"So what's the deal with power cards?"

[lazerfish]

"I mean, are they powers or are they cards?"

Seriously though, I really don't understand the need. It just seems... superfluous. Why do we need a full deck of what our character can do when it's just as easy to scribble down the effects (with ALL modifications from feats, scores, magic weapons, etc.) on the back of the character sheet or a piece of scrap? The time saved by having cards to flip over seems, to me, nonexistent, and it really isn't difficult to keep track of what you've used and what you've got left.

It seems I'm in the minority here, though, so please enlighten me as to why power cards are so useful.

Inspired by this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4t...3-official-wizards-coast-power-cards-meh.html

 

[grickherder]

It's definitely personal preference. I've played with everything on cards (yes, even my character's stats and whatnot) and with everything on character sheets.

One thing I like about all cards is that it gives you the same feeling when you're looking through the cards as a board game where you have cards to choose from the play. It probably has more to do with thinking styles than anything else, but I find I consider my options more efficiently when each one is on a separate tactile piece. Other people might think in a way that makes picking from a list better for them.

 

[Piratecat]

Since they're discrete, once you've used something you can take it out of the stack, thus speeding and simplifying your choices for the rest of combat.

Both my brand new players and my experienced players find them incredibly useful. It has to do with quickly and easily sorting through options; since different powers target different defenses, do different damage, have different special effects, have different relevant keywords, and have different attack and damage bonuses, it's been really handy for them to have pre-printed and color-coated cards to sort through when prepping their turns.

 

[Nytmare]

We jumped from sheets in binders to sheets with cards to all cards. In addition to all the other things listed so far, they eat up WAY less table space than character sheets.

 

[lazerfish]

I suppose it must just be a matter of personal preference like you said. To me, there's nothing you can accomplish with cards that you can't accomplish (faster and using less printer ink) just by knowing your character well enough.

I could see the value of the cards being slightly greater the higher up you get in levels, though.

 

[DimitriX]

I agree. I see WotC's power card packs as just another marketing tool that doesn't really help at the table. Conversely, I really like my pack of character sheets that came with a set of blank cards for me to write the powers in. This way I can write the powers, including any bonuses I get, and any special abilities that I get from feats that aren't included in the pre-printed cards. For instance, my rogue has the feat that when a power let's me shift a number of squares, I can instead move that number of squares +2. If I just write that on the cards, then I don't have to worry about forgetting it.

 

[Obryn]

For my own characters, I much prefer power sheets. I don't like the shuffling, to be honest.

My players like their cards. So, I print them for them on my color laser. It's all a matter of preference, IMHO.

-O

 

[lazerfish]

I agree. I see WotC's power card packs as just another marketing tool that doesn't really help at the table.

This.

I'm the kind of guy that used to play using graph paper and a mechanical pencil to serve as the combat map. My group and I have gotten a bit more sophisticated since then (moved on to a dry erase board we drew a 30 x 20 grid on), so I understand the need for things like miniatures and combat maps, but the power cards just seem like something WotC decided to make as just another accessory to market.

 

[Oompa]

You know why its handy for me?

- My players can give me a card of a power they are using, so i don't have to look it up..
- My players can look powers up more quickly..

And why shouldnt wizards craft these little cards? Because some people like it and shall buy it.. Why does wizards make a PHB 2, cause not every player or dm can craft a new class or race..

 

[abyssaldeath]

Oh noes, a company is trying to make money. What ever shall we do?

You realize you don't have to buy them right? You can play the game without them with little trouble, but as you can see from the posts above they can be a valuable resource. It's like having a car with a seat warmer in the winter. Do you need a seat warmer? No, but it sure is nice to have.