Character Cards

Chris Rice · 07-21-2018, 03:40 PM

I just noticed that a work in progress "Character Card" was posted on the Fantasy Trip Facebook page. Up till now I've had little interest in this idea. However, the example shown looks great! Simple, clear, elegant, nice graphical style. A pack of these could really help sell the game. Want a quick pregenerated character? Pick a card!

ParadoxGames · 07-21-2018, 04:45 PM

I, too, love this idea.

Steve Jackson · 07-21-2018, 04:49 PM

Glad you like! Still in progress.

Terquem · 07-21-2018, 05:11 PM

ooooo now I want a dry erase blank character card set...

Steve Jackson · 07-21-2018, 09:10 PM

What would you do with a whole set of erasable ones?

As opposed to just copying the blank form and filling them in?

If I am missing an idea that people need for play and will pay good money for, I want to know . . .

schoon · 07-22-2018, 01:57 AM

Love this idea.

...and for the lazy, here's the link

JLV · 07-22-2018, 02:18 AM

Well, I can see having a bunch (if the cost were reasonable) so I could quickly draft up a slew of monster/NPC characters for those big fights that crop up from time to time, but I can't really see the Player characters needing such a thing.

But now that I think about it some more, it might be nice to have something I could erase and re-mark, even for my PC, since he's going to learn new things, adjust attributes, and take and heal injuries and fatigue all through the game, isn't he?

I could see buying these.

David Bofinger · 07-22-2018, 07:12 AM

A deck of starting characters would be pretty handy for NPCs as well: random encounters; searching for hirelings; the wizard's bodyguards; who's your cellmate in prison; etc. I don't think they need to be dry erase: if they survive long enough they'll have been copied to a character sheet.

You'd need a bunch of decks: one for warriors, one for archers, wizards, Jacks of all trades, etc. So you can pick based on a rough type. With info to help role-playing as well as game mechanics.

ST 11, DX 12, IQ 9
Knife (1), Sword (1), Shield (1), Bow (2), Alertness (2), Elvish (1), Boats (1)
Cloth armour, small shield
Polite, Cautious, Likes warm weather
"If the orc commander is smart he'll have put archers amongst those boulders."

tomc · 07-22-2018, 07:35 AM

My dungeon generator has decks of cards for foes, broken down by attribute total and type (humans 32-34, dwarves 36-40, etc) and well as monsters grouped by whatever is useful (flying creatures, undead, water dwellers, super-tough ones, etc).

You can mimic or adjust the bell curve you'd get from rolling multiple dice on a chart by adding or removing duplicate (or just similar) cards.

Skarg · 07-22-2018, 11:37 AM

I and the other TFT GMs I played with maintained a supply of pre-made opponents and other NPCs at various levels of detail, as well as pre-thought-of-names lists and character/situation ideas that might be applied to different unplaced NPCs as made sense in the game situation.

However we didn't like re-using NPC stat blocks for people who were already used, especially not ones whose details were already known to the players. (I still have the folders with most of the characters & NPCs (including roadside thugs) who ever died in the campaign. Kind of fun to glance at and see who died and sometimes how (I often note in shorthand wounds with things like location, type, whether an arrow is stuck in the body, e.g. "-3 L arm A").

It's so easy to make a TFT character and only requires a few inches of paper space.

ST 11 Spear 1d
DX 11(10) Lg Shld 2 -1DX
IQ 9 Dagger 1-1
MA 10 11sp 32cp in bp, bag w. 3 dys rtns
PlWpns Shld Knf Swm Farm Alert

I can still make that stuff up about as quickly as I can type or write it down.

07-21-2018, 03:40 PM	#1
Chris Rice Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland	Character Cards I just noticed that a work in progress "Character Card" was posted on the Fantasy Trip Facebook page. Up till now I've had little interest in this idea. However, the example shown looks great! Simple, clear, elegant, nice graphical style. A pack of these could really help sell the game. Want a quick pregenerated character? Pick a card!

07-21-2018, 04:45 PM	#2
ParadoxGames Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: New Jersey	Re: Character Cards I, too, love this idea.

07-21-2018, 04:49 PM	#3
Steve Jackson President and EIC Join Date: Jul 2004	Re: Character Cards Glad you like! Still in progress.

07-21-2018, 05:11 PM	#4
Terquem Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Idaho Falls	Re: Character Cards ooooo now I want a dry erase blank character card set...

07-21-2018, 09:10 PM	#5
Steve Jackson President and EIC Join Date: Jul 2004	Re: Character Cards What would you do with a whole set of erasable ones? As opposed to just copying the blank form and filling them in? If I am missing an idea that people need for play and will pay good money for, I want to know . . .

07-22-2018, 01:57 AM	#6
schoon Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Oakland, CA, USA	Re: Character Cards Love this idea. ...and for the lazy, here's the link

07-22-2018, 02:18 AM	#7
JLV Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Arizona	Re: Character Cards Well, I can see having a bunch (if the cost were reasonable) so I could quickly draft up a slew of monster/NPC characters for those big fights that crop up from time to time, but I can't really see the Player characters needing such a thing. But now that I think about it some more, it might be nice to have something I could erase and re-mark, even for my PC, since he's going to learn new things, adjust attributes, and take and heal injuries and fatigue all through the game, isn't he? I could see buying these.

07-22-2018, 07:12 AM	#8
David Bofinger Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Sydney, Australia	Re: Character Cards A deck of starting characters would be pretty handy for NPCs as well: random encounters; searching for hirelings; the wizard's bodyguards; who's your cellmate in prison; etc. I don't think they need to be dry erase: if they survive long enough they'll have been copied to a character sheet. You'd need a bunch of decks: one for warriors, one for archers, wizards, Jacks of all trades, etc. So you can pick based on a rough type. With info to help role-playing as well as game mechanics. ST 11, DX 12, IQ 9 Knife (1), Sword (1), Shield (1), Bow (2), Alertness (2), Elvish (1), Boats (1) Cloth armour, small shield Polite, Cautious, Likes warm weather "If the orc commander is smart he'll have put archers amongst those boulders."

07-22-2018, 07:35 AM	#9
tomc Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carrboro, NC	Re: Character Cards My dungeon generator has decks of cards for foes, broken down by attribute total and type (humans 32-34, dwarves 36-40, etc) and well as monsters grouped by whatever is useful (flying creatures, undead, water dwellers, super-tough ones, etc). You can mimic or adjust the bell curve you'd get from rolling multiple dice on a chart by adding or removing duplicate (or just similar) cards. __________________ OgreMap2 Freedom of Speech is not Freedom of Podium

07-22-2018, 11:37 AM	#10
Skarg Join Date: May 2015	Re: Character Cards I and the other TFT GMs I played with maintained a supply of pre-made opponents and other NPCs at various levels of detail, as well as pre-thought-of-names lists and character/situation ideas that might be applied to different unplaced NPCs as made sense in the game situation. However we didn't like re-using NPC stat blocks for people who were already used, especially not ones whose details were already known to the players. (I still have the folders with most of the characters & NPCs (including roadside thugs) who ever died in the campaign. Kind of fun to glance at and see who died and sometimes how (I often note in shorthand wounds with things like location, type, whether an arrow is stuck in the body, e.g. "-3 L arm A"). It's so easy to make a TFT character and only requires a few inches of paper space. ST 11 Spear 1d DX 11(10) Lg Shld 2 -1DX IQ 9 Dagger 1-1 MA 10 11sp 32cp in bp, bag w. 3 dys rtns PlWpns Shld Knf Swm Farm Alert I can still make that stuff up about as quickly as I can type or write it down.