Post by whipstache on Dec 6, 2015 14:49:42 GMT
In the mailbag of holding in episode 40, the submitter mentioned the idea of using MTG in game.
The submitter (and DM Chris and DM Mitch in their discussion) explored a lot of different possibilities for their use. Admittedly, the uses seem only limited by one's imagination. I'm going to try to implement something similar, although more basic (I think) than the ideas in the episode, and wanted to get some feedback.
Basic premise: The cards would be scattered throughout the world for the PCs to find & collect. Their usage is limited based on character alignment. The colors of the cards correlate to alignments:
Black = Evil
White = Good
Red = Chaotic
Blue = Lawful
Green = Neutral
Players can only use cards that match their alignment. I'm planning on having a collection of cards of each color with varying mana costs (1-6), and determining which card they get in each instance based on die rolls. I'm not necessarily going to give cards to match player alignments (so, a Lawful Good player may end up with a Black card that he can't use... this will hopefully make it harder for the players to figure out how to use them once they find the cards).
Example: Adventurers find a card in a dungeon. I roll, and determine the card is a 5-mana blue. So, I give the party this card. Any of the Lawful aligned characters in the party can use it at any time to summon an Air Elemental, which uses the stats from the Monster Manual.
Pretty straightforward. I'm fine statting out monsters that aren't in the MM, too, so my possible selection of cards can be pretty varied. I'm also going to use the flavor text and mechanics on the card to influence how I modify creatures and monsters and how they behave in combat. Mostly, I'm ignoring all the game mechanics of MTG and just using the cards for their names, artwork, and a little bit of the creature's stats.
My two questions are:
1) How do I limit this so that when the PCs figure out how to use these cards to summon creatures, the game isn't broken? For story purposes, I'm thinking that I want the cards to be pretty rare in the game. Maybe the party ends up coming across 5 or so over the course of the whole campaign. At the same time, if the party can summon an Air Elemental at the beginning of every fight (especially early in the campaign), that may be a little OP. Do I make the cards a once per day use? Alternatively, do I make the cards dissolve after one use? I'd probably end up having to include more of them over the course of the game, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing... I'd just have to figure out the narrative.
2) What kind of back story can I use for the reason for the existence of these cards? Who made them? Why? Are they still alive? Good or evil? Does the party encounter them? Fight them? Make them an ally? Maybe a magical Summoner has created them for her own purposes, and somehow they have been lost and spread across the continent? Are the monsters trapped souls (think Elder Scrolls Soul Gems)? Or, are they simply creatures created out of nothing in the moment of the cards use (meaning, they were never attached to a living being)?
Would love some feedback on this. I think it's a great idea (thanks, question submitter, whoever you are) and would be really fun in the game, especially as the group figures out how to use the cards. But, I'm struggling a bit with the details of how to make it work. Thanks in advance.
edit: I went back and listened to that Mailbag of Holding so I could credit the submitter. Thanks for the great idea, Dylan S.!
The submitter (and DM Chris and DM Mitch in their discussion) explored a lot of different possibilities for their use. Admittedly, the uses seem only limited by one's imagination. I'm going to try to implement something similar, although more basic (I think) than the ideas in the episode, and wanted to get some feedback.
Basic premise: The cards would be scattered throughout the world for the PCs to find & collect. Their usage is limited based on character alignment. The colors of the cards correlate to alignments:
Black = Evil
White = Good
Red = Chaotic
Blue = Lawful
Green = Neutral
Players can only use cards that match their alignment. I'm planning on having a collection of cards of each color with varying mana costs (1-6), and determining which card they get in each instance based on die rolls. I'm not necessarily going to give cards to match player alignments (so, a Lawful Good player may end up with a Black card that he can't use... this will hopefully make it harder for the players to figure out how to use them once they find the cards).
Example: Adventurers find a card in a dungeon. I roll, and determine the card is a 5-mana blue. So, I give the party this card. Any of the Lawful aligned characters in the party can use it at any time to summon an Air Elemental, which uses the stats from the Monster Manual.
Pretty straightforward. I'm fine statting out monsters that aren't in the MM, too, so my possible selection of cards can be pretty varied. I'm also going to use the flavor text and mechanics on the card to influence how I modify creatures and monsters and how they behave in combat. Mostly, I'm ignoring all the game mechanics of MTG and just using the cards for their names, artwork, and a little bit of the creature's stats.
My two questions are:
1) How do I limit this so that when the PCs figure out how to use these cards to summon creatures, the game isn't broken? For story purposes, I'm thinking that I want the cards to be pretty rare in the game. Maybe the party ends up coming across 5 or so over the course of the whole campaign. At the same time, if the party can summon an Air Elemental at the beginning of every fight (especially early in the campaign), that may be a little OP. Do I make the cards a once per day use? Alternatively, do I make the cards dissolve after one use? I'd probably end up having to include more of them over the course of the game, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing... I'd just have to figure out the narrative.
2) What kind of back story can I use for the reason for the existence of these cards? Who made them? Why? Are they still alive? Good or evil? Does the party encounter them? Fight them? Make them an ally? Maybe a magical Summoner has created them for her own purposes, and somehow they have been lost and spread across the continent? Are the monsters trapped souls (think Elder Scrolls Soul Gems)? Or, are they simply creatures created out of nothing in the moment of the cards use (meaning, they were never attached to a living being)?
Would love some feedback on this. I think it's a great idea (thanks, question submitter, whoever you are) and would be really fun in the game, especially as the group figures out how to use the cards. But, I'm struggling a bit with the details of how to make it work. Thanks in advance.
edit: I went back and listened to that Mailbag of Holding so I could credit the submitter. Thanks for the great idea, Dylan S.!
). Great way to use these narratively.
