# Making your own power cards



## Saishu_Heiki

For everyone that wants to make their own power cards for 4e, I have begun to create some as a proof of concept.

I use a program called Magic Set Editor (link) and a form with a full text box (link). It is really easy to differentiate the types of powers. I use bronze for at-will, silver for encounter, and gold for daily. They print out standard size for playing cards and look as good as you want them to look.

I have tested it with the cleric powers (because they had some of the largest text blocks and I wanted to see if it would work even then). I am very happy with the result, and I now have no desire to buy a power deck from WotC. 

Cheers!


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## Wormwood

I love you. 

There. I said it.

edit: although now that I think about it, I'd like to try 'em _with _pictures---because that'll be a lot more fun!


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## Xethreau

I do not think that selling "power decks" was ever their entention, or at least I hope not.  I know with Tome of Battle that they left that sort of thing to a Web Enhancement.

Anyway, Those look pretty good!  However, I am just fine with notecards, and prefer them actually, because you can change them as your ability scores and level increase.


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## Saishu_Heiki

I thought about using pictures, but there two problems: (1) I don't have good pictures for too many of them (YMMV), and (2) the ones with large amounts of text become unreadable quickly if the text block is only half as large.

As for WotC publishing power decks, they have mentioned that is what something they were beginning to consider because of customer desire for such a product. I just have a good way to do so myself (I don't want to disparage WotC in any way), so I can customize them to my needs.

Right now, I am printing them on normal paper, gluing them to cut out index cards, and putting them in old card sleeves that I have laying around. It works great for me.


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## Ashardalon

For what it's worth, I used the same program for the cards in this thread. If there's interest in me releasing the styles (portrait with/without picture and landscape), I can add the option to choose colors for the name blocks to distinguish between the power types.


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## Nightchilde-2

Dude.  That.  Is.  Awesome.


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## Wormwood

Okay. I see potential here.


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## Belorin

[Keanu]Whoa, that's rad![/Keanu]

Bel


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## bjorn2bwild

*Corrin Reedson, Level 1 power deck*

Hi all, I've lurked these boards off and on for years.  Finally decided to join the other day.

Perhaps out of boredom, but mostly out of motivation, this afternoon I put together a deck for the pregen paladin from DnD XP.  I built it using the OP's linked program and card style template.

Green Cards are at-will powers, Yellow Cards are encounter powers, and Red cards are dailies.  I did, however, make three separate cards for Lay on Hands and counted them as dailies.  I think it will make for easier record keeping that way, but that's just me.


Here are his encounter powers and two of his at-will powers.  I will upload the others in my next post.

Feel free to use it at your own risk.      And if I decide to do any more character decks (which I probably will), I will post those as well.

Enjoy!


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## bjorn2bwild

*power deck, part 2*

Here are the rest of the cards I put together for Corrin Reedson.

Enjoy!


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## HeinorNY

Wormwood said:
			
		

> Okay. I see potential here.



Your card has been banned a month ago


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## RandomCitizenX

Thanks for the link. I just started using it to make cards for my 4e playtest next week

I am using color for power source

Red= Martial
Blue= Arcane
Gold=Divine

I am also changing the wording where I can so that it reflects the rules instead of the final number. I.E. on the fighter abilities I put Weapon vs AC since that seems to be where they got the attack bonus from. Same with Hit. I am using Hit: Weapon Damage unless there is obviously some bonus damage.


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## Saishu_Heiki

If you really want to make character-agnostic cards, you can use the powers unveiled for the rogue as a baseline. Most of them are listed as Dex vs. AC (rogue attacks are Dex based) and the hit is 1[W] (i.e. normal weapon damage).

I have found these to be an elegant solution, and am going to make a full set for my group this weekend when we play Return of the Burning Plague.


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## RandomCitizenX

I've pretty much finished all but the divine. I may go back and use the nomenclature shown in the rogue article later after my group is a little more accustomed to the new edition.


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## Saitou

Lay on Hands' per-day limitation is likely [CHA] modifier (counting the 1/2 level progression).


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## Daniel D. Fox

Bump!


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## Belorin

Just getting started, it's pretty easy but repetitive.

Bel


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## Saishu_Heiki

That is why I am gluing mine onto cut-out index cards and putting them in card sleeves. I want to have them reusable later.

In no case do I want to have to make Tide of Iron eight times because it got bent, or spindled, or mutilated, or whatever.

I really feel the return on investment of time is worth it, but not to the point of making them again and again.


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## hong

RyukenAngel said:
			
		

> I do not think that selling "power decks" was ever their entention, or at least I hope not.  I know with Tome of Battle that they left that sort of thing to a Web Enhancement.




I'm pretty sure you'll see decks for sale before too long. Accessorisation is the name of the game.


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## AZRogue

Okay, you guys just gave me my geekasm for the day. Wow, you guys did some amazing, AMAZING work on those. I'm impressed!

So, I downloaded the program and will play with it later but I have to ask: Is there a way to make a template (landscape, of course) that will mimic the Monster Statblock for 4E on the back of the 4E Miniature cards? Is that possible? With the little triangles for Saves, and the place for the little picture, and Power text and all?

How would I do something like that? I'm lost. The simple text ones are great, but if I could make my own monster stat cards and have them look the same as the others, my geekasm will be complete.


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## Yaezakura

Wow... this really is awesome. ^_^ I am so totally making myself a set of these cards for when I play! It makes keeping track of per encounter/per day abilities a breeze, plus gives you easy access to the full writeup for your abilities, to reduce the need for pulling out books.


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## Nytmare

After way too many years of cutting out way too many playtest cards for way too many games, I just wanted to share my discovery that you save a lot of time/money/energy if you don't bother gluing the cards to the card backing when you put them into the sleeves.

Also, if you're dropping them into clear sleeves and you want fancy back art:


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## ShinHakkaider

Nytmare said:
			
		

> After way too many years of cutting out way too many playtest cards for way too many games, I just wanted to share my discovery that you save a lot of time/money/energy if you don't bother gluing the cards to the card backing when you put them into the sleeves.
> 
> Also, if you're dropping them into clear sleeves and you want fancy back art:




I'm not a 4E guy, but I'm a big accessory guy and I just gotta say that you guys are sixteen shades of AWESOME.


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## RandomCitizenX

I love these backs and will definitely use them once I am finished.
I still need to go back and redo the abilities for the updated wordings (I was using the first versions of the sheets) as well as finish the divine cards.


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## Knight Otu

AZRogue said:
			
		

> So, I downloaded the program and will play with it later but I have to ask: Is there a way to make a template (landscape, of course) that will mimic the Monster Statblock for 4E on the back of the 4E Miniature cards? Is that possible? With the little triangles for Saves, and the place for the little picture, and Power text and all?
> 
> How would I do something like that? I'm lost. The simple text ones are great, but if I could make my own monster stat cards and have them look the same as the others, my geekasm will be complete.



You mean those? As a matter of fact, those should be pretty easy to create. There may be some problems (I'm pretty sure the image can't work like on the samples). If you can read into the game and style files, it should be pretty easy for you to create appropriate files for the stat cards. Otherwise, someone else might be willing to create the template for you.
What is needed, though, is better pictures of stat cards. The ones I linked above (likely) won't cut it. Ideally, a card cleaned up of the variable text and the image (a separate image of the speed box that appears for additional speeds would be nice but can be a duplicate of the normal speed box).


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## Belorin

I am not finding a way to make the cards into a landscape format, anyone having any luck?
Awesome card backs btw, I have a box of individual card sleeves that will work just fine for them. And the monster stat cards if I can get it to work.

Bel


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## Knight Otu

Belorin said:
			
		

> I am not finding a way to make the cards into a landscape format, anyone having any luck?
> Awesome card backs btw, I have a box of individual card sleeves that will work just fine for them. And the monster stat cards if I can get it to work.
> 
> Bel



You mean the Magic cards? There is no Magic landscape format, at least none that has been adapted for the program and made public.


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## Intrope

If you want something less elaborate, you could also use printable business cards for powers, effects, statuses, simpler monsters, etc.

You'd have to build the cards via Word/Excel or similar, of course. I'll probably do this, for at least some things (terrain? hmmm....)


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## RandomCitizenX

Finally done with everything but some format touch ups.


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## emass

Really awesome!

For the back, I'd prefer them without the "D&D power cards" banner.
Maybe one with the parchment-like Eladrin mage for Arcane, one with a warrior for Martial and one with something clerical for Divine?

Anyway, really really cool!


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## Khaalis

RandomCitizenX said:
			
		

> Finally done with everything but some format touch ups.



Any plan to share the results?


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## RandomCitizenX

Just putting together the zip file and checking each card for readability.


Edit: Here are some samples, will be posting a zip of the cards in a min. I am at work and the connection here is very slow.


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## RandomCitizenX

Here is the full deck for anyone who is interested. I changed to wording to make it as character neutral as possible. I intend to modify the cards again once I know 100% what the final wording will look like in the PHB.


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## Knight Otu

In case anyone is interested in my template, I uploaded it here.

Edited with the actual link.


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## Belorin

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> In case anyone is interested in my template, I uploaded it here.



Thank you for the templates I got them, the only real trouble is do I want to retype all that stuff all over again. 

Bel


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## Filcher

This ROCKS! Going into play tonight.


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## WhatGravitas

Knight Otu: I took your template... and polished it a bit with a new background, and some auto-bolding.

I've attached an example - what do you guys think?

Also: A link to my take on your template, if anybody wants it... (also includes the version with place for a picture, though I like that one less - too cramped for the longer powers. Plus: You have different colours and a b/w version, if you're unwilling to use too much ink).

Cheers, LT.


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## AZRogue

Wow, you guys are amazing.  Really, great work. I've messed around with the program for a day now and just learned how to change a color, and only to one color. So, yeah. I'll go suck on a revolver now.


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## hennebeck

Lord Tirian - What program do you use to add text? And what are the files called game and such for?


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## Incenjucar

Now we just need some explanatory icons.

http://media.moddb.com/images/downloads/1/10/9138/portalicon_thumb.png


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## WhatGravitas

hennebeck said:
			
		

> Lord Tirian - What program do you use to add text? And what are the files called game and such for?



Look at the first post - a program called "Magic Set Editor".

Once you've installed the program, look into the install folder. There should be a folder called "data", then just extract the contents of my .zip-file into that "data"-folder, and start up the Magic Set Editor. Choose "New Set", then you get a selection of different card (games) styles. The last one should be the D&D Power Cards.

Cheers, LT.


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## Ten

Absolutely amazing work guys, I will have to steal some of these for sure...


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## Lord Ernie

Thanks a bunch, mates. I'm going to run a 4th playtest in a couple of weeks, and these will come in very handy indeed.


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## vagabundo

Wow, great stuff. I'm having a bugger of a time printing these out though. I got some 3x5 inch cards, but the smallest my printer slidy thing will go is 4inches..

I'll have to try an get some 6x4 inch and print two cards per card.


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## Ashardalon

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> Knight Otu: I took your template... and polished it a bit with a new background, and some auto-bolding.
> 
> I've attached an example - what do you guys think?
> 
> Also: A link to my take on your template, if anybody wants it... (also includes the version with place for a picture, though I like that one less - too cramped for the longer powers. Plus: You have different colours and a b/w version, if you're unwilling to use too much ink).
> 
> Cheers, LT.



That looks like nice work, ....except you made an edit to the game file that my templates don't like (capitalizing the name of the choices in the background field). If someone wanted to use your templates and mine, they'd need to edit some files themselves. Anyway, I'll make the changes for myself - would you mind if I post your styles on the repository (with proper credit, of course)?


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## WhatGravitas

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> That looks like nice work, ....except you made an edit to the game file that my templates don't like (capitalizing the name of the choices in the background field). If someone wanted to use your templates and mine, they'd need to edit some files themselves. Anyway, I'll make the changes for myself - would you mind if I post your styles on the repository (with proper credit, of course)?



1) Okay, that took me a minute to get into my system that you're Knight Otu...!
2) Yeah, I'm just bothered by a lack of capitalization - blame the German language for that! 
3) Sure, go ahead and post it!  Though I'll probably tinker with it, as I'm not happy with the landscape version - the power write-ups are not very landscape-friendly. And, of course, I'll update it, once we get to see more stuff that gets bolded (like Standard Action and so on). And get that dot to a star, like on the photos...

Cheers, LT.


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## Knight Otu

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> 1) Okay, that took me a minute to get into my system that you're Knight Otu...!
> 2) Yeah, I'm just bothered by a lack of capitalization - blame the German language for that!
> 3) Sure, go ahead and post it!  Though I'll probably tinker with it, as I'm not happy with the landscape version - the power write-ups are not very landscape-friendly. And, of course, I'll update it, once we get to see more stuff that gets bolded (like Standard Action and so on). And get that dot to a star, like on the photos...
> 
> Cheers, LT.



Sorry about that - I have it in both sigs that "we" are one and the same, but since sigs are only displayed once per page, that can be missed (once EN2 rolls around, the need to use the Ashardalon account should diminish).


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## RandomCitizenX

Tirian: Any chanced you could host your template on the official boards. I can't get to the current host because of the company firewall.


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## Ashardalon

RandomCitizenX said:
			
		

> Tirian: Any chanced you could host your template on the official boards. I can't get to the current host because of the company firewall.



I've posted Lord Tirian's template on the custom files forum (which, I should note, isn't the official forum). Same topic as my templates, third post.


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## RandomCitizenX

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> I've posted Lord Tirian's template on the custom files forum (which, I should note, isn't the official forum). Same topic as my templates, third post.



thank you very much.


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## Knight Otu

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> You mean those? As a matter of fact, those should be pretty easy to create. There may be some problems (I'm pretty sure the image can't work like on the samples). If you can read into the game and style files, it should be pretty easy for you to create appropriate files for the stat cards. Otherwise, someone else might be willing to create the template for you.
> What is needed, though, is better pictures of stat cards. The ones I linked above (likely) won't cut it. Ideally, a card cleaned up of the variable text and the image (a separate image of the speed box that appears for additional speeds would be nice but can be a duplicate of the normal speed box).



AZRogue, assuming you meant those cards, Benimoto posted very clear scans. I'm confident I can clean them up and create a template for use in MSE - just, as I said, without the pictures as used on the actual cards. Do you want me to go ahead?


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## tovokas

Thanks for everyone's efforts... very useful stuff!   

I've combined RandomCitizenX's cards and Nytmare's backgrounds into a PDF with 6 cards per page for ease of printing.

(Since I'm essentially 'making a jpg of a jpg' the quality degrades a bit. Also the PDF is quite a bit larger than the jpgs, about 6.5 megs)

Download the combined file


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## Hawke

Very very cool! I'm hoping to run one of the few one shot adventures here to introduce us to 4E ... these will make doing so much easier. 

I wont be doing it face to face, but using MapTool + Skype. MapTool is in the process of implementing a deck / hand set of features that'll make this even better for online play. Neat way to test that feature, too!


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## Nytmare

Do you want them as bmps or pngs instead?


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## tovokas

PNG's would be great.


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## Zaruthustran

Holy cow you guys, nice work. Well, I may as well post a link to my much less ambitious attempt. It's an excel file with two versions of a 4E character sheet (modeled after those used at D&D Experience), as well as blank (and very plain) power cards.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=221652


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## Nytmare

Look!  A .png!

http://www.pmw.org/nytmare/dnd/images/cardbacks.png


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## tovokas

Cool, I've updated the pdf with the PNG images, and tweaked the pdf so it's only 1.5 megs:

Power Card Compilation #1 ​
(Uncompressed versions of the info cards would likely help with readability...   )


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## Knight Otu

Zaruthustran said:
			
		

> Holy cow you guys, nice work. Well, I may as well post a link to my much less ambitious attempt. It's an excel file with two versions of a 4E character sheet (modeled after those used at D&D Experience), as well as blank (and very plain) power cards.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=221652



Don't worry about it, we're all simply mad here.  Case in point:


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## LordThanatos

This is my own attempt. Two hours in Photoshop.

Images are from DeviantArt.


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## Saishu_Heiki

LordThanatos said:
			
		

> This is my own attempt. Two hours in Photoshop.
> 
> Images are from DeviantArt.



Very nice...


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## Nytmare

Very nice Thanatos! (zomg 2 anime)

You spelled "requirement" wrong.


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## Belorin

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> AZRogue, assuming you meant those cards, Benimoto posted very clear scans. I'm confident I can clean them up and create a template for use in MSE - just, as I said, without the pictures as used on the actual cards. Do you want me to go ahead?



If you still want to do this Knight, I'd like to use it.

Bel


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## AZRogue

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> AZRogue, assuming you meant those cards, Benimoto posted very clear scans. I'm confident I can clean them up and create a template for use in MSE - just, as I said, without the pictures as used on the actual cards. Do you want me to go ahead?





Sorry, I haven't been keeping track with all the threads and this one dropped off my radar.

If you could do that that would be awesome! Hells yeah! The picture isn't important, but that format just fulfills the inner geek in me. If you could make that template I would be very grateful! Thanks, amigo!  

EDIT: and if those two cards you posted aren't actual WotC cards, then you out did yourself. Those are amazing and look perfect! You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.


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## Knight Otu

Yep, that's a working template. It's already posted, too, in case you didn't check already. I didn't originally want to do it if no one was going to use the template, but then I figured that I could use the training. Usage notes are in the first post.


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## Kishin

These are gorgeous. I'd be careful with the MtG borders, but since its not intended for profiteering, I should hope there would be no problem.


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## Shadewyn

This is gonna sound a little Caveman considering all the previous posts, but ahh well ...

I have a few hundred ... okay maybe thousand MtG cards lying about and sleeves.  When you print out an immage are folks recommending just sticking that paper in a sleeve or to glue it to any one of the thousand worthless lands / commons I have from MtG?  

If glue ... what works well so I dont have nasty glue bleed through and distortions with the inks?


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## VBMEW-01

*Some I made*

I tinkered with it a bit and threw these together.

They're a bit simple, but work well enough for me.

I want to try to learn tomake my own template next.

EDIT-quick fix and added more


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## VBMEW-01

Dern limit of 6


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## mvincent

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet - from Dave Noonans blog about "The Colors of 4e":
_"One of the things you'll see when you get a real copy of the Player's Handbook is that color conveys meaning in the graphic design. Specifically, at-will powers get green headers, encounter powers get red, and dailies get black."_


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## VBMEW-01

mvincent said:
			
		

> I don't know if this has been mentioned yet - from Dave Noonans blog about "The Colors of 4e":
> _"One of the things you'll see when you get a real copy of the Player's Handbook is that color conveys meaning in the graphic design. Specifically, at-will powers get green headers, encounter powers get red, and dailies get black."_




This is why I did my encounters in red and my dailies with a black border.  I'm not doing cards for at-will powers, the players _have_ to do something!


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## Knight Otu

mvincent said:
			
		

> I don't know if this has been mentioned yet - from Dave Noonans blog about "The Colors of 4e":
> _"One of the things you'll see when you get a real copy of the Player's Handbook is that color conveys meaning in the graphic design. Specifically, at-will powers get green headers, encounter powers get red, and dailies get black."_



Yeah, I've seen it in the other thread and when I get the time, I'll update my templates to utilize that info. I believe that Lord Tirian has something in store, as well.


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## Zinovia

Impressive work everyone.  I'm just getting way too much of a Magic Card feel since some of these are produced using a template for Magic.  

I'd prefer D&D power cards to be landscape format for more text, and less association with MtG.  I don't see artwork on the front of the cards to be at all important.  On the other hand, each power source, or class could have their own artwork on the back of the card.  Martial could show some weapons (classic sword and axe in saltire kind of thing), arcane could be glowy and magical, with divine I envision a person nearly washed out by the golden radiant energy of the gods.  Primal could be nature themed.  Or something of the sort.  No need to have matching backs, as these *aren't* Magic cards.  

Certainly I could make up my own, but if WotC is reading this thread with the idea of making an official power cards product, or a free web PDF, then please consider landscape, just for the sake of differentiating.  I think most of the powers will have text descriptions that will fit well on a landscape type card.


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## mikekannard

*My Ideas*

Here is something I through together on an graphics program. The background is a dark red, which is what I chose for the wizard card color, may change that to blue. This has At-Will in green because it can be used the most, Per Encounter would be Yellow, and Per Day would be Red. The type of action to the left is in Red, because it take the most amount of time. Move Action would be Yellow and Minor would be green. To the far right is the level of the power, and the rest is pretty self explanatory.
Let me know what you guys think.


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## mvincent

Other ideas. 
- Player's "deck" can also contain specific gear items (like treasure cards for paizo).

Make cards for:
-Action points (i.e. use instead of other action point tokens, plus they have rules on them)
-Conditions (like Dying, for the DM to hand out)
-Character sheet: to save room and allow the player to deal with less types of items. Might consist of 2 or 3 cards (1-stats/combat values, 2-skills/gear, 3-picture/fluff text)


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## Nytmare

Shadewyn, I suggest printing the cards out on normal paper and sticking them into sleeves with a scrap card as the backing (or printing out a front and a back and having the scrap card as the middle layer).  Printing onto and cutting card stock, even with a paper cutter, gets to be a pain, and the cards don't have the lifespan that a sleeved card will have.  Gluing them would be even more of a headache.

I would also like to suggest making them look even more like Magic cards, putting more anime styled (maybe even Exalted!) art on them, and then writing a computer program with a multi-person online inferface to keep track of who is using what cards on who, just to cheese everyone off.

EDIT: On a more serious note I would also suggest adding recognizable patterns to the colored backgrounds.  I end up having to redesign more stuff cause Pittsburgh is overrun by colorblind gamers.


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## vagabundo

Ive gotten some 6x4 cards to try printing them on. Two per card.

The 3x2 cards were too small.


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## WhatGravitas

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> Yeah, I've seen it in the other thread and when I get the time, I'll update my templates to utilize that info. I believe that Lord Tirian has something in store, as well.



Sort of. I'm trying to do something neat with the DDM design for monster stats, but I'm wrestling with the MSE program itself - I have to figure out how to get text aligned to a curve - but a side product will be the power cards in DDM-inspired design.

I've attached a preview of the design I intend to use for the power cards, but I'm still looking for ways how to get more information into the header, without making it ugly.



			
				Zinovia said:
			
		

> I'd prefer D&D power cards to be landscape format for more text, and less association with MtG.



I prefer landscape as well, and I've really tried - but the power write-ups are not very suited for that, because of the entries after the title - At-Will, Standard action, Target: X and so on. Listing them, without separating them with line breaks makes it much worse to read.

Cheers, LT.


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## Kirnon_Bhale

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> Sort of. I'm trying to do something neat with the DDM design for monster stats, but I'm wrestling with the MSE program itself - I have to figure out how to get text aligned to a curve - but a side product will be the power cards in DDM-inspired design.
> 
> I've attached a preview of the design I intend to use for the power cards, but I'm still looking for ways how to get more information into the header, without making it ugly.
> 
> 
> I prefer landscape as well, and I've really tried - but the power write-ups are not very suited for that, because of the entries after the title - At-Will, Standard action, Target: X and so on. Listing them, without separating them with line breaks makes it much worse to read.
> 
> Cheers, LT.



 That looks really nice. How do I use it though? I am new at card making and don't know how to add this to the list of cards available.


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## Belorin

Impressive work, everyone!
WotC should take note of the popularity of this idea.

Bel


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## WhatGravitas

Kirnon_Bhale said:
			
		

> That looks really nice. How do I use it though? I am new at card making and don't know how to add this to the list of cards available.



Well, what about that: New Template Pack. It's my template from above, but now with DDM-style template, as well as a very simple barebones template. I hope it's compatible with the old files, but I cannot promise.

@KnightOtu: If you like it, feel free to include it on the MSE forums. I'm off tinkering... perhaps I'll produce something useful... - I always want to hear suggestions, if possible.

Cheers, LT.


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## Belorin

I'm now working on Magic Items, the plain scroll card works nicely.

Bel


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## mvincent

Belorin said:
			
		

> I'm now working on Magic Items, the plain scroll card works nicely.



Will you be posting them? 

Since this seems to be good idea, is anyone planning to create an area to store all these things? Maybe even an area where everyone can collaborate, provide pictures, etc.?


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## Cam Banks

Folks who are planning on creating power cards and sharing them with others should please check their spelling, too, if possible. "Missile" has a second I, for instance.

Cheers,
Cam


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## Belorin

mvincent said:
			
		

> Will you be posting them?
> 
> Since this seems to be good idea, is anyone planning to create an area to store all these things? Maybe even an area where everyone can collaborate, provide pictures, etc.?



I may post them if I can.

Bel


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## Kirnon_Bhale

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> Well, what about that: New Template Pack. It's my template from above, but now with DDM-style template, as well as a very simple barebones template. I hope it's compatible with the old files, but I cannot promise.
> 
> @KnightOtu: If you like it, feel free to include it on the MSE forums. I'm off tinkering... perhaps I'll produce something useful... - I always want to hear suggestions, if possible.
> 
> Cheers, LT.



 Thanks for that! I think it looks better then a Magic Template. I will now download and get cracking.


----------



## Knight Otu

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> @KnightOtu: If you like it, feel free to include it on the MSE forums. I'm off tinkering... perhaps I'll produce something useful... - I always want to hear suggestions, if possible.



I'll do so when I have finished my own staff, and I'll look at yours before to be able to give some more feedback.


----------



## Khaalis

Is there a known issue with MSE2 on Vista? For the life of me I cannot get the program to run accepting any of the non-core installed templates. As soon as I add one to the data directory the program chokes and either says it is an unsupported file format or completely fails to load even the core installed templates. I've tried with a variety of the templates here and no luck.


----------



## Ashardalon

Khaalis said:
			
		

> Is there a known issue with MSE2 on Vista? For the life of me I cannot get the program to run accepting any of the non-core installed templates. As soon as I add one to the data directory the program chokes and either says it is an unsupported file format or completely fails to load even the core installed templates. I've tried with a variety of the templates here and no luck.



As far as I'm aware, people are using MSE on Vista mostly without problems - I recall a few had problems, but not what you describe. I can post this on the bug report thread, but if you have some more info, that might help.


----------



## Khaalis

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> As far as I'm aware, people are using MSE on Vista mostly without problems - I recall a few had problems, but not what you describe. I can post this on the bug report thread, but if you have some more info, that might help.



Ok, here is what I am seeing.

1)	Installed MSE V0.3.5b full version (mse2-2007-09-21.exe).
2)	Open and get “new Set” or “Open Set”
3)	Open Set find nothing to open
4)	New Set gives options for MtG, Vanguard, VS, YuGiOh. I can select any of those existing templates.
5)	Downloaded the templates from the 1st post (magic-new-fulltext.zip) which is supposed to work in MSE2 as others here have done it. The folder seems to be basically identical to the other “-style” folders pre-installed with the installer.
6)	My understanding is that you simply need to add the new “-style” folder to the Data directory.
7)	Re-start MSE2 but no new syles – just the 4 pre-installed.
8)	However, if I click on any I get the following message.
-----ERROR: File not found: 'style' in package 'D:\Program Files (x86)\Magic Set Editor 2\data\magic-new-fulltext.mse-style'
9)	Hit OK, and then I can access the old 4 styles.
10)	I tried to copy over a “style” file from another folder. It does away with the error message, but still no access to the template.

I am probably missing something rather simple here, but I've tried this with the various styles people have posted and get the same results regardless of which style I try it with.

Any hints would be appreciated.


Edit...
I am also getting the following when I actually pick one of the pre-installed files to try and work with.
-----ERROR: File not found: 'text_mask.png' in package 'D:\Program Files (x86)\Magic Set Editor 2\data\magic-new-fulltext.mse-style'

(also for border_mask.png and image_mask.png)

So now it appears to be looking for the fulltext style no matter what template I try to pull.


----------



## Khaalis

Another question. Do you have to customize the game and style files for each template? None of the styles I have downloaded have included these files.


----------



## Ashardalon

Huh. In the mse-style folders, there should be a style file already, along with the necessary image files (a few pngs and several jpgs). Simply unzipping the zip file you downloaded in the data folder should add the folder to be ready to be used. Lordpenguin over on the MSE forums suggested checking the file permissions of the folder and the style file.


----------



## Knight Otu

While we're trying to fix that...



			
				Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> @KnightOtu: If you like it, feel free to include it on the MSE forums. I'm off tinkering... perhaps I'll produce something useful... - I always want to hear suggestions, if possible.



The DDM-style colors seem a bit too muted, though that may just be my crappy monitor. Otherwise, I like what I see.
Also, I've gotten off my lazy behind and added

a default script to automatically determine which color to use for the card (red for encounter, green for at-will, normal for the rest (daily)). Other colors can of course still be selected manually. That's in the game file, so it works with your templates just fine.
a png with a black header for my templates. Since your templates don't have (and don't need) such a file, I turned it into a style option that replaces the light grey. It's active by default (if someone wants the light grey, it can be turned off, and for individual cards if you want to mix light grey and black).
the center text option to my templates. I don't think anyone will need it, but you can choose to center none of the text boxes, either of the text boxes, or both text boxes. Do you want me to add that to your templates?


----------



## WhatGravitas

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> The DDM-style colors seem a bit too muted, though that may just be my crappy monitor. Otherwise, I like what I see.



Let me double-check, when I get the time. I used the preview DDM cards to get some colours, but I was visiting my parents the last two weeks, so I've worked on a different monitor... I'll check back when I get the time.


			
				Knight Otu said:
			
		

> Do you want me to add that to your templates?



Yes, please! 

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Ashardalon

Now also downloadable from the file library (first post).


----------



## Khaalis

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> Huh. In the mse-style folders, there should be a style file already, along with the necessary image files (a few pngs and several jpgs). Simply unzipping the zip file you downloaded in the data folder should add the folder to be ready to be used. Lordpenguin over on the MSE forums suggested checking the file permissions of the folder and the style file.



Thanks for checking into it. Everything works perfectly fine on my XP system. I'll have to double check the folders and file permissions (though I have full admin rights) on my Vista system. I'll have to let you know if I can figure out why it wasn't working in Vista.  I could see and access the style files that were installed via the MSE installer, but not any that were attained via download.


----------



## Oryzarius

Fun to find this thread!  (New member, first-time poster).

I've been working on the same concept, albeit in a different format than MtG-sized cards.  Mine are landscape-format, third-of-a-sheet pieces, created in Adobe InDesign -- I hate reading small text, and there's a lot of detail in some powers, particularly the advanced Wizard spells we've seen in the DDXP page previews.  The design is not as lavish as some of examples here, since I tend to eschew backgrounds for readability (and ink savings!).

I've used color-coded borders for classes (to make it easier for different players to find their own cards and fish them out of the discard pile after the encounter, for example) with a different border style to distinguish encounter from daily powers (since I figure at-will should go on the character sheet).

I think I've figured out how thumbnails/attachments work, so I've attached some examples.


----------



## Knight Otu

Oryzarius said:
			
		

> I hate reading small text, and there's a lot of detail in some powers, particularly the advanced Wizard spells we've seen in the DDXP page previews.



I agree that this can be a concern, but since the cards don't have to be the same size except for convenience, that can be solved regardless of how they're created.


----------



## ianleblanc

Wow! fantastic! Awesome! These are but some of the many words that come to mind! 

The only thing I would recommend, would be to use the original abbreviations like dex and 2[w] instead of of words like 'weapon' or 'weapon times 2' in the descriptions. I figure this might help with the space issue, plus it will make it more consistent with the WotC books.

And maybe have background cards that indicate whether its a daily/encounter/at will power.
(this could also be done on the borders)


But seriously, these are the best fan made products I've ever seen!
Congrats guys!


----------



## ianleblanc

mikekannard, what program did you use to make your card? (I'm looking for something that might work on OS X)

Do you still have the template?

Thanks


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

Oryzarius said:
			
		

> Fun to find this thread!  (New member, first-time poster).
> 
> I've been working on the same concept, albeit in a different format than MtG-sized cards.  Mine are landscape-format, third-of-a-sheet pieces, created in Adobe InDesign -- I hate reading small text, and there's a lot of detail in some powers, particularly the advanced Wizard spells we've seen in the DDXP page previews.  The design is not as lavish as some of examples here, since I tend to eschew backgrounds for readability (and ink savings!).
> 
> I've used color-coded borders for classes (to make it easier for different players to find their own cards and fish them out of the discard pile after the encounter, for example) with a different border style to distinguish encounter from daily powers (since I figure at-will should go on the character sheet).
> 
> I think I've figured out how thumbnails/attachments work, so I've attached some examples.




THIS I like much more. Big and clear - that's what I need. That's how I'm gonna do them. Great job!


----------



## Belorin

Using the magic items listed in the Pre-Release Rules Compilation, here are some of the cards I've created:


----------



## mikekannard

ianleblanc said:
			
		

> mikekannard, what program did you use to make your card? (I'm looking for something that might work on OS X)
> 
> Do you still have the template?
> 
> Thanks



Well I used Microsoft Expressions Designer, mainly because I have an MSDN subscription, and learning how to use that program helps me design future WPF applications. A similar application that is cross-platform is Adobe Illustrator. I still have the files for the stuff I did, but it wouldn't really help unless you can open it in Expressions Designer.


----------



## Lindorie

Enclosed are a few of the cards I've made. I started making cards with photos, using the images  that LordThanatos used , but I didn't like how much of the card was used for the image (and I'd have a problem getting images for all the powers). Still, I enclosed one just to show what it was looking like.

The others are samples from the pre-gen wizard class and a couple of monsters from Raiders of Oakhurst - Reloaded . I'm still experimenting with the colors and font sizes in the monster's stat blocks, as seen in the Dragon card, and have yet to give a lot of thought to the fonts I'm using.

Any suggestions or corrections are welcome.

Notes:
I made these to print on photo paper. They are a bit more difficult to read when printed on plain paper.
I have the DPI set to print them 6.5cm x 9cm, about the size of a poker card. They are, however, much larger. I also used jpg compression to reduce the file size for posting here.

Known issues:
The quotes on the bottom are a bit difficult to read. Will make Bold or change font.
I just noted that I have the OA icon in the top right of InfernalWrath. Since it is a personal spell, it does not provide an OA on the caster.


----------



## ianleblanc

Mike, I'm going to try to get some work time on a pc with xpressions Designer so if you could send me those templates it would be appreciated.


----------



## ianleblanc

Lindorie I like your monster cards, but they somehow feel a little 'busy', I know it's probably not easy to fit all those monster stats on a single card. I would suggest removing the side bar, that info seems distracting. The alignment and xp value could probably fit in the subtitle, or beside it. Or use colors to convey meaning instead of words, put the level bubble in black to convey 'evil alignment', etc. If at all possible I would also remove the abbreviations, maybe use symbols or reduce the font.

Aside from space constraints, I think they are very cool!


----------



## tecnowraith

Do we really need Power Cards? I mean we really know how many powers you will total above first level? I have seen or heard anything about how many total power you gain beyond 1st level.


----------



## Mostlyjoe

We need status cards stat! Bloodied, stunned, etc. It's weird, but D&D is turning into a hybrid mini's card roleplaying game and I'm really, really starting to like it.


----------



## Lindorie

ianleblanc said:
			
		

> Aside from space constraints, I think they are very cool!



Thanks! It is tight, which is why I used the abbreviations and symbols for things like implement or melee.



			
				ianleblanc said:
			
		

> I would suggest removing the side bar, that info seems distracting. The alignment and xp value could probably fit in the subtitle, or beside it. Or use colors to convey meaning instead of words, put the level bubble in black to convey 'evil alignment', etc.



Good suggestion on the color-for-alignment, although I wonder if there would be too many alignments to easily represent in colors.

Regarding the side bar: I know that takes up space, so I kept debating taking it out completely. The reason I left it in is to allow me to put the cards in a 3x5 index box. Then the side bar would be at the top, allowing me to sort by level, then monster name or XP. If I needed to create an encounter, I could pull out my box and quickly thumb through to find an appropriate monster. This is all theoretical, of course, since I only have about 6 monsters created for the Raiders of Oakhurst.

My group has already had one combat using the pregen character sheets and monster stat blocks in Second Son. When we do Oakhurst next weekend, the wizard will playtest the power cards I created while I playtest the monster cards. We'll see how useful they are then.



			
				ianleblanc said:
			
		

> If at all possible I would also remove the abbreviations, maybe use symbols or reduce the font.



Do you really mean "reduce" the font and not "make it bigger"? I had no abbreviations, but the font was smaller than my aging eyesight liked. I pulled up some online DDM card photos and used abbreviations found on those, also adding EONT for "end of [the monsters] next turn". I find that using no abbreviations helps the first couple of times the card is read. After that, abbreviations are fine. So I envision the books to be the monster introductions, and these to be gaming aids.

Note: My comments on the font are when I print it 3.5cm x 9cm, which was my original intent. If I do print it 3x5", I may be able to reduce the font while keeping the text legible.


----------



## Lindorie

tecnowraith said:
			
		

> Do we really need Power Cards? I mean we really know how many powers you will total above first level?



The reason I created the power cards was because during combat, several of the players kept forgetting to use a power or feat they had. There were also a couple of times they tried to reuse an encounter or daily power they already burned, or spent time going through their sheet looking for a single stat for the power (e.g. damage). We will hopefully playtest these cards this weekend.

The reason I created my monster cards is because of playtest reports I read in these forums. Several times, the DM's wrote that they forgot a monster's powers, or forgot to roll for a recharge. Although I haven't used them yet, I hope having the cards laid out in a consistent format with coloring hints, icons, etc will help.


----------



## Intrope

Mostlyjoe said:
			
		

> We need status cards stat! Bloodied, stunned, etc. It's weird, but D&D is turning into a hybrid mini's card roleplaying game and I'm really, really starting to like it.



 Yah, I'm thinking status cards and continuing-effect cards; having a card to 'attach' to a monster for each ongoing effect would be useful. I may try putting such effects on a half business card (split longways, I think) so they can be placed on the mat (with an arrow at one end to point to the target). That might get messy if a single creature got too many effects--but I'm hoping that's rare in any case.

On the other hand, being able to turn my character sheet into a hand of cards would actually be fairly neat!


----------



## Intrope

Lindorie said:
			
		

> Good suggestion on the color-for-alignment, although I wonder if there would be too many alignments to easily represent in colors.



If the alignments are actually Lawful Good, Good, Unaligned, Evil, Chaotic Evil then you only need 3 colors (white, gray, black) and two 'modifiers': say a Blue square on the white alignment for LG, and a Red squiggly circle (or chaos multi-arrow) on the Black alignment for CE.


----------



## Mostlyjoe

Intrope said:
			
		

> On the other hand, being able to turn my character sheet into a hand of cards would actually be fairly neat!




It's wonderful. We don't *have* to do this, but since the game is easy enough to do...it's so nice. I'd love to have a mess of Status cards. Many copies so I can keep status for PCS and NPCs easy to follow.


----------



## The Little Raven

Mostlyjoe said:
			
		

> It's wonderful. We don't *have* to do this, but since the game is easy enough to do...it's so nice. I'd love to have a mess of Status cards. Many copies so I can keep status for PCS and NPCs easy to follow.




Color-marked status cards go great with the Alea Tools magnetic markers.


----------



## Mostlyjoe

I was thinking of taking away grids all together. Just use a tapemeasure and Warmachine style minis. Gonna see how that changes the games. Firecubes and all.


----------



## tintagel

Hello folks,

I almost decided to make my own template, but figured the MTG style wasn't really that bad, especially if you took advantage of all the color options.

These are all the D&D Experience character abilities.  I know they have been posted already, but I wasn't happy with the fonts or color selection for those.  Here is my system - your mileage may vary!


The card color represents the class (paladin, warlock, etc).  For the Warlock, multiple colors represent the class (black) and focus (green = fey).  
  Powers based on Races use the Land texture, and Items will use the Artifact texture.  
  I took advantage of the Power/Toughness section to re-state the type of ability (Standard, Move, Minor, Free, or Immediate), since in play this is a common point where my players have slowed down in trying to pick their actions.  
  I am using the official 4E logo as the set logo - just for fun.  Black = At Will, Silver = Encounter, and Gold = Daily.   
  At Will, Encounter, and Daily are also represented by the card border.  I chose darker variations of the colors to help they eyes.   I almost made everything with black borders for aesthetic reasons, since I will be using colored sleeves for my coding, but figured others might not, so I left them.  Feel free to change if you don't like.
  The mana symbol represents the level of the power.  In the case of Class features, I used 0, since you get those independent of level.  Also, X is used for racial powers - though I might just pull that.

I have included a full post on my blog, with attachments.  Included is a PDF of the cards, a link to my Picasa album, the full Magic Set Editor file, and my modified style (place it in the \data\magic-new-fulltext.mse-style  folder and overwrite).

http://educatedgamer.net/blog/archives/185


----------



## Drawback

tintagel said:
			
		

> Hello folks,
> 
> I almost decided to make my own template, but figured the MTG style wasn't really that bad, especially if you took advantage of all the color options.




I _love_ what you did there... Although I have a suggestion... As you said you liked the fact that the MTG template had a lot of color options. Let's add more! There's a MTG template available which added the yellow, orange and purple colors (with mana symbols) to the set! With these colors, we would be ready for new classes and power sources!

As I have NO skills whatsoever in modifying templates, here's the link : MTG orange/yellow/purple 

Do your magic tintagel!


----------



## Hawke

Lindorie, any chance of making your full set or templates available for download? I'd love them !


----------



## Lindorie

Hawke said:
			
		

> Lindorie, any chance of making your full set or templates available for download? I'd love them !



Here are the other six Wizard pre-gen character sheet powers.


----------



## Hawke

Thanks for the cards!

Trying to get a set together for running the adventure this week. Should be really exciting! 

For those of you using the Magic Set Editor, know of any way we might be able to add-to or replace the magic icons with ones like these       ?


----------



## Trolls

Decided to have a go myself:







One at-will, one encounter and one daily, of varying complexities. I included a picture on the Careful Attack to fill up some space, but couldn't find one for Fey Step.


----------



## Hawke

Sweet, what program are you using for for those, Trolls? 

Also... I searched the thread and couldn't find RandomCitizenX's set to be dropped into the Magic Set Editor. Does anybody have one with all the pregen powers made up? The jpegs look great but I'd be interested in the ease of modifying via MSE. Thanks in advance!


----------



## Trolls

Hawke said:
			
		

> Sweet, what program are you using for for those, Trolls?




Thanks 

They're made using Paint.NET, taking the backgrounds from the DDM cards and then fiddling with colours and typing up the powers.


----------



## FreeXenon

Trolls - those are gorgeous.   

I have one suggestion - putting the power descriptions above the flavor text, that way they are always in the same spot making them easier read and reference instead of having the eyes need to hunt to find the pertinent info from card to card.


----------



## FreeXenon

Perhaps also on the first notch on the left, above the Class/Level info, put the color coded Power Source.


----------



## Trolls

FreeXenon said:
			
		

> Trolls - those are gorgeous.
> 
> I have one suggestion - putting the power descriptions above the flavor text, that way they are always in the same spot making them easier read and reference instead of having the eyes need to hunt to find the pertinent info from card to card.



 Good idea, I've switch them around (see above, no need to display them again).

As for the power source, do you mean the white or brown bit above class/level? I _was_ going to put something like 'Channel Divinity' in the brown one, but thinking about it, that's probably better where the Pact is on the warlock power.
I'll have a fiddle, see what works. Most importantly, which power source should be which colour?


----------



## FreeXenon

Trolls said:
			
		

> As for the power source, do you mean the white or brown bit above class/level? I _was_ going to put something like 'Channel Divinity' in the brown one, but thinking about it, that's probably better where the Pact is on the warlock power.
> I'll have a fiddle, see what works. Most importantly, which power source should be which colour?




I was thinking the notch right (notch 1) above Ranger/Attack 1 (notch 2)
I have no idea about colors. Perhaps Black for Martial, Blue for Magic, Red for Divine?

The I like where the Pact/Fey is located (notch 4), This could also be where the Channelivinity could be, since these will be mutually exclusive.

Perhaps leaving a standard 2 lines for Power Descriptors?

Very nice job.


----------



## FreeXenon

Perhaps notch 5 could be the Sustain value?


----------



## Trolls

3 more:





Notch 5 as sustain is a good idea. I'll edit that into the warlock card above.

Still trying to get a good look on that colour code for power source. I think it might look best to just go with 'Source' in small white, then 'Martial' etc. beneath, to match with the others.


----------



## Hawke

I really love these... 

I sincerely hope that come June 6th you work on a full set. 

I just can't say how impressed I am!


----------



## mach1.9pants

Samr here those are 17 shades of awesome (if not more!). Exactly what I m looking for in my game. I would love a full set of these


----------



## hennebeck

Nicely done.
Would it help to sort them, at all, to move Racial and Class powers to separate notches?
Say put Race in Notch 1 and Class in Notch 2?


----------



## Trolls

I went ahead and added power source to the first notch. I also switch around the Pact and Sustain on the Curse of the Dark Dream card, so actions are grouped together. So, notch by notch we have:
-Power source
-Where the power came from
-Action required
-Additional action required
-Misc. eg. Pact, Channel Divinity etc.

Here are the updated cards, sblocked for convenience:

[sblock=Cards]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/sblock]


----------



## FreeXenon

Rock'n!


----------



## warlockwannabe

These are amazing! Keep up the good work!


----------



## hennebeck

Because these are such great works, I want to be really nit-picky.
The picture on the Priest's Shield should have someone with a mace, Yes?
Again take this as constructive criticism from a big fan.


----------



## drjones

Flippin' awesome!  WOTC should have you on the payroll.


----------



## tintagel

Those are great, but might I make a suggestion?

The 2 things I keep finding players need to know quickly when looking at the power cards are:
1) At will, encounter, or daily?   - Color handles this perfectly!
2) Standard, Move, or Minor?  - That information is currently not as obvious as it could be.  Maybe use the Circle, where you currently have the attack icon, as the new location?   Then you could put the attack icon in one of the notches.

I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of modifying your most recent post to reflect the changes.  Thoughts?


----------



## FreeXenon

I think I like that better. 
I am not sure though. :0


----------



## emass

I prefer the "original" version by Trolls, with the icon in the circle, and the action in one of the notches...

Fantastic job, Trolls!!


----------



## Khuxan

For the record, I prefer tintagel's model. I know as a player the information I need most is what action the power will use.


----------



## Ondo

It might be useful to have the back of the card tell you if the power is at-will, encounter, or daily.  Then you could flip the card over when the power is used, and still know how much rest it'll take to flip it back to the usable side again.


----------



## Trolls

Trying out the different suggestions:







I'm not sure which I prefer, I think they both have merit, and I think the type of attack is just as important as the action.

What do you guys think?


----------



## Jack99

Trolls said:
			
		

> Trying out the different suggestions:
> 
> 
> I'm not sure which I prefer, I think they both have merit, and I think the type of attack is just as important as the action.
> 
> What do you guys think?




Right one, as the info of type of action and type of power is more closely together.


----------



## tintagel

I obviously agree with the right one, but I would also like to add that those two bits of information (action type and frequency) are usually the first two things I will look at to choose my action.

The action type is important, but most melee classes will have mainly melee powers, and ranged classes (ranger, casters) will have ranged powers.  Sure, you occasionally are looking for a blast instead of single target, but you are always trying to use your various action types each round.

On a related note, where are we going to get art for all the cards?   Perhaps the rest of us could begin scouring the net for appropriate images and start a thread about sample images for Powers?  Would that be useful for anyone?


----------



## emass

Trolls said:
			
		

> Trying out the different suggestions:
> 
> I'm not sure which I prefer, I think they both have merit, and I think the type of attack is just as important as the action.
> 
> What do you guys think?



I would go with the left one.
The action type ("Action: Std") feels constrained in the "bubble", which is just perfect for a pictorial representation of the type of attack.
Furthermore, the graphics for the type of attack ("      ") fit much better in a circle-shaped area...


----------



## WhatGravitas

emass said:
			
		

> I would go with the left one.
> The action type ("Action: Std") feels constrained in the "bubble", which is just perfect for a pictorial representation of the type of attack.
> Furthermore, the graphics for the type of attack ("      ") fit much better in a circle-shaped area...



Same here. I'd rather try to convey the action through some other means, like the frame colour (compare good, neutral, and evil frames for DDM).

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Trolls

tintagel said:
			
		

> On a related note, where are we going to get art for all the cards?   Perhaps the rest of us could begin scouring the net for appropriate images and start a thread about sample images for Powers?  Would that be useful for anyone?




All the images so far are from the Wizards Presents: Races and Classes official gallery. Pencil sketches work best, but aren't necessary. A thread to collect art sound like a good idea, or we could link to suggestions here.

On the subject of art, I've added 'Illus. Name' to the bottom right of the card (see above).


----------



## FreeXenon

I think I still like the action cost there.
How about adding the Source in a similar bubble on the right side of the card.

Then we will have At-will/Encounter/Per-Day delineated by card color
Action type delineated by Left Bubble
Power Source delineated by Right Bubble

All of it would be available at the top of the card.

For Racial Powers we can use a a symbol of a over laying  face silhouettes.


----------



## FreeXenon

*Power Sources Symbols/Colors*

Martial: an Upright Sword;  Color Black
Arcane: An Open Book, Blue
Divine: and Amulet, White
Racial: over laying face silhouettes, Green

Wow, now all I have to do is tap the card to activate and we will be good-to-go.


----------



## FreeXenon

*Bubble Positioning*

To ensure you have enough room for the Power Names you could move both bubbles to the flush with the edges of the card, and then kind of meld it with the edges (like it was a part of a larger circle that got cut off).


----------



## tintagel

emass said:
			
		

> I would go with the left one.
> The action type ("Action: Std") feels constrained in the "bubble", which is just perfect for a pictorial representation of the type of attack.
> Furthermore, the graphics for the type of attack ("      ") fit much better in a circle-shaped area...




I agree that it's a bit constrained - that's why I ditched the "action" line and just had Std. Min. and Mv

anyhoo,  Cheers!


----------



## Trolls

A few more experiments:






My thoughts:

Adding a colour code for power source detracts from the simple design, especially with the circle ones. Changing the colour of the spaces between notches works best, I think, but I'm still not sure about that.
I also think adding power source in another bubble is giving it too much importance. Power Source will never come up in game, as far as I'm aware, so there's no real need for it to have such prominence.
Having an extra bubble at the top makes it seem crowded up there, and will be troublesome for powers with long names, like Curse of the Dark Dream.


----------



## WhatGravitas

Trolls said:
			
		

> Adding a colour code for power source detracts from the simple design, especially with the circle ones. Changing the colour of the spaces between notches works best, I think, but I'm still not sure about that.
> I also think adding power source in another bubble is giving it too much importance. Power Source will never come up in game, as far as I'm aware, so there's no real need for it to have such prominence.



Yeah, power sources are probably not that important - additionally, you can usually spot, as every class only has one.
Colouring the space between the notches is pretty nice - but use that for the action type. Then you have an easy indication of action type, but you can save the bubble for the attack type (which is nicer with a symbol, especially the symbols we have.

For the colour and appropriate action type:
Yellow: Immediate action - the signal colour helps to remind you that you can use it out of turn.
Light blue: Minor action
White: Move action
Neutral grey: Standard action
Black: Full action

Only suggestions, of course.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## emass

I'm still in favor of the original design - no 2nd bubble (too crowded), no color changes (too colored - think when we'll have 8 power sources!).

For me, the power source works fine as it is, written in the 1st notch


----------



## FreeXenon

I like the color change with the bubble at the bottom left for the power source,
then the attack type in the first notch.

Interesting thoughts everyone.
Perhaps the color change will be too much color?
The colored  bubble might be enough?


----------



## mvincent

Thoughts on using power cards:
1) Daily use cards could be handed to the DM when used (to be handed them back after an extended rest).
2) 'Per encounter' cards could be discarded (near the DM), but still be easily retrieved by the players after the encounter.
3) Cards that affect others (buffs, on-going effects, etc.) could be handed to the person affected, which they can then discard when the effect wears off... similar to status cards.
4) Players could use colored sleeves to easily recognize their own cards. Buyng a cool or appropriate sleeve might even be part of the fun.

Item cards:
5) DM's might also hand out 'items cards' (some of which might have encounter or daily powers too). The picture on the item cards would always be visible, the description could be easily covered, and the detect magic aura should be easy to uncover without fully uncovering the description.
6) Item cards could even be placed to show what is currently in the player's hand.
7) GP cards could be used similar to monopoly money... kept by player and handed to the DM when spent. This method could possibly even be use for tracking hitpoints.

Some other 'gamer bling' related thoughts:
8) Players could each have their own 'deck box' with their character's picture taped to the outside.
9) The PC's miniature and folded-up character sheet could be kept in the deck box
10) A small piece of color clay (playdough, same color as the player's card sleeves) could also be kept in the box, to be used for when the PC 'marks" an opponent (much easier than trying to balance an opposing miniature on a colored base as suggested here, especially if the miniature is large).


----------



## Trolls

Ok, I think this next one is getting pretty close. I've folded action and type into the single bubble, with a simple colour code (orange = standard, yellow = move, green = minor, blue = immediate). I've discarded any colour coding by power source, I don't think it's necessary, and kept the notches as they were last page.


----------



## WhatGravitas

Trolls said:
			
		

> Ok, I think this next one is getting pretty close. I've folded action and type into the single bubble, with a simple colour code (orange = standard, yellow = move, green = minor, blue = immediate). I've discarded any colour coding by power source, I don't think it's necessary, and kept the notches as they were last page.



That looks pretty good - I like it! Question: Could you do a mock-up with a longer spell, like Bigby's Grasping Hands or some other spell of that size? Just to see how it looks like.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Riley

These cards are a beautiful idea, and you're doing really great things with them.  I have just a couple thoughts to offer:

1) We already have a color scheme for frequency of powers (at-will powers get green headers, encounter powers get red, and dailies get black...).  Adding another color scheme is llikely to be difficult to remember, and not very useful.  Still, I think that the most important thing to communicate in the upper left bubble is the action type.

I agree that "Std" and "Min" are not that graceful, either.  Perhaps a symbol would be more memorable for indicating type of action?
Off the top of my head, 

move = a foot
standard = a hand/fist?
minor = an uplifted finger (a la Azuth's holy symbol)
immediate = an exclamation point, a stopwatch, or an hourglass?


2) Some of the powers (like Priest's Shield, and the various marking powers) confer effects on creatures other than the wielder of the power.  Effect cards which would be handed to the affected player (or stuck next to the affected monster), would be a great addition.


----------



## tintagel

I think Riley nails it - how about these symbols?   >> is standard, the four-pointed star is pretty much universal for move in most applications.  The * is minor (since asterisks are usually used to note minor things), and the ! is for immediate actions to draw attention.

PNGs are zipped and attached as well, for your convenience.


----------



## tintagel

And here are some with colored icons...


----------



## ianleblanc

Ya those color symbols are cool, I think it's important to have action type and frequency somewhere predominant.  Though, I would reconsider the standard action one, >> dosn't feel like a standard action, it seems more like a movement. And you might want to find something for full round actions (if there's such a thing in 4th ed).
Maybe have the frequency (at-will, encounter, daily) be a color somewhere or something, as long as it's the second most visible piece of info on the card, after action type (standard, move, minor).


----------



## emass

Nah... no need to introduce even more symbols.
I think Trolls version is basically perfect (with or without the bubble color code - as long as the action type is written in a notch as well, I really don't mind the bubble color)


----------



## MaelStorm

Yeah, I second this. Trolls version is perfect.

I'd be also interested to see a landscape version.


----------



## Riley

ianleblanc said:
			
		

> Ya those color symbols are cool, I think it's important to have action type and frequency somewhere predominant.  Though, I would reconsider the standard action one, >> dosn't feel like a standard action, it seems more like a movement. And you might want to find something for full round actions (if there's such a thing in 4th ed).




I like the move, minor, and immediate.  I agree the standard is a bit trickier.



			
				ianleblanc said:
			
		

> Maybe have the frequency (at-will, encounter, daily) be a color somewhere or something, as long as it's the second most visible piece of info on the card, after action type (standard, move, minor).




That's already done.  The Green shading at the top is "at will," with black and red indicating daily and per encounter (IIRC).  It's a color scheme that'll be in the PHB.


----------



## Trolls

Ok, try these on for size. We've got an experiment with a long power (Bigby's, as requested), and then versions with the new action symbols in the bubble. You can imagine the top ones without the colour in the bubble, if you wish.
Note that I've removed the power source notch from the bottom ones, and left the action in. I've done that to clarify action type, and because space is low and power source doesn't actually matter.






So, a new round of opinions!


----------



## Riley

Trolls said:
			
		

> So, a new round of opinions!




Trolls,
I really like that lower set.  They look great!  I especially like your use of that top side bar for icons for attack type.

A few additional thoughts along the same vein:

A tiny "10" could be stuck just under the bow in the left top sidebar, indicating range.
The second side bar could indicate type of attack: "Int vs. Ref" or "Str vs. AC."
In the power descriptions, consider bold-texting the part that says "*2d10 + Intelligence bonus force damage.*"
In the upper left circle with the "standard action" symbol, a tiny asterisk in the corner (sic) could indicate a sustain minor.

Keep up the great work!  I was planning to try to do something like this myself, but your Adobe-fu far exceeds my own capabilities.


----------



## tintagel

I knew that Standard Action icon would get me into trouble...  It didn't sit right with me either, but I figured that the Chevron symbolized action?  LOL.   Any suggestions for a Standard Action icon?  Right now, I am siding with a fist.

Oh, and Spot On Riley - again.   Those little details like the range and sustain are very good.


----------



## baberg

Trolls said:
			
		

> So, a new round of opinions!



I think the bottom ones are just about perfect.  Color-coded for At-Will/Encounter/Daily, the easily-checked icons in the upper left corner for standard/minor/move, and the top sidebar for weapon is just about perfect.  

The only changes I can think of is to make the left sidebar more of a "quick-facts" thing - emphasize that it's Int vs. Reflex, or put the damage highlighted in those boxes.  But I think there's not enough room in the sidebar for that information, so without a major redesign it's not possible.


----------



## bmcdaniel

If possible, It'd be great to get these formatted for business card size. You can buy pre-punched sheets of business card stock. You can't for playing card stock 

BMM


----------



## Charwoman Gene

*This is just stupid and dangerous.*

Making your own power cords is stupid and dangerous.

You could start fires people.  Just spend the 5 bucks at the hardware store.

Yes, I know I'm nuts but I've been seeing this thread and misreading the title every time.


