TOPIC: What Changes To Make on Character Cards in 2016?

I completely agree that the cost of that many tablets, not to mention lost/damage issues, would be a nightmare. This is what makes it a "Wish List" item.

As an example, my personal wish list contains a brand new Porsche. This certainly does not mean I will get it, or that it would be a good idea to do so. What I do hope is that it will get the creative thought process going and maybe something worthwhile comes out. Might not be a brand new Porsche but hey, who in their right mind expects to always get what they want?



So just to keep the conversation going, here is tablet idea #2:

General - TD provides a tablet to each DM and player coach. An app is written that handles all the stat work so that:

1. The player coach enters all player data on the tablet under their scheduled adventure. This would allow more information to be handled in a shorter period of time and provide a way to track all those token combinations that just will not fit on one sheet of paper.

2. Each DM's tablet is able to access the information for the appropriate group so they can track damage taken, required resistant rolls, and the monster stats can be integrated with the players to show, in real time, what rolls are needed for whatever action just occurred.

3. As a bonus, at the end of the adventure TD can print out a sheet that shows all those wonderful stats we all like to track. Like damage done, damage taken, healing done, healing taken, and the big one....total player deaths!!! (haha)


Anyway, this is just an item on the wish list and not something to just jump into. My main thought for this whole idea is what would be the greatest help to both a brand new player and an experienced one. With only 12mins in each room and with the diversity of tokens only becoming greater I think an idea like this would only be inevitable.


So just put those bored minds to work and who knows, maybe one day something will just click.

(BTW, I still want my yearly character card!)

Mmm stats. Sounds awesome to me I wish I was good with computers so I could help write that program or something.

Having coached for the first time this year, I have say I am not so sure a tablet and app for the coach would work so well.

What I learned was that the trick is to know what tokens matter, quickly identify them and enter the numbers from them. Identification and organization took more time for me than jotting down the end results.

I plan to practice a bit this winter and may change my mind, but I'm skeptical.


Or we could just embed RFID chips in the tokens and...

then I wake up and stop dreaming.

Rob H. wrote: I completely agree that the cost of that many tablets, not to mention lost/damage issues, would be a nightmare. This is what makes it a "Wish List" item.

As an example, my personal wish list contains a brand new Porsche. This certainly does not mean I will get it, or that it would be a good idea to do so. What I do hope is that it will get the creative thought process going and maybe something worthwhile comes out. Might not be a brand new Porsche but hey, who in their right mind expects to always get what they want?



So just to keep the conversation going, here is tablet idea #2:

General - TD provides a tablet to each DM and player coach. An app is written that handles all the stat work so that:

1. The player coach enters all player data on the tablet under their scheduled adventure. This would allow more information to be handled in a shorter period of time and provide a way to track all those token combinations that just will not fit on one sheet of paper.

2. Each DM's tablet is able to access the information for the appropriate group so they can track damage taken, required resistant rolls, and the monster stats can be integrated with the players to show, in real time, what rolls are needed for whatever action just occurred.

3. As a bonus, at the end of the adventure TD can print out a sheet that shows all those wonderful stats we all like to track. Like damage done, damage taken, healing done, healing taken, and the big one....total player deaths!!! (haha)


Anyway, this is just an item on the wish list and not something to just jump into. My main thought for this whole idea is what would be the greatest help to both a brand new player and an experienced one. With only 12mins in each room and with the diversity of tokens only becoming greater I think an idea like this would only be inevitable.


So just put those bored minds to work and who knows, maybe one day something will just click.

(BTW, I still want my yearly character card!)

Now see, sarcasm aside, your idea for tablets is a very good one and is very possible.

As to the little shot at me, this thread isn't a Wish Thread. It's a "What Changes To Make..." But, I'll play along with the segue. I wish for one date with Lynda Carter. With one date I could easily woo her into marriage. If that's not possible I'll take a Porsche, too.

Errrr wonder woman fan?

Pstyle wrote: Errrr wonder woman fan?

It was actually on the TV at the time while I was channel surfing when I posted that.

But, Lynda Carter is in the number one position for my List Of 5.

Rob H. wrote: General - Remove the character specific flavor text from the back of the card and insert one of the following below options: (Nothing wrong with the flavor text, but it would be better served to provide that, and more, on an 8" x 11" print out.)

I would not advocate adding 8x11 print outs for the coaching tables. I was glad to see that stuff move to the character cards. What we used to do didn't work well as the cards would go missing (players wanted to take them along) and it added more things at the table to reset for the new group. You might be able to condense some of the descriptions to gain space, but that could drive additional questions for the coach or DMs which is not a good thing for efficiency.

a. Add ruled lines so that a player can track different modifiers and/or situation specific tokens they have in their inventory. (Yes, this can be done by the knowledgeable player on their own paper, if they know what to expect walking in the door.

Adding things to write in the coaching room, would either slow the coach down writing them, or you'd have to provide 10 markers and keep resetting to 10 for each new group. Another potential item for players to walk off with.

b. Move all spells and/or class specific abilities to the back and place open stat boxes with descriptive text to remind the player what they can do. For example, Bonus to Heal +4, Bonus to Damage +8, Immune to Poison, Boots of Free Action, 50% magic resistance, etc..

c. Same as option "b" but put the stat boxes on the back. I would prefer "b" over "c" only because all the other stats are on the front.

d. Provide some means that the player coach can certify you have a specific token in your inventory that is not normally tracked. Either by providing peel and stick labels or by providing a stamp box the coach could stamp after the player writes in the "important" tokens. This option should help speed up the action in the rooms since players would not have to dig through tokens to find that special "I can use this token!" token...

I'm not sure that certification of the non-tracked items is worth the logistics. Time is often the enemy in the coaching rooms and doing anything to slow that process down leads to members of the group being cheated out of practice time in the training room. The coaches have a space to put something special on the party card itself and I often do if it seems relevant to the current adventure.

(Wish list)
General - Stop using cards and start using Tablets (Galaxy Tab, IPAD, etc...) Yes, this would be an expensive start up idea but, it would make everyone's life easier. The ability to sync tablets for an adventure (the DM tablet can follow the party) would fix a great majority of the player/DM issues I have read up on in these forums. Tokens could be added to the character card (similar to several of the character generator files out there now)and would correctly show the stat changes made. Character cards can still be handed out for nostalgia purposes but all tracked information would be handled by the "system".

You'd need a printer in each training room that would generate the party card once finished. No system is going to run perfectly at all times, so a printout would still need to accompany that party in case of downtime.

Technically the latest unlocked version of my character generator is capable of being run on tablets and I tested it this year. The only issue I ran into was that you had to pause for the app to catch up the stats or drop down lists (when already equipped tokens adjusted what was available). This is due to the overhead of all of the rules and inner workings of the file which is very high end for tablet use. Unfortunately the number of tokens added each year will only continue to slow down the process unless I come up with a lighter way of handling it (which I consider each year).

Or to circle back around to an idea I proposed a while back... Create a character/party card creation center/KIOSK. Outside the dungeon so folks can get their character card created ahead of time. All that the coaches would have to do is spot check and verify important tokens.

There are not a lot of coaches to go around and we get spread pretty thin but if you put 1 with an assistant just manning a room with tables and computers and a printer you could get a lot of people making character cards ahead of schedule.

I suspect we'd have to charge a generic for the service or at least the print out to pay for the added overhead of the resources and room but you could always expand it and add a TV screen running some of the GT run DVDs so people could "See" what TD is all about before buying a ticket. I know I got several people wandering in to my training room asking if they could "watch" or just asking questions about the game.

This room would have to be well lit to be useful.

valetutto wrote: Or to circle back around to an idea I proposed a while back... Create a character/party card creation center/KIOSK. Outside the dungeon so folks can get their character card created ahead of time. All that the coaches would have to do is spot check and verify important tokens.

There are not a lot of coaches to go around and we get spread pretty thin but if you put 1 with an assistant just manning a room with tables and computers and a printer you could get a lot of people making character cards ahead of schedule.

I suspect we'd have to charge a generic for the service or at least the print out to pay for the added overhead of the resources and room but you could always expand it and add a TV screen running some of the GT run DVDs so people could "See" what TD is all about before buying a ticket. I know I got several people wandering in to my training room asking if they could "watch" or just asking questions about the game.

This room would have to be well lit to be useful.

You are assuming that each person get to play what they wanted to...

I do like the idea of iPads for coaches at least. Adventurers can use the app on their own device and/or use a web interface to pre-enter their build-outs just like we do today with the Excel spreadsheet. Or they can do it while waiting for their slot as Valetutto mentioned.

The coach can quickly access these on their own iPad. It can provide a quick and easy interface for verifying the tokens. Then it can either help them fill out the party sheet or you can take it a step further and have the DMs use iPads too instead of a printed party sheet.

Kirk Bauer wrote: I do like the idea of iPads for coaches at least. Adventurers can use the app on their own device and/or use a web interface to pre-enter their build-outs just like we do today with the Excel spreadsheet. Or they can do it while waiting for their slot as Valetutto mentioned.

The coach can quickly access these on their own iPad. It can provide a quick and easy interface for verifying the tokens. Then it can either help them fill out the party sheet or you can take it a step further and have the DMs use iPads too instead of a printed party sheet.

Again, let me reiterate.. lets say it is the first time that I have ever played before and I spend the time to make my character at the kiosk, then I walk into the room and five minutes later a veteran player walks in and decides to play the character that I wanted to and I get bumped... yes it might be better for a clash or two, but really disheartening for a new player.

Lordoftherealm wrote:

valetutto wrote: Or to circle back around to an idea I proposed a while back... Create a character/party card creation center/KIOSK. Outside the dungeon so folks can get their character card created ahead of time. All that the coaches would have to do is spot check and verify important tokens.

There are not a lot of coaches to go around and we get spread pretty thin but if you put 1 with an assistant just manning a room with tables and computers and a printer you could get a lot of people making character cards ahead of schedule.

I suspect we'd have to charge a generic for the service or at least the print out to pay for the added overhead of the resources and room but you could always expand it and add a TV screen running some of the GT run DVDs so people could "See" what TD is all about before buying a ticket. I know I got several people wandering in to my training room asking if they could "watch" or just asking questions about the game.

This room would have to be well lit to be useful.

You are assuming that each person get to play what they wanted to...

No, that comes up a lot as a general "rebuttle" to pre-printed cards but the simple solution is to always have a backup choice and that would be pointed out and encouraged at a kiosk.