GameMastery Item Cards: Relics of War

I picked these up on a killer deal during the Black Friday sale and I love them. Being able to pass out the cards is a hoot. My only concern with these is the value... Fortunately I have enough it's unlikely I will need to buy for for some time.

I got a free booster of these with another order. They are handsome and it's an interesting concept. I bet it'll make finding treasure really exciting for the PCs. One major flaw: Why random packs? unless you want the entire set, you have to roll the dice on a pack. I don't give out random treasure, so I don't want random cards. Also: they're kind of stupid for consumables (potions) and unless you use pencil or something, once you fill in the details on the back, that card can never be a different item again.

I'd much prefer smaller, predetermined packs focused around item groups (a pack of just armors, just weapons, etc) Since they're random, I probably won't buy any.

I have been picking up a pack here and there along with Hero's Hoard and the randomness is still annoying. Dragon's Trove is an excellant 110 card set and I would love to just have one of every card that I can show to players instead of many of some and none of others. But that said the artwork in both is well worth the price.

Initially, I was skeptical that these cards were worth the expense versus anticipated use, then I received an 11-card pack. The GameMastery Item Cards aren't a game, rather they're a game aid---I'm not talking about the Three-Dragon Ante type of game aid, (an actual, playable game that stands alone or can be used as a part of an adventure)--no, these cards are physical, graphic representations of actual items acquired throughout an adventure. Take the 'Ring' card, for example: one side shows the artist’s representation of a simple ring, the opposite side gives a very brief description of the ring, and best of all, includes a small blank space for DM or Player notes regarding the item! I use this space to annotate my group's code system. In the case of the ring card, I've placed a small piece of transparent tape over the blank space and written in alcohol pen 'R14b', which allows my group to cross-reference our campaign journal for a more thorough description of that particular find. These cards allow the DM to give the player distinctive representations of special items gained. There’s no wheedling months down the road when the sorcerer declares he has a ring of giant strength +2—he either has his item card or he doesn’t. Additionally, it’s a great way to manage loss of items-- just take up the item card when the scroll is used up or the sword is swallowed by the purple worm. Suggestions: 1) Use a pencil on the blank spaces or a thumb of transparent tape, then write in with an alcohol pen; it’s a small space, so codes work better than paragraphs. 2) You may not want to use a card until you have duplicates—duplicates are a good way of sight-management, as whatever you give a player, you have a like-copy in your books, which helps when the player loses the card or claims to have something you didn’t give him…