Poll: D&D Fortune Cards

[Kaisharga]

Haha, you called it Type 2.

This thing isn't so bad, if used properly. Which is to say, everyone gets a card or two at the start of an encounter, and they're all reshuffled together at the end of said encounter. Or something like that. It's not like D&D encounters are quick and brutal anyway; most characters, in my experience, take three to seven hits before they go down, reliably--minions notwithstanding. Mixing it up and making turns different isn't so bad; it's basically an encounter power that you don't reliably get to use. I can get behind this.

Of course, at that point you're paying for the ideas, since you can make up stuff like that for your game anyway, if that's something your group wants.

Better idea? Play L5R. It already has mechanics for player characters to turn the tides periodically, and the dice system isn't completely abominable like all the White Wolf games.

 

[The Gnome King]

Fortune Cards: D&D's Regenerating Health Bar.

I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or both at that statement.

 

[The Gnome King]

Haha, you called it Type 2.

This thing isn't so bad, if used properly. Which is to say, everyone gets a card or two at the start of an encounter, and they're all reshuffled together at the end of said encounter. Or something like that. It's not like D&D encounters are quick and brutal anyway; most characters, in my experience, take three to seven hits before they go down, reliably--minions notwithstanding. Mixing it up and making turns different isn't so bad; it's basically an encounter power that you don't reliably get to use. I can get behind this.

Of course, at that point you're paying for the ideas, since you can make up stuff like that for your game anyway, if that's something your group wants.

Better idea? Play L5R. It already has mechanics for player characters to turn the tides periodically, and the dice system isn't completely abominable like all the White Wolf games.

I think it's this link:

http://www.wizards.com/WPN/Sales/Article.aspx?x=fortune_cards_shadows

And this quote from that link:

. For some Wizards Play Network programs aimed at experienced players, Fortune Card purchase will be a requirement to participate, but our broadly-appealing programs like D&D Encounters will feature their use without such a requirement. Once you start using them, you?ll see that they actually help to focus player actions and provide interesting tactical opportunities that you may not have considered previously.

Makes it hard to NOT see the writing on the wall with where WotC wants to go with this "idea" ... M:tG is a cash cow for them; D&D is not. Instead of trying to make the game better and cater to the original set of players like Paizo did, they're trying to make D&D into M:tG. Rare cards? Really?

Sigh.

Again, stop putting coffee grounds in my tea. Like I said earlier, if I want coffee, I brew coffee. If I want tea, I want to bloody well know that the substance in that teabag is... well, tea.

 

[Elamdri]

I think I'm biased against any system that I see as P2W (pay to win) as opposed as it being purely skill or intellect based. If you beat me at chess it could be because you're just better than I am at chess. If you beat me at M:tG it could be simply that you have more cash to spend on trading cards building an uber deck. It's everything I hate about the class system rolled up into a game.

(And the whole rare/uncommon/common thing makes it worse - hey, let's print out this cheap-ass cardboard thing but make SOME of them ULTRA rare - and start doing TOURNAMENTS based around this game...) *facepalm*

Maybe I'm a little biased against the game since one of the biggest players I know of it is in his 30's, lives at home with mom and dad, and hasn't ever held down a real job for more than a few months at a time in his life yet he constantly rails about how "poor people are lazy" etc etc... while he tries to get a "professional career" based off playing M:tG off the ground.

Again, *facepalm* ...

As a Business Model, it's absolutely BRILLIANT

1st, players have to purchase the cards to even play the game. So there is an initial entry cost

2nd, players have to pay to play in the tournaments, so there is a cost every time they play

3rd, to be competitive, players have to buy cards to get the best ones, which means someone is buying lots of cards to find the Super Special Awesome Chocolate Coated Super Cards

4th, Every year you cycle out a block of cards and cycle in a whole new block of cards, which means the player has to purchase all new cards.

Rinse and Repeat

Profit.



But as a consumer, it's pure, unadulterated evil.

 

[Elamdri]

Haha, you called it Type 2.

Are they calling it something new now? I haven't played Magic in ages.

 

[Elamdri]

I think it's this link:

http://www.wizards.com/WPN/Sales/Article.aspx?x=fortune_cards_shadows

And this quote from that link:

. For some Wizards Play Network programs aimed at experienced players, Fortune Card purchase will be a requirement to participate, but our broadly-appealing programs like D&D Encounters will feature their use without such a requirement. Once you start using them, you?ll see that they actually help to focus player actions and provide interesting tactical opportunities that you may not have considered previously.

Makes it hard to NOT see the writing on the wall with where WotC wants to go with this "idea" ... M:tG is a cash cow for them; D&D is not. Instead of trying to make the game better and cater to the original set of players like Paizo did, they're trying to make D&D into M:tG. Rare cards? Really?

Sigh.

Again, stop putting coffee grounds in my tea. Like I said earlier, if I want coffee, I brew coffee. If I want tea, I want to bloody well know that the substance in that teabag is... well, tea.

I think if Wizards wants to do something to make DnD profitable, what they need to do is give players a REAL option to play DnD online through some kind of a subscription service. Give players a digital play mat and the tools to play the game online.

 

[The Gnome King]

As a Business Model, it's absolutely BRILLIANT

1st, players have to purchase the cards to even play the game. So there is an initial entry cost

2nd, players have to pay to play in the tournaments, so there is a cost every time they play

3rd, to be competitive, players have to buy cards to get the best ones, which means someone is buying lots of cards to find the Super Special Awesome Chocolate Coated Super Cards

4th, Every year you cycle out a block of cards and cycle in a whole new block of cards, which means the player has to purchase all new cards.

Rinse and Repeat

Profit.

But as a consumer, it's pure, unadulterated evil.

Oh, no, I agree with you - as a business model it is brilliant; and this has been proven by the success of M:tG for WotC.

As a consumer and as a gamer, however, I refuse to participate in the madness. It's like *asking* to be financially pillaged and abused by a company if you allow them to do this to you.

This is probably why two of my favorite games remain Scrabble and Chess. Timeless classics.

As for D&D, the closest thing I've found to a "Timeless Classic" is Castles & Crusades. If you ever get curious, check it out - it's basically just like a streamlined, improved AD&D 1st edition system. Very simple to learn, focus on a basic rules system as opposed to a thousand complex modifiers; etc.

TO the internets at large - anyone know of a good Castles & Crusades character builder?

 

[The Gnome King]

I think if Wizards wants to do something to make DnD profitable, what they need to do is give players a REAL option to play DnD online through some kind of a subscription service. Give players a digital play mat and the tools to play the game online.

This, this, this - a thousand times, this.

I don't know WHY they haven't ever gotten their "virtual gaming table" off the ground but when I (grumble, grumble) subscribed to D&D Insider over a year ago, we were promised by WotC that this is PRECISELY what they were working towards.

Well... 4th edition's come, they've phased in and now phased out miniatures, trying to get us to buy cards now... and

1) The online character builder still isn't perfect. I mean... come on guys. It's a character builder. Get a few database people and get to work.

2) The virtual gaming table must still be a twinkle in their virtual eye, since I haven't seen any signs of its existence since it was mentioned many moons ago.

I mean, if Turbine can find a way to keep Dungeons & Dragons Online profitable and fun while keeping a large portion of it free to pay, surely WotC can find a way to give us a freakin' online chat room with a dice roller and a virtual mat included?

How difficult can this be? I'm already paying $9.99 a month for D&D Insider; World of Warcraft costs me something like $15 a month and I haven't logged on to that in months but like WoW or hate it ya gotta concede that it's a HELL of a lot more complex to keep WoW servers running than it would be to offer a freaking virtual tabletop game.

Yes, this issue frustrates me.

 

[Paksenarrion]

Fortune Cards: D&D's Regenerating Health Bar.

I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or both at that statement.

Well, if you're seeing red, you should take a rest at this chest high wall.

*rests head on chest*

...um...I'm-...I'm not a chest high wall...dammit, why did I roll a high STR/CON cleric?!

 

[Elamdri]

Fortune Cards: D&D's Regenerating Health Bar.

I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or both at that statement.

Well, if you're seeing red, you should take a rest at this chest high wall.

*rests head on chest*

...um...I'm-...I'm not a chest high wall...dammit, why did I roll a high STR/CON cleric?!

Moradin told you to?

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Look man, I haven't paid any attention to D&D passed 1st Ed AD&D. They can keep bringing in new shit all they like, but I'm not buying it.

 

[The Gnome King]

Look man, I haven't paid any attention to D&D passed 1st Ed AD&D. They can keep bringing in new shit all they like, but I'm not buying it.

Then yeah, I can see where this post probably wouldn't hold much interest for you.

On the other hand... 1st edition AD&D was pretty awesome. Which is why I really like Castles and Crusades now. It reminds me more of 1st edition AD&D than any other system, just more polished.

And Gygax had a hand in making it. How cool is that?

 

[Akiada]

It's optional. Vote with your wallet and ignore it if you dislike it. I mean, people still play 1E, 2E, and 3.XE, so nothing is stopping you from ignoring any card shenanigans. If it isn't profitable, they'll drop it.

Alternatively you could utilize a different system, yeah? There's more fantasy RPG systems out there than D&D, you know!