1KM1KT Free RPG Community

It depends on how you handle the cards. There are plenty of games that use a poker deck (, , , ) though its usually as a randomizer. The simple wargame might also be of some inspiration to you.

My recommendation would be something akin to drawing from a standard deck, and then abilities are activated by certian cards or combinations. In turn, your class or permanent character sheet lets you combine cards or use them in unconventional manners.

For example, spades is move, clubs block, hearts ranged/magic, and diamonds melee. However a nimble rouge can use any black card to dodge, a wizard can use any red card as ranged, a monk can move and attack, using two at once.

Alternatively, you can set various difficulty targets for certain actions, modified by a character's abilities. To block an attack, pull any face card, any card 10+ with a shield, and any face plus spades if you're an elf. Disengaging from melee is any red card, any card but clubs for a rouge.

Looking at this in more general terms - you can grant bonuses or penalties by adding/subtracting cards from a character's deck. Kobolds are a lot less dangerous if they only get to draw from a deck with a maximum value of eight.

Using a standard deck makes the cards just another randomiser. You have some control, but not more that with dice and points to inprove or reroll the result. A game that uses individual cards would be unique.
If we use as an inspiration we might not even need artwork. We only need some rules and the players can create any card compatible to the rules. They could all start with the same deck, or something not that different.

My main concern is how the gamemaster plays. Does he have a own deck representing enemies (an orc deck plus three orc chieftain cards)? Or a more abstract deck representing scenes and adventures (the siege of Grayhaven deck plus some special cards from previous encounters).
The idea of the is quite good. But the GM needs a new deck for every encounter. Resultion in much work.
Maybe you do not even need a GM but just draw from a random adventure deck to see how the storry continues.

EDIT: Another problem is what can be done with a card, because that influences the mood of the game. If there are only cards for attacks a nonviolant solution would rarely be used. One way to prevent that would be to link the crads to a more global use, e.g. the aproaches from Fate Accelerated (forcefull, carefull, sneaky, clever, flashy and quick).

I was thinking that your story influence cards are part of your character's deck. If I'm a computer hacker PC, I could have cards that turn a scene into my spotlight. (The doors are computer controlled!) They're part of my deck and take up space in it. So it's a trade off if my player wants to be mechanically effective by only keeping cards that have task resolution effect and take what comes or be able to influence the story.

I doubt there's any reason to have "ineffective" cards ala Munchkin unless they're effects you can place on others. In fact I was thinking about wound statuses or confusion etc. That you could place on other characters might be a matter of cards. The problem with that idea is that at the end of the game, how do you know who's wound cards are who's. Maybe in this case you'd sign your cards so that you know who they go back to. Maybe in a beginner set you don't need to since they're all going back to the deck in the end.

I like the idea of basing one card off another. It makes me think that a character should start off with one core card. Maybe it's their sword, or maybe it's their charisma, but it's their primary attribute. The more cards that support it, the more effective it is. Maybe some damage could be done by removing cards from their sequence and collapsing a chain. So if my card is charisma and I'm trying to seduce a bar maid but she uses a card that eliminates bard traits, I loose use of my lute card and singing card. Maybe my singing card supported an Impressive Tales card, but since my singing card was sent back to my deck, it also gets sent back to my deck. I can add it back later but it's a temporary set back.

Saw this a while back, one of my players pointed it out:

http://imgur.com/a/VAx95

Interesting, I would want to go in a different direction though. I'm interested in taking some lessons from it but I had envisioned something a bit different.

I'd like to have a more concrete system of stats and rules on the cards. I'd also like to have a set system of cards or at least an expandable set.

I'd like specific rules on each card. So that instead of one set of rules, you play with the rules that are on the table.

I don't really like the way the categories make for a large number of cards in play. I'd prefer a set of five cards or so on the table at any one time. I'm not sure how the cards should be played, or how easily they should be swapped with the ones in the player's hand or in the deck.

Other than that, what would do you see in decksible that you'd like to keep and what do you see as hurting the game.