Fortune Cards: and randomized collectible cards come to D&D

Wicht · Aug 20, 2010

Scribble said:
The fortune decks (if they ARE like the twitter buffs) aren't designed to be known ahead of time. You're not supposed to / don't need to put together a deck of awesome buffs. You just open the card and whatever random card happens to be drawn- that's what you get.

Which doesn't negate my point that I would rather buy a full deck once as opposed to booster packs often.

MrGrenadine · Aug 20, 2010

ExploderWizard said:
The success of these elements will determine their impact on 5E.

Which is why I for one will be hoping they tank. Hard.

For goodness sake, you want something random to happen in your game? Make it up!

Next they'll be selling card packs of things your character would say if injured, or for what the weather will be that day.

I play TTRPGs in part because all I really need to play is some paper, a pencil and some dice. Everything else is up here <taps temple with one finger>.

So no--no cards, collectible or otherwise, for me.

Diamond Cross · Aug 20, 2010

I think I'd like to see half random with half sets. Because after the 3e Minis deal, I got to hate randomization. Because I once bought ten sets trying to get some Kobolds that I wanted for a scenario but didn't get a single one.

Dausuul · Aug 20, 2010

MrGrenadine said:
Next they'll be selling card packs of things your character would say if injured, or for what the weather will be that day.

Actually, weather cards would be brilliant. Make up a deck for a given area, based on climate and terrain, and draw to see what conditions are like? With effects on the battlefield from rain, fog, snow, et cetera? I would go for that.

Of course, WotC would probably have all kinds of OMG IT'S MAGIC weather effects--it's not a thunderstorm, it's a lightningblast thunderbladewarstorm!--which would turn me right the hell off it again. But the core concept is quite interesting.

Vyvyan Basterd · Aug 20, 2010

Korgoth said:
I think it works for the new Gamma World because of the gonzo, non-serious approach ("Oh no, I don't have the Atomic Nosering card... big deal"). For D&D? It seems odd and I have no interest in it.

Mike Mearls said:
Also like the Gamma World cards, they aren’t designed to build an optimized deck to get a more powerful character. they are designed to be random and add chaos to the game.

Seems the cards are meant to add chaos, i.e. a non-serious (or gonzo, one might say) element to a game of D&D. Might seem odd for the flavor of some D&D games, but could fit in quite well in others.

the Jester · Aug 20, 2010

Ehhh, not interested in "collectible rules elements" really.

Also, I'm not interested in bringing a deck of cards to the table just so I can spend ten minutes trying to find it when I want to use it.

Cards don't sound like a great piece to add to my D&D game, personally. I used to bring a box of index cards with cool magic items on them to games, but that was in 1e, and it's been a long time since then... there must be a reason why I stopped.

Scribble · Aug 20, 2010

I think these will probably go over really well at the in store games. Encounters and game nights and things...

People will be there at the store, and the packs will probably be cheap enough that people will just buy them.

Good for WoTC for making yet another thing that will probably help out the stores.

I think in my own case, I'll probably slot them into my "Ooooh Dice!" category.

I doubt I'll collect them with any regularity, but if I'm at the store buying stuff, and I see them sitting on the counter, and they're a decent price... They'll be tossed into the purchase, cause... "Oooh shiny!"

ExploderWizard · Aug 20, 2010

MrGrenadine said:
Which is why I for one will be hoping they tank. Hard.

For goodness sake, you want something random to happen in your game? Make it up!

Next they'll be selling card packs of things your character would say if injured, or for what the weather will be that day.

I play TTRPGs in part because all I really need to play is some paper, a pencil and some dice. Everything else is up here <taps temple with one finger>.

So no--no cards, collectible or otherwise, for me.

It's this kind of thinking that makes Hasbro shareholders cry.

Roleplaying games are primarily driven by the imagination of the players. This cannot be sold so the D&D brand needs to move in a direction that does generate sales even if that means moving farther away from TTRPGs and closer to CCGs.

When the bottom line of a brand comes first, the substance and character of that brand come in a distant second.

Reynard · Aug 20, 2010

One thing that I am curious about is why the collectible card thing so soon after pulling back on the miniatures thing? That would suggest that it wasn't the randomized, micro-transaction* aspect of the miniatures that was problematic (though maybe they weren't "micro" enough -- I know I would have spent a lot more minis if I could have dropped 2 or 3 bucks for a box with just a couple in it, but I'm weird like that). Obviously, WotC sees value in getting folks to buy the same stuff over and over again. So why the switch to cards?

Relatedly, will counters replace minis. The Monster box seems to suggest it will. I could easily see randomized monster token packs, too.

* OooH! Evil thought: What if DDI went micro-transaction instead of subscription? So instead of playing $5 a month for all the character builder or compendium data, you paid $5 to add, say, Martial Power 2 to your character builder/compendium data. Hmmm...

WHW4 · Aug 20, 2010

I'm sorry to post a gut reaction, as I haven't yet read the whole thread, but if I played in a game where some of these weird "gamey" elements were included I would have to ask the DM just what the hell game I was playing.

"Ok, I move my mini 6 squares, roll my dice, attack that orc. Now I grab a HERO card, then move my mini past go; do I get 200 gp this time? Ah crap his mini touched mine, Sorry(tm)!"

I mean I've seen where some elements get mixed in and it's fun, but a card or playing a card totally breaks me out of the game; why? I don't know, it's just a format that completely throws me. I don't get this when I add tokens or anything. Maybe because it's already an established "tradition" of the hobby that I adapted to as I gamed.