Using cards in your game?

[Janx]

the lost gear might be less likely to happen if the players have good accounting practices.

When I play, I have my char sheet, plus a blank sheet of paper. As I add/remove items, I don't touch my main sheet. I document any changes on the blank sheet. If I find 500 gold, I write:
+500 GP

If I buy a new sword for 10 GP, I write:
-10 GP
+1 Long sword

At the end of the day, when I go back to the computer to update my sheet, I apply all the changes from my scratch sheet.

Party items are handled in the same way, on another sheet. This sheet would be for stuff the party finds, but hasn't formally split up. Presumably, one or more PCs is carrying it, but not laying claim to it.

When we transfer an item or money from one scratch sheet to another (party inventory or another PC), we often just cross it off the originating sheet (as it isn't in the formal record yet). So we avoid silliness like +1 longbow, -1 longbow on the same sheet.

 

[GypsyComet]

I just had this image of a character being represented not by a character sheet, but by a deck of cards...

Merkuri must have been reading my mind, as this particular brainstorm hit me a couple weeks ago. Specifically, I was somewhat boggled by how close the Munchkin card game is to answering this description already. Some careful card design, specifically to put *effects* at the top of the card (or some edge, anyway) so that a staggered stack can give me all the quick information, and this model could be VERY handy.

Particularly since I'm fed up with character sheet designs. Not a one of them handles characters above 10th very well...

 

[Particle_Man]

As a DM, I use index cards for initiative.

As a lazy and absent-minded player, I have been thinking of, for my fighter, using playing cards, where a King represents "Cleave" (I have that feat but not Great Cleave) and a Joker represents "Attack of Opportunity" (I don't have Combat Reflexes - I would add Jokers when I get that feat) and number cards up to my level represent "Power Attack". At the beginning of the round, I pick up any cards I played since the beginning of last round, and then when I cleave, I will play the king so that I will remember that I can't cleave again during my Aoo because the King is face up. Same with Power Attack. Plus I like the visual.

Our campaign uses Elements of Magic Revised, so spell cards won't really work, except for signature spells. But if I were a summoner I would certainly get the stats for my favorite summoned critters.

 

[Merkuri]

Some careful card design, specifically to put *effects* at the top of the card (or some edge, anyway) so that a staggered stack can give me all the quick information, and this model could be VERY handy.

Maybe the name of the ability, effect, or item could be on the top of the card, and a short summary of its abilities could be down the right side. A full writeup of the abilities (including the type of bonus, because that's something I always need to know and can never find quickly) would be on the card itself. For spells, the name is on the top and the short description (the one they give in books when they list the spells by class and level) would be written down the side.

I was playing with the idea of having cards that represent your ranks in skills or your ability scores (the 15 of STR card or the 8 of Move Silently card) but I think that's starting to get needlessly complicated. Some things like that might be better represented with a piece of paper than a card. But if you did use cards to represent ability scores like that, you could write things like your carrying capacity on the STR card and the description of the Move Silently ability on the MS card.

I'm tempted to make up such a deck for my favored soul character from the WLD, just to see what it would look like. I'd have to use index cards, and it wouldn't be quite as helpful since I play online, but it might be fun to see how helpful a deck like that could be.

 

[megamania]

The cards I have made were for spells / powers only. It was easier have these than to lug around 10 books.

What I am looking doing will be for possessions only. Basic stuff would be +1 Longsword

Image
+1 att / damage
Glow Yes / No


Then for more complicated stuff +1 Longsword Bane vs Blue Dragons of Speed

Image
+1 att / dam
+1 extra att at best attack value
+2d6 vs Blue Dragons ONLY
Glow Yes / No
Intelligent Yes / No
Additional notes
History


Two sets can be done easily on a computer. One is ALL info and one can be what the PC knows only.

Potions and magical items would be the same.

 

[GypsyComet]

I was playing with the idea of having cards that represent your ranks in skills or your ability scores (the 15 of STR card or the 8 of Move Silently card) but I think that's starting to get needlessly complicated. Some things like that might be better represented with a piece of paper than a card.

Indeed. I'll be fiddling around with index cards a bit to see if I can find the right combination of information and layout.

An early thought is to use one edge of a card for the numbers and an adjacent edge for the name, and use a diagonal stagger. Another early thought is to put the weapon, armor, skill, or saving throw card (or oddities like undead turning) on top, staggering the cards that affect it (feats, class abilities, and stats) beneath it. The model needs some work to add in spell effects and magic items, and the ideal is that most cards are also quite useful sitting along ("what does a 15 STR mean?").

 

[Rel]

I played in a group a few years back whose DM kept index cards with all of the PCs' stats on them. He also had cards for monsters and NPCs. When we got into combat, we would roll initiative and he would shuffle the deck of cards which included our PCs and our opponents. As each person took their turn, he would take their card out and put it at the bottom of the deck. It saved us a few seconds at the beginning of each combat, but that was about it.

