The Equipment Cards seemed like a niche item, but they're looking to be far more popular than I'd have guessed. What am I missing out on?
I don't have any of the cards in my hands, and have only seen the examples that were posted on this site. Are all your players packing cards of all their equipment? If not, how do you decide which items do get the card treatment? What play advantages have you found in using the card other than "you find this"?
I use item cards to represent magic items only. If a player has a card, that player knows it is a magic item. As players get higher in level they get more feats, class abilities, and magic items. I've found that using Paizo item cards helps players remember what they've got and get more use out of their items. And players love it when I'm describing the treasure I'm simultaneously handing out cards. It makes them feel like they've really won something. Plus it is an easy way to keep track of potion use. They turn in the card to me after drinking a potion.
I don't have the Equipment cards. I've been tempted though. After five sets of item cards we still don't have anything for magical rope. I'm not sure I want to spend $10 bucks on the equipment cards just to get a card for rope. Maybe it will appear in the next set!
Haven't used them yet, but I think it might be the cure to "what do I have again" from players. Tossin' a card onto the table saying "I use this fire breath potion I got from Alexis the Alchemist" is a lot more exciting than "umm...errr...oh, yeah, I've got a fire breath potion I can use."
I plan on using the "normal" item cards as treasure when I DM next.
Right now I'm playing, and I'm using the adventure gear cards to represent my equipment. Sure I could right it all down... but I just placed the cards in some 3 x 3 card holder pages and inserted that into the binder that already had my character sheets.
Handing your players items they can actually see and hold generate a much greater production value to my campaign. Other things like Campaign Coins and translucent glass "beads" to represent gems further the depth of the campaign. All the players have a 1" binder that includes character sheets, player campaign world information (Ptolus), campaign notes, maps, plastic sleeves for the item cards, and a small leather pouch for their gold and gems.
For the record, I hand out item cards for everything. If I don't own a card that represents what they want, I just make one as a place holder until Paizo publishes what I need.
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I use them primarily for magic items, or items that look nice enough that they might be magic, or maybe some special item that is key to the storyline that I don't want the players to lose track of. I like throwing the cards out on the table when the players open the chest and see what's inside, or search the body of a fallen enemy. I record the room where they found the item in small writing on the back, and as soon as they identify the item I write down the real stats. The practical benefit is that no more items get magically replicated because two players wrote the item down on their sheet (this has happened on occasion) and no items get lost because no one writes them down (this happens way more often).
The Equipment Cards seemed like a niche item, but they're looking to be far more popular than I'd have guessed. What am I missing out on?
I don't have any of the cards in my hands, and have only seen the examples that were posted on this site. Are all your players packing cards of all their equipment? If not, how do you decide which items do get the card treatment? What play advantages have you found in using the card other than "you find this"?
I have used the cards in a few sessions and the benefit was obvious to me immediately. The game went from scrawled treasure notes that were duplicated some times triplicated on different character sheets to everyone knowing what they had at all times. On top of that the art is great.
I put my cards in clear plastic card protectors (these are sold mainly for collectors of sports cards and Magic etc). You can write on the back with wet-erase markers and thus are able to reuse your cards without any eraser marks.
During the game I tell the players what they have found but I do not tell them what is magical or not. This has lead to my group stock piling what they have until the end of session then casting a bunch of detect magics on a pile of equipment.
Anything that shows up magic I pass them a card with on a code on the back. If they then cast Identify (100gp pearl needed) I reference the card code with my magic treasure list and fill out the details for them.
It is a lot of work but it isn't cumbersome. I have a couple packs of the mundane items but I haven’t been able to use them yet as my group hasn't played in months. However once we pick up again I'll hand everyone their pouch and they can pull their items cards out and they'll know exactly what they have (magic wise).
If you have a regular gaming group I would highly recommend them.
Liam
This weekend TUnit remembered the name of an obscure shop from Sasserine so he got the coveted 'Monkey's paw coin.' anything really cool or great RPing may earn the monkeys paw from me...
At the end of the alley, just as the withered gnome said, is a green faded door (gather info (DC 20). A plaque on the door has the picture of a Capachon (sp?) sitting on a Sun. The door is not locked and the dark room behind is filled with shelves.
Shelves line the walls 30 feet high on all six sides of the room and several counters and glass cases also. On each of the shelves are hundreds upon hundreds of items: Potions, wands, armor, weapons. Looking at them all is overwhelming. Only one counter does not have any items. Instead a carved wooden monkey sits on its glass top. The monkey is holding out one paw.
I let the players read the backs (they know all the items are magical) then choose one. What the item does is something I then have to create and they can only discover through use (cumulative % chance for each use--really though that is just to give me some time to be creative :). To keep from overpowering the party most of the items have limited uses per day. For example using the ivory sword might bring the image of a dire mammoth and the word 'gwas' to mind. Invoking the word causes the sword to increase to size large for 1d3 rounds, usable once per day.
wow if only I got that much inspiration when working on submissions O:)
By the way, if Paizo's listening, you need only Pdf that one deck, the others are perfectly wonderful as they are!
