Rel said:
I am highly intrigued by the concept of the Swashbuckling Cards. I am curious for anyone who has used them: Do they seem to have shifted the balance of the campaign too much in favor of the PC's?
I guess what I'm saying is that if the GM has an encounter planned out to be challenging for the party and then, through a combination of the cards, the party gains a big advantage, it is hard to anticipate that.
Thoughts?
Having used them for the past year or so, I can definitely say that they influence the game. I give one to each of my major NPCs, as well, so at least the PCs aren't the only ones who can bend reality to their will. Of course I limit the cards NPCs can use (I'm not going to let my uber-lich get one of those "You are restored to full hit points" cards because that's just not fair.
Thing is that often a player has no chance to use them (I've ruled that you cannot "transfer" a card to another player) -- and many of the cards provide a minor influence, really. But they CAN drastically alter your campaign -- cards like "We Meet Again" or "Ah, Love" have turned my campaign upside down more than once (and inadverdantly created my all-time favourite NPC, but that's a longer story).
Normally, increased randomness favours the monsters -- because the monsters only face one fight while the PCs fight on and on and on. Swash cards, however, don't really fit this model because the randomness they introduce isn't "digital" but "analog" -- that is, it's not a simple case of increased chances to do more damage, but rather increased chances to pick up sporadic bonuses to rolls you may not ever make. It's VERY hard to make any predictions about a game that uses these cards except that:
A) players pay a great deal more attention to what's going on, looking for a chance to use their card (I rule that you get a new card when you use your current one, but you cannot exchange)
B) players get very attached to situations they create through the cards -- if a player uses a card to make their character suave and witty, somehow it seems to inspire them more than if they just make a successful Bluff check.
C) the game seems to flow more "heroically" -- how often in your games do things seem to be shaping up to a great climactic encounter and then someone fails a save or just can't make that last attack and the whole thing just fizzles because they don't even go to the big wrap party? With Swash cards players always have some last-ditch effort they can pull out and use to get to the final round.
I'm really happy with the cards -- I used to love Hero Points like they had in Shadowrun and James Bond but actually these are more fun. Players start to chuckle when they see a chance to play their card and everybody reads it and laughs and there's a big fuss and usually triumphant dancing about the table. It's great fun.
To make up for it, here's one more)
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