Deck of Many Deeds - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bawylie Jan 12, 2015 9:05:39	Recently, @theAngryDM wrote a great article on MadAdventurersSociety. It's about using experience points to engage and motivate your players. You can read it here. And you should. I was thinking a lot about that article and started talking about it with m'colleagues over on the D&D forums. After kicking around a few concepts, I settled on a few priorities. I wanted a reward system that: Ties player decision and character development to advancement. Has low numbers. Supports players by rewarding them for playing how they want. Introduces goals. Has a strong emotional relationship between accomplishment and award. What came out of that was the Deck of Many Deeds. It's going to replace the default experience points in my D&D 5th ed campaign. But its a tool that anyone could use any way they wanted. It's a 54 card deck, 4 suits, 13 cards per suit, plus 2 Jokers. The suits correspond to (what's commonly called) the Pillars of D&D: Combat, Social Interaction, Exploration, and Character Growth. Each card has a task and a reward for completion. Some tasks increase in complexity or difficulty as characters level up. View and download the deck here.
#2 iserith Jan 12, 2015 9:47:42	I like it. Trading is a good idea, too. It'd be fun to throw down a couple of cards after a battle and go "I'm an untouchable conqueror!" and take my 4 XP.
#3 Akeisha Jan 12, 2015 10:04:05	Well, I must admit that is a different/unique alternative to the standard XP advancement. I am very much looking forward to hearing how this works for your group once you put it into action...
#4 bawylie Jan 12, 2015 10:11:32	Looks like it'll go live by the end of the month. I'll also use the MVP award & some other stuff. DM whim stuff. Like, for being metal as hell.
#5 shpelley Jan 12, 2015 10:33:56	I like it. Might look into using something like this myself, though probably using "traditional" XP as well. The trading aspect is probably the best improvement to it, as it allows for the players to tailor their fate, as it were, just a little bit. An expansion on the idea would be to have various Feats/Class Features require completing a Card to "unlock" that explains/introduces the mechanic used so it doesn't feel like as much of a jolt.
(Reply to #5) bawylie	shpelley wrote:
#7 Kalissa_Marshall Jan 13, 2015 13:47:39	Minor edit suggestion: On the "Game of Thrones" card, change "advantage on Charisma(Diplomacy)" to "advantage on Charisma(Persuasion)". It's a common error to make since the previous editions used Diplomacy.
(Reply to #7) bawylie	Kalissa_Marshall wrote:
#9 Pompadour64 Jan 14, 2015 13:09:41	+1 I really dig what you've come up with here. I'm eager to hear how it turns out.
(Reply to #9) bawylie	Pompadour64 wrote:
#11 AttilaHerrera Jan 15, 2015 15:19:37	Can you explain what exactly the Jokers (Gold and Black Dragons) do? I am not really understanding it. Is it akin to using a wish spell to accomplish a goal?
(Reply to #11) bawylie	AttilaHerrera wrote:
#13 Coredump00 Jan 15, 2015 18:24:30	Interesting idea....sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I am wondering about the chances of people going up asymetrically... meaning the party is all 3rd level, but since I am better at 'using' the cards, by the time Joe is level 5, I am level 7. Is that a probem?
(Reply to #13) bawylie	Coredump00 wrote:
#15 tubadancross Jan 16, 2015 7:30:59	do you have a list of the cards available, or do you plan on waiting to release this information?
#16 tubadancross Jan 16, 2015 7:31:03	do you have a list of the cards available, or do you plan on waiting to release this information?
(Reply to #16) Coredump00	tubadancross wrote:
#18 Coredump00 Jan 16, 2015 9:03:45	Hey Bawylie, I think I am going to have a lot of questions and observations. They are likely to be (or seem) negative. I am not trying to 'bash' it as a bad idea, but trying to help you flesh out its strong/weak points, and any areas that may need to be watched. It is also quite likely that one persons flaw, is the next persons feature. I don't plan on coming across as a jerk, so if I do, just let me know. The logistics: We all get together (I am one of your players... yay!) and you shuffle and hand out the cards. Each player gets 5 cards. I now have a list of things I can do to get XP. Trade details: Can I trade two of my cards to Kevin? Can he give me 3 cards in return? Can I trade one card with Kevin, and one with Bill, and one with Kathy? What is the time limit on 'once'? If we trade today, can we trade next session? next level? When one of us pulls a new card? When I have enough XP to go up a level, do I keep my current cards, or trade them in? If I have a card I don't want, and no one will trade for it, is there a way I can turn it in? I complete a card, and decide to retain it to try and complete again. Can I still trade it in if I change my mind? Or is the only chance upon completion? About the cards: When you complete a card, do you have to turn it in right away? For the cards that Gain One Level... how does that effect your current XPs? Lose them...keep them...? I assume that if you need 14XP to level up, and you get 16; you level and have 2XP towards the next level. Correct? In the white section of some cards, it says "mark the XP and return this card to the deck" Does that mean you can't retail those cards to do over again? What if you return it, shuffle, and draw the same card? What if you draw it in a later session (but you are the same tier)? If you are level 4, are you allowed to complete the task for 6-10 anyway? Do I Look Like a Cop...level 4, I intimidate and get what i want 4 times. I get my XP. Can I keep it and intimidate 4 more times for 1 XP each? If I do this 4 times, do I get an additional 4 XP (for a total of 8 from the card)? If not, what is meant by "complete the 4th Enterprise"? Jack of all Trades, Game of Thrones, etc: Since you need to complete "all 4 Enterprises", I assume you can't get the Special benefit until at least lvl 16; correct? I Been Everywhere (Typo: planes/plains) What is meant by the (cumulative) How is this different than the Intimidate requirement from 'Cop' card? Tread Carefully (Typo: (box) [box] ) I have more questions/comments about specific cards, but those may changed based on your answers to the general questions. Thanks
(Reply to #17) tubadancross	Coredump00 wrote:
#20 Jenks Jan 16, 2015 9:50:17	I really like the idea, but does it seem like it might pressure players into doing something? Like take the Idealist card (Uphold your ideal to your detriment), it seems to me like player would really start stretching in wierd or possibly counterproductive ways to find a way to complete the quest. This feeling extends to several cards in the deck.
(Reply to #18) bawylie	@Coredump
(Reply to #20) bawylie	Jenks wrote:
#23 bawylie Jan 16, 2015 13:09:40	I want to make it very clear that these are a tool. The only wrong way to use them is if they're not fun. What I would do isn't necessarily the right way, it's just what I wanna do (but why would I do anything that isn't awesome?)
(Reply to #19) bawylie	tubadancross wrote:
(Reply to #22) Jenks	bawylie wrote:
(Reply to #25) bawylie	Jenks wrote:

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

bawylie

Jan 12, 2015 9:05:39

Recently, @theAngryDM wrote a great article on MadAdventurersSociety. It's about using experience points to engage and motivate your players. You can read it here. And you should.

I was thinking a lot about that article and started talking about it with m'colleagues over on the D&D forums. After kicking around a few concepts, I settled on a few priorities. I wanted a reward system that:

Ties player decision and character development to advancement.
Has low numbers.
Supports players by rewarding them for playing how they want.
Introduces goals.
Has a strong emotional relationship between accomplishment and award.

What came out of that was the Deck of Many Deeds. It's going to replace the default experience points in my D&D 5th ed campaign. But its a tool that anyone could use any way they wanted. It's a 54 card deck, 4 suits, 13 cards per suit, plus 2 Jokers. The suits correspond to (what's commonly called) the Pillars of D&D: Combat, Social Interaction, Exploration, and Character Growth. Each card has a task and a reward for completion. Some tasks increase in complexity or difficulty as characters level up. View and download the deck here.

iserith

Jan 12, 2015 9:47:42

I like it. Trading is a good idea, too. It'd be fun to throw down a couple of cards after a battle and go "I'm an untouchable conqueror!" and take my 4 XP.

Akeisha

Jan 12, 2015 10:04:05

Well, I must admit that is a different/unique alternative to the standard XP advancement. I am very much looking forward to hearing how this works for your group once you put it into action...

bawylie

Jan 12, 2015 10:11:32

Looks like it'll go live by the end of the month.

I'll also use the MVP award & some other stuff. DM whim stuff. Like, for being metal as hell.

shpelley

Jan 12, 2015 10:33:56

I like it. Might look into using something like this myself, though probably using "traditional" XP as well. The trading aspect is probably the best improvement to it, as it allows for the players to tailor their fate, as it were, just a little bit. An expansion on the idea would be to have various Feats/Class Features require completing a Card to "unlock" that explains/introduces the mechanic used so it doesn't feel like as much of a jolt.

(Reply to #5)

bawylie

shpelley wrote:

Kalissa_Marshall

Jan 13, 2015 13:47:39

Minor edit suggestion: On the "Game of Thrones" card, change "advantage on Charisma(Diplomacy)" to "advantage on Charisma(Persuasion)". It's a common error to make since the previous editions used Diplomacy.