----------



## drjones

In my opine the new symbols are unintuitive.  I don't have a better set to offer, it just seems to add a new system to learn to use the cards which lessens the economy of design you have otherwise created.  But I suppose the price is right?  

Other than that they look great.


----------



## WhatGravitas

drjones said:
			
		

> In my opine the new symbols are unintuitive.  I don't have a better set to offer, it just seems to add a new system to learn to use the cards which lessens the economy of design you have otherwise created.  But I suppose the price is right?
> 
> Other than that they look great.



Well, the symbols are just _extras_. You don't need the symbols to understand the card.

This said, I really like the lower batch, as we have ranged/melee powers, we don't always get a single symbol, so I like it shifted into the notches - the bubble should only hold a single symbol. A small range indicator as subscript for the ranged symbol would also be pretty rad. 

Also: Please keep the bubble without any special colour - after seeing it, I really have to say, it makes the cards to overloaded with information (colour-wise) and distracts.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## MintMMs

*Wow*

Those are incredible! My vote is for the bottom set as well. 

Though for icons, I'd try a hand for Standard, a boot for Movement and a lightning bolt for Immediate actions. I don't have a good idea for a Minor action, but what types of things can you do in a Minor? A picture of a common minor action would be perfect. (Is quaffing potions a minor?)


----------



## Shado

bmcdaniel said:
			
		

> If possible, It'd be great to get these formatted for business card size. You can buy pre-punched sheets of business card stock. You can't for playing card stock
> 
> BMM




Look out!

plaincards.com 

(Been ready for this one!  Started plotting out cards as soon as they first revealed powers.    )


----------



## WhatGravitas

What about the attached image as symbol for a standard action - it represents general activity.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## tintagel

I like that one, Tirian!


----------



## tintagel

bmcdaniel said:
			
		

> If possible, It'd be great to get these formatted for business card size. You can buy pre-punched sheets of business card stock. You can't for playing card stock
> 
> BMM




Hey BMM, This is how we are doing this:
  Buy some card sleeves from your local gaming store.  You can get 50 for about 1-2 bucks.  I bought 50 red, 50 green, and 50 black.
  Get a friend who has some old Magic The Gathering cards, or others of similar size.  Get them cheap or free (probably free) - just get junk cards like lands or commons.
  Slide 1 card into the sleeve for backing
  Print these cards on regular paper and cut them out.
  slide them in front of the regular card in the sleeve.

Enjoy a durable and protected card, with sleeves color-coded by frequency type!


----------



## WhatGravitas

tintagel said:
			
		

> I like that one, Tirian!



Well, thanks. The design is inspired by your icons - though I'm a bit concerned about the similarity to the minor action symbol - perhaps it should rather be two interlocking wheels?

Cheers, LT.


----------



## tintagel

Oh yeah, that would work.  I am not at home (in a hotel for a conference) - otherwise I would start playing with it.   Also, a sylized fist might work.... dunno.


----------



## TarionzCousin

I vote for tintagel's colored icons, even if the "standard action" icon needs to be changed. 

Nice work, people. This thread has some great stuff.


----------



## ianleblanc

Why not just make the * smaller? 
Anyone know if there are full round action in 4th ed?


----------



## emass

Trolls said:
			
		

> So, a new round of opinions!



I guess I'm one of the few who doesn't like the bottom one...

For me, the top ones are the best


----------



## Lindorie

Trolls said:
			
		

> Ok, I think this next one is getting pretty close



Since a lot of people seem to like Trolls' versions, I thought I'd throw in a few thoughts I had when I was working on the cards that I posted earlier.

I thought that there were too many cards to lay out at once, so it would be nice to stack them overlapped and have a bit of information showing on the top. What I thought would be good info is:
	name
	action cost (standard, move, etc)
	type (burst, blast, ranged, etc)
	requirement (implement, melee weapon, ranged weapon)
	whether it causes an OA.

I also put special effect types towards the top (acid, fire, force, etc), since I thought it might be important depending on who you're attacking. If all these things could be seen in the top inch or so of the card, they could be stacked for space and tapped only when used.

Looking over character and monster powers, I noticed the following action costs:
	immediate (reaction)
		Dragon breath when first bloodied
	free
		Mage Hand: Drop an object the hand is holding
	standard
		Mage Hand: Conjure a floating hand.
	move
		Mage Hand: You can move the hand up to 5.
        minor
		Mage Hand: pick up or move a different object.
		Mage Hand: sustain the hand.

I know I'm using a lot of examples from Mage Hand, but it is a good example of a power that can slow someone down while they're reading the card (at least until they learn it well). I expect Rituals to be another cost. Inherent abilities and skills could also be considered another type or part of the "free" actions. I don't know how Utility Powers would fit in this.

Frequency includes At-Will, Encounter, Daily, and Recharge. The dice graphics look okay, but I find that they are slower to read than numbers and don't do as well when printed at small sizes.

When players used the character sheets during combat, they slowed down *a lot* trying to find certain pieces of information. The pieces that could use some quick eye-caching features were: range/blast, to-hit and damage stats, secondard attacks.

Other things in the back of my mind:
	colors good for color-blinded people. Have the red, green, black colors be progressively dark in grayscale.
	consistency: try to put the same information in the same place, or in the same order relative to other text.
	colors and text: If colors are used, try to back it up with text or icons. Since there are various types of color-blindness, some people may not see the blue background of a circle.


----------



## Khaalis

emass said:
			
		

> I guess I'm one of the few who doesn't like the bottom one...
> For me, the top ones are the best



Second the motion. I'd personally vote for the top row style. However, I would also suggest dropping the color code from the symbols. Do we really need another color set to add to the complexity?  Also, as for "action" symbols... do we have to have it be an option between Attack type or Action symbol?  Why can't we add a dot to the lower section of the card like in earlier iterations? Or possibly over the lower section of the left hand column?

Edit: Oh and just to add - this is fantastic work. I love how these are developing. Great work.


----------



## WampusCat43

So, who's got a full set?  I'll try 'em out tomorrow night.


----------



## tintagel

I do, but it's using the Magic the Gathering template, which I am ditching for this new DDM style.  But yeah, I have all of them for the existing Pregens.  Check page 2 of this thread, I think.


----------



## Trolls

Next iteration:
-New standard action symbol (looks great!)
-Redrew exclamation mark (wasn't quite symmetrical after the resize, edges looked strange)
-Added blur behind action symbols to make them blend in/feel more natural
-Added Attack type (Int vs. Ref) to last notch. That leaves us with nowhere to put Channel Divinity or Pact etc. The trick is whether that or Sustain: Minor is more important. For warlocks, it's not (pact is a one time choice), but for Channel Divinity, it does determine how often you can use the power.  Any thoughts?






I know a couple of you still like the attack type rather than action type in the top bubble, but seeing these I think we're on to a winner.

Lindiore - 
Since these are power cards, not monster cards, we don't have to worry about recharges.  Also, all the most important (decision making) factors are along the top and down the side, so you can stack them.
Oh, and all colour coded/symbol information is repeated in words on the card.


----------



## FreeXenon

Nice.


----------



## Riley

"I think we're on to a winner."

I think you're right.  Very nice!  Great, really.

Your range numbers look better than I would've hoped.  Do you think you can get both a range and a burst size in there for ranged burst attacks?

Also, do you think you could sneak a tiny * somewhere inside the Bigby's Grasping Hand's Standard Action circle?  It would quickly indicate that there is a Sustain:Minor option.  It might work, or it might look silly.

Oh, and on a completely irrelevant note: Why didn't they call the spell "Bigby's Grasping Hand*s*"?


----------



## WampusCat43

This is outstanding work, by the way.  WotC should be calling you.


----------



## MintMMs

The only minor tweak that I see is that you remove the periods from the action listing. Make "Std." just "Std" and "Im. R." just "Imm". It makes it look cleaner and players will still know what it means.


----------



## SteveC

I don't have much to add, other than "bravo!"

I would buy this as a product in a minute. I hope WotC takes note of this and does something along these lines, but if not, I'd love to see a compiled version that I can print myself. Very good work!

--Steve


----------



## mach1.9pants

SteveC said:
			
		

> I don't have much to add, other than "bravo!"
> 
> I would buy this as a product in a minute. I hope WotC takes note of this and does something along these lines, but if not, I'd love to see a compiled version that I can print myself. Very good work!
> 
> --Steve



This. AN awesome effort Troll, just lovely. I am going to be using such cards in 4E IMC. But there is no way on earth that I could make anything as good. Thanks


----------



## tintagel

These are excellent.  This is why I love the Internet and the concept of Web 2.0 so much.  These cards are a product of many enthusiasts coming together, collaborating, sharing efforts, and creating something of value to the community.  Trolls definitely deserves a lion's share of the credit, but don't sell yourselves short.  Many of you (and myself) added our little bit to this.

So, the next logical step will be to share the template with the community and let's start getting all of the cards done!


----------



## DreamChaser

MintMMs said:
			
		

> The only minor tweak that I see is that you remove the periods from the action listing. Make "Std." just "Std" and "Im. R." just "Imm". It makes it look cleaner and players will still know what it means.




Imm by itself doesn't necessarily work cause it could be Immediate Interrupt or Immediate Reaction (or am I misunderstanding something?).

With regards to the channel divinity, isn't this already part of the power name?

DC


----------



## WampusCat43

tintagel said:
			
		

> These are excellent.  This is why I love the Internet and the concept of Web 2.0 so much.  These cards are a product of many enthusiasts coming together, collaborating, sharing efforts, and creating something of value to the community.  Trolls definitely deserves a lion's share of the credit, but don't sell yourselves short.  Many of you (and myself) added our little bit to this.
> 
> So, the next logical step will be to share the template with the community and let's start getting all of the cards done!



What can I do?


----------



## MaelStorm

Khaalis said:
			
		

> Second the motion. I'd personally vote for the top row style. However, I would also suggest dropping the color code from the symbols. Do we really need another color set to add to the complexity?  Also, as for "action" symbols... do we have to have it be an option between Attack type or Action symbol?  Why can't we add a dot to the lower section of the card like in earlier iterations? Or possibly over the lower section of the left hand column?
> 
> Edit: Oh and just to add - this is fantastic work. I love how these are developing. Great work.



Really nice idea. And yes, great work Trolls.


----------



## Petronius_Ironfist

Where would we find the templates for these cards? They have changed considerably since the first few posts - and look GREAT!


----------



## HeinorNY

Hmmmm

"Be sure to return Friday for a look at power cards!"


----------



## Belorin

ainatan said:
			
		

> Hmmmm
> 
> "Be sure to return Friday for a look at power cards!"




Hmmmm, indeed.

Bel


----------



## Trolls

A third hmmm....

It might just be the ones in this article: 
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dusg/20080227a

In other news, I'll clean up the template I'm using an add a bit of a tutorial for getting the look right, then I'll upload it so we can make a good effort at getting all the cards done.

Before that, though, we need a symbol for free actions!


----------



## quindia

Some of my friends who attended the DDXP told me a couple of the DM's mentioned the Player Character Sheets were going to come with power cards. Reading the description from the product, I see no mention of this so I dismissed this as speculation.

You have to figure that WotC will produce these at some point. They are already set up to make cards. Personally I'd rather see them produced as a PDF so we can print them ourselves, along with blanks to add our own.

I may just make my own or maybe I'll use the ones being developed here   !


----------



## ArturusX

Trolls said:
			
		

> Before that, though, we need a symbol for free actions!




Howzabout a more intuitive/simple idea for _all_ of the action icons?

Let's presume there are 5 action types: Standard, Move, Minor, Immediate, and Free in decreasing order of time necessary to perform the action.  All that differs is the time necessary to perform the action, so what better way to denote them than with a clock!

Standard: "Stopwatch" icon with the face completely dark.
Move:  "Stopwatch" icon with all but the upper-left quadrant of the face dark.
Minor:  "Stopwatch" icon with only the right side of the face dark.
Immediate:  "Stopwatch" icon with only the upper-right quadrant dark.
Free:  "Stopwatch" icon with nothing dark.

Alternatively, you could just use a circle with pie pieces filled in if a stopwatch icon looks tacky or you're having difficulty finding one.  I think this is far more intuitive and more immediately identifies how long the action you're doing takes.  Not to detract from the excellent icons already presented for the various action types of course.  

Whaddaya think?

- Art


----------



## drjones

quindia said:
			
		

> Some of my friends who attended the DDXP told me a couple of the DM's mentioned the Player Character Sheets were going to come with power cards. Reading the description from the product, I see no mention of this so I dismissed this as speculation.
> 
> You have to figure that WotC will produce these at some point. They are already set up to make cards. Personally I'd rather see them produced as a PDF so we can print them ourselves, along with blanks to add our own.
> 
> I may just make my own or maybe I'll use the ones being developed here   !




The wotc site lists power cards as being part of the Friday preview.  Doesn't mean yours are not better of course.


----------



## lutherreed

Oh that's easy. The circle is blank.. no action required. It's Free


----------



## HeinorNY

Here are the power cards, I think...


----------



## Belorin

Well, at least there's plenty of room for the ones like Ghost Sound with lots of wordage.

Bel


----------



## Alkiera

ainatan said:
			
		

> Here are the power cards, I think...




Those would get a great big 'meh' from me.  If WotC is doing them, I want something like the WoW TCG ability cards.  Heck, I'd think it'd make more sense to use WoW TCG cards as a template rather than magic cards.  If the WotC power cards aren't attractive (glossy, permanent, colorful, nice art, etc0, they will not be bought.

If a class from 1-30 has ~80 powers, I'd consider paying $20-25 for a deck of high-quality cards with all the powers for the class.  Or maybe sell them in tiers, 20-30 cards for $10.  Might have to put paragon/epic powers in collections to get enough cards to be worth distributing.  Fixed packs, by class, means people can pick them up as a game aid, like dice.  If they are in any way random/'collectable' they will be useless for the RPG.


----------



## Oryzarius

Trolls, these are magnificent-looking.  Did you recreate the DDM card background yourself, or is it posted online somewhere?  (My brief Google fling doesn't turn up anything from the current DDM version.)  Are you planning on making the files available anywhere, for others to play with?

I strongly suspect your work will be superior to whatever we see in Friday's Wizards update....


----------



## I'm A Banana

A bump. Becuase these really are better than WotC's effort. 

I'm kind of partial to Lord Thanatos's, but I'm a sucker for anything I can include a pretty picture I found online with the text.


----------



## deathdonut

Oryzarius said:
			
		

> I strongly suspect your work will be superior to whatever we see in Friday's Wizards update....




Limed for truth!  We have a winner!


----------



## mach1.9pants

deathdonut said:
			
		

> Limed for truth!  We have a winner!



QFT as they say. I am really looking forward to Troll releasing his templates for me to play with. WotC should be ashamed...or, at least,  hire Troll!

***Lest We Forget. ANZAC Day 2008***


----------



## Aridhra

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/excerpt_4E_powers3.jpg
I think trolls' cards are a little bit nicer than these awful things.


----------



## Shado

Aridhra said:
			
		

> http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/excerpt_4E_powers3.jpg
> I think trolls' cards are a little bit nicer than these awful things.




Every card posted in this thread are nicer!


----------



## Farstrand

Trolls said:
			
		

> Next iteration:
> ---snip----




Actually joined EN to be able to say. Wow. These looks so good.


----------



## Trolls

To give WotC some credit, theirs are designed to be filled in for any power, whereas the ones we have here require editing on the computer.

Still, the extra effort is worth it! 

Template/tutorial coming soon, just needs a bit of polishing. I'll post it some time this weekend.


----------



## Trolls

Oryzarius said:
			
		

> Trolls, these are magnificent-looking.  Did you recreate the DDM card background yourself, or is it posted online somewhere?  (My brief Google fling doesn't turn up anything from the current DDM version.)




I took the DDM background from the Dungeons of Dread PDF on the official site.


----------



## Solmancer

Trolls said:
			
		

> Next iteration:
> -New standard action symbol (looks great!)
> -Redrew exclamation mark (wasn't quite symmetrical after the resize, edges looked strange)
> -Added blur behind action symbols to make them blend in/feel more natural
> -Added Attack type (Int vs. Ref) to last notch. That leaves us with nowhere to put Channel Divinity or Pact etc. The trick is whether that or Sustain: Minor is more important. For warlocks, it's not (pact is a one time choice), but for Channel Divinity, it does determine how often you can use the power.  Any thoughts?



Trolls:

First of all, I registered here just so I could provide said thoughts.

- I agree that action symbols fit better in the top left than attack type.  It's arguably the symbol that will matter the most for "what can I do" when digging through the pile, as it were. 

On to the more critical side of the constructive feedback.   Namely, my suggestions for this latest batch you posted.  (Don't get me wrong, they're gorgeous, but I feel things can be a little more streamlined; PLEASE DO NOT EAT ME for being presumptuous.  )  I wish I had Photoshop skills so I could demonstrate what I mean... oh wells.


- Sticking the "action" type in the bubble as well, perhaps under the symbol or over it, would also get the point across.  You could then remove that particular line from the actual card box itself and save a little space, as well as free up an entire notch.  The same with "ranged 10" and similar attributes.  That notch gets the main point across, and a little text (albeit tiny text) will reinforce the meaning.
- I would remove the "power type" from the notches and stick it as the first line in the main text box with its own font to make it stand out (maybe a little big larger as well).  I keep envisioning it being displayed in a more calligraphic font.  Potentially seeing "Wizard Attack 1" for, say, Ray of Frost on the side is kind of "whatever", even though it would help sorting the cards.  In all seriousness, I'd care more about the WHEN than the IF; ie - I'd be looking to see what powers I can use at X time in the adventure, not what's coming up and so on and so forth.  Maybe that particular detail could go in the top right corner as three lines?

So to rehash, this is what I'm suggesting in a more textual format, using the Bigby's you posted.  Parentheses around text means it's tiny text.



		Code:
	

SYM    Bigby's Crushing Hand  Wizard       
BOL                           Attack
(Standard)                       15

  Int
vs. Ref
(Attack)        LOTS
                 OF
 2d10        POWER TEXT
+ Int
(Hit)

  10
(Ranged)

This jury's still out on the idea of other things, such as sustain being in a notch, and so on.  Some of the details seem best suited for the text, so I dunno.   This is just me being a feedback minded person is all!

/goes to bed now


----------



## tintagel

Trolls said:
			
		

> To give WotC some credit, theirs are designed to be filled in for any power, whereas the ones we have here require editing on the computer.




But isn't WOTC moving towards digital aids already with D&D Insider?  It's ironic that they CANCEL the printed publication of Dungeon and Dragon Magazine, create a virtual gaming table, then have players fill out blank power cards *by hand*.   I'm hoping for their sake that they at least have an PDF form for DDI subscribers to fill out their own power cards, but right now I am not so sure - besides, wouldn't they mention that feature in the article?

Disappointing.


----------



## tintagel

Duplicate


----------



## Khaalis

tintagel said:
			
		

> But isn't WOTC moving towards digital aids already with D&D Insider?  It's ironic that they CANCEL the printed publication of Dungeon and Dragon Magazine, create a virtual gaming table, then have players fill out blank power cards *by hand*.   I'm hoping for their sake that they at least have an PDF form for DDI subscribers to fill out their own power cards, but right now I am not so sure - besides, wouldn't they mention that feature in the article?
> 
> Disappointing.



I would second this. I am betting that the cards that are supplied in the PC Sheet supplement will eventually be available as a pdf as well since they are allowing you to print PC sheets from the DDI.

However, IMHO, this falls incredibly short of the product they COULD offer. As the producers of the world's leading TCG - I would think it incredibly simple to add a box of power cards to the early schedule along with the DM Screen and Player Character sheets. Its not a new idea. Spell Cards were around a long time ago. If WotC produced a complete boxed set of PHB1 power cards of MtG Card quality, I am sure they would sell well. They could then add "booster" packs of complete power card sets each time a new sourcebook was added such as the _Martial Power_.  We already know that gaming accessories sell as well if not better than the core books, and adding this type of product, professionally done, could be a really viable addition to the hobby both for WotC's sales and for players.   JMHO.


----------



## Mustrum_Ridcully

I think it might eventually be something they'll do. Who knows, maybe R&D is already thinking about how to put those power cards to "dual-use" for RPG and a (Trading)card game? 

Maybe they shied away from creating a product out of it to avoid the fan outcry "D&D is becoming a Trading Card Game!". 

Or they are just busy commissioning new artwork to put on the card.

What I hope is that they don't go for randomized booster sets and stuff like that. I can understand the "stocking" reason for minis, but for cards it would be unnecessary. I really don't think I need 4 Tide of Iron Cards. (4 Goblin Minis on the other hand, are fine.  )

They probably could sell them sorted by Tier, Class or Type (At-Will, encounter, daily)... (Depending on the size of a card pack and the release schedule, Class or Class & Tier seems to make the most sense...)

Or this could be the perfect opportunity for GSL publishers!


----------



## LowSpine

Hopefully they will include Basic Attack and Charge in any power cards they produce. They may not be amazing powers but essentially that is what they are: At Will.


----------



## deathdonut

Any chance Troll (or anyone) has a working set of the premade's powers?  It doesn't need to be perfect, just wanted to try them out in a game.

Thanks!


----------



## hennebeck

I had a thought Trolls, regarding too much colour, too much information on the cards.

Why not use the little circles  on the sides that recognize the faction for each card.

Your template card doesn't have them but official game cards have a little circle next to the slots. In those areas you could color a circle for Attack type.
I was playing DDM last night and realized that those little circles don't bother me at all. You only look at them when you need to.

I would throw one on each separate line based on Melee or range or burst or what not. You could even write the range in there as well.

I hope I'm making myself clear.


----------



## tintagel

deathdonut said:
			
		

> Any chance Troll (or anyone) has a working set of the premade's powers?  It doesn't need to be perfect, just wanted to try them out in a game.
> 
> Thanks!




You can get my full set here:
http://educatedgamer.net/blog/archives/185

I will eventually be using a variant of Trolls' cards, but just haven't gotten those made yet.


----------



## deathdonut

tintagel said:
			
		

> You can get my full set here:
> http://educatedgamer.net/blog/archives/185




Thanks!


----------



## mach1.9pants

Trolls said:
			
		

> Template/tutorial coming soon, just needs a bit of polishing. I'll post it some time this weekend.



Looking forward to it, troll. I know nothing about this sort of stuff, so great to learn something new


----------



## quindia

Great work, folks. I've been working on my own cards as well. They won't really benefit anyone else because I am only planning on making cards for the powers my players choose as they need them (I have no where near enough free time to attempt to make a full set at this time), but I thought I'd add ideas to the design pool...





I printed a few on high gloss photo paper and placed them in card protector sleeves and I am extremely happy with the results. I decided to not try to add graphics to the cards because some of the powers (Mage Hand for one) completely fill the space. I also left off "At Will", etc. as the color of the card (and the backing of my card protectors) will be obvious.


----------



## hennebeck

I didn't want this lost.
How's it going Trolls?
I know internet time is infintely faster than real time, but I was hoping you might maybe be finished.

Also quindia, what program did you use and do you have templates?

I think having a site dedicated or a forum, where people can pick and choose which format they like would be great and as some people build them they repost them, eventually a newbie would come by and get a full set, but for now we could be making and using the ones we need and sharing them.


----------



## FreeXenon

*quindia*: Nice. Simple.


----------



## ShinHakkaider

quindia said:
			
		

> Great work, folks. I've been working on my own cards as well. They won't really benefit anyone else because I am only planning on making cards for the powers my players choose as they need them (I have no where near enough free time to attempt to make a full set at this time), but I thought I'd add ideas to the design pool...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I printed a few on high gloss photo paper and placed them in card protector sleeves and I am extremely happy with the results. I decided to not try to add graphics to the cards because some of the powers (Mage Hand for one) completely fill the space. I also left off "At Will", etc. as the color of the card (and the backing of my card protectors) will be obvious.




Holy Crap. 

I think these and Trolls are the best ones I've seen so far. I really like the simplicity of the design. Are you sure there's no way that you can throw a template up somewhere? Or at least tell those of us who are not artistically inclined, but still have access to a copy of Photoshop how you made these?


----------



## Cadilon

Yes, even a copy of the photoshop file would be a great help.



			
				ShinHakkaider said:
			
		

> Holy Crap.
> 
> I think these and Trolls are the best ones I've seen so far. I really like the simplicity of the design. Are you sure there's no way that you can throw a template up somewhere? Or at least tell those of us who are not artistically inclined, but still have access to a copy of Photoshop how you made these?


----------



## ThirdWizard

I could see an application that would take an XML file and use a card template to make a printout of customizable cards. Or maybe a pdf document, web page, or some other such thing with forms that could fill in cards similar to Magic, the Creation.


----------



## quindia

The program I used was CorelDraw and I will be happy to post the CDR file for those with that program if anyone is interested. I'll post a blank Photoshop file of the basic card background as well for folks who want to drop their own text on top of it.

Give me a day or so.


----------



## quindia

Here are JPG's of the backgrounds. I'll post the CDR tomorrow...


----------



## MintMMs

Holy Double Crap!

Quindia and Trolls, your work is awesome. I can't decide which layout I prefer. Congratulations to you both!


----------



## quindia

Morning, all. Since the CDR is not an allowed file type for attachment to the board, I dropped it into the web. You can find it here:

Power Cards CorelDraw File 

The file is just over 1Mb and contains three cards (one of each color) and the symbols I made to go in the bubbles. You can open the file with CorelDraw 12 or higher or probably import it Adobe Illustrator if you have that program. The newer versions of  WordPerfect may also be able to open/import it but I don't own that program. If you are successful with any other combination, post it here!

I embedded the fonts, but just in case, the serif font is Flareserif 821 BT and the body text is simply AvantGarde BK.


----------



## WhatGravitas

quindia said:
			
		

> You can open the file with CorelDraw 12 or higher or probably import it Adobe Illustrator if you have that program.



Looking at the .jpegs, they hardly use all features of CorelDraw 12... has it still the ability to save in 9.0 compatible format? 

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Trolls

hennebeck said:
			
		

> I didn't want this lost.
> How's it going Trolls?
> I know internet time is infintely faster than real time, but I was hoping you might maybe be finished.




Sorry guys, real life happened 

Shouldn't be more than a couple of days, maybe even tonight if I find enough time.


----------



## quindia

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> Looking at the .jpegs, they hardly use all features of CorelDraw 12... has it still the ability to save in 9.0 compatible format?
> 
> Cheers, LT.




Yes, I can post a version 9 format... They are up to 14 now. I usually only get every three versions so I always assume everyone else is ahead of me! I used transparencies for the gradients (quicker to me than messing with the actual gradient fill tool) and I don't remember if they translate well in version 9, but the vectors should be intact.

Here Ya Go


----------



## WhatGravitas

quindia said:
			
		

> Here Ya Go



Thanks a lot!

(btw.: I love your Quindia map - I've used its general shape as inspiration for the homebrew I'm currently brewing!)

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Trolls

Tutorial is done and attached.

Happy power card making!


----------



## ShinHakkaider

Trolls and Quindia, I dont care what the other guys say about you, you guys will always be AWESOME in my book.


----------



## randolph

*A custom MSE template I'm working on*


----------



## mach1.9pants

Thanks Troll, you the man! Will give one a go myself tonight


----------



## Wormwood

randolph said:
			
		

>



Gorgeous. Keep it up and post your results!


----------



## Trolls

Just a heads up so we don't get any repeats: I'm working on the fighter pregen powers now.


----------



## baberg

randolph said:
			
		

>



I'm interested in this one - the ease of the Magic Set Editor really appeals to me, but the beauty of Trolls' efforts makes me really want that.  I see yours as a good compromise.  Once it's finished (or near finished) I'd love the MSE files you're using - especially if they include the Ranged/Melee/whatever icons used in the upper left corner.


----------



## Trolls

Anyone know the artist for the barbarian on Brute Strike? I couldn't track him/her down.


----------



## LowSpine

I was thinking monsters should get powercards also.

If you have a stat card for a monster on top and then have their powercards underneath overlapped but with the power names on the bottom of the cards so they can be seen and pulled out from under the stat card and discarded - unless it is a recharge card which can go on a recharge pile and rolled for at the appropriate time.


----------



## Moody Loner

*Well,*

like others, I've made an account here solely to post how good these are.


----------



## randolph

baberg said:
			
		

> Once it's finished (or near finished) I'd love the MSE files you're using - especially if they include the Ranged/Melee/whatever icons used in the upper left corner.



My custom MSE template is done, as in 100% usable, but currently pretty messy (I'm still stripping out all the non-essential bits of the M:tG template I started from); I'll post it as soon as I finish cleaning it up. And yes, it includes the Ranged/Melee/Ranged Burst/Close Burst/Cone icons (DDM pdf-extracted font, turned into pngs for use as MSE font symbols).

In the meantime, here are some more cards for those interested. (I'm amused that Trolls and I chose the same art for Passing Attack.)[SBLOCK=Fighter pregen]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	
























[/SBLOCK][SBLOCK=Ranger pregen]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




















[/SBLOCK]Edit: changed image host


----------



## Drawback

randolph said:
			
		

> My custom MSE template is done, as in 100% usable, but currently pretty messy (I'm still stripping out all the non-essential bits of the M:tG template I started from); I'll post it as soon as I finish cleaning it up. And yes, it includes the Ranged/Melee/Ranged Burst/Close Burst/Cone icons (DDM pdf-extracted font, turned into pngs for use as MSE font symbols).




Ah! What I was waiting for: a superb MSE template to use for the power cards. Great work.

Really. 

Give us that nice template!

For the magic items though, I'll use the "full text" magic template made by somebody in this thread earlier... This way, everyone will easily differenciate between player powers and magic item stuff.

Hey, would it be great if we could do "monster cards" like those available in the miniature game? I'd stat monsters on these small cards, print and bring them to the game! I'd leave my monster manual home! (And my players wouldn't _try with all their will_ to see the page I'm on!)

Just a thought.


----------



## baberg

Drawback said:
			
		

> Hey, would it be great if we could do "monster cards" like those available in the miniature game? I'd stat monsters on these small cards, print and bring them to the game! I'd leave my monster manual home! (And my players wouldn't _try with all their will_ to see the page I'm on!)



I'm already planning to put all of my monsters for a session onto 3x5 cards, though I'll probably just write them out by hand rather than print them out.  A bag of D&D Minis and a handful of cards, and you've got yourself an encounter set for the night, no page-flipping necessary.  Recurring villains might get their own special card with abilities and history printed out, but when I'm just copying from the MM it's faster and more efficient to just write it out longhand (for me, anyways).


----------



## randolph

Drawback said:
			
		

> Give us that nice template!



'kay.

The zip file contains three folders that need to be extracted into the MSE data subdirectory. The template should just work, and I added a little bit of explanatory text for each card field (mouseover a field and text will appear in the status bar).

I included a blank jpeg of the background color for reference/cut-and-paste; use RGB 238, 222, 196 as your background layer, or just drop the image you want to use into the attached jpeg.

Enjoy!



Edit: Version update, all necessary files are now in this post.


----------



## Khaalis

Hi Randolph.  Is there any way to create into the template an option for a Melee or Ranged attack method Icon. As it stands there is only the option for either/or, not a combined  /  icon.  Also, any possibility to add a Basic Ranged  (  ) icon?

Just curious. Otherwise, this is a nice clean and simple template.

EDIT: Ok, actually just need some how-to help. I created a melee_ranged.png file. 





I added the following entry to the symbol-font file:

symbol:
	code: M
	image: melee_ranged.png

I also added the Entry on the command line in the game style file: , M - Melee/Ranged.

However, I can't get it to recognize that the command is there when selecting M in the symbol window. Is there another file that needs to be modified to get it to recognize the new symbol?


----------



## unan oranis

I also signed up to say; excellent.

--

unan


----------



## ianleblanc

Trolls,

For what it's worth, I think that after the first notch which indicates the attack type the next question a player would have would be: 'What's the attack roll?' Basically, I don't think that the Stat vs Armor notch should be the last, I think it should be the second, right after the attack type. And basically move all the following notches down one.

Notch 1 attack type
Notch 2 attack rolls
Notch 3 class/attack level
Notch 4 action type
Notch 5 action sustain minor

2 coppers worth.


----------



## thc1967

quindia said:
			
		

> Yes, I can post a version 9 format... They are up to 14 now. I usually only get every three versions so I always assume everyone else is ahead of me! I used transparencies for the gradients (quicker to me than messing with the actual gradient fill tool) and I don't remember if they translate well in version 9, but the vectors should be intact.
> 
> Here Ya Go




Quindia, I love the cards you put together and I intend to use them for my group. Thanks for the artistry and the effort!

I'd like to make a request, though.  Wizards in their "infinite" wisdom has broken a cardinal rule of design: they made colors mean something.  Worse, they used red and green, which is the most common form of color blindness.

Would you be willing to produce a card background using royal blue or deep purple?  The blank JPG or PNG format you posted of all 3 cards earlier would be the best format for me for this since I don't have access to CorelDraw.

If you'd be willing to do that, (and with your permission) I'll do the community a service and package up a PhotoShop native file as a template that might help people produce their own cards based on your awesome templates.  When I have it ready, I'll post it here.

Thanks!


----------



## Nytmare

My suggestion for colors is to always have a strong variation between the shades of red and green that you use, and to have different distinct background patterns for each color.


----------



## Trolls

ianleblanc said:
			
		

> Trolls,
> 
> For what it's worth, I think that after the first notch which indicates the attack type the next question a player would have would be: 'What's the attack roll?' Basically, I don't think that the Stat vs Armor notch should be the last, I think it should be the second, right after the attack type. And basically move all the following notches down one.
> 
> Notch 1 attack type
> Notch 2 attack rolls
> Notch 3 class/attack level
> Notch 4 action type
> Notch 5 action sustain minor
> 
> 2 coppers worth.




Very good point, I'll fix that and repost the template.


----------



## thc1967

Here's one with my PhotoShop template. I'll edit to add in more as I create them...

Meh, images too big. Update shortly...


----------



## randolph

Khaalis said:
			
		

> However, I can't get it to recognize that the command is there when selecting M in the symbol window. Is there another file that needs to be modified to get it to recognize the new symbol?



 Yes:
1) Open the game file in the D&D.mse-game subdirectory with a text editor.
2) Find the line mana_sort := sort_rule(order:"WUBRG")
3) Add M (and any other character you want the filter to recognize) to the WUBRG string, within the quotes. *This filter is case sensitive.*
4) Save the game file, start MSE.

I'll also post the complete DDXP pregen powers set file when I'm finished, possibly tonight.


----------



## baberg

randolph said:
			
		

> 'kay.
> 
> The zip file contains three folders that need to be extracted into the MSE data subdirectory. The template should just work, and I added a little bit of explanatory text for each card field (mouseover a field and text will appear in the status bar).
> 
> I included a blank jpeg of the background color for reference/cut-and-paste; use RGB 238, 222, 196 as your background layer, or just drop the image you want to use into the attached jpeg.
> 
> Enjoy!



Randolph,

I stole a few things from the other D&DPowers MSE that was posted earlier and added them to the "game" file inside the D&D.mse-game directory.  This allows for, in the main text box at least,

- converting * to a dot
- automatically bolding some keywords like "Target:" and "Hit:" 

I couldn't get the *-to-dot conversion to work in the Power Descriptors textbox, but at least this way we can get some auto-formatting.  I've attached the file here if anybody else wants it, or if you want to incorporate it into your work later.


----------



## C_M2008

Would anyone be willing to turn Quindia's or Trolls' templates into MSE files?
I would if I had any skill with a computer whatsoever, but I'm afraid that's not the case.

Lovely job by both of you however. I am infact torn on which to try.

I too joined these boards just to see what you all created, must say I am impressed.


----------



## randolph

baberg said:
			
		

> I couldn't get the *-to-dot conversion to work in the Power Descriptors textbox, but at least this way we can get some auto-formatting.  I've attached the file here if anybody else wants it, or if you want to incorporate it into your work later.



Sure, I'll take a look when I get home and see if I can get it to work in all the fields.







			
				C_M2008 said:
			
		

> Would anyone be willing to turn Quindia's or Trolls' templates into MSE files?



Sure, I can do that if someone would post the component images* in a non-lossy format, such as png (I don't have Corel and don't want to install PDN).

*Mainly the card backgrounds. Having the headers, icons, etc with transparencies would make the conversion a lot faster, though.


----------



## Trolls

*Updated tutorial.
*

Randolf - All the image files, at full quality, are included in the .pdn in the tutorial if you want to try to make an MSE for these cards.

Currently working on warlock pregen powers.


----------



## quindia

thc1967 said:
			
		

> Would you be willing to produce a card background using royal blue or deep purple?  The blank JPG or PNG format you posted of all 3 cards earlier would be the best format for me for this since I don't have access to CorelDraw.
> 
> If you'd be willing to do that, (and with your permission) I'll do the community a service and package up a PhotoShop native file as a template that might help people produce their own cards based on your awesome templates.  When I have it ready, I'll post it here.
> 
> Thanks!




I'll make a blue card for you later this evening (my weekly D&D session is about to start).

BTW, anyone feel free to take the cards and edit them anyway they wish, including working them up into a different format. That's why I dropped them in even though I announced I wasn't going to produce a full set. I was happy with the design and I thought I'd share it.


----------



## randolph

baberg said:
			
		

> I couldn't get the *-to-dot conversion to work in the Power Descriptors textbox, but at least this way we can get some auto-formatting.  I've attached the file here if anybody else wants it, or if you want to incorporate it into your work later.



Okay, I got it working, albeit in kind of a kludgey way, and attached the updated version here.

[SBLOCK=In case you want the ugly details...]The script wasn't working because:
1) The fields in question did not call the text_filter script.
2) Even if they had, they would have replaced an asterisk with a dot, but the font used for the descriptor field does not have a dot character!

I got it to work by:
1) Adding script calls to most of the fields, as appropriate, and defining the D&D symbol font as the symbol font to use for those fields.
2) Creating another png-symbol character for the D&D symbol font directory, with alpha channels, etc...
3) Changing the replacement script ask for a symbol instead of a character.
4) Then I realized that, as a static image, it wouldn't share color changes with the font, so I had to create a white version of the symbol, and have a separate script for the fields that are affected by card background changes.[/SBLOCK]


Edit: Version update, all necessary files are now in this post.


----------



## rogueboy

Trolls said:
			
		

> Tutorial is done and attached.
> 
> Happy power card making!




Trolls: I was trying to take a try at making some cards, following your tutorial, and in step 2 (Title), you say to use different font sizes for the first letter vs the rest of the title. Now, this may just be me, but when I try to change the font size for one letter, all of the text changes size. Am I missing something, or do you simply have to make the first letter a separate text block from the rest of the title? Oh, and the updated tutorial won't open for me (something about a corrupted file or something).

Thank you all for the templates and cards, they all look great! I've been playing around with all of them as they're posted.


----------



## randolph

quindia said:
			
		

> BTW, anyone feel free to take the cards and edit them anyway they wish, including working them up into a different format. That's why I dropped them in even though I announced I wasn't going to produce a full set. I was happy with the design and I thought I'd share it.



Here's the MSE template of your layout; the star-to-dot feature is also included.

I can't open Corel files, so I had to use the jpegs you posted earlier, but if you (or anyone) can put up pngs or similar, I can work the higher-quality backgrounds back in. Also, it's currently missing a 4th and 5th type of cardframe (white and blue in my template), so if you feel like making those, I can include them too.

NOTE: The attached file is just the Quindia-style MSE template to save space. You will need my MSE game file for D&D to use it with a clean MSE install.



Edit: Version update, all necessary files are now in this post.


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> Yes:
> 1) Open the game file in the D&D.mse-game subdirectory with a text editor.
> 2) Find the line mana_sort := sort_rule(order:"WUBRG")
> 3) Add M (and any other character you want the filter to recognize) to the WUBRG string, within the quotes. *This filter is case sensitive.*
> 4) Save the game file, start MSE.
> 
> I'll also post the complete DDXP pregen powers set file when I'm finished, possibly tonight.



D@mit. I knew I was missing something relatively simple. Thanks for that.


----------



## Trolls

rogueboy said:
			
		

> Trolls: I was trying to take a try at making some cards, following your tutorial, and in step 2 (Title), you say to use different font sizes for the first letter vs the rest of the title. Now, this may just be me, but when I try to change the font size for one letter, all of the text changes size. Am I missing something, or do you simply have to make the first letter a separate text block from the rest of the title? Oh, and the updated tutorial won't open for me (something about a corrupted file or something).
> 
> Thank you all for the templates and cards, they all look great! I've been playing around with all of them as they're posted.




Yes, you'll have to type the first letters separately to the rest. The same goes when it comes to writing the main power description, since you can't bold individual words, only the whole text block. It's a little annoying, yes, but once you get used to it it won't slow you down too much.

I'll reupload the tutorial, try this:

http://www.dragon-above.com/files/powercards_tutorial_v1.zip


----------



## quindia

Blue Card...


----------



## thc1967

Thank you for the blue card!

The PhotoShop PSD file is around 2MB so I can't upload it here.  Instead, I'll host it as a download on my own site for *one week only* (unfortunately I don't have unlimited bandwidth).  If someone else cares to enhance this, please do the community the favor of sharing it!

Download Link

Happy crafting!


----------



## Trolls

News: I'm having a go at turning my designs into an MSE template, to make the whole process easier.


----------



## randolph

Trolls said:
			
		

> News: I'm having a go at turning my designs into an MSE template, to make the whole process easier.



I'm actually 95% done with it as of last night, but I'm not going to stop you  

By the way, Trolls, quindia, I've been crediting you as your ENWorld handles, let me know if you want me to use a different name.


----------



## Trolls

randolph said:
			
		

> I'm actually 95% done with it as of last night, but I'm not going to stop you
> 
> By the way, Trolls, quindia, I've been crediting you as your ENWorld handles, let me know if you want me to use a different name.




I should have checked this thread before I got half way into it!
I expect you know what you're doing better than I do, so I'll wait and see how yours turns out 
Thanks for giving it a go!

Using my ENworld handle is fine by me.


----------



## quindia

randolph said:
			
		

> By the way, Trolls, quindia, I've been crediting you as your ENWorld handles, let me know if you want me to use a different name.




Quindia is fine. It's my identity for everything I do online and much more recognizable than Clarence!


----------



## randolph

*2008/04/30 update*

*TL;DR If you're using any of the MSE templates I posted earlier, please re-download the attached package, it's much better.* If you get errors while opening a set file made with the earlier version, view the fix in the SBLOCK below, and if that still doesn't work, I'll help you fix it.[SBLOCK=In case of error...]The only type of error message you should get should be "unexpected key" errors. If this occurs:
1) Make a change to any card in the set, or create a new card (you can leave it entirely blank).
2) Save the set. The error should not happen again.

Some symbols you might have placed in the earlier version will not transfer elegantly to the new version. If you see this:
1) Select the affected field.
2) If the wrong symbol/text is in the field, delete it.
3) Mouseover the symbol field to see the new abbreviation-to-symbol mapping[/SBLOCK]







			
				quindia said:
			
		

> Quindia is fine. It's my identity for everything I do online and much more recognizable than Clarence!



You got it 


			
				Trolls said:
			
		

> I should have checked this thread before I got half way into it!
> I expect you know what you're doing better than I do, so I'll wait and see how yours turns out
> Thanks for giving it a go!
> 
> Using my ENworld handle is fine by me.



Done! I packaged all three MSE templates together in the attached file, including the necessary fonts.

Your (Trolls') template required some additional tweaks to the MSE game file:[SBLOCK=]Basically, anywhere a piece of power data was formatted using two font sizes, the game file needed an additional card field defined. As I was implementing your Action icons, I decided to actually implement a more intuitive abbreviation system for the icons of all of the templates, instead of continuing to use the Magic symbol abbreviations, so I ended up cleaning up the game files functions a lot more...

With the changes in place, the MSE game file fully supports all three templates without any field repurposing; however, the changes are not fully compatible with card sets made with the previous version of the template.[/SBLOCK]

Edit: Updated version here.


----------



## Khaalis

NM - I got the files to work by updating the older files included in the new .zip.

However, I am trying to re-add my Dual Melee/Ranged symbol added into the new format and not having much luck. How would I go about adding a new range icon to the options?


----------



## Lindorie

I'm downloaded the MSE and randolph's templates to take a look myself, but does anyone have the pre-generated paladin and fighter powers in Randolph's, Quindia, and Troll's format? In pdf?  [thanks]

I've told our group about these, and they are interested in playtesting with all the sets in front of them and seeing what they like about each.


----------



## Allanon

randolph, thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It works like a charm  
Two quick questions though:

what's the difference between a basic (m)elee attack and a (M)elee attack? Although the option is there both show the  icon?
Is it possible to make the titles in Quindia's Template scalable? Long titles like the warlock power "Curse of the Dark Dream" don't fit, and I shudder to think about names like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Stance" for future monks   

For those interested in a comparison I've attached a Zipped PDF containing the 1st level powers of a fighter and a warlock.

To Trolls, Randolph, Quindia and all others thanks again for the effort in making/designing these cards. My group are going to love these cards.


----------



## Khaalis

Allanon said:
			
		

> randolph, thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It works like a charm




Ok, question. How did you get the Font to work on the Quindia style? Its not working for me. It defaults to a plain font.

Edit: NM. I shouldn't be trying to mess with this while at work. Too much multitasking. I had to install the Flare font. DOH!


----------



## Trolls

Very nice work randolph!

The only part missing is the black back of the titles. I managed to do that in my try by just creating another text box below the white one, but displaced by 2 pixels left and down. Is there a way to script it so the black text appears in place automatically?

Also, is the B character supposed to show a close burst symbol in the first notch? Nothing appears when I type it, but the cursor moves along as if something has been typed.


----------



## Ashardalon

I'll have to take a closer look at the templates, but I think I can answer some questions...


			
				Allanon said:
			
		

> Is it possible to make the titles in Quindia's Template scalable? Long titles like the warlock power "Curse of the Dark Dream" don't fit, and I shudder to think about names like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Stance" for future monks



Adding shrink-overflow to the alignment theoretically takes care of that. However, a bug in the current version can move long text outside the text box if used with nonstandard alignments such as center, which Quindia's template uses.



			
				Trolls said:
			
		

> The only part missing is the black back of the titles. I managed to do that in my try by just creating another text box below the white one, but displaced by 2 pixels left and down. Is there a way to script it so the black text appears in place automatically?



To the font part of the title, add this:


		Code:
	

			shadow color: rgb(0,0,0)
			shadow displacement x: 2
			shadow displacement y: -2

That should place the shadow you want correctly. Just fix the displacement if not. Do check that indention remains in tabs rather than spaces - I've found that code tags are notoriously inconsistent with keeping tabs.


----------



## Beastman

quindia said:
			
		

> Blue Card...




I like them and using them in MSE. Is it possible to get a silver and gold version (i want to make some item cards). Thanx...

I also tried to the Photoshop-Template and i like the background power-types. It would be cool to incorporate them into the MSE-template if possible (don't know if you can lay pictures behind the text and make them transparent so that the background of the card shows through). That would save some space in the Subtitle.


----------



## quindia

Edit: SIlver and Gold


----------



## Khaalis

Ok, tested the Randolph and Quindia formats on the 9 Cleric powers as presented in the "4E_PrRC_v2.1.pdf". These are sized at the classic 3.5"x2.5" for card sleeves (no backs, though that could be done easily enough). Each style is a different .pdf file to save on ink if you prefer one over the other.

EDIT: Added the Fighter cards for Randolph and Quindia.


----------



## vagabundo

I've used the templates above to make some condition cards. 

I'm going to hand them out to players and they can hand them back once the condition is gone.

I'm not as interested in the power cards, they can manage that themselves. 

Thanks for all the work.!!


----------



## quindia

vagabundo said:
			
		

> I've used the templates above to make some condition cards.
> 
> I'm going to hand them out to players and they can hand them back once the condition is gone.




Oooooo.... nice idea, Vagabundo! Anyone got an idea of a universal icon for condition cards? Is blue the best color? What does everyone think? That's something I'd be willing to make a (fairly) complete set of to post here on PDF.

Now I have to go out and buy blue card sleeves...


----------



## Beastman

quindia said:
			
		

> Edit: SIlver and Gold
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Perfect. Many thanx.
> 
> Have some problems incorporating them into MSE. Below is the script-file mod. the silver card is names scard.jpg and the golden one ycard.jpg. both files are in the data/dnd-quindia.mse-style directory with the other cards. The color-list in MSE does not list them.
> 
> any idea would be appreaciated. thanx again
> 
> ############################################################## Extra scripts
> init script:
> template_suffix := [card: "card.jpg"]
> template := { input + template_suffix[type] }
> color_combination := { base_hybrid[shape][color_count]() }
> mana_t := { "new" }
> guild_mana := { "no" }
> colorless_color := {
> if card.card_color=="white" then "w"
> else if card.card_color=="blue" then "u"
> else if card.card_color=="black" then "b"
> else if card.card_color=="green" then "g"
> else if card.card_color=="grey" then "s"
> else if card.card_color=="red" then "r"
> else if card.card_color=="yellow" then "y"
> else "c"
> }
> 
> ############################################################## Card fields
Click to expand...


----------



## Khaalis

quindia said:
			
		

> Oooooo.... nice idea, Vagabundo! Anyone got an idea of a universal icon for condition cards? Is blue the best color? What does everyone think? That's something I'd be willing to make a (fairly) complete set of to post here on PDF.
> 
> Now I have to go out and buy blue card sleeves...



Just a few quick thoughts.

Ok, colors. I have to say after playing with this that we need to choose some more color options for the templates (assuming you are willing to make them.)

Using WotC Color Scheme we have:
Green = At-Will Power
Red = Encounter Power
Black = Daily Power

We also have the following TYPES that could use colors.

* Generic Class Features (e.g. Fighter's Combat Superiority)
* Conditions
* Items

Are there any other ideas for item to be place on cards?

We have templates for Blue, Gold, & Silver.

Personally I think we could use a White (or light gray) template for the Generic Class Features.  Items we might want to split between the gold and silver, such as:

Primary Items = Gold
Secondary Items = Silver

EDIT: Possibly 2 (or more) new icons for magic items?

We could keep Blue for Conditions since it has been used, but I could think of different colors that might be more appropriate since some want to use blue instead of green.


----------



## quindia

Khaalis said:
			
		

> Just a few quick thoughts.
> 
> Ok, colors. I have to say after playing with this that we need to choose some more color options for the templates (assuming you are willing to make them.)




I will make any color templates people want. It takes me all of two minutes to change the colors of the cards in CorelDraw.

Maybe I'll wait a bit until we have some kind of standardized list and post them all together so they are not scattered across the thread.


----------



## Khaalis

quindia said:
			
		

> I will make any color templates people want. It takes me all of two minutes to change the colors of the cards in CorelDraw.
> 
> Maybe I'll wait a bit until we have some kind of standardized list and post them all together so they are not scattered across the thread.



Great idea. Then we just need to get them added into the MSE editor and we can all take cracks at generating cards.  Do you have any personal preferences for card color associations?


----------



## Khaim

This looks great! Unfortunately, I have 0 experience with MSE, and I can't figure out how to load randolph's template. It's probably something simple. Help?


----------



## rogueboy

randolph said:
			
		

> I packaged all three MSE templates together in the attached file, including the necessary fonts.




OK, this may be a stupid question, but how do I make the fonts usable in MSE?

Also, Trolls' template doesn't replace any of the letters it accepts in the "Attack Method" notch (top left). Is there something I need to do to make this work? It's adding the symbols just fine on quindia's template.

Is there a way to move the image down on the card so that it is not blocked by the text? I'm trying to recreate the Passing Attack card Trolls posted just to get a feel for it, and I can't make the image take up less than the full image box, which I can't seem to resize or move.


----------



## Trolls

rogueboy said:
			
		

> OK, this may be a stupid question, but how do I make the fonts usable in MSE?
> 
> Also, Trolls' template doesn't replace any of the letters it accepts in the "Attack Method" notch (top left). Is there something I need to do to make this work? It's adding the symbols just fine on quindia's template.
> 
> Is there a way to move the image down on the card so that it is not blocked by the text? I'm trying to recreate the Passing Attack card Trolls posted just to get a feel for it, and I can't make the image take up less than the full image box, which I can't seem to resize or move.




You need to install the D&D attack symbols font included with the download before the symbols will show up.

For the image, you could try opening the background sample given in the download, pasting the image on top of that in a separate image editor, then save and load _that_ into MSE.


----------



## C_M2008

Thanks to Trolls, Quindia and last but not least Randolph for all of their hardwork.
You guys have made this into  omething fairly easy, that most anyone can do with great results.  I commend all of you.

It works beautifully, I plan to bring 1 of each of the 3 styles to my players to see which they prefer but nothing would have been possible without you guys. Thanks again.


----------



## rogueboy

Trolls said:
			
		

> You need to install the D&D attack symbols font included with the download before the symbols will show up.




OK, so I'm probably missing something obvious, but how do I install the font? I extracted it into the folder, but haven't been able to find anything that seems like it would work.

Thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## randolph

Wow, lots of thread activity!


			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> However, I am trying to re-add my Dual Melee/Ranged symbol added into the new format and not having much luck. How would I go about adding a new range icon to the options?



Thanks for reminding me! I intended to incorporate the melee/range symbol into the game file, but forgot. If you don't want to wait:[SBLOCK=]1) Copy your custom symbol into the font symbol subdirectory that your template uses.
2) Open the file: *symbol-font*.
3) Add a code block, replacing *X* with your desired letter abbreviation and *FOO.png* with your custom symbol's filename:


		Code:
	

symbol:
       code: X
       image: FOO.png

4) Save and close the *symbol-font* file.
5) Open the D&D *game* file.
6) Find the string *range_filter :=* and locate the quoted string (*"ABCMR"* if unchanged).
7) Add your chosen letter abbreviation from step 3) to the quoted string, within the quotes, ex: *"ABCMRX"*.
7b) Optional: If you want the textbox to parse your symbol as well, add your chosen letter abbreviation to the two *match:* strings in step 4 and 5 in the text_filter function (search for the string *# step 4*).
8) Save and close the *game* file.[/SBLOCK]


			
				Lindorie said:
			
		

> I'm downloaded the MSE and randolph's templates to take a look myself, but does anyone have the pre-generated paladin and fighter powers in Randolph's, Quindia, and Troll's format? In pdf?  [thanks]



I'll try to get the pregen powers done tonight; the beauty of MSE templates is that once you enter the data you want, you can port between templates with minimal tweaking 



			
				Allanon said:
			
		

> randolph, thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It works like a charm
> Two quick questions though:
> 
> what's the difference between a basic (m)elee attack and a (M)elee attack? Although the option is there both show the  icon?
> Is it possible to make the titles in Quindia's Template scalable? Long titles like the warlock power "Curse of the Dark Dream" don't fit, and I shudder to think about names like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Stance" for future monks



You're very welcome 

Basic (m)elee is the blade-in-circle icon, and (M)elee is just the blade. Basic (m)elee currently only works with the included TrueType D&D font, because I never bothered to create the symbol, since none of the powers used it - I forgot to remove that from the help text after I adjusted the code to filter it out. If people want it back in, I'll put it back in.

As Ashardalon says further up, yes, I can make the Name field scaleable, but it might cause some alignment problems (I cast Detect Indent!). I'll see if I can do something about that when I get home.



			
				Trolls said:
			
		

> Very nice work randolph!
> 
> The only part missing is the black back of the titles. I managed to do that in my try by just creating another text box below the white one, but displaced by 2 pixels left and down. Is there a way to script it so the black text appears in place automatically?
> 
> Also, is the B character supposed to show a close burst symbol in the first notch? Nothing appears when I type it, but the cursor moves along as if something has been typed.



Thanks! 

Regarding the text shadow, I'll incorporate Ashardalon's suggestion from a few posts up when I get home.

The B character shows a close burst symbol in my custom symbol font only (check Quindia's template or my template); it doesn't actually exist in the D&D font I extracted from the Dungeons of Dread pdf - the font I'm using for your template's range field - I created it from the (A)rea Burst icon. It might not even be in the final game! If you want, I can try to modify a variation of the symbol fonts for your template, but ideally, if anyone here has TrueType-making/editing experience, we could just insert that symbol into the D&D ttf - and fix that ugly windows reference name!

Oh, before I forget, one of the nifty features I added to your (Trolls') template is that you can specify Burst radius and range in that field! Just type the Burst radius first, carriage return, then type the range, ex: *2* [enter] *20* - the field is set to space them at just the right offset from the (A)rea Burst icon.

Oh yes, in case it wasn't obvious, there are two fields for the power name, for large caps and for small caps. The spacing is hit-and-miss because of differences in character width, but I don't really have an elegant (well, any) solution; suggestions appreciated.



			
				Beastman said:
			
		

> I also tried to the Photoshop-Template and i like the background power-types. It would be cool to incorporate them into the MSE-template if possible (don't know if you can lay pictures behind the text and make them transparent so that the background of the card shows through). That would save some space in the Subtitle.



I haven't taken a look at that Photoshop template yet, but it sounds like a "watermark" (correct me if I'm wrong); MSE can definitely do that. I'll investigate when I get home.



			
				quindia said:
			
		

> [Silver and Gold backgrounds]



Niiice! I'll add these in, and see if I can make things like this extensible purely from the style file (as opposed to the game file) so that people don't have backcompat issues.



			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> Using WotC Color Scheme we have:
> Green = At-Will Power
> Red = Encounter Power
> Black = Daily Power
> 
> We also have the following TYPES that could use colors.
> 
> * Generic Class Features (e.g. Fighter's Combat Superiority)
> * Conditions
> * Items



My vote (and what I'm currently using):
*Frequency of Use Axis*
At-Will: Green
Encounter: Red
Daily: Black
None-of-the-above: White/Gray (though blue looks great too) - My reasoning is that these tend to be class features/universal rules, so could be represented by a more "basic" color - but I'm not particularly married to the idea.

*Origin Axis*
I'm thinking some sort of border or background blend to visually represent this, because to me, an Item Encounter power is still an Encounter power.
Class: default
Feat: Blue border/blend with blue?
Item: Silver border/blend with silver?
Multiclass: Border/blend with Primary Class color code OR with a fixed "multiclass" color
One concern with the first Multiclass power card option is that you'll essentially need to make them on demand. The second option isn't as cool, but you'll still need to basically copy all of your powers and change the borders/blend.



			
				Khaim said:
			
		

> This looks great! Unfortunately, I have 0 experience with MSE, and I can't figure out how to load randolph's template. It's probably something simple. Help?



