Would cards really be that bad?

[rogueattorney]

Didn't WotC attempt a card-based game, with a collectable aspect back in 1995?
Doesn't anyone remember Everway?
No?
You know why?
'Cus it sank like a steel duck, that's why!
Does anyone here really think that WotC has THAT short a memory?

I don't like a lot of the things WotC does, and I don't like the general direction they've taken D&D since they acquired it, but I don't think they're stupid. (Prove me wrong, WotC, I dare you.)

EDIT - I suppose I might not be cynical enough, and there is a segment of the gaming public that will buy anything so long as it's shiney and new and says "D&D" on the front.

[And for the record, I really like Everway. But then I bought it and a few boxes of the booster packs on ebay (all still in shrinkwrap) for about $20, when it would have cost me about $60 when the thing originally came out.]

R.A.

 

[WizarDru]

Note that there's a freeware HeroQuest PC game, as well (yes, it actually uses the HeroQuest rules). As a plus, it's based on Jamis Buck's dungeon generator software.

Cool for me, but not terribly useful for my 5 year-old son.

Also, there's Descent: Journeys in the Dark, these days. But again, not for my son. HQ rocks because it's so simple and with a little help, he can play it.

 

[Rasyr]

But what does that add to the game? How is it better than just writing the feat or whatnot on your character sheet? Since there is no incentive to have "official" cards like in Magic, the cards have to bring some value to the game. Make the game easier to play, make it flow smoother, etc ..

Adds? Well, for execs, it adds the possibility of increased sales from the cards.

And who says this wouldn't make things flow easier and smoother?
Hmm... name of Feat written on character sheet, where you have to look Feat up to use it (depending on how complicated it is).
OR
Feat is on a card, along with the rules for it. No look up, no need to erference anything else?

Sounds like the latter is going to allow for smoother play here.

If it's just an additional 'deck' you need to supplement you character sheet, there is really no reason to buy the cards, and thus no point in making them. Because people could just write their "deck" on the sheet.

The point was that the player's "deck" of cards IS his character sheet, not a supplement to it. What I was postulating was basically replaces the the character sheet. A character deck would also allow for making it much easier to sit down and have a "quick" game as it is more portable than a number of books.

With such decks, they could also hold "D&D tournaments" as well, with prizes and such ( a draw, and a way to increase sales over and above the costs of the tournaments).

And their possible use is? D&D adventures have monsters and traps keyed to locations or events in the adventure. How is a deck with monsters and traps going to tie into this?

Official adventures would use cards in place of stat blocks within the book. The idea being for the cards to be played by the GM (i.e. put face up on table when PCs encounter it) at the proper time.

For games in home settings, they would provide the GMs with instant encounters by combining the proper selection of cards that he wants/needs.

Anyways, I was just hypothesizing. I never said the idea was a perfect one, just that it was one way they could do what had been previously suggested/talked about in this thread and the last two 4E threads.

 

[kenobi65]

And who says this wouldn't make things flow easier and smoother?
Hmm... name of Feat written on character sheet, where you have to look Feat up to use it (depending on how complicated it is).
OR
Feat is on a card, along with the rules for it. No look up, no need to erference anything else?

Sounds like the latter is going to allow for smoother play here.

Until you lose or misplace that one card. As several others have noted, for at least some players, moving rules out of books and onto individual cards may make it *more* difficult. Might work just fine for you; it'd be a pain in the kiester for me.

As I see it, the problem with cards isn't just when you've got *one* card; that's fairly easy. It's when you're dealing with a stack, a deck, a boxful of cards. Then, it has the potential to quickly become an organizational nightmare.

 

[Rasyr]

hehe.. Didn't you ever play M:tG?

 

[Numion]

Adds? Well, for execs, it adds the possibility of increased sales from the cards.

And who says this wouldn't make things flow easier and smoother?
Hmm... name of Feat written on character sheet, where you have to look Feat up to use it (depending on how complicated it is).
OR
Feat is on a card, along with the rules for it. No look up, no need to erference anything else?

Sounds like the latter is going to allow for smoother play here.

I doubt it. A character sheet gives you a characters abilities with one look, instead of flipping through a deck of cards. And just as you can't see the complete picture of how a MtG deck is supposed to work, I doubt seeing a D&D character from a deck would be any easier. You can try this out by comparing a regular D&D character sheet with one that's written on 40 (or whatever) cards.

As for remembering feats, most players can handle that, and those that don't can summarize the feat on their sheet. Players usually don't look up feats during combat since they know them. Spells are sometimes looked at during combat, but I don't see the cards as a solution to this either. Flipping through a deck isn't that much faster than flipping through a book if you're contemplating between a few choices.

At least, any time gained from this is lost by having a much more complicated and inflexible character recording system. I mean, if it was a deck only, you'd have to get rid off the D&D math of modifiers and such, since you had nowhere to store those modifiers (no sheet, remember). For example it wouldn't be doable in cards to have different cards for a STR +4 mod, Belt of Giant Strength +3, Feapon Focus +1, BAB +5 and Sword +3 cards if you had to calculate those modifiers together every now and then. And if you do write it down, you're back to using some kind of character sheet.