D&D 5E Alternative Initiative: try this

[camilaacolide]

Anyway, I think I want to find some sturdy paper that is like card stock and be able to print straight to that and then spray gloss it.

For the card to be sturdy, you'd need to print to a thick paper, about 300 GSM.

The problem that led me to use two papers (I print on linen white paper 120 GSM, then glue it to black paper 180 GSM), is twofold: One, most laser printers won't print well on papers thicker than 200 GSM. The ink doesn't adhere well and breaks off. You'd have to use an inkjet. And two, the great majority of printers in the market won't print to anything thicker than 200 GSM without jamming, except printers that load the paper from a back tray, so that the paper don't need to bend.

It you manage to make it work, please tell me!
That would be indeed awesome!

 

[Nebulous]

Well, what I did today was purchase a $2 pack of glossy thick photopaper. At 10 pages, with 8 images per page, that is 80 initiative cards. It's thick enough for me, and it doesn't require doing anything else, except I might stamp an image on the back just to make it slightly more interesting. Some red ink and a stamp and you can customize each one. I also have a can of Matte Finish that I might use for extra protection.

This is a slow process, but once all the work is done you have a permanent set of cards to keep reusing.

 

[Nebulous]

ok yeah, I highly recommend using the matte finish, it looks better and protects it. I think the final stage will be to figure out a way to color the back quickly and easily and then gloss that side too and i'm done. I have 44 printed now, which is more than enough, but they're fairly easy to make. It's just time intensive.

 

[Nebulous]

I came up with some more to fill some gaps

 

[camilaacolide]

ok yeah, I highly recommend using the matte finish, it looks better and protects it. I think the final stage will be to figure out a way to color the back quickly and easily and then gloss that side too and i'm done. I have 44 printed now, which is more than enough, but they're fairly easy to make. It's just time intensive.

That's amazing!!!!
Congratulations!!!!
After you use them in your game, please tell your experience here! I'd really like to know!!

 

[Nebulous]

I can't wait to use this system. I think it will fix the boredom have had with the dice for so long now.

So what I would suggest for anyone wanting to do this, try to find thick glossy photopaper and put 8 images to a page, print on a color laser printer if possible and they spray glaze it with matte finisher. Let it dry but don't touch the ink, it will smear if it hasn't dried yet. At this point, I'd probably find a way to paint the backs to give them some color, and then flip it over and spray glaze the back. Then cut them out and you're done.

 

[kerbarian]

The art definitely adds a lot, but I think I'll try this out using playing cards first to save on prep time. I figure the players can each have a different face card, important monsters can be aces, and mooks can be numbered cards. Using a tarot deck might also be an interesting option.

I like the idea of every card being meaningful and not having any dead cards in the deck due to multiples. As a way to keep initiative modifiers relevant without having to use multiple cards per character, I'm thinking of combining initiative into the Surprise round:

You get to act during the first round if either 1) you surprise your opponents or 2) you pass a DC 20 initiative check.

Essentially, being incredibly quick is as good as surprising your opponents (or lets you recover from your own surprise). I think it works out about right compared to the normal benefits of a high initiative modifier, though it will definitely need testing.

 

[Nebulous]

The art definitely adds a lot, but I think I'll try this out using playing cards first to save on prep time. I figure the players can each have a different face card, important monsters can be aces, and mooks can be numbered cards. Using a tarot deck might also be an interesting option.

I like the idea of every card being meaningful and not having any dead cards in the deck due to multiples. As a way to keep initiative modifiers relevant without having to use multiple cards per character, I'm thinking of combining initiative into the Surprise round:

You get to act during the first round if either 1) you surprise your opponents or 2) you pass a DC 20 initiative check.

Essentially, being incredibly quick is as good as surprising your opponents (or lets you recover from your own surprise). I think it works out about right compared to the normal benefits of a high initiative modifier, though it will definitely need testing.

I'd get a fantasy themed Tarot deck, that would work just as well for this system. I had the time and ability however to make my own, so it was fun, and i think the players will really love it.

 

[Nebulous]

I've yet to use the deck, but I made two more, the latter of which might be a convenient PC filler card.

 

[Nebulous]

I think I'm finally done. A 100 card initiative deck. Overkill? Yes. But I wanted to frontload it and never have to mess with it again.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a5uv041iqwv110i/20150627_132746.jpg?dl=0