I've bought over twenty copies of the Adventure Gear deck as is (one deck per player in multiple campaigns), and I hear that lots of other DMs are buying one per player, so I'm guessing Paizo is quite happy with it in physical form.
I use them as token creatures in M:tG games >.>
Honestly I don't really see the use in them. It's just something else for the players to lose. Hard enough for my group to keep track of their character sheets.
I can empathize with the concern for idjit players that can't remember thier own socks (or bathing) on a regular basis.
Of course, it is amazing how much of a motivator " if you don't have the card, you don't have the magic item " can be.
And like many others, the item cards make excellent hand-outs of magic items that are looted and/or commissioned and/or made. I wouldn't go so far as to use them for mundane items per se ... although for some of my players the temptation does recur. It's also a good thing to do for characters with a Vow of Poverty, giving them some eye candy to go with thier limited gear tolerances.
Of course, it is amazing how much of a motivator " if you don't have the card, you don't have the magic item " can be.
Once we start gaming again, that'll be my primary motivator for my players to keep their cards with their character sheet. A physical, tangible card to represent what the players are carrying on their characters directly implies ownership and possession of the item. My players really like that concept, and so do I.
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In case anybody cares, I've re-evaluated my item card strategy. So far, I've been trying to use the regular cards for most of the items that PCs discovery and/or carry. When they find something, they get a regular card. When they use Detect Magic or Identify and figure out what it is, they get a foil card. I wanted the cards for regular stuff and the cards for magic stuff to look different. Problem is, the new sets don't have foils anymore and there are lots of cool things that I want to use as magic items (flaming swords, voodoo dolls, etc.) that don't come shiny.
So, I still want regular stuff and unidentified magic stuff to look different to known magic items. What I'm thinking is I'll use the regular item cards for magic items (plus masterwork items and other unusual things) and use black and white photocopies of cards for mundane stuff. I can make the copies on card stock, so they'll be sturdy, and I can paste in pictures from other sources for a few items not available in Paizo sets (different clothing sets, simple weapons and armor, etc.). I think some smaller company may even sell a b&w item card pdf based on the SRD. My players can even color/decorate/customize the homemade cards if they want, and I can still keep track of what they're carrying and have in their hands. And I guess I'll use my foils for really special items and artifacts.
One conundrum this raises is what to do with the Adventure Gear cards that are supposed to represent mundane items? I can call some of them masterwork, and thus deserving of a fancy card, and I'll make the rest magic, but some of them will probably just be little, "convenience" magic items. Some of these I can imagine off the top of my head, but I'd appreciate some different ideas and help figuring out what magic items the other cards stand for. Thanks.
01 Acid - maybe acid is just hard to come by?
02 Alchemical Fire - Alchemists' Fire
03 Alchemical Stone - Thunderstone
04 Backpack - Heward's Handy Haversack
05 Bag - Bag of Holding, Bag of Tricks, Bag of Devouring
06 Bag of Marbles - marbles that re-collect themselves and jump back into the back when a command word is uttered
07 Bedroll - a bedroll that guarantees a restful night sleep regardless of conditions, or one that bestows 8 hours of sleep in only 4.
08 Bell - Chime of Interruption, Chime of Opening, a bell that summons and unseen servant
09 Blanket - same as bedroll, or a Blanket of Security that gives +2 save vs Fear
10 Block and Tackle - can lift tremendous weights by itself
11 Bottle of Wine - really good wine?
12 Caltrops - multiply and cover a large area when one is thrown on the floor
13 Candle - Candle of Invocation, Candle of Truth, Everburning Candle, Candle of Bug Repellent
14 Chalk - Passwall Chalk where you draw a door and it appears (like in Pan's Labyrinth)
15 Crowbar - Crowbar of Opening
16 Deck of Cards - Deck of Illusions
17 Dice - lucky dice that the player gets to reroll once per day and take the best of the two rolls 9for in-game die rolling situations ONLY)
18 Disguise Kit - masterwork disguise kit
19 Flask - Iron Flask or just one that is always full with one's alcohol of choice
20 Grappling Hook - ?
21 Hammer - Silent Hammer that makes no noise when used, or a Maul of the Titans in disguise
22 Healing Kit - masterwork healing kit
23 Holy Symbol - masterwork holy symbol [note: I think holy symbols should come in +1-+5 varieties too.]
24 Holy Water - holy water
25 Ink and Quill - a quill that takes dictation or records conversations all by itself
26 Lamp Oil - oil that, when burned, casts Dispell Invisibility within its range
27 Lantern - Lantern of Revealing, Everbright Lantern
28 Lock - ?
29 Lute - masterwork lute
30 Magnifying Glass - Glass of Minute Seeing
31 Manacles - have some sort of planar biding spell on them
32 Mirror - ?
33 Parchment - ?
34 Piton - a piton that duplicates itself when driven into a wall (so you hammer it in place, and its clone stays but you can take the original and hammer it in somewhere else)