(Reply to #7)

bawylie

Kalissa_Marshall wrote:

Pompadour64

Jan 14, 2015 13:09:41

I really dig what you've come up with here. I'm eager to hear how it turns out.

(Reply to #9)

bawylie

Pompadour64 wrote:

#11

AttilaHerrera

Jan 15, 2015 15:19:37

Can you explain what exactly the Jokers (Gold and Black Dragons) do? I am not really understanding it. Is it akin to using a wish spell to accomplish a goal?

(Reply to #11)

bawylie

AttilaHerrera wrote:

#13

Coredump00

Jan 15, 2015 18:24:30

Interesting idea....sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

I am wondering about the chances of people going up asymetrically... meaning the party is all 3rd level, but since I am better at 'using' the cards, by the time Joe is level 5, I am level 7. Is that a probem?

(Reply to #13)

bawylie

Coredump00 wrote:

#15

tubadancross

Jan 16, 2015 7:30:59

do you have a list of the cards available, or do you plan on waiting to release this information?

#16

tubadancross

Jan 16, 2015 7:31:03

do you have a list of the cards available, or do you plan on waiting to release this information?

(Reply to #16)

Coredump00

tubadancross wrote:

#18

Coredump00

Jan 16, 2015 9:03:45

Hey Bawylie, I think I am going to have a lot of questions and observations. They are likely to be (or seem) negative. I am not trying to 'bash' it as a bad idea, but trying to help you flesh out its strong/weak points, and any areas that may need to be watched. It is also quite likely that one persons flaw, is the next persons feature. I don't plan on coming across as a jerk, so if I do, just let me know.

The logistics:

We all get together (I am one of your players... yay!) and you shuffle and hand out the cards. Each player gets 5 cards.
I now have a list of things I can do to get XP.

Trade details:
Can I trade two of my cards to Kevin? Can he give me 3 cards in return?
Can I trade one card with Kevin, and one with Bill, and one with Kathy?

What is the time limit on 'once'? If we trade today, can we trade next session? next level? When one of us pulls a new card?

When I have enough XP to go up a level, do I keep my current cards, or trade them in?

If I have a card I don't want, and no one will trade for it, is there a way I can turn it in?

I complete a card, and decide to retain it to try and complete again. Can I still trade it in if I change my mind? Or is the only chance upon completion?

About the cards:

When you complete a card, do you have to turn it in right away?

For the cards that Gain One Level... how does that effect your current XPs? Lose them...keep them...?

I assume that if you need 14XP to level up, and you get 16; you level and have 2XP towards the next level. Correct?

In the white section of some cards, it says "mark the XP and return this card to the deck" Does that mean you *can't* retail those cards to do over again? What if you return it, shuffle, and draw the same card? What if you draw it in a later session (but you are the same tier)?

If you are level 4, are you allowed to complete the task for 6-10 anyway?

Do I Look Like a Cop...level 4, I intimidate and get what i want 4 times. I get my XP. Can I keep it and intimidate 4 more times for 1 XP each? If I do this 4 times, do I get an additional 4 XP (for a total of 8 from the card)? If not, what is meant by "complete the 4th Enterprise"?

Jack of all Trades, Game of Thrones, etc: Since you need to complete "all 4 Enterprises", I assume you can't get the Special benefit until at least lvl 16; correct?

I Been Everywhere (Typo: planes/plains) What is meant by the (cumulative) How is this different than the Intimidate requirement from 'Cop' card?

Tread Carefully (Typo: (box) [box] )

I have more questions/comments about specific cards, but those may changed based on your answers to the general questions.

Thanks

(Reply to #17)

tubadancross

Coredump00 wrote:

#20

Jenks

Jan 16, 2015 9:50:17

I really like the idea, but does it seem like it might pressure players into doing something? Like take the Idealist card (Uphold your ideal to your detriment), it seems to me like player would really start stretching in wierd or possibly counterproductive ways to find a way to complete the quest. This feeling extends to several cards in the deck.

(Reply to #18)

bawylie

@Coredump

(Reply to #20)

bawylie

Jenks wrote:

#23

bawylie

Jan 16, 2015 13:09:40

I want to make it very clear that these are a tool. The only wrong way to use them is if they're not fun. What I would do isn't necessarily the right way, it's just what I wanna do (but why would I do anything that isn't awesome?)

(Reply to #19)

bawylie

tubadancross wrote:

(Reply to #22)

Jenks

bawylie wrote:

(Reply to #25)

bawylie

Jenks wrote: