughness section to re-state the type of ability (Standard, Move, Minor, Free, or Immediate), since in play this is a common point where my players have slowed down in trying to pick their actions.
I am using the official 4E logo as the set logo - just for fun. Black = At Will, Silver = Encounter, and Gold = Daily.
At Will, Encounter, and Daily are also represented by the card border. I chose darker variations of the colors to help they eyes. I almost made everything with black borders for aesthetic reasons, since I will be using colored sleeves for my coding, but figured others might not, so I left them. Feel free to change if you don't like.
The mana symbol represents the level of the power. In the case of Class features, I used 0, since you get those independent of level. Also, X is used for racial powers - though I might just pull that.
I have included a full post on my blog, with attachments. Included is a PDF of the cards, a link to my Picasa album, the full Magic Set Editor file, and my modified style (place it in the \data\magic-new-fulltext.mse-style folder and overwrite).
I almost decided to make my own template, but figured the MTG style wasn't really that bad, especially if you took advantage of all the color options.
I love what you did there... Although I have a suggestion... As you said you liked the fact that the MTG template had a lot of color options. Let's add more! There's a MTG template available which added the yellow, orange and purple colors (with mana symbols) to the set! With these colors, we would be ready for new classes and power sources!
As I have NO skills whatsoever in modifying templates, here's the link : MTG orange/yellow/purple
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