Making your own power cards

[Grandpa]

Well, I'm glad you guys are finding workarounds. I should check out CutePDF. I wish I was better-versed in the PDF creation process, or that there were clearer ways to get the cards printed the way different folks like them (e.g., 8-9 cards next to each other w/o white space between them).

[Ouronos]

Greetings...

Well, thanks to my downloading Hirahito's Power Cards, the printing question was answered. Such a silly answer, I'm surprised I overlooked it.

I've been trying to work with HIrahito's power cards, though, and have a few questions.

Using the "flashy" card template:

I was attempting to add a few cards just to try my hand at card creation and editing. I am sure that these questions have been answered before, but, again, I must have missed the answers when trying to find them in the forum.

How do you change the card color to match the card type? When I need to change the card color to "red" or "gold" (etc), how is this done?

Is there a way to increase the number of field boxes? If I want so use the "weapon" and "melee attack" and "die 6" icons, for example, is there a way to show all three? (As an aside, when using the Dzokvic style, how do I get the second and third field boxes to recognize code? When I try and put symbols in them, all I get is the typed symbol, not the icon itself)

Attempting to use the "encounter background" or "daily background" fails for me, even after adjusting my files as previously indicated in this thread. Any suggestions?

Could any (or all) of these issues be created due to moving the files after initial installation?

Again, guys (and gals), thanks for your patience with me as I attempt to make use of these wonderful tools. My game will never be the same (once I have everything up and running the way I want them to).

Until that time...

[eloquentaction]

Originally Posted by Ouronos

I've been trying to work with HIrahito's power cards, though, and have a few questions.

Using the "flashy" card template:

I was attempting to add a few cards just to try my hand at card creation and editing. I am sure that these questions have been answered before, but, again, I must have missed the answers when trying to find them in the forum.

How do you change the card color to match the card type? When I need to change the card color to "red" or "gold" (etc), how is this done?

Right click on the card background somewhere there's not a text box. Near the top on the sides is the best. A drop down should appear that has a list of all the accepted card background types.

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Is there a way to increase the number of field boxes? If I want so use the "weapon" and "melee attack" and "die 6" icons, for example, is there a way to show all three? (As an aside, when using the Dzokvic style, how do I get the second and third field boxes to recognize code? When I try and put symbols in them, all I get is the typed symbol, not the icon itself)

I believe there are 5 boxes available in the "Flashy" style. These are on the right side. They don't show up unless you're editing a card. Once you click on the title, the box contents and outline should appear. The contents is ALSO editable - so you could put "Weapon" in the title of Box1 and then "Greataxe" in the content box. Both will show up on the card and both will be saved.

If the question is "Can you go higher than 5 boxes in the Flashy style?" then the answer is "Not without editing the style itself."

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Attempting to use the "encounter background" or "daily background" fails for me, even after adjusting my files as previously indicated in this thread. Any suggestions?

"Fails for you?" As in you don't see a background at all when you select those? That means there's a file problem. I'd redownload and see if that clears it up.

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Could any (or all) of these issues be created due to moving the files after initial installation?

Uhmmmm.... Yes?

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Again, guys (and gals), thanks for your patience with me as I attempt to make use of these wonderful tools. My game will never be the same (once I have everything up and running the way I want them to).

Until that time...

You're quite welcome. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I should be releasing 4.1 around the end of this week or the start of the next one.

-- Hirahito

[Ouronos]

Greetings...

Thanks for the detailed response. I had done some work while waiting for the reply and did discover some of the information on my own.

Clicking on the background worked like a charm. I'm a color changing fool now.

Regarding "field boxes": I now understand what those boxes are. It seems so obvious now.

However, My new question centers around font size. This applies to all templates (in one form/place or another). Is there a way to change the font size for the symbols? If I place the symbol in one of the 'extra boxes' in the Flashy format, for instance, I get a small symbol. Is there a way to make this symbol as large as the 'main' symbols?

This question goes double for Dzokvic. The symbol size in the second and third fields are not the same size as the first (main) symbol. Any way to change this?

(If the answer is "not without changing the template", then would *you* consider looking at this and making the adjustments? Or perhaps a quick primer on working with templates in this fashion?)

Regarding "Daily/Encounter Ability Failure": Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure.... You get the point.

I think that these are all the questions that I have (for now). I'll be doing some fiddling with it tomorrow (Friday), I think, so I'm bound to come up with some issue or another.

