D&D 4E Great idea for 4E!

[MerricB]

Just had a way-out amusing thought.

Get 11 cards. Mark each as follows.

0: Disabled. (only single standard or move actions each round. Move at half speed. Lose 1 hp if you take a strenuous action).

-1: Dying. "Ow!"

-2: Wizard needs Food, Badly

-3: Don't mind me. Just lying here. Ow.

-4: Don't mean to hurry you guys, but help?

-5: That was a heroic effort!

-6: I'm dying over here!

-7: Red Wizard, you are about to DIE!

-8: Ignore the troll. Help me!

-9: Here! Here! Here! HELP!!!

-10: ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

That will get around the "no table talk while dying" rule!

Cheers!

 

[LostSoul]

Horrible idea. Wanna play a card game? Go play a card game instead of turning D&D into a card game.

This doesn't turn it into a card game. It just gives you a visual representation of your resources, and a really quick way to look up rules you may have forgotten. (eg. "Which book is that Feat in again?")

If you're worried about restricting options, just have a card that says "Misc. Standard Action" or whatever.

 

[FireLance]

Horrible idea. Wanna play a card game? Go play a card game instead of turning D&D into a card game.

D&D can be played with minis, but that does not make it a minis game.

D&D can be played with dice, but that does not make it a dice game.

D&D can be played with cards, but that does not make it a card game.

 

[Lackhand]

That's very zen of you.

I don't disagree, mind you.

 

[Mortellan]

I'm for handy visual aids when it is practical. I mean, maps are the quintessential visual aid, but if it becomes a matter of me needing to fork over tons of cash on booster packs just to find a certain rare build-card to complete my character set; when old school looking it up costs me nothing, then I have a problem. D&D should not become MtG no matter how useful cards are.

 

[Li Shenron]

Not actually "actions" as such, but a quick way of keeping track of optional modifiers for actions.

I think this is really useful. Maybe to have cards for instantaneous spells or special attacks is not so useful if the spell/attack resolves immediately, but any time you have something with a duration, it means you have to remember a bunch of modifiers. That applies of course to spells and various conditions but as Merric says also to power attack (modifiers apply also to AoOs before your next turn) for example.

 

[AWizardInDallas]

Wanna read a book? Go read a book instead of turning D&D into books with words in 'em. It's imagination. MAKE IT UP!

That's actually true. Gary Gygax himself said "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules."

Still don't want cards in my game though.

 

[AWizardInDallas]

This doesn't turn it into a card game. It just gives you a visual representation of your resources, and a really quick way to look up rules you may have forgotten. (eg. "Which book is that Feat in again?")

If you're worried about restricting options, just have a card that says "Misc. Standard Action" or whatever.

Why take a game with limitless (well, limited by imagination) options, which is the strength of playing a table top game over a computer game (limited by a finite tree of options), and bring it down to multiple choice?

I wouldn't mind seeing reference cards for combat options but not cards to chose an action from.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

What do you guys think?

Worked Great for Spell Cards in 2e and 3e.

 

[Maggan]

What do you guys think?

Apart from the pointing at the cards bit; been there, doing that, it is useful for our game.

I see it as one way of more conveniently presenting the rules for the players, so that they don't waste time flipping through the PH looking for the rules. I don't see what would be bad about it, actually. We have screens for the DM which do pretty much the same thing; present important rules so they are easy to find. And this does the same thing for the players, but doesn't require a screen. Actually, there are sheets out there on the internet that does comparable things as well.

A deck of action cards that speed up play and lets everyone focus on whatever else they think is important is a good tool.

/M