Purple Index Cards: On-the-Fly Setting and Plot Collaboration

UnknownAtThisTime

First Post

• Jan 9, 2011

• #61

How have I never seen this thread? Some XP is going to be sprinkled throughout.

(If WotC tried to sell these, replace all the THANKS posts with EVIL MONEY GRUBBING COMPANY posts.)

 

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SabreCat

First Post

• Jan 9, 2011

• #62

I've updated my own (full 3x5 card) format files to incorporate lots of Kelvor Ravenstar's ideas! Things to note:

- I haven't put the special combat maneuver cards in here yet (with the exception of the one "make up your own power" card). I think they're a fantastic idea, but I'm not sure the purple cards are where I want to implement them in my own game.

- I've removed the cards that allow a player to completely bypass a combat encounter using a skill challenge. Players have found these to be more anticlimactic than clever, and it does deliver a kick in the teeth to the DM if he's spent a lot of time prepping a battle.

- As usual, I've made a few tweaks to cards I got from Kelvor--more XP rewards, fewer DM-authority vetoes, name changes, that sort of thing. Alter to taste!

Huge thanks to Kelvor (apparently I need to spread some XP around, I'll ding you when I get the chance) and everyone else who's contributed or decided to use these cards in their own game! Keep it coming!

Microsoft Word 2007
OpenOffice Text
PDF

Also, I have this card for my game, but as it's setting-specific, I didn't put it in the compilation.

That's Why They Call It "The City of Doors"

Play this card and declare that an aperture of some kind (door, window, dumb waiter, etc.) is a portal.

Gain Minion XP for naming the target plane,
or Monster XP for the specific destination and information on the portal’s key,
+Minion XP if the portal appears at an inopportune moment.​

 

Last edited: Jan 9, 2011

Kelvor Ravenstar

Explorer

• Jan 25, 2011

• #63

I too, am of the opinion that most of the introduce skill challenge cards tend to make things anticlimactic. I probably should remove those from my own deck as well. As for the DM vetoes on a few of the cards, I tend to keep those in just because of group dynamics. I'm fine with my players changing the plot in some ways, but some of my players tend to stretch things a little too far away from the cards' intent sometimes.

 

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SabreCat

First Post

• Jan 25, 2011

• #64

Yeah, I hear ya. There's still a veto power in play at my table, but it's not up to the DM specifically. If somebody goes over the line, there's a collective "ehhh" from the rest of the players, and the card action gets scaled back. Happened last session, in fact, when a player wanted to use "Suddenly, Everything is Normal" to have the principal villain of the tier have a change of heart to his pre-villainy state. Bit much, ha.

There'd been a general slowing of use of the cards, so I went from "draw 3, keep 1 as long as desired" to "draw 2, keep both, recycle every session." Use 'em or lose 'em!

 

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aladorn

First Post

• Jan 25, 2011

• #65

My group loves blowing through these as fast as they can so we do Draw 4 keep 2. And when you use one you lose the other and redraw. This way everyone gets, usually, one card that they can use when ever and one of those "if the stars align just right" cards just in case the situation arises. My group goes through about 10-15 of these cards per session and the stories we come up with are awesome.

 

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SabreCat

First Post

• Jan 26, 2011

• #66

Wow, that's some rapid card churn! Have you had any trouble with seeing the same cards over again frequently? Have you added any of your own others could incorporate?

Me, I added this one recently, hoping to see some Chrono Trigger-style Triple Tech action:

And I'll Form the Head!

Play this card when two or more heroes are back to back in the initiative order. (You can use delayed or readied actions to help facilitate this.) Collaborate to describe how you perform a coordinated attack on an opponent. All participating heroes take their turns to attack the same target, gaining a bonus to their attack rolls equal to the number of characters making this team attack.

Gain Minion XP for each participating hero,
+Minion XP for each daily power used in the assault.​

And a "Draw a Blank" from last session produced, after minor tweakage:

If You Hit Anything Hard Enough...

Play this card when you attack an object or feature on the encounter map (trap, magical device, large boulder, etc.). The target of your attack explodes, removing it from the map and making an attack vs. DM’s option of defense against all creatures in a burst 5 centered on it. The attack does moderate damage and knocks prone on a hit, half damage on a miss.

Gain Minion XP,
or Monster XP if one or more party members are caught in the blast.​

His original card had him destroy his weapon to produce the kaboom.

 

Kelvor Ravenstar

Explorer

• Jan 28, 2011

• #67

Good job on the Gattai reference SabreCat, one of my players was suggesting a card with a very similar theme just last session, but much less powerful. I like your version a lot better.

 

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SabreCat

First Post

• Feb 19, 2011

• #68

One more added to the mix tonight:

It's Super Effective!

Play this card and explain how an enemy type in this encounter is vulnerable to a particular mode of attack (energy type, weapon category, etc.). That enemy gains vulnerable 5/tier as described. You can forgo 5 of this vulnerability to add an additional effect when the enemy suffers that damage, such as slowed, prone, etc.

Gain Minion XP,
+Minion XP for a particularly entertaining or apropos rationale.​

 

Nemesis Destiny

Adventurer

• Feb 19, 2011

• #69

I still plan to use the deck when I start my next campaign. Should be a few more weeks yet.

I've decided that to make things easier, I will split the cards up, keeping the standard deck for plot twists and such, and keep two separate combat decks - the Fumble Deck and the Crit Deck.

The beauty of that method is that drawing cards from those decks will be optional. That way, you choose when to screw yourself with the fumble deck, so that it doesn't get you killed, or when to claim the glory of an amazing critical hit. Alternately, you can claim bonus points if you allow yourself to be hit with a 'carded crit' from a monster for dramatic effect.

 

Evilhalfling

Adventurer

• Apr 8, 2011

• #70

Must read past first post......
after cutting and gluing 50ish index cards - I find people have updated and formatted them for me.

After reading the cards I decided that there needed to be a penalty for skipping a combat - skill challenges (esp on the fly) are just less fun than combat.
It looks like everyone ditched them. Perhaps ill leave one in, at least for discussion with PCs

For rewards Im thinking a draw from the player advantage combat decks
Many of the cards are their own reward - like those that bypass skill rolls and
so for now Im just discarding them. I may condense them into 3 versions ie physical/social/mental checks.


I added a few of my own

It was in my way.
Use when you miss with an attack, or include an object in an area attack.
Destroy the background object ( Door, table, tree etc...)

So that is where they put the bathroom
as a minor action open a (up till now) concealed door to a 5x5 room. Although it might just be a storage closet discarded after discussion with players

Because they are a SECRET society
Make up a faction, details can include membership type, goals, and or a known NPC who is a member. Some of your information is true.

Rosencratz and Guilderstern
Play to have a minor NPC die off screen. Evil can rarely be defeated this way as new evils will rise, or the death will have been faked. Minor irritation NPCs are fair game.

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2011