Power Cards as New Gameplay Mechanic - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Power Cards as New Gameplay Mechanic

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
essiak
Feb 06, 2009 21:00:19 Aside from gains in convience / speed, what do you folks have in mind for these WotC cards as tools for new / altered gameplay mechanic? Here is an example of what I have in mind:

Critical Hits while bloodied: shuffle all your class powers cards except your current chosen powers, regardless of power level. Draw the top card. You can decide to use that power on your next turn instead of doing maximum damage this turn. Basically, this suggest a high adrenaline situation where a character can enact a power of potentially much higher level -- something he or she will likely try to do again but will only acheive at higher levels or through retraining.

These cards have inspired house rules with more profound impact, but they make character building incompatible with DDI unfortunately. Any ideas you may have, I'll be delighted to read.
#2
nihzlet
Feb 06, 2009 21:45:22 ...What? No. Just no.
#3
brainstem
Feb 06, 2009 22:19:05 I kind of like where you're going.

Maybe you get to shuffle through spent powers and one power becomes 'unspent.'
#4
essiak
Feb 06, 2009 22:38:42 That would certainly make sense for higher level characters who wouldn't have much to gain in picking a power card at random -- the higher the character's level, the higher the chances the power will be weaker than opting for full damage for the attack.

For lower level characters, I'd keep my first idea. My intent was to bring a higher power into the narrative on very rare occasions. I believe that to assume a character only trains for his or her next level is a way of thinking induced by the game's structure. I prefer to think that characters simply train for higher levels in much more general terms, and using the cards in that way allows the player to work this into his or her roleplay.

I'll discuss this with my players and see if they prefer to have both options or to have different bloodied critical mechanics at different tiers. Thanks!
#5
wizardmon
Feb 07, 2009 1:26:26 How about simply shuffling encounter power cards from the latest and second latest levels that the character could know from. This way, you still have a bit of random, and it still scales with level (albeit, with diminished awesome at 1st level). On natural 20, choose to forgo benefits of a critical hit, and instead shuffle "deck" and draw a card, and have access to drawn power during your next turn.

I think that if you drop maximum damage and "magic weapon" bonus, the average damage of the forgone crit and the gained encounter power would even out.

Sounds like an exciting house rule!
#6
ramses_iii
Feb 07, 2009 2:18:23 Go ahead and knock yourself out, but I'm going to take a pass on adding any card-based mechanics to my game. I don't think it's a bad idea, but it's not for me or for my group.
#7
essiak
Feb 07, 2009 20:57:22 So I guess it's 50-50 in favor or against getting power cards involved in gameplay mechanics? For those 50% in favor, I have one more question. Some context: I'm pretty much the only one driving the leap from 3.5 to 4th edition in my group (mostly veteran players and a fellow DM with over 25+ years playing D&D). The resistance point can be summed up as this: spellcasters have lost their spell list's breadth and depth. They have tried 4th edition, but feel constrained.

I want to try this house rule, but the fun behind its execution depends on the availability of power cards: use class powers in much the same way as cleric spells in 3.5. Basically, your character knows all of its class' powers (the card deck), but chooses which ones will be available on any given day using the number and type of "known powers" table in PHB1 (the player's hand).

This is a house rule that would be painful to implement using PHB1 4th Ed because powers don't benefit from tables and summaries as spells did in PHB 3.5. And DDI isn't built for such a house rule. But power cards make this house rule viable, even fun I think. And considering what my players want, this might be the only way to get them into this new edition.

So, my question: Do you think this house rule will break 4th Ed around the table? If so, I'm not any better off. I personally don't see how it would break it in a fundamental way, but I may not have thought everything through.

Thanks for your input.
#8
Cyber-Dave
Feb 08, 2009 1:13:09 You can stick me in the "not in favor of" camp. Its not that its a bad mechanic, but its not how I like my D&D. Right now, powers might be formatted like "cards," but they still essentially play like typical D&D class abilities. The formatting just makes them easier to read and use. If you turn the formatting into something more than formatting, into an actual mechanic, it really would not feel much like D&D to me. Mechanically, D&D should be about paper, pencils, and dice, that is all. Cards are there as a system of reference, not mechanics.
#9
doctorhook
Feb 08, 2009 1:37:26 This is a bit of an arbitrary point, but... card rules just aren't a normal part of D&D. Rules on cards are fine, but card-based mechanics? This isn't Magic. (<-It's an easy comparison to draw.)

This might be a fun rule in a homebrew, but I think it's a long way from being suitable for official support. Nothing personal.
#10
Mirtek
Feb 08, 2009 10:04:20 Well, if you like it, use it in your group.

I wouldn't want to use it or play in a game where it's used. So I hope that WotC never introduces something like this into D&D as that would mean that I would be confronted with it at RPGA games.
#11
subtle
Feb 08, 2009 15:08:42 One of the things that I heard back when 4e was just coming out is that they playtested many mechanics like this. The Crusader, from the Tome of Battle, used a card deck mechanic for their abilitys. I think they toyed with the idea of releasing power cards in boosters instead of in books.

