Fortune Cards Threads [Merged]

[Aegeri]

Personally I feel Fortune Cards are the dumbest thing that Wizards has done so far. Given that Wizards have done a lot of dumb things to compete with this in terms of "Dumbest thing that Wizards has done", this is a pretty solid and remarkable achievement. I actually don't have a complete irrational hatred of cards either - I feel they work and brilliantly so in gamma world. But do I need to add another layer of complexity onto an already complex and variable filled game like DnD is (compared to the base simplicity of gamma world in particular)? No. No I do not.

Not only are they overly expensive, compared to magic cards but you don't get a good chunk to start like gamma world. I mean I can add a few boosters to gamma world if I like - but I don't have to by any means if I don't want to do so. These don't feel like a well thought out or integrated piece of the game, while again Gamma World's cards are definitely both. Not to mention that you can use fortune cards much faster than you can the alpha mutations/omega cards of GW (Minding you can also have more of these active in GW in fairness).

I won't be using these in any of my games and have no interest in using them myself in any way.

 

[Nytmare]

"An exclusive to game stores..."

If this is being combined with an effort to prop up the local game stores and they don't sell these online I will, somewhat begrudgingly, not completely hate the idea.

 

[ki11erDM]

I like them. I wont buy them. If the players bring them I will use them while I DM.

 

[smtwtfs]

As someone touched upon early in the thread, LGS that run LFR and the D&D Encounter events have an opportunity to make a buck from a customer (if these events rule the use of this product). Of course LGS are not forced to sell this product if doesn't fit their business model.

Last time I played LFR it ran for 3-4 hours. I believe the D&D Encounters are designed for an hours worth of play, once a week, for 12 weeks. These events are free (*) at the cost of the LGS's time and available space. Maybe this is WotC way of trying to give back to the LGS for their cooperation while the customer has something tangible from the event. Sounds like a win - win - win for everyone (WotC - LGS - customer).

I've no issue in paying $4 for an hour (or more) worth of entertainment; hell I even get to keep 8 playable cards to give away or trade as I please. The last time I went to a movie or a concert it cost me $8-$25 and all I got was a paper ticket for my scrapbook.

The real questions: will I purchase this product for a home game? Most likely not since the DM, other players and myself create our fun using the <insert your favorite RPG here> system.
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Do I believe 8 cards (Fortune Cards, Gamma World) vs 16 cards (MtG) per pack for the same price feels odds; yes I do.
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Just because it cost you $4 (plus tax) doesn't mean WotC makes $4 per pack; doesn't mean the LGS pockets $4 per pack.
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* A LGS where I played LFR last, charged me $2 for the game. This money went to the DM in the form of a store gift certificate. The LGS was upfront and I had no issue of this practice.
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[The Human Target]

No, it's about being a character in a story. That's why you have one guy who works out a plot and gives a narrative. That's why you make a character with motives and quirks. If I wanted to take the story out of DnD I would play Warhammer Quest or some other dungeon crawl type board game.

Story if for sure part of the DnD game, but its a game first and foremost.

But I don't wanna derail the thread.

 

[Festivus]

I'd hope there will be some deck building rules... otherwise stacks of nothing but what you need will be in there.

I'd also hope that the DM would get to use them too...one for each bad guy otherwise the power curve just tipped farther to the players.

 

[OnlineDM]

I talked to my local store owner about these, and he said that while he doesn't have any more information than we do yet, he believes there's no way these cards will be REQUIRED for Living Forgotten Realms since it's not run through Wizards of the Coast any more. And he does not want them to be required for LFR, either - he wants to keep LFR cheap. Our store, like the one mentioned by smtwtfs upthread, charges players $2 each to play and gives the DM a $10 gift certificate for running the game.

The game store owner also said that he will ALLOW the use of fortune cards in LFR games, and that he's expecting that they'll probably be required by WotC for Game Day events (which have been free in the past).

This is about what I expected, based on the original announcement. Having seen the additional cards that WotC has previewed, they seem more interesting than the first two, but I still have no interest in them for my own games. I'd prefer they not exist at my LFR table, either, but I know that I won't have a choice on that one.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'd hope there will be some deck building rules... otherwise stacks of nothing but what you need will be in there.

I'd also hope that the DM would get to use them too...one for each bad guy otherwise the power curve just tipped farther to the players.

My guess is that the deck building rules will be like Gamma World - at least 7 cards in the deck, no more than 2 copies of any particular card. That's just a guess, though.

As for DM use, I'm guessing it might be a common house rule, but probably not an official rule. Again, just a guess.

 

[DumbPaladin]

So no dude I wasn't threadjacking.

I agree. I wasn't referring to your humor post ... but to the very non-sequitur post that followed it.

Thanks for pointing that out, Aberzanzorax.

 

[jimmifett]

Ok, so i've bought and played with these, and have a review of them:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/301293-fortune-cards-review.html

So, here's what they are in a nutshell for the TL;DR crowd:
Minor random bonuses during play (mostly combat, but some useful for skills).

thats it.

no extra powers, no additional character options for those that spend the money, no "rich kid 'wins' DnD" scenario, no plot hooks, no burning of prior/current editions, and no killing of cute animals (unless they have rather large fangs).

The are rules for building decks. You can only have 1 card in your hand at a time, so there are no "combos", let alone "game breaking pun-pun mega combos of doom". These are *vaguely* similair in concept to LFR Rewards.

All the effects are small. A +2 here, a re-roll of an at-will there, shift as a minor over there, here a CA, there a +2 to speed, everywhere something minor. eieio.

You have 3 groups of cards.
Attack (bonuses useful for attacking / killing things)
Defense (bonuses useful to be harder to hit / take less damage)
Tactics (bonuses usfeul for movement and positioning)

You can have a communal deck everyone draws from, or personal decks.

Personal decks can be any size, but must be a multiple of 10.

For each 10 cards, you must have a minimum of 3 cards from each group.
10 cards: 3 from each group min.
20 cards: 6 from each group min.
30 cards: you get the idea

You can only have duplicates of cards if you exceed 10 cards.
You can only have one copy of a card per 10 cards.
So if you have 3 "card name xxx" cards in your deck, you better have a 30 cards deck.

Every encounter, you shuffle your deck (re-adding any discards from the prev encounter)

usage:
At the start of your turn, you can do one of these:
a) Draw a new card if you don't already have one.
b) Keep the card in your hand if you haven't used it.
c) Discard you currently held card and draw a new one.

Each card states when they can be used. A lot are used at the start of your turn (after the 3 steps above), some are usable after a triggered event occurs.

Example:
Some CardName XXX
Use at the start of your turn.
Gain a +2 to your first attack roll this turn.

You have to use it at the start of your turn, you can't make your roll and then decide "hmmm, that +2 might make it hit". I have used this twice and rolled a hit on the die, and the +2 was just icing on the cake to hit.

Next turn up, i have no card in my hand, so i get to draw a new one. Most rounds, i'd sit on a card while waiting to be in what i thought would be a good oppurtuniy to use it.

Are they worth the cost? Meh, I dunno. It brings a little extra fun at the table, I enjoy opening new stuff, wether it be cards from other CCGs or minis. My FLGS sells them for $3 a pop, so it's definately in the "casual purchase" sweet spot for me.

Are they the pokemon of DnD? No, I don't feel the urgent need to catch them all, or at least, i'm not going to spend a huge chunk of change on the secondary market to get them all. I'll likely trade with others at my store. I don't really see a high resale value of them.

If you just want to add some fun to a game, pitch in and buy 2 packs for the table as a communal deck.

The overreaction to these cards is really overblown.