I do the exact same thing but I find it is absolutely amazing at saving time throughout the session. I have the PC stats on a card if I need to make a secret Spot/Listen check, etc. and I've got all the monster info down on a card to see at a glance. I never ever have to open a monster book the entire session unless the PC's fight a foe I don't expect...

Except even THEN I don't usually have to crack a book. The great thing about the cards is that they don't go away after the session. I have a big stat of them and oftentimes when I need a "random encounter" I'll just flip through the cards and pull out something appropriate.

Even better, the cards help me keep track of stuff I need to remember about individual monsters or NPC's like which magic items they have and what spells they have memorized. It is also a useful tool for helping me remember tactics that the bad guys are likely to use. Nothing like having the word "POUNCE" written in big letters on the card to help you remember that ability.

I like using props in other areas of the game. It's always nice to give out an actual map rather than trying to describe an area on a map. Picture=Thousand Words and all that. We've experiemented from time to time using coins (usually foreign, usually Mexican) as currency in the game and it's cool so long as your available coinage fits the scale of your game. Nobody wants to have to carry an actual bag with 1,000 "GP" in it to the session.

I also like coins as representing other things important to the game, namely Action Points or something similar. My next campaign will be a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay based Pirates of the Caribbean game and I'm looking for some plastic or metal "Pieces of Eight" to use for Fortune Points. I think that will add an element of fun to the game as they're being tossed across the table at critical moments during the game.

 

[vic20]

In my Iron Heroes campaign, I had a lot of fun with props!

We used nice pro-quality poker chips for hit points, reserve points, and non-lethal damage, as well as for the Iron Heroes tokens. This made it very convenient for the party to glance around the table and see who was really hurt (and who was just whining).

We used Avalon Hill money (basically monopoly-style paper) for money. The amount was baselined as a silver piece, so a "10" would be equivilent to a gold piece. There were denomonations from 1 to 500. We used shiny plastic roman coins as "1000"s, which worked at to be equal to a 100gp Wealth Token for the optional wealth rules in Mastering Iron Heroes. I totally agree with whomever it was that posted about the utility and simplicity of not having to keep track of money anymore.

For items, we started the campaign with a bunch of stickers of equipment I printed , cut out, and stuck on some cheaper poker chips I picked up after christmas at the mall. These were black and white, and were scans from the Iron Heroes book, PHB, and Arms and Equipment guide. We had index cards with images of two hands, palm up, in front of each player, and the equipment the player chose to have in each hand was represented by a token (or tokens) in front of them. This removed my ever having to ask what people were holding as they adventured about. Also, when the items were thrown aside (or at opponents in the case of hand-axes and javelins), the token would be thrown onto the map.

Later in the campaign, I started making treasure cards.

Another prop we used was little felt stars. When any bad-guys were damaged, but with 2/3 or more of their HP, a yellow star would be placed against the mini. When they were between 1/3 and 2/3 HP, they'd get an orange star. When they were at less than 1/3 HP, they'd get a red star. This really helped focus the player's attention on how tough things were, and stopped the in-game player chatter and bookkeeping about enemy health, as the information was visible on the table.

I had a digital projector pointed down at the gametable running photoshop (inspired by the thread on that topic here at enworld), and when the map was at overland scale for the game opening ocean-voyage sequence, I had a really cool card-board collectible punch-out and assemble ship that would mark the group's progress. I can't remember the name of the game; I only ever bought the one pack.

It sounds like there are some great products to check out that have been mentioned in this thread. I hope to be able to have a group to play with again sometime so I can go full-bore with the items!

 

[Morrus]

Another prop we used was little felt stars. When any bad-guys were damaged, but with 2/3 or more of their HP, a yellow star would be placed against the mini. When they were between 1/3 and 2/3 HP, they'd get an orange star. When they were at less than 1/3 HP, they'd get a red star. This really helped focus the player's attention on how tough things were, and stopped the in-game player chatter and bookkeeping about enemy health, as the information was visible on the table.

What an utterly fantastic idea!

 

[FireLance]

I'm in the process of preparing a solo game for someone who's getting back into gaming after a few years, and I'm doing all I can to make the player interface easier for her.

I've done up item cards, condition cards, and when her character finally gets round to casting spells (she's playing a paladin), I'll do up spell cards as well.

One idea that I haven't seen mentioned yet that I'm planning to do is spell effect cards. Like condition cards, they would specify what spells are in effect on the character, so keeping track of bonuses and penalties is easier.

Another idea is ability modifier tokens. Changes to ability scores, whether bonuses or penalties, often change plenty of other game variables. I've come up with a set of small tokens that can be placed on the character sheet whenever the character gets ability damaged or drained, or gets a buff spell. If the PC gets 4 points of Constitution damage, for example, I'd put a "-2" token next to the entries for Constitution modifier, Concentration skill check, Fortitude save and hit points* on the character sheet.

* At first level. At higher levels, I may have to use either multiple tokens or tokens with the number of hit dice already multiplied in.