While I would enjoy the mechanic, I think many other players would not, and ultimately it dosen't fit the game well.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 essiak Feb 06, 2009 21:00:19	Aside from gains in convience / speed, what do you folks have in mind for these WotC cards as tools for new / altered gameplay mechanic? Here is an example of what I have in mind: Critical Hits while bloodied: shuffle all your class powers cards except your current chosen powers, regardless of power level. Draw the top card. You can decide to use that power on your next turn instead of doing maximum damage this turn. Basically, this suggest a high adrenaline situation where a character can enact a power of potentially much higher level -- something he or she will likely try to do again but will only acheive at higher levels or through retraining. These cards have inspired house rules with more profound impact, but they make character building incompatible with DDI unfortunately. Any ideas you may have, I'll be delighted to read.
#2 nihzlet Feb 06, 2009 21:45:22	...What? No. Just no.
#3 brainstem Feb 06, 2009 22:19:05	I kind of like where you're going. Maybe you get to shuffle through spent powers and one power becomes 'unspent.'
#4 essiak Feb 06, 2009 22:38:42	That would certainly make sense for higher level characters who wouldn't have much to gain in picking a power card at random -- the higher the character's level, the higher the chances the power will be weaker than opting for full damage for the attack. For lower level characters, I'd keep my first idea. My intent was to bring a higher power into the narrative on very rare occasions. I believe that to assume a character only trains for his or her next level is a way of thinking induced by the game's structure. I prefer to think that characters simply train for higher levels in much more general terms, and using the cards in that way allows the player to work this into his or her roleplay. I'll discuss this with my players and see if they prefer to have both options or to have different bloodied critical mechanics at different tiers. Thanks!
#5 wizardmon Feb 07, 2009 1:26:26	How about simply shuffling encounter power cards from the latest and second latest levels that the character could know from. This way, you still have a bit of random, and it still scales with level (albeit, with diminished awesome at 1st level). On natural 20, choose to forgo benefits of a critical hit, and instead shuffle "deck" and draw a card, and have access to drawn power during your next turn. I think that if you drop maximum damage and "magic weapon" bonus, the average damage of the forgone crit and the gained encounter power would even out. Sounds like an exciting house rule!
#6 ramses_iii Feb 07, 2009 2:18:23	Go ahead and knock yourself out, but I'm going to take a pass on adding any card-based mechanics to my game. I don't think it's a bad idea, but it's not for me or for my group.
#7 essiak Feb 07, 2009 20:57:22	So I guess it's 50-50 in favor or against getting power cards involved in gameplay mechanics? For those 50% in favor, I have one more question. Some context: I'm pretty much the only one driving the leap from 3.5 to 4th edition in my group (mostly veteran players and a fellow DM with over 25+ years playing D&D). The resistance point can be summed up as this: spellcasters have lost their spell list's breadth and depth. They have tried 4th edition, but feel constrained. I want to try this house rule, but the fun behind its execution depends on the availability of power cards: use class powers in much the same way as cleric spells in 3.5. Basically, your character knows all of its class' powers (the card deck), but chooses which ones will be available on any given day using the number and type of "known powers" table in PHB1 (the player's hand). This is a house rule that would be painful to implement using PHB1 4th Ed because powers don't benefit from tables and summaries as spells did in PHB 3.5. And DDI isn't built for such a house rule. But power cards make this house rule viable, even fun I think. And considering what my players want, this might be the only way to get them into this new edition. So, my question: Do you think this house rule will break 4th Ed around the table? If so, I'm not any better off. I personally don't see how it would break it in a fundamental way, but I may not have thought everything through. Thanks for your input.
#8 Cyber-Dave Feb 08, 2009 1:13:09	You can stick me in the "not in favor of" camp. Its not that its a bad mechanic, but its not how I like my D&D. Right now, powers might be formatted like "cards," but they still essentially play like typical D&D class abilities. The formatting just makes them easier to read and use. If you turn the formatting into something more than formatting, into an actual mechanic, it really would not feel much like D&D to me. Mechanically, D&D should be about paper, pencils, and dice, that is all. Cards are there as a system of reference, not mechanics.
#9 doctorhook Feb 08, 2009 1:37:26	This is a bit of an arbitrary point, but... card rules just aren't a normal part of D&D. Rules on cards are fine, but card-based mechanics? This isn't Magic. (<-It's an easy comparison to draw.) This might be a fun rule in a homebrew, but I think it's a long way from being suitable for official support. Nothing personal.
#10 Mirtek Feb 08, 2009 10:04:20	Well, if you like it, use it in your group. I wouldn't want to use it or play in a game where it's used. So I hope that WotC never introduces something like this into D&D as that would mean that I would be confronted with it at RPGA games.
#11 subtle Feb 08, 2009 15:08:42	One of the things that I heard back when 4e was just coming out is that they playtested many mechanics like this. The Crusader, from the Tome of Battle, used a card deck mechanic for their abilitys. I think they toyed with the idea of releasing power cards in boosters instead of in books. While I would enjoy the mechanic, I think many other players would not, and ultimately it dosen't fit the game well.