What if we did some cards (like the standard card size in our GameMastery card decks) with a Bestiary monster's illustration on one side and a shortened version of the monster's stat block on the back side? I'm thinking
FRONT:
monster illo
(no monster name, just in case you don't want to give away what it is or you're using the card to represent a similar monster)
BACK
monster name and CR
init modifier, Perception bonus
AC (all three)
hp
saves (all three)
Melee attacks
Ranged attacks
Space/Reach
CMB/CMD
names of a few key abilities it would use in combat (typically SLAs or feats)
page reference (so you can easily look it up in the Bestiary if you needed more info)
We probably couldn't fit much more than that on the back side of the card, and it might be nice to leave a little blank space to write the creature's current hp.
So if you had an encounter with a bearded devil and a couple of hell hounds, you could place their cards on the table for the players to see, or clip them to the outside of your GM screen. Or you-as-GM could use them as reference cards for the monsters when running a combat. They'd probably be handy for characters who summon monsters or animals a lot, too... if you're Mr. Summoner Druid, you could keep a "hand" of these cards with your character sheet, covering all of your possible summons.
Given our decks have 54 cards, we'd probably need a total of 6 decks to cover all the monsters in the Bestiary. TSR's monster card sets just broke them into equal-sized sets and named them Aboleth-Drider, Drider-Hell Hound, and so on.
Would you be interested in this sort of thing? What other features would you want the cards to have? (Keep in mind the limited space on the cards means most monsters couldn't fit their entire Bestiary entry, it would have to be condensed.)
I'd love it, as a GM and a player. Just having them for summoned monsters would be a lifesaver, honestly.
Yes, please - that would be awesome.
I try to print such cards for myself at the moment - but it would be much much better to habe these shiny professional made cards (an a short statblock !) than my crappy inkjet-printer images
Yes! Yes! Yes!
A great idea! Summoning made easy - er! Grouping the monsters by theme like Ceefood suggests is a good idea. A few blank cards in each deck would be good to allow for GM creations. You could have players draw from a pre-selected wandering monster deck - no more complaints of GM unfairness (unless the deck is stacked!). Draw a blank and there is no encounter.
I would like to suggest possibly using a colour coding for either the monster type/subtype or environment to make modifying packs quicker and easier.
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It sounds like a great idea on paper, and the color coding thing sounds useful too. I'm sure lots of people would buy them. I won't because I own a few thousand dollars worth of those pre-painted plastic D&D minis and do you know where the cards went that came with those things? Neither do I but, if I had to guess, I'd say they're scattered somewhere between Connecticut and Oregon.
I'd go with no thanks.
I don't really see how this would be usefull in my game.
If I want to show an image of the beastie, I could just use my compendium. I would still need to reference the book for the statblocks.
Sorry.
I've been working on a set of summon/augment cards myself, but as I am a big fan of paizo myself, I'd like to see a full color version of this similar to the item cards. Main difference being I'm going for a black & white self print and you guys usually put out those nicely colored cards. Different strokes and such, but I'd buy em. Just my 2 cp.
What would also be nice is if they were whatever material it is that allows you to write on them with dry-erase markers. I'd hate to write on them once then throw them away.
I have to agree with Chef's Slaad, for my needs.
Being the DM, and an RPG subscriber, I already have the PDF. Since I work from my laptop at the table when I DM, I just bring up the critter on the screen, turn the laptop to face the players and show them what they are seeing.
Sorry,
-- david
Papa.DRB
I'd love to see it. Sorted by categories would be great, esp the summoned animals. It'd make GM-ing nice, I already print out the statblock and cut/paste it onto cards anyway for my games, if I could have the common combat/skill info on a card (with a cool picture!)already that'd save me hours of pre-session prep-time, and I know my druid would kill for the summons.
I would buy this in an instant. Probably 2.
And if you did the decks as sets (summoned monsters, standard monsters, AP monsters) I would get a set of the summoned monsters for each of my Magic PCs.
What if we did some cards (like the standard card size in our GameMastery card decks) with a Bestiary monster's illustration on one side and a shortened version of the monster's stat block on the back side?
I support this. I would even support a simple Summoner's deck of these.
I think they sound great but im not sure how well they will sell. I dont think I would buy them
I also have boxes of DND plastic Minis and the cards got thrown all over the place im currently looking for my rare cards so I can sell a few of the double I have.
I like the idea of the knowledge checks for the monsters on the back of the cards too
A deck of for summons might be a better item to test the water for this kind of product
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Please consider:
For maximization of space maybe research: how much do we really need the Space/ Reach line -- and either the ranged or melee line? It seems that we wouldn't need it (I wouldn't) -- or would only need the melee or ranged attack line, not both.
For SP, SU, EX abilities -- maybe a 4 round, rd by rd sugestion of actions.
Anyway, sounds good.
HELL YES!!!
Creative Director
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A "summoned" deck that would include all monsters that are on the summon monster list (not even touching the summon nature's ally list) would have about 125 monsters. Which would work out to exactly 2.31 decks of monsters... AKA: We wouldn't be able to do the summoned monsters as separate decks, unfortunatley, as good an idea as it might be.
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What if we did some cards (like the standard card size in our GameMastery card decks) with a Bestiary monster's illustration on one side and a shortened version of the monster's stat block on the back side?
...
Would you be interested in this sort of thing? What other features would you want the cards to have? (Keep in mind the limited space on the cards means most monsters couldn't fit their entire Bestiary entry, it would have to be condensed.)
Yep! This would be a great tool for the Summon Monster and Nature's Ally crowd. I'd certainly use it since my character's are often seen in the company a celestial crocodile. :)
You already have the art and editing the statblocks down to the bare bones wouldn't be too much effort (that's what interns are for). You could do a triple deck to cover the 125 monsters James mentioned for Summon Monster (fill the rest with cheat sheets for templates and maybe a few new bonus creatures).
Another set for Nature's Ally could follow, and then you could release a Game Master's set for all the Bestiary entries, including cheat sheets for templates. This can then be supplimented with card sets for each AP and Bestiary 2-100.
Best part is you only have to do the layouts once. Later, you can reprint them with the GM's sets.
A "summoned" deck that would include all monsters that are on the summon monster list (not even touching the summon nature's ally list) would have about 125 monsters. Which would work out to exactly 2.31 decks of monsters... AKA: We wouldn't be able to do the summoned monsters as separate decks, unfortunatley, as good an idea as it might be.
Hmm, by my count, the summon monster list has 94 monsters (though that doesn't count all the types and sizes of elementals, and the varieties of mephits), summon nature's ally has 89. That's a double-deck for each type. Or a single deck, if we printed stats on both sides and didn't bother with pictures (which would work if we put the lowest monsters on the backs of the highest monsters... put level 1 poisonous frog on the back of the level 9 nalfeshnee, the odds you'd need BOTH stats in the same battle are essentially zero).
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I do like the idea, but I'm not sure if I'd be likely to purchase it. I usually print out the pages from my Bestiary pdf and bring those to the game so I can mark them up.
What are your thoughts in regards to which monsters will be in a particular deck? Will you do it by CR? AP? Monster theme (e.g., aberrations pack)?
Didn't the old D&D minis have stat cards like this as well, or were they strictly for use in that game? It'd be interesting to see if anyone used those cards and what their experience was.
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I do like the idea, but I'm not sure if I'd be likely to purchase it. I usually print out the pages from my Bestiary pdf and bring those to the game so I can mark them up.
What are your thoughts in regards to which monsters will be in a particular deck? Will you do it by CR? AP? Monster theme (e.g., aberrations pack)?
Didn't the old D&D minis have stat cards like this as well, or were they strictly for use in that game? It'd be interesting to see if anyone used those cards and what their experience was.
I used them for my summoned creatures back when I used 3.5. It was useful, but the list was spotty because they were a)random and b)didn't have all of the creatures in the MM represented. Eventually, I narrowed my list down to a few favourites and made index cards by hand.
What are your thoughts in regards to which monsters will be in a particular deck? Will you do it by CR? AP? Monster theme (e.g., aberrations pack)?
This is just me guessing, but I think a deck of lower-CR monsters would sell more because more games run levels 1-10 than run 11-20. That means decks for that upper range may dip close to the not-profitable-enough line. So rather than shooting ourselves in the foot, we'd probably do it alphabetically to provide an even mix of CRs.
Likewise, while decks-by-type of humanoids, animals, outsiders, monstrous humanoids, undead, and magical beasts would sell well, I suspect a deck of plants, fey, or oozes would be (1) skinny, and (2) unpopular. Thus, again, indicating alphabetical decks would be more likely.
But I'm just guessing, I don't have hard numbers on this and I don't make financial decisions for the company!
Which would work out to exactly 2.31 decks of monsters... AKA: We wouldn't be able to do the summoned monsters as separate decks, unfortunatley, as good an idea as it might be.
In my head, I keep thinking of like the Relics of War item card set with 110 cards total (I'm like 3 away from a full set). If it is 125 for summoned, then it'd be ~1.14 decks which is trimmable. Or if it's 94 as SKR mentioned, then it'd be .85 deck.
Just throwing out numbers and interest for all.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32
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While we're at it, Spell Cards would be a fantastic idea. One of the most frustrating things for my players who don't have great memorization abilities is not having a quick reference of the spell he's using. Learning the PF rules for spells as opposed to 3.5 does involve a learning curve...
Anyhow, deal your prepared spells for the day into a plastic card protector sheet and you're good to go! Have fun storming the castle boys!
What if we did some cards (like the standard card size in our GameMastery card decks) with a Bestiary monster's illustration on one side and a shortened version of the monster's stat block on the back side? I'm thinking
...
Would you be interested in this sort of thing? What other features would you want the cards to have? (Keep in mind the limited space on the cards means most monsters couldn't fit their entire Bestiary entry, it would have to be condensed.)
This is actually a card set I would be very interested. The current card line isn't anything I buy. I tried the subscription for a short time, but it wasn't for me. This would save me from rewriting the monsters out on notecards, and would be easy reference and travel for games.
Just my 2 cents...plus whatever the cards cost if/when they ever came out.
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why card decks need to be 56 - why could they be made larger
so for the summon monster deck I would be happy to have a deck that was 94 or 125 cards
I also like the idea of the summoned deck having the low CR ones on one side & the higher CR ones on the other - I dont need illustrations for them but I can see that as a GM it would be nice to have for a monster I would be using not as a summon to show players
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why card decks need to be 56 - why could they be made larger
so for the summon monster deck I would be happy to have a deck that was 94 or 125 cardsI also like the idea of the summoned deck having the low CR ones on one side & the higher CR ones on the other - I dont need illustrations for them but I can see that as a GM it would be nice to have for a monster I would be using not as a summon to show players
I'm guesssing that a page of cards is 28 cards, so they have to be in multiples of 28.
I wouldn not be interested in anything without art ... s long as it had art on 95% of the cards, I'd be all for it.
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Creative Director
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For the same reason books generally have to be printed in page multiples of 16. The way the product is printed and then cut up and bound and all that creates these limits. If we do a card deck that isn't made out of 54 cards (or a multiple of 54), the printer has to print the extra anyway but doesn't fill an entire sheet. But the cost remains the same. So basically, it costs the same to print a 55 card deck as it would to print a 108 card deck. Actually, I suspect it costs MORE because you have to deal with all the waste created and a lot of other unanticipated stuff.
Most definitely! To have a picture ready to show with a synopsis of info on the back would be awesome!
Likewise, while decks-by-type of humanoids, animals, outsiders, monstrous humanoids, undead, and magical beasts would sell well, I suspect a deck of plants, fey, or oozes would be (1) skinny, and (2) unpopular. Thus, again, indicating alphabetical decks would be more likely.
AND YET — and I might be wrong about this — the Plants/Fey/Ooze in a single deck would probably sell!
Anyway, you could certainly think about folding some together. Fey in with humanoids? Oozes in with Aberrations? Plants in with... Vermin!
There, problem solved.
My main problem with this idea is that it isn't very useful as a tracking mechanism for GMs. What happens when my party fights 7 goblins?
Let me propose something slightly different:
What I'd LOVE to see is Monster cards featuring the picture on one side and the applicable Knowledge checks & results on the other side. This way, they would work as player's handouts (no more showing the Bestiary while awkwardly trying to cover the monster stats!).
As far as a stat block on the flip side is concerned, I'm not really convinced it will be all that useful. Maybe for GMs who wing it a lot, but since I am the obsessive/compulsive 'have everything prepared' type of GM, I'll have the stat blocks reformatted to my needs and printed out separately anyway.
Just my 2 cents :).
What I'd LOVE to see is Monster cards featuring the picture on one side and the applicable Knowledge checks & results on the other side.
Excellent idea, this version I would buy.
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If you're printing out, say, 93 monster cards and thinking, crap, we need to get up to 108 because it's a multiple of 54, please consier filling out the order with
NPC cards .
Putting some (many) of the NPCs from the APs or modules (and Scenarios!) would be really great -- even better than the monsters because I can always show an illustration of a monster or have a miniature.
It is often troublesome to show the illustrtion of the NPC because we may be using the text on that page or that page may have other pics or maps that we don't want the PCs to see.
I typically use software for combats, so all the AC's and HP's and attacks I already have....
For me to have the illustration on the front to show the players and perhaps a handy guide for Knowledge checks on the back would be the most beneficial, or typical tactics for that particular monster.
By Knowledge Checks I'd be looking for a breakdown such as Offensive abilities, Defensive, Special Abilities, Special Qualities, Typical spells, etc.
But even if done exactly as SKR descibes I'd probably pick them up, just to have the picture to show the players.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32
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While we're at it, Spell Cards would be a fantastic idea. One of the most frustrating things for my players who don't have great memorization abilities is not having a quick reference of the spell he's using. Learning the PF rules for spells as opposed to 3.5 does involve a learning curve...
Anyhow, deal your prepared spells for the day into a plastic card protector sheet and you're good to go! Have fun storming the castle boys!I'm slowly working my way through the spell index in the PRD, but you can see the spell cards I've made so far at my Picasa Album, and the updates that I post in this thread. The cards are free, as I am doing this for myself and some of the licensing on the art forbids them being used in something that will be sold. The eventual plan is to offer spell lists as .pdfs with pages containing multiple cards ready to be printed.
I believe one of the third party company offers graphic-free spell cards for sale as well through the Paizo store.
You're amazing! Be checking it out!
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Creative Director
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My main problem with this idea is that it isn't very useful as a tracking mechanism for GMs. What happens when my party fights 7 goblins?
Use one card. Put a paperclip on the card for each of the monsters in the fight. You could even attach tiny slips of paper to those clips to track HP. Discard the paper clips as the monsters are slaughtered.