I can't wait for 4.1 to show up. You've made an oldtime gamer very. very, happy. All of my players love "Flashy", by the way, even if I am a little partial to Dzokvic.

Again, thanks for the quick response, for all your hard work, and your understanding. I'm great at putting the tools to use, just a little slow on the creation of said tools.

Until that time...

[eloquentaction]

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Greetings...

Thanks for the detailed response. I had done some work while waiting for the reply and did discover some of the information on my own.

Clicking on the background worked like a charm. I'm a color changing fool now.

Regarding "field boxes": I now understand what those boxes are. It seems so obvious now.

I'm glad I was able to help.

Originally Posted by Ouronos

However, My new question centers around font size. This applies to all templates (in one form/place or another). Is there a way to change the font size for the symbols? If I place the symbol in one of the 'extra boxes' in the Flashy format, for instance, I get a small symbol. Is there a way to make this symbol as large as the 'main' symbols?

This question goes double for Dzokvic. The symbol size in the second and third fields are not the same size as the first (main) symbol. Any way to change this?

(If the answer is "not without changing the template", then would *you* consider looking at this and making the adjustments? Or perhaps a quick primer on working with templates in this fashion?)

Go into the data\D&Dh-hirahito-flashy.mse-style directory or the data\D&Dh-dzokvic-style.mse-style directory and open the 'style' file using Notepad.

Scroll down in the file until you see the 'rule text:' entry near the left side. This information also applies to the box_contents#: and box_label#: fields.

Inside the rule text: entry, you'll see a section that says 'symbol font:'. This is the piece that's telling MSE how to draw the symbols. You'll see two entries here you'll need to change, 'size:' and 'scale down to:'. Right now they're set to 15, change them up or down according to your tastes.

Save the file and then click on MSE's FILE->RELOAD DATA menu option. This will allow you to see the card with the new changes in it immediately. You can keep tweaking the numbers in the 'style' file until you think they are just perfect.

FWIW - MSE does not allow programmatic entries here in the symbol font section. If it did, I would have copied my font size selections down into here and saved you the hassle of having to do this. As it was, I just picked one that seemed about right and had to stick with it.

If some of the MSE card designers out there know of a way to fix this, I'd love to hear it - that way I could incorporate the fix into a new release.

Originally Posted by Ouronos

Regarding "Daily/Encounter Ability Failure": Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure.... You get the point.

I think that these are all the questions that I have (for now). I'll be doing some fiddling with it tomorrow (Friday), I think, so I'm bound to come up with some issue or another.

I can't wait for 4.1 to show up. You've made an oldtime gamer very. very, happy. All of my players love "Flashy", by the way, even if I am a little partial to Dzokvic.

Again, thanks for the quick response, for all your hard work, and your understanding. I'm great at putting the tools to use, just a little slow on the creation of said tools.

Until that time...

Each person learns at their own rate. As long as your rate isn't zero or negative, I'd say you're staying ahead of the race and shouldn't be ashamed of your efforts.

-- Hirahito

[Samtobias]

Small point, Grandpa:

Your Animal Messenger ritual card says:

"You target a nonhostile Tiny animal, such as a sparrow,
a raven, a fox, or a crap."

instead of:

", or a carp."

[Grandpa]

Originally Posted by Samtobias

"You target a nonhostile Tiny animal, such as a sparrow, a raven, a fox, or a crap."

LOL, awesome. Fixed.

[DanmarLOK]

Now that's funny. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to lean down close enough to hear that particular messenger's message even if it was of epic importance...

[Ouronos]

Originally Posted by eloquentaction

Go into the dataD&Dh-hirahito-flashy.mse-style directory or the dataD&Dh-dzokvic-style.mse-style directory and open the 'style' file using Notepad.

Scroll down in the file until you see the 'rule text:' entry near the left side. This information also applies to the box_contents#: and box_label#: fields.

Inside the rule text: entry, you'll see a section that says 'symbol font:'. This is the piece that's telling MSE how to draw the symbols. You'll see two entries here you'll need to change, 'size:' and 'scale down to:'. Right now they're set to 15, change them up or down according to your tastes.

-- Hirahito

Greetings...

This worked like a charm! I am still unsure as to what the "scale down" does (it should be obvious, I think, but I am not seeing any effect on the icon based upon the text that is being entered).

I did notice that I am limited in the amount of text I am able to enter. While the text does autosize in these boxes, there doesn't seem to be a way to force a line break to enter two lines of text.

This would be helpful, especially in the Flashy template, as I would be able to use a symbol, then enter a short two line description of why the symbol is there.

(As an example, I would be able to place the "die 6" symbol and then a descriptor [something like "recharge special ability one but not special ability two" or "if feat name is known, you may gain another attack this round].)

A couple more questions for you, while I'm one a roll:

- Is there a way to create a "box" effect? To explain: using the Flashy template as an example, the template has seven (SEVEN!) fields that can be activated. With Sure Strike (Fighter Attack 1), I would like to be able to use the first field to create a box, label it "STR vs AC", and therefore have a place to enter the requisite modifier. The same could be done for Damage. Ander's templates auto create such boxes; if these boxes could be incorporated into some of your templates, there would be no need for me to pick and choose between the two sets.

(Note: there are things I like about both sets that I have been experimenting with... I guess its just that I want the best of both worlds. hehe)

- How does one go about creating new symbols? I think that I would like a set of symbols for the d8, rather than the d6... or maybe even the d10. This would allow some of my prospective house rules to make it to the cards. (Of course, if anyone out there wants to make the set for me... ).

(You do realize that once this question is answered, and the icons successfully made, that I will be asking how to go about the difficult task of adding them to the templates, right?)

Those are all my questions for now. I hope that I am not being to inquisitive as the newbie to the community. Maybe this weekend I will be able to spend some time in the other parts of the forums other than this thread...

Oh... there is something else. If you plan on releaseing 4.1 this weekend (or next week), would be planning the next major release near the end of the month? Considering that Adventurer's Guild and FR Players Guide are both due out on the 16th.

Thanks for all your hard work, and if there is anything that I can do to assit the community, don't hesitate to ask. The answer might be "no", or "not right now", but I am always willing to field requests.

Until that time...

[soulkeeper]

I tried going through as many pages as I could before I just figured I'd post. I grabbed the Magic Set Editor and the files for 4E powers, are there any cards for rituals any place, or magic items? I saw the empty magic item templates that came in the 4e stuff, so I could build them, but I guess I'd really love ritual cards.

Thanks in advance.

[Ouronos]

Greetings...

I am having an issue when it comes to creating new cards using the Hirahito set.

I can create the card normally, including background, symbols, and text. The problem is that the database refuses to see the necessary flags to keep the new cards sortable or grouped with others of its type.

For example: I can create a feat power (lets call it 'Channel Divinity: Divine Shield'). It requires you to be a worshipper of 'Shield' and requires you to take the feat 'Divine Shield'. It is an encounter ability, and can be used at a range of 2.

When creating the card, the card will hold all of the necessary information. When looking at the database, however, the only field that auto updates is "Name". The "Class/Race" column (which should be "Feat Power" at this point) remains blank. As do the rest of the database fields.

This could become particularly problematic if I was creating a new class and needed to input several abilities that require the class name and level to be associated with the card in the database.

Is there something that I am doing incorrectly in order to achieve the desired effect? I've tried clicking in the database field itself expecting it to be editable, but had no luck with that, either.

Until that time...

[soulkeeper]

edit: double post, removed

[Ouronos]

Originally Posted by soulkeeper

I tried going through as many pages as I could before I just figured I'd post. I grabbed the Magic Set Editor and the files for 4E powers, are there any cards for rituals any place, or magic items? I saw the empty magic item templates that came in the 4e stuff, so I could build them, but I guess I'd really love ritual cards.

Thanks in advance.

Greetings...

I know that the Hirahito set has Rituals already included in them; so you should check that set out. The Hirahito set also includes magic items.

At last check, the Ander set doesn't appear to have rituals or magic items, though blank templates for items exist.

Until that time...

[SBalrog]

Since I wanted a mix between Ander style and Hirahito's Simple style for my cards, I made a new style greatly inspired by Ander's design.

I liked Ander's simple and elegant cards, but not the landscape format, especially not for rituals, and other cards with a lot of text, and since Hirahito's set included rituals and magic items, I combined them.

Here is the result (unzip and put into data directory).

I only created one of the parchment backgrounds, the medium / light, so if you want one of the other two, you need to create the images yourself (from the template file).

[disarray2]

I updated Ander's set if anyone is interested. I also created condition cards and rituals cards. I made some condition marks and horse marks as well.

If anyone is interested I can post them.