Fortune Cards, we just received a preview

[MrGrenadine]

I'm going to make two assumptions:

(1) Most WotC employees who work on D&D play D&D in a regular game that meets at least bi-weekly.

(2) Most WotC employees who work on D&D and play D&D in a regular game that meets at least bi-weekly have NO interest in using Fortune Cards in their games.


So, if (1) and (2) are true, then I have to wonder--why make Fortune Cards at all? Who is the customer they're trying to reach? Judging by the response we've seen so far--one that doesn't really exist, since it feels like even the people who are defending the decision to sell the cards are saying they have no interest in them. But maybe thats a mis-perception on my part.

And, of course, I'm open to the possibility that the folks at WotC who work on and play D&D think Fortune Cards are a terrific idea, and can't wait to use them in their home games. I'd love to know if thats true...

 

[thalmin]

We had several groups try the cards out tonight playing Encounters. Before they got started I explained what the Fortune cards were and asked if they would give them a try. I passed out some 3x5 cards for each person to write down his/her initial thoughts on the cards, and asked them to write their reactions after playing with the cards. Each table was given a deck for the whole group to use, no deckbuilding. So far 2 groups are finished and have given me their responses. (Not everyone responded)
Initial reactions were mixed.

• 5 were optimistic, with mixed amounts of caution. (Will it upset power level; cost)
• 5 were neutral, positives and negatives being about equal. (Rarity; too much like D&D the Gathering; hope it is an option; cost; unnecessary; will it slow down game; boring drawings)
• 2 were negative. (Unbalance game; cost; gimicky; rarity; marketing ploy)

After playing:

• The 5 optimists stayed positive. All liked the cards, though 2 didn't like the random deck as they drew several cards they couldn't use. (I should point out not all cards are usable by everybody)
• 2 neutral became positives, one quite enthusiastic.
• 1 neutral stayed pretty neutral. (Fun; makes game easier; distracting; unnecessary)
• 2 neutral became negatives. (Overpowering; distracting; random too useless but constructed would be too overpowering)
• The 2 negatives stayed negative, though one less than before(Overpowering)

 

[thalmin]

Two more responses

Before:

• One neutral
• One negative (rarity; complexity)

After

• Neutral became more positive (interesting; nice complexity for experienced players might be too much for new players)
• Negative stayed negative (power of cards uneven)

 

[Larrin]

Just played in an encounters using them. I really don't need them. They're another fiddly thing to remember. If you have a card you don't like, you can discard it at the start of your turn, but half the time people forgot (naturally this would change with practice). I think only one person used a card out of 6 people for a 5-7 round battle, so usefulness isn't very impressive, mind you a customized deck would improve this. But in the end, I don't need another layer of little stuff cluttering the field of play. Maybe it would grow on me, but first impressions are that even if they were useful (they weren't), they will distract me from the play, the mood, etc when i notice them, and be easily forgettable most other times.

Still, free cards for testing them....

 

[Camelot]

I'm going to test an idea for using Fortune Cards in my home game soon. I'll be back later with details on what I did and how it went.

 

[JoeGKushner]

In terms of 'forgetting' to use them properly, I can't tell you how many times as a player I'm remding everyone else about using their action points, using their dailies as the night goes on, making sure to use their encounter ablities, etc... Most of 'em get so focused on their at-wills and don't like looking at the character sheet once things get going.

 

[thewok]

In response to Joe's post, I have to say that I can tell you the number of times I've used one of my Encounter cards:

Zero.

I've just never remembered to use them. I think Fortune cards would be the same way for me.

 

[OnlineDM]

I played in a Living Forgotten Realms game at my friendly local game store this morning, and they had gotten a sample of the cards. One of the employees who is a big D&D person (and a friend of mine) was really excited about them. He had heard that my initial reaction to the first two preview cards was "meh" and he told me that I was totally wrong - they're AWESOME.

He had a stack of about 50 of the cards that he was passing around for players to flip through (with duplicates, of course). I looked at them. It was uncanny how much they felt like Magic cards (the packaging is very similar, too). I know that's the point, but it still felt a little weird to me.

After looking through the cards, my reaction is... "meh". A lot of them are situational, and the boosts they give are minor (not insignificant, mind you). I didn't get to actually PLAY with the cards, but they didn't excite me.

Ironically, they gave out a few packs at the end of the game - one to the DM, and two more that the DM was supposed to give to the people he felt role-played the best. The DM (wisely, in my opinion) handed out those other two packs randomly. I happened to receive one. I haven't opened it. I'm really just not that interested.

Overall, I still think I plan to ignore them. What will be annoying is playing LFR when everyone else is using these cards. I know they won't be required, but they'll be allowed. It feels like one more thing that could slow combat down further, and the players who have them will have an advantage (though not a huge one, I think) over the players who don't. That makes me sad.

 

[Dice4Hire]

True, more stuff to remember at the table is not cool.

 

[fumetti]

The cards are just too crass for me. Just a gimmick to get people hooked on constantly buying something. And WOTC' duplicity on whether they're a collectible sounds like they're trying to deceive their customers.

Preparing a set of advantages does not in any way reflect any definition of "Fortune" I can imagine. One does not get to choose one's fortune, if one did then it's just strategy.

It might be workable if the DM drew fortune cards randomly each turn (or drawn according to random die roll), and that there was an equal chance for misfortune. But that model would not satisfy WOTC's hungry bank account.