Community

Wait, you're using 3 of the same card (3 times)?  So you basically are taking 4 cards to the game.


Is that in keeping with the spirit of randomness?  You're really stacking the deck there.


This is what I initially feared about Fortune Cards. 

 Its a ten card deck and only one rare in it.

I haven't found this source yet but I understand that Living Forgotten Realms has restrictions on desk buildout:

"LFR has already added a limit: 1 copy of any given card per 10 cards in custom deck."

This is promising and I will be implementing this at my Encounters table.

Feb 9, 2011 -- 11:37AM, bongobenny wrote:

I haven't found this source yet but I understand that Living Forgotten Realms has restrictions on desk buildout:

"LFR has already added a limit: 1 copy of any given card per 10 cards in custom deck."

This is promising and I will be implementing this at my Encounters table.

Encounters has its rules for Fortune Cards. You are already messing with them before seeing them in play.

And if I were playing at your table, I would pick up my stuff and walk away.

As an organizer, if you were one of my DMs, I would bounce you out the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out.

Now, my DMs have discussed fortune cards and some have suggested a community deck provided by the DM. I nixed this as automatic, but if all parties agree DM and players, I will allow it.

Our thinking is to show folks what the cards are and can do and they will go and get their own so they have control over their own deck.

My Two Coppers,

Bryan Blumklotz

Perithoth is the kind of guy that brings in 100-300 new RPGA members in a year. He's being emphatic, but trust me when I say he is all for you being a DM and being in the program. He just really believes, as do I, in running the program as it is intended.

The thing about Encounters is that it is really meant to run without additional "filters" from the DM or store. You want to show the game the way it is and the products the way they are. If you are going to make any changes, it is best that they be very subtle (minor changes to the adventure) and that they make it fun (such as adding more story/RP to an encounter, or adding some benefit they can get if they use a skill in a scene). Changing the rules for Fortune Cards can easily create a situation that is unfavorable to WotC and to those that want to use the product.

What I suspect stores will find is that FCs have little impact on the game. There will be a bit of slowdown for those that over think their cards (I'm the type of player to take a long turn, so cards make me go even slower). For those, just keep them aware of time pressures and suggest they use the Delay action if they cannot quickly take their turn.

The second issue is power creep. If you see a player that is using cards in combination with their build to be overpowering, then address that with the player. Let them know in a non-confrontational manner that they are blowing away the encounters and that you will have trouble adjusting the difficulty just for them without making it harder for others. See if you can come to some sort of arrangement. Maybe they can tone down the build a bit, or perhaps even agree to something like applying DR5 to all of their attacks. That way, they get to shout out their obscene damage total and the DM then drops it to a reasonable amount. Everyone wins. This is often a delicate situation, but if approached in an honest and open way, it usually works out ok.

Here's the real test. The DM does not need to color the situation. If Fortune Cards are a problem, the table will realize that and say something. If everyone, or even most players, have an issue with FCs, then that is something that you can address to improve the game. I doubt this will happen except when one very vocal person pushes/colors the issue. I was originally pretty critical of the cards but kept it to myself the first two times I used them. They were fine and no one had major issues with them.