35 Poison - maybe poison is just hard to come by?
36 Pole - telescoping pole
37 Pouch - Pouch of Holding
38 Rations - rations that never go bad or keep refilling themselves
39 Ring -
40 Rope - Rope of Climbing
41 Sack - Sack of Endless Grain
42 Saddle - nobody ever falls out of this saddle, or it gives bestows Animal Empathy
43 Saddlebags - Saddlebags of Holding
44 Scroll Tube - delivers any scroll or map stored within without having to search
45 Spellbook - a spellbook
46 Spyglass - allows user to see really, REALLY far
47 Tankard - everfull
48 Tent - provides resistance to the elements, and it's waterproof
49 Thieves Tools - masterwork thieves Tools
50 Tinderbox - starts a fire even when windy or wet
51 Torch - not Everburning Torch 'cause it's out
52 Waterskin - Waterskin of Endless Water
53 Whetstone - makes weapons Keen for the next few rounds
54 Whistle - wasn't there a whistle that animated zombies in Sunless Citidel?
Okay, that wasn't too hard, but I's still like other people's ideas. Thanks again.
The Equipment Cards seemed like a niche item, but they're looking to be far more popular than I'd have guessed. What am I missing out on?
Our current DM is big on handouts (maps, notes, itmes) and it's been fun (never really played with handouts other than a few Call of Cthulhu games ages ago.) As we've found magic items (potions, rings, wands, etc) he's handed out an index card with a drawing and the info (providing we've gotten said item identified.) I just bought a box of each booster set of cards that I figure I'll contribute some extras to the handouts cause since they're gorgeous and just the right size to stick in a folder/binder/diebag plus they'll save our DM some time with the artwork (or, perhaps, inspire him to include more magic items...always a plus!)
- Chris Shadowens
How do I use item cards? I let them gather dust in a pile next to my gaming stuff. I get gobs of the blasted things every time I buy something from Paizo. I still haven't figured out a use for them. Then again it's not like our games are heavy loot and plunder style games anyway. Besides when I do throw in a potion or magic shield or something I like to describe it myself rather stop everything and dig through a big pile of cards.
It would be one thing if the item cards suggested what they might be--maybe have a 1-10 list for easy rolling of what the card might represent. The idea that it's just a pretty picture of...something??
Well that does me LESS than no good. That makes MORE work for me as a DM.
So yeah. Not much good to me either. Go figure why they sell so well. At least they're supporting a good cause!
Well, if they're not serving any useful purpose and you don't want them, you're more than welcome to drop them in an envelope and send them to me.
:-)
I haven't had a chance to DM in years, but if I get the chance I'll certainly be using the item cards. I don't know that I'll use much for mundane items but I think that they'll be a hit for magic items. I'll also probably be using a number of plastic poker chips for various things, too.
There was a thread on Hordelings not long ago about such trends in gaming, and I think that there's much to be said for bag-n-binder approach.
Besides when I do throw in a potion or magic shield or something I like to describe it myself rather stop everything and dig through a big pile of cards.
I don't use the cards description dictate the type of item it represents. I also started pre-selecting cards for distribution during a session. During prep time, I put the cards in a small envelope labeled by the area in which they are found or the person who was carrying them. When they find the item, I drop the envelope on the table, and they rummage through it to see what's been found.
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How do I use item cards? I let them gather dust in a pile next to my gaming stuff.
He's probably got a stack of tower shields and spiked chains.
Seriously though Grimcleaver, if you're not in a givey mood, is their anything that would be useful to you that you'd want to trade for? Minis, dice, if you've got enough of them, maybe one of the map packs? There's a whole thread of folks lookin' for what you've got.
By the way, I think Derrek (I suddenly feel like his agent or something, but he really has created some helpful stuff) made a list of suggestions for matching Item Cards to DMG magic items, and the newer sets have cards that match exactly (i.e, they use the same graphics as) a lot of the items in the Pathfinder and GameMastery modules.
I put the cards in a small envelope labeled by the area in which they are found or the person who was carrying them. When they find the item, I drop the envelope on the table, and they rummage through it to see what's been found.
I still love this idea. And once in a while, instead of having an nice item card, players pull out an index card that says ACID SPLASH! Oh, didn't check for traps, did'ja?
One conundrum this raises is what to do with the Adventure Gear cards that are supposed to represent mundane items? I can call some of them masterwork, and thus deserving of a fancy card, and I'll make the rest magic, but some of them will probably just be little, "convenience" magic items.
Can I just say, "Wow!"? That's a great list for the "mundane" Adventure Gear set. While I don't have that set (yet) I'm gonna use this list to spice it up a bit. Thanks!
- Chris Shadowens
Errr...probably if people lived close enough I would trade. I'm not really looking to pack everything up in shipping envelopes and send them cross country to various addresses.
Always on the lookout for more Chessex speckled dice of various flavors to add to my black tacklebox. Some minis--though I just bought $60 worth for D&D game day. We don't really run a minis style of game. It's mostly in our heads.
If you ever end up near Pocatello ID though...
Grimcleaver,
You can email me: acanofthecavebeer@att.net We might be able to find some common ground.
