4e MSE Power Cards

From ENWiki

MSE power cards are sets of cards created with the Magic Set Editor (MSE) program. Because of copyright issues, pre-made cards based on official 4e powers cannot be freely distributed. You can download the program and use the templates below to create your own personal power card sets. There are also similar sets of cards for other purposes, including magic items, monsters and mini character sheets.

Also see the Original Forum Thread.

1 Instructions
- 1.1 Basic Usage
- 1.2 Printing
2 Universal Card Set
3 Templates
4 Card Box

Instructions

Basic Usage

To create MSE Power Cards, first download and install MSE from here. Note that MSE is a Windows programme, though some users have reported that it works with WINE, a software package that allows Windows applications to run under Linux. MSE now has a straight LINUX version which has been reported to work under the newer, Linux based Mac OS's.

Before you can make cards for D&D, you will need an appropriate template. Links to some of the most popular fan created ones are included below. Download the template files and follow the included instructions; this usually means extracting the contents of a zip file into the data folder of MSE. By default, for Windows users, this path to this folder is "C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data". You may also have to install specific fonts, usually provided with the template.

While you can install multiple templates, note that not all use the same number or type of fields, and some reuse data from other templates, so they may not work correctly when installed alongside others. Be sure to read the specific instructions for the template you wish to use. See the section below if you wish to maintain multiple templates from different authors.

Once you have installed the template correctly, you can create a new set by opening MSE and selecting "New Set". When choosing the game type, choose the one which matches the template style you wish to use. As the templates have been developed independently, they implement the various bits of information in different ways, and so a separate game exists for each style. (These details are stored in separate .mse-game files in MSE's data folder.) Once you've chosen the game, pick the Card Style you wish to use, and click OK. This will take you to the Card Set interface.

To create a card, click on the parts of the card where you are adding information and simply type. Some fields will offer you a drop down list of choices for things like classes, power frequency and so on. Other fields will be free text.

For fields that display an icon - attack range, action types etc. - look at the status bar at the bottom of the window for information on what to type for different symbols. For example, in Ander00's set, when you are entering the type of action in the field in the top left of the card, you will see text in the status bar that says "Action required: (s)tandard, m(o)ve, (m)inor, (i)mmediate or (f)ree". This means that for a standard action power, you should type "s". (Note that these characters are often case sensitive, so in this example you should be sure to type "s", not "S".)

Printing

One of the advantages of using MSE is the ability to print only what you want, saving trees and toner. In addition, you can often modify the cards to meet your exact needs or the qualities of the PC/Monster/Item in question. Finally, you can change the overall set design.

Once you are ready to print, select File -> Print from the menu. This will bring up a "Select Cards" window.
Select only the cards you need at this time. (It is usually easier to click on "Select None", then check the cards you need.).
Click Ok.
Select your printer.
- Note: By default, the print settings are set to A4 paper, a paper size used in much of the world. If you are in the US and some other countries you may need to switch to "Letter". To do this, click on Preferences. There should then be an "Advanced" icon. Here you can change the paper size from A4 to Letter. The exact process may differ by printer and operating system, but should be similar. Click OK to return to the main printer screen.
Click the Print icon

So long as you chose the correct paper type, the images will print correctly and will be the right size to fit in standard collectible card game (CCG) sleeves. If you would like the cards to have a solid feel you can either print on card stock or use an old CCG card inside the sleeve. Some of the designs have card backs that you can insert on the other side (lining them up exactly tends to be difficult, so test first). Finally, some of the design use a lot of ink. It may be worthwhile to test a single page first.