[SBLOCK=Installing MSE templates]1) Install the most recent version of MSE and make sure you install the Magic: The Gathering game files. Currently, my templates are dependent upon some scripts shared by the M:tG templates, but I hope to rectify that and make the D&D templates standalone soon.
2) Find your MSE installation directory. If you didn't change the filepath during installation, it should be something like *C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\*
3) Open the *data* subdirectory. You should see a bunch of folders with the *.mse-style* suffix.
4) Extract everything in my template package into this directory.
4b) Depending on which template you want to use, install the appropriate TrueType font(s):
R: none
Quindia: AvantGarde.ttf, Flareserif_821_BT.ttf
Trolls: DnD1Attack-Icon1.ttf
If in doubt, install them all.
5) Run MSE, start a new set, and the D&D card type will be selectable, with these three templates available as styles.[/SBLOCK]


			
				rogueboy said:
			
		

> OK, this may be a stupid question, but how do I make the fonts usable in MSE?
> 
> Also, Trolls' template doesn't replace any of the letters it accepts in the "Attack Method" notch (top left). Is there something I need to do to make this work? It's adding the symbols just fine on quindia's template.
> 
> Is there a way to move the image down on the card so that it is not blocked by the text? I'm trying to recreate the Passing Attack card Trolls posted just to get a feel for it, and I can't make the image take up less than the full image box, which I can't seem to resize or move.



To get the fonts to show up in MSE, install the included TrueType fonts (ttf). [SBLOCK=In XP]
1) Open *Fonts* under *Settings > Control Panel*.
2) *File > Install New Font...*
3) Locate the directory you put the .ttf file(s), select the file(s), and *Install*.[/SBLOCK](Your issue with Attack Method symbols in Trolls' template is due to not having the fonts installed.)

As for the image, yeah, what Trolls said. To reiterate all in one megaFAQpost:[SBLOCK=]
1) Open the included *blank.jpg* file in your favorite graphics manipulation program.
2) Copy-and-paste your desired image into the *blank.jpg*.
3) Save this as a new file.
4) Open this new image file in MSE, and scale/move it around to suit.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## randolph

*Color Coding Power Cards*

Just so it doesn't drown in that mega post...







			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> Using WotC Color Scheme we have:
> Green = At-Will Power
> Red = Encounter Power
> Black = Daily Power
> 
> We also have the following TYPES that could use colors.
> 
> * Generic Class Features (e.g. Fighter's Combat Superiority)
> * Conditions
> * Items



My vote (and what I'm currently using):
*Frequency of Use Axis*
At-Will: Green
Encounter: Red
Daily: Black
None-of-the-above: White/Gray (though blue looks great too) - My reasoning is that these tend to be class features/universal rules, so could be represented by a more "basic" color - but I'm not particularly married to the idea.

*Origin Axis*
I'm thinking some sort of border or background blend to visually represent this, because to me, an Item Encounter power is still an Encounter power.
Class: default
Feat: Blue border/blend with blue?
Item: Silver border/blend with silver?
Multiclass: Border/blend with Primary Class color code OR with a fixed "multiclass" color (gold?)
One concern with the first Multiclass power card option is that you'll essentially need to make them on demand. The second option isn't as cool, but you'll still need to basically copy all of your powers and change the borders/blend.


----------



## C_M2008

An idea I had, not sure about feasability: Split Color cards-1/2 the frame is one color(for type) the other half is for frequency. ie: a daily class feature would be 1/2 white and 1/2 black, an encounter utility would be half silver and half red.

I vote that Items should be gold however.


----------



## randolph

C_M2008 said:
			
		

> An idea I had, not sure about feasability: Split Color cards-1/2 the frame is one color(for type) the other half is for frequency. ie: a daily class feature would be 1/2 white and 1/2 black, an encounter utility would be half silver and half red.



Yeah, this is what I mean by a "blended" background; it's something M:tG does for hybrid cards, and is already supported by existing MSE M:tG templates, so it shouldn't be difficult to co-opt.


----------



## Beastman

MSE-Templates: Because of some problems with the Paladin's Divine Challenge power and long Item names, I have somewhat modified the style-file to make more room for text using Quindia's cards.

1) Changed under section "name" the width to 300, and the font size to 14
2) Changed under section "subtype" the width to 300 and the font size to 12
3) Changed under section "subtype" the font size to 12
4) Changed under section "rule text" the top to 90 

I have also played with changing the font-sized of sections "flavor text" and "rule text" to 9 but I'm unsure about leaving it at 10 or using the 9. Size 9 makes more room but may be hard to read (i can barely distinguish bolded text from normal one on screen, but I don't know how it will read in print).

Attached are two Printouts with the modifications (although with rules/flavor text size 10). Items card are currently in red (still haven't figured out how to incorporate the silver and blue cards into MSE).

There should be some more icons, perhaps for classes and item types.

As to the color assignment I would choose:

Green - At-will power
Red - Encounter power
Black - Daily power
Silver - Secondary Magic Items
Gold - Primary Magic Items
Blue - ???

the idea of color combination class/powertype is a good one, but I would rather prefer to have an icon to indicate class-power-relationship (easier for me to remember symbol than color assignment)


----------



## Khaim

You should keep the top bar one color, for the frequency. I think that's what players will need to know the most, not where the ability comes from. On the other hand, adding a tint to the background- behind the text- would convey that information without detracting from the strong green/red/black.

The hybrid color blend is nice, but it's not always so easy to process. Besides which, a hybrid magic card represented a mixture of two colors, not a color and a card type. It doesn't track as well for the power cards.

Edit: Oh, you probably meant the little edges between the top bar and the main area. That would work, I think. They should still be one color, though. What about g/r/b for the main bar, and silver/gold/blue/whatever for the edge?


----------



## Mercutio01

I'm using the print option in the MSE to print to PDF using CutePDF.  It works with no problem for Trolls or Randolph's style, but using Quindia's yields a null PDF with no images.  

I've also tried using other PDF writers and get the same result, so I suspect there's something wrong with the MSE template for Quindia's, which sucks (and no offense to the hard work of Troll or Randolph) because it's the one I like best.

Any ideas?


----------



## Khaalis

For Beastman ...

How are you getting 9 cards per sheet? Are they standard 3.5" x 2.5"? What program are you using to build the print sheets?

What I've been doing is exporting all the .jpg files then adding them into a Word template that uses tables so I can do a 2 sided print if I want (allowing for a printed card back on the same card - printed on card stock).  However, the max I can get is 8 cards per page in landscape this way.


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> Just so it doesn't drown in that mega post...My vote (and what I'm currently using):
> *Frequency of Use Axis*
> At-Will: Green
> Encounter: Red
> Daily: Black
> None-of-the-above: White/Gray (though blue looks great too) - My reasoning is that these tend to be class features/universal rules, so could be represented by a more "basic" color - but I'm not particularly married to the idea.



I like the idea of a white/gray for the "Basic" or "Feature" type cards. However, its only an option in your template. Since we are working on bundling all 3 of these templates into one working system (so we can swap out between styles) it would be nice to make it a uniform choice across templates if possible. At least for Quindia's that would require him offering up a white/gray template. Not sure how the colors are handled in Trolls'.




> *Origin Axis*
> I'm thinking some sort of border or background blend to visually represent this, because to me, an Item Encounter power is still an Encounter power.
> 
> Item: Silver border/blend with silver?



I don't think a blend is the best option here. I think this could result in some horrific color combinations and might not translate well for printed cards. 

If it is possible, I would suggest denoting an area of the Item Card to color to denote its "Power Category". What I would suggest is creating 3 additional Colored "dots" in addition to the standard Attack Icons. 

Thus for "+1 Dwarven Plate Armor" (a  Primary Item) you could have say a Gold border with Red filled circle (instead of white circle with an attack icon) in the Attack Icon slot to indicate that the item has an "Encounter Power".

Example:






I think this is a lot easier and cleaner than getting into blended or dual-colored borders.  JMHO. Thoughts?

EDIT: I see that in the "_symbol-negative.mse-symbol-font_" folder there are both a "dot.png" (a black dot) and a "dot_w.png" (a white dot) but in the script, there is no way to choose the white dot.  This is basically exactly what I was looking for in the example above. Would this work?




> Class: default
> Feat: Blue border/blend with blue?



I'm not sure there is a specific need for a feat specific color. For example "Power of Amaunator" I think works best being denoted by an "Encounter" card just like the rest of the Channel Divinity cleric powers.  However, I could see the use of the blue bordered feat cards for feats that augment other powers, such as the new racial feats we have saw in today's preview.




> Multiclass: Border/blend with Primary Class color code OR with a fixed "multiclass" color (gold?)
> One concern with the first Multiclass power card option is that you'll essentially need to make them on demand. The second option isn't as cool, but you'll still need to basically copy all of your powers and change the borders/blend.



The only "multiclass" cards I see as necessary would derive from the "Multiclass" feats. For example the multiclass cleric feat grants Healing Word 1/day, which is different than the standard Healing Word power.  However, I think this would classify as falling under the FEAT cards (blue border).
Thoughts?


----------



## Khaalis

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> I'm using the print option in the MSE to print to PDF using CutePDF.  It works with no problem for Trolls or Randolph's style, but using Quindia's yields a null PDF with no images.
> 
> I've also tried using other PDF writers and get the same result, so I suspect there's something wrong with the MSE template for Quindia's, which sucks (and no offense to the hard work of Troll or Randolph) because it's the one I like best.
> 
> Any ideas?




Hello Mercutio01. I went and downloaded the CutePDF Writer software to test this. I'm running Vista 64 and once I got the software installed I ran a print test and it worked fine on Quindia's template page.  Do you have GPL Ghostscript 8.15 installed?  It says that it Requires a PS2PDF Converter for CutePDF and recommends Ghostscript.



PS Beastman - NM my last post. After doing this test I am assuming you are also using the Print to PDF converter as they appear the same.


----------



## randolph

*2008/05/01 Update*

*General*
* Now a "standalone" MSE package, no longer requires installing M:tG MSE files
* Watermarking now supported, but not included in any style files yet - I don't have any decent artwork.
* Card color selection now lists "Daily," "Encounter," and "At-Will," plus some color names. Will adjust the other color names per consensus.

*Template specific*

Quindia:
* Now supports Silver and Gold cards
* Quick-and-dirty fix for super long names and/or descriptors: secondary fields for both that will auto-scale fontsize to fit. Use these *instead* of the primary fields when this comes up.
* Added Basic Melee, Basic Ranged, and Basic Hybrid (Basic Melee/Ranged) icons.

Trolls:
* Now has drop-shadow in both primary and secondary name fields.

R:
* Now supports "Silver" and "Gold" cards... Though they're pretty hideous.
* Added Basic Melee, Basic Ranged, and Basic Hybrid (Basic Melee/Ranged) icons.

*Known Issues*
* I probably broke some set files made with yesterday's release, sorry. This time, it should only be the card colors.

*Planned Features*
* Create a modification of my symbol font to support Trolls' template.
* Represent Power Source and source of power visually... somehow...
* Finish the DDXP pregen power set, with images (50% complete).



Edit: Updated version in this post.


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> *Update*



Great work as usual. Everything works fine, though you are correct that anything made in the older version needs to have the card colors reassigned. The color reassigning isn't all that painful though.  I think we are well on the way to a complete power card generator.


----------



## Khaalis

*Card Back*

For anyone interested, here is the card back I am using.

Both the .png for MSE and a true 2.5"x3.5" .jpg.


----------



## quindia

Here's a white card...






I didn't worry about backs for my cards because I am using sleeves with solid color backs that match the card; it makes a nice "border" around the card as well.

I am able to fit nine cards per page as well in a portrait format:






My cards are 2.5x3.5".

I have no experience with MSE (or desire to learn to use the program) so I can't be any help with questions regarding those files, but I will gladly continue to add graphics for Randolph's heroic efforts!


----------



## Osamar

Fantastic job Trolls, Quindia and Khaalis.

Two little ideas.
For the objects/treasure card. To add a chest into the red filled circle for objets cards (wands, rings, weapons, armors, etc). An even a gem for gems cards and a pile of gold for "money cards".

Like the cards are not just "power cards" you could add a more generic "4th Ed. D&D Cards".

Please excuse my english.


----------



## Trolls

I noticed some of the notches are in the wrong place for my version, there's been an update to the template since randolph downloaded the template. I made a few changes to sort this out. Here's the new style:


----------



## Khaalis

quindia said:
			
		

> Here's a white card...



Excellent. I look forward to Randolph getting this added into the style and game files (since I apparently can't quite get the technique for the scripting right on these).



> I didn't worry about backs for my cards because I am using sleeves with solid color backs that match the card; it makes a nice "border" around the card as well.



Not a bad idea, but I have players who don't want to mess with buying stuff like that, so I figure its just as easy to print some double sided cards, so they don't just have a blank back.



> I am able to fit nine cards per page as well in a portrait format:
> My cards are 2.5x3.5".



Ok. I gotta ask. How are you managing this? Is this a function of Corell that lets you create a sheet in those sizes?  I guess it all really comes down to what you can minimize the margins too.

For me, I have 2 options right now.
1) Dump a print from MSE to pdf which will create 9 cards per page in portrait but they auto-size at 3-1/8" x 2-1/4" which is too small.
2) I dump each card into an individual .jpg and add it to a Word 2007 .doc (which I can then convert to .pdf if I need to) at the correct 3.5x2.5 size. With margins as small as I can get them this means only 8 cards per page in landscape format (2 rows x 4 cards).


----------



## Khaalis

Ok, for anyone who doesn't want to wait for a complete updated package, I managed to get the White Quindia card functioning in the script and get it to convert the text to black. The image is named in the same naming format Randolph laid out. Thanks Randolph for making the scripting so easy to follow.

I have attached the style and image file (in .zip) format. 

*To install:* Simply unzip the files into the "D&D-quindia.mse-style" folder. 
(I would suggest changing the name of the original file to style_BU.txt or something similar just in case. I work in IT so I believe in backups for everything.)


----------



## Mercutio01

I printed a couple cards today and took a couple snapshots  to show what they'd look like in actual play.  I thought you might like to see.


----------



## beverson

randolph said:
			
		

> *General*
> * Now a "standalone" MSE package, no longer requires installing M:tG MSE files
> * Watermarking now supported, but not included in any style files yet - I don't have any decent artwork.
> * Card color selection now lists "Daily," "Encounter," and "At-Will," plus some color names. Will adjust the other color names per consensus.
> 
> *Template specific*
> 
> Quindia:
> * Now supports Silver and Gold cards
> * Quick-and-dirty fix for super long names and/or descriptors: secondary fields for both that will auto-scale fontsize to fit. Use these *instead* of the primary fields when this comes up.
> * Added Basic Melee, Basic Ranged, and Basic Hybrid (Basic Melee/Ranged) icons.
> 
> Trolls:
> * Now has drop-shadow in both primary and secondary name fields.
> 
> R:
> * Now supports "Silver" and "Gold" cards... Though they're pretty hideous.
> * Added Basic Melee, Basic Ranged, and Basic Hybrid (Basic Melee/Ranged) icons.
> 
> *Known Issues*
> * I probably broke some set files made with yesterday's release, sorry. This time, it should only be the card colors.
> 
> *Planned Features*
> * Create a modification of my symbol font to support Trolls' template.
> * Represent Power Source and source of power visually... somehow...
> * Finish the DDXP pregen power set, with images (50% complete).




I just downloaded this update and unzipped it into my MSE Data directory, along with the style update a couple of posts later, but when I try to make cards, I can't get the colors to change - I've clicked everywhere I can think of to right click, and there's no options at all...am I missing something?


----------



## Beastman

Khaalis said:
			
		

> For Beastman ...
> 
> How are you getting 9 cards per sheet? Are they standard 3.5" x 2.5"? What program are you using to build the print sheets?
> 
> What I've been doing is exporting all the .jpg files then adding them into a Word template that uses tables so I can do a 2 sided print if I want (allowing for a printed card back on the same card - printed on card stock).  However, the max I can get is 8 cards per page in landscape this way.




I have old Adobe acrobat 6 installed which itself installs a PDF-Printer. I simply printed the cards as PDF-file and voila...

Attached are the Paladin powers and the thanx to the Script-Modder golden Primary Magic Item Cards. As you can see, the Item names are hard to read (as are the line at the bottom of the card. So...

To Quindia: Can you make the gold-color somewhat darker please. Same is with the silver card. thanx


----------



## Khaim

beverson said:
			
		

> I just downloaded this update and unzipped it into my MSE Data directory, along with the style update a couple of posts later, but when I try to make cards, I can't get the colors to change - I've clicked everywhere I can think of to right click, and there's no options at all...am I missing something?




*Left*-click a blank area. Counterintuitive, I know.


----------



## Trolls

Is there a way to change the font size in MSE without going in to the style file? Or perhaps a way to include that functionality? Otherwise, the longer powers are going to have to be made manually.


----------



## WhatGravitas

Trolls said:
			
		

> Is there a way to change the font size in MSE without going in to the style file? Or perhaps a way to include that functionality? Otherwise, the longer powers are going to have to be made manually.



AFAIK, longer texts auto-shrink to fit the text box.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Khaalis

Beastman said:
			
		

> I have old Adobe acrobat 6 installed which itself installs a PDF-Printer. I simply printed the cards as PDF-file and voila...



Which is odd because when I dump them into pdf direct from the MSE it sizes them too small (3-1/8 by 2-1/4). I'll ahve to see if there is a way to tweak it.



> Attached are the Paladin powers and the thanx to the Script-Modder golden Primary Magic Item Cards. As you can see, the Item names are hard to read (as are the line at the bottom of the card. So...
> To Quindia: Can you make the gold-color somewhat darker please. Same is with the silver card. thanx



In the last style version up from Randolph (or myself) the text should auto-switch to be Black on the Gold. Same holds true for the white card.


----------



## Ashardalon

Trolls said:
			
		

> Is there a way to change the font size in MSE without going in to the style file? Or perhaps a way to include that functionality? Otherwise, the longer powers are going to have to be made manually.



'scale down to: [blah]' added to the font section should take care of that automatically. Some powers might still be too long - those might have to be exported at a higher zoom to be legible.


----------



## Trolls

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> 'scale down to: [blah]' added to the font section should take care of that automatically. Some powers might still be too long - those might have to be exported at a higher zoom to be legible.




Thanks, that takes care of that.

Means the wizard pregens (plus one) are done, and I'm now working on the cleric ones.


----------



## randolph

*@ Khaalis:* Nice card back!


*@ quindia:* Cool, I'll add the white card tonight.



			
				Trolls said:
			
		

> I noticed some of the notches are in the wrong place for my version, there's been an update to the template since randolph downloaded the template. I made a few changes to sort this out. Here's the new style:



Oh, right, I forgot to mention that I had shuffled things around a bit. I felt that the _least_ important information at-a-glance was "Fighter Attack 1," so I put that at the bottom. I've got an idea about customizing which information is presented in which notch that I'll experiment with this weekend.







			
				Trolls said:
			
		

> Is there a way to change the font size in MSE without going in to the style file? Or perhaps a way to include that functionality? Otherwise, the longer powers are going to have to be made manually.



If you're referring to the rules text field, yeah, I can add that in. I'll probably make it a style option.


*@ Mercutio01:* Nice pictures, the cards really look like they'll fit right in at the table. I can't wait to try them out "live" myself 


*@ Beverson:* As Khaim says, *left-click* anywhere on the card background that isn't already occupied by a field, that will bring up a drop-down list.


*@ Beastman:* As Khaalis says, the most recent version will automatically change the text from white to black depending on the background color.


*Planned Features/Feature Requests:*
* Manual text-size preferences
* Auto-scale text-size option
* Power Source icons/watermark symbols
* Power origin icons
* Finish the DDXP pregen power set, with images

quindia template:
* Add white card

trolls template:
* Information field notch assignment preferences
* Create a modification of my symbol font to support Trolls' template


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> *@ Khaalis:* Nice card back!



Eh. Tis just a slight modification of one of the ones originally posted on the 1st page (Nytmare).



> *@ quindia:* Cool, I'll add the white card tonight.



Check the style file I posted earlier today. I think its all set for the white card.


----------



## edveal

I really like how these are evolving. Do you think someone can host them all once they are completed, so that folks can find them and use the versions that they like best. I really want to use them in a few weeks when I run a demo game.

Thanks


----------



## Mercutio01

randolph said:
			
		

> *@ Mercutio01:* Nice pictures, the cards really look like they'll fit right in at the table. I can't wait to try them out "live" myself



Thanks. I'm actually done mocking up my own card versions in GIMP and starting to port them into MSE myself.  I'm trying to avoid text as much as possible and attempting to use icons wherever possible.  I'll post a mockup when I'm done (probably no earlier than tomorrow).


----------



## randolph

edveal said:
			
		

> Do you think someone can host them all once they are completed, so that folks can find them and use the versions that they like best. I really want to use them in a few weeks when I run a demo game.
> 
> Thanks



If you mean the templates, each package I've been attaching contains updates to all three templates. If you mean the finished cards themselves, then yeah, once we're done, I intend to put everything in one post to make it easy for people to find.


*@ Khaalis:* Ok, but I should still update the combined package (I'd like to avoid making any newcomers to the thread have to dig around for multiple files in separate posts).


----------



## beverson

Khaim said:
			
		

> *Left*-click a blank area. Counterintuitive, I know.




Um...yeah....nothing to see here...move along... <mumbling to self>*LEFT* click...$%@^</mumbling>


----------



## Mercutio01

Still in progress (working on creating/modifying other icons for Damage type (Radiant, poison, etc) but ultimately I've tried to avoid duplicating text and icons and still trying to decide what to do with the last side tab.  I'm working in GIMP and teaching myself the MSE code (which is surprisingly easy, even for someone who's never coded anything harder than vBasic.)


----------



## quindia

Khaalis said:
			
		

> Ok. I gotta ask. How are you managing this? Is this a function of Corel that lets you create a sheet in those sizes?  I guess it all really comes down to what you can minimize the margins too.




I probably have more control over the layout using Corel, but I think it may be a function of my printer rather than the program. I have an HP with margins that default to 1/4".


----------



## quindia

Khaalis said:
			
		

> I have players who don't want to mess with buying stuff like that, so I figure its just as easy to print some double sided cards, so they don't just have a blank back.




Heh. You have players that buy stuff?


----------



## quindia

Beastman said:
			
		

> To Quindia: Can you make the gold-color somewhat darker please. Same is with the silver card. thanx




I'll make darker versions this weekend...


----------



## Mercutio01

Headed to bed, but here are the icons I've created for damage types so far.

Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, and Radiant

And two sample cards


----------



## tintagel

edveal said:
			
		

> I really like how these are evolving. Do you think someone can host them all once they are completed, so that folks can find them and use the versions that they like best. I really want to use them in a few weeks when I run a demo game.
> 
> Thanks




I'm on it, edveal!   Look for a collaborative wiki-like website to be up today!

Oh, and my own new template and MSE files inspired by the great work here.

w00t.


----------



## Beastman

Hi @all - the melee+ranged symbol needs a non-circled version. Have tried it my making it myself and modified the symbol-font file in the D&D-symbol-negative.mse-symbol-font and D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font directories but doesn't work. here's the snipped:

symbol:
	code: h
	image: nmel-ran_b.pgn


----------



## Beastman

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> Headed to bed, but here are the icons I've created for damage types so far.
> 
> Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, and Radiant
> 
> And two sample cards




Nice layout. And i like symbols more than words.

Attached: updated Primary Magic Items (with new style now black on gold text) and Rogue powers...


----------



## Trolls

randolph said:
			
		

> Oh, right, I forgot to mention that I had shuffled things around a bit. I felt that the _least_ important information at-a-glance was "Fighter Attack 1," so I put that at the bottom. I've got an idea about customizing which information is presented in which notch that I'll experiment with this weekend.




The easiest way to do that would be to remove the auto-fill on the Action and Sustain boxes so you can fill the bottom 4 notches any way you like.


----------



## meandog

bjorn2bwild said:
			
		

> Here are the rest of the cards I put together for Corrin Reedson.
> 
> Enjoy!





bjron2bwild - i have a dumb question. I like what you have done with your cards. Is Corrin level 1 and at each level you update the cards and print them out again?


----------



## randolph

*Quick Update*

Hi folks,

I spent several hours last night trying to make the number and types of colored backgrounds defined entirely in a template's *style* file, while still retaining all the other functionality.

Currently, I can only accomplish that at the expense of losing the functionality of text color changing depending on background color. I may decide to go this way, and have the text color simply be a selectable option per card - this shouldn't be too much of a hassle because there aren't that many powers that use a background that requires the switch from white text to black text (yet).

If anyone's curious, or would like to help figure out the problem:
1) In order to make the number and types of colored backgrounds defined in the *style* file, I had to define the background field using *extra card field*. (I can only define normal *card fields* in the *game* file.)
2) Values in *card fields* can be referenced as card.card_field_name, but values in *extra card fields* cannot - at least, I haven't been able to figure out how.
3) Because I can't figure out how to reference the *extra card field*, I can't have a script determine the color of a font based on the value of that field.

Anyway, off to see Iron Man, back later.


----------



## Mercutio01

A few more icons for damage types.  I'm open to feedback (if anyone really cares about my designs).  I've created my own style files for MSE and updated my particular card style to work.  If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share.


The icons are for Cold, Poison, Psychic, and Thunder.


----------



## Alikar

I want to thank the people who put work into the MSE card system. Its pretty awesome! Looks like my players will be getting lots of item cards!


----------



## tintagel

*New File Repository*

I've created a website for this community to compile, collect, and host our work.  It's applicable to this post, but also several others around here (like the attack icons).  

This site was created using Google Sites, a robust community website builder that's part of the Google Apps suite.  Google Sites gives us invitation capability to select users and gives us up to 10 GB of storage space.   

Currently, you need a Gmail account to contribute to this site, but they are free.  I am also providing Gmail accounts through educatedgamer.net for a limited time.   So if you want fred@educatedgamer.net  for example, just make a comment below and I will set up an account for you.   Creating a gmail or educatedgamer account also provides you with services such as Google Docs and Google Calendar - with Zero ads or spam.

Of course, if you just want to lurk, that's cool too.

Again, if you want to contribute, you need a Gmail account or Educatedgamer account (which I can create).  Then I need to add you as a collaborator.  Once you have an account, Educatedgamer folks can click on the login link in the lefthand menu, while Gmail folks will have to log into gmail before visiting the site in order to edit.

The Site:  4e.educatedgamer.net

Edit:  I should note that all the work on this site will be covered under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. In short, you may copy, sample, and remix any content for non-commercial purposes as long as you attribute the work to the proper artist.  Woo!


----------



## tintagel

I've created my own theme based heavy off of quindia's design, with my own action icons.
Action Icons are by me, with the exception of the Standard action, by Lord Tirian
Background, banners, etc. by me - inspired by quidia.
 The MSE template is a variant of randolph's.  It requires an updated GAME file to be placed in the D&D.mse-game folder.  
Three themes include Parchment (included in base install), Marble, and Nature.  I plan on making more for other class types. 
 Alternatively, you could copy the code in the GAME file that is enclosed by the lines:
         ########## ADDED BY TINTAGEL ##########
          o and paste it into your GAME file.

Things to know:
 This template uses attack icons with transparent backgrounds and crisper, cleaner art. 
 It also uses colored action icons if you choose to take advantage of them.  To use them, just use a capital R, G, or B before the action type.   For example, RS would give you a red standard action, while Gm would give a green minor.





Edit:  Direct Link to teh MSE themes.


----------



## edveal

tintagel I like you site. Is there a way to have them posted in pdf or other format so that we can just print them? What is it that you are using again to create these?


----------



## tintagel

I'm using the Magic Set Editor.  I'll get a Paladin and Wizard PDF up later tonight.


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> A few more icons for damage types.  I'm open to feedback (if anyone really cares about my designs).  I've created my own style files for MSE and updated my particular card style to work.  If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share.
> 
> 
> The icons are for Cold, Poison, Psychic, and Thunder.




Hmm. The 4th icon speaks Radiant, not Thunder for me. Just a thought.


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

Do we have to register on your site to be able to down load the MSE files? I tried to down load them but nothing happened when I clicked on them.
I have a gmail account, how do you register.
Thank you


----------



## tintagel

Meandog, you shouldn't have to register or anything to view the contents and download - just if you want to contribute or upload anything.  I'm not sure why it wouldn't download for you.  The site is set to be public.  Maybe try again?

I can give you collaborator privileges if you want to add to it.  Just post or email me your gmail username.  



On a related note, I have created the Pregen power cards for the pally and Wizard now.  I'm also putting up my MSE files for those two classes so you can customize the powers yourself. 
Nab them all here.

Also, here is the Picasa Albumn, if you just want individual images.


----------



## randolph

*2008-05-03 Update*

*Update Notes:*

General
* Card backgrounds are now defined entirely in the style file for a template. You can have a template with 20 different backgrounds, and another template with 3, they can peacefully coexist without errors or a drop-down menu filled with disabled options. When creating or editing a style file to add or remove background options, make sure to edit both the *script* at the top and the *extra card field* named "background" near the bottom.

R template
* Font color for name, frequency, descriptors, and origin are now an option in the style menu. Remember to check "Options specific to this card" if you don't want it to affect the entire set.
* Card backgrounds have been redone in png to avoid compression artifacting. White removed, added grey.

quindia template
* Font color for name, frequency, descriptors, and origin are now an option in the style menu. Remember to check "Options specific to this card" if you don't want it to affect the entire set.
* Doubled name and descriptor fields removed - there are now options in the style menu to turn name field and/or descriptor field extension on and off. When on, they will also auto-shrink-to-fit. Remember to check "Options specific to this card" if you don't want it to affect the entire set.
* White card added.

trolls template
* Card text autoscaling enabled.
* Sidebar "notch" order is now an option in the style menu - this allows you to shuffle the bottom three "notches" to your preference. Remember to check "Options specific to this card" if you don't want it to affect the entire set.
* New "attack type" font symbols created for this template. Close burst and hybrid melee/ranged symbols work now.


*Known Issues*
* Sets created with earlier versions will need to reassign card backgrounds.
* Cards with lighter backgrounds that made use of font autocolor will need to change the font color option in the style menu. The same option will affect the asterisk-to-dot text substitution. Only cards made using the quindia or R templates should be affected.
* Sets created with earlier versions will generate a key error when opened. Just add a new card, or edit any existing one, then save.


*Planned Features*
* Power source icons
* Power classification icons


Edit: Updated files here.


----------



## meandog

tintagel

I will try again....i do not have much to add I am still trying to learn MSE at this point  
Thanks again to everyone that has made these cards, they are great!


----------



## RandomCitizenX

Hey guys, I have been keeping up with the cards and love the new styles that have been put up, but I was wondering if there was anyway we could get one unified game file? I now have three different game files for power card styles.


----------



## meandog

tintagel

I was able to down load the files. I have a couple of question. 
How do you add the symbols, also my fonts are different. I down loaded the paladin’s mse-set, how do you open it in mse. 
I tried going to the mse site but there was no help documents. Sorry to ask all of these formatting and set up question.

Thanks again for  everyone's good work.


----------



## erf_beto

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> A few more icons for damage types.  I'm open to feedback (if anyone really cares about my designs).  I've created my own style files for MSE and updated my particular card style to work.  If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share.
> 
> 
> The icons are for Cold, Poison, Psychic, and Thunder.



I like dmg icons, love the idea (I'll use them, for sure), but I think maybe there's just too many icons for power cards (attack types, action types and damage types). These are prety straightforward, but I think maybe we should consider when and where will they be used before anything. Don't take this as criticism, I'm just not seeing where they'll all fit together on power cards. Some powers might cause different damage types, so they probably have to be cramed into the text, wich will hurt visibility. For that, you could make a black on white version, for scaling purposes, and reserve the greyscale ones you've shown for other places. I for one think they will come prety handy once I start making monster cards with a DDM template: resistences and vulnerabilities will look very nice with these damage icons!

As for suggestions, I think the poison, psychic and thunder need replacements. For the poison, I think you could use a snake or a fang driping poison. I would suggest that radiation warning sign, but this is fantasy and should be more fantasy-related. For the psychic, go with Pokemon: the picture of an eye, like the egyptian Eye of Horus glyph. Thunder is tough, I can't see anything really... perhaps something more like a supersonic scream/wave:

)))))
(although, this actualy look like a cel phone signal reception )

But I'm curious: how would the Force icon look like?


----------



## tintagel

Hey, no problem, Meandog.  

*Fonts:*  I updated the Tintagel_themes_base.zip file to include my fonts.  Just copy those fonts into your Windows\fonts folder.

*GAME File*:  Yeah, many different game files will prove to be a problem.  I think the easiest way to solve this is to simply make mine a different set altogether.  So, I've renamed my set to D&D_Tint.  I am re-uploading my files to the site right after I hit this post, so look for them in a few minutes.

*Symbols*:  Action symbols are done via specific keys.  If you hover over the field, look at the bottom of the window and it should give you hints.  Basically, S = standard, M = move, m = minor, and I = immediate.   Combine that with a color (R or G) to get a colored icon.  So RS = Red standard, RM = Red move, Rm = Red Minor, etc...

Symbols for the Attack icons work in a similar way.  See the tooltips for specifics.  However, to get the basic attacks, use 1 or 2  (gives basic melee and basic ranged), and x gives a melee/range combo.

*MSE Files*:  Once you get the themes and fonts installed, you should be able to double-click the MSE files.  Granted, I have never tried to use them on another computer, so ...

Let me know if I can help in any other way.


----------



## tintagel

Ok, my files are finally fixed.  Have to redo the MSE sets, but I should have those up soon.  My themes are in their own Game, called D&D_Tint.  That should reduce any confusion or conflicts.

Oh, and I have uploaded my PSD file if anyone wants to hack it.

P.S.:  Quindia, Trolls, anyone else... if you want a place to host all this stuff - feel free.  I created this in response to a few peeps saying we needed to consolidate all of our efforts into one location!


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

Great work, tintagel!
I like your cards most of all. Can I make some ajustments to MSE files? Namely change the font to the one with cyrillic chars enabled?
And kudos for nature & marble! Could blank theme be added? I'd like to make some BW blank cards for items found, so I can write on them during the game. Thank you again.


----------



## tintagel

I just changed the title font to Morpheus, so re-download them if you want.

Feel free to change my templates all you want.  My PSD file is in the file section, so you can export your own blank ones if you like.  I might have time later today to do that if you haven't by then.

Changing the font isn't too hard.  Just go into the Style file (in each theme independently) and find the field name - there is a Font entry - just change it to the desired font.


----------



## Piratecat

I'll slide this into the new "fan-created content" forum. This is a glorious thread.


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

I just down loaded your Base zip and tried the fonts and the symbols works great. I down loaded the nature and marble v6. files, do i just put them in the old D&D-tint-nature.mse-style and marble folders. 

Now you will have to train me on adding images to the cards  

I played a testgame (raiders-of-oakhurst) yesterday at the local game shop. I played the wizard, we did not have cards but they would have made the playing alot easier, i am excited to try them out next time.

Thanks again for the help


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

tintagel,

In your template rules text is aligned to the bottom of the box and flavor text - to the top. Could it be fixed somehow? Just tell me where to look - I'll do it myself. Because the way it is now it sometime gives odd-looking results. Especially when the power has small text - which is often the case. 

Thank you.


----------



## tintagel

Yeah, that seems to be a bug with the MSE - the Full Text template for Magic had that same problem.  If I set the alignment to Top, then you completely lose the main stat block - you only get the flavor text section.  The only way I found to make both clearly visible is to set the alignment to Middle, which produces the results you are experiencing.

HOWEVER, the work-around isn't too bad.  Just enter down a few lines in either section until your text rises to the top.  Sometimes those breaks are lost unless you have something in the last empty line - like spaces.  So use those, heh.

Really not too bad for the flexibility of having Stat Block & Flavor Text share the same potential space...


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

The new mse file D&D_Tint.mse-game works well but only the parchment template works the nature and marble only show up in the old D&D set. Any ideas?

Thanks again


----------



## tintagel

meandog said:
			
		

> tintagel
> 
> The new mse file D&D_Tint.mse-game works well but only the parchment template works the nature and marble only show up in the old D&D set. Any ideas?
> 
> Thanks again




Hey meandog - I think that your folder names or game names may be the older versions.  Delete all previous versions of my templates and re-download them.  I made updates to them very recently.  

In fact, I just uploaded a tutorial video to Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1o5zS8m3Xg

It's also embedded on the Powercard Files page on our wiki.   ENJOY!


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

Sweet video, thanks for all your help!


----------



## Ashardalon

tintagel said:
			
		

> Yeah, that seems to be a bug with the MSE - the Full Text template for Magic had that same problem.  If I set the alignment to Top, then you completely lose the main stat block - you only get the flavor text section.



That's a known bug IIRC, though it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the bug thread. Anyway, the main stat block isn't actually lost - it's simply shifted above the actual text area if it is empty. It should be enough to move the cursor up and type to get things into the correct position.


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

Any plans to add a image box to the template?


----------



## EnglishScribe

*Condition Cards in Tintagel's Style*

(Deleted)


----------



## tintagel

Well, that's what's kinda cool about the site.  If you want to make a variant Style file with the alignment to Top, or want to add an Image field, download my work and hack away!

Then you can join and post your variant so all of us can benefit.  

_"I love the smell of Web 2.0 in the morning. You know, one time we had to learn and make everything alone.  Now we stand on the shoulders of giants.  The idea, you know that collaborative idea, the whole world. Feels like... Inspiration. Someday this isolation's gonna end..."_

-- Tintagel


----------



## WhatGravitas

I've played around with quindia's design (and randolph's latest MSE adaption)... because I really like quindia's style, but wanted to reflect some of my own sensibilities (i.e. DDM-like pseudo-3Ds and colour choices). You need randolph's latest game files, then plug this in - it will be a new style.

And it looks like this:
[sblock=Images]















[/sblock]
MSE-files attached... input/feedback/ideas/criticism and so on, of course, welcome. I have to fix the font colour for the silver template... but I'll do that later...

Cheers, LT.


----------



## quindia

tintagel said:
			
		

> Well, that's what's kinda cool about the site.  If you want to make a variant Style file with the alignment to Top, or want to add an Image field, download my work and hack away!
> 
> Then you can join and post your variant so all of us can benefit.
> 
> 
> -- Tintagel




That was my point in posting at all. I stated outright that I didn't intend to make a full set of cards at the outset, but I thought I'd post my efforts in case someone wanted to use them. I like the 3d metallic effects on the borders and may incorporate those in my home files.

This has been a very interesting and productive thread - a refreshing change from much of the pro/con 4e sniping that inevitably crops up in the rules/fluff/etc. threads.


----------



## Khaalis

tintagel said:
			
		

> Again, if you want to contribute, you need a Gmail account or Educatedgamer account (which I can create).  Then I need to add you as a collaborator.  Once you have an account, Educatedgamer folks can click on the login link in the lefthand menu, while Gmail folks will have to log into gmail before visiting the site in order to edit.
> 
> The Site:  4e.educatedgamer.net



Hey Tintagel. Could I get an invite for LordKhaalis at gmail?  Right now I show as logged on to the site but can't contribute.
Thanks.


----------



## tintagel

Very nice Tirian.  I particularly like the gradient on the attack buttons and the dark purple for the daily power.   I never really liked black as a daily color.


----------



## Khaalis

I've begun placing up completed .pdfs of the preview class powers at Tintagel's Site. I am planning on doing full sets for each class in 3 different styles (Quindia's, Randolph's and LordTirian's). Each set will also be further broken down into a page of cards without backs for those who only want to print a single sided card, as well as a page with card backs for duplex printing. Each card on the page is 3.5" x 2.5" (standard magic card size) and will thus fit card sleeves easily. This is pretty time consuming so it might take a few days to get all of the classes done.


----------



## WhatGravitas

tintagel said:
			
		

> Very nice Tirian.  I particularly like the gradient on the attack buttons and the dark purple for the daily power.  I never really liked black as a daily color.



Well, for the attack buttons - your template inspired me in this regard. And for the black: Yeah, it usually ended up looking grey - so I took a page from my mini painting and remembered that you don't shade black with white (i.e. just lighter colour), but rather with bluish-purplish colours.

@Khaalis: Pretty cool that you do that! I'm looking forward to seeing it! 

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Mercutio01

Don't know how many people even care, but I fixed two of the damage icons in my style and borrowed tintagel's idea for the attack icons - setting them on a metallic background and setting the arrows to be transparent.

Poison and Psychic, respectively.

EDIT - I saved my XCF file from the GIMP and saved it as a PSD.  Both are in the below zip.


----------



## randolph

Khaalis said:
			
		

> I've begun placing up completed .pdfs of the preview class powers at Tintagel's Site.



What do you use to output MSE to pdf?

On a related note, I printed out some of my power cards for the first time last night for a short session. They were printed with a color HP printer on regular paper, cut out with scissors, then slipped into M:tG-style tournament sleeves along with an Exodus land card each for some rigidity. They looked, felt, and worked great  I'll put up some photos tonight.

I ended up printing them out with the actual numbers though, i.e. "+6 vs. AC" and "1d10 + 5 damage" instead of "Strength vs. AC" and "[w] + STR damage" because it often isn't just "[stat] vs. [defense]," but rather "[stat] + [proficiency bonus] + [level bonus] + [enhancement bonus] + [feats] + [class features] vs. [defense]" and "[w] + [stat mod] + [enhancement bonus] + [feats]." I know that it might end up being a huge pain to reprint every level-up or equipment change, so I probably won't go that route. I'll probably just use the "actual numbers" version for the pregens for demo purposes, and print the "undefined variable" version for regular use come June and the PHB.


----------



## Cadilon

Thanks in advance for your work on this.  It'll really help those of us with little talent and/or less time.



			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> I've begun placing up completed .pdfs of the preview class powers at Tintagel's Site. I am planning on doing full sets for each class in 3 different styles (Quindia's, Randolph's and LordTirian's). Each set will also be further broken down into a page of cards without backs for those who only want to print a single sided card, as well as a page with card backs for duplex printing. Each card on the page is 3.5" x 2.5" (standard magic card size) and will thus fit card sleeves easily. This is pretty time consuming so it might take a few days to get all of the classes done.


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> What do you use to output MSE to pdf?



Me personally or in general?

In general you can do it two ways.
1) Use a print to pdf software like CutePDF and export to print right from MSE. However, I find that this does NOT make cards at the correct size for whatever reason. They always comes out too small. Thus...
2) I personally make a Word template made up of correctly sized table cells and import the .jpg files into the table, size them correctly, then save the file as a pdf (since I don't actually have a copy of Acrobat.




> On a related note, I printed out some of my power cards for the first time last night for a short session. They were printed with a color HP printer on regular paper, cut out with scissors, then slipped into M:tG-style tournament sleeves along with an Exodus land card each for some rigidity. They looked, felt, and worked great  I'll put up some photos tonight.



I tend to find that just printing right onto 110lb. cardstock works the best for me. I might still look into sleeves but since the cards are cheap to produce I'm not that worried about it.  (I haven't played Magic in a few years and sold all my cards, so I don't have cards to use for stock nor any sleeves laying around anymore.)



> I ended up printing them out with the actual numbers though, i.e. "+6 vs. AC" and "1d10 + 5 damage" instead of "Strength vs. AC" and "[w] + STR damage" because it often isn't just "[stat] vs. [defense]," but rather "[stat] + [proficiency bonus] + [level bonus] + [enhancement bonus] + [feats] + [class features] vs. [defense]" and "[w] + [stat mod] + [enhancement bonus] + [feats]." I know that it might end up being a huge pain to reprint every level-up or equipment change, so I probably won't go that route. I'll probably just use the "actual numbers" version for the pregens for demo purposes, and print the "undefined variable" version for regular use come June and the PHB.



Are the card sleeves able to have Dry Erase markers used on them? If so, this could allow you the "quick number" access you are looking for without reprinting all the cards.


----------



## sunspot

This thread is coolest I've seen in a long time!

Lord Tirian, Could you post your cards in .psd?
I would like to tinker with them, if you don't mind of course.


----------



## WhatGravitas

sunspot said:
			
		

> This thread is coolest I've seen in a long time!
> 
> Lord Tirian, Could you post your cards in .psd?
> I would like to tinker with them, if you don't mind of course.



Here you go!

Cheers, LT.


----------



## C_M2008

Lord Tirian(or anyone else who knows how), the font you are using in your example is quite nice, I've downloaded your little package there, but I cant seem to get it to work(the font I mean, I just get the big block style). Am I doing something wrong? (I'm just pasting your files into the MSE data file).


----------



## meandog

C_M2008 said:
			
		

> Lord Tirian(or anyone else who knows how), the font you are using in your example is quite nice, I've downloaded your little package there, but I cant seem to get it to work(the font I mean, I just get the big block style). Am I doing something wrong? (I'm just pasting your files into the MSE data file).




You need to place the fonts that are in the zip folder that you down loaded into your windows font folder.


----------



## C_M2008

Ah, yes, thank you, I should have read the preceding pages a little better.  

Also is there a way to change the font size?


----------



## Solmancer

Just wanted to say that I heart the MSE templates very much.  I've been playing around with them a bit so if you're looking for further feedback I'll need a day or two to find something to gripe ab- er, mention. 

Also a small note to Tintagel: MSE complains about missing "D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font" if you install using just your BASE .zip archive found on the website.  I'd suggest including that from here on, as it took me a little bit to go through the thread to find the archive with that in it. ><


----------



## Khaalis

*Khaalis' Update 1 @ educatedgamer.net*

1) Updated the previous Cleric and Fighter cards to reflect the changes to the 4E_PrRC_v2.3.
2) Added Paladin, Ranger and Rogue card sets (Quindia, Randolph and Tirian sets; both with and without card backs).


----------



## Kirnon_Bhale

I am really appreciative of the work done on these cards, especially as my efforts were not very good.

I was however wondering if there was a plan to add "Trolls" cards to the Database on educatedgamer.net as I like his the most?

Is the obstacle to this the fact that (as far as I can tell) "Trolls" cards are not in MSE format?


----------



## WhatGravitas

They are - search for randolph's latest update... there's the Trolls template as well.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## edveal

I think some of us are wanting them to be added in the pdf, not as a template.


----------



## WhatGravitas

edveal said:
			
		

> I think some of us are wanting them to be added in the pdf, not as a template.



I was directly answering to that:


			
				Kirnon_Bhale said:
			
		

> Is the obstacle to this the fact that (as far as I can tell) "Trolls" cards *are not in MSE format*?




Cheers, LT.


----------



## edveal

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> I was directly answering to that:
> 
> 
> Cheers, LT.



I understand now...

Also are there updates to Tintagel's PDFs?


----------



## randolph

RL has been keeping me busy, so no new updates. Almost done with all the art for the DDXP pregens' powers though (Ghost Sound forced me to get creative).

*@ Tintagel:* If you'd like, next time I have a chance, I can attempt to adapt your template so it's compatible with the MSE game file the other templates use. Also, regarding your "rules text/flavor text aligning to the middle" issue - this can be dealt with by using the rules text and flavor text fields (you need to enable editing from the game file) instead of the combined text field. Doing this also gets you a number of other side benefits, like having partially overlapping fields (to take into account some cards having far more rules or flavor text) and differently shaped/proportioned rules vs. flavor text fields.

*@ Lord Tirian:* I can include your template file into the main package, if you'd like.



			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> In general you can do it two ways.
> 1) Use a print to pdf software like CutePDF and export to print right from MSE. However, I find that this does NOT make cards at the correct size for whatever reason. They always comes out too small. Thus...
> 2) I personally make a Word template made up of correctly sized table cells and import the .jpg files into the table, size them correctly, then save the file as a pdf (since I don't actually have a copy of Acrobat.



Cool, thanks. I'll try one or both options.







			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> I tend to find that just printing right onto 110lb. cardstock works the best for me. I might still look into sleeves but since the cards are cheap to produce I'm not that worried about it.



That's an interesting idea. I kinda see these cards (the ones made from pre-PHB-in-hand assumptions) as "too disposable" to print on cardstock, but if it's an inexpensive option, they'd certainly be nice.







			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> Are the card sleeves able to have Dry Erase markers used on them? If so, this could allow you the "quick number" access you are looking for without reprinting all the cards.



That's a cool idea... Ooh, or cut-to-size dry-erase overhead-projector transparencies! Write on the transparency, slide it into the card sleeve as an overlay over the card! This way, I can actually just leave the fields on the card blank.


----------



## WhatGravitas

randolph said:
			
		

> *@ Lord Tirian:* I can include your template file into the main package, if you'd like.



Sure, go ahead!  Note: You might want to fix the use of white text on the silver template. It's partially impossible to read.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## tintagel

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> They are - search for randolph's latest update... there's the Trolls template as well.
> 
> Cheers, LT.




You know, we could upload those files to the wiki...   I don't want to put anyone's work up there unless they want it, but it would be nice to consolidate our files into one place.


Oh, I've uploaded the MSE and PDF files ( Ranger, Paladin, and Wizard so far) for my template too...


----------



## tintagel

Hey, could I get some quick feedback on these?   I'm trying to make a background for the Fey based Warlock...   Thoughts?  Too dark maybe?   Go with a light background and dark text as normal?  Thanks for your consideration!


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Hey, could I get some quick feedback on these?   I'm trying to make a background for the Fey based Warlock...   Thoughts?  Too dark maybe?   Go with a light background and dark text as normal?  Thanks for your consideration!
> 
> 
> I like them!


----------



## meandog

tintagel

I am having problems down loading the mse files from your site again.  Are you working on it or am i doing something wrong?
Thanks


----------



## sunspot

I like them 2, but I would consider changing the title color, and make it more centered. (The background is a little dark, but fits the warlock theme very well)


----------



## jlhorner1974

tintagel said:
			
		

> Hey, could I get some quick feedback on these?   I'm trying to make a background for the Fey based Warlock...   Thoughts?  Too dark maybe?   Go with a light background and dark text as normal?  Thanks for your consideration!




I'm no expert, but I think you can go either way, but if you want honest feedback, I would prefer a texture that is roughly uniform brightness (all relatively dark or all relatively light).  The bark texture you have is artistically very nice, but there are parts of it that are relatively light within the overall dark green.  In a few places, the light areas of the bark texture visually interfere a bit with the white text (for an example, see the word "allows" in the Eldritch Blast card).  Drop shadows could help also -- there are drop shadows for the Old (before 8th Ed) card style for the card title, creature type, and power/toughness.  Maybe there is a way to manipulate MSE into drawing them for you?  Of course, if you are working directly from PhotoShop, you have full control.

I apologize if this were mentioned earlier (I've skimmed most of the thread but I don't recall everything), but one drawback with light text on a dark background is that it uses a lot more ink when printing.  For a few sheets of cards, it isn't a lot, but if you are doing a set of cards for every party member every level... it could add up.  I personally wouldn't mind, but some others might.

Please, though, don't take these comments the wrong way.  The cards you've put together are really outstanding.  I plan on using them myself.


----------



## tintagel

meandog said:
			
		

> tintagel
> 
> I am having problems down loading the mse files from your site again.  Are you working on it or am i doing something wrong?
> Thanks



Nope - I messed up the link.  Fixed it, so try again!  I'm sorry.

Sunspot:   I can center them more, easy.  What about the color?  What would you recommend?

jlhorner1974:  Thank for the honest feedback.  That's exactly what I was looking for.  I'll look for that drop shadow code, and will try to reduce the overall contrast on the background.  Look for something new tomorrow night.


----------



## randolph

As promised, here are the pictures of the physical cards in use (click to enlarge).

I've also finished the DDXP pregen power card set for MSE, with card art; it's attached:
*DDXP_pregens.zip* - MSE Power cards for the DDXP pregen characters, in my template
*D&D-mse20080503.zip* - Complete MSE D&D game file, includes Quindia, Trolls, and my templates, and fonts for Quindia's template.

*@ tintagel:* I'll put it on the wiki once I finish making the game file and your template play nice.


Edit: Attached images because the image host is acting up.


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

No, I just tried again and no. When I click on a file a new exporler window opens up and says click here to down load....I click on it and nothing happens.

One question, when you change the color and look of the cards, do you use a design program, then save it as a image, then put the image in the MSE folder and refence it?
Just trying to learn the process.

Thank again!


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

No, I just tried again and no. When I click on a file a new exporler window opens up and says click here to down load....I click on it and nothing happens.

One question, when you change the color and look of the cards, do you use a design program, then save it as a image, then put the image in the MSE folder and refence it?
Just trying to learn the process.

Thank again!


----------



## tintagel

meandog said:
			
		

> tintagel
> 
> No, I just tried again and no. When I click on a file a new exporler window opens up and says click here to down load....I click on it and nothing happens.
> 
> One question, when you change the color and look of the cards, do you use a design program, then save it as a image, then put the image in the MSE folder and refence it?
> Just trying to learn the process.
> 
> Thank again!



  Dang, I am not sure what's going on with those.  I will re-upload them to the site as ZIP files - that should solve the problem.    

I use Photoshop to design the look of the card, then just put the images into a new theme folder and copy my style file into that folder.  My Photoshop file is on the site.  Have at!

Working Files page


----------



## meandog

randolph

In your second pic you have 2 blue tokens, What and how are used?
Thanks


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Dang, I am not sure what's going on with those.  I will re-upload them to the site as ZIP files - that should solve the problem.
> 
> I use Photoshop to design the look of the card, then just put the images into a new theme folder and copy my style file into that folder.  My Photoshop file is on the site.  Have at!




Ok cool, I will try messing around with the photoshop files, I won't be able to do as good of job as all you guys on the site  

Before the zip files worked well and I had no problems with them


----------



## randolph

meandog said:
			
		

> In your second pic you have 2 blue tokens, What and how are used?



They're action tokens from a dungeoncrawl boardgame called "Descent: Journeys in the Dark," I'm using them as counters to mark how many uses of Healing Word the Cleric has left, since it and Lay on Hands are powers that deviate from the "1-per-X" paradigm.

I also use various tokens and markers from Descent for Defender Marks, ongoing Poison/Fire damage, Stun, Daze, Curse, Quarry, etc... The gridded map you can see in the upper left corner of one of the pictures is Descent's modular game board.


----------



## Solmancer

I had a question for those of you printing these out:

What kind of paper are you using, and/or are you doing it from home on a fancy printer?  Or should I be skimming past thread pages for that information?


@tintagel: The more I look it over, the more I keep having this thought come to mind: I like the light text on dark background, really I do.  I won't claim expertise on printing exertion, though (see above question... :>)  One thing that really keeps going through my mind is the possibility of a kind of "watermark" in the cardname section describing the timing of the power (something you probably could do in Photoshop?)  What I mean is a faint "At-Will" behind the "Eldritch Blast", as an example.  If I had Photoshop, and experience with it more importantly, I'd do it myself to see if it clashed with the Power Name, but it's a thought that keeps intruding whenever I look at your attachment. <3

@randolph: I like the included art, but that seems a prime candidate for being more of a background instead of a seeming limiter on text space, as your printed out versions seem to behave.  For instance, and this is just my editor side speaking here, I would leave a definitive space between the "Effect" sections and the "how-to-use" portions of each.  In other words, Cause Fear's text would intrude into the artwork due to the line break.  On the other hand, the art could be "stretched" to be a background of sorts for the entire card.  That's what comes to mind when I look over your printouts: don't let the artwork limit the size or you'll really be in a bind.   I'd also personally make the bottom part of the card exclusively for the Class information ("Cleric Attack" etc.) and move the power source to just below the Encounter text, centering it in bold in the card text box.

... I really wish I could draw pretty pictures to explain what I mean, rather than resort to text. :<


----------



## Khaalis

tintagel said:
			
		

> Hey, could I get some quick feedback on these?   I'm trying to make a background for the Fey based Warlock...   Thoughts?  Too dark maybe?   Go with a light background and dark text as normal?  Thanks for your consideration!



Hey Tintagel. While I love the artistry of your cards, I overall find them a bit too artistic. Why do I say this? Well most people will be printing these cards and your cards seem to be very ink intensive and actually require a pretty high end printer to get good print quality. This is why I have been favoring creating the cards that are more simplistic. That and the fact that I personally am not a big fan of the 'action icons'.

As for the fey set specifically, I do think the background is too dark. On most printers this will be far too overpowering. Alos, light print on dark background is great for monitors, but not so great in print. I would go with what you have but lighten it to a more "watermark" type shade and use dark print.


----------



## Khaalis

randolph said:
			
		

> As promised, here are the pictures of the physical cards in use (click to enlarge).



What are the Chits you are using in the second picture and where did you get them? What are you using them for?

Edit: NM - teach me to post questions without reading the rest of the thread first...


----------



## Khaalis

Solmancer said:
			
		

> I had a question for those of you printing these out:
> What kind of paper are you using, and/or are you doing it from home on a fancy printer?  Or should I be skimming past thread pages for that information?



I use standard 110lb cardstock you can buy at any office supply store (Staples, Office Depot, etc.) and likely even in the "supplies" section of a store like Wal*Mart. Its really quite inexpensive. On the sheets I make, I get 8 cards per page. I print on an HP Photosmart D7460 with good results.  Every now and then I'll bring the cardstock in and print them at work on the color laser but thats not really a viable option for large print runs.

The cards on .pdf I have put up on Tintagel's site are specifically thinking about printing. I don't use the artwork, trying to keep to a more simple text-based card. Also, the more complex the coloring, the less quality you will have with printing on most printers, especially inkjets.


----------



## Kirnon_Bhale

Regarding Key Words: WotC seems to really be big on Key words atm Things like "Reliable" and more especially "Channel Divinity" are examples of this. I have noticed a theme running through design that places the "Channel Divinity" at higher importance then say "Turn Undead" which is really the effect.

In my early days of card design (before the really good ones came out and I gave up because I would never make any as good as those on this thread) I took to using the Key Words tab in MSE to cover things like "Channel Divinity" and "Reliable". I was wondering if this was considered as an option when creating your cards - My reasoning being that I think we are going to see a lot of key words being thrown about and some could benefit from this approach.


----------



## meandog

randolph said:
			
		

> As promised, here are the pictures of the physical cards in use (click to enlarge).
> 
> I've also finished the DDXP pregen power card set for MSE, with card art; it's attached:
> *DDXP_pregens.zip* - MSE Power cards for the DDXP pregen characters, in my template
> *D&D-mse20080503.zip* - Complete MSE D&D game file, includes Quindia, Trolls, and my templates, and fonts for Quindia's template.]
> 
> I like the art work on the cards. One question where are the art work files saved. I can not find them in your zip file?
> 
> Also I was looking at a few of the fighter and ranger cards, I think you need to but in the attack portion melee or ranged not Str or Dex. You are missing the other part of your bonus.
> I am making the changes to on my copies.
> 
> Thank you


----------



## meandog

tintagel 

Sorry to keep bugging you, I still can not download the files from your site. Is anyone else having the same problem?
Sorry about this, THank you


----------



## tintagel

Khaalis said:
			
		

> Hey Tintagel. While I love the artistry of your cards, I overall find them a bit too artistic. Why do I say this? Well most people will be printing these cards and your cards seem to be very ink intensive and actually require a pretty high end printer to get good print quality. This is why I have been favoring creating the cards that are more simplistic. That and the fact that I personally am not a big fan of the 'action icons'.
> 
> As for the fey set specifically, I do think the background is too dark. On most printers this will be far too overpowering. Alos, light print on dark background is great for monitors, but not so great in print. I would go with what you have but lighten it to a more "watermark" type shade and use dark print.




Thanks khaalis, for that feedback.  I have to agree with you about the overall darkness, but given a good printer... man.  Perhaps WOTC will see these as examples and publish them on the quality level of MTG cards?  Then the ink won't be a problem, as there are many MTG cards like that.

What I will probably do is produce two sets for the Warlock:  a "printer friendly" lighter set and the "ultimate" darker set.

However, I have to politely disagree with you on the printing requirements for the rest of my cards.  I've been printing them out on my Lexmark Z52 (fairly old) printer without any problems in quality - and that's on the normal (not photo) setting.   The warlock set is another matter, but so far the parchment, nature, and marble themes aren't bad at all.   In any case, those who want to save on ink can simply download my MSE file for any of the classes and simply choose the marble theme and apply it to all the cards.  That's probably the least ink intensive of the set.


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Thanks khaalis, for that feedback.  I have to agree with you about the overall darkness, but given a good printer... man.  Perhaps WOTC will see these as examples and publish them on the quality level of MTG cards?  Then the ink won't be a problem, as there are many MTG cards like that.
> 
> What I will probably do is produce two sets for the Warlock:  a "printer friendly" lighter set and the "ultimate" darker set.
> 
> i agree....I have not had any ink problems, and the look great after printing them out. Also I do not see myself printing them ALL out to play. Just the two or three characters thay i will create. also i do not see having to print them out two offten, plus they can be reusable.


----------



## Khaalis

tintagel said:
			
		

> Thanks khaalis, for that feedback.  I have to agree with you about the overall darkness, but given a good printer... man.  Perhaps WOTC will see these as examples and publish them on the quality level of MTG cards?  Then the ink won't be a problem, as there are many MTG cards like that.



This is exactly what I am hoping as well. They are in the perfect position as masters of the TCG realm to produce some really nice Power Cards. I really hope WotC takes the hint and produces a box set of Power Cards for the PHB (and new sets for each new supplement) similar to the Spell Cards of 2E but at the MtG card style/quality.



> What I will probably do is produce two sets for the Warlock:  a "printer friendly" lighter set and the "ultimate" darker set.



Good idea. Its always good to give options.



> However, I have to politely disagree with you on the printing requirements for the rest of my cards.  I've been printing them out on my Lexmark Z52 (fairly old) printer without any problems in quality - and that's on the normal (not photo) setting.



I'll have to take a crack at printing them. I tend to find that the metallic gradients like the border lines in your art don't print as nicely.  The darker backgrounds like the warlock have the same issues, where you tend to loose some of the finer shading in general printing. Granted doing it in photo quality might work better. also, printer quality varies, as well as how much you are actually printing. For me, I tend to be the one that produces the game aids for the whole group, so I'd end up printing just about all of the cards.




> The warlock set is another matter, but so far the parchment, nature, and marble themes aren't bad at all.   In any case, those who want to save on ink can simply download my MSE file for any of the classes and simply choose the marble theme and apply it to all the cards.  That's probably the least ink intensive of the set.



I find the parchment works the best. The marble is nice but can somewhat fade with certain print qualities. I can try to do some print tests, when my schedule allows some time this week and post up photos.


----------



## meandog

Another dumb question:

for the fighter there is a combat challage that when an adjacent enemy shifts you can take an attack. Is the combat superiority +2 to opportunity attacks part of the combat challenge or is it its own exploit?


----------



## randolph

meandog said:
			
		

> I like the art work on the cards. One question where are the art work files saved. I can not find them in your zip file?



They're not in the zip file in an ready-to-open form; they're in the mse-set file. To get at them, rename the mse-set file's suffix to *.zip* and open it, they're all named *image##*. Note that MSE rescaled and cropped all of my processed image files before storing them, so they're not going to be all that useful for editing/resizing (for reference, the images are 1200x1200 before I import them into MSE).







			
				meandog said:
			
		

> Also I was looking at a few of the fighter and ranger cards, I think you need to but in the attack portion melee or ranged not Str or Dex. You are missing the other part of your bonus.
> I am making the changes to on my copies.



I put in the attribute vs. "Melee" or "Ranged" because that's how the official power text is written (see the Warlord excerpt for examples). Yes, it's missing some of the modifiers, but I don't think Wizards wanted the Attack line to read:
"*Attack:* Attribute modifier + Level modifier + Class bonus + Proficiency bonus + Feat bonus"

Each of those things is (for the most part) passive, each of those things can vary between characters with the same power, but only the Attribute modifier is explicitly defined in the powers in question. You could make an argument for:
"*Attack:* [melee or ranged or thrown] weapon attack roll"
But just from the pregens, there are nearly as many exceptions as examples that conform to the rule.







			
				meandog said:
			
		

> for the fighter there is a combat challage that when an adjacent enemy shifts you can take an attack. Is the combat superiority +2 to opportunity attacks part of the combat challenge or is it its own exploit?



* If the enemy shifts, you may make an immediate melee basic attack. This is not explicitly an Opportunity Attack, implying that it isn't one. (Furthermore, it uses the word "immediate," which implies that it is an Immediate action, which would mean you can only use it once per round.)
* +2 to Opportunity Attacks only applies to Opportunity Attacks, so if the immediate melee basic attack isn't an Opportunity Attack, you don't get the +2.

Granted, this is a pregen sheet, with shortcuts and hasty editing, but it seems to me that if I wanted it to be an Opportunity Attack, I'd just say "Opportunity Attack" instead of "immediate melee basic attack," which is wordier.


*@ Solmancer:* Thanks for the feedback! Onto specific points:

The images aren't limiting text, for me, because the way I've been creating cards has been: "Enter information -> if there's room, modify/scale image." If I added more spacing in the text, I might end up cutting/shrinking the images, but that's how I was approaching them anyway: rules before art.

I've considered putting the image behind the text, but I don't want to mess with readability. Honestly, there's so much text for some of these powers that I _can't_ reasonably introduce empty lines as the standard text template, and I'd like to maintain consistency. I might have to look into reducing font size, but I don't want to cause eyestrain either... It *is* quite a bind, because of the Wall of Text 

You're right that the descriptor field (Arcane, Force, Implement, etc) is important; the primary reason I didn't put it in the header or the text box is that some of the descriptor lines are simply too long and will line-wrap, which just looks awful. Putting it where it belongs, with the associated layout shuffling sounds more like a new template design, really... Maybe a landscape layout?


----------



## sunspot

Hi guys,

I tried to create a blend between a few of the styles so far, and would like to know what you all think. I have thick skin so be nit-picky. 

Questions I would like input on: 
- Is the side bar interfering with the symmetry? 
- is the top button better used for action or attack type?
- Is it important to insert 'at-will' somewhere (middle tab, maybe) or is the card color enough?
- Should the 'Wizard Attack 1' stay on the bottom or go in one of the side tabs?
- And everything else you can think of, please flame vigorously and coherently.


----------



## randolph

*Some Keep on the Shadowfell spoiler info for Power Cards*

In this thread.







			
				Dragonborn racial abilities said:
			
		

> Dragonborn Fury: When you're bloodied, you gain a +1 racial bonus to attack rolls
> Draconic Heritage: Your Healing Surge value is equal to one-quarter of you maximum hit points + your Constitution modifier.
> Dragon Breath: Encounter Power - Minor Action - Blast 3 - +4 vs Reflex - 1d6 + 1 damage.





			
				Cleric powers said:
			
		

> An encounter power that was a melee attack that healed an ally with a healing surge and marked the target





			
				Fighter powers said:
			
		

> Reaping Strike, an at will that did str mod damage on a miss
> Sweeping strike, an encounter power that did weapon damage and knocked the enemy prone
> 2nd level utility power that gave him 2d6+3 temporary hp





			
				Wizard powers said:
			
		

> Expeditious Retreat (Wizard Utility 2) Daily
> Fire Shroud (Wizard Attack 3) Encounter





			
				Rogue powers said:
			
		

> Trick Strike - Rogue Attack 1
> Through a series of feints and lures, you maneuver your foe right where you want him.
> Daily * Martial, Weapon
> Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon
> Target one creature
> Attack +8 vs AC (normal)
> Hit 3d4+4 damage, and you can slide the target 1 square. (standard is 1d4+1 for character)
> Effect: Until the end of the encounter, each time you hit the target you can slide it 1 square.
> 
> * Sly Flourish that did Weapon damage plus Dex and Cha
> * Encounter power at level 3 that allowed him to switch places with the target and shift (in addition to damage)





			
				Paladin powers said:
			
		

> At-will called Valiant Smite/Strike that got a +1 to attack for each adjacent enemy.





			
				Divine Challenge patch said:
			
		

> On your turn, you must engage the target you challenged or challenge a different target. To engage it, you must either attack it or end you turn adjacent to it. If none of these events occur by the end of your turn, the marked condition ends and you can't use Divine Challenge on your next turn.
> You can use Divine Challenge once per turn.





			
				Feat? said:
			
		

> Oh and Power Attack gives you a -2 to attack and a +3 to damage (maybe +STR mod. - the Fighter had it).





			
				Condition said:
			
		

> Weakened: Your attacks deal half damage.
> Ongoing damage you deal is not affected


----------



## Solmancer

sunspot said:
			
		

> Hi guys,
> 
> I tried to create a blend between a few of the styles so far, and would like to know what you all think. I have thick skin so be nit-picky.
> 
> Questions I would like input on:
> - Is the side bar interfering with the symmetry?
> - is the top button better used for action or attack type?
> - And everything else you can think of, please flame vigorously and coherently.



One order of picky, coming right up! 

- I don't think the side bar is interfering with anything at all; the silvery border between the main text and the tabs on the side bar prevents that, if you ask me.
- To be honest, I'd say the top button is best for attack type, and that having the action should be more of a communication elsewhere on the card (color, topleft symbol, whatever).  Additionally, for attack type, I think fitting the word "Ranged"/"Burst" into the tab would be ideal (something like "Ranged" at the top, the symbol in the middle, then the actual range/burst-radius on the bottom; alternatively the symbol on top and "Ranged 20" on the bottom or what have you); spell it out, in other words.  I also wouldn't consider it redundant to keep the "Ranged 20" text in the card, either, as you currently have.
- For some reason I just can't stand seeing the "Int vs. Ref" (the "Hit") field in general in the tabs.  I don't know why, but I just look at it and go "bleh".  It also seems a bit odd to have the "Hit" data and not the "damage" in the case for a power such as Magic Missile.  If you want "at a glance" information, shouldn't both be there?  Just a thought.


@everyone-making-their-own-templates: Something I think would be neat, and this is something I've been trying to visualize and failing on, would be if you did a watermarkish layer of "At-Will" and so on behind the power's name, sort of superimposed behind the text but still relatively readable.  (I'm having dejavu that I posted about this before... Can't post-search to verify this...)  ... I could really use Photoshop experience right about now, and Photoshop itself.


----------



## meandog

I put in the attribute vs. "Melee" or "Ranged" because that's how the official power text is written (see the Warlord excerpt for examples). Yes, it's missing some of the modifiers, but I don't think Wizards wanted the Attack line to read:
"*Attack:* Attribute modifier + Level modifier + Class bonus + Proficiency bonus + Feat bonus"

I was using another site i found that has taken the excerpts and combined them and for the powers it would have melee or range etc. Is there a source that has all the powers listed out?
Do you see having cards for the race traits useful? 

And one last question when i try inserting images in MSE i get the image in a big white box around the image. How did you insert yours into the cards and not have this? Do you have to do something with the images before you insert them?

Thank you


----------



## randolph

meandog said:
			
		

> I was using another site i found that has taken the excerpts and combined them and for the powers it would have melee or range etc. Is there a source that has all the powers listed out?



The template _does_ have melee, range, etc, just not as the "Attack:" line, because (1) I find it impractical for all the reasons I noted in the earlier post, and (2) the way I've done it matches the official Wizards power template in every extant example.







			
				meandog said:
			
		

> Do you see having cards for the race traits useful?



I only have cards for the racial non-passive "powers," but yeah, they're really useful.







			
				meandog said:
			
		

> And one last question when i try inserting images in MSE i get the image in a big white box around the image. How did you insert yours into the cards and not have this? Do you have to do something with the images before you insert them?



Yes, you have to process the image with some (relatively minor) photoshop-fu by matching the background color of the image to the background color of whatever card field you're putting it in. In the case of my template, I included the blank.jpg, and also gave RGB values earlier in the thread.


----------



## Mercutio01

I have finished updating my basic card layout and am still working a little on icons.  I like icons.  I dislike redundancy, so I tried to avoid a straight copy/paste of the power text.


----------



## meandog

Thanks randolph

Do you get the all of Power infromation from the wizard of the coast site? I am having trouble finding a complete list of all the class powers.


----------



## sunspot

*List of powers*

Here's a list of some of the more obscure powers. The others can be found in previous posts (see page 3 I think, from RandomCitizenX) (feel free to update list and repost every once in a while


----------



## Khaalis

Apparently when the Full Card Set page was rearranged a bunch of my posts went missing. I've gone back through and re-uploaded the missing pages. 

EDIT: 
1) Added the new powers from the H1 preview in a file of their own.
2) Added the new Rogue Daily to each of the Rogue Card files.
3) Added the Warlock cards.
4) Added the Warlord cards.

(Wizard will come beginning of next week.)


----------



## Piratecat

Tintagel, this weekend I set up the Card Editor and followed your YouTube video. Nicely done! Problem is, I'm getting an error when I try to make a new card set; it doesn't seem to be recognizing those two folders of unique symbols I copied from your site into the data directory, so it gives me an error message. Any advice, anyone?


----------



## LightPhoenix

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Tintagel, this weekend I set up the Card Editor and followed your YouTube video. Nicely done! Problem is, I'm getting an error when I try to make a new card set; it doesn't seem to be recognizing those two folders of unique symbols I copied from your site into the data directory, so it gives me an error message. Any advice, anyone?




I had the same problem, until I read the error MSE was throwing up.  You need to download Randolph's files as well - there's one in there that Tintagel's set uses that isn't includes.  Once I did that the symbols came out fine.

I printed out my cards (Tintagel's design, typed up by myself) on some flimsy card stock ($6.50 for 7 pages of 9 cards each, arranged in Powerpoint) and they worked great.  Everyone at the table was really impressed.  It definitely helped everyone keep track of things better.  Thanks to everyone here!


----------



## Piratecat

Aha! Thank you so much. That did the trick. (The zip file in question is here.)


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> I have finished updating my basic card layout and am still working a little on icons.  I like icons.  I dislike redundancy, so I tried to avoid a straight copy/paste of the power text.




I like the way you use swatches for Attack & Defence - clears up the place for other things on the card.


----------



## Knight Otu

Not exactly power cards, but monster cards have been part of this topic - I'm considering to resurrect a concept of monster cards I worked on previously based on the monster stat block. Is there interest in such a style?

[sblock=Images]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	










[/sblock]

It'll have several styles since the card dimensions can't be scripted - the above is just a test in a single style. Maybe another set of styles for longer texts.


----------



## Drawback

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> Not exactly power cards, but monster cards have been part of this topic - I'm considering to resurrect a concept of monster cards I worked on previously based on the monster stat block. Is there interest in such a style?
> 
> It'll have several styles since the card dimensions can't be scripted - the above is just a test in a single style. Maybe another set of styles for longer texts.




I'd want that very much for my "special" monsters...


----------



## randolph

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> It'll have several styles since the card dimensions can't be scripted - the above is just a test in a single style. Maybe another set of styles for longer texts.



Based on your examples, I believe this is doable as a single template in MSE (I'd have to try it when I get home).

Basic outline:
* Card height set to maximum expected height (current version of MSE can't script this)
* Use a three part card background:
 1) Header (everything before the first monster power)
 2) Body (monster powers)
 3) Footer (everything after the final monster power)
* You can define fixed heights for Header and Footer. The Body field's height calls a function.
* Have a set of images for the Body, body1.jpg, body2, etc. The # refers to the number of power blocks.
* Define a style option for the template, "Number of powers," a pulldown with 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
* The Body field's height function figures out how many pixels the body would be with the chosen number of powers.
* The Body field's image function picks its image based on the number of chosen powers.


----------



## Knight Otu

I guess I could have been clearer - what you're suggesting is what I'm already doing, more or less.  That's why there is that whitespace below. I only use one image for the power blocks (no reason for multiple images), and I currently have a styling option for 1 to 7 powers. I want to change the template so that there is no whitespace, though I'll have to see how it interacts with printing.


----------



## randolph

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> I guess I could have been clearer - what you're suggesting is what I'm already doing, more or less.  That's why there is that whitespace below. I only use one image for the power blocks (no reason for multiple images), and I currently have a styling option for 1 to 7 powers. I want to change the template so that there is no whitespace, though I'll have to see how it interacts with printing.



Ah, ok. There's no way to have MSE have actually scaling card sizes, because the card size is required to be defined before any functions (at least in the current version of MSE). If you just want to make sure there's no wasted whitespace, you'll have to go with that other option you mentioned - multiple styles.


----------



## erf_beto

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> Not exactly power cards, but monster cards have been part of this topic - I'm considering to resurrect a concept of monster cards I worked on previously based on the monster stat block. Is there interest in such a style?
> ...
> It'll have several styles since the card dimensions can't be scripted - the above is just a test in a single style. Maybe another set of styles for longer texts.



Aside from the colors (IMO), I like what you've done. I don't know if I'd use them, though. Compare Slam and StandinGround (Avalanche Titan): long text is crammed into small place but the simplest of entries takes up a lot of blank card space. I don't know if that can be fixed in MSE. It might become a problem when high level comes up, with many and more complex powers... But for original creations, they are great, no doubt in that.

I'm wondering, how difficult would it be to make a MSE template for cards that look just like the new Monster Manual statblocks? Something like four "cards" per page, and the back or side could have Monster Tactics and other descriptions... could even be used for PCs (pregens mostly), listing only basic attacks, feats, class/race features and possibly at-wills, leaving other abilities for Power Cards.


----------



## Ashardalon

erf_beto said:
			
		

> Aside from the colors (IMO), I like what you've done. I don't know if I'd use them, though. Compare Slam and StandinGround (Avalanche Titan): long text is crammed into small place but the simplest of entries takes up a lot of blank card space. I don't know if that can be fixed in MSE. It might become a problem when high level comes up, with many and more complex powers... But for original creations, they are great, no doubt in that.



Yep. For instance, the pit fiend's summoning power is problematic. Large powers can theoretically be spaces out over multiple power blocks (hm, gives me an idea), but that problem was one that I had in ind when I mentioned longer texts.


			
				erf_beto said:
			
		

> I'm wondering, how difficult would it be to make a MSE template for cards that look just like the new Monster Manual statblocks? Something like four "cards" per page, and the back or side could have Monster Tactics and other descriptions... could even be used for PCs (pregens mostly), listing only basic attacks, feats, class/race features and possibly at-wills, leaving other abilities for Power Cards.



As mentioned a few times by randolph and me, the problem is that card dimensions aren't scriptable, while the statblocks would want that. Field dimensions are scriptable, and the height of the field content can be accessed, so it is possible to put down a correctly sized color background for the texts and powers - the problem is that you don't know how big you have to make the cards.


----------



## ianleblanc

I really like your monster cards minimalist feel but I would change the color (maybe red and white?). I would also try to keep them on 2.5 x 3.5 inches or in a horizontal layout (maybe the same size as DDM cards), keeping nice and se-metric card layouts goes a long way.

Looking forward to more!


----------



## beverson

I downloaded the cards labeled "Tirian", and I prefer this design to the others, but I'm not seeing a Tirian template for putting in the MSE...am I missing it?


----------



## Bagpuss

I downloaded the Tirian stuff for Magic Set Editor, but every time I try and create one I get the following error

Package not found: 'C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font'

I'm guessing it's because in the video you have a both a "D&D" and a "D&D Tintagel" card set, but I've only downloaded the "D&D Tintagel" set (which is all the video mentions), but it isn't free standing, and must reference that "D&D" set somewhere.

So where can I get the D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font folder? and/or can you correct the bug so that the Tintagel set is complete in itself?


----------



## Bagpuss

Okay found the basic D&D stuff and install that but I've noticed that all the Black Symbols in the top left seem to be miss aligned. If you use BS or BM like in the tool tip. The aren't miss aligned if you do S or M like in the video.


----------



## LightPhoenix

Bagpuss said:
			
		

> I downloaded the Tirian stuff for Magic Set Editor, but every time I try and create one I get the following error
> 
> Package not found: 'C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font'
> 
> I'm guessing it's because in the video you have a both a "D&D" and a "D&D Tintagel" card set, but I've only downloaded the "D&D Tintagel" set (which is all the video mentions), but it isn't free standing, and must reference that "D&D" set somewhere.
> 
> So where can I get the D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font folder? and/or can you correct the bug so that the Tintagel set is complete in itself?




I know you already found it, but to reiterate for other people having this problem - you need to get Randolph's set as well for the font folder.  Then you'll be able to use the symbols.


----------



## Bagpuss

sunspot said:
			
		

> Hi guys,
> 
> I tried to create a blend between a few of the styles so far, and would like to know what you all think. I have thick skin so be nit-picky.
> 
> Questions I would like input on:
> - Is the side bar interfering with the symmetry?




Love the side bar makes the card easy to read if you are fanning them as opposed to laying them all out on a table (so useful if space is an issue). Also looks like the miniature games cards.



> - is the top button better used for action or attack type?




I think action type, like you have it is fine.



> - Is it important to insert 'at-will' somewhere (middle tab, maybe) or is the card color enough?




It's good idea, some folks are colour blind and others don't have colour printers.



> - Should the 'Wizard Attack 1' stay on the bottom or go in one of the side tabs?




Keep it at the bottom it's not really important in play only when selecting the power.



> - And everything else you can think of, please flame vigorously and coherently.




I like it, I'd also like to see a black and white version for folks without colour printers.


----------



## Ander00

Very nice work. However, as it's not quite what I was looking for, I've started tinkering with my own design (incorporating elements of the other sets, like the icons). It's still work in progress, but in case anyone's interested, I've attached some samples of what it looks like right now. Basically, I'm going to stick with a rather simple design and forego fancy graphics, as my printer wouldn't handle them very well anyway.
Also, I have this idea in my head of having the rules text on the card, but prominently featuring amply sized fields where I can fill in any variables so they are available at a glance. A landscape format seems to work best for that.
In case you're wondering, of course Eye Bite is normally an at-will ability, but it would be per encounter for my warlord.


cheers


----------



## beverson

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Very nice work. However, as it's not quite what I was looking for, I've started tinkering with my own design (incorporating elements of the other sets, like the icons). It's still work in progress, but in case anyone's interested, I've attached some samples of what it looks like right now. Basically, I'm going to stick with a rather simple design and forego fancy graphics, as my printer wouldn't handle them very well anyway.
> Also, I have this idea in my head of having the rules text on the card, but prominently featuring amply sized fields where I can fill in any variables so they are available at a glance. A landscape format seems to work best for that.
> In case you're wondering, of course Eye Bite is normally an at-will ability, but it would be per encounter for my warlord.
> 
> 
> cheers




I like what you've done there.  Are you doing this through the MSE, and if so, would you mind posting the files you are using for it?  Thanks!


----------



## randolph

Ander00 said:
			
		

> It's still work in progress, but in case anyone's interested, I've attached some samples of what it looks like right now.



I like that a lot - simple, uncluttered, effective!

If you need any help implementing your final design in MSE, I'd be happy to be of assistance.


----------



## Piratecat

Ander, another big thumbs up. One thing I learned last night is that you DEFINITELY want a place on the cards to write the attack and damage for that particular character. A lot of time was spent figuring it out on the fly; having it right on the card would be great.


----------



## Ander00

At the moment it's simply a PSD. I'm not sure I'd bother with an MSE implementation myself, given that I have no experience with that, but of course anyone's welcome to give it a try. I probably won't really have time to fiddle with it until some time next week (hopefully in time for KotS), so in the meantime here's the current file, for anyone who'd like to do something with it.


cheers


----------



## Piratecat

Thank you!


----------



## Mercutio01

Here is a Zip of the MSE files for my cards.


----------



## drjones

Lots of awesome stuff here but I am confused, I have KoTS and would love to get some cards for the pregens there including the 2nd and 3rd level powers.  I tried messing around with MSE before and got nowhere, has anyone compiled such a thing and if so is it in this thread?


----------



## drjones

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Ander, another big thumbs up. One thing I learned last night is that you DEFINITELY want a place on the cards to write the attack and damage for that particular character. A lot of time was spent figuring it out on the fly; having it right on the card would be great.



Definately, if space does not make it impossible having both the formula (Attack: Wis vs. Will etc.) and a blank box where one can write the current result would be the most usable in the game from my limited preview experience.


----------



## Snarls-at-Fleas

For a couple of months already I was considering the idea of putting all the inventory on 2.5 x 3.5 cards. Today I started to implement the idea. Here is my first try.

The upper text box can serve different purpose - you can write a fancy name for the item there or just +1 flaming or something like that. More information can be included on the back of the card. I intended to give each player a binder with the classical character sheet in a plastic file and 2-3 card sheets from MtG album to keep their stuff.

P.S. The image of the sword is taken from http://www.trueswords.com/. No copyright infringement intended - I am not going to distibute this one.


----------



## sunspot

drjones said:
			
		

> Lots of awesome stuff here but I am confused, I have KoTS and would love to get some cards for the pregens there including the 2nd and 3rd level powers.  I tried messing around with MSE before and got nowhere, has anyone compiled such a thing and if so is it in this thread?




If you compile all the powers from KoTS (preferably in txt format) I'm sure we will all be very happy to make power cards for you


----------



## Irrylath

I have been trying to learn MSE. im not at all good as you folks are. But using Tintagels formats, and watching his video many times, and looking at all the created stuff on the website (trolls, quindia, Randolph, etc; and the posters suggestions here) i'm slowly starting to get the hang of putting in text. Here is kinda what i came up with using his stat cards.

I dont know how you guys come up with the art, backgrounds, and wonderful colors. but keep up the great work!


----------



## drjones

sunspot said:
			
		

> If you compile all the powers from KoTS (preferably in txt format) I'm sure we will all be very happy to make power cards for you



Which ones are needed?
Nevermind, all the powers I have are the same as were shown here previously.  If people need more let me know.


----------



## sunspot

Nice link!
From a making cards perspective, having txt that can be copy/pasted makes things faster...


----------



## meandog

drjones said:
			
		

> Definately, if space does not make it impossible having both the formula (Attack: Wis vs. Will etc.) and a blank box where one can write the current result would be the most usable in the game from my limited preview experience.





If you use the plastic sleeves then you can use a erasable pen and write the total damage on the sleeve. then you change it as needed.


----------



## meandog

drjones said:
			
		

> Which ones are needed?
> Nevermind, all the powers I have are the same as were shown here previously.  If people need more let me know.





Is that all of the charaters 5 of them? If there are more i would be interested. thank you


----------



## Kealios

Mostlyjoe said:
			
		

> I was thinking of taking away grids all together. Just use a tapemeasure and Warmachine style minis. Gonna see how that changes the games. Firecubes and all.




Late commer to the thread and all, but I was just deciding to try this as of late last week...

Also, @ Tintagel:

Some cards I found on Educatedgamer.net under Paladin-Pregen.pdf, I think the action icon of Channel: Divine Strength looks off.  It has the cog of the Standard action, not the Asterik of the Minor action, but is listed as a Minor action.

Hope that helps...


----------



## sunspot

I've completed all the known powers.
Here's a preview:

I'll be putting them up on http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home :
(I've been getting the error message "you do not have permission to view this page.'

PS: Is there any reason why the creative commons license was removed from the site?


----------



## Bayuer

Someone mentioned about KoTS pregens txt?

Here you go: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddv8j99r_102dpp99vd4


----------



## sunspot

OMG I so wish you would have posted those 24 hours ago, I was stuck squinting and re-typing the picture images (it was hell).

Thanks anyways though.

I should have all the powers up on Tintagel's site promptly.


----------



## comotose4

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Very nice work. However, as it's not quite what I was looking for, I've started tinkering with my own design (incorporating elements of the other sets, like the icons). It's still work in progress, but in case anyone's interested, I've attached some samples of what it looks like right now. Basically, I'm going to stick with a rather simple design and forego fancy graphics, as my printer wouldn't handle them very well anyway.
> Also, I have this idea in my head of having the rules text on the card, but prominently featuring amply sized fields where I can fill in any variables so they are available at a glance. A landscape format seems to work best for that.
> In case you're wondering, of course Eye Bite is normally an at-will ability, but it would be per encounter for my warlord.
> 
> 
> cheers



Any chance of getting these in an MSE file?  I think if you could put say the action type symbol where you have the hand and a box at the bottom saying what type and level of the power they would be exactly what I am looking for.  I like the others that have been posted alot but the boxes put it over the top. (plus they are simple and very affective)


----------



## Bayuer

sunspot said:
			
		

> OMG I so wish you would have posted those 24 hours ago, I was stuck squinting and re-typing the picture images (it was hell).
> 
> Thanks anyways though.
> 
> I should have all the powers up on Tintagel's site promptly.





Srr mate. I just found that thread That site was in the net for a week or so. Anyway thx for good work!


----------



## tintagel

sunspot said:
			
		

> I've completed all the known powers.
> Here's a preview:
> 
> I'll be putting them up on http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home :
> (I've been getting the error message "you do not have permission to view this page.'
> 
> PS: Is there any reason why the creative commons license was removed from the site?




Sorry I've been gone for a while.  Google Sites recently consolidated domain and gmail login URLS to a /a/ address rather than an /a/ and /e/  (look in the URL above to see where that difference lies).  Anyways, I set up redirecting and http://4e.educatedgamer.net should be working within the next 24 hrs or so.

The creative commons info was removed due to some legal debate that occured on this thread:   http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=225282

Personally, I think it was a bit overblown, but I didn't want any drama so I pulled it.


----------



## Ander00

comotose4 said:
			
		

> Any chance of getting these in an MSE file?  I think if you could put say the action type symbol where you have the hand and a box at the bottom saying what type and level of the power they would be exactly what I am looking for.  I like the others that have been posted alot but the boxes put it over the top. (plus they are simple and very affective)



(The hand is the current symbol for a standard action)
Anway, things have come up. I have not had the time to further work on the cards, and I probably won't at least until the weekend. When I do, I might implement them in MSE, but I haven't really looked into that yet.


cheers


----------



## keterys

sunspot said:
			
		

> I've completed all the known powers.
> Here's a preview:
> 
> I'll be putting them up on http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home :
> (I've been getting the error message "you do not have permission to view this page.'
> 
> PS: Is there any reason why the creative commons license was removed from the site?




That Cleave has 'Str vs AV' instead of AC.

Just a quick post to say that I am really impressed with all the good work on this thread. Amazing stuff.


----------



## Duckforceone

love the new setups you guys have.. tintagel you rock.

just annoying that you have to find multiple downloads to make it all work.

Want me to upload a zip file including most of them?

though i could not get the "troll" version to work from another of those downloads. It also needs some images just like the tintagel one did.


----------



## Ander00

I've found myself with some time on my hands after all. I have had a look at MSE and now have the beginnings of an MSE template. Basically I went and murdered randolph's, I mean used that as a basis to see what's what (thanks ). I'll probably try and get things polished up for my KotS game on Sunday, but in case anyone would like the preliminary version, here it is. It obviously still needs work. Oh, and I hacked the game file a bit, so keep that in mind if you switch between templates.


cheers


----------



## meandog

Ander00 said:
			
		

> I've found myself with some time on my hands after all. I have had a look at MSE and now have the beginnings of an MSE template. Basically I went and murdered randolph's, I mean used that as a basis to see what's what (thanks ). I'll probably try and get things polished up for my KotS game on Sunday, but in case anyone would like the preliminary version, here it is. It obviously still needs work. Oh, and I hacked the game file a bit, so keep that in mind if you switch between templates.
> cheers





How do u open the file up in MSE. Do i put the file in specific folder?


----------



## Bayuer

@Ander00
This is awesome work! It's clear and esay to read. Not so much colors and nice icons. Keep the good work! Only one thing is realy strange. Bold doesn't function when I print the cards. In MSE all is ok but not when printed


----------



## tintagel

Sorry this is so late in fixing this, but I finally got my BASE zip file to include the symbols folder that folks have been asking for.  I've simply been away for a while.

To make amends, I have uploaded three new themes:  2 racial and another class.

Fighter (metal) theme
Halfling Racial theme
Dragonborn Racial theme

Use if you want, or not.  As always, they are on the site: 
http://4e.educatedgamer.net 

Click on the Power Cards page, then Working Files.   I will keep pecking away at the powers to get some PDFs up this weekend.

P.S.  I have also updated my latest Photoshop file for all my card themes (it's all in one file).  It's also in the working files section - so have at, and feel free to make changes and post them for us to benefit from.  I know that some of my cards are a bit heavy on the ink!


----------



## tintagel

Ok, I consolidated my full theme set plus all necessary files and fonts in to a 9 MB file on the site.  It's the first file on the Working files page.  Enjoy!


----------



## Asmor

For those running Keep on the Shadowfell, I've produced two PDFs of interest.

The first contains every power you'll need for the 6 official characters (including the recently-posted Warlord), and the second contains a card for every magic item in the adventure, including formatting the card as appropriate if the magic item gives a power. I also added some flavor text for all the magic items. 

One note: The Inspiring Word in the powers PDF is incorrect (just delete the +4 healing so it's just 1d6). A correct version of the power is included in the items PDF.

Powers
Items

Players, I suggest not downloading the items PDF since a complete list of the treasure in the module would totally be a "spoiler" type thing. 

Also, be sure to turn on page scaling when you print them or else they'll get clipped by the printer margins.


----------



## sunspot

Very nice Tintagel!

Having those images in the background is awesome! (make more please)

PS: Can you add me as collaborator? my email is sunspot72{a]gmail.com

Thanks!


----------



## sunspot

Does anyone know where I could find a full list of all the known racial powers?
(Preferably in txt format)

Thanks


----------



## Ander00

meandog said:
			
		

> How do u open the file up in MSE. Do i put the file in specific folder?



Put them into your "Magic Set Editor\data" folder. If you want to be able to switch back to the other templates, be sure to backup the "game" file from "D&D.mse-game". You should then be able to open a set and change it to this style (though you will have to re-enter some information), or make a new one.


			
				Bayuer said:
			
		

> Bold doesn't function when I print the cards. In MSE all is ok but not when printed



I'm sorry, I don't know why it wouldn't work. I can print cards just fine. I am currently using a different font though, so perhaps that'll do it. I'll post an update when I have had time to work on it a little more.

p.s.: perhaps someone more experienced with MSE could see about making the game files compatible again once I am done murdering my version?


cheers


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Ok, I consolidated my full theme set plus all necessary files and fonts in to a 9 MB file on the site.  It's the first file on the Working files page.  Enjoy!





Computer question, when I go to the site I am unable to down load the file. When I click for a down load,  a new web page page comes up and says click here to down load, but nothing happens. 
When I use my desktop computer ( at home)i am able to down load the files, just click on them and the down load begins. It seems like my laptop is stuck on an old site or has a bug or something. Any ideas on how to fix this if not i will just wait until i get home  . I am on the road and will not get to my desktop for a few weeks. 
Thanks


----------



## meandog

sunspot said:
			
		

> Does anyone know where I could find a full list of all the known racial powers?
> (Preferably in txt format)
> 
> Thanks





you can try this site. They up date the info as new stuff comes out. 
http://dnd4.com/phb

I am working on one but it is not done yet.


----------



## Kzach

Asmor said:
			
		

> For those running Keep on the Shadowfell, I've produced two PDFs of interest.



Hmm, not sure why but the text for some of the titles goes well over the boundaries of the card graphic.


----------



## Asmor

Kzach said:
			
		

> Hmm, not sure why but the text for some of the titles goes well over the boundaries of the card graphic.




Yeah, I noticed that too. Unfortunately I don't know how to fix it. I made the PDFs with CutePDF distiller, which essentially impersonates a printer so that you just "print" from any application. I wonder if that's the cause? In MSE, it resizes the text of the titles to fit the long ones, and it seems like it does that by adjusting space between letters rather than actual font size so maybe that adjustment's getting lost in translation.


----------



## Bayuer

@Ander00
yeah that could be a problem. font is very important. There's one suggestion. There is little not enought room for power description. Try Acid Arrow description.


----------



## Ashardalon

Shrinking isn't handled correctly when printing. It's a known bug that'll be fixed in the upcoming version 0.3.6. Export handles it correctly, however.


----------



## tintagel

meandog said:
			
		

> Computer question, when I go to the site I am unable to down load the file. When I click for a down load,  a new web page page comes up and says click here to down load, but nothing happens.
> When I use my desktop computer ( at home)i am able to down load the files, just click on them and the down load begins. It seems like my laptop is stuck on an old site or has a bug or something. Any ideas on how to fix this if not i will just wait until i get home  . I am on the road and will not get to my desktop for a few weeks.
> Thanks




Hey meandog,  I've uploaded my full themes file to Divshare so you can get it there.
DivShare File - Tintagel_themes_FULL.zip
Hope this helps!


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Hey meandog,  I've uploaded my full themes file to Divshare so you can get it there.
> DivShare File - Tintagel_themes_FULL.zip
> Hope this helps!





Thank you! the new templets are great!


----------



## Kzach

tintagel, to avoid trawling through the ten pages of posts here that I won't understand the half of anyway, I wanted to ask a question about your template.

As I understand it, the template you posted just recently (here) is like a plug-in for MSE?

To avoid running MSE myself and in-putting all that data (yes, I'm lazy), will anyone be making PDF's using your template?


----------



## meandog

Kzach said:
			
		

> tintagel, to avoid trawling through the ten pages of posts here that I won't understand the half of anyway, I wanted to ask a question about your template.
> 
> As I understand it, the template you posted just recently (here) is like a plug-in for MSE?
> 
> To avoid running MSE myself and in-putting all that data (yes, I'm lazy), will anyone be making PDF's using your template?





Yea go to his web site...a few posts back and there is a page that has finished cards in i think 3 or 4 styles.


----------



## Bayuer

@Ander00

Few more things. It will be very great if you add icons for free action and personal as a target. Also making a fourth silver color to choose for use to creat magic item cards! If you add all this it will be perfect mse set for me!


----------



## Asmor

Bayuer said:
			
		

> @Ander00
> 
> Few more things. It will be very great if you add icons for free action and personal as a target. Also making a fourth silver color to choose for use to creat magic item cards! If you add all this it will be perfect mse set for me!




There's already an icon for personal, it's just not listed in the tooltip. Hit p.


----------



## Bayuer

Asmor said:
			
		

> There's already an icon for personal, it's just not listed in the tooltip. Hit p.



 Anders MSE don't have this...

By the way. The icon for melle touch will be great to. Lay on Hands use this...


----------



## Ander00

My current version has an icon for personal as well as mentioning it in the tooltip, so when I post an update, that shouldn't be a problem anymore. As far as a separate icon for melee touch goes, I'm not really sure that's necessary, but as it'd be rather easy to do, might as well add that. Another background color or two also shouldn't be a problem.

Said update'll probably happen later today.


cheers


----------



## Bayuer

That's great news I know it's not necessary, but if that's not a problem. It will be nicer. Don't forget the free action icon. It could be a dot or sth but it will be nicer than a blank space. I can't wait for the update I'm just making the H1 power cards and I will post them soon...


----------



## Kzach

meandog said:
			
		

> Yea go to his web site...a few posts back and there is a page that has finished cards in i think 3 or 4 styles.



I went ten pages back and couldn't find 'his' site. Only the educated gamer site with his templates.

Oh well, it's not like I'm busy, I guess I'll just have to stop being lazy


----------



## WhatGravitas

Kzach said:
			
		

> I went ten pages back and couldn't find 'his' site. Only the educated gamer site with his templates.



You know that the "educated gamer" site IS tintagel's site?

Cheers, LT.


----------



## meandog

Kzach said:
			
		

> I went ten pages back and couldn't find 'his' site. Only the educated gamer site with his templates.
> 
> Oh well, it's not like I'm busy, I guess I'll just have to stop being lazy




That is the site.


----------



## meandog

sunspot said:
			
		

> Does anyone know where I could find a full list of all the known racial powers?
> (Preferably in txt format)
> 
> Thanks





Here is a list of the class and race powers. I am sure there are some mistakes in there so be carefull. If you see anything that needs to be changed or added let me know, because I am sure I am missing info.


----------



## Ander00

Alright then. I am now happy enough with the template to get me through KotS at least, though I'd say it is far from finished. At the moment there's no provision for really long cards, for example (White Raven Onslaught is cutting it pretty close). I've included the set I've made for my character. It consists of the known warlord powers (with a bit of conjecture), dragon breath and eyebite.
Again a reminder: the game files aren't 100% compatible, so bear that in mind when switching between templates (you could use a set created with a different template though and save quite a bit of typing, as most of the text should work just fine).

Edit: fixed the sample image and added acid arrow, to see if it would fit.


cheers


----------



## Halivar

Hey, Asmor, do you have a companion PDF or something with card backs for your KotS cards for duplex printing?


----------



## meandog

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Alright then. I am now happy enough with the template to get me through KotS at least, though I'd say it is far from finished. At the moment there's no provision for really long cards, for example (White Raven Onslaught is cutting it pretty close). I've included the set I've made for my character. It consists of the known warlord powers (with a bit of conjecture), dragon breath and eyebite.
> Again a reminder: the game files aren't 100% compatible, so bear that in mind when switching between templates (you could use a set created with a different template though and save quite a bit of typing, as most of the text should work just fine).
> 
> Edit: fixed the sample image and added acid arrow, to see if it would fit.
> 
> 
> cheers




Ander00 -  I am still having problems with your file in MSE. I put it the data folder, but still does not work. When i look at the other files in the data file i can not find any other rar files.
what is the rar file extentions?
can you please post the folder you have it in. When others have posted it this way it has worked.  

THank you


----------



## WhatGravitas

meandog said:
			
		

> When i look at the other files in the data file i can not find any other rar files.
> what is the rar file extentions?



You have to uncompress it. RAR is, similar to ZIP, a compressed file.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## meandog

Lord Tirian said:
			
		

> You have to uncompress it. RAR is, similar to ZIP, a compressed file.
> 
> Cheers, LT.





THanks LT
I got it to work.


----------



## Asmor

Halivar said:
			
		

> Hey, Asmor, do you have a companion PDF or something with card backs for your KotS cards for duplex printing?




I do not, sorry.


----------



## tintagel

Kzach said:
			
		

> tintagel, to avoid trawling through the ten pages of posts here that I won't understand the half of anyway, I wanted to ask a question about your template.
> 
> As I understand it, the template you posted just recently (here) is like a plug-in for MSE?
> 
> To avoid running MSE myself and in-putting all that data (yes, I'm lazy), will anyone be making PDF's using your template?




There are 3 things on the http://4e.educatedgamer.net  site for powercards:

1.  The MSE theme folders for use with making your own cards.
2.  Some MSE files that already have card data, for use with the above themes.
3.  PDFs of the final cards (not able to edit these tho).

Not all of mine are in PDF or MSE format yet - but all of my themes are up, and I will have the MSE's up soon - hopefully this weekend.


----------



## tintagel

Sunspot, I think I may have deleted a file of yours by mistake in the PDFs section.  Could you check and re-upload if I did?  Sorry!

Also, I updated my fighter, halfling, and dragonborn themes to be a bit lighter.  They are in the powercards working section, in the BIG zip.  I've also re-itemized all of my themes, so you can get them separately or as one large zip.

I now have separate themes for the Paladin, Cleric, Warlock (fey), Ranger, Fighter, Rogue, and Racial themese for Dragonborn & Halfling.

Direct Link


----------



## Kzach

tintagel said:
			
		

> There are 3 things on the http://4e.educatedgamer.net  site for powercards:
> 
> 1.  The MSE theme folders for use with making your own cards.
> 2.  Some MSE files that already have card data, for use with the above themes.
> 3.  PDFs of the final cards (not able to edit these tho).
> 
> Not all of mine are in PDF or MSE format yet - but all of my themes are up, and I will have the MSE's up soon - hopefully this weekend.



Yeah, thanks. I finally figured out that the preview of the two Power Card sections (Working and Final) were exactly that: previews. Previously I thought that was the sum total of files so was wondering wtf people were talking about, lol.

And thanks to everyone who's put in work on these things. They really are fantastic.


----------



## meandog

tintagel said:
			
		

> Sunspot, I think I may have deleted a file of yours by mistake in the PDFs section.  Could you check and re-upload if I did?  Sorry!
> 
> Also, I updated my fighter, halfling, and dragonborn themes to be a bit lighter.  They are in the powercards working section, in the BIG zip.  I've also re-itemized all of my themes, so you can get them separately or as one large zip.
> 
> I now have separate themes for the Paladin, Cleric, Warlock (fey), Ranger, Fighter, Rogue, and Racial themese for Dragonborn & Halfling.
> 
> Direct Link




Tintagel, Is there any way you can post the full zip file on your divshare site so I can down load them. Thank you.
The race images are great!


----------



## comotose4

*Status Effect Cards*

Hey guys. long time lurker here.  I have been looking around and following this and I must say awesome job.  The question I do have though is this.  I know I saw somewhere in this thread where someone had put up the status effect cards using quintel's design I believe, but since I saw them that first time, I have not been able to find them since.  If someone could direct me to them I would appreciate it.


----------



## sunspot

Okay, I've posted all the known class power cards.
http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home/power-cards-1/powercardsfinal 
(In the Power Cards - Final, Sunspot section)

These include KotS powers and many others 

Hope you guys enjoy!

PS: Now to work on racial powers... (anyone have ideas on what template color I should use for racial powers?) (grey, purple, blue, something else?)


----------



## meandog

[PS: Now to work on racial powers... (anyone have ideas on what template color I should use for racial powers?) (grey, purple, blue, something else?)[/QUOTE]

Some racial powers are at-will, encounter and daily. So stick with the green, red and black. Any other ones i say do in blue. 
Just my thoughts.


----------



## sunspot

Goodpoint meandog, how about the 'mixing/blending of colors?
Or would green blended into blue look too weird?


----------



## hennebeck

Sunspot - I notice on the Cleric page (I haven't checked the rest) the first 3 powers all have the same base page. The same stats on the sides and the same flavour text on the bottom.

Tintagel - Is it possible to get your template in the paint.net format? Obviously, when I open your template it's all one layer.


----------



## sunspot

Thanks for the catch Hennebeck,

I've corrected and re-uploaded the cleric file.

I suspected the cleric might have a few mistakes in it, I was dead tired when I made that one. 
There might be a few mistakes in the KotS powers, because I first tried to convert the bonuses into their respective stats, but then realized I didn't necessarily have all the info, so I've keep most of them in their default mode.

If you see any other errors let me know.

Enjoy!


----------



## Solmancer

meandog said:
			
		

> [PS: Now to work on racial powers... (anyone have ideas on what template color I should use for racial powers?) (grey, purple, blue, something else?)




Some racial powers are at-will, encounter and daily. So stick with the green, red and black. Any other ones i say do in blue. 
Just my thoughts.[/QUOTE]I agree.  Stick with the standard coloring schema; there's not much of a reason to separate out race when the main issue is when the power can be used.  Where it comes from is "just" fluff, really.  Who cares if it's your Wizard ability or your Racial trait?  If there's an item or other powers that affect that, you're probably getting into a more complex, memory/note-demanding situation anyway.


----------



## Knight Otu

A note for all templaters: The next version of MSE, 0.3.6, is expected to be released soon, possibly later today. Templates for 0.3.5 most likely won't work under 0.3.6. This thread on the official forum lists the major differences between the two versions.


----------



## Bayuer

Here are the power cards of all H1 characters in Ander00 style...
Power Cards 

And here are all the magic item in the same style...
H1 Magic Items

Cheers


----------



## tintagel

hennebeck said:
			
		

> Tintagel - Is it possible to get your template in the paint.net format? Obviously, when I open your template it's all one layer.




Sorry, I work exclusively in Photoshop.  Perhaps there is a converter somewhere?


----------



## hennebeck

...


----------



## meandog

sunspot said:
			
		

> Goodpoint meandog, how about the 'mixing/blending of colors?
> Or would green blended into blue look too weird?




I think the blending would be cool....if you can get it to look good. The cards maybe to small, so you might not get the blending to work out.


----------



## AFCErik

Tintagel,

Can you add some icons for free actions (dash, checkmark, x?) and reaction actions (maybe a return arrow like on your enter key on a computer keywobard)? And one for constant effects (infinity symbol, perhaps)?

Thanks!


----------



## sunspot

That's a good idea,
We could definitely use icons for free action.
Reactions/interrupts are the ! but there are a few others we could use.

I really like the current icons so something in that style would be good.

Cheers,


----------



## ZetaStriker

I'm late to this party, but how am I supposed to get the text-only format to work with MSE? It claims to require a 0.3.6 version before freezing up every time I try to access it, but from what I can tell, 0.3.6 doesn't exist yet. 0.3.5b seems to be the latest.


----------



## Ashardalon

ZetaStriker said:
			
		

> I'm late to this party, but how am I supposed to get the text-only format to work with MSE? It claims to require a 0.3.6 version before freezing up every time I try to access it, but from what I can tell, 0.3.6 doesn't exist yet. 0.3.5b seems to be the latest.



The text-only template has been updated to the upcoming release, yes. There are several templates in this thread however that have been specifically created for use as power cards (and 0.3.6 should be released soonish).

*Important Edit:* 0.3.6 isn't as ready as people thought. If any of you have a 0.3.5b version of a template that has been updated to 0.3.6, you should consider uploading it to the appropriate thread in these forums if it hasn't already.


----------



## Rafe

Saishu_Heiki said:
			
		

> For everyone that wants to make their own power cards for 4e, I have begun to create some as a proof of concept.
> 
> I use a program called Magic Set Editor (link) and a form with a full text box (link). It is really easy to differentiate the types of powers. I use bronze for at-will, silver for encounter, and gold for daily. They print out standard size for playing cards and look as good as you want them to look.
> 
> I have tested it with the cleric powers (because they had some of the largest text blocks and I wanted to see if it would work even then). I am very happy with the result, and I now have no desire to buy a power deck from WotC.
> 
> Cheers!




I may simply be a moron, but how did you get that to work?  The full-text template (second link) says it requires v0.3.6 of Magic Set Editor, yet v0.3.5b is the latest possible version.  Did you get an older version of the full-text template?  If so, could you link to that one?  The link provided above causes MSE 2 to crash on me, and warns me that I need to upgrade to the latest version (which hasn't been released).

edit:  Okay, just now saw the post above mine.  So the full-text version was created with 0.3.5 for what most of you have made or are using, but recently they've gone to 0.3.6?  So I'm thinking I'll have to wait for that release before I can use this program.  Yea/nay?


----------



## Rafe

Sorry for the double-post, but the version conflicts have been fixed.  The full-text template has been fixed for MSE version 0.3.5b, so anyone who had troubles between the original post with links and this morning can now rock and roll.

Thanks to LordPenguin who did the template for the exceptionally fast turn-around time!!


----------



## KnightCa

Heya Sunspot,

Noticed a few errata in your excellent power cards that could be updated. Great work by the way. Please notify us if you update them.

Errata:
Cleric Card - Beacon of Hope: Uses Wisdom vs Will, not a straight +3.
Cleric Card - Channel Divinity (all 3 cards): "The target moves its speed + 2 squares away from" needs to be removed.
Cleric Card - Daunting Light: Uses Wisdom vs Ref, not a straight +3.
Cleric Card - Healing Strike: Uses Will vs Ref, not a straight +4.


----------



## tintagel

AFCErik said:
			
		

> Tintagel,
> 
> Can you add some icons for free actions (dash, checkmark, x?) and reaction actions (maybe a return arrow like on your enter key on a computer keywobard)? And one for constant effects (infinity symbol, perhaps)?
> 
> Thanks!




My new cards have a dash for the Free action.  Not sure yet about the other icons - if anyone wants to make them, I would be glad to incorporate those.

Get them here, under Tintagel


----------



## GakToid

If this has already been discussed, please point me in the correct direction.

You guys have done incredible work. I'm artistically challenged, so I don't have much to contribute in terms of set templates.

It seems silly to have to enter the data for every set. Ideally some type of mail-merge would be cool. Since MSE doesn't support that type of interaction (as far as I can tell) and since the set data is in a zipped raw text format, it seems trivial to create a perl/python script to take a CSV file of all the power data and generate a set file that is compatible with any template. Or at least one template.

The hard part is agreeing on what data should be in the CSV file and then entering it.

I volunteer to help in anyway I can.

Finally, has anyone created a 'printer friendly' template? White backgrounds, solid colors, etc?

-Gak Toid


----------



## James McMurray

These look great, but I've got a couple questions.

1) How do I get the pdfs? When I click on the file links on the page Tintagel linked to I'm given a page that says "click here to download." Unfortunately, when I click there I'm taken to another copy of that page and invited to click again.

2) What's the best way to print these out? 

3) Has anyone done something like this on index cards?


----------



## tintagel

Creative Commons license is back up on the site, with some clarifications.  Hopefully, this works for the artists without infringing on WOTC's licenses.


----------



## Milo Taproot

I need to jump in the thread and thank all the template creators; especially tintagel who's template I have used all weekend.   

I made cards for all the level 1-2 powers in preparation for the start our upcoming game and am very happy with how the cards turned out; even without the use of  "personal" or "free action" symbols.  

Though after seeing talk of the new symbols,  I am curious when (or if) you are going to post a new version of the template?

If you do post a new template will it going to use MSE2 3.5b or MSE2 3.6?  

And if it uses 3.6, do you have any idea if the data sets I built will be compatible?

Thanks.


----------



## Bayuer

@Ander00
I wonder if you could help me out. I know it's realy simple for you. Could you add an orange color to your template? I'm looking on magic items and it's they native color. Also what with 0.36 version update? Or maybe you made a new version of your template. I thinks it's the best here. Ink saving clear and esasy to read. My players realy appreciate your effort.


----------



## Ander00

I've made some changes to my template. There are still a few that I'd like to make before posting an update, but I'll probably do that within the next few days (it's still a 0.3.5 version as of right now, I haven't really had a look at 0.3.6 yet).

As an aside: I am going to have a complete set. But would it really be cool to distribute that? From WotC's point of view I mean, seeing as to how that's a fair chunk of the PHB right there (you can pretty much play the game with that and the preview material, especially if someone also makes a magic item set).
I'd like helping out the community, but I'd prefer to avoid stepping on any toes in the process. Not that I think it'd hurt them in any way, but still.


cheers


----------



## Morrus

Ander00 said:
			
		

> As an aside: I am going to have a complete set. But would it really be cool to distribute that? From WotC's point of view I mean, seeing as to how that's a fair chunk of the PHB right there (you can pretty much play the game with that and the preview material, especially if someone also makes a magic item set).
> I'd like helping out the community, but I'd prefer to avoid stepping on any toes in the process. Not that I think it'd hurt them in any way, but still.
> 
> 
> cheers




If you wait till June 6th for the GSL, you may find that you can do just that under the license.


----------



## Ander00

Morrus said:
			
		

> If you wait till June 6th for the GSL, you may find that you can do just that under the license.



Awesomesauce. I wasn't really following things GSL-related very closely and was under the impression that things would be more restrictive this time around. Well, one complete set coming up shortly then .


cheers


----------



## Bayuer

Ander00 said:
			
		

> I've made some changes to my template. There are still a few that I'd like to make before posting an update, but I'll probably do that within the next few days (it's still a 0.3.5 version as of right now, I haven't really had a look at 0.3.6 yet).




Cool. I'm waiting for your upload and glad you still workin' on 0.3.5 couse 0.3.6. don't run on my comp


----------



## Ashardalon

Bayuer said:
			
		

> Cool. I'm waiting for your upload and glad you still workin' on 0.3.5 couse 0.3.6. don't run on my comp



Try this patch or, if you already removed 0.3.6, try downloading 0.3.6b. If neither helps, try downloading the Win 9x fix, regardless of your actual operating system.

As an additional note, Lord Tirian's and my power card templates and my DDM RPG stats template are now updated to 0.3.6.


----------



## halo99

It hurts me to ask this.

Has anyone got blank versions of these cards, with white space to write in?

I haven't checked all of the thread (too long ) which is why it pains me to ask something that has most likely been answered.

I was looking for something with the Green, red, black headers and then just white space to add in the rest of the power information (like range, target, action type, hit, miss etc.)

Thanks guys, great work as well


----------



## Mercutio01

Ashardalon said:
			
		

> As an additional note, Lord Tirian's and my power card templates and my DDM RPG stats template are now updated to 0.3.6.



How much work was that?  I was thinking of downloading 3.6 and updating my personal set, but I don't want to have to do a lot of rework.  And since I am only using MSE for my power cards, would it really be worth the updating aggravation anyway?


----------



## Netminder69

So happy to see these tools!  One question though:

While fiddling with Troll's set in MSE, when i export the cards I get the checkerboard background where an image would go.  I don't see any image file to load in there that is the back ground color.  Any help with this?

EDIT: NVM, i found the blank jpg...


----------



## KnightCa

*Templates*

Removing post.


----------



## Knight Otu

Mercutio01 said:
			
		

> How much work was that?  I was thinking of downloading 3.6 and updating my personal set, but I don't want to have to do a lot of rework.  And since I am only using MSE for my power cards, would it really be worth the updating aggravation anyway?



Shouldn't be much work. Take a look at this thread; you'll need to add dependencies (if you have a separate game file, it most likely doesn't need dependencies), probably update versions, and might want to check include file references.


----------



## Zinovia

JosiahKnight said:
			
		

> I think the card design was originally Randals.



The card looks great.  Careful only has one "L", not two.  So was this done with the MtG card creator then?  I also haven't read the entire thread as it's *huge*.


----------



## MrJamela

That is a pretty cool program.

Is there any kind of documentation around for it? I can't seem to find any.


----------



## Netminder69

I am making my own cards with Randal's set, and I found a problem with it.  In the box for putting the Attack parameters, the text in the box can't take a + sign.  It shows up as a period.  It can take a - but not a +.  Weird.  Any way to fix that?


----------



## KnightCa

*Templates*

Removed post.


----------



## sunspot

*Sunspot's Cards*

Hi Everyone,

I’ve just updated the Fan publishing site  with all the level 1 powers for my cards!

Notice: I will not be releasing a working template for my power cards.

If anyone draws inspiration from currently designed cards in order to develop their own template that is perfectly fine. But personally, I would rather people not attempt to ‘fill-in’ or modify my cards. (I’m happy to do that myself)

*I will be releasing complete sets for each level and every class!* (Yes, I enjoy it!)


PS: Special thanks to all those who’ve contributed to our great projects and specially to Tintagel for maintaining the 4e Fan publishing site!

Thanks!


----------



## Keltheos

Excellent work, all. Love what you've done and hope to see more! Thanks for heading this up so early in the game's life. Was talking earlier about how beneficial something like this would be!!


----------



## mvincent

sunspot said:
			
		

> I’ve just updated the Fan publishing site  with all the level 1 powers for my cards!



*Very* nice work Sunspot! Your placement of range numbers next to the attack icons feels particularly intuitive and useful to me.


----------



## KnightCa

I would love to be able to get the blank card backgrounds used for these cards. That way, we can create our own cards. Is that possible?


----------



## Veilheim

sunspot said:
			
		

> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I’ve just updated the Fan publishing site  with all the level 1 powers for my cards!
> 
> Notice: I will not be releasing a working template for my power cards.
> 
> If anyone draws inspiration from currently designed cards in order to develop their own template that is perfectly fine. But personally, I would rather people not attempt to ‘fill-in’ or modify my cards. (I’m happy to do that myself)
> 
> *I will be releasing complete sets for each level and every class!* (Yes, I enjoy it!)
> 
> 
> PS: Special thanks to all those who’ve contributed to our great projects and specially to Tintagel for maintaining the 4e Fan publishing site!
> 
> Thanks!




Sunspot, I love your cards.  I noticed some editing issues, though.  Is there something some of the rest of us can do to help you?


----------



## sunspot

Veilheim said:
			
		

> Sunspot, I love your cards.  I noticed some editing issues, though.  Is there something some of the rest of us can do to help you?



Absolutely!

For starters, advice on layout modifications is always welcome. Furthermore Pointing out editing mistakes is also greatly appreciated, (I would rather you email me those, in order to not clog the thread). But most importantly I need to have the powers in txt format, in order to facilitate cut/paste of power descriptions. If you find a good link for this please let me know!

Thanks for the support!

I will do my best to have all the powers out within 1-2 weeks.


----------



## Netminder69

*Complete Fighter Cards*

These two archives hold the .jpg files of the complete set of Fighter cards.  Including Paragon Paths and Class Features.

These were used with Randal's template in MSE.  I tried to keep the body text as clean as possible, so any action type, attack parameters etc. that had a box on the side to place the info are not represented in the body text unless there's something special about them.   Even so it made it hard to fit everything on the card sometimes (Kensei Weaponsoul dance being the hardest).

In regards to the action icons, I used the weapons surrounded by a circle to represent utility, special action, or support abilities.  Ones without the circle are attacks.

Enjoy.  If someone has Illustrator/Photoshop, etc and wants to put these images onto a sheet, please be my guest.  I don't have those programs myself.

EDIT: also, if someone wants to host these somewhere, be my guest.

MSE creates images that are 7.5" high.  To make them the size of playing cards they should be scaled to 3.5" high x 2.5" wide.

Have fun with the new edition!


----------



## Iceman75

sunspot said:
			
		

> Absolutely!
> 
> For starters, advice on layout modifications is always welcome. Furthermore Pointing out editing mistakes is also greatly appreciated, (I would rather you email me those, in order to not clog the thread). But most importantly I need to have the powers in txt format, in order to facilitate cut/paste of power descriptions. If you find a good link for this please let me know!
> 
> Thanks for the support!
> 
> I will do my best to have all the powers out within 1-2 weeks.





A general request that you incorperate backs to them, please?

Thank you for all your hard work


----------



## sircedric4

I did not see this power card thread when I made this thread:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=229430

Or I would have put the information here instead.  Now that I am more educated, here is another little file I put together for making your own power cards.

I put together an Excel file for my own personal use to make and fill in trading card size blanks for the character powers in 4e. After looking at all the powers in the Player's Handbook, it appears as if most of the powers are pretty consistent through most of the levels. With this in mind I decided to attach a little database to my power card blanks to create a generator so that once I enter a character's powers it will be there for any future characters.

I liked it so much that I decided to throw a few directions on it and I added to my website for all to use. I am posting it here so that you guys can use it for your own games. Please take a look and let me know if this is something you can use, and give some constructive feedback. It meets my needs but I know some other player's are more demanding.

The link is:
http://beliefsciences.com/4efiles.html

There are screenshots in the other thread I referenced.


----------



## halo99

Unrelated website, but that excel sheet is awesome.

How long did it take to make?

Thank you very much for this.

EDIT: Loving the sheet however a few questions.

1) How do i add more power slots seeing as there is only 6.
2) I just added the 4th power, and all of the "cards" afterwards seem to have become that card, is this meant to happen?
3) Is it possible to order the drop down menu?
4) Is it possible to add in power levels? (On the drop down menu as well)?


----------



## sunspot

Iceman75 said:
			
		

> A general request that you incorperate backs to them, please?




Done!
I've added to my folder a pdf with Nytmare's excellent card backs.
It's a separate file, just reverse page and print.

Here.


----------



## sircedric4

halo99 said:
			
		

> Unrelated website, but that excel sheet is awesome.
> 
> How long did it take to make?
> 
> Thank you very much for this.
> 
> EDIT: Loving the sheet however a few questions.
> 
> 1) How do i add more power slots seeing as there is only 6.
> 2) I just added the 4th power, and all of the "cards" afterwards seem to have become that card, is this meant to happen?
> 3) Is it possible to order the drop down menu?
> 4) Is it possible to add in power levels? (On the drop down menu as well)?





Yeah the website is not exactly related, outside the magic theme, but it is the only webspace I have access to so I took advantage, and a little traffic never hurts.  At least I did link straight to the files without all that crappy popup stuff people do.

I'll try to answer your questions, and keep in mind that the database file hasn't exactly been "user-friendlyed" yet. 

1.  There should be 9 power cards.  It would be relatively advanced to add more cards to the existing page, which is why I added the drop down menu.  Setup the cards for the powers you want and print it, then setup for the next cards.  All the data stays in the database so you only have to use the name box to find it again.

2.  The power on the cards have to be reselected right now after every power added and every sort of the database.  I just enter the powers I want all at one time, and then choose the ones I want to print right before printing.

3.  You can order the dropdown menu by sorting the database page.  You can sort it anyway you want using the Excel Data sort function but there is already two sorts "macro'd" using the dropdown on the database page.

4. Now that you pointed it out, I do see where I didn't have the power level on my cards.  I will see about fixing that and adding it to the dropdown menu.  Having not gotten to play yet, this kind of information is great.  Levels to be added.

It took me about 8 hours with the programming and formatting to complete the file.  I did it basically for my own uses but I was so happy with its simplicity and use I added it to the greater web so that other's could use it if they want.  I hope you enjoy it and I'll fix the file and get a new one up in a few hours.


----------



## Ander00

*The Set* (dnd_powers_set.rar)
This set consists of 1127 cards in total, including the powers from classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats and races (from the PHB and the MM, as well as Dragon issues 364 through 367), as well as blank cards to fill in for the different item types (though you can also use the template to make finished cards for different items).

By popular demand, I have included things like second wind, power attack and various class features. I'd rather not muddy the waters like that (for example, second wind isn't supposed to interact like that with effects that recharge encounter powers) and further increase each player's hand size, but the information is there on cards now for those of you who want it.

Also contained in the set are swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, and the barbarian powers from Dragon 368.

If you're using a template based on Randolph's "D&D" game file, you can probabably still use the set, but you will have to reenter some of the information.

There is also a separate set (contained in bard_n_druid.rar) that includes the powers for saric's bard and malcolm_n's druid. I've made a few cosmetic changes to them ('1 [w]+...' to '1[W] +...', etc. , but that's as far as my editting went (except for a few isolated cases like the bard's Mind Fog power, which was missing a target line and listed the targets in the attack line).


*The Template* (mse-template-Ander.rar)
The template should work properly with MSE versions 3.0.6 and 3.0.7, and includes a style option for completely bland (or more printer-friendly, if you will) and not quite so bland cards (see attached samples). Comes with its own MSE game file.


*Installing the Template*
In case you are unfamiliar with MSE and aren't sure how to load a set, here are some short instructions to point you in the right direction.
Download and install MSE version 0.3.6.
Put everything from 'mse-template-Ander.rar' into the 'data' directory of the MSE installation.
Extract and open the 'core_complete.mse-set' contained in 'core_complete_set.rar'.
If you have never dealt with .rar archives before, you may need to get WinRar or some other compression tool that supports .rar files.
If you have previously used MSE, you might have to delete the 'mse8.config' file found in your '...Application Data/Magic Set Editor' directory.
If you have problems with MSE itself, you might have to download the Windows 9x fix, even if you are using Windows XP.


*Power Card PDFs*
If you are so inclinded, you can download the whole set in PDF form.
I'd still advise you to use the MSE option because you can easily make your own corrections as needed, add your own cards, and specify exactly which cards you want to print. But if, for some reason, you cannot get MSE to work, maybe you can get some use out of these PDFs.

_With the 30/06/08 update, these cards are out of date. There are PDFs further down the thread, at least to the point of the 05/07/08 update._


*Browsing the Set*
You'll probably find browsing the set most comfortable sorting by the 'Power Class/Type/Level' column. The 'source' column might be hidden by default. If that is the case and you want to have it shown, you can activate it in the menu under 'Cards->Card List Columns...'.


*Printing the Cards*
MSE assumes a paper size of A4. There are some tips on getting it to work properly for other sizes further down the thread.
__________________

Edit (07/06/08): fixed a few errors in the set.
Edit (08/06/08): corrected erroneous information about compatibility.
Edit (09/06/08): a few more fixes to the set; also added the warforged DDI material.
Edit (14/06/08): corrected a few more errors and incorporated the PHB errata.
Edit (14/06/08 #2): another small fix to the set; added short installation instructions.
Edit (14/06/08 #3): added link to the power cards as PDFs.
Edit (18/06/08): changed PDF link to an up-to-date versions (thanks to Colawley).
Edit (30/06/08):

More fixes: Added the missing Shadow Veil and Bolstering Strike Powers. Fixed errors in Frontline Surge, Deadly Payback, Raven's Glamour, and Hurl through Hell.
Added powers for saric's bard.
Added powers for malcolm_n's druid.
Added powers for the swordmage.
Added wizard illusion powers from dragon 364.
Added warlord pack master powers from dragon 364.
Populated the cards' 'source' field.
Added powers for class features, second wind, and power attack.
Edit (05/07/08):

Fixed a few errors (mostly cosmetic, with the most glaring ones being a wrong icon for the Nimble Strike exploit, and removal of the 'DRUID' placeholder card).
Incorporated errata for the powers from Dragon #364 (please let me know if I missed any).
Added powers for the artificer playtest from Dragon #365.
Edit (25/09/08):

Added the remaining powers from Dragon up to issue 366.
Added swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
Incorporated the latest errata to the core powers.
A few more error corrections.
Edit (30/10/08):

Added the powers from Dragon 367.
Added the barbarian powers from Dragon 368.
Moved the fan-made bard and druid to their own set.
A few more error corrections.


cheers


----------



## MrJamela

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Now that (almost) everyone has their books, here's the update to my MSE template, as well as a complete set of cards. I hope some of you will find either of those useful.
> If you like, feel free to host them on the Fan publishing site (I'm just not getting a gmail account for that), or do whatever else you please with them.



They look great!

Has anyone made a PDF of these? 

Jaime


----------



## syndalis

MrJamela said:
			
		

> They look great!
> 
> Has anyone made a PDF of these?
> 
> Jaime



 Making PDFs from these things is a major PITA; all the printouts are HUGE.


----------



## Asmor

Just download a PDF distiller. For example, CutePDF.

It installs a virtual printer which you can print to from any application. Thus you can make a PDF from any application which you can print from.


----------



## Bayuer

@Ander00
Wow man! Thats a great stuff. Best on ENworld! Gratz!

@MrJamal
Here you go
http://sharebase.de/files/IQnFsh0G17.html


----------



## mindshadow2k

Asmor said:
			
		

> Just download a PDF distiller. For example, CutePDF.
> 
> It installs a virtual printer which you can print to from any application. Thus you can make a PDF from any application which you can print from.




Hehe the issue is not the actual software to create the pdf, its the Magic Card Editor software and how it converts its data.  When you go to say just print off like a single set of say Cleric spells it sends an almost 1gig file to the print spooler and that is just 11 pages.  Although good news is tat the 11 pages when completed printing is only 14 mb, but it still takes a long time to crunch through the spool job.

If you try to print off the whole thing then well you kinda SOL.  It is like you have to do 1 page at a time, which is not very fun.

This is unless I am missing something in the MSE app.

FYI other then that I love your cards @Ander00, they are exactly what i was looking for.  I did pretty much the exact same thing in an image application as opposed to MSE, but only finished with the first level spells for all classes.  Now if I could just get yours to not create a 1 gig spool job... grrrrr


----------



## Duckforceone

sad to see that tintagel removed all his wonderful templates from the website..

now we have no nifty great looking templates for power cards...


----------



## Veilheim

sunspot said:
			
		

> Absolutely!
> 
> For starters, advice on layout modifications is always welcome. Furthermore Pointing out editing mistakes is also greatly appreciated, (I would rather you email me those, in order to not clog the thread). But most importantly I need to have the powers in txt format, in order to facilitate cut/paste of power descriptions. If you find a good link for this please let me know!
> 
> Thanks for the support!
> 
> I will do my best to have all the powers out within 1-2 weeks.




Sun, do you want these as a word/doc file or a pure text file?  I've got the cleric powers all done, just need to know exactly how you want the file format.


----------



## Ander00

In case you want those, I have most of the powers in word files now (I didn't use this mode of operation for warlord powers, which I did first, so those are missing). The warlock ones I only have with some abbreviations ('Constitution modifier' -> 'Con', 'Fortitude' -> 'Fort', etc.), all others I should have in full and in that variant. Also, at least the name, flavor text and rules text should work fine if you load my set with your template.


cheers


----------



## Daelkyr

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Now that (almost) everyone has their books, here's the update to my MSE template, as well as a complete set of cards. I hope some of you will find either of those useful. ...




And helpful they are. I'm running a game tonight and they have sped up char design to no end. Thank you very much.

On a related note, how does one edit the files so they can add their own race in the keyword drop-down menu? I want to add Warforged to the list of races.

Thanks again.

- Josh


----------



## Ander00

You could just type it in of course, but if you want to add it to the drop-down menu, all you have to do is to find the following part in the game file:


		Code:
	

	word:
		name: Tiefling
		line below: true

And replace it with:


		Code:
	

	word: Tiefling
	word:
		name: Warforged
		line below: true


cheers


----------



## Veilheim

Ander00 said:
			
		

> In case you want those, I have most of the powers in word files now (I didn't use this mode of operation for warlord powers, which I did first, so those are missing). The warlock ones I only have with some abbreviations ('Constitution modifier' -> 'Con', 'Fortitude' -> 'Fort', etc.), all others I should have in full and in that variant. Also, at least the name, flavor text and rules text should work fine if you load my set with your template.
> 
> 
> cheers




Hi Ander, so I tried loading your files in (after upgrading) and mse blows up on me instantly.  I'm obviously doing something wrong.  Can you point me to where I might learn about not being stupid? 

Thanks!
V


----------



## GMLtd

*The Plan*

So is anyone going to go through the Player's Handbook and do ALL the cards for (I like Troll's) template?  That is an aweful lot of printing, wonder if a printing company would do it if it was JUST for personal use?  After all, if WotC decide to make blank cards for personal use, why cant we print out a professional set of cards that are type faced instead of hand written.  No one is going to sell the cards so no one will be making a profit.  Blank cards already have the "You may photocopy this sheet for personal use..." tagged onto it.


----------



## Ander00

Veilheim said:
			
		

> Hi Ander, so I tried loading your files in (after upgrading) and mse blows up on me instantly.  I'm obviously doing something wrong.  Can you point me to where I might learn about not being stupid?
> 
> Thanks!
> V



Ah, my bad, I think. I was under the impression that everyone else's templates were still pretty much based on the game file mine forked off of, but it appears that this isn't the case anymore. So rather than not 100% compatible, the game files are probably going to be quite incompatible, sorry.

Edit: if you mean with my game file, have you tried deleting the 'mse8.config' file in your '...Application Data\Magic Set Editor' directory first?


cheers


----------



## Ricochet

The MSE application died on me too while loading, almost immediately. Might be a Windows Vista thing.


----------



## PeelSeel2

Mine died on me instantly too then I put all the folders from his template into the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data

Then I re-opened his complete set and viola!  Power goodness!!

Thanks Ander00!!


----------



## meandog

Ander00 said:
			
		

> In case you want those, I have most of the powers in word files now (I didn't use this mode of operation for warlord powers, which I did first, so those are missing). The warlock ones I only have with some abbreviations ('Constitution modifier' -> 'Con', 'Fortitude' -> 'Fort', etc.), all others I should have in full and in that variant. Also, at least the name, flavor text and rules text should work fine if you load my set with your template.
> 
> 
> cheers




Ander...where your link to down load your MSE files? Or the word files
Thank you


----------



## sunspot

Ander00,
Could you send me the .doc powers file at sunspot72[a]gmail[dot]com
Thanks


----------



## Khaalis

To Ander00,

I absolutely love your card format. This is perfect tracking the exact numbers for each power. I also think it will work well using them in slip covers with dry erase markers for numbers that might change as the game goes on.

2 Quick Questions.

1) Could you also send me the .doc powers file? You can email me through my profile.

2) You show an example of a printer friendly version of the cards (no shading). Is the only way to get a set of these to go into the settings for each card and change them from Default to Plain? Or do you have a set pre-saved in plain format?  Just curious.


----------



## Daelkyr

Khaalis said:
			
		

> ...
> 
> 2) You show an example of a printer friendly version of the cards (no shading). Is the only way to get a set of these to go into the settings for each card and change them from Default to Plain? Or do you have a set pre-saved in plain format?  Just curious.




I don't now about Ander00, but I found that if you go into the style folder and simply delete the default files and than add copies of the plain files with the default names, you'll get the desired results. That's what I did.


----------



## Ander00

meandog said:
			
		

> Ander...where your link to down load your MSE files?



This post.







			
				sunspot said:
			
		

> Could you send me the .doc powers file at sunspot72[a]gmail[dot]com





			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> 1) Could you also send me the .doc powers file? You can email me through my profile.



I get the feeling the thread would get cluttered with requests, and I'd be quite busy sending emails out, so I'll just add them to the other post.







			
				Khaalis said:
			
		

> 2) You show an example of a printer friendly version of the cards (no shading). Is the only way to get a set of these to go into the settings for each card and change them from Default to Plain? Or do you have a set pre-saved in plain format? Just curious.



Adding a second style was something of an afterthought, so currently you'd have to  change the style for the set, and then for any individual cards that already had style options set (cards with long names or rules texts). Alternatively, if you want the simpler style to be the default, you could just do as Daelkyr suggests, or rename the image files in the template directory, so that 'card[color].png' becomes 'card[color]2.png' and vice versa.

p.s.: fixed a few more errors in the set, gave the rogue melee/ranged powers the slightly larger damage boxes and added the stuff from the warforged article.


cheers


----------



## st3v1l

Ander00, 

Any chance you'd want to contribute your files to this Power Cards site some of the others here have started? Or have em hosted someplace else? 

You have done an amazing job on this, and I just want some place to keep track of updates that you make. I am worried as this thread is getting so big updates could get lost.

I will also make a suggestion to you and all the other card makers for 2 cards to add to your decks; 2nd wind and action points (with the description of how to use them). Probably not as critical but you could also make approaching death cards (when you get 3 of these, you really are dead). 

Stevil


----------



## Ander00

st3v1l said:
			
		

> Any chance you'd want to contribute your files to this Power Cards site some of the others here have started? Or have em hosted someplace else?



While I have no problem with my files being hosted there, I have so far avoided getting a gmail account and would like to keep it that way (even if that might sound a bit irrational to you). Also, it might be a bit confusing, due to the different game files used, unless someone makes an effort to make them compatible again. That won't be me, as I've made my template to suit my needs and as great as some of the others may be, I probably won't use them. And I don't really see everyone adopting my game file that is the result of some lazy hacking.
Maybe the somewhere else option would be the more sensible one.







			
				st3v1l said:
			
		

> I will also make a suggestion to you and all the other card makers for 2 cards to add to your decks; 2nd wind and action points (with the description of how to use them). Probably not as critical but you could also make approaching death cards (when you get 3 of these, you really are dead).



I've consciously avoided making those, as those are effects that will pretty much stay constant and are easily enough remembered. As is, any given character will approach something like 20 power cards towards the end of his career, adding cards above and beyond that will get unwieldy fast (especially for someone like me, who's currently playing two characters in one campaign).
However, there is nothing stopping you from making them yourself with the template. If you keep them in a separate set, they won't conflict with whatever updates I make to the general one.

Edit: for the time being, if you want to check for updates, you can just go directly to the post at http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4274554&postcount=568 .


cheers


----------



## The Real Aranan

I'm a little late getting into this discussion, but I went to the shared website and tried to find the working files... it appears they're all gone. Was there a reason for taking down the PSDs and whatnot? Those are what I really wanted


----------



## Archon of Light

*An Alternate Design*

I've been quietly watching this thread for the last few days since the official release. Like many others, I love the idea of using actual cards in play for the new system and admire the effort and talent being displayed here. However, I found that none of these examples really suited my own personal tastes (no offense). But rather than come here and gripe or whine to get others to do something different just for me, I decided to take it upon myself to create my own cards for my home game.  

And then show them off here. 

The major differences between my own designs and those shared here are: they're not your standard 'trading card'-sized, they're much more (almost painfully) colorful, and they don't utilize a bunch of symbols like a trading card game might use. And rather than waste the backside with a lovely (but ultimately useless) back cover, - I don't think we need to hide the identity of our character's power cards that we intend to use in play - I utilized both sides for game information. Both front and back are printed on the same page, side-by-side so they fold against each other to form a single card without worrying if your printer will line up the paper properly trying to print on both sides. (What a headache that was until I figured that out!)

I've completed an entire set for each class for power levels 1-3. The images below are samples of an at-will, encounter, and daily power. The original documents are in pdf format and print beautifully (though my inkjet cartridges are expected to dry up real fast!). I'm not really looking for suggestions or criticisms since I've done these mostly for myself (and getaway from the more common designs already being offered by others), but I will accept constructive feedback and criticisms. However, if enough people are interested in this as an alternate design to what has been mostly available, I might make them available for those interested.


----------



## mflayermonk

Those are great Archon of Light. Could you upload the rest when you finish please?


----------



## Gilwen

I really like those Archon. I'd be intrested in any of the files you'd like to share. In fact, i'd like to use your card format for some of my own card ideas. Would you be willign to share your working files or post some blank cards for powers and a few blanks in a different colors?

Thanks,

Gil


----------



## meandog

Archon of Light said:
			
		

> I've completed an entire set for each class for power levels 1-3. The images below are samples of an at-will, encounter, and daily power. The original documents are in pdf format and print beautifully (though my inkjet cartridges are expected to dry up real fast!). I'm not really looking for suggestions or criticisms since I've done these mostly for myself (and getaway from the more common designs already being offered by others), but I will accept constructive feedback and criticisms. However, if enough people are interested in this as an alternate design to what has been mostly available, I might make them available for those interested.




Archon...What program did you use to make them? I would be interested in your files. thank you


----------



## dagger

Ander00 said:
			
		

> I got it thanks....





What do you print them out on and what with? Just want to make sure mine don't suck. 

Thanks!!!!


----------



## Ander00

dagger said:
			
		

> What do you print them out on and what with? Just want to make sure mine don't suck.



Hrmm, I got what?

Incidentally, due to some printer mishaps, the cards I am using right now do suck (finally printed them on an old inkjet printer that was running out of color and generally not performing too well). Next time I print them out I'll make sure the printer works as it should first, or get a color cartridge for my own.

Other than that, I find that normal paper works well enough for my purposes. I put them in sleeves to add a bit more stability and ensure they are somewhat safe from whatever beverages and snacks are on the game table. You could of course print them on sturdier paper, put cardboard pieces of the same size into the sleeves or what have you.


cheers


----------



## Archon of Light

I feel like I might potentially hi-jack the thread over other conversations, so I might start a new one before long. In the meantime, for those curious few, I used Paint Shop Pro for creating the images, then Word to insert the text in the appropriate areas, and a pdf compiler to convert the document into a format that's optimized for printing.

I used medium-grade cardstock paper for printing (at 600 dpi). Then I cut and folded each one, using basic glue sticks to keep the sides pressed together until I got them laminated at a local office supply store (cost about $1.50 to do a dozen or so cards, but now I don't have to worry about wear and tear, stains, etc. making it more cost effective than reprinting replacements regularly).

If/when I host them elsewhere for download, you'll be able to copy the background images from the pdf file easily enough for your own use. I don't want to make any promises about making special blank sheets available at this time since I'm more focused on making complete sets for all classes at all levels. I guess it really just depends on the response for them. (I'm debating creating my own website for this kind of thing... been debating it for a while. I'm waiting to see what the GSL will allow and whatnot before getting in too deep. I'll keep the interested few posted.)


----------



## bonHomm3

*Clean Power Cards*

Hey all,

I love all the power cards designed thus far. I've been fooling around with my own; moving around the design elements in the PHB, mirroring (blatantly copying) the style in these cards. I've used bitmaps of the PHB I own for the text to make the whole process move a lot faster. I also love the clean design and didn't think I could improve on it

Another addition I feel is useful is an inclusion of the power category for easier sorting as well as a reference in case of a rules dispute. This will also allow for easy reference to new powers that will inevitably appear in publications outside the core rulebooks.

I've made cards for fighter and paladin classes up to level 5 as High Res PDF. I've only linked one low res jpg though. I'd like to host the PDFs somewhere for everyone to download, any takers?

Jesse


----------



## SBalrog

@Ander00:

For magic items, I would like to add the price of the item myself, so if you could add a new field for this, it would be appreciated.

The Racial Feat for the Eladrin - Fey Step - has the icon for Minor Action not Move Action in your set file.


----------



## Plane Sailing

bonHomm3 said:
			
		

> ...
> 
> I've used bitmaps of the PHB I own for the text to make the whole process move a lot faster.
> 
> ... I'd like to host the PDFs somewhere for everyone to download, any takers?




Sorry mate, but that constitutes distributing copyright materials and we can't allow ENworld to be used for such discussions (or for distributing copyright materials either).


----------



## Gilwen

edited by me.

gil


----------



## Ander00

SBalrog said:
			
		

> For magic items, I would like to add the price of the item myself, so if you could add a new field for this, it would be appreciated.



I'm not following. All the items have a box labeled 'Price'. What exactly are you trying to do?







			
				SBalrog said:
			
		

> The Racial Feat for the Eladrin - Fey Step - has the icon for Minor Action not Move Action in your set file.



Thanks. I've corrected that error as well as a few others, and incorporated the PHB errata into the set.


cheers


----------



## Veilheim

Ander, 

Would it be possible to get a straight gold card without the circles on the top bar?  I'd like to use it for magic items.  

Thank you so much!!

Veilheim


----------



## Thanel

*How do you arrange those MSE files to open the set up?*

I donwloaded Ander00's MSE files, but haven't been able to get MSE to open them properly.   
What do you suggest as a procedure to open the Power Cards set up that Ander00 has thoughtfully made?


----------



## SBalrog

Ander00 said:
			
		

> I'm not following. All the items have a box labeled 'Price'. What exactly are you trying to do?Thanks. I've corrected that error as well as a few others, and incorporated the PHB errata into




Yes, but there is no field where you can enter the price into the price box (or if there is I cannot find / trigger it). I would like to enter the price / value of the item prior to printing it.

I would also like to second the request for a gold card without the circles, and ditto for the blue card.


----------



## Ander00

Veilheim said:
			
		

> Would it be possible to get a straight gold card without the circles on the top bar?  I'd like to use it for magic items.





			
				SBalrog said:
			
		

> I would also like to second the request for a gold card without the circles, and ditto for the blue card.



Sure, here you go. Just put these pictures into the style directory, or rename them first if you want to replace a different type of card.







			
				Thanel said:
			
		

> What do you suggest as a procedure to open the Power Cards set up that Ander00 has thoughtfully made?




Download and install MSE version 0.3.6.
Put everything from 'mse-template-Ander.rar' into the 'data' directory of the MSE installation.
Open the 'core_complete.mse-set' contained in 'core_complete_set.rar'.
If you have never dealt with .rar archives before, you may need to get WinRar or some other compression tool that supports .rar files.
If you have previously used MSE, you might have to delete the 'mse8.config' file found in your '...Application Data/Magic Set Editor' directory.
If you have problems with MSE itself, you might have to download the Windows 9x fix, even if you are using Windows XP.







			
				SBalrog said:
			
		

> Yes, but there is no field where you can enter the price into the price box (or if there is I cannot find / trigger it). I would like to enter the price / value of the item prior to printing it.



I see. I might add that if/when I make an update to the game/style files.


cheers


----------



## Ander00

For all the PDF-fans out there: One of the guys in my group has made my set into PDFs (with separate files for each class and such, each about 20 MB in size). I'll see about making those available (though the current files were made before the latest batch of fixes to the set).


cheers


----------



## Ander00

UPDATE: added a link to the powers in PDF form to the main post.


cheers


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Very nice thanks for the pdf, extremely helpful.  I would though hope that the updated 14/06 set can be made into pdf's as well.


----------



## SBalrog

Thanks for the Blue and Gold background without circles. I've added them as new options in the background dropdown in my game file.

If it is not too much trouble, I'd love to get similar backgrounds for the other colors too, primarily the grey, silver and iron. I have no plans for using the green, red and black without the circles, I'd like backgrounds for them as well, in case I should come up with a use for them.

I've already used the blue background to make Condition Cards and Disease Cards.

I have updated the MSE files to include choices for the new backgrounds in the dropdown, and to allow entering the price (or other text) in the box on the bottom right. Attached in the zip file if anyone wants them.


----------



## AnthonyRoberson

*Thanks so much!*

I don't know how to thank you for these power cards!  I would have EASILY paid $10.00 for them from an online store.  Do you have Pay Pal?  I will gladly send you something as a small token of thanks...


----------



## Ander00

Ghaerdon Fain said:
			
		

> Very nice thanks for the pdf, extremely helpful.  I would though hope that the updated 14/06 set can be made into pdf's as well.



While possible, I can't guarantee it. Those printjobs never finished for me and according to my friend it took him something like 15 minutes per file, so he probably won't want to do it after every update.







			
				SBalrog said:
			
		

> If it is not too much trouble, I'd love to get similar backgrounds for the other colors too, primarily the grey, silver and iron.



Sure. I'm a bit stressed right now, but I'll put those up when I have a couple of minutes to spare.







			
				AnthonyRoberson said:
			
		

> Do you have Pay Pal?  I will gladly send you something as a small token of thanks...



I appreciate the sentiment, and oh boy, could I ever use whatever money I can get my hands on right now (to, for example, buy more 4E products, or maybe even eat), but I don't think WotC would want me to be taking any for this.
Getting on the ENWorld frontpage would make my day though, so if you've found the cards helpful enough, feel free to drop my name in the Fan Creation pick of the week thread .


cheers


----------



## stephen_gryphon

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Now that (almost) everyone has their books, here's the update to my MSE template, as well as a complete set of cards. I hope some of you will find either of those useful.




The best power cards I've seen so far -- very clean and good use of white space, clear space for attack modifier/damage, and the three most important classifiers (type of action, usage, and type of attack) are very clear as the top three items.

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4274554&postcount=568

Keep them coming...


----------



## bh2

Ander00, I LOVE your power cards. They have made my gaming groups' lives much easier and will be an indispensable part of our character creation workflow! Printing and cutting them out as cards works great, but also just printing them on a sheet works quite well by itself. 

This is mainly for the case of just printing a sheet of cards and not cutting them out, but I have only one request. When you get around to another update, could you include 8 'blank' cards (kinda like the item cards) so that when you print a sheet of cards for your character, if you have less than 8, you can fill the remaining 'slots' with blank cards that one could fill in later after leveling? If your not chopping up the cards, you could also print 8 blank ones on the back to fill in later too.

Now to post a nomination to the FCPOTW thread.


----------



## SBalrog

I just wanted to post a little tip: 

If you want to run the different MSE sets out there which derived from the same (and now incompatible) D&D.mse-game, do the following:

1) Create a new folder (MSE-Ander / MSE-Mercurio / etc).
2) Create a subfolder named data in the main folder.
3) Copy the mse.exe into the main folder (from the original install folder)
4) Copy the en.mse-locale folder into the data folder (from the original install folder).
5) Copy (or extract) the chosen MSE set into the data folder.

This way you can have one set of files for each MSE set you want, even if a subset of the different sets conflicts with each other. You can even copy them onto a usb disk and run them on any computer.


----------



## mflayermonk

*Status on Sunspot*

Hi all,
I was just wondering the status on the cards over at this address?
http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home/power-cards-1

I believe the styles are Sunspot, Randolph, and Tintagel.


Thanks


----------



## Black Plauge

When I print Ander's cards with the MSE, the bottom row on the page gets about a 1/4" of the card cut off.  Does anyone know what's going on here?


----------



## StormCrow42

Black Plauge said:
			
		

> When I print Ander's cards with the MSE, the bottom row on the page gets about a 1/4" of the card cut off.  Does anyone know what's going on here?




MSE creates pages for A4 paper rather than the U.S. standard of 8.5x11.  A4 paper is slightly longer.

About the only real solution I've found is to print to PDF and then use my PDF software to print them scaled to fit, which of course makes them smaller than intended.


----------



## DrewSolo

When printing to the "print to PDF", select Advanced and set the paper size to Letter.

This will create a properly formatted PDF file that won't have to be "shrunk" later on, therefore saving the original proportions of the card.


----------



## Uruush

Ander00,

Your Warlord Viper's Strike card needs an edit.  I tried to send you a private messages but the site won't let me.

I like your cards.  It is a pain to individually resize them, rotate them, and paste them to Word, but I'm not sure how else to manage it.


----------



## coastiemike

Has anyone created power cards for the new Illusion spells released by WotC last night?


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

coastiemike said:
			
		

> Has anyone created power cards for the new Illusion spells released by WotC last night?




You beat me to asking about it... 

Also still hoping for a PDF of the update of Ander00's set.

ASIDE: I downloaded the above mentioned set of cards and all the data for the card maker in my Paralels Vista emulator on my Mac ... but I can't seem to get anything to load.  It sees the file but doesn't see anything.  I've read the "how too" provided by Ander00 could some once again explain how to load it in?


----------



## Colawley

Ghaerdon Fain said:
			
		

> You beat me to asking about it...
> 
> Also still hoping for a PDF of the update of Ander00's set.
> 
> ASIDE: I downloaded the above mentioned set of cards and all the data for the card maker in my Paralels Vista emulator on my Mac ... but I can't seem to get anything to load.  It sees the file but doesn't see anything.  I've read the "how too" provided by Ander00 could some once again explain how to load it in?




Ask and ye shall receive...  

Full Set of latest Power Cards by Ander00  (25 MB PDF)


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

I have tears of joy     Thank You so much on behalf of all who have PDF love.


[hummm... I wonder if I have enough colour cartridges left for all 95 pages ...]


----------



## Obryn

As a thought (not mine), why not make a card for Second Wind?

It basically functions as an Encounter power and it could act as a decent reminder.

-O


----------



## dagger

Excellent idea......


----------



## SnakeNuts

Obryn said:
			
		

> As a thought (not mine), why not make a card for Second Wind?
> 
> It basically functions as an Encounter power and it could act as a decent reminder.




This has been mentioned and suggested in at least one other thread and deemed a 'good idea' (tm) by many. Analogous to that, people have made cards and/or chits for action points as daily powers as well.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=231517


----------



## sunspot

I've updated my power cards, and have included feat powers.

Visit: 4e Fan site 

Thanks to all those who've helped find editorial mistakes.

Enjoy!


----------



## sunspot

double post


----------



## neolithic

With regards to Ander00's power cards is there a document somewhere the details the changes made to the set?

It would be a massive time saver to know exactly which cards were updated so that people coming in to the conversation late (like me) know what the go is.

If not I guess I'll have just have to go through and compare the cards by hand.


----------



## Ander00

coastiemike said:
			
		

> Has anyone created power cards for the new Illusion spells released by WotC last night?



I'm gonna add those once I have some time on my hands. I am really stressed out at the moment though and will be for the rest of the week.

For the people interested in cards for Second Wind and such, I guess I can then add those as well, even though I wouldn't use them myself.







			
				neolithic said:
			
		

> With regards to Ander00's power cards is there a document somewhere the details the changes made to the set?
> 
> It would be a massive time saver to know exactly which cards were updated so that people coming in to the conversation late (like me) know what the go is.



I'm not following. If you came here late and just grab the latest set, what is there to compare against? I can see where specific information about fixes would be nice though. I'll keep that in mind for future updates.


cheers


----------



## neolithic

I should have been more specific before I posted that message. I have already printed, cut and card-sleeved a set of your cards previously and so as to not have to print all the cards, cut and re-sleeve them again it would be great to know which cards were changed so that those specific cards can be reprinted vs. the whole set.

Does that make more sense?


----------



## boggensagg

Hello,

Ander00 I really do like your cards. 

The one improvement I made for your set is to add a field to put the ranges that apply next to the range icon itself.

It feels more intuitive that way to me. YMMV.

Cheers

,Bogg


----------



## sunspot

*Printing of Power Cards!*

*Tremendous News!*

Inspired by popular demand I’ve decided to take my community service one step further.

Having access to a professional cardstock printer I’ve decided to print complete decks of power cards on glossy card stock and mail them to everyone interested!

Yes, you heard me!
I will be printing and mailing complete decks of Power Cards!

Learn more Here!

I'm happy to offer this service and truly hope everyone has the oportunity to play with printed power cards. Power Cards have made playing Dungeon and Dragons so much funner I really couldn't resist sharing!


(This is a non-profit venture; the minimal costs serve to cover ink/cardstock & shipping)


----------



## mvincent

sunspot said:
			
		

> I will be printing and mailing complete decks of Power Cards!
> 
> Learn more Here!



Excellent work Sunspot! As mentioned, I really like your design, and the site is very well done.

Some thoughts:
1) Will this create a problem with the WotC GSL?
2) As a DM, I hope to eventually be able to buy cards for second wind, healing surges, conditions and actions points (and maybe even blank quest cards mentioned in DMG p.103)
3) The $ sign typically goes before the amount.
4) The site mentions "_Prestige Class Powers: (download coming soon)_". Do you mean Paragon powers?


----------



## drjones

Colawley said:
			
		

> Ask and ye shall receive...
> 
> Full Set of latest Power Cards by Ander00  (25 MB PDF)




Those are great but I am having some trouble with the printing.  Even at 92% I get the bottom card slightly cut off and they are no longer standard  card size.  I assume this is my printer being a POS but has anyone moved them so there is less empty space between the cards?


----------



## Black Plauge

Actually, I did find a way to do just that.  You simply have to change the paper size to letter from A4.

Now, finding where to do that is a bit difficult.  For me it involved finding the advanced preferences for the printer from within MSE's print dialog (click on the "Preferences" button in the main dialog and then on the "Advanced" button in the resultant one).  Once I'd done that, MSE printed out the cards just fine on letter paper with no cut-offs and at the right size.


----------



## KnightCa

*Power Card mse templates*

Thanks to the incredible work done already by others on this site, I have almost completed a set of mse files that allow both Trolls and Anders set to work in harmony (opening either template with the same database of powers). I will post it as soon as it is complete.

On a sidenote, does anyone know how to utilize the font set "D&D 4e Icons v2.ttf" as part of the text entry section in the style? I'm not positive how to setup a replace rule that will replace it with a font. I assume it is similar to the following replacement rule created by another: 



> replace_rule(
> match: "[(][aAcCmMrR][)]",
> replace: "<sym-auto>&</sym-auto>") +




Perhaps something similar to:



> replace_rule(
> match: "[(][aAcCmMrR][)]",
> replace: "<font type="D&D 4e Icons v2">&</font>") +


----------



## MaineCoon

sunspot said:
			
		

> *Tremendous News!*
> 
> Inspired by popular demand I’ve decided to take my community service one step further.
> 
> Having access to a professional cardstock printer I’ve decided to print complete decks of power cards on glossy card stock and mail them to everyone interested!
> 
> Yes, you heard me!
> I will be printing and mailing complete decks of Power Cards!




Non-profit or not, that's a pretty blatant violation of copyright, especially as you use the original texts (not to mention violating the GSL).

This is a dangerous step, which could result in Wizards quashing not only your efforts, but everything else we're doing here, whereas if nobody tries to commercialize upon it, they may let the activities here slide.


----------



## Gilwen

I love the cards but I must agree. If you did this with completely new powers of your own creation then you could sell them under the GSL. Now is not the time to rock the boat or muddy the waters espcially since the Fansite policy is still in its infancy.

Awesome job on the cards though.

just my .02.

Gil


----------



## Rhianni32

sunspot said:
			
		

> *Tremendous News!*
> 
> Inspired by popular demand I’ve decided to take my community service one step further.
> 
> Having access to a professional cardstock printer I’ve decided to print complete decks of power cards on glossy card stock and mail them to everyone interested!
> 
> Yes, you heard me!
> I will be printing and mailing complete decks of Power Cards!
> 
> Learn more Here!
> 
> I'm happy to offer this service and truly hope everyone has the oportunity to play with printed power cards. Power Cards have made playing Dungeon and Dragons so much funner I really couldn't resist sharing!
> 
> 
> (This is a non-profit venture; the minimal costs serve to cover ink/cardstock & shipping)




While I can appreciate entrepreneurship I think wotc would have issues about this.

1:The card design is a slightly modified version of their existing cards so some copyright issues would exist there. Be very careful about this. You list a creative commons license that you use the design through... but does wotc agree to it because I dont think you can put someone elses ideas there and say its open to use.

2: Is the flavor text of each power open to use or just the mechanic? You say in your disclaimer that its copyright by wotc. Have they agreed to let you use it because again this seems to go beyond the just released license.

3: To be a non profit organization you have to get a license. Its more than just say "I dont make money". Plus you list cutting as part of the fee. That would be a labor charge. Every service industry would be non profit by that definition.

Not trying to derail you. I like to see people get excited about the hobby and act on ideas.  Just be very careful about this and I would contact wotc about this.


----------



## dark666105

Rhianni32 said:
			
		

> While I can appreciate entrepreneurship I think wotc would have issues about this.
> 
> 1:The card design is a slightly modified version of their existing cards so some copyright issues would exist there. Be very careful about this. You list a creative commons license that you use the design through... but does wotc agree to it because I dont think you can put someone elses ideas there and say its open to use.



 wotc has existing power cards?!?!?!


----------



## dagger

dark666105 said:
			
		

> wotc has existing power cards?!?!?!





Just a sheet with blank cards that have no info in them...


----------



## Gilwen

they have magic cards and the software of choice for making the power cards is the Magic Set Editor which you can use to make card templates and the such.

gil


----------



## Archon of Light

coastiemike said:
			
		

> Has anyone created power cards for the new Illusion spells released by WotC last night?



Done. I've posted them, as well as the complete set of Heroic Tier cards in pdf format on the Dragon Avenue forums. (They allow for larger files sizes to be uploaded, otherwise I'd also post them up here.) They're a different style than what a lot of others are doing, and they're not for those who are concerned with liberal usage of ink from their printers. Check a few pages back on this thread where I had previewed a few before.


----------



## dagger

Ander00

Are you going to update your set with the new Illusion (wizard) and Warlord powers?

Thanks


(warlord)  http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080618&authentic=true

(wizard)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080616


----------



## Rhianni32

Does wotc make power cards? no. Many other cards yes. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mi/20080124a
Not an exact copy but they are pretty darn close. Enough to be an issue? I dont know I'm not educated in copyright laws but I'm also not the one trying to sell the cards. Given the current examples of the cease and desist order from Fantasy Grounds for a similar issue this isnt exactly a joke to ignore.


----------



## Gilwen

Even if the cards are 100% original design they still contain content that isn't legal to use without permission to do so and selling them is a bad idea in general unless you have that permission.

Gil


----------



## dark666105

dagger said:
			
		

> Just a sheet with blank cards that have no info in them...




oh, i dont consider those existing power cards, i consider those existing power card blanks.


----------



## CLAVDIVS

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered, but I'm reading this on my breaktime at work and, well, long thread is loooonng.  

Regarding Ander00's cards and MSE, the encounter and daily banner colors are hard to tell apart at a glance when printed in greyscale. (At-will and item might have a similar issue, but I haven't checked and the card formats are different enough anyway). Is there a way to change the style definitions (or whatever) to make for greater contrast? Or rather, I assume there is, but can anyone tell me how? I couldn't find it in the program itself, and the documentation on the MSE site is (to be diplomatic) lacking.

What we're doing with the cards, BTW, is exporting images from MSE, pasting them into an OpenOffice template, and printing them to Avery "name badge" cardstock. It's 2.25 by 3.5 inches, the closest we could find to standard game card size (2.5 by 3.5), and saves us the hassle of manually cutting them out.

I still wish someone made actual 2.5 by 3.5 perforated cardstock; there's gotta be a market for it.


----------



## mvincent

Rhianni32 said:
			
		

> I think wotc would have issues about this.



I had similar thoughts. Still, I'd love to see more services like this.

Maybe you could present it as (say) $5 for time/materials, and $5 for shipping/handling. The card designs themselves are freely available for anyone that wishes to do it themselves (and you could even provide links to them)... so you could merely be providing some paypal links for common, pre-estimated requests.

This could also allow you to print out different types of cards for people (maybe even taking special requests).


----------



## Relbanan

Ander00 said:
			
		

> I'm gonna add those once I have some time on my hands. I am really stressed out at the moment though and will be for the rest of the week.
> 
> For the people interested in cards for Second Wind and such, I guess I can then add those as well, even though I wouldn't use them myself.I'm not following. If you came here late and just grab the latest set, what is there to compare against? I can see where specific information about fixes would be nice though. I'll keep that in mind for future updates.
> 
> 
> cheers




Thank you THANK YOU for the cards, they're great.  I'm back into D&D as of Father's Day, haven't played in almost 20 years.   I'm teaching my kids and these cards are great.  I was actually about to post a question to you about cards for Feats and things like Second Wind - ie. the Dwarven Fighter I have rolled up has the Power Attack feat and it'd be great to have a card with that info as an example.


----------



## beverson

CLAVDIVS said:
			
		

> I still wish someone made actual 2.5 by 3.5 perforated cardstock; there's gotta be a market for it.




Here you go: http://plaincards.com/Playing.html


----------



## Zaukrie

Hijack for MSE question:

Great stuff everyone.

 I installed MSE and one of the data sets. I've tried to extract other data sets into the data directory, but I don't see any other choices other than the one with like 5-6 templates (ending with the great DDM template). Is there a way to get other templates/game files to show?


----------



## Bill Castello

*Fantastic work*

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the creativity.  I am so motivated right now!!!


----------



## Relbanan

Is there a post that explains the various symbols used in Ander00's set?  ie. the left side is type of action (fist is standard?) and right is range?

edit - nevermind, found what I was looking for - Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font, all in there.


----------



## CLAVDIVS

beverson said:
			
		

> Here you go: http://plaincards.com/Playing.html



Well I'll be. Good to know.

For the time being, tho, I think the name badges will do the job. They're only a quarter inch narrower, and easier/cheaper to replace. We'll probably be printing cards as needed for each character, even when duplicating ones already used by someone else.

Also, I tried exporting images in "plain" style, and I think they look better that way in greyscale. Encounter and daily powers are easier to distinguish, and it just looks cleaner without the shadow effects. The regular style looks great... in full color. In greyscale, OTOH, I think the cleaner look is better. Thanks for including it.

On the topic of the symbols, I probably would've used one for action type and one for cooldown, but that's just me.
EDIT: Eventually I figured out that the upper-right symbols are based on the ones used for powers in the monster stat blocks. So that makes more sense now.


----------



## CLAVDIVS

CLAVDIVS said:
			
		

> Also, I tried exporting images in "plain" style, and I think they look better that way in greyscale.



I was justy checking out the images, and some of them were still in "default" style with the shading. I checked them out in MSE, and they still display the shading even when set to "plain" style. _Acid arrow_ is the first one I notice when looking at the thumbnails, but there's others. When I go into the style page on another card, uncheck "options specific to this card" and switch the look to plain, it changes most but not all of the cards to match. What gives?


----------



## jonathan.g.wilson

Trolls said:
			
		

> Ok, try these on for size. We've got an experiment with a long power (Bigby's, as requested), and then versions with the new action symbols in the bubble. You can imagine the top ones without the colour in the bubble, if you wish.
> Note that I've removed the power source notch from the bottom ones, and left the action in. I've done that to clarify action type, and because space is low and power source doesn't actually matter.
> 
> So, a new round of opinions!




Troll and all,
I think these are totally awesome (yes I'm from the '80's.).  But I was wondering if you had a magic card set editor template file or can easily make on for those of use like me that are not that graphically design talented.
 Because I'm inspired to work on sets for all my characters and my player's characters as a reward for playing.

Jonathan Wilson

Update:  Well about 20 pages later I found the link to download the templates and I'm working with them now.  A few errors in Dependecies with the 0.3.6 verson.  I do see one issue with some of the really long named powers not shrinking to fit the text field (i.e. Channel Divinity: Divine Meddle)


----------



## Andur

Backs for Ander00's wonderful power cards.  Simple with legal disclaimer.  Took the Logo from the backs in the first few pages of this thread.

There is no outline border for the backs, cut your cards from the crunchy front side.  If you are using letter sized paper (versus A4 which the cards are designed for) Then you need to leave a little white border outside of the outline box.


----------



## mps42

Been watching this thread for a bit and I really like the idea of the power cards. What I'm looking for, though, is the SET file for MSE so I don't need to re-enter all the info. (yes, lazy).
 Anyone willing to supply one?


----------



## vagabundo

@Ander00:

Your power cards are fab, but it is a lot of pages. I was going to try and print off as I needed, is there any logic to the layout or is it random?


----------



## Relbanan

vagabundo said:
			
		

> @Ander00:
> 
> Your power cards are fab, but it is a lot of pages. I was going to try and print off as I needed, is there any logic to the layout or is it random?




Just sort by the "Power Class/Type/Level" column and find the ones you need, print those.


----------



## aradinn

how do i load the full text block file into the editor?


----------



## Storminator

mps42 said:
			
		

> Been watching this thread for a bit and I really like the idea of the power cards. What I'm looking for, though, is the SET file for MSE so I don't need to re-enter all the info. (yes, lazy).
> Anyone willing to supply one?




That's not really what you want. No, it isn't! 

What you want to do is make a set for your PC with all the exact numbers filled in. Which is better:



		Code:
	

Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage. In addition, 
you switch places with the target and can then shift 1 square. 
Artful Dodger: You can shift a number of squares equal 
to your Charisma modifier.


or



		Code:
	

Hit: 2d4 + 5. In addition you switch places with 
the target and can then shift 3 squares.


No contest on game day, tho you have to print the second one out when the numbers change...

PS


----------



## fsnaig

Ander00 said:
			
		

> Now that (almost) everyone has their books, here's the update to my MSE template, as well as a complete set of cards. I hope some of you will find either of those useful.
> If you like, feel free to host them on the Fan publishing site (I'm just not getting a gmail account for that), or do whatever else you please with them.
> 
> *The Set* (core_complete_set.rar)
> This set consists of 753 cards in total, including the powers from classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats and races (from the PHB, the MM, and the DDI article on the warforged), as well as blank cards to fill in for the different item types (though you can also use the template to make finished cards for different items). If you're using a template based on Randolph's "D&D" game file, you can probabably still use the set, but you will have to reenter some of the information.
> 
> *The Template* (mse-template-Ander.rar)
> The template now works with MSE version 3.0.6, and includes a style option for completely bland (or more printer-friendly, if you will) and not quite so bland cards (see attached samples). Comes with its own MSE game file.
> 
> *Power Documents* (powers-docs.rar)
> The powers in .doc format.
> 
> *Installing the Template*
> In case you are unfamiliar with MSE and aren't sure how to load a set, here are some short instructions to point you in the right direction.
> Download and install MSE version 0.3.6.
> Put everything from 'mse-template-Ander.rar' into the 'data' directory of the MSE installation.
> Extract and open the 'core_complete.mse-set' contained in 'core_complete_set.rar'.
> If you have never dealt with .rar archives before, you may need to get WinRar or some other compression tool that supports .rar files.
> If you have previously used MSE, you might have to delete the 'mse8.config' file found in your '...Application Data/Magic Set Editor' directory.
> If you have problems with MSE itself, you might have to download the Windows 9x fix, even if you are using Windows XP.
> 
> *Power Card PDFs*
> If you are so inclinded, you can download the whole set in PDF form.
> I'd still advise you to use the MSE option because you can easily make your own corrections as needed, add your own cards, and specify exactly which cards you want to print. But if, for some reason, you cannot get MSE to work, maybe you can get some use out of these PDFs.
> __________________
> 
> Edit (07/06/08): fixed a few errors in the set.
> Edit (08/06/08): corrected erroneous information about compatibility.
> Edit (09/06/08): a few more fixes to the set; also added the warforged DDI material and the powers in .doc format.
> Edit (14/06/08): corrected a few more errors and incorporated the PHB errata.
> Edit (14/06/08 #2): another small fix to the set; added short installation instructions.
> Edit (14/06/08 #3): added link to the power cards as PDFs.
> Edit (18/06/08): changed PDF link to an up-to-date versions (thanks to Colawley).
> 
> 
> cheers





Hi,

Your cards are excellent, and my group is planning on using them. I have been adding text boxes to the PDF files to make them even more user friendly for players/GMs.

I have one question: Are you planning on including the other, basic Class Features? I know you have included some of them, but the following are missing, and would be handy to have:

Fighter
Combat Challenge

Ranger
Hunter’s Quarry
Prime Shot

Rogue
First Strike
Sneak Attack

Warlock
Misty Step
Dark One’s Blessing
Fate of the Void
Prime Shot
Shadow Walk
Warlock’s Curse

Wizard
Arcane Implement Mastery

Whether you include them or not, your work is much appreciated.

fsnaig


----------



## Relbanan

also - Bluff (encounter skill power), Second Wind (Encounter)


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

I'm a slave to my PDFs and you've provided a great set Ander00, BUT, would it be possible to create an 8.5" x 11" set?  

*The reason is that I have got my hands on US letter size "Card Stock" paper  

***read below... what was I thinking***


----------



## Ibixat

if you export the cards to PNG, then use windows photo gallery (on vista, I think it was fax and picture viewer on XP) to load the picutres into the gallery, you can choose a ton of pictures and then print, one of the options will be a 3x3 grid of 9 on a single sheet, uncheck the Fit picture to frame option and you can get some very nice sized cards that are easily readable, and as a bonus, 9 per sheet instead of just 8.  They come out at roughly 2" x 3" that way, no ratio issues on their size either.


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

I think I must have been on something when I wrote the above.  I just changed the print to letter/borderless and fit to paper and all went well.  As I type I'm putting the backs (forget who provided them) on the card stock sheets.  Gonna look great and hold up well.

Again thanks!!!


----------



## TK

Awesome work with these, they are amazingly helpful. Is there a way to get a text file dump of the set? I'm working with a program called map tools, and having this data already made would make creating power macros much simpler (and require far less data entry). Preferably this would be a delimited text file, but it looks like an HTML export template may do the trick as well (but I don't know if I'll be able to figure out how to write one of them, especially since there seems to be rather sparse documentation on that topic).


----------



## OsirisDawn

Hello,

how do i download the attachments for Ander's power cards? Left click does nothing and 'save under' brings ... nothing  What i am doing wrong?

OsirisDawn


----------



## fsnaig

Ander00 said:


> Now that (almost) everyone has their books, here's the update to my MSE template, as well as a complete set of cards. I hope some of you will find either of those useful.
> If you like, feel free to host them on the Fan publishing site (I'm just not getting a gmail account for that), or do whatever else you please with them.
> 
> *The Set* (core_complete_set.rar)
> This set consists of 753 cards in total, including the powers from classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats and races (from the PHB, the MM, and the DDI article on the warforged), as well as blank cards to fill in for the different item types (though you can also use the template to make finished cards for different items). If you're using a template based on Randolph's "D&D" game file, you can probabably still use the set, but you will have to reenter some of the information.
> 
> *The Template* (mse-template-Ander.rar)
> The template now works with MSE version 3.0.6, and includes a style option for completely bland (or more printer-friendly, if you will) and not quite so bland cards (see attached samples). Comes with its own MSE game file.
> 
> *Power Documents* (powers-docs.rar)
> The powers in .doc format.
> 
> *Installing the Template*
> In case you are unfamiliar with MSE and aren't sure how to load a set, here are some short instructions to point you in the right direction.
> Download and install MSE version 0.3.6.
> Put everything from 'mse-template-Ander.rar' into the 'data' directory of the MSE installation.
> Extract and open the 'core_complete.mse-set' contained in 'core_complete_set.rar'.
> If you have never dealt with .rar archives before, you may need to get WinRar or some other compression tool that supports .rar files.
> If you have previously used MSE, you might have to delete the 'mse8.config' file found in your '...Application Data/Magic Set Editor' directory.
> If you have problems with MSE itself, you might have to download the Windows 9x fix, even if you are using Windows XP.
> 
> *Power Card PDFs*
> If you are so inclinded, you can download the whole set in PDF form.
> I'd still advise you to use the MSE option because you can easily make your own corrections as needed, add your own cards, and specify exactly which cards you want to print. But if, for some reason, you cannot get MSE to work, maybe you can get some use out of these PDFs.
> __________________
> 
> Edit (07/06/08): fixed a few errors in the set.
> Edit (08/06/08): corrected erroneous information about compatibility.
> Edit (09/06/08): a few more fixes to the set; also added the warforged DDI material and the powers in .doc format.
> Edit (14/06/08): corrected a few more errors and incorporated the PHB errata.
> Edit (14/06/08 #2): another small fix to the set; added short installation instructions.
> Edit (14/06/08 #3): added link to the power cards as PDFs.
> Edit (18/06/08): changed PDF link to an up-to-date versions (thanks to Colawley).
> 
> 
> cheers




Hi,

I found a minor error, in that the Warlord Paragon Power Superior Tactics is not a Utility Power.

Great work!

fsnaig


----------



## SuperGnome

*Found this on google (make your own cards util)*

http://www.dnditalia.it/pcg

Seems to be a cool site if you speak Italian, but english is good enough for the util!


----------



## eloquentaction

*New set of cards*

Hello all.

I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm.  So much so, in fact, it prompted me to make my own set of cards and MSE-SET.

Here's a sample of my cards:














If you follow the linky, http://www.dragonavenue.com/forums/viewthread/701/P180/#11621
you can download the entire MSE-SET for this set.

I hope you enjoy it!

-- Hirahito (aka: eloquentaction)


----------



## Alphastream

Belorin said:


> Using the magic items listed in the Pre-Release Rules Compilation, here are some of the cards I've created:




There is something about that look I greatly like for magic items. Has anyone typed these up already?

(link is http://www.enworld.org/forum/showpost.php?p=4158449&postcount=102 , I'm not sure how to copy in the link to the images)


----------



## korton01

OMG this whole thread has made me a super giddy gamer!

Now I've gone through and downloaded R-Type, Ander00, Mercutios, Quindia, and Troll's stuff....but MSE is now is running 0.3.6 and only Ander00 is up and running with that with no explosion errors.  And I am super programing illiterate.  Are the above makers of such amazing templates gonna update them for the new patch?  Or do I need to find 0.3.5 and download it?

Or could someone lay out to me the best way to make the changes to make them work? (if that is something easy...if not..then don't even worry about it.)

Anyway!!! Thank you guys so much you are the best for doing this for the 4th edition community.


----------



## Mercutio01

Hey korton - check out this link to Dragonavenue.  In the post by Black Plauge, you'll find the most recently updated MSE files for my set.  (BP actually did the recoding for 3.6, and he did a damn fine job too.)  Note that I'm almost done with my set, with only some minor artwork left to tweak.  BP is working on code for multiple damage types, which isn't 100% necessary yet, but as soon as the MSE set is done, I'll post the final code here.


----------



## mps42

Well I, too, have been inspired but I went for the "simpler is better" approach (although I must say some of the submissions here are BEAUTIFUL). So here's a sample of my simple effort


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

eloquentaction said:


> Hello all.
> 
> I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm.  So much so, in fact, it prompted me to make my own set of cards and MSE-SET.
> 
> Here's a sample of my cards:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you follow the linky, http://www.dragonavenue.com/forums/viewthread/701/P180/#11621
> you can download the entire MSE-SET for this set.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -- Hirahito (aka: eloquentaction)




Would it be possible to have these in PDF form?


----------



## eloquentaction

*PDF form of my cards...*

Sure - making PDF's would be easy.  Problem is, with all the cards, the size of the PDF comes out be like 20 megs.

I've got no place to host that big a file.

Have you tried downloading MSE2 and then using my MSE-SETs?

It should allow you to create your own cards.

The nice thing about this, is you can store a copy of the cards for each player, so they can fill in their own stats.

2d6+ Wisdom becomes, 2d6 + 4 (for example).  Makes it nicer for them.


----------



## Ander00

CLAVDIVS said:


> Is there a way to change the style definitions (or whatever) to make for greater contrast? Or rather, I assume there is, but can anyone tell me how?



You don't even have to go into the definitions, you can just replace the card background images as needed. They can be found in the 'data/D&D-Ander.mse-style' folder in your MSE directory.


cheers


----------



## MaineCoon

I've managed to get Hirahito working alongside Ander:
1. Use the Hirahito version of D&D.mse-game.
2. The D&D-symbol-mse-symbol-font are identical
3. Rename the Hirahito version of D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font to D&D-hirahito-symbol.mse-symbol-font
4. Edit D&D-hirahito.mse-style/style and replace all references to D&D-Ander-symbol with D&D-hirahito-symbol
Now both sets can be installed together. You cannot usefully switch styles (the background is different and there is extra info in the Hirahito set for the ranges)


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Have you tried downloading MSE2 and then using my MSE-SETs?




I downloaded and installed your set into the data directory. I can call up the cards, but I am having some issues with it. 

I know you have split the keywords up into different blocks, but I see no where to add the keyworks that usually follow the frequency in the power descriptions (the power source, accessories, and damage type which all appear just below the name in your samples).

I also cannot figure out how to enter a carriage return in the keyword block to the right of the first "splatter" circle. I can enter "Encounter" "Standard Action" and "Ranged 3" but they are all on the same line!

Speaking of ranged, I also cannot seem to get the range number to appear to the right of the attack type symbol in that first splatter mark.

I am using 0.3.6 (beta), could that be the problem? 

--update--

I forgot to mention I tried the edits from post 684, and those did not help with these issues.


----------



## BooleanFlag

eloquentaction said:


> Hello all.
> 
> I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm.  So much so, in fact, it prompted me to make my own set of cards and MSE-SET.
> 
> Here's a sample of my cards:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you follow the linky, http://www.dragonavenue.com/forums/viewthread/701/P180/#11621
> you can download the entire MSE-SET for this set.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -- Hirahito (aka: eloquentaction)



these are gorgeous.  The only thing that could make them better is to provide a space similar to the ones on ander00s cards for writing in the actual mods, DMG, etc.  This is what drove me to use Ander00s, but if you can get those boxes in there I'd use yours for sure.


----------



## MonkeyMage

Ander00: great cards, but I've found a few problems.

- Fighter (Iron Vanguard): Frontline Surge > your card only says Surge

- Fighter (Pit Fighter): Deadly Payback > power is a Daily, your card is Encounter

- Warlock: Shadow Veil > no card found at all

- Warlock: Raven's Glamour > power is a Daily, your card is Encounter

- Warlock: Hurl through Hell > flavor text is from Tartarean Tomb

- Warlord: Bolstering Blow > no card found at all


----------



## chromeraven

eloquentaction said:


> Hello all.
> 
> I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm.  So much so, in fact, it prompted me to make my own set of cards and MSE-SET.
> 
> Here's a sample of my cards:
> 
> If you follow the linky, http://www.dragonavenue.com/forums/viewthread/701/P180/#11621
> you can download the entire MSE-SET for this set.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -- Hirahito (aka: eloquentaction)




These = enjoyed, thanks a ton for sharing!


----------



## eloquentaction

MaineCoon said:


> I've managed to get Hirahito working alongside Ander:
> 1. Use the Hirahito version of D&D.mse-game.
> 2. The D&D-symbol-mse-symbol-font are identical
> 3. Rename the Hirahito version of D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font to D&D-hirahito-symbol.mse-symbol-font
> 4. Edit D&D-hirahito.mse-style/style and replace all references to D&D-Ander-symbol with D&D-hirahito-symbol
> Now both sets can be installed together. You cannot usefully switch styles (the background is different and there is extra info in the Hirahito set for the ranges)




Maine -

You're correct.  I ripped off the symbols from Ander, and the layout idea from Quindia (although I completely redid the art).

I also added about 4 fields for range and burst.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ander00

MAJOR UPDATE:

The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364, bard, druid and swordmage powers, and more.


cheers


----------



## eloquentaction

BooleanFlag said:


> these are gorgeous. The only thing that could make them better is to provide a space similar to the ones on ander00s cards for writing in the actual mods, DMG, etc. This is what drove me to use Ander00s, but if you can get those boxes in there I'd use yours for sure.




Copy the MSE-SET to a different name.

Open it.

The description field is editable.  You can change the + Wisdom to +4 (for example).

If you want an easier way, right click on the HIRAHITO.MSE-SET and rename it to HIRAHITO.ZIP.  Use PKZIP or 7-Zip to unzip it into the 'SET' file.  This is a raw text file.  Edit it however you like using a text editor, then re-zip it and rename it to SET.  Then use MSE open and hit 'ALL FILES' and select the SET file.

Viola.


----------



## eloquentaction

JosiahKnight said:


> Thanks to the incredible work done already by others on this site, I have almost completed a set of mse files that allow both Trolls and Anders set to work in harmony (opening either template with the same database of powers). I will post it as soon as it is complete.
> 
> On a sidenote, does anyone know how to utilize the font set "D&D 4e Icons v2.ttf" as part of the text entry section in the style? I'm not positive how to setup a replace rule that will replace it with a font. I assume it is similar to the following replacement rule created by another:
> 
> 
> 
> Perhaps something similar to:





Your example won't work.  You have to go into the actual definition (the MSE) for that field and add a SYMBOL: entry which defines your font.

If you look in my 'STYLE' file, you'll see an example under the RULE TEXT: entry.  It reads:

symbol font:
name: D&D-Ander-symbol
 size: 11


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> I downloaded and installed your set into the data directory. I can call up the cards, but I am having some issues with it.
> 
> I know you have split the keywords up into different blocks, but I see no where to add the keyworks that usually follow the frequency in the power descriptions (the power source, accessories, and damage type which all appear just below the name in your samples).
> 
> I also cannot figure out how to enter a carriage return in the keyword block to the right of the first "splatter" circle. I can enter "Encounter" "Standard Action" and "Ranged 3" but they are all on the same line!
> 
> Speaking of ranged, I also cannot seem to get the range number to appear to the right of the attack type symbol in that first splatter mark.
> 
> I am using 0.3.6 (beta), could that be the problem?
> 
> --update--
> 
> I forgot to mention I tried the edits from post 684, and those did not help with these issues.





Tristan -

I made this MSE-SET using a C# program that pre-processed all the info.  I never hand edited anything, so my MSE really isn't good at allowing edits.

I'll take a look at it, and change the definitions around a bit.  I'll try and have a new MSE and MSE-SET up tonight or tomorrow that clears all this up and allows direct editing.

Two of the fields, rangevalue2 and burstvalue2 are copies that I use for shading.  I'll try and make them auto-populate.

Sorry for the hassle...

--  Hirahito


----------



## Relbanan

Ander00 said:


> MAJOR UPDATE:
> 
> The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364, bard, druid and swordmage powers, and more.
> 
> 
> cheers




Very cool, thanks for the update.


----------



## SBalrog

*Extra backgrounds*

Hi Ander00, a couple of weeks ago you mentioned that you might create backgrounds without the circles for the grey, silver and iron backgrounds, when you had time to do it. 

Are you still planning to do this? I really suck in photoshop / gimp.


----------



## Ander00

SBalrog said:


> Hi Ander00, a couple of weeks ago you mentioned that you might create backgrounds without the circles for the grey, silver and iron backgrounds, when you had time to do it.



Right. I completely forgot about those, sorry. I'll make some for you soon.


cheers


----------



## Relbanan

Ander00, I've made a number of changes and some bugfixes to your card set to make it easier to find the cards I want to print - having everything in one big list is kinda tough.  I split out the classes each into their own file, and split out feats, items, racials, skills, and epic destinies into their own files.  Additionally, I did a few other things, here's the list.

1. edited Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D.mse-game\game file, added Skill keyword

word list:
	name: class
	word: Attack
	word: Utility
	word: Racial
	word: Feature
	word: Feat
	word: Skill

2. removed "DRUID" card (accidental copy)
3. removed duplicate "Warforged Resolve" card
4. added "Healing" keyword to Second Wind
5. rewrote "Combat Challenge" Fighter feature card
6. removed "Bluff: Gain Combat Advantage"and "Bluff: Create a Diversion to Hide", replaced with "Bluff" encounter skill card
7. added "Heal" at-will skill card
8. added "Intimidate" at-will skill card

I'd like to have cards for the other feats, I may work on those.

This is a GREAT set, thanks so much for putting it together.  It makes combat with my kids go much more smoothly, 1000% better than just a list.


----------



## Bayuer

Maybe someone will add some back covers for cards? I will realy apprecite it.
thx


----------



## MaineCoon

Ander00 said:


> MAJOR UPDATE:
> 
> The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364, bard, druid and swordmage powers, and more.
> 
> 
> cheers




Excellent, thank you.

An odd request - I haven't downloaded the set yet so you may have done this, but would you mind keeping the unofficial powers in a separate set from the official ones?


----------



## Mercutio01

Updates to my set - this link should include everything you need.

Looking for a box to put your new cards in?  Check out my Power Card box.


----------



## Ander00

Relbanan said:


> 3. removed duplicate "Warforged Resolve" card.



So which did you remove, the Monster Manual version, or the Dragon 364 version ?

Not really a duplicate as such.


cheers


----------



## Relbanan

I removed the one that looked like it was incomplete.   I kept the one with the longer description, it looked like a superset of the other.  Of course, it's your set. 

Thanks again for the great cards.


----------



## sunspot

Your box is really cool Mercutio01!
You must have trained in arts & craft.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I made this MSE-SET using a C# program that pre-processed all the info.  I never hand edited anything, so my MSE really isn't good at allowing edits.



Ah! That explains what was going on. Thanks for clearing that up, I feel much less like a complete idiot now 



eloquentaction said:


> Sorry for the hassle...




No worries. Now that I understand what is going on it makes more sense. I thought I was missing something obvious or was using the wrong version of the software.

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at this and perhaps make an editable version. I like your basic design, since the attack type and range are very clear at a quick glance, but wanted to edit the cards to add some others.

Again, thanks for the great cards and the work on making them available to us all.


----------



## Farstrand

Ander00 said:


> --snip---
> _With the 30/06/08 update, these cards are once again out of date. I can't make the PDFs myself, but if anyone else finds the time to do so, I'll link to the new file(s) here._
> 
> cheers





So I downloaded the set and got it to work in MSE, and then I exported the cards to images. And set out to make a PDF out of them.... But I can't figure out any smart and easy way to get them aligned 8 per page. 

So anyone smarter then me perhaps could do it or give me a hint on how to proceed from here. 

And just another Big thanks to Ander00, becouse these cards rock. 


Oh and a quick question to Sunspot. Any chance of getting a PDF of all your cards? Since my wife likes them better then Ander00's so I thought I should print them aswell. 
/Farstrand


----------



## Mercutio01

sunspot said:


> Your box is really cool Mercutio01!
> You must have trained in arts & craft.




I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not.  Anyway, I found something like this way back when that someone had made to keep D&D Miniature cards in.  I have no idea what I did with that (or the box I actually made, for that matter), so I decided to make my own to keep my power cards in.


----------



## dagger

Farstrand said:


> So I downloaded the set and got it to work in MSE, and then I exported the cards to images. And set out to make a PDF out of them.... But I can't figure out any smart and easy way to get them aligned 8 per page.
> 
> So anyone smarter then me perhaps could do it or give me a hint on how to proceed from here.




Well on my printer, I just go into Preferences when the print window comes up and change the page size to Letter.


----------



## Siroh

dagger said:


> Well on my printer, I just go into Preferences when the print window comes up and change the page size to Letter.




yeah I was going to ask if someone might be able to reformat the PDF as a letter document? I don't have any desire to go buy A4 cardstock when I've got large stacks of letter sized cardstock lying around. It also looks like it wastes a lot of paper with the big white spaces.


----------



## MonkeyMage

Can someone please make a pdf of Ander's updated cards? I really love what he's done, but I can't figure out the set editor program.


Oh, found another error: missing Staff Item card


----------



## sunspot

Mercutio01 said:


> I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not.




Definitely not sarcastic,
I think your box is nice, and training arts n craft is good, 
(Isn't that why we are all here?)


----------



## GamesterGX

Hey ENWorlders

My first post . I went for a simplistic approach with my cards, sticking as close as I could to the PHB style of power portrayal.

WARNING: Large image ahead.

Fey Step

GamesterGX


----------



## BooleanFlag

eloquentaction said:


> Copy the MSE-SET to a different name.
> 
> Open it.
> 
> The description field is editable. You can change the + Wisdom to +4 (for example).
> 
> If you want an easier way, right click on the HIRAHITO.MSE-SET and rename it to HIRAHITO.ZIP. Use PKZIP or 7-Zip to unzip it into the 'SET' file. This is a raw text file. Edit it however you like using a text editor, then re-zip it and rename it to SET. Then use MSE open and hit 'ALL FILES' and select the SET file.
> 
> Viola.




I get what you are saying and I knew that I could do that, but I really like the standard "fill in the blank" boxes on Ander00's cards. With your approach, every time I leveled up I'd have to print new cards. This way I can just erase and re-write just like on a char sheet.

Again, kudos to Ander00.


----------



## MonkeyMage

I took the pdf of Ander's cards and added the fixes, but not the fan created stuff, organized and separated them into the follwing multiple pdfs: Classes (one for each), PHB Races, MM Races (minus the warforged), Epic, Feats & Misc, and Warforged.

Here is the zip file of PDFs.​


----------



## Mercutio01

sunspot said:


> Definitely not sarcastic,
> I think your box is nice, and training arts n craft is good,
> (Isn't that why we are all here?)



Like I said, I couldn't tell.

PDFs of my style are all now available.


----------



## zsguthy

Ander00's cards in PDF: http://rapidshare.com/users/66RQHO
- official stuff in seperate files (zipped)
- officail stuff in one file loswer size/quality (zipped)
- unofficial stuff in seperate files (zipped)


----------



## fsnaig

zsguthy said:


> Ander00's cards in PDF: http://rapidshare.com/users/66RQHO
> - official stuff in seperate files (zipped)
> - officail stuff in one file loswer size/quality (zipped)
> - unofficial stuff in seperate files (zipped)




Hi,

Although your list of Powers is the most complete of the PDF files for the Ander00 set, when I exported the components as PNG (or other type of graphic) files, each Power didn't export as one PNG file per Power. This is how all of the other PDF files I have seen export. I was wondering why yours are different.

I have been saving and renaming each PNG from previous sets with its correct Power name, which allows customization per character, with just the Powers applicable to that character. This can even be done by pasting the graphic file into a word processing document.

I am a Macintosh user, and am unable to use the MSE Editor, so the PDF files are my only access point to the Power cards.

fsnaig



MonkeyMage said:


> I took the pdf of Ander's cards and added the fixes, but not the fan created stuff, organized and separated them into the follwing multiple pdfs: Classes (one for each), PHB Races, MM Races (minus the warforged), Epic, Feats & Misc, and Warforged.
> 
> Here is the zip file of PDFs.​




Hi,

Your PDF files do not include some of the latest updates by Ander00, namely the Class Features. Is there a chance you could do a file of just those Powers?

fsnaig


----------



## MonkeyMage

Unfortunately it took a fair amount of work for me to even do what I did and given that I don't feel that the other class features warrant power cards, I probably wont get around to adding those in. As it is, I'm probably going to get rid of the Power Attack and Second Wind cards for my uses.

If I get motivated, I'll see what I can do, but since my 4e game just got cancelled, it may be a while.


----------



## Grandpa

*Another Stab*

Below is a complete (1500+) set of power cards in PDF format made from my own PowerPoint template. It includes powers, class and race features, skills, feats, equipment, magic items, conditions, actions, rituals, and more. These cards were designed to look as though they were ripped directly from the PHB. Like Magic cards, I made them upright and ensured the text size on 95% of the cards was the same as on a typical Magic card. Icons are larger, built from the concepts at the start of this thread and altered to suit my personal tastes. New icons were made for Area and Close powers despite my itch for an official look, to delineate between bursts, blasts, and walls -- per type -- with a standardized visual approach to help new players understand how to use them on the Battlemat. The official icons don't seem to be built with that in mind.

I only plan to support the core books but include templates and tutorials so others can make additions easily, and am happy to feature those additions here. Please let me know about typos and such! If you like the cards, let me know that, too!

_*Note*_
_My cards use the Calibri font and may not print properly without it. Calibri comes with Windows Vista or Office 2007, and can be downloaded legally for free with PowerPoint Viewer 2007 or the Office Compatibility Pack from Microsoft. Check the Calibri entry on Wikipedia if these links are outdated._

[EDIT - Hey guys, I'm afraid I've had a nice letter from wotC's lawyers about this post, so I'm going to have to remove the copyrighted material.  As a reminder, please do not post copyrighted material on EN World.  Drop me an email if you have any questions! - Morrus]​

*Updates*

2008/11/02 - Fixed info in Long Jump skill card
2008/11/02 - Added Adventurer's Vault cards (in progress) from Waveblade
2008/10/27 - Added Rituals from Dragon #366 from Waveblade
2008/10/25 - Added Drow and Warlock Dark Pact Powers from Son of Meepo
2008/10/19 - Added Dragon 366 Star Warlock Powers from Son of Meepo
2008/10/13 - Added Genasi powers from Drabix
2008/09/22 - Added Swordmage powers from khaine1969
2008/09/11 - Fixed "crap" to "carp" in _Animal Messenger_ ritual card
2008/09/09 - Fixed errors in Ranger _Crucial Advice_ power and absent level numbers in Ranger level 1 encounter powers
2008/09/02 - Fixed error in Paladin _Channel Divinity_ class feature
2008/08/26 - Added missing info in _Sunrod_ equipment card
2008/08/24 - Added missing info in _Raise Dead_ ritual card


----------



## Cergorach

I'm looking for Power Card InDesign templates, or atleast the backgrounds and icons in high quality (300dpi) image formats. I only need to create a very small number of these cards and want to make a couple of custom ones.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Grandpa said:


> MSE was too confusing for me, so I'm sure these cards will not be functional enough for most...



I happen to like these very much, thanks, particularly being 1 to a page since I can easily excerpt pages for the ones I need and print 8 to a page but only the ones I need.  After some effort getting the MSE thing to work, I realize I don't really need it because I prefer the method you use where someone will write in the specific mods.  Except, I actually do like the idea of having cards not only for things like Second Wind but also such things as the 1/encounter abilities you get with multiclassing (e.g. multiclass ranger's 1/encounter hunter's quarry), implement abilities, and so forth.  What did you used to originally create these cards before making them into PDFs?  Is it something that can be shared so that people like me can make some more that match?  I don't necessarily mean the whole lot of powers but enough to use as templates.  Thanks!


----------



## Grandpa

Magus Coeruleus said:


> What did you used to originally create these cards before making them into PDFs?  Is it something that can be shared so that people like me can make some more that match?



I appreciate the feedback, thanks! I used PowerPoint, and am happy to upload the PPT files (when I get a chance) and even give info on the creation process if there is interest.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Grandpa said:


> I appreciate the feedback, thanks! I used PowerPoint, and am happy to upload the PPT files (when I get a chance) and even give info on the creation process if there is interest.



Powerpoint? That would be great!


----------



## vagabundo

I got MSE working under Linux, very straight forward with Wine v1.0. 

Used Ander00's excellent set.

Anyway I needed some blank power cards so I created a new set using the Ander00 template. But when I created just some blank cards it is missing some of the gradients on the coloured headers, So it is just a flat red card or flat green. Anyone know how I can turn on the gradient and drop shadow??

Thanks again Ander00...


----------



## Bayuer

Ander00
Could you update your set with green, red and black colors without the icons and with white place to put name of power? Just likt the one in orange4?


----------



## tintagel

I have re-released my templates for my Power Cards.  They are on the fansite:

http://4e.educatedgamer.net

I know that they may be a little out of date, since it seems that many have moved on to boxes now.  These power cards are more artistic and use more ink, but i like them 

_ooooh, shiny!_

Anyways, you can also download my MSE files for powers levels 1-3. I don't think we can legally distribute any powers now.  The GSL clearly forbids it.  So grab the template and input yer own if you want.  For those that forgot what these look like, here is a sample screenshot.


----------



## Booka

Hi all

Long time reader, first time writer, just because i'm madly in love with those powercards.

I decided to use randolphs set, because of those fancy pictures.

I had to change some fonts and stuff (this MatrixBoldSmallCaps font has no "+", strange, maybe someone can help?) but alll credit goes to randolph.

In play I saw more potential, so I created cards for magic items as well (someone here had the great idea).

Those solo and elite monster now have a whole deck of different magic items and I let the players draw two or three (depends on monster). I know its a little "gamey" as someone said, put just look into the face of my players just before they draw and after one of them received something valuable. 

For the session tomorrow i have prepared cards for the Player Characters to visually show initiative order and for me to have some player stats handy. This makes ready and delay actions quite easy, I suppose.

Thanks to all of you and please excuse my bad english


----------



## Ander00

SBalrog and Bayuer: here are those custom backgrounds you asked for.

Everyone, especially those interested in playtesting the artificer: the set has been updated once again.


cheers


----------



## Bayuer

How put those in MSE?


----------



## Grandpa

*PPT Power Card Templates*

Magus Coeruleus: my PPT Power Card Templates are here, along with a Tutorial PPT that explains how I used them. Hope it helps!


----------



## Highland Raider

*Any way to . . . ?*

Is there any way to sticky this topic?  I typically check back every few days to see if anyone has updated their Power Card sets and have to jump at least 2 or 3 pages into the forums before I can find it.  Granted, most people may have already decided on a format to use and/or have begun making their own, but my group hasn't, so I like to keep track of the newer power cards.

Thanks.


----------



## reezel

eloquentaction said:


> Hello all.
> 
> I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm.  So much so, in fact, it prompted me to make my own set of cards and MSE-SET.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -- Hirahito (aka: eloquentaction)



I am loving your set, but am wondering if you can give advice on making new cards? I really want to put the new Dragon powers in as well as things like Second Wind and such. I tried copying the cards but like if the card I copied says "Martial Weapon" I have no idea how to change that.


----------



## eloquentaction

reezel said:


> I am loving your set, but am wondering if you can give advice on making new cards? I really want to put the new Dragon powers in as well as things like Second Wind and such. I tried copying the cards but like if the card I copied says "Martial Weapon" I have no idea how to change that.




Thanks for the feedback!

I'm heavily updating my card definitions to allow people to enter them in by hand much easier.

Unfortunately, this means I've had to shift away from compatibility with some of the other formats.

I will be posting back here with this new MSE-SET as well as some other files to make everyones life easier.

I need to add a few more card color backgrounds, and I'm adding a new Hirahito2 card set that has a 3rd icon slot for those people that like icon heavy sets.

Since I have an automated C#.NET program I put together that rebuilds my MSE-SET from a text file, I'm going to be posting that up here shortly as well (as well as definitions on how to modify the original text file and so forth).  I'm also going to be taking some hints from Ander and updating the text file with all of the optional powers from classes posted on this board.

I should be getting back to everyone within a day or so.

-- Hirahito


----------



## reezel

eloquentaction said:


> I should be getting back to everyone within a day or so.
> -- Hirahito



All very good news. Especially about putting up the C# project since I'm a .NET developer by trade. Can't wait to see what you got.


----------



## Rhianni32

tintagel said:


> I have re-released my templates for my Power Cards.  They are on the fansite:
> 
> http://4e.educatedgamer.net
> 
> I know that they may be a little out of date, since it seems that many have moved on to boxes now.  These power cards are more artistic and use more ink, but i like them




Awesome!  I was hoping you were still working on these


----------



## Klaumbaz

Saishu_Heiki said:


> I have found these to be an elegant solution, and am going to make a full set for my group this weekend when we play Return of the Burning Plague.




You gave all your players Syphilis? Again?


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Grandpa said:


> Magus Coeruleus: my PPT Power Card Templates are here, along with a Tutorial PPT that explains how I used them. Hope it helps!



Thanks so much, and with the tutorial even, wow!  I hope others find this as useful as I will.  I'm going to make some _potion of healing_ cards to hand out when they acquire them.

The elements I like to these are that it's not as ink heavy and just uses the color that is important for quickly identifying the refresh rate, and the special icons that visually indicate how area effects work.


----------



## Grandpa

I made a change to the Area burst icon and updated all of the templates / PDFs to reflect this. Updates and card pics here. Just two more classes to go for the complete card set!


----------



## XavTango

Thanks Tintagel! I used your cards and they came out great and were super easy to work with and populate.


----------



## tintagel

XavTango said:


> Thanks Tintagel! I used your cards and they came out great and were super easy to work with and populate.




Thanks!  Glad to see some folks are using those.  I know they are ink hogs, but eh - shiny!

Oh, I've got some folks working on entering all the powers in the PHB.  I'll announce it when it's done in case anyone wants them and host password-protected zips on the http://4e.educatedgamer.net site.  There will be a few Q&A's just to prove you own the books before I send you the password.  I don't want to be THAT blatant in breaking the GSL.


----------



## Alphastream

Ander00 said:


> Everyone, especially those interested in playtesting the artificer: the set has been updated once again.
> cheers




It can't be said too often or strongly. This set is awesome! Thank you, sincerely, for the hard work.

I read someone's post about the idea of using cards to track initiative. It could be very cool to have a template for each class with fields for common skills, defenses, name, art, etc. I could see that being really useful and fun for home games. A generic non-class set would be cool for Living or pick-up games.

Thanks again!


----------



## fsnaig

Grandpa said:


> Magus Coeruleus: my PPT Power Card Templates are here, along with a Tutorial PPT that explains how I used them. Hope it helps!




Thank you for the PowerPoint templates. This actually put me onto the idea of using the MSE components in PowerPoint itself, since I am a Macintosh user, and can't use the MSE program. The PNG files are easy to manipulate in PowerPoint, and can be used to create pretty much anything. Particularly, this allows for creating custom sets of powers for individual PCs.

fsnaig


----------



## Grandpa

*Whew!*



fsnaig said:


> Thank you for the PowerPoint templates.



 You're very welcome!

After a ridiculous amount of work, I'm finally the proud owner of power cards for every race/class/feat power in the PHB!

PPT Power Card Templates and Updates

Now I debate tackling magic items and magic item powers.


----------



## jtrowell

Tintagel, are your templates compatible with MSE 0.3.6 ?

I tried them, and it seems to work, but in the main section of the cards, I only get two fields (text and comments/description), where I was expecting more (range/area for instance) from what I read in the "game" file (moreover, this same fil says MSE 0.3.5).

Moreover, while I remember in previous MSE templates having special words (such as "Target:" or "Hit:") automatically set to bold font, there is no effet on my own cards.

Is it that I need to use MSE 0.3.5 or am I missing something ?


----------



## Tibeerius

Ander00:

My group and I are loving your power cards; thanks for all your effort! However, we noted that Acid Arrow (wizard 1st level daily) seems to be missing from the PDF version. Might that one be added in?


----------



## eloquentaction

*Updated Cards completed...*

Hey everyone.

Some have been asking me to update my cards, so I've gone ahead and done so.

New features of the cards:
*  All editable by hand now.
*  a *LOT* more customizable than they were before on fonts, colors, etc.
*  All the icons have been redone and touched up.
*  Looks of the cards have been tweaked a bit.  I think they look better.
*  Sidebars added like Ander's cards.  Allows you to enter in your own stats, etc.  Up to 7 sidebar entries for each card, if you enter into the first one only, it does not effect the size of the main rule text.
*  Sidebars also allow you to enter text into the box itself and the contents save with the card.

The sidebars still need a bit of tweaking on looks, so bare with me.

You can get the latest set Here.

Here's some samples of the cards.  Feel free to criticize and / or make suggestions.

-- Hirahito


----------



## jidoublem

*Can't open core card file*

Hey Ander,

Awesome job on the cards, we've used them in all our 4.0 gaming sessions thus far, so I wanted to access them from my home computer as well, but after following all the instructions I found in this extreeeemely long thread and deleting the config file, I still encounter the following error when I try to open the cards.  Error:  Package not found C:\Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D.mse-game.

Please forgive me if this an obvious fix or if it has been answered herein before, but I couldn't find any answers in the thread and I am a mse and winrar novice.

Any help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## MaineCoon

tintagel said:


> I don't think we can legally distribute any powers now. The GSL clearly forbids it.




You misunderstand the purpose of the GSL. The GSL only applies if you are using the logo - it is explicitly allowing the use of the logo and use of copyrighted material to those that comply with the terms.

The situation with power cards now is no different than before the release of the GSL - unless you are intending to use the logo, it falls under the rules of copyright.


----------



## KnightCa

*New card backgrounds*

Here is some more blank card backgrounds that combine the style of Tintagel and Randals cards.

Thank you everyone thats come before for all the work you've done.

Example attached.

Full Set Link:
http://www.josiahknight.com/game/ca...wfell/NewRules?rev=1;filename=backgrounds.zip


----------



## reezel

eloquentaction said:


> Hey everyone.
> 
> Some have been asking me to update my cards, so I've gone ahead and done so.
> 
> New features of the cards:
> *  All editable by hand now.
> *  a *LOT* more customizable than they were before on fonts, colors, etc.
> *  All the icons have been redone and touched up.
> *  Looks of the cards have been tweaked a bit.  I think they look better.
> *  Sidebars added like Ander's cards.  Allows you to enter in your own stats, etc.  Up to 7 sidebar entries for each card, if you enter into the first one only, it does not effect the size of the main rule text.
> *  Sidebars also allow you to enter text into the box itself and the contents save with the card.
> 
> The sidebars still need a bit of tweaking on looks, so bare with me.
> 
> You can get the latest set Here.
> 
> Here's some samples of the cards.  Feel free to criticize and / or make suggestions.
> 
> -- Hirahito



I'm loving the set and am going through and printing them for my game tomorrow night. I was wondering though two things. First is how do I add the sidebars you are talking about. Second, how can I change the Action or Range/Area for a card?


----------



## Rhianni32

tintagel said:


> Thanks! Glad to see some folks are using those. I know they are ink hogs, but eh - shiny!
> 
> Oh, I've got some folks working on entering all the powers in the PHB. I'll announce it when it's done in case anyone wants them and host password-protected zips on the http://4e.educatedgamer.net site. There will be a few Q&A's just to prove you own the books before I send you the password. I don't want to be THAT blatant in breaking the GSL.





I definately love them and yes they do hog up the ink but are worth it heh.

One request though please....
can you make a gold colored border?  I was wanting to have them seperate for magic item powers.


----------



## eloquentaction

*Sidebars...*



reezel said:


> I'm loving the set and am going through and printing them for my game tomorrow night. I was wondering though two things. First is how do I add the sidebars you are talking about. Second, how can I change the Action or Range/Area for a card?




Re download the set.  I was having problems with the sidebars, so I changed them just a bit ago. (should be version 2).

To add anything in the sidebars, you should see 7 empty slots on the right hand side of the card.  These are the title boxes for the sidebars.  It still has a bug where it assumes you start typing on the first or second one, so you'll need to start in one of those two to get it to work.  (I'm working on this still).

Currently, there are two options for the background.  I'm really not liking either (but at least they work).  I'm slotting out some time tomorrow to try and make them look a lot better.  I'll re-upload the set as soon as I get a working version.

To change the Action or Range Icons, click on the icon itself and delete or backspace till the icon disappears.  Then you'll see a list of 1 character shortcuts on the bottom (like Free Action is an F, etc.).  Type that in and the new icon will show up.

Make sure you try out some of the new styling options I added.  They aren't super awesome, but they do let you customize the cards a lot.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Jan van Leyden

Ander,

I love your cards for the clear, uncluttered layout! Yesterday, I've tried to meddle a bit with the template and game files, but had no luck. 

I basically wanted to make the fields with the boxes (images box2.png, box3.png) editable, so I can customize the cards for printing, entering the appropriate values for the attacks.

Any ideas for this or any tip on which paramters I'd have to change?

Huldvoll

Jan van Leyden


----------



## Thalamus Grondak

Excellent Cards and game implementation.

Has anybody made an export-template for export to HTML?


----------



## othar

Grandpa said:


> ....
> 
> Power Card Templates (PPT, Templates w/Tutorial)
> Power Cards Sample (PDF, Level 1 Cards)
> Power Cards PDF (PDF, All Level Cards)
> Power Cards PPT (PPT, All Level Cards)
> 
> ...




there is an error this the "All level cards" (pdf and ptt),

the "at-will" section in both archive are only the first levels cards (with 2 or 3 from others levels)


----------



## Grandpa

Nope, that's all of 'em. There aren't many.


----------



## Mercutio01

*D&D Character Cards*

After about a week of wrangling and design, Black Plauge and I have come up with what we feel is a serviceable design for using MSE to make character cards.  You can check out the evolution in this thread at DragonAvenue.  A lot of the numbers and such are automated (surges, HP calculation, ability modifiers), and I think it looks pretty darn good.

Even better than that, we've made it so you can use the same card to make monster cards, in the same template format.

I have attached the MSE game and style folders.

You can look at two samples below.


----------



## Grandpa

*Equipment Icons*

Not sure what kind of icon junkies we have here, but I wanted to share the icons I made since deciding to tackle magic item and magic item power cards. I made them out of shapes in PowerPoint, dragging curve handles around and such to get everything nice-looking, but I'm not sure if there is an easy way to get those shapes out into other programs people use.

I wanted to keep the orange template from the PHB for the card borders but wanted to visually communicate the daily/encounter/at-will, and now healing surge/consumable power types in addition to the normal power icons. And I figured when thumbing through magic item cards, it would be nice to visually note how many of a given equipment type you had instead of reading it.

The icons have been added to my template files, which you can access here.

Click on the JPG popups for a nicer view of the images.


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

They look AWESOME Merc!  Thx.


----------



## XCorvis

These power cards look awesome. I don't suppose there's someone willing to distill this 26 page thread into a short wiki article? Like a little tutorial on how to use the card templates? I've sketched out a rough article already so that people can add links to templates (and not have to sift through the thread to find the info).

http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/4e_MSE_Power_Cards


----------



## guybrush

XCorvis said:


> These power cards look awesome. I don't suppose there's someone willing to distill this 26 page thread into a short wiki article? Like a little tutorial on how to use the card templates? I've sketched out a rough article already so that people can add links to templates (and not have to sift through the thread to find the info).
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/4e_MSE_Power_Cards




Well, I've had a bash at a basic tutorial. I'm not sure how in-depth we need to go; once past a certain point the online MSE documentation should be enough for anyone using the program. But it's a Wiki, so I hope people will take what I've done and run with it.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Grandpa said:


> Not sure what kind of icon junkies we have here, but I wanted to share the icons I made since deciding to tackle magic item and magic item power cards. I made them out of shapes in PowerPoint, dragging curve handles around and such to get everything nice-looking, but I'm not sure if there is an easy way to get those shapes out into other programs people use.
> 
> I wanted to keep the orange template from the PHB for the card borders but wanted to visually communicate the daily/encounter/at-will, and now healing surge/consumable power types in addition to the normal power icons. And I figured when thumbing through magic item cards, it would be nice to visually note how many of a given equipment type you had instead of reading it.
> 
> The icons have been added to my template files, which you can access here.
> 
> Click on the JPG popups for a nicer view of the images.



Very nice!  The potion icon makes me think more of alchemy or chemistry (bubbling beaker) than end-product magic potion, which I would expect not to have wide base and to have a cork or other stopper, but I like it a lot nonetheless.


----------



## XCorvis

That's a great start. Thanks Guybrush!


----------



## Grandpa

Magus Coeruleus said:


> Very nice!  The potion icon makes me think more of alchemy or chemistry (bubbling beaker) than end-product magic potion, which I would expect not to have wide base and to have a cork or other stopper, but I like it a lot nonetheless.



Yeah, I started with a vial but the concept never worked out. I haven't gotten to the section on potions yet so I may try something else.

It was tricky to come up with a magic item layout I liked. For template simplicity, I decided to separate the sets for magic items that have powers and magic items that don't (3 icons in the master slide for those powers, 1 for those w/o). The level / bonus / cost tables in the PHB didn't fit well and seemed of minimal use when people mostly care about the bonus of _their_ magic items, so I created cards without that information, assuming it will be filled in wherever someone wants (upper-right in the card, or in one of the info boxes), and only called out info box requests for _other_ specific abilities based on item level or character attributes.

Ultimately, I knew my players would want to personalize their items with names and the specific armor / weapon type, and I thought this was the best balance of information presented on generic cards for everyone, and making the transition from those cards to personalized cards for those that wanted to tweak them in PowerPoint. I might try a couple more things, but those are the considerations.

I'm about halfway through the set. I'll add them to the complete card set soon. Here's a preview of a generic magic item and a personalized version:


----------



## Alphastream

Mercutio01 said:


> After about a week of wrangling and design, Black Plauge and I have come up with what we feel is a serviceable design for using MSE to make character cards.




Great work! I've been hoping someone would come up with some great monster/PC cards. These look great. I look forward to testing them this coming week at my 4E game. 

I'm still looking for a good magic item template. I like the Lord Tirian design from page 2 in this thread, so I may just work with that. I'm just short on time, you know, writing mods and such. <grin>

Keep up the good work at DragonAvenue.

Teos


----------



## SamuraiJackJr

Grandpa said:


> Yeah, I started with a vial but the concept never worked out. I haven't gotten to the section on potions yet so I may try something else.
> 
> It was tricky to come up with a magic item layout I liked. For template simplicity, I decided to separate the sets for magic items that have powers and magic items that don't (3 icons in the master slide for those powers, 1 for those w/o). The level / bonus / cost tables in the PHB didn't fit well and seemed of minimal use when people mostly care about the bonus of _their_ magic items, so I created cards without that information, assuming it will be filled in wherever someone wants (upper-right in the card, or in one of the info boxes), and only called out info box requests for _other_ specific abilities based on item level or character attributes.
> 
> Ultimately, I knew my players would want to personalize their items with names and the specific armor / weapon type, and I thought this was the best balance of information presented on generic cards for everyone, and making the transition from those cards to personalized cards for those that wanted to tweak them in PowerPoint. I might try a couple more things, but those are the considerations.
> 
> I'm about halfway through the set. I'll add them to the complete card set soon. Here's a preview of a generic magic item and a personalized version:




Great work on this!  FYI for all interested, it is very easy to make this into a B&W copy to print out on color cardstock (which is what I am looking for) by simply changing the master slide.  I change all of the header's to white, all of the text to black, and all of the circles to light gray.  This has been a huge help - thanks for your work and look forward to seeing the items!


----------



## shinobi_guyver

Grandpa said:


> Yeah, I started with a vial but the concept never worked out. I haven't gotten to the section on potions yet so I may try something else.
> 
> It was tricky to come up with a magic item layout I liked. For template simplicity, I decided to separate the sets for magic items that have powers and magic items that don't (3 icons in the master slide for those powers, 1 for those w/o). The level / bonus / cost tables in the PHB didn't fit well and seemed of minimal use when people mostly care about the bonus of _their_ magic items, so I created cards without that information, assuming it will be filled in wherever someone wants (upper-right in the card, or in one of the info boxes), and only called out info box requests for _other_ specific abilities based on item level or character attributes.
> 
> Ultimately, I knew my players would want to personalize their items with names and the specific armor / weapon type, and I thought this was the best balance of information presented on generic cards for everyone, and making the transition from those cards to personalized cards for those that wanted to tweak them in PowerPoint. I might try a couple more things, but those are the considerations.
> 
> I'm about halfway through the set. I'll add them to the complete card set soon. Here's a preview of a generic magic item and a personalized version:




Wow... these look excellent. I look forward to seeing the item cards when you finish them.


----------



## eloquentaction

*Update to cards...*

Not sure anyone still cares, but I've updated the sidebars on my cards with a third type that I think is much better looking.

-- Hirahito

Take a look:


----------



## Mercutio01

I like that Hirahito.


----------



## eloquentaction

Mercutio01 said:


> I like that Hirahito.




Thanks, Mercutio.  Coming from a power-card pro like yourself, that means a lot.

BTW - If I get a few moments, I'll see if I can PhotoSlop something for your Item card background.  You were talking about having problems with it on the Dragon thread.


----------



## Grandpa

eloquentaction said:


> Not sure anyone still cares, but I've updated the sidebars on my cards with a third type that I think is much better looking.



My goals may not be the same, but your cards are super beautiful. And I think the changes you made are a definite improvement, but wish the thin opening / closing lines you use on the right were used as a design template for the areas between each info box (instead of the thick pattern). Hopefully the feedback is welcome. Nice work!


----------



## Grandpa

Magus Coeruleus said:


> Very nice!





SamuraiJackJr said:


> Great work on this! ... This has been a huge help - thanks for your work and look forward to seeing the items!





shinobi_guyver said:


> Wow... these look excellent. I look forward to seeing the item cards when you finish them.



Thanks guys. The feedback helps me keep going.


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> My goals may not be the same, but your cards are super beautiful. And I think the changes you made are a definite improvement, but wish the thin opening / closing lines you use on the right were used as a design template for the areas between each info box (instead of the thick pattern). Hopefully the feedback is welcome. Nice work!




Thanks, Grandpa!

Excellent advice.

I added a new style setting for Flourish called Thick / Thin.  Thick is the original setting, thin is the new one you suggested.  Here's a pic for each setting.

As usual, the set can be found in the link in my sig.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Not sure anyone still cares, but I've updated the sidebars on my cards with a third type that I think is much better looking.




Nice job!  That works really well on your cards.


----------



## Relbanan

Grandpa, I'm looking at your card set, couple questions.  In your main post at the bottom you mention Feat powers being in the set, am I missing those somewhere?  I can't seem to find them.  Also, how about Second Wind, and skill-based powers, ie. Bluff and Intimidate?  Are they in there somewhere?

I've been using Ander00's set but I really dislike the MSE program, I think Powerpoint is a lot easier to work in.  Basically I want a set that has all the racial features, class features, powers, skill features, feat features, and the "other" stuff (Second Wind, Bluff, Intimidate, others?) all included, plus the ability to add custom ones for items and such.  Too much to ask?


----------



## Grandpa

Relbanan said:


> Grandpa, I'm looking at your card set, couple questions.  In your main post at the bottom you mention Feat powers being in the set, am I missing those somewhere?  I can't seem to find them.  Also, how about Second Wind, and skill-based powers, ie. Bluff and Intimidate?  Are they in there somewhere?



The feat powers are encounter powers located after the racial powers near the beginning of the set. I didn't make cards for any of the combat or skill-based abilities (not powers, per se), but may consider it a bit later.



Relbanan said:


> Basically I want a set that has all the racial features, class features, powers, skill features, feat features, and the "other" stuff (Second Wind, Bluff, Intimidate, others?) all included, plus the ability to add custom ones for items and such.  Too much to ask?



We'll see. I focused strictly on powers, but the templates zip contains a "generic" template (based on the blue color in the PHB) specifically for the creation of non-powers. The tutorial in the templates zip should make it really easy to do these and other customized cards, and I'm sure others would love it if someone added them to the set. 

Or you can wait, but after wrapping up magic items and artifacts tonight (will post late tomorrow night after doing a once-over for errors and errata) I think I will be pooped out for a bit. Doing all those was a helluva lot of work for one poor fella. I need a break; my OCD can only get me so far.

But I did update  with magic item and artifact templates tonight. The artifact templates are based on the same colors found in the DMG.


----------



## guybrush

Just a quick note regarding MSE page sizes, as I've seen a few people wondering what "A4" is all about. A4 is the default size paper we have here in Australia and I think much of Europe uses it too. It's a little taller and thinner than Letter size paper, which means my sheets for most games have always been cut off at the sides - but MSE prints the cards just right! 

I like many of the set styles we're seeing, though I have to ask if it's time we decided on a consistent format for D&D power cards in MSE? If we could come up with a suggested set of fields, then card sets and templates could be compatible, making it simpler for users to mix 'n' match for different player preferences.

I haven't tried making a set from scratch myself, but one thing I have noticed is that the fields for class, level and power type etc. don't match up between templates, and they're often combined rather than separate (i.e. "Wizard Attack 1" shows up as a single field, rather than there being separate fields for Class, power type and level). Would it be a good idea to have separate columns for those things, which are then combined in the template? It would make sorting and filtering sets easier, too.

Finally, I also notice that I can't edit keywords when using any of the templates I've tried (mainly Ander and Hirahito). Is this is a function of the way the templates are set up? I think this is what prevents me from adding my own classes, or homebrew ones I've seen posted here.


----------



## shinobi_guyver

guybrush said:


> Just a quick note regarding MSE page sizes, as I've seen a few people wondering what "A4" is all about. A4 is the default size paper we have here in Australia and I think much of Europe uses it too. It's a little taller and thinner than Letter size paper, which means my sheets for most games have always been cut off at the sides - but MSE prints the cards just right!




I did a quick look up on A4 sized paper and found this:


			
				Wikipedia said:
			
		

> The most frequently used of this series is the size A4 (210 × 297 mm). A4 paper is 6 mm narrower and 18 mm longer than the "Letter" paper size, 8½ × 11 inches (216 × 279 mm), commonly used in North America.


----------



## eloquentaction

guybrush said:


> Just a quick note regarding MSE page sizes, as I've seen a few people wondering what "A4" is all about. A4 is the default size paper we have here in Australia and I think much of Europe uses it too. It's a little taller and thinner than Letter size paper, which means my sheets for most games have always been cut off at the sides - but MSE prints the cards just right!




I recognize the A4 paper format.  But it's much more fun to mock it, isn't it?  



> I like many of the set styles we're seeing, though I have to ask if it's time we decided on a consistent format for D&D power cards in MSE? If we could come up with a suggested set of fields, then card sets and templates could be compatible, making it simpler for users to mix 'n' match for different player preferences.
> 
> I haven't tried making a set from scratch myself, but one thing I have noticed is that the fields for class, level and power type etc. don't match up between templates, and they're often combined rather than separate (i.e. "Wizard Attack 1" shows up as a single field, rather than there being separate fields for Class, power type and level). Would it be a good idea to have separate columns for those things, which are then combined in the template? It would make sorting and filtering sets easier, too.




I can only speak for my set.  And I can say that:  1)  It's still evolving - I'm thinking of adding a landscape version of my card as well as one that has an entirely different look; so I can't 'fix' to a standard game definition yet, because it would be like shooting at a moving target.  2) Filling in all of those fields is possible with my C# program (there's no freaking way you could make me do it by hand), but no one's come up with a definition for all the fields and what should be in them yet.   3) Different symbol sets.  Some of the guys have similar symbol sets.  Some of us (like me) don't.  I completely redefined my symbol set because I thought it was easier than trying to fit it in the one that was already out there.   4) We're artists with some programming skills - we don't like to be confined into a system created by the man to put us in a box, man!!



> Finally, I also notice that I can't edit keywords when using any of the templates I've tried (mainly Ander and Hirahito). Is this is a function of the way the templates are set up? I think this is what prevents me from adding my own classes, or homebrew ones I've seen posted here.




Download my latest set.  The keywords has been placed back into a text field and is freely editable.  I had it as a keyword list for a while but I've found that too limiting because people make up their own keywords for new cards.  If I don't have the keyword in there for your new race or new class or new power source, you can't select it.  With a text box you can type whatever the hell floats your boat.


----------



## Mercutio01

guybrush said:


> I like many of the set styles we're seeing, though I have to ask if it's time we decided on a consistent format for D&D power cards in MSE? If we could come up with a suggested set of fields, then card sets and templates could be compatible, making it simpler for users to mix 'n' match for different player preferences.



Like hirahito, I can only speak for myself.  I wanted to avoid the standard cut and paste which is the general way these cards are being made.  To that end, I made specialized icons and tried to make the card do as much visual work as possible.

Also, Black Plauge is doing most of the coding for the sets we have so far (icon only, icon with text, text only, and a character card) and they are all keyed off the same game file, which is distinct from the others, meaning that none of the cards we make are even switchable between other people's templates.


----------



## Alphastream

shinobi_guyver said:


> I did a quick look up on A4 sized paper




We in the US should not make fun of A4 paper. The A-series is, like the metric system, a superior system. Each paper size is proportional to the next. Thus, when you make something for A4 paper, and then decide you want to make it poster-sized (A-somebiggernumber) you don't have to redesign the document. It is a great system, used all across Europe and many other parts of the world.

In MSE, changing the paper size to letter is easy and works perfectly. Click on print, select properties for the printer, then click on the Advanced tab. You should see a place to select the paper type, changing from A4 to Letter. The cards will print just fine, fitting in a standard gaming card sleeve. You can print on cardstock or just insert over an old CCG card you don't need.


----------



## Alphastream

I updated the Power Cards wiki  to include information on how to have multiple templates on one computer.


----------



## Grandpa

Just an update:

I've added magic items and artifacts from the PHB and DMG to the complete set available in both PDF and PPT format. The templates have been updated to include one embedded (Calibri) font template, as well as magic item and artifact templates with new item icons. Other information on the new cards:


I updated the potion icon to look more "vial & cork" than "bubbling beaker"
The magic items now have a blank circle to encourage players to fill in their own enhancement bonuses into the cards as-prepared (I still hope some will personalize their magic items, and included "+#" text boxes for that)
The artifacts have seperate cards for each level of happiness the artifact is in
Granted powers via artifacts have their own power cards to reflect the fact that they come from the artifact, and to spell out other differences in abilities as a result.
The grand tally is now 930 completed power cards. (I'm tired!) I expect there are errors here and there in the cards, so please keep an eye out and let me know.

Enjoy!


----------



## XCorvis

Does anyone have a template that is compatible with pre-cut cards, like business cards or even printable playing cards and such? It'd be cool to be able to just print a sheet and pop them out.


----------



## kg_kharkov

Hi Grandpa, 

First of all your cards are great. I just DL'd the power point version and did not see the new files for artifacts and items. Can you check the .zip file again.  The pdf version has the artifacts and items.  I like the PPT version since I cut and paste the images onto customized power pages for my sons to use.  (They find it easier to have 6 or so powers on a single page rather than individual cards).

Keep up the good work.


----------



## Grandpa

That's weird. I just tested both links and they work fine and have the files in them. Maybe send me an email (click on my name). If you try again and it's still doesn't work, I'll try to get back to you tonight to just email the file or something. But if you can download the file just fine, and it just isn't in there, but is for me (???) when I use the link, I'm not sure what could be going wrong. Maybe you grabbed the "samples" link? That .zip doesn't have any artifacts or magic items in it.


----------



## kg_kharkov

Strange.  I think I needed to clear my temp files to see the new power point files.  Each time I clicked, i would just get your original 3 power point files.  I then cleared my temp internet files, clicked on the templates file and got that properly, and then when I went back to the regular power point file, your new files showed up properly.

Oh well, I have them now and we'll be enjoying them this weekend in our KoTS session.  Your hard work is greatly appreciated especially since I've substituted a few PH items for KOTS items in our campaign.


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

kg_kharkov said:


> Hi Grandpa,
> 
> I like the PPT version since I cut and paste the images onto customized power pages for my sons to use.  (They find it easier to have 6 or so powers on a single page rather than individual cards).
> 
> Keep up the good work.




I agree.  Would it be possible to make a pdf version with 6-9 to a page?


----------



## eloquentaction

guybrush said:


> Well, I've had a bash at a basic tutorial. I'm not sure how in-depth we need to go; once past a certain point the online MSE documentation should be enough for anyone using the program. But it's a Wiki, so I hope people will take what I've done and run with it.




Guybrush -

Awesome job on the WIKI.

One note, though - it's not entirely necessary for them to put the complete card sets in their own directories.  Most of ours can coexist peacefully since we've renamed the .mse-game.  Mine, for example, is differentiated by DnD4h.mse-game.  Since none of the other sets use that, it can coexist peacefully.

Not that your instructions are incorrect, just thought I would clarify.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Mercutio01

And mine is D&D4e.mse-game


----------



## Grandpa

Ghaerdon Fain said:


> I agree.  Would it be possible to make a pdf version with 6-9 to a page?



Thanks for the responses to the cards, guys.

Unfortunately, I'm not handy enough with PDFs to know how to do it. However, you can print multiple per page and be specific about what cards appear on each page.

In Acrobat Reader:


Change "Page Scaling" to "Multiple pages per sheet."
Change "Pages per sheet" to "Custom" and set it to the number of rows and columns you want (e.g., "3" by "3").
Enter the cards you want to print in the "Pages" field (e.g., "1, 2-5, 46, 22, 10-16, 3, 3, 3" is valid)
Print!
I've only tested this on landscape settings with 4x2 (8 card) printouts, so you may want to make sure a 3x3 prints cards at the intended 2.5" x 3.5" size. The approach may be less kid-friendly, but it seems better than printing out several cards only to cut out the particular one you want.


----------



## fsnaig

Grandpa said:


> Thanks for the responses to the cards, guys.
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm not handy enough with PDFs to know how to do it. However, you can print multiple per page and be specific about what cards appear on each page.
> 
> In Acrobat Reader:
> 
> 
> Change "Page Scaling" to "Multiple pages per sheet."
> Change "Pages per sheet" to "Custom" and set it to the number of rows and columns you want (e.g., "3" by "3").
> Enter the cards you want to print in the "Pages" field (e.g., "1, 2-5, 46, 22, 10-16, 3, 3, 3" is valid)
> Print!
> I've only tested this on landscape settings with 4x2 (8 card) printouts, so you may want to make sure a 3x3 prints cards at the intended 2.5" x 3.5" size. The approach may be less kid-friendly, but it seems better than printing out several cards only to cut out the particular one you want.




You should be able to make PDF files directly from PowerPoint via the Print menu, or alternatively pulling up the PNG files into Word, using columns, and then Print to a PDF.

fsnaig


----------



## kg_kharkov

For my "customized" power sheet, I've been taking the individual card images from Anders' pdfs and pasting them into a double column word document.  I've been combining that with magic item images from others.  I'll likely just switch to using all of Grandpa's images.  

You can take his power point images, copy them one by one and then paste them into a Word document.

That way, you have a customized sheet with just your powers.  This works great for the early levels and for newer players.  My sons who are new to the game enjoy it b/c all their at-will, encounter and daily "main" powers are on the first page and all their ancillary type powers and magic item powers are on the second page.  I then just save the file, print and pencil in the modifiers -- it makes for easy updating as they go up levels.

Once you paste one of Grandpa's ppt images into a word document, you just need to do a bit of resizing to get your desired size.


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

fsnaig said:


> You should be able to make PDF files directly from PowerPoint via the Print menu, or alternatively pulling up the PNG files into Word, using columns, and then Print to a PDF.
> 
> fsnaig




Thank you that is very cleaver and I didn't think of it at all.  Also Grampa's advise about the printing by column and row was brilliant, it works now.  Before I was getting cut off on the last row.  All is well.  

Between yours and Ander00's card sets my two groups are set.


----------



## Relbanan

that's pretty much the same method I posted for my init cards.   Works just fine.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Just a word to the wise: if you find that putting card images in columns makes the 2nd and subsequent columns shift the image down one line so that it's not aligned at the top with the 1st column card, you can instead create a table that spans the page and has the number of columns (and rows of course) you want in word and place the images in each cell for better control over layout.  I had this issue not with the ppt/png cards but with some Excel monster blocks I grouped into encounters via pasting into Word.


----------



## Mercutio01

If anyone is interested (or cares) Black Plauge and I are starting work on Item cards for use in MSE.  We're still working out the concepts now.  Below is the latest concept.  I'm using Grandpa's icons (which are great) for item slots and power type and my own variation on the fairly standard icons for actions.


----------



## eloquentaction

Mercutio01 said:


> If anyone is interested (or cares) Black Plauge and I are starting work on Item cards for use in MSE. We're still working out the concepts now. Below is the latest concept. I'm using Grandpa's icons (which are great) for item slots and power type and my own variation on the fairly standard icons for actions.




Mercutio -

I think that card gave me a bit of a woody.

RAWR.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Relbanan

Here's a set of replacement backgrounds for Ander00's set.  The top portion is the same, I just added the "old paper" look to the white background.  The files replaced are

cardblack.png
cardblue.png
cardgold.png
cardgreen.png
cardgrey.png
cardiron.png
cardorange.png
cardorange_2.png
cardorange_3.png
cardorange_4.png
cardred.png
cardsilver.png

Back up your originals and just drop these in place, in Program Files\Magic Set Editor 2\data\D&D-Ander.mse-style


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

Mercutio01 said:


> If anyone is interested (or cares) Black Plauge and I are starting work on Item cards for use in MSE.




 Wow! There are some really great ideas there. Like to format (although it is a bit orangy for me  ). Look forward to the final design.


----------



## Mercutio01

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Like to format (although it is a bit orangy for me  )



That's understandable.  I was trying to use the same RGB values as the book (206, 124, 0).


----------



## Gnome Stewart

Ander00 said:


> *The Set* (core_complete_set.rar)
> This set consists of 1018 cards in total, including the powers from classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats and races (from the PHB and the MM, as well as Dragon #364, and the artificer powers from Dragon #365), as well as blank cards to fill in for the different item types (though you can also use the template to make finished cards for different items).




Ander00, I'd just like to say that these power cards are one of the best-designed and most fun game aids I've used in a long time. I cut out sets for all the players in my group, and they rock. Perfect.

Not only did you capture the 4e feel, but you accounted for the need to note adjusted totals and even improved on the power listings in the book by including easy-to-reference melee/ranged and action type icons.

This is an absolutely fantastic resource, and it's made my 4e gaming more enjoyable. Thank you!


----------



## Mercutio01

This might look like the same card I mocked up in GIMP, but it's not.  I have a semi-working Style file now.  After 3 hours of futzing, it's now time to go to bed.


----------



## Aridhra

Mercutio01 said:


> This might look like the same card I mocked up in GIMP, but it's not. I have a semi-working Style file now. After 3 hours of futzing, it's now time to go to bed.




This is what I was waiting for. I think using cards for items makes them easy to exchange between party members, sell in shops, etc. 
Are you also willing to make cards like 'Flaming Longsword', 'Flaming Battleaxe' with the adjusted stats and cards for mundane items like simple torches, ropes, food, ... 

Love your work, thanks for the enormous efford.


----------



## Grandpa

Just a quick note: I updated my power and magic item cards with the latest (7/02/08) errata from Wizards. Just late to the game there.


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> Guybrush -
> 
> Awesome job on the WIKI.
> 
> One note, though - it's not entirely necessary for them to put the complete card sets in their own directories.  Most of ours can coexist peacefully since we've renamed the .mse-game.  Mine, for example, is differentiated by DnD4h.mse-game.  Since none of the other sets use that, it can coexist peacefully.
> 
> Not that your instructions are incorrect, just thought I would clarify.
> 
> -- Hirahito




That parts my doing. I added a bunch to the Wiki of late, including printing and multiple templates.

Its good to know that many of the new templates support being added to the general folder. I had the typical frustrating early experiences, so I now do this every time to keep things clear.

One idea is for authors to make it clear in their zip file (maybe a quick installation note in a readme.txt) that these files can be added right into the main data directory. 

If anyone feels a wiki change is needed, please do so. That's what a wiki is all about, and anyone can edit it so what I wrote ends up being better.


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> That parts my doing. I added a bunch to the Wiki of late, including printing and multiple templates.
> 
> Its good to know that many of the new templates support being added to the general folder. I had the typical frustrating early experiences, so I now do this every time to keep things clear.
> 
> One idea is for authors to make it clear in their zip file (maybe a quick installation note in a readme.txt) that these files can be added right into the main data directory.
> 
> If anyone feels a wiki change is needed, please do so. That's what a wiki is all about, and anyone can edit it so what I wrote ends up being better.




Some of your original frustration probably came from my first attempts to make a set.

I changed the game file in the .mse-game without checking for compatibility. A bad no-no on my part.

The newest set of mine doesn't have that problem, and I'm sure Mercutio's doesn't as well.

I'm still halfway in the rewrite of malcolm_n's druid for use in my campaign world or I'd be publishing more card info out here.

My next steps are pretty small in the cards though. I'll announce them when I manage to finish them.

-- Hirahito

P.S. - One of things on my to-do list is to pull out the Level, Class, and PowerSource into their prospective fields.  Ander and I are using the SOURCE tag to put where the card originated from (PHB, etc).  So I think you're starting to see some of what you asked for.  I'll take a look at Mercutio's set and see if he's using any fields I'm not and if I could possibly use them instead of mine.


----------



## Alphastream

Gnome Stewart said:


> Ander00,
> [snip]
> 
> Not only did you capture the 4e feel, but you accounted for the need to note adjusted totals and even improved on the power listings in the book by including easy-to-reference melee/ranged and action type icons.




It is easy for us to miss this, but most of the recent good MSE additions, such as Mercutio/Plauge, Ander00, and others allow editing in MSE. It is what makes MSE so powerful compared to pdf or PowerPoint, and why I have spent some time on the wiki.

You can take any of the recent sets and edit in exactly your information, such as your to hit and damage bonus, or your own quotes, etc., because the authors have enabled this. It removes a bit of the edge that Ander00 had in being able to write the values in the boxes - now you can choose between Ander00s excellent streamlined look (and type the values into the boxes) or edit a set like Mercutio's/Plauge's which are busier but really aesthetically pleasing.

Also, making a few cards is simple. For example, you can take Mercutio/Plauge's set and save it as your PC name. Then you remove the powers you don't want at the low levels, keeping the higher levels you might take later. Then you click on add new card and in 3 minutes add a multiclass power from another class, then print exactly the cards you want for this character with your custom info on them. That's amazing, and hat's off to the people doing this!

Last night I made magic item cards using the Lord Tirian design (still may fav for items, though that new design looks good, Mercutio/Plauge), placing pictures from the WotC gallery. Can't wait to hand them out at the next game when they are earned/found. Game-changing tool!


----------



## Alphastream

Question: is there an easy way to add in a card from one mse set to another?

What if they belong to the same author, such as a wizard power from Mercutio/Plauge's wizard set into the warlord set?

What if they are across different sets, such as Hirohito into Ander00?

Thanks,

Teos


----------



## Mercutio01

The set files are zips and the zipped info is effectively text, just like game and style.  You could conceivably copy and paste info from one set to the other but I know mine uses different info than Ander00's.  So, you could easily copy and paste from one of my sets into another of mine, but not into Ander's without rewriting the tags for his style.


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> Question: is there an easy way to add in a card from one mse set to another?
> 
> What if they belong to the same author, such as a wizard power from Mercutio/Plauge's wizard set into the warlord set?
> 
> What if they are across different sets, such as Hirohito into Ander00?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Teos




I'm fairly certain mine can take Ander's and Mercutio's set information as it currently stands.

You will most likely get an initial 'missing data' or 'unknown field' complaint from MSE when it first loads your new set, but I'm fairly positive it will work.

Teos - do you want me to try it and make a write-up on how to do it?


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> It is easy for us to miss this, but most of the recent good MSE additions, such as Mercutio/Plauge, Ander00, and others allow editing in MSE. It is what makes MSE so powerful compared to pdf or PowerPoint, and why I have spent some time on the wiki.
> 
> You can take any of the recent sets and edit in exactly your information, such as your to hit and damage bonus, or your own quotes, etc., because the authors have enabled this. It removes a bit of the edge that Ander00 had in being able to write the values in the boxes - now you can choose between Ander00s excellent streamlined look (and type the values into the boxes) or edit a set like Mercutio's/Plauge's which are busier but really aesthetically pleasing.
> 
> Also, making a few cards is simple. For example, you can take Mercutio/Plauge's set and save it as your PC name. Then you remove the powers you don't want at the low levels, keeping the higher levels you might take later. Then you click on add new card and in 3 minutes add a multiclass power from another class, then print exactly the cards you want for this character with your custom info on them. That's amazing, and hat's off to the people doing this!
> 
> Last night I made magic item cards using the Lord Tirian design (still may fav for items, though that new design looks good, Mercutio/Plauge), placing pictures from the WotC gallery. Can't wait to hand them out at the next game when they are earned/found. Game-changing tool!




Teos / Alphastream -

Hmmmm.....  I put all that work into getting the 7 sidebars in my set and don't even get an honorable mention?  ;-)

Just as an FYI for those that are curious, my current set allows up to 7 sidebboxes for additional customizable data.  They allow for both the title and the text within the box to be customized.

This data is saved with the card and print out quite nicely.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

Alphastream said:


> It is easy for us to miss this, but most of the recent good MSE additions ... allow editing in MSE. It is what makes MSE so powerful compared to pdf or PowerPoint ...



Since when is a PowerPoint file not editable?


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> Teos / Alphastream -
> 
> Hmmmm..... I put all that work into getting the 7 sidebars in my set and don't even get an honorable mention? ;-)
> 
> Just as an FYI for those that are curious, my current set allows up to 7 sidebboxes for additional customizable data. They allow for both the title and the text within the box to be customized.
> 
> This data is saved with the card and print out quite nicely.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I like your cards and I downloaded them but when i use the side bars I get a gray background in the boxes, not the cool dividing lines.


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> I like your cards and I downloaded them but when i use the side bars I get a gray background in the boxes, not the cool dividing lines.




Sorry Meandog!

Yep - the default is a rather ugly gray background that was my first attempt.

Go into the MSE editor and click on the Style button (3rd from the left).

My set has about 18 different things you can change, but the ones you're interested in are the bottom two:  Box Type Select and Flourish Fill.

On Box Type Select, Select 'Flourish'.  On Flourish Fill you can select Thick or Thin (your choice).

While you're here, you can play around with the other options and you can set how your cards are styled.  Not everyone likes the Old English font, for example.  I've added 9 different font styles for most different settings.

The next version of the cards I'm going to clean up a bit.  I'm *ALMOST* done with the Druid rewrite, so cleaning up the cards is my next project.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback!  Also - if there are any suggestions you have, let me know and I'll see if I can implement them in the next release.

Here are two examples.  The first is my set at default, the second is with some of the options selected.

-- Hirahito


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> Sorry Meandog!
> 
> 
> Here are two examples. The first is my set at default, the second is with some of the options selected.
> 
> Man that is alot of options, and really cool. So your idea was to use these side boxes to write in your characters attack and damage? What other things would you put in them?
> Thanks


----------



## Netminder69

Hmm... i can't seem to find a search function...

has there ever been an image icon created for a Wall effect for use in the MSE?  I am making my own cards using Ander's set (a very nice set BTW Ander) and have even made some changes to include other Classes/Races in the drop down boxes he set up.  The one thing I haven't been able to find anywhere is a wall icon to use int he attack/effect location in the upper right corner.  Anyone know of one?  If so, please let me know!


----------



## Black Plauge

The set that Merc and I created has one.  Download the style here.


----------



## eloquentaction

Netminder -

My set has two walls.  Close Wall and Area Wall.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> Teos / Alphastream -
> 
> Hmmmm.....  I put all that work into getting the 7 sidebars in my set and don't even get an honorable mention?  ;-)




Honestly, I've been writing my first 4E mod and I wanted to get some cards done for my PC (who a different player will play so we have 5 PCs) and item cards so i can give them cool treasure. I love your design, but I have mentally kept myself from installing it because I know I won't finish the mod if I do.

Now that the bulk of the work is done, I'm gonna do just that. And yes, I would love a tutorial on the MSE file itself. I read about the unzipping part, but I haven't done so nor delved into it. It would be useful to have the wiki at least explain what is going on. It would also let people know that they can change cards even if the text is not easily editable in the card. 

Thanks, Hirahito! No slight meant, just giving props to what I've been able to get to so far!


----------



## kg_kharkov

Grandpa said:


> Since when is a PowerPoint file not editable?




Powerpoint is fully editable.  It takes about 10 seconds to customize one of Grandpa's "Thundering Weapon" cards into a "+1 Thundering Warhammer".


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> Honestly, I've been writing my first 4E mod and I wanted to get some cards done for my PC (who a different player will play so we have 5 PCs) and item cards so i can give them cool treasure. I love your design, but I have mentally kept myself from installing it because I know I won't finish the mod if I do.
> 
> Now that the bulk of the work is done, I'm gonna do just that. And yes, I would love a tutorial on the MSE file itself. I read about the unzipping part, but I haven't done so nor delved into it. It would be useful to have the wiki at least explain what is going on. It would also let people know that they can change cards even if the text is not easily editable in the card.
> 
> Thanks, Hirahito! No slight meant, just giving props to what I've been able to get to so far!




It's cool.  I have both Items / Magic Items / Mobs and Initiative cards all on my to-do list.  Just a matter of time.

I'll try and finish Druid up today and start working on my cards.  My free time dropped significantly for the next 3 weeks as I have my kids clambering for attention.

Damn them!  ;-)

-- Hirahito


----------



## praxedes

*Ander00's awesome cards- new art*

Hi folks- I'm new o the forums and LOVE the powers cards. Ander00 has done amazing work adding in all of the powers. Because I like pretty things  I have added in some more detailed background art to his sterling work. I haven't altered the content or anything (not that clever) but I've changed the png files for the main backgrounds. I didn't do all of them, jus tthe default cards. If they're popular, I'll happily complete the set. Again, all praise to Ander00 for the originals- hopefully this won't offend him 

The zip file is here: http://www.box.net/shared/h7r1l6ps0k and contains all the original stuff as well. Enjoy!

Apologies for image size- I don't know how to do that thumbnail thing!


----------



## Onderzeeboot

I see Ander00 is still updating post 568? I'm missing the at-will powers Melee Basic Attack and Ranged Basic Attack found in the PHB on page 287. Maybe they can be added to the file?  Keep up the great work, I've already got my party hooked on the concept of power cards


----------



## praxedes

You know you can add them yourself by copying an existing card in MSE and re-typing the text, then saving your set- at least, that's how I've been making magic items


----------



## Netminder69

I have created two sets of the Wizard illusion spells from Dragon #364 in the Ander style and the Hirohito style.  I also have Ander style cards for the Warforged race and paragon paths and the Pack Master paragon path.

They are on my website: www.dungeoncrawl.us.


----------



## guybrush

eloquentaction said:


> Guybrush -
> 
> Awesome job on the WIKI.




Thanks for the feedback! Good to see others have chipped in, too; that's what Wikis are for, after all!



> One note, though - it's not entirely necessary for them to put the complete card sets in their own directories.  Most of ours can coexist peacefully since we've renamed the .mse-game.  Mine, for example, is differentiated by DnD4h.mse-game.  Since none of the other sets use that, it can coexist peacefully.



Okay, great. I was wondering about that - I think I was still using an old version of your cards when I originally wrote the article, and it did seem to overwrite some of the Ander00 files I was using at the time. All the stuff about using different directories has come from other authors.

I still dream of developing a standard D&D.mse-game file for 4E power cards, but I understand everyone's busy figuring out what works best for them. I would imagine the majority of current designs have a large degree of overlap in the schema, though - after all, they're all modelling the same information from the same source!


----------



## beowulfe

On the Ander's set, how do I edit the file to add in new races/classes?  Since there is a drop down box with the races/classes listed, how can I add new ones to that list?


----------



## eloquentaction

guybrush said:


> Okay, great. I was wondering about that - I think I was still using an old version of your cards when I originally wrote the article, and it did seem to overwrite some of the Ander00 files I was using at the time. All the stuff about using different directories has come from other authors.
> 
> I still dream of developing a standard D&D.mse-game file for 4E power cards, but I understand everyone's busy figuring out what works best for them. I would imagine the majority of current designs have a large degree of overlap in the schema, though - after all, they're all modelling the same information from the same source!




Yep - I'm learning as I go along.  Sorry for that hassle.

I have gone through my set file and I'm making an effort to 'standardize' on the following fields:

name:          -- Name of the card
name2:        -- Optional.  Used by Hirahito as complete source (e.g.
                     Fighter Feature)
image:         -- background image
super type:  -- word listed Class. (like: Fighter)
                      NOTE:  Ander has these two reversed
sub type:     -- word listed Type. (like: Attack / Utility)
level:           -- Level of the power - Hirahito will put nothing on skills/feats
descriptors:  -- word listed Frequency and flags on one line.
frequency:   -- word listed Frequency (like: Daily)
flags:          -- Arcane, etc.  Hirahito - moved my keys: field to this
                     NOTE:  I will not be comma separating
source:       -- Source of this feat (like:  PHB / MM, etc.)
source2:     -- Optional.  Hirahito - using this for another text box (top)
rules text:   -- contains the rules.
flavor text:  -- flavor text.  Needs to be <i-flavor>ed.
action icon: -- the icon for the action type.  NOTE: THIS HAS NOT
                     BEEN STANDARDIZED.  Most sets are different.
range icon:  -- the icon for the range.  NOTE:  NOT STANDARDIZED.
box label#:  -- Labels for the boxes.  NOTE: NOT STANDARDIZED.
                    Ander uses ATTACK: for the first box label, I use box label1:
                    Ander has box label2 & 3.  I have box label1-7.
box contents#: -- Contents of the boxes.  NOTE: NOT STANDARDIZED.
                    As far as I know, no one else stores the contents of the
                    boxes.
background:   -- Ander has a lot more options than most.  Red/Green/Black
                   is standard.  Ander and I have Blue/Silver/Gold.  Ander also
                   has a bunch of oranges, etc.
action:          -- Hirahito only.  Spelled out action (Free / Standard, etc.)
range:           -- Hirahito only.  Spelled out range.
rangevalue:    -- Mercutio and Hirahito.  Has the range value.
burstvalue:     -- Mercutio and Hirahito.  Has the burst value.

This is the new standard I'm moving to.  It's a mix between my current set, Ander's set and Mercutio's set.

It's up to you to try and get them to conform!  ;-)

I should be putting out the new set within the next few days.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> eloquentaction said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry Meandog!
> 
> 
> Here are two examples. The first is my set at default, the second is with some of the options selected.
> 
> Man that is alot of options, and really cool. So your idea was to use these side boxes to write in your characters attack and damage? What other things would you put in them?
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, I looked around and saw some of the cards had as many as 5 attacks (though most were typically 3 attacks).  Plus, a lot of the cards had things like 'and you push the target 2 + your Dexterity modifier squares'.
> 
> So I wanted to be able to have an Attack ( +6 vs. Reflex ) / Damage ( 2d8 +4 ) and so on and so forth.
> 
> Basically, any info you'd need for that card.
> 
> I really wish MSE had negative regions; areas where it would wrap text around a box, say.  But it doesn't (or at least I can't find anything like it).
> 
> My next version is just a clean up.
> 
> The biggest changes will be in the data in the set itself.
> 
> -- Hirahito
Click to expand...


----------



## eloquentaction

*Gearing up for Monsters...*

Here's the basic card template for Monsters in my set...

Let me know what you guys think.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Mercutio01

I like that hirahito.  I kind of like what I did with setting the cards landscape, but I can see where setting them portrait makes sense.


----------



## Black Plauge

Hirahito, to wrap text around something you need to make use of mask images in MSE.  I've not used them myself (no need at this point) but it can be done.


----------



## eloquentaction

Black Plauge said:


> Hirahito, to wrap text around something you need to make use of mask images in MSE.  I've not used them myself (no need at this point) but it can be done.




Hmmmm... I thought that was for images only.

I'll try that with my next build and see if I can get text to wrap around things.

Thanks for that tip, Plauge!!

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Mercutio01 said:


> I like that hirahito.  I kind of like what I did with setting the cards landscape, but I can see where setting them portrait makes sense.




I saw what Plauge and you did!!  I doubt I can get something as good, but I'm going to throw some ideas out there and see if anyone likes them.

I'm trying a lot of things for this version as well.

Did you and Plauge happen to see the messages about semi-standardizing on the same type of MSE game file?  I'm going to go ahead and do it.  And I know your guys game file is close to mine (or at least it used to be).

-- Hirahito


----------



## darkInertia

praxedes said:


> Hi folks- I'm new o the forums and LOVE the powers cards. Ander00 has done amazing work adding in all of the powers. Because I like pretty things  I have added in some more detailed background art to his sterling work. I haven't altered the content or anything (not that clever) but I've changed the png files for the main backgrounds. I didn't do all of them, jus tthe default cards. If they're popular, I'll happily complete the set. Again, all praise to Ander00 for the originals- hopefully this won't offend him
> 
> The zip file is here: http://www.box.net/shared/h7r1l6ps0k and contains all the original stuff as well. Enjoy!
> 
> Apologies for image size- I don't know how to do that thumbnail thing!




I like the detail you added to the cards; I would like to see a dark black border around the entirity of the card however (it helps make cutting the cards out easier). In addition, In the main box, I think the embossed border would look better if you didn't place it on the top of the card (right above Encounter - Martial, Weapon, e.g.).


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Well, I looked around and saw some of the cards had as many as 5 attacks (though most were typically 3 attacks).  Plus, a lot of the cards had things like 'and you push the target 2 + your Dexterity modifier squares'.
> 
> So I wanted to be able to have an Attack ( +6 vs. Reflex ) / Damage ( 2d8 +4 ) and so on and so forth.
> 
> Basically, any info you'd need for that card.




I have modified the cards to read as "[WisAtt] vs. Reflex" or "2d8+[WisMod]" and then setting up the fields to hold the values for the card, allowing me to write in the current values in pencil so I don't have to keep printing the cards. Works well for me


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Here's the basic card template for Monsters in my set...
> 
> Let me know what you guys think.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Very nice! I like it quite a bit. Any chance of other colors?


----------



## wagenejm

Praxedes: I liked the backgrounds you made, except you didn't include one for the orange2, which is the one my group prefers to use for magic items. The rest is great though.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Very nice! I like it quite a bit. Any chance of other colors?




I've got the standard Red/Green/Black/Blue/Silver/Gold backgrounds already.

This was a leathery one I put together specifically for critters.

Do critters need more than one?

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> I have modified the cards to read as "[WisAtt] vs. Reflex" or "2d8+[WisMod]" and then setting up the fields to hold the values for the card, allowing me to write in the current values in pencil so I don't have to keep printing the cards. Works well for me





I'm doing something similar.  I'm changing my set creator C# program to look for HIT:, ATTACK: and similar 'markers' in the text.  It will then auto-fill the box label and box content tags in each of the cards.

Most people are doing their card sets by hand, but that's just too much damned work for me; I'd much rather program a computer to do it.  That way, if something is wrong, I just go correct it in my SpellSource.Txt file one time and then re-run the program to re-create my set.

Hey, I'm a programmer - I'm born lazy.

I'm thinking of putting my C# proggy up on the web so other programmers can mutate it at will.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Nail

Grandpa said:


> Just a quick note: I updated my power and magic item cards with the latest (7/02/08) errata from Wizards. Just late to the game there.



Grandpa-

Your cards rock.  I've downloaded everyones, and yours are the clearest and cleanest, with Ander00's running a close second.   ...Not that this is a competition or anything.  

For me the primary concern is being able to "_read at a glance_".  I "get" that other people like fancy pictures and backgrounds on their cards, but I find that clutter just slows the reading, and thus the game.  YMMV, obviously!  

For the record, *everyone *posting card designs on this board is just the coolest.  These things clearly take weeks of effort (check out the timeline on this huge thread!), and it must be a labor of love.  Huge kudos, guys!  You all are way on the positive  karma side of the ledger.


----------



## wigwam

Just to say I'm new to all this and found this thread simultaneously excellent and confusing. I love the idea of being able to make cards but find it very frustrating to locate various template designs.
Is there a sticky thread or some-such that provides links to all the various sets?
TIA.

Also, are there any cards to replace the character sheet sections?


----------



## Mercutio01

Check the ENWiki.  I think there are links to all the major card styles.

Just wanted to comment back to Nail - I have the same need, but I'm a visual kind of guy, which is why I made icons for all kinds of things.  It's easier and quicker for me to reference the icon at a glance than text.  Again, personal preference.


----------



## Relbanan

wigwam said:


> Also, are there any cards to replace the character sheet sections?




This could be very interesting... I'm using Ander00's cards, so landscape format for me.  I have them for my players (my wife and kids  ) in MTG cardsheets, so 9 per sheet.  Imagine laying out your character sheet in sections as wigwam suggests, so that they'd fit into  the same format - the top left could  contain the Player, Character Name, Race, Class, Level, Gender, Height, Weight (description, whatever), Alignment, Deity, and Paragon/Epic stuff.  Top center, Ability scores, top right, Skills, etc etc etc.  When you go up a level, you just replace the appropriate cards...


----------



## eloquentaction

Nail said:


> Grandpa-
> 
> Your cards rock.  I've downloaded everyones, and yours are the clearest and cleanest, with Ander00's running a close second.   ...Not that this is a competition or anything.
> 
> For me the primary concern is being able to "_read at a glance_".  I "get" that other people like fancy pictures and backgrounds on their cards, but I find that clutter just slows the reading, and thus the game.  YMMV, obviously!
> 
> For the record, *everyone *posting card designs on this board is just the coolest.  These things clearly take weeks of effort (check out the timeline on this huge thread!), and it must be a labor of love.  Huge kudos, guys!  You all are way on the positive  karma side of the ledger.




Nail -

You're right.  I like fancy.

But I also realized other people don't.

If you have the latest version of my set, you can switch off all the fancy fonts for those that are a bit more utilitarian using the STYLES menu in MSE.

As you've stated, YMMV.

-- Hirahito


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> Hey, I'm a programmer - I'm born lazy.
> 
> I'm thinking of putting my C# proggy up on the web so other programmers can mutate it at will.
> 
> -- Hirahito





Thats cool Hirahito. I take it that the C# will not work with MSE then. What can us computer dumbs do or use if we do not know C#? Any ideas or are we just left with doing it the old fashion way, editing it each time....lol


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I've got the standard Red/Green/Black/Blue/Silver/Gold backgrounds already.
> 
> This was a leathery one I put together specifically for critters.
> 
> Do critters need more than one?
> 
> -- Hirahito




I rather like the leather cards for powers 

It would be nice to have a couple of different colors for items, though... My group tends to use different colored item cards for those with daily powers and those without.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> I rather like the leather cards for powers
> 
> It would be nice to have a couple of different colors for items, though... My group tends to use different colored item cards for those with daily powers and those without.




Then you'd need a symbol for at-will / encounter / Daily on the card.

I'm experimenting with stuff now.  I'll see if I can mock something up without killing my style script.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Foxman

Grandpa said:


> To print 8 cards / sheet from Acrobat Reader:
> Set your printer properties to print pages in landscape.
> Change "Page Scaling" to "Multiple pages per sheet."
> Change "Pages per sheet" to "Custom" and set it to 4x2.
> Enter the cards you want to print in the "Pages" field (e.g., "1, 2-5, 46, 22, 10-16, 3, 3, 3" is valid)
> Print!





I would suggest adding these simple instructions into a .txt file with the zip


----------



## ulrikbb

Thank you SO MUCH, everyone, for working on these awesome power cards! They are amazing! I LOVE them, and my party is going to love them as well! Woo!


----------



## eronian23

Hirahito, 

     I have to say that I REALLY enjoy your style of card, however I was wondering a couple things. 

   A) Is there any way you could put a version out that did not have the parchment background, instead had the plain white in the back but leaving the colors on the top and bottom the same. Basicly making it more printer friendly
   B) Do you have any plans or designs in the works to put magic items into the mix for your complete PHB set? Or at least do like Ander and make a basic set that one would have to edit themselves. (I like Grandpa's set, and respect that he went through all that trouble but it is excessive to only have 1 card per page in a .pdf like his is.)
   C) Do you have any plans for Ritual cards, as no one has yet to release a set for Rituals in any shape or form.

Thanks,
Eronian


----------



## DonAdam

Grandpa said:


> Just an update:




Grandpa, your cards are completely baller.

I do, however, have one request: could you do a second wind card? Its not technically a power, but as a per-encounter resource it would be nice to be able to tap it and have a reminder of the defense bonus. A minor action version for dwarves would also be excelsior.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Using Grandpa's templates as a start, I made just a few condition cards.  Pretty plain, although for total defense I found a simple black on white line art image of a shield and for that card put the text (+2 to all defenses until the start of your next turn) inside the shield.  I think it would be great to have icons like Grandpa has created for use with his power and item cards, although probably much larger in this context.  G, how did you go about making your icons?  I can't imagine how to make anything look as good as them but I was at least trying to think of what they should look like, e.g.:

Dazed: head with stars around
Stunned: head with concentric arcs radiating from its left and right sides
Prone: just a typical person icon but horizontal

Ones for ongoing damage would be great, too.  I made a Giant Oil Beetle monster (conversion from OD&D) and its Blistering Spray causes ongoing acid damage and a penalty to attack rolls (save ends) so I made a card for that and gave it to affected players to remind them of the penalty, when to take the damage, and when to save.  When they saved, they handed back the card.  Worked very well, but I wish I could create a nice sylized icon of a hand with blisters on it for that 

I made some magic item cards using Grandpa's templates, too, but I preferred significantly bumping up the font size because it's so tiny otherwise and there's not too much text for what I needed.  These were GREAT for potions of healing because it FORCED clarity on exactly who had which potions.  No problem of someone assuming someone else has it or not writing it down or two people writing it down because each thinks he has it.  I put the cards down --> they decide --> whoever has the card has the friggin potion   When it's used, I'm given the card back.  Even if you don't care for cards for other items (weapons might just go on a char sheet if they're not going to be traded around), I think they're still great for potions.


----------



## eloquentaction

eronian23 said:


> Hirahito,
> 
> I have to say that I REALLY enjoy your style of card, however I was wondering a couple things.
> 
> A) Is there any way you could put a version out that did not have the parchment background, instead had the plain white in the back but leaving the colors on the top and bottom the same. Basicly making it more printer friendly
> B) Do you have any plans or designs in the works to put magic items into the mix for your complete PHB set? Or at least do like Ander and make a basic set that one would have to edit themselves. (I like Grandpa's set, and respect that he went through all that trouble but it is excessive to only have 1 card per page in a .pdf like his is.)
> C) Do you have any plans for Ritual cards, as no one has yet to release a set for Rituals in any shape or form.
> 
> Thanks,
> Eronian




A) I'm making a new type of card that does not have the wax blots.  I'll see if I can make a plain background set as well.
B) Yes.  I have the Silver and Gold background cards.  You can make Magic items now by going to CARD -> ADD.  Eventually, I will put out a new card MSE-SET that has a lot of items and Magic Items.  Right now I'm doing some other cleanup.  I'll get to it.
C) Ritual cards weren't actually on my radar.  I'll look into it.  Since they don't really come up during play, they would be my lowest priority (sorry - just being honest).

Right now I'm cleaning up my card set programmatically (and I'm almost completely redoing the GAME and SET files from scratch).

Part of the things I'm doing is adding even more options on the look and feel, adding a lot of the new icons for magic items and monsters into my icon file, and cleaning up the cards themselves.

Then I'm going to be adding condition cards.

And lastly I'm going to be adding just about any Race or class into my set.

That's my next release; which I'm hoping will be sometime next week.

After that, I'm going creating a monster set for the DM's out there (of which, I am one).  I think I have an easy way to knock this out of the park, so I'm hoping it will be a quick release.  The Monster set will (I hope) have a lot of the new monsters I've seen on ENWorld.

Last, but not least, I have an idea for magic items Set, but it's going to require a bit of work.  In the meantime, I threw the Silver and Gold cards in there.  You can make new cards if you like.


-- Hirahito


----------



## DonAdam

I took Grandpa's awesome templates and made cards of the Illusion spells from Dragon 364. 

I did them in Keynote, so they might not look exactly the same, but it had an easier time understanding the files than powerpoint (go fig).

Grandpa: if you want to put these in your post with all the cards, feel free.


----------



## eronian23

eloquentaction said:


> A) I'm making a new type of card that does not have the wax blots.  I'll see if I can make a plain background set as well.
> B) Yes.  I have the Silver and Gold background cards.  You can make Magic items now by going to CARD -> ADD.  Eventually, I will put out a new card MSE-SET that has a lot of items and Magic Items.  Right now I'm doing some other cleanup.  I'll get to it.
> C) Ritual cards weren't actually on my radar.  I'll look into it.  Since they don't really come up during play, they would be my lowest priority (sorry - just being honest).
> 
> Right now I'm cleaning up my card set programmatically (and I'm almost completely redoing the GAME and SET files from scratch).
> 
> Part of the things I'm doing is adding even more options on the look and feel, adding a lot of the new icons for magic items and monsters into my icon file, and cleaning up the cards themselves.
> 
> Then I'm going to be adding condition cards.
> 
> And lastly I'm going to be adding just about any Race or class into my set.
> 
> That's my next release; which I'm hoping will be sometime next week.
> 
> After that, I'm going creating a monster set for the DM's out there (of which, I am one).  I think I have an easy way to knock this out of the park, so I'm hoping it will be a quick release.  The Monster set will (I hope) have a lot of the new monsters I've seen on ENWorld.
> 
> Last, but not least, I have an idea for magic items Set, but it's going to require a bit of work.  In the meantime, I threw the Silver and Gold cards in there.  You can make new cards if you like.
> 
> 
> -- Hirahito




Thank you for the swift reply. I think the biggest thing is I was hoping for was the plain background for printer friendliness. I run on a very limited budget at the moment which limits me to being careful what I print. 

As for the magic items, thanks, I will just type them up on an as needed basis for now until you get your set up and running.

I will keep my eyes peeled for your new sets. I am not running my next game until this next Friday, maybe I will see more outta your neck of the woods then, if not, I am a patient man. 

thanks again,
Eronian


----------



## Grandpa

Been out for a bit with Comic Con...



kg_kharkov said:


> Powerpoint is fully editable.  It takes about 10 seconds to customize one of Grandpa's "Thundering Weapon" cards into a "+1 Thundering Warhammer".



Thanks for sticking up for the card editing and letting me know that someone is using the magic item cards. Woot!



Nail said:


> Your cards rock.  I've downloaded everyones, and yours are the clearest and cleanest...



Thanks! I'm glad someone else is enjoying them.



Nail said:


> For the record, *everyone *posting card designs on this board is just the coolest.  These things clearly take weeks of effort (check out the timeline on this huge thread!), and it must be a labor of love.  Huge kudos, guys!  You all are way on the positive  karma side of the ledger.



This is so true. Thanks for giving everyone a boost. It really helps.



Foxman said:


> [/LIST]I would suggest adding these simple instructions into a .txt file with the zip



Great idea. It's been added.



DonAdam said:


> Grandpa, your cards are completely baller ... could you do a second wind card? ... A minor action version for dwarves would also be excelsior.



I whipped one up just and attached it to this post. I will add it to the whole set when I get further with non-power cards; I still having a lot of formatting questions to resolve before I make real progress.



Magus Coeruleus said:


> Using Grandpa's templates as a start, I made just a few condition cards...



Share!



Magus Coeruleus said:


> G, how did you go about making your icons?  I can't imagine how to make anything look as good as them but I was at least trying to think of what they should look like ...



I made them in PowerPoint, using the generic (Office) shape editor that comes with it. I am still considering making cards for any kind of handy player reference (racial/class abilities, skills, feats, actions, conditions, rituals, etc.) because I notice they work kind of like flash cards to fidgeting players, and I might expand the icons to coincide with the chapters (skills, feats, equipment, combat, rituals, etc.) of the PHB they come from, but I have no plans to go further with icons ATM.



Magus Coeruleus said:


> I made some magic item cards using Grandpa's templates, too, but I preferred significantly bumping up the font size because it's so tiny otherwise and there's not too much text for what I needed.  These were GREAT for potions of healing because it FORCED clarity on exactly who had which potions.  No problem of someone assuming someone else has it or not writing it down or two people writing it down because each thinks he has it.  I put the cards down --> they decide --> whoever has the card has the friggin potion   When it's used, I'm given the card back.  Even if you don't care for cards for other items (weapons might just go on a char sheet if they're not going to be traded around), I think they're still great for potions.



That's awesome. It makes me extra-happy to see people tweaking the PPT files and templates. And just so everyone knows, potions of healing are already available in the latest all-consuming PDF ZIP file.



DonAdam said:


> I took Grandpa's awesome templates and made cards of the Illusion spells from Dragon 364. ... Grandpa: if you want to put these in your post with all the cards, feel free.



Awesome. I've done just that.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Grandpa said:


> Share!



Okay, here's what I have so far.  Notice I use purple to avoid confusion with powers or items (red, green, black, gold).  I've tried stealing/making some iconic images.  I'll work on the rest later, but if anyone wants to improve on these and post feel free, especially anyone good with the images that can make a nice consistent looking set.  I think a decent size font and quickly recognized icons are useful to remind the player of the condition.  I also included a Blistering card to give an idea of how one might also want cards for ongoing damage, etc.


----------



## Bayuer

I'm looking for a nice backs for power cards. I'm using Ander00 sets but backs for other would be great too... Anyone made such a thing?


----------



## 14thWarrior

Alright, I feel like a complete idiot.  I've downloaded and installed a couple of the MSE templates for the power cards - Ander00's and Tintagel so far - and they're loading up alright._  My problem is that I can't figure out how to change the card's background color to match the card type.  So if I enter an Encounter power, or an At-Will power, the card background doesn't change.  Is it supposed to change automatically to match the type of power entered; or do I have to change the card background manually, and if so, how do I do that?

I've been searching the net for two days and still haven't managed to find an answer to my problem; hopefully someone here can help.

_Well, after a bit more playing around, I managed to figure out how to change the color; I figured it out by complete chance.  So all it good now; except that I feel like a complete fool.

I gotta say, MSE and these power card templates are very sharp.  Kudos to all who had a hand at building up any of these templates.


----------



## riplox

Do you think we can get a some kind of layout code or something for these boards so we can format our powers quickly and easily to look like this or at least close to it? I'm looking for the Power name and level color highlight, italicized flavor text, and text spaced and bolded as in this pic. I'm not good with coding, so I don't know where to begin or even it's possible with the software.


----------



## DonAdam

Some Grandpa-style non-power cards for effects that might be hard to keep track of.


----------



## eloquentaction

*Version 3...*

Hey everyone -

Once again, I've released a new version of my Power Set cards.

There are now two styles supported by my set.  My original card type, and a new card type which is much more 'reserved'.

I've also updated a lot of the data in the set.  It includes:
* WOTC's errata
* The Warlord (Pack Master) from Dragon #364
* All Monster Manual Racial Powers
* The Warforged from Dragon #364
* The Wizard Illusions from Dragon #364
* The Dragonborn from Dragon #365
* The Eberron Artificer from Dragon #365
* The Swordmage from the RPGA Forgotten Realms Preview
* The Myconian (from ENWorld)
* The Kenku (from ENWorld)
* Malcolm_n's Druid (from ENWorld)
* Saric's Bard (from ENWorld)
* A set of Condition cards (Petrified / Prone / etc.)
* A more complete set of Skills / Standard Actions

I've also added over a dozen options to the look and feel of my set, bringing it to a total of 30 options.  Currently, I'm sitting at 1057 cards with no monsters and no magic/standard items as well as no blank cards.

The cards still aren't perfect yet, and I'm going to release two versions of the MSE-SET files.  One optimized for the new look, and one optimized for the old look.  

Any feedback would be appreciated, positive or negative.  I'm trying to make these cards the best I can make them.

-- Hirahito

Here are some screen shots:


----------



## kg_kharkov

DonAdam said:


> Some Grandpa-style non-power cards for effects that might be hard to keep track of.




Any chance you have these in power point format too?  Nice job, btw.

Grandpa, thanks again for all your work.  I use your cards in 3 x 3 customized sheets for my players.  Having 9 customized cards in front of them at an easy glance makes life very easy for them.


----------



## Mercutio01

Hirahito - I like the basic look to those, but the checkered background is something that's bothering me and I don't know why.


----------



## eloquentaction

Mercutio01 said:


> Hirahito - I like the basic look to those, but the checkered background is something that's bothering me and I don't know why.




Hmmmm.... that's an artifact to the way MSE does the image.

I'll rip the image ability out of there again and re-post in a bit.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

eloquentaction said:


> Hmmmm.... that's an artifact to the way MSE does the image.
> 
> I'll rip the image ability out of there again and re-post in a bit.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Allright Mercutio -

Here's a really quick rework.  These still need a lot of work.

Let me know what you think...


-- Hirahito

Images attached:


----------



## Mercutio01

That's much better.


----------



## Nail

Grandpa said:


> Below is a complete set of power cards in PDF format made from my own PowerPoint template.



Grandpa, these are da bomb.

I've been using them for a week or so now, and they really fill my need of a clean - and background-clutter-free - card.  I'm currently using them for magic item cards, especially ritual cards.  I'd like to see how you might format a Ritual Card....any thoughts?


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I've also added over a dozen options to the look and feel of my set, bringing it to a total of 30 options.  Currently, I'm sitting at 1057 cards with no monsters and no magic/standard items as well as no blank cards.




This brings up a good point... Would you consider breaking this up into different subsets? For instance, the Dragon/Homebrew stuff in a separate file from the stuff from the core books? It might cut down on the bandwidth used in downloading the sections that people want, although it is certainly more work for you to divide them up. I guess the importance depends on what you have to pay for bandwidth 



eloquentaction said:


> The cards still aren't perfect yet, and I'm going to release two versions of the MSE-SET files.  One optimized for the new look, and one optimized for the old look.
> 
> Any feedback would be appreciated, positive or negative.  I'm trying to make these cards the best I can make them.




I find the new style very interesting. Not sure which I like better, but part of that might be that I just finished changing over all my cards to your original format  I will have to print out some cards and see which works better in my game.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> This brings up a good point... Would you consider breaking this up into different subsets? For instance, the Dragon/Homebrew stuff in a separate file from the stuff from the core books? It might cut down on the bandwidth used in downloading the sections that people want, although it is certainly more work for you to divide them up. I guess the importance depends on what you have to pay for bandwidth
> 
> 
> 
> I find the new style very interesting. Not sure which I like better, but part of that might be that I just finished changing over all my cards to your original format  I will have to print out some cards and see which works better in my game.




The old style's still there.  Go under the STYLE menu and select the top one:  CARD STYLE.  Change it to WAX.

It's not perfect because I had to make some allowances between the two sets.

It looks like I'm taking on a third style and even making a new one myself (a landscape style).  I'm going to split them off into new subdirectories rather than try and keep them all together.  So they'll use the same GAME file and can use the same MSE-SET, but it will be up to the user on which STYLE they prefer; which I think is the best option anyway.

BTW - Tristan, I need your input on how to get the IMAGE field in MSE working properly.  Every time I try it, it ghosts the background with a checkerboard pattern which pisses me off no end.

Once these projects are complete, a programming buddy of mine wants me to undertake a fusion of a character sheet editor that automatically dumps the sheet onto a PDF AND auto-makes a series of pages with the MSE power cards automagically filled in for that character.  I've toyed with loading the files in the MSE-SET and I can read them no problem.  Displaying them correctly using the GAME and STYLE files is a bit tougher.  Not sure if I can do that or not yet but I'm looking at it.

Also - splitting the MSE-SET into a series of files sounds fine.  I was going to do this with the Monsters and Items/Artifacts anyway.  I could make one called CANON and OPTIONAL.  But, of course, there's no way I am doing that by hand.  I think I can modify my proggy to do that though based off the SOURCE field... Hmmm.....

P.S. - Sorry I ticked you off by changing my set.  I DID keep backwards compatibility though (or tried to).

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

DonAdam said:


> Some Grandpa-style non-power cards for effects that might be hard to keep track of.



Thanks so much. I've added yours and Magus' cards to the "official" post.



kg_kharkov said:


> Grandpa, thanks again for all your work.  I use your cards in 3 x 3 customized sheets for my players.  Having 9 customized cards in front of them at an easy glance makes life very easy for them.



Awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I've been enjoying them, too.



Nail said:


> Grandpa, these are da bomb.
> 
> I've been using them for a week or so now, and they really fill my need of a clean - and background-clutter-free - card.  I'm currently using them for magic item cards, especially ritual cards.  I'd like to see how you might format a Ritual Card....any thoughts?



That makes me way happy to hear. I'm working on Ritual Cards. I expect to release a major update next week, which will include nearly anything you could possibly want reference for that fits on a card and appears in the PHB.

Here is a preview of some of the new icons:


----------



## eronian23

Hirahito

  I love your set, though now the power names do not appear in the list, and the  checkerboard appearance to the background is still there, and still hoping that you get a plain background as opposed to teh parchment style background for ease of printing for us less than financially well off people. 

Eronian


PS: Using the following card setup, is there anyone who could use this to make a full set or apply this type of design to one of the already existing MSE sets?

http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home/power-cards-1/powercardsworking


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> The old style's still there.  Go under the STYLE menu and select the top one:  CARD STYLE.  Change it to WAX.
> It's not perfect because I had to make some allowances between the two sets.




No worries. I understood that. I was referring more to which cards I would use IN PLAY 



eloquentaction said:


> It looks like I'm taking on a third style and even making a new one myself (a landscape style).  I'm going to split them off into new subdirectories rather than try and keep them all together.  So they'll use the same GAME file and can use the same MSE-SET, but it will be up to the user on which STYLE they prefer; which I think is the best option anyway.




Sounds interesting. I have been very impressed with your first two styles, so look forward to some others to fret over which will find its way into my character's power deck 



eloquentaction said:


> BTW - Tristan, I need your input on how to get the IMAGE field in MSE working properly.  Every time I try it, it ghosts the background with a checkerboard pattern which pisses me off no end.




I am no expert, but it sounds almost like the sort of image seen in graphics programs for a transparent background. Is there a problem with the image you are using such that it is not correctly transparent? Try viewing it in a browser to see if it displays correctly.

I have poked at the scripting for MSE a bit, but have not done a deep dive by any stretch, so I think you may be confusing me with one of the MSE gurus who have posted in the thread 



eloquentaction said:


> Once these projects are complete, a programming buddy of mine wants me to undertake a fusion of a character sheet editor that automatically dumps the sheet onto a PDF AND auto-makes a series of pages with the MSE power cards automagically filled in for that character.  I've toyed with loading the files in the MSE-SET and I can read them no problem.  Displaying them correctly using the GAME and STYLE files is a bit tougher.  Not sure if I can do that or not yet but I'm looking at it.




Cool! I look forward to it.



eloquentaction said:


> Also - splitting the MSE-SET into a series of files sounds fine.  I was going to do this with the Monsters and Items/Artifacts anyway.  I could make one called CANON and OPTIONAL.  But, of course, there's no way I am doing that by hand.  I think I can modify my proggy to do that though based off the SOURCE field... Hmmm.....
> 
> P.S. - Sorry I ticked you off by changing my set.  I DID keep backwards compatibility though (or tried to).




As I said before, you did not tick me off... I was using the devil for my lazyness, not anger at you. I like what you have done so far very much!


----------



## dzokvic

eloquentaction said:


> It looks like I'm taking on a third style and even making a new one myself (a landscape style).  I'm going to split them off into new subdirectories rather than try and keep them all together.  So they'll use the same GAME file and can use the same MSE-SET, but it will be up to the user on which STYLE they prefer; which I think is the best option anyway.




I'd like to thank you for taking on my style and making it a part of your MSE set...it saves me a TON of work and allows my style to get more exposure than it would have on its lonesome.  I'll be gathering up all the relevant images to send you tomorrow.  I've attached an image just in case anyone on this post has not seen them yet and is curious.  Don't feel like you have to rush to get it implemented, I understand that you have your own projects that you are working on, with probably a very limited amount of free time.  Of course feedback from anyone is always welcome.


----------



## Bayuer

That's nice icons Grandpa. I love them! I can't wait to see your rituals cards..


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

DonAdam said:


> I took Grandpa's awesome templates and made cards of the Illusion spells from Dragon 364.
> 
> I did them in Keynote, so they might not look exactly the same, but it had an easier time understanding the files than powerpoint (go fig).
> 
> Grandpa: if you want to put these in your post with all the cards, feel free.




Seems like some of the text was corrupted.


----------



## DonAdam

Ghaerdon Fain said:


> Seems like some of the text was corrupted.




Which program are you using to open them?

When I use Preview (I'm on Mac, obviously) to open Grandpa's cards they're giberish, but they work fine in Acrobat. Likewise for the ones I made.


----------



## Dansedan

*What about tome of battle*

These MSE card sets are realy nice and make our gaming so much faster. Thanks alot for taking the time to make them guys.

I was however thinking has somthing like this been made for the tome of battle manouvers? I know that wizards put there cards on there website, but then you cant just print the cards you need like you can with MSE.

Has anyone made the cardsets and could you throw me a link if you know of it?

Thanks

(If this has been asked and aswered 1000 times before I apologise... but 30 pages of thread is alot )


----------



## gotan

This looks great! cannot wait to try it out. Any chance you could add a template for Magic items? I think they're also an excellent target for card creation.


----------



## Nail

*Grandpa:*

For rituals, I think only one "icon circle" is needed, and really only for an icon that means "ritual".    I bow to your superior icon-making skills. 

Second: For my own use I've been putting a bit more space between the lines of text.  Like this Fomat => Line Spacing => _1.0_ line, 0.5 before paragraph.  (see attached picture) Is there some reason I've missed for not spacing the lines out a bit more?  They seem kinda crushed to these old eyes of mine.

Third: I indent the second line of each paragraph, after the bold text.  I notice your tutorial says to indent, but your cards aren't indented.   Am I missing something?

Lastly: I'd really like to print these cards right next to each other on a page, without *any* white space in between.  I use doPDF to convert PPT to pdf as you say, but I can't get the spacing right when I print the pdf.  Tips?


----------



## Foxman

*Grandpa:*

The magic wand is listed as level 11+ it should be 1+

Love the cards, we use them in our game!


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

DonAdam said:


> Which program are you using to open them?
> 
> When I use Preview (I'm on Mac, obviously) to open Grandpa's cards they're giberish, but they work fine in Acrobat. Likewise for the ones I made.




Mac :-(


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

I need a Card Set that has the Sword Mage cards from the RPGA Living Forgotten Realms quick peek.

I don't have access to MSE yet as I have not installed Vista on my Mac (yup lazy and hate calling MS for activation arrrrrggggg).  Last time I think I had issues with MSE in Parallels.  

So a set in PDF would be awesome.  ATM I'm using Ander00's set, but have been really impressed with everyone's contibutions.

Suggestions?


----------



## grickherder

Grandpa said:


> Thanks for sticking up for the card editing and letting me know that someone is using the magic item cards. Woot!




I've been using the PPT files and the magic item cards (pretty much all the cards actually).  Would also like to report that the PPT files work under OpenOffice.org running on Linux.  The only thing that doesn't quite display right is that my Linux machine doesn't have whatever font you used and I have to choose a new one that fits right.  But that is entirely on my end.


----------



## Fedifensor

Ander, will your cards be updated to include the Swordmage powers in the Living Forgotten Realms preview?


----------



## tintagel

My new template for items is done.  It looks similar to my Power Cards, but allows for a picture to be put into the card.  Feedback is always welcome.


----------



## Grandpa

Bayuer said:


> That's nice icons Grandpa. I love them! I can't wait to see your rituals cards..



I'm glad you like them. I've attached a preview of the ritual card test I did of the worst (i.e., largest) ritual I could find, as a test to make sure the cards could hold every ritual. It's the only card I've abbreviated rules on, and I was very, very careful about what I abbreviated and how. One of the reasons for going through the effort of creating the cards was to be as "official" as I possibly could, with rules info you know are good (typos withstanding) right off of the card.



Nail said:


> For rituals, I think only one "icon circle" is needed...
> Second: Is there some reason I've missed for not spacing the lines out a bit more?
> Third: I notice your tutorial says to indent, but your cards aren't indented.
> Lastly: I'd really like to print these cards ... without *any* white space in between ... I can't get the spacing right when I print the pdf.



First: Indeed! 

Second: I just went with the default PowerPoint spacing, and PowerPoint will automatically adjust the line spacing to try to fit the font size to the card. Sorry if it's hard on the eyes. It would be too hard to go back now.

Third: I didn't know how to standardize paragraph indenting when I started the project, so I was selective about when I did it by hand. If I ever decide to be completely insane, I might tackle getting all of it adjusted and standardized throughout the set, but at the moment, we're talking a hella-lotta cards that need to be reviewed and tweaked after the formatting (certainly a disadvantage of doing it in PowerPoint).

Lastly: As far as I know, this is just a limitation of printing from PDF. Each card is edge-to-edge black, and I don't know of a way to force Acrobat Reader to print multiple pages next to each other like that. The question is out of my league, unfortunately.



Foxman said:


> The magic wand is listed as level 11+ it should be 1+
> 
> Love the cards, we use them in our game!



Got it. Thanks for the fix and the usage!



grickherder said:


> I've been using the PPT files and the magic item cards (pretty much all the cards actually).  Would also like to report that the PPT files work under OpenOffice.org running on Linux.  The only thing that doesn't quite display right is that my Linux machine doesn't have whatever font you used and I have to choose a new one that fits right.  But that is entirely on my end.



Cool, I haven't used OpenOffice, so that's good to hear. The font is Calibri, and according to Wikipedia, you can download it with PowerPoint Viewer 2007 here.


----------



## Grandpa

tintagel said:


> My new template for items is done.  It looks similar to my Power Cards, but allows for a picture to be put into the card.  Feedback is always welcome.



So pretty!


----------



## eloquentaction

Ghaerdon Fain said:


> I need a Card Set that has the Sword Mage cards from the RPGA Living Forgotten Realms quick peek.
> 
> I don't have access to MSE yet as I have not installed Vista on my Mac (yup lazy and hate calling MS for activation arrrrrggggg).  Last time I think I had issues with MSE in Parallels.
> 
> So a set in PDF would be awesome.  ATM I'm using Ander00's set, but have been really impressed with everyone's contibutions.
> 
> Suggestions?






Fedifensor said:


> Ander, will your cards be updated to include the Swordmage powers in the Living Forgotten Realms preview?





For both of you guys, my new set (Version 3), has all of the SwordMage cards produced in the Forgotten Realms preview.

Currently, version 3 has two different look and feels.

Or, if you can wait a bit -

Version 4 of my set will have seven different styles including Dzokvik's new style.

Version 5 will include an eighth style specifically for Monsters (which will be included) and it will be adding about half a dozen ENWorld races and classes, Rituals, and any ENWorld monsters I can find that look decent.

Lastly, Version 6 will have my Items, Magic Items and Artifacts.  Some of the styling I will rip off from Tintagel to allow pictures to be added to them (although I'm hopefully going to stay away from WOW pictures *COUGH*).

Version 4 should be rolling out the door sometime this week.

BTW - Since Version 4 will be the next big step in Power Cards, I'll try and make a set of PDF's for each set (although I'm going to have to automate it somehow - no way in hell I'm making PDF's for 7 sets by hand).

-- Hirahito


----------



## Nail

Grandpa said:


> Lastly: As far as I know, this is just a limitation of printing from PDF. Each card is edge-to-edge black, and I don't know of a way to force Acrobat Reader to print multiple pages next to each other like that. The question is out of my league, unfortunately.



Shucks.  

I've tried everything I can think of, to no avail.

My thought was: "Print out the cards so they touch so that I can laminate and cut them, all in one go."  As it is, I'll have to cut them out (with separate cuts around each card), then laminate them individually.  (sigh)

Not your fault, Grandpa!  Don't mind me, I'm just ranting.


----------



## Magus Coeruleus

Nail said:


> Shucks.
> 
> I've tried everything I can think of, to no avail.
> 
> My thought was: "Print out the cards so they touch so that I can laminate and cut them, all in one go."  As it is, I'll have to cut them out (with separate cuts around each card), then laminate them individually.  (sigh)
> 
> Not your fault, Grandpa!  Don't mind me, I'm just ranting.



Well, there's one thing you can do but it might be a pain in the rear:  create a new PPT file with 8.5x11 dimensions (or that of whatever paper you'll be using) and then group, copy, and paste each set of elements making a Grandpa card into the new sheet.  Do this so you have 8 sets (cards) and you have full control over layout.  Of course if you don't need to print out all of the cards but just a subset, say for your character as a player, it's not that bad.  Otherwise, yeah, it is a bit tedious trimming the cards off.


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Finally loaded Vista on the mac and now have MSE.  I now see why it's so darn awesome.  

Ander00's cards have been used from the day he put them in PDF form, but I must say that Hirahito, yours are being printed as I type.  I can't wait for the latest versions (request: Hirahito could you please change the colour of the effect cards from Black to something else? they seem to easy to mistake on the table) 

Praise & Requests aside for a moment ... 

Does anyone else find this thread too difficult to navigate through?  I'd love to see individual threads dedicated to each of the main card creators (ie. Ander00, Hirahito, grandpa,  etc...).  Maybe a "sticky" is in order? 

This thread is great don't get me wrong but oddly rendered useless now that the forum is painfully slow, if at all existent at times.  [ps. I shouldn't need to spend 20 mins waiting to see if I can go from page 30 in this thread to page 18 just to find the MSE Character Cards... ya they aren't there! /cry]


----------



## Fedifensor

eloquentaction said:


> For both of you guys, my new set (Version 3), has all of the SwordMage cards produced in the Forgotten Realms preview.



Thank you!  This is quite useful.

I did have to edit the cards - the weapon powers all say '1' or '2' instead of [1W] or [2W].  That only took a few minutes, though.


----------



## Alphastream

tintagel said:


> My new template for items is done.  It looks similar to my Power Cards, but allows for a picture to be put into the card.  Feedback is always welcome.




I like these a lot. The cards have a great look, and I *really* like that they have an image on the front. 

I'm torn on how useful the two icons are. In the examples you gave I see some utility but also grounds for confusion. It looks like the bottom icon is the slot, which I think works well. The top one is action, but the one with a "-" brings up the problem of how to iconize items with various actions and just general confusion as to whether the icon is to be used just for the special action (Daily vs At-Will or always on).

I've been using the Lord Tirian design for items, as I find the background looks ancient and works well for magic items. The card has a large space for an image, which works well with most items and looks super-cool with the art available via WotC's art gallery (the MIC has tons of useful art).



 



I've just been typing in the items as I need them for various games. As a DM for home games or LFR I pre-make the items in the mod and then I pass out the cards when the items are found. This has a cool "I got treasure" feel and also speeds up play by allowing the player to have complete knowledge of what the item does.

Teos


----------



## eloquentaction

Fedifensor said:


> Thank you!  This is quite useful.
> 
> I did have to edit the cards - the weapon powers all say '1' or '2' instead of [1W] or [2W].  That only took a few minutes, though.




Thanks for pointing that out, I'll go back through the master and make the changes for the next release.

Actually - you pointed out a bug with my Auto-fill program that tries to change all ['s to < and all ]'s >.  MSE then eats the stupid <W> because it thinks it is an editing symbol.

I'll have to edit my program and make sure it works correctly for the next release.

-- Hirahito


----------



## ulrikbb

I just printed my first set of power cards, and have got some feedback on them.

I first printed quite a few of Hirahito's set, because it looks so nifty, but in the end, I actually gave them up, because there are not column where you can sort the power cards after the class they belong to and the lever of the power. I had to look through each card and note which I was going to print, and it just got too much. Hirahito, is it possible to add such a column so that it is easier to pick the powers you want to print without browsing them all? They are soo many!

In the end, I printed the ones I needed from Granpa's set, and they look great too. I can't wait to laminate them and hand them out to my players - they are going to be really, really happy, as they almost swooned at the prospect of writing down all the power text on their first 4E session


----------



## eloquentaction

ulrikbb said:


> I just printed my first set of power cards, and have got some feedback on them.
> 
> I first printed quite a few of Hirahito's set, because it looks so nifty, but in the end, I actually gave them up, because there are not column where you can sort the power cards after the class they belong to and the lever of the power. I had to look through each card and note which I was going to print, and it just got too much. Hirahito, is it possible to add such a column so that it is easier to pick the powers you want to print without browsing them all? They are soo many!
> 
> In the end, I printed the ones I needed from Granpa's set, and they look great too. I can't wait to laminate them and hand them out to my players - they are going to be really, really happy, as they almost swooned at the prospect of writing down all the power text on their first 4E session




The 3rd edition of my cards SHOULD have a LEVEL, CLASS/RACE, FREQUENCY, ATTACK/UTILITY, ACTION, RANGE/AREA, and ORIGINAL SOURCE columns (as well as the name and Card #) columns to sort on.

Are these not showing up?

I'm certainly seeing them in mine when I open my set in MSE.

Can someone else download my latest set and see if those columns are showing up?  I'm afraid I might have a biased set based on the fact I'm editing it all the time.

-- Hirahito


----------



## meandog

Can someone else download my latest set and see if those columns are showing up? I'm afraid I might have a biased set based on the fact I'm editing it all the time.

-- Hirahito[/quote]

Yea I can see them, If you can not you need to right click on the columns and add them in.


----------



## KnightCa

eloquentaction said:


> The 3rd edition of my cards SHOULD have a ORIGINAL SOURCE columns (as well as the name and Card #) columns to sort on.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Nice work Hirahito. How do we modify the Original Source column. I'd like to include such a column in my set, but not sure how its modified. I can't just double click on the column entry to change it. Any ideas?


----------



## Gothmog

Ander00 said:


> Edit: for the time being, if you want to check for updates, you can just go directly to the post at http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4274554&postcount=568 .
> 
> 
> cheers




Hi Ander,

I was wondering if you had made a PDF of the power cards for saric's Bard or Malcolm_n's Druid?  For some reason, I can't seem to find them on your PDF or in your files.  If its not too much trouble, could you post PDFs of those?  I have two players who would love that.  Thanks!


----------



## Gothmog

Double post


----------



## KnightCa

*Completed Cards and Comments*

Here are samples of the cards I created so far, using other artists excellent assistance and abit of work myself.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.


----------



## meandog

JosiahKnight said:


> Here are samples of the cards I created so far, using other artists excellent assistance and abit of work myself.
> 
> Any comments or suggestions are welcome.





I like your cards....Can you post the MSE file for download.
Thanks


----------



## KnightCa

*Card Backgrounds*

Here is the first set of background cards I made for my power cards. Hope it comes in handy for you guys.


----------



## KnightCa

*Power Card Backgrounds 2*

Here is the second set of background cards I made for my power cards. Hope it comes in handy for you guys.


----------



## Grandpa

ulrikbb said:


> ... I printed the ones I needed from Granpa's set, and they look great too. I can't wait to laminate them and hand them out to my players - they are going to be really, really happy, as they almost swooned at the prospect of writing down all the power text on their first 4E session



Nice. Glad they worked for ya. 

*JosiahKnight*, those look awesome. Just thought I'd share!


----------



## Grandpa

OK, *BIG *update on my set of power cards:


I'm over 1500 hand-typed cards. I'm very tired.
The new PDF is one file with every card in it, and is fully bookmarked.
All of the PHB cards are in one PPT file.
The tutorial has been updated to reflect the new changes.
Cards have been added for:
Roleplaying
Racial Traits
Class Traits
Class Features
Paragon Path Features
Epic Destiny Features
Skills
Feats
Normal Armor
Normal Weapons (built like Standard Action cards)
Other Gear
Conditions
Actions in Combat
Healing and Dying
Rituals

Another icon was made for the Adventuring chapter in the PHB (but isn't used).
Hope it helps your game.


----------



## ulrikbb

I'm stunned at the work you've done, Grandpa! Stunned and delighted by it! Having printed so many of your cards already, I am thrilled that I can now print cards with pretty much everything that is worth having on a power card in the same style! Thank you! Now, please, have some rest! 

And Hirahito - you're right - there really were columns for class and level in your mse set - they simply weren't displaying for me initially, and I failed my INT check to realize that I could add them myself. Sorry! It works fine!


----------



## Jan van Leyden

ulrikbb said:


> In the end, I printed the ones I needed from Granpa's set, and they look great too. I can't wait to laminate them and hand them out to my players - they are going to be really, really happy, as they almost swooned at the prospect of writing down all the power text on their first 4E session




Just a little tip for the finish: I didn't laminate the cards but got a set of card sleeves from the game store. For 3 Euro I have gained protection for 50 cards. And putting the cards in the sleeves takes much less time than lamiating them - at least with my cheap lamiation machine that is.

Huldvoll

Jan van Leyden


----------



## Bayuer

JosiahKnight could you made those nice background cards in horizontal version?


----------



## KnightCa

*Power Card backgrounds (*



Bayuer said:


> JosiahKnight could you made those nice background cards in horizontal version?




Normally, I'd try it. But I'm abit busy adding in the card options that Grandpa created (great job btw Grandpa) into the MSE set I am using.


----------



## KnightCa

*Item Card MSE (Tintagel)*



tintagel said:


> My new template for items is done. It looks similar to my Power Cards, but allows for a picture to be put into the card. Feedback is always welcome.




Nice job Tintagel. Any chance of getting the mse files for these?


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

JosiahKnight said:


> Normally, I'd try it. But I'm abit busy adding in the card options that Grandpa created (great job btw Grandpa) into the MSE set I am using.




Great job both of you.  Josiah?... is there a link to the MSE?

[still holding my breath for Hirahito v4 and Ander00 new update re Swordmage]


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Double Post :-(


----------



## eloquentaction

JosiahKnight said:


> Here is the second set of background cards I made for my power cards. Hope it comes in handy for you guys.




Josiah -

Excellent designs.  I'm working on a card back set for Version 4 of my cards.

I really like your designs, as well.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

ulrikbb said:


> I'm stunned at the work you've done, Grandpa! Stunned and delighted by it! Having printed so many of your cards already, I am thrilled that I can now print cards with pretty much everything that is worth having on a power card in the same style! Thank you! Now, please, have some rest!
> 
> And Hirahito - you're right - there really were columns for class and level in your mse set - they simply weren't displaying for me initially, and I failed my INT check to realize that I could add them myself. Sorry! It works fine!




Not a problem!  You scared me, though!  

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> OK, *BIG *update on my set of power cards:
> 
> 
> I'm over 1500 hand-typed cards. I'm very tired.
> The new PDF is one file with every card in it, and is fully bookmarked.
> All of the PHB cards are in one PPT file.
> The tutorial has been updated to reflect the new changes.
> Cards have been added for:
> Roleplaying
> Racial Traits
> Class Traits
> Class Features
> Paragon Path Features
> Epic Destiny Features
> Skills
> Feats
> Normal Armor
> Normal Weapons (built like Standard Action cards)
> Other Gear
> Conditions
> Actions in Combat
> Healing and Dying
> Rituals
> 
> Another icon was made for the Adventuring chapter in the PHB (but isn't used).
> Hope it helps your game.





This is an awesome set of work, Grandpa.

Funny, though, the version 4 of my cards is halfway done and the biggest change?  The fact I was adding in cards for EVERYTHING, just like you were doing.

You came to the same conclusion I did; there simply is no such thing as too much information handed to the players in card form.

The trouble is, MSE isn't as nice as Power Point; I'm splitting mine out into separate files.  So far I've got:  Optional (ENWorld, SwordMage, etc), Magic Items, Powers, and Basic (Skills, etc.).

And I hope you don't mind, I'm stealing your icons for the magic items.  They were the only ones out there and they're so nicely done I just couldn't resist.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

eloquentaction said:


> Not a problem!  You scared me, though!
> 
> -- Hirahito




I had the same thoughts.  I saw the lines but never fooled with them.  ATM I'm inputting my party's stats.

Hirahito, do you have an idea of when vs 4 will be out?  With seven different designs / appearances I'd venture to say you might just unseat Ander00 as the leader on the MSE set front.


----------



## eloquentaction

Ghaerdon Fain said:


> I had the same thoughts.  I saw the lines but never fooled with them.  ATM I'm inputting my party's stats.
> 
> Hirahito, do you have an idea of when vs 4 will be out?  With seven different designs / appearances I'd venture to say you might just unseat Ander00 as the leader on the MSE set front.




Well, I'm about half done.  I have 3 of the designs completed and one almost complete.

I'm *not* releasing one of the designs (it just looks bad and I can't seem to fix it) and I've made an executive decision to NOT release two of the other designs YET.  They were sideways designs specifically for the use of Monsters.  I have not gotten a good layout for Monsters yet, so I've just decided to not do them with this release.

The main thing holding me back with this release is adding new cards and splitting them into separate 'bundles' so they are not so cumbersome for people to use.  This version is going to have a HUGE number of added cards, including all of the standard magic items which a lot of people were asking for.  Version 3 had 1057 cards and I'm way over that now without even trying hard.

Version 3, however, had everything kind of tumbled into one big MSE.  I'm trying with this release to categorize everything using MSE's fields and to split them into 5 main MSE set's.  One master file which has everything and 4 sub files which should be much easier to work with.

I've also been talking to the developer of MSE, Twan.  I've found a few bugs in 3.6b of MSE and he's promised to fix them and release a new version of MSE soon.

If he can't get out a new version in time, I'm going to release v4 without the super-cool features I was going to add (*sigh*) and add them in a future release.

Probably way more info than you wanted to know, but there you go...

P.S. - It was not and never will be my intention to 'unseat' any of the Card developers.  So far, all of us have been actively working to help each other out and to provide a good alternative to the users out there.  Ander, for example, has a really clean landscape design.  I've pretty much steered clear of a landscape design in deference to Ander's set until I started trying to add in Monsters.  And there's just no freaking way I can get monsters to look good without a landscape design.  Well, truthfully, I have one that looks semi-OK but I'm still not going to release it quite yet (too many other things to do).  Not cursing you out, just clearing things up.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

eloquentaction said:


> This is an awesome set of work, Grandpa.



Thanks.



eloquentaction said:


> You came to the same conclusion I did; there simply is no such thing as too much information handed to the players in card form.



Yeah... I did limit, though. For example, I have cards for things like light sources, overland traveling, and moving through difficult terrain in a graveyard, but I felt uncomfortable offering _all_ of the PHB in card form. I ultimately limited the set to (a) things that make up and describe your character, (b) rules that touch the action (standard, move, minor, etc.) system, and (c) conditions.



eloquentaction said:


> The trouble is, MSE isn't as nice as Power Point; I'm splitting mine out into separate files.  So far I've got:  Optional (ENWorld, SwordMage, etc), Magic Items, Powers, and Basic (Skills, etc.).



I haven't used MSE much -- it was intimidating -- and I think the single-file thing might be a big pill to swallow for everyone, while the easily-shared data is an attractive advantage of MSE that makes them welcoming. I don't plan on updating my info with all of the upcoming splatbooks, so unless someone else picks up the baton (I only hope, not expect), they will remain useful only as a "core" set. Which works for me, since after buying all things 3.x, I decided to apply the KISS rule to 4e.



eloquentaction said:


> And I hope you don't mind, I'm stealing your icons for the magic items.  They were the only ones out there and they're so nicely done I just couldn't resist.



Not at all. If there's anyway I can make them more accessible, let me know.


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> Yeah... I did limit, though. For example, I have cards for things like light sources, overland traveling, and moving through difficult terrain in a graveyard, but I felt uncomfortable offering _all_ of the PHB in card form. I ultimately limited the set to (a) things that make up and describe your character, (b) rules that touch the action (standard, move, minor, etc.) system, and (c) conditions.




Yeah - same idea.  But a lot of the original card sets didn't have the plusses listed for races (as an example).  Both you and I came to the decision that was a good thing to have.

I originally wasn't going to do equipment, but I think I like the idea of handing out cards when people buy things and then taking the sucker back when it gets used / destroyed.  Too many lanterns used after I know for a fact that sucker got broken in the last pit trap.  grrrrrr... Bad Player!  BAD!  No Chicken pot pie for you!!

-- Hirahito


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight's MSE files*



Ghaerdon Fain said:


> Great job both of you. Josiah?... is there a link to the MSE?




Here you go. MSE files for the sets I have been working on. I haven't included the files for the class and race background variations. Those I will post once I finalize them.

*MSE files:*
http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/Knights_MSE.zip

*Power Card Backs:*
http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/CardBacks.zip

Attached a few more backs I created.


----------



## Revinor

Josiah - links you have posted seem to be password protected/restricted.


----------



## Grandpa

eloquentaction said:


> I originally wasn't going to do equipment, but I think I like the idea of handing out cards when people buy things and then taking the sucker back when it gets used / destroyed.



I like that too. Another thing I was proud of with the weapon cards in particular was formatting them to have entries just like Basic Melee and Basic Ranged Attack cards. It doesn't last long since they get replaced with Magic Items, but if you use card sleeves, you can put the basic weapon card on the opposite side of a Magic Item card so you have the attack info with that particular weapon in addition to its magical effects/powers.


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> I like that too. Another thing I was proud of with the weapon cards in particular was formatting them to have entries just like Basic Melee and Basic Ranged Attack cards. It doesn't last long since they get replaced with Magic Items, but if you use card sleeves, you can put the basic weapon card on the opposite side of a Magic Item card so you have the attack info with that particular weapon in addition to its magical effects/powers.




That is an interesting idea.

I wonder if I can do something similar for the weapons / magic weapons in my set?  Hmmmm....

-- Hirahito


----------



## KnightCa

Fixed the links so they are not in a password-protected location. Sorry about that.


----------



## ulrikbb

Grandpa, in your set, the Godstrike power of the Cleric (page 141 in your biggest PDF) simply has the name "Power Name". Probably overlooked the header there?


----------



## eloquentaction

Version 4 Preview...

Here is a sample of a single card in all 4 styles with the parchment set to Full, Light and None.

I added the parchment style for those people who wanted higher contrast and / or wanted to save on ink...

Once again - let me know what you think.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Buddha the DM

JosiahKnight said:


> Fixed the links so they are not in a password-protected location. Sorry about that.




You might want to change the hypertext link that is inside the post because it is still pointing to the password protected page.

Also, did you forget to include the actually set file that tells MSE what to do with all the source files?


----------



## Grandpa

ulrikbb said:


> Grandpa, in your set, the Godstrike power of the Cleric (page 141 in your biggest PDF) simply has the name "Power Name". Probably overlooked the header there?



Yup. Fixed. Thanks for the catch!


----------



## meandog

JosiahKnight said:


> Fixed the links so they are not in a password-protected location. Sorry about that.




 The password is still on.


----------



## Grandpa

ulrikbb said:


> I'm stunned at the work you've done, Grandpa! Stunned and delighted by it! Having printed so many of your cards already, I am thrilled that I can now print cards with pretty much everything that is worth having on a power card in the same style! Thank you! Now, please, have some rest!



Thanks man. I'm glad they're helpin' out.


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> Version 4 Preview...
> 
> Here is a sample of a single card in all 4 styles with the parchment set to Full, Light and None.
> 
> I added the parchment style for those people who wanted higher contrast and / or wanted to save on ink...
> 
> Once again - let me know what you think.
> 
> -- Hirahito




*When i go to your site and download the mse set i get old versions saved in july. not the new sets, can you please check your links. Thanks*


----------



## btcorrad

meandog said:


> The password is still on.




QFT(Quoted For Truth). I'm anxious to check this out too. Great Work that I can't wait to bypass the password window to use!


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> *When i go to your site and download the mse set i get old versions saved in july. not the new sets, can you please check your links. Thanks*





You get version 3.  I haven't released version 4 yet.

As soon as I get some things finalized, I'll release it and update my page.

We're talking hundreds of cards, dozens of images and several hundred lines of configuration files...  it takes a while to get right.

-- Hirahito


----------



## MonkeyMage

Grandpa, you officially are my hero. Those cards are amazing and having them all in one pdf with bookmarks makes printing just what you need a snap. I may get in trouble with my girlfriend as I'll have some explaining to do to when I call out your name during sex... "Oh yes, oh grandpa!!"  lol


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

MonkeyMage said:


> ... I may get in trouble with my girlfriend as I'll have some explaining to do to when I call out your name during sex... "Oh yes, oh grandpa!!"  lol




 ya.  

T M I dude


----------



## MonkeyMage

Sarcasm - learn it, love it, live it.


I found a small error, the race flavor text is the same for Humans and Tieflings.


----------



## Grandpa

MonkeyMage said:


> Grandpa, you officially are my hero. Those cards are amazing and having them all in one pdf with bookmarks makes printing just what you need a snap.



Thanks so much! (For the error catch, too.)

Fixed the Tiefling flavor text
Added the multiclass feat descriptions (along with the previously-included powers; I doubt they'll get printed, but I did it for consistency)
Updated the Rituals icon to be more legible when printed


----------



## KnightCa

*Power Card set*

Allright, hopefully all links are fixed.

MSE files for the sets I have been working on. I haven't included the files for the class and race background variations. Those I will post once I finalize them.

*MSE files (and .set file):*
http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/Knights_MSE.zip

*Power Card Backs:*
http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/CardBacks.zip

Let me know if you have any problems with these.


----------



## Buddha the DM

Yes the links are fixed but I still don't have the *.set file, Josiah. I really want to print a set out and I like how your cards look.


----------



## Piratecat

meandog said:


> *When i go to your site and download the mse set i get old versions saved in july. not the new sets, can you please check your links. Thanks*



Hey, folks! Please don't use bold red text. We generally save that for "moderator voice."

We should probably document that somewhere.  

Thanks!


----------



## KnightCa

JosiahKnight said:


> *MSE files (and .set file):*
> http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/Knights_MSE.zip




See above.


----------



## btcorrad

JosiahKnight said:


> Allright, hopefully all links are fixed.
> 
> 
> Let me know if you have any problems with these.




Thanks Chief!


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> You get version 3. I haven't released version 4 yet.
> 
> As soon as I get some things finalized, I'll release it and update my page.
> 
> We're talking hundreds of cards, dozens of images and several hundred lines of configuration files... it takes a while to get right.
> 
> -- Hirahito




*Oh sorry, Hirahito. I like your cards, the new examples you posted are great, Will the new cards have the boxes on the side for adding attacks and damage. Thanks for all your work.*


----------



## Buddha the DM

> MSE files (and .set file):
> http://www.josiahknight.com/game/Pow...nights_MSE.zip




I have pulled that three times now and I can't seem to find the *.set file in the zip archive that you have provided.


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> *Oh sorry, Hirahito. I like your cards, the new examples you posted are great, Will the new cards have the boxes on the side for adding attacks and damage. Thanks for all your work.*




All four of the new styles will have the side boxes.  One only has 2, others 5 and the last two have 7.

-- Hirahito


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight Card sets*



Buddha the DM said:


> I have pulled that three times now and I can't seem to find the *.set file in the zip archive that you have provided.




Here is a list of the files that are in the zip file (with the styles shown in red):

D&D.mse-game
D&D-Josiah.mse-style
D&D-Parchment.mse-style
D&D-symbol.mse-symbol-font
D&D-symbol-action-josiah.mse-symbol-font
D&D-symbol-damage-josiah.mse-symbol-font
D&D-symbol-josiah.mse-symbol-font


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight Power Card Examples Set 1*

Just some examples of cards created using variations on the style.


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight Power Card Examples Set 2*

Yet more examples of cards created using variations on the style.


----------



## Buddha the DM

I see those folders but I don't see a file similar to Hirahito_v3*.mse-set* that I found with that set is what I'm saying.


----------



## KnightCa

Buddha the DM said:


> I see those folders but I don't see a file similar to Hirahito_v3*.mse-set* that I found with that set is what I'm saying.




Ahh, gotcha. You're unlikely to see one from me for some time. The files just get updated too quickly for me to be ready to post them. I'm always impressed at how much work people like HiraHITO and Grandpa do on here (not to mention the others here).

P.S. Sorry for the mistype HiraHITO.


----------



## eloquentaction

JosiahKnight said:


> Ahh, gotcha. You're unlikely to see one from me for some time. The files just get updated too quickly for me to be ready to post them. I'm always impressed at how much work people like Hiraldo and Grandpa do on here ( not to mention the others hehe).




*cough* HiraLDO?? *cough*

-- HiraHITO

*shakes head*  ;-)


----------



## Grandpa

Dear Users of My Cards,

I created icons that designate Daily, Encounter, and At-Will abilities with an icon that fits just left of the upper-right action icon. I currently use them on blue "reference" cards and magic items, but I keep thinking it would be nice (yet redundant) on the actual Gray, Red, and Green cards as well.

*Pros*

Consistency between icons on "reference" cards and "power" cards
The possibility of grayscale printing without adjusting card colors
Colorblind users can distinguish cards at a glance (my office-mate is colorblind)
*Cons*

Redundant for those who see the colors fine
Slight clutter
Let me know what you think. The change literally only takes a couple minutes to make. (Maybe I'll just do it.)


----------



## sora7548

how do i get permission to sign into educatorgame.com


----------



## sora7548

how do i get permission to sign up for educatedgamers.com


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> Dear Users of My Cards,
> 
> I created icons that designate Daily, Encounter, and At-Will abilities with an icon that fits just left of the upper-right action icon. I currently use them on blue "reference" cards and magic items, but I keep thinking it would be nice (yet redundant) on the actual Gray, Red, and Green cards as well.
> 
> *Pros*
> 
> Consistency between icons on "reference" cards and "power" cards
> The possibility of grayscale printing without adjusting card colors
> Colorblind users can distinguish cards at a glance (my office-mate is colorblind)
> *Cons*
> 
> Redundant for those who see the colors fine
> Slight clutter
> Let me know what you think. The change literally only takes a couple minutes to make. (Maybe I'll just do it.)




I have the same issue, Grandpa.

I've gone with the text reference as well as the card color.  I only use the Daily / Encounter / At-Will on the powers when they are on a Magic Item.

On the one hand, Mercutio and Plauge seem to be of the mind that there should be a minimum of text and a maximum of icons.

On the other hand, a lot of other card sets are either text only or a limited set of icons mixed with text.

Notice that none of them really use text and icons / color at the same time.

Just MHO, YMMV.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

Since it was easy, I decided to just try it. If you check out the latest PDF, you can react to it.

Another con, perhaps, is that it further blurs the line between powers proper and magic items/reference actions.

Let me know!


----------



## computerimpulse

i need help when i try to go to the google site with all the templates (4e.educatedgamer.net or something like that) it says i don't have privaledge or something like that and wont let me access the website 

could someone explain whats wrong or what i have to do because i realy want to go to that website

thanks in advance


----------



## Grandpa

Quick update: the card set has been updated with a previously missing a Rogue power, as well as several other small typo and information fixes. Up to 1509 cards now. ;-)


----------



## Grandpa

Errata update: the card set is once again current with the recent (8/11) errata from WotC.


----------



## grickherder

Wow.  That's some fast updating!  Thanks!


----------



## SBalrog

Hi I would like to suggest to differentiate the different cards more by adding more colors to the headings of the cards. Now all cards which are not Powers or Magic Items are blue.

How about using: 
  Dark Yellow for Normal Items
  Steel Grey for Conditions
  Purple for Rituals
  etc.


----------



## Grandpa

SBalrog said:


> Hi I would like to suggest to differentiate the different cards more by adding more colors to the headings of the cards. Now all cards which are not Powers or Magic Items are blue.



Heya, thanks. This is a reasonable suggestion, but I made it a point to be as "official" as possible in the presentation of the cards, so as not to stoke disagreements over personal tastes. But if you have PowerPoint and would be interested in information on how to make these changes yourself, I would be more than happy to write up a tutorial. It's really quite simple.


----------



## infocynic

What about making encounter power cards for class features that can be used once per encounter, like a Wizard's implement, or even just recoloring those class feature cards red? Second Wind is also an encounter power, so that could be colored red. Are the RGB values you used available somewhere? I have no problems doing this myself, but it seems like those would be common / standard changes, since those really are encounter powers.


----------



## Grandpa

infocynic said:


> What about making encounter power cards for class features that can be used once per encounter, like a Wizard's implement, or even just recoloring those class feature cards red? Second Wind is also an encounter power, so that could be colored red. Are the RGB values you used available somewhere? I have no problems doing this myself, but it seems like those would be common / standard changes, since those really are encounter powers.



Actually, they're not technically powers, and for the purposes of certain other abilities that reset powers, shouldn't be confused with them. I had to make decisions about what people will want to see when they look down at a handful of cards, and thought some people would want everything they could use once per encounter looking red in their hand regardless of how many cards that was (because it can be a lot), and others would want to be particular about distinguishing powers from other abilities. And technically, any other ability could have been built like an at-will ability (e.g., the basic melee attack and basic ranged attacks aren't technically powers, either, but they are green), but this would have left me with a ridiculous number of green cards. In the end, I decided to let Wizards make the decision for me (after all, they could have made power-like entries in the PHB for all of their abilities, including skills and other attack actions that would look fine with very power-like functionality), and compromised by adding daily/encounter/at-will icons to the set, which were already needed to be used with the weapon cards to look as "official" as possible.

Making decisions like these are hard, but I made a choice to err on the side of whatever would be considered more "official," and to give players the ability to make these changes in PPT easily while not making them myself. Here is an exerpt from my Power Cards PPT.zip file:
*To apply a preset color template to any card*, go to _Format_ > _Slide Design_. Several templates will show up on the right under "Used in this Presentation". Right-click one to apply the template to a card or cards.​It really is as simple as selecting all the cards you want to change, right-clicking the encounter card template and choosing "apply to selected."

Hope this helps!


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> Actually, they're not technically powers, and for the purposes of certain other abilities that reset powers, shouldn't be confused with them. I had to make decisions about what people will want to see when they look down at a handful of cards, and thought some people would want everything they could use once per encounter looking red in their hand regardless of how many cards that was (because it can be a lot), and others would want to be particular about distinguishing powers from other abilities. And technically, any other ability could have been built like an at-will ability (e.g., the basic melee attack and basic ranged attacks aren't technically powers, either, but they are green), but this would have left me with a ridiculous number of green cards. In the end, I decided to let Wizards make the decision for me (after all, they could have made power-like entries in the PHB for all of their abilities, including skills and other attack actions that would look fine with very power-like functionality), and compromised by adding daily/encounter/at-will icons to the set, which were already needed to be used with the weapon cards to look as "official" as possible.
> 
> Making decisions like these are hard, but I made a choice to err on the side of whatever would be considered more "official," and to give players the ability to make these changes in PPT easily while not making them myself. Here is an exerpt from my Power Cards PPT.zip file:*To apply a preset color template to any card*, go to _Format_ > _Slide Design_. Several templates will show up on the right under "Used in this Presentation". Right-click one to apply the template to a card or cards.​It really is as simple as selecting all the cards you want to change, right-clicking the encounter card template and choosing "apply to selected."
> 
> Hope this helps!




Grandpa -

FWIW, I also made the Class Features (such as the implement powers) on a Blue background instead of on a Red background.

And I take the same approach as you did; if you don't like my decision (and I'm sure many won't), you're free to change it back to red / green / black.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

*Version 4 is Released!!*

All -

I just released version 4 of my MSE-SET cards.

Here's a brief summary of what changed:

* IMPORTANT: These new sets all require version 3.7b of the MSE editor.  You can download this version
at ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net ).  As far as I have been able to test, this new version does
not mess up anyone else's sets (tested: Tintagel, Ander00, Mercutio/Plauge, and Quindia's sets).

* There are now five styles: Dzokvik, Basic, Wax, Simple and Flashy.
* Each of these styles allows you at least 15 options on stylizing it, including an option that allows you to turn the background from full parchment, to light parchment to pure white.
* I've included over 15 fonts and each card allows any of these fonts to be used anywhere on the card.
* Each position on the card now has about a dozen colors it supports as well as many of them supporting an 'Auto' which changes based on the card color.

* I've included the 8/11 errata from WoTC.
* Just about everything from the DMG and PHB have been made into a card.
* Monsters will be delayed until Version 5.
* All five styles of the cards support at least two customizable side boxes and some up to seven.  Whatever you place here will remain with the card.
* One of the styles is a Landscape style (Flashy)
* The sets have been split into 6; one that includes everything and others that are split as best as I could manage.
* All of the sets now 'auto-scale' the rule text based on what's in them.
* Some of the sets allow 'smart sizing' based on the size of the flavor text and the top section.
* The initial font for most of the text is now much larger for legibility.
* The icons got a revamp (yet again) - I stole all of the Magic Item icons from Grandpa's cardset.

* This set includes:
--- Rituals
--- Magic Items
--- Diseases
--- Poisons
--- Items
--- All Feats
--- All Multiclass Feats
--- All Powers
--- All Features
--- Gods
--- Alignment
--- Condition Cards
--- Class Cards
--- Race Cards
--- The Swordmage
--- ENworlds Bard
--- ENworlds Druid
--- Many ENWorld Races
--- Many ENWorld Options (All optionals have a new keyword 'Optional')
--- The Warforged, Genasi and Drow Races
--- 1695 cards, total

Check the link in my signature to get the files.

-- Hirahito


----------



## meandog

eloquentaction said:


> All -
> 
> I just released version 4 of my MSE-SET cards.
> 
> -- Hirahito




These cards are sick Hirahito.....they look great ....were do you find the time to do this...Keep up the good work....they make D&D on saturday go alot faster and easier to keep track of stuff.
THanks alot!


----------



## AceWasabi

These cards are outstanding, what a time saver in so many ways, not to mention that me and my group have come back to DnD after a very long hiatus and these cards soften the learning curve considerably.Thank you guys for all of your hard work.

 I do have a question since I'm new to using MSE. Is there a way to globally apply the card style changes to everything or to a group of cards? Or do I have to change each card individually?


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> These cards are sick Hirahito.....they look great ....were do you find the time to do this...Keep up the good work....they make D&D on saturday go alot faster and easier to keep track of stuff.
> THanks alot!




Nice to be... sick?  Seriously - feedback is what keeps us sick and depraved card editors at this, so your feedback is much welcome.



AceWasabi said:


> These cards are outstanding, what a time saver in so many ways, not to mention that me and my group have come back to DnD after a very long hiatus and these cards soften the learning curve considerably.Thank you guys for all of your hard work.
> 
> I do have a question since I'm new to using MSE. Is there a way to globally apply the card style changes to everything or to a group of cards? Or do I have to change each card individually?





You can globally make changes in the card styles in the following manner:

A) If you are changing from one card set to another, click on STYLE, then click on the image of the style you want your cards to be in, then click on the button in the far right called 'Use this style for all cards.'

B) If you are going to change a particular setting for everything, make sure the checkbox near the top is NOT clicked and then make your change.  The change you made will then show up in all of the cards EXCEPT those that you have customized individually.

C) At any point, you can single out a card and click on the checkbox and make a change.  If you change a setting while the checkbox is clicked, the setting is changed ONLY for the card you currently have selected. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Once you have customized a card by using the checkbox, it no longer 'listens' to other style changes and remains separate.  This can be both annoying and useful.

Your best bet is to do an EXPORT of your cards into a new set.  If, for example, you are creating a set for your 10th level Paladin, you'd click on EXPORT and then click all of the cards you think might be useful or related (Race cards, his god card, his class cards, his power and feats, equipment, etc.)  Once you have a set of cards exported into another set, you can play with that other set all day and it won't screw up your MAIN set.  This is particularly useful when you are adding things into the sidebars.

MSE is both a great program and a bit of a pain in the rear.  But I do think it's one of the best tools out there for the job.

Hope that helps.

-- Hirahito


----------



## gotan

Grandpa said:


> Errata update: the card set is once again current with the recent (8/11) errata from WotC.



Thanks for that Grandpa!

Any chance you could add version numbers to the files? Its easier to keep track of what has been updated, and what has not


----------



## Grandpa

gotan said:


> Any chance you could add version numbers to the files? Its easier to keep track of what has been updated, and what has not



Sure... Does the date work, or is there some mysterious advantage to "v1.8.9" I don't know of? I'm not very familiar with version control.


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> Sure... Does the date work, or is there some mysterious advantage to "v1.8.9" I don't know of? I'm not very familiar with version control.




Of course the date works.... but calling it v2.3 build 3701 sounds FAR cooler.



-- Hirahito


----------



## grickherder

Grandpa said:


> Sure... Does the date work, or is there some mysterious advantage to "v1.8.9" I don't know of? I'm not very familiar with version control.




Date would be fine.


----------



## AceWasabi

Thanks for the great tips Hirahito, it all makes more sense to me now!


----------



## gotan

Grandpa said:


> Sure... Does the date work, or is there some mysterious advantage to "v1.8.9" I don't know of? I'm not very familiar with version control.



Date is fine, whatever you feel comfortable with.

Version numbers, by and large, work like this:
<major revision>.<minor revision>.<patch> (Alpha|Beta)

So if you added a whole new category you'd up a major revision, if you've just updated the odd thing, a minor revision, and if its a typo or small change then patch. Alpha & Beta are there for releasing unfinished stuff on people to bug-report, send patches to you. Alpha being a 'warts and all' release, Beta being almost there, but needs some proper testing.

Hope that helps


----------



## inati

This is a sample of the power cards I am making for myself.  They are heavily influenced by Ander's cards with a touch of hirohito thrown in for good measure.  I like being able to write on my cards, so I left spaces for myself on the card for attack bonuses and damage. 

 I have no idea how to use MSE, as I haven't really taken the time to tinker with it.  Instead, I do my cards in Illustrator and then print them out on card stock and use a paper cutter to cut them to length.  I just make cards as I need them in my game, as I have don't have the dedication to enter in that insane amount of info like all you other card makers do 





I hope you guys like my work!


----------



## Khaalis

Grandpa said:
			
		

> For your attention G



Is there any chance you will add the Rituals from the Dragon 366 article?


----------



## eloquentaction

inati said:


> This is a sample of the power cards I am making for myself.  They are heavily influenced by Ander's cards with a touch of hirohito thrown in for good measure.  I like being able to write on my cards, so I left spaces for myself on the card for attack bonuses and damage.
> 
> I have no idea how to use MSE, as I haven't really taken the time to tinker with it.  Instead, I do my cards in Illustrator and then print them out on card stock and use a paper cutter to cut them to length.  I just make cards as I need them in my game, as I have don't have the dedication to enter in that insane amount of info like all you other card makers do
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I hope you guys like my work!




I'll make you the same offer I made Dzokvik.  If you'd like to provide me with some basic images and look / feel references, I'll throw your style into my version 5 release.

The only caveat is:  It's extremely tough for me to modify the text outside of certain parameters.

Look on my website (in my sig, below) for my e-mail address.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Khaalis said:


> Is there any chance you will add the Rituals from the Dragon 366 article?




Khaalis -

I already have your Minotaur and Risi races slated for my Version 5 release, do I have your permission to put all your 4E stuff into my card set?

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

AceWasabi said:


> These cards are outstanding, what a time saver in so many ways, not to mention that me and my group have come back to DnD after a very long hiatus and these cards soften the learning curve considerably.Thank you guys for all of your hard work.




BTW - This is, by far, the main reason I'm putting this amount of work into the cards.

I have 2 total 'newbs' in my group that have never played DnD before.  They actually make decent decisions when they have the cards in front of them and with a small amount of training, they can actually understand At-Will vs. Encounter vs. Daily as well as what skill they can use and why.

Also - the peace of mind I get as a DM watching my players 'tap' their cards after use and then 'reset' them on a short rest or extended rest is also worth it.  It's a visual queue that they are not only being honest, but of where they are at, power-wise.

It makes the game play FAR smoother.

Plus, I've referred to my skill cards QUITE often as a DM because I can't remember the exact ruling on a Grab or a Bull Rush (for example).

All in all, I don't think I would ever go back to playing without them; even if I gave up 4E for some reason.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Many years ago I was a big WotC "Wheel of Time" player.  I created a number of player aids, particularly a DM Screen.  I put alot of work into them for my own group and offered them to the community on a dedicated site (GF's Tiny Wheel of Time).  One forum member said "I can't thank you enough, you've made my gaming so much better."  That praise wasn't solicited, but was greatly appreciated.  And to be truthful it meant much.

Everyone who has contributed to this tread and to the MSE and PDF Cards all should recieve our sincerest congratualtions and thanks for their effort!

For those who have embraced 4E or have been on the 4E fence, you've made the game far more enjoyable and playable.  Thank you so much ... to every creator... CHEERS!


----------



## eleran

Ander,

I am having a lot of trouble figuring out how to edit your cards.  I am trying to make item cards for a few items my players already have and a few I want to include in the next session I run.  

The problems I am having are;

1)  I can't tell where some things are supposed to go such as action type.  Is there a map of the different fields you have in there?

2)  after I put in the level of the item I move down to input the action frequency (daily, encounter, etc) and as soon as I click on the drop down button the type of item (waist, arm, etc) and the level of the item disappear and with all those boxes xhoved together it is difficult to get the item type back in there.

3)  What are all those boxes along the right hand side?  they are short horizontal boxes that open a black outlined block below them when I start typing in them.

4)  No matter how hard I try I cannot seem to be able to select the price box and type into it.  

I hope you or someone that knows more about MSE than me sees this and can provide some guidance.

Thanx


----------



## Mirtul

JosiahKnight said:


> Ahh, gotcha. You're unlikely to see one from me for some time. The files just get updated too quickly for me to be ready to post them. I'm always impressed at how much work people like HiraHITO and Grandpa do on here (not to mention the others here).
> 
> P.S. Sorry for the mistype HiraHITO.




Hi I like the design of your item cards but I don't know how to work them without a set file. I tried to create a new set using your template set files but I am getting all sorts of errors while doing so.

Do you think you could create a set file with one magic item in it so I have something copy from while making my own?

Thank you very much

/Mirtul


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I just released version 4 of my MSE-SET cards.



I love the cards and am amazed at the breadth of cards available in the set.

BTW: The Guantlets of Ogre Power do not have the level listed.

Speaking of Level, the Rituals do not have the level in the same field as the powers. So if you sort by level it does not work for rituals 



eloquentaction said:


> * There are now five styles: Dzokvik, Basic, Wax, Simple and Flashy.
> * Each of these styles allows you at least 15 options on stylizing it, including an option that allows you to turn the background from full parchment, to light parchment to pure white.
> * I've included over 15 fonts and each card allows any of these fonts to be used anywhere on the card.
> * Each position on the card now has about a dozen colors it supports as well as many of them supporting an 'Auto' which changes based on the card color.




I am in awe of the options you have included. This set was certainly worth the wait!



eloquentaction said:


> * The sets have been split into 6; one that includes everything and others that are split as best as I could manage.



I am not sure if this is likely to be an issue for you, but you might want to consider making the split kits available separately. That will cut down on your bandwidth and the download time for your visitors.

Also, if you update only one file everyone does not have to download EVERY file to get the updated one. Again, this saves on bandwidth for both sides.

Just as an example, I am not interested in the ENWorld material. Not that it is bad, just that we are running straight out of the rules for this current campaign. If I could avoid pulling down the ENWorld stuff, it would save a little wear and tear on the inter-tubes 



eloquentaction said:


> * This set includes:






eloquentaction said:


> --- Diseases
> --- Poisons



Most of these are simply ongoing damage, and are very situational. I know you have new players and I guess that is why, but why stop with just the few you did use?

As for Diseases, I assume you are not including those that are only in the Monster Manual? I know from my character's personal experience that Filth Fever is an ugly disease that you did not include. These cards are VERY useful, and I hope you include them in the future.



eloquentaction said:


> --- 1695 cards, total



OMG!


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Hi Hirahito, will you be updating the set to include the latest Star Pack release? 

{see http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080822a}


----------



## eronian23

Hirohito,

    When I load up your complete set. I have a problem with the list on the right. I see the following

Action | Frequency | Range/Area | Keywords | # | Original Source

The name of the Items, Power, Skills, etc are not listed there. I cannot sort by name like I did with your original set and I can with Anders set I have on my computer now. Is there a way to put that classification in there before Action to that I get the names again. Makes it really hard to grab a specific power, item, skill, etc if I cannot see the names. 

Otherwise your set is the freaking bomb. I love it. Keep up the good work.

Eronian


----------



## Kingbreaker

*Any interest in a new icon style?*

I've been messing around with powercard designs over the summer, but I just don't have time to edit a new template for MSE.

The basic idea was to - if possible - indicate the class of keyword by the shape of its icon, and the specific keyword by the symbol on the shape. . . which sounds cryptic but hopefully the attachment makes it clear.. . . 

Attack ability --> is a banner.

Defense Type --> on a shield

Range info --> symbol on a checkerboard

Accessory --> a hand holding something

Target Type --> a symbol on an archery target.

When possible, the icons have been taken from European heraldry and/or consensus icons drawn from previosu PC authors (Thanks anders and Grandpa!) 

The images are HIGH rez raster - 400 dpi - which is probably overkill even for printing from laser. 



If there is any interest in these I can post the whole set. 

Thanks,

KB


----------



## Kingbreaker

Ugh!  the label is wrong on the shield icon - it should be "Defense: Fortitude"

--> And yes, the pun is definitely intentional.. . .


----------



## eloquentaction

Ghaerdon Fain said:


> Hi Hirahito, will you be updating the set to include the latest Star Pack release?
> 
> {see http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080822a}




Sure.  I can throw those into Version 5.  



tristan_tewksbury said:


> I love the cards and am amazed at the breadth of cards available in the set.
> 
> BTW: The Guantlets of Ogre Power do not have the level listed.
> 
> Speaking of Level, the Rituals do not have the level in the same field as the powers. So if you sort by level it does not work for rituals




Thanks much for your support.

I'll see about changing these and throwing out a 4.1 release shortly.



tristan_tewksbury said:


> I am in awe of the options you have included. This set was certainly worth the wait!




Sorry it took me so long.  Part of the wait was hinged upon communicating with the developer of MSE and pleading with him to release a new version that fixed some critical (for me, anyway) bugs.  Luckily, he was extremely understanding and supportive.



tristan_tewksbury said:


> I am not sure if this is likely to be an issue for you, but you might want to consider making the split kits available separately. That will cut down on your bandwidth and the download time for your visitors.
> 
> Also, if you update only one file everyone does not have to download EVERY file to get the updated one. Again, this saves on bandwidth for both sides.
> 
> Just as an example, I am not interested in the ENWorld material. Not that it is bad, just that we are running straight out of the rules for this current campaign. If I could avoid pulling down the ENWorld stuff, it would save a little wear and tear on the inter-tubes




I'll see what I can do.  The MSE files are actually pretty small.  It's the sets and the graphics therein that actually contain the major part of the over-head.  Maybe I'll make a graphics only download and a MSE-SET download.



tristan_tewksbury said:


> Most of these are simply ongoing damage, and are very situational. I know you have new players and I guess that is why, but why stop with just the few you did use?
> 
> As for Diseases, I assume you are not including those that are only in the Monster Manual? I know from my character's personal experience that Filth Fever is an ugly disease that you did not include. These cards are VERY useful, and I hope you include them in the future.




Truthfully?  It's because I didn't see the Diseases in the Monster Manual.  I'll see if I can add them to the set and possibly release them with the 4.1 release.



eronian23 said:


> Hirohito,
> 
> I only have 1 issue with your set. Actually its not wit hthe set its with the list on the right of the cards. I get everything BUT the names of the items/powers/skills etc. I want to be able to pick and choose which to print, but I have to LITTERALLY sift though the plethera of cards to find what I need, I cant jsut click them in item or name order  IS there a way to fix this?
> 
> Eronian




Eronian - 

Open MSE.  Open the Set you're interested in.  Then click on CARDS -> CARD LIST COLUMNS... menu item.

Find then Name and whatever other fields you want to show up and make sure the checkbox is selected next to them.  Also, click on the Name field and then use the 'Move Up' button to move it to the top (which means it becomes the first column in the list).

BTW - This seems to be a problem with MSE.  If you change the GAME file to have new fields and rename / remove fields it gets a bit freaked out.
Ah well... live and learn.  I apologize to anyone that has this problem.  I wish there was some way to tell MSE to reset it's idea of what a set should be.

I hope that helps.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Kingbreaker said:


> I've been messing around with powercard designs over the summer, but I just don't have time to edit a new template for MSE.
> 
> The basic idea was to - if possible - indicate the class of keyword by the shape of its icon, and the specific keyword by the symbol on the shape. . . which sounds cryptic but hopefully the attachment makes it clear.. . .
> 
> Attack ability --> is a banner.
> 
> Defense Type --> on a shield
> 
> Range info --> symbol on a checkerboard
> 
> Accessory --> a hand holding something
> 
> Target Type --> a symbol on an archery target.
> 
> When possible, the icons have been taken from European heraldry and/or consensus icons drawn from previosu PC authors (Thanks anders and Grandpa!)
> 
> The images are HIGH rez raster - 400 dpi - which is probably overkill even for printing from laser.
> 
> 
> 
> If there is any interest in these I can post the whole set.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> KB




Those are cool as hell!

Have you got a card type that you envision them going on?

Maybe....  a wood type set or something?

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

Updated with a fix to the Raise Dead card. I also added dates to the main post. I figure the dates within the ZIP files work fine otherwise, and that you would let me know if I was wrong.


----------



## eronian23

eloquentaction said:


> Eronian -
> 
> Open MSE.  Open the Set you're interested in.  Then click on CARDS -> CARD LIST COLUMNS... menu item.
> 
> Find then Name and whatever other fields you want to show up and make sure the checkbox is selected next to them.  Also, click on the Name field and then use the 'Move Up' button to move it to the top (which means it becomes the first column in the list).
> 
> BTW - This seems to be a problem with MSE.  If you change the GAME file to have new fields and rename / remove fields it gets a bit freaked out.
> Ah well... live and learn.  I apologize to anyone that has this problem.  I wish there was some way to tell MSE to reset it's idea of what a set should be.
> 
> I hope that helps.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Thank you man, that helped greatly. I did not know that option was even there, heh.


----------



## Khaalis

eloquentaction said:


> Khaalis -
> 
> I already have your Minotaur and Risi races slated for my Version 5 release, do I have your permission to put all your 4E stuff into my card set?
> 
> -- Hirahito




Hey H.
As long as you list credits, I have no issue with this. Go for it.


----------



## Drabix

Grandpa - 
Have you considered adding a card that has the turn sequence?


----------



## inati

eloquentaction said:


> I'll make you the same offer I made Dzokvik.  If you'd like to provide me with some basic images and look / feel references, I'll throw your style into my version 5 release.
> 
> The only caveat is:  It's extremely tough for me to modify the text outside of certain parameters.
> 
> Look on my website (in my sig, below) for my e-mail address.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Thanks Hirohito, but I'm not sure if it would work based on a mass template  because my cards have a lot of subtle gradients and airbrushing based on text and box objects going on.    I really do appreciate the offer though, because being incorporated in one of your sets would be an honor!


----------



## fredramsey

*Or...*

1. Print page(s) from PHB PDF, in color
2. Cut out power
3. Tape to 3x5 card

Works great, already color coded.


----------



## eloquentaction

inati said:


> Thanks Hirohito, but I'm not sure if it would work based on a mass template  because my cards have a lot of subtle gradients and airbrushing based on text and box objects going on.    I really do appreciate the offer though, because being incorporated in one of your sets would be an honor!




Only one way to find out - send me some of your artwork and I'll build a sampler set around it; if you think I get it close enough, we release it.

Otherwise I don't.  I'm not going to release any set where the author says "I hate it."

I've been playing with MSE a bit to get the multi-hued icons and I found a way to do it; so I'm game to try if you are.

If not - no worries.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Grandpa

Drabix said:


> Grandpa -
> Have you considered adding a card that has the turn sequence?



Yeah... In fact, I have one in a personal graveyard (that only covers the start and end, since the middle is pretty well-known). Anyway, I'm considering going back to the cards and just including everything in the PHB (I find Hira's description of play at the table similar to mine, where the cards shortcut the books and act as surprisingly preferable reference), but it might be a little bit before I get to it. If you're desperate for just that one card, I could produce something before another larger update.


----------



## Grandpa

So Hirahito,

I consider you the most active and stalwart updater of all things cards, and since neither you or I have control of the original post upon which this entire thread is built, and since a lot of people -- understandably hesitant to sift through 34 pages of talkback and updates -- are missing out on some good efforts, I was wondering if you would be interested in creating a new power cards thread with an intro page that references different efforts, to which we can migrate our work and fix our links to reference. I feel  you, the most active contributer, are the best choice for updating the community on various efforts, which I presume would center around you regardless. Another way to do this is by wiki, but it doesn't have the same traffic, and links could be provided to bolster that effort anyway.

Thoughts?

PS - I noticed your offer to integrate another user's style into your templates, and I wanted to offer the style I used for MSE, on the off-chance you never made the suggestion fearing it would mess with my mojo (it doesn't). No expectations, just mentioned on the off-chance...


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> So Hirahito,
> 
> I consider you the most active and stalwart updater of all things cards, and since neither you or I have control of the original post upon which this entire thread is built, and since a lot of people -- understandably hesitant to sift through 34 pages of talkback and updates -- are missing out on some good efforts, I was wondering if you would be interested in creating a new power cards thread with an intro page that references different efforts, to which we can migrate our work and fix our links to reference. I feel  you, the most active contributer, are the best choice for updating the community on various efforts, which I presume would center around you regardless. Another way to do this is by wiki, but it doesn't have the same traffic, and links could be provided to bolster that effort anyway.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> PS - I noticed your offer to integrate another user's style into your templates, and I wanted to offer the style I used for MSE, on the off-chance you never made the suggestion fearing it would mess with my mojo (it doesn't). No expectations, just mentioned on the off-chance...




Grandpa -

I think you underestimate your own place in this and WAY overestimate mine.  I think the breakdown of card users is:  Ander's, yours, Mercutio's / Plauge's, then (maybe) mine with a lot of notable runner's up vying for my position.

I think you're seeing a lot of activity on this thread FROM me only because this is where I usually update.

BUT - I think the starting of a new thread entitled 'All things Power Cards' would be a good idea.  Put the first post as a series of links to everyone's pages and / or ENWorld posts where they can download, then have a post for each contributor giving their latest updates and/or notes.

BUT - I think you're going to see the same problem(s) arise - that thread will soon become 343,927 pages long as this one has...

What does everyone else think?  Should us card builders spawn off into a new thread?

AND, last but not least, I would be more than honored to incorporate your MSE style into my set.  Look to my link below to hit my web page which has my e-mail address.

Actually - I would be really interested in bartering for your services in creating icons.  Your icons are typically much cleaner that what I can come up with off the cuff.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> I just released version 4 of my MSE-SET cards.




Hirahito, these are great! I'm really impressed by the breadth of what you offered and the options. The condition cards are great.

One question - I got all excited about Trip, then realized it is an EN World idea, not actual PH material. Is there a list of what is 4E official vs. unofficial? I want to make sure I have all the conditions/options as valid for LFR.

Feedback-wise, I am still not feeling the draw towards any of the magic item cards. I think I just really am locked into seeing images on the card itself. Maybe I'm too visual a person. I find the colored strips to be so-so for my tastes and would really just like to see an awesome sword/shield/etc. in addition to the item text. Same for the items you made (though i don't think i would personally use the non-magic cards).

Thanks,

Teos


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> What does everyone else think?  Should us card builders spawn off into a new thread?




I think keeping things here is fine. 

It seemed daunting way back when I found this thread to go through the many posts and find good styles, but it paid off in the Lord Tirian design I use for magic items. Having all the old posts enables us to go back if we want to do so.

At the same time, what would be great is for the more active users and builders to keep the Wiki up to date, perhaps announcing the latest file date and sharing tips for other builders. The wiki is threadless, so that self-regulates its length somewhat.

Teos


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> Hirahito, these are great! I'm really impressed by the breadth of what you offered and the options. The condition cards are great.
> 
> One question - I got all excited about Trip, then realized it is an EN World idea, not actual PH material. Is there a list of what is 4E official vs. unofficial? I want to make sure I have all the conditions/options as valid for LFR.
> 
> Feedback-wise, I am still not feeling the draw towards any of the magic item cards. I think I just really am locked into seeing images on the card itself. Maybe I'm too visual a person. I find the colored strips to be so-so for my tastes and would really just like to see an awesome sword/shield/etc. in addition to the item text. Same for the items you made (though i don't think i would personally use the non-magic cards).
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Teos




Teos - 

All of my optional cards should have an OPTIONAL keyword in the Flags field.

Trip was my (bad) attempt to bring Trip back into the game (you should see a Disarm Basic Action card as well).

As far as putting images onto the actual cards - there are two main reasons I didn't:

1) Bandwidth - that's a LOT of images, man!  People downloading all those images would be suffering greatly.
2) Time - finding and cropping / editing all those images would have taken a LONG time.  I wanted to get version 4 out the door.

BUT - I think it's an excellent option for my next version.  I will look into making the image file an optional parameter where MSE will ignore it if it can't find the file; and then make the images a separate downloadable file you can download (or not) at your own whim.

I apologize for the confusion on the new skills.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Alphastream said:


> I think keeping things here is fine.
> 
> It seemed daunting way back when I found this thread to go through the many posts and find good styles, but it paid off in the Lord Tirian design I use for magic items. Having all the old posts enables us to go back if we want to do so.
> 
> At the same time, what would be great is for the more active users and builders to keep the Wiki up to date, perhaps announcing the latest file date and sharing tips for other builders. The wiki is threadless, so that self-regulates its length somewhat.
> 
> Teos




I have a confession to make.

*"Hi, I'm Hirahito, and I'm terrible with Wiki's."*

_"Hi Hirahito."

_I. Just. Can't. Do. It.

They scare me a little bit.

*blinks back the tears...*

-- Hirahito


----------



## grickherder

I think this thread is fine, but a new one with a good first post with lots of good links would be nice too.

Grandpa-- I noticed sunrods (1216) don't have a number in their price on the card in the PDF.  Not really worthy of an update/reupload on it's on, but something to add to the list for when you do another update.


----------



## Grandpa

eloquentaction said:


> I think you underestimate your own place in this and WAY overestimate mine.  I think the breakdown of card users is:  Ander's, yours, Mercutio's / Plauge's, then (maybe) mine with a lot of notable runner's up vying for my position.



Hard to believe!



eloquentaction said:


> BUT - I think the starting of a new thread entitled 'All things Power Cards' would be a good idea.  Put the first post as a series of links to everyone's pages and / or ENWorld posts where they can download, then have a post for each contributor giving their latest updates and/or notes.



The biggest reason for splitting is for control of Page 1. I'm indifferent about keeping the action here but hate that no control of the original post gives us no way to make the community's amazing work accessible via the forums. Perhaps a sticky? Perhaps someone reads this message and has a post on the first page who can help?



eloquentaction said:


> BUT - I think you're going to see the same problem(s) arise - that thread will soon become 343,927 pages long as this one has...



The size of the thread doesn't matter to me, just page 1 access to organize our efforts.



eloquentaction said:


> Actually - I would be really interested in bartering for your services in creating icons.  Your icons are typically much cleaner that what I can come up with off the cuff.



I've been moving on to new projects but I might be able to help. Let me know what you have in mind: enworld beeba net


----------



## Grandpa

grickherder said:


> Grandpa-- I noticed sunrods (1216) don't have a number in their price on the card in the PDF.  Not really worthy of an update/reupload on it's on, but something to add to the list for when you do another update.



Thanks for the heads up. I'll fix it shortly.


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> I have a confession to make.
> 
> *"Hi, I'm Hirahito, and I'm terrible with Wiki's."*
> 
> _"Hi Hirahito."
> 
> _I. Just. Can't. Do. It.
> 
> They scare me a little bit.
> 
> *blinks back the tears...*
> 
> -- Hirahito




I shouldn't laugh, I know, but that was funny. Hirahito, don't cry. You have the skills to wiki. You just need to see how easy it is. Head here to the card wiki. 

Now click on the tab labeled Edit. Don't worry, you won't bust anything...

See how the formatting is mainly plain text? The only thing to wikis is adding separators such as "==" around headings and adding links with "[" and "]" around them for external links and "[[" and "]]" for internal links. 

For anything else, just copy the example of another page you like. It is really easy. Once you get the basics down, click on Editing Help on the bottom of the page or keep copying increasingly complex things other people have