TOPIC: Basic Changes to 2016 Character Cards

There has been some great feedback on these TD Forums about changes some would like to see regarding character cards in 2016. We are NOT changing anything for 2015 as we still have a good supply of character cards to use.

I spent a lot of time with our graphic designer trying out lots of different ideas. Unfortunately, while many of the ideas were good ones, they just did not work out for one reason or another.

1) Numbers around the edge - We tried out various schemes to have individual numbers placed around the edge of the graphic, but due to the great amount of hit points possible, the numbers were just too small to be practical. I am afraid our current system works best. We may try to replace the paper clips with stronger clips of some kind, but in past testing the extra profile of these sturdier clips have been caught up in the line of the player light.

2) Upside down - While it would offer some great benefits for players to more easily read their card if it hung upside-down, we feel that it would be a negative on whole for players to wear the cards in this fashion. It would make the job of the DM more difficult and time-consuming to find Spells and Powers to check off, and it would make it hard for DMs and players to clearly see the character they are looking for.

We played around with the idea of putting weapon and armor restrictions on the front of the card, but since many TD players don't have knowledge of D&D terms like "light armor", then any info there would have to be extensive to explain it properly.

Below is a link that shows the mostly cosmetic changes being made to all cards in 2016. We tried to make the cards easier to read in the low light conditions.

Thoughts?

The old version is on the left, and the easier to read 2016 version is on the right.



Next up? We will tackle the back of the cards. Any final feedback there? You can see all the backs here: truedungeon.com/resources

Thanks so much for your feedback!

I like the changes so far. Can you make the HP counter numbers more bold?

Looks great,Jeff!

Make the starting HP numbers bold, bright, or in some way stand out from the rest. E.g., the 4th-level barbi number columns could look like this:

90	09
80	08
70	07
60	06
50	05
40	04
30	03
20	02
10	01
00	00

I still like having tutorials on the backs of the cards. They'll just need to be reworked if character abilities change or if the dungeons no longer have puzzle/combat variations.

Heck, if you're even thinking about eliminating puzzle/combat at some point in the future, it'd be a good idea to use this chance to eliminate those references from the tutorials that use them (one is on Elf Wizard, would have to check the others).

-Scot

If it were possible to make the numbers for the HP dark with a light background, would that help them stand out more? Maybe a background similar to the parchment that is used for the text that makes up the character abilities?

I like the changes so far! Thanks a bunch!

A slightly larger font size for the HP numbers, as well as some contrast fiddling, may be helpful as well.

One thing to remember when looking at the changes is that most of the time people are looking at these cards in very dim lighting, so while the contrast might seem good on a computer screen, in the dungeon might be another matter.

It will probably raise cost too much, but is there anyway to use some sort of ink that catches light better for the most important information(class name, hp totals)? Either a slight glow in the dark, or a shiny metallic? The idea is for it to be highly reflective, so that is it easier to see with those small lights not to be visible without the lights.

Druegar wrote: Make the starting HP numbers bold, bright, or in some way stand out from the rest. E.g., the 4th-level barbi number columns could look like this:

90	09
80	08
70	07
60	06
50	05
40	04
30	03
20	02
10	01
00	00

I like this idea a bunch! I will get a new design posted ASAP.

Scot Martin wrote: I still like having tutorials on the backs of the cards. They'll just need to be reworked if character abilities change or if the dungeons no longer have puzzle/combat variations.

Heck, if you're even thinking about eliminating puzzle/combat at some point in the future, it'd be a good idea to use this chance to eliminate those references from the tutorials that use them (one is on Elf Wizard, would have to check the others).

-Scot

Noted. Maybe it would be best to eliminate the references regardless...just to be sure.

What is your feedback on this look? We made the starting positions for hit points a little highlighted (but not too much). Also, we lighted things up on the back-side as well -- to match the front.

I printed this out and compared it to the current version in a low-light setting. It works pretty well. I think the hit point numbers are good as is shown.

Thanks for all the good ideas.

Love the dragon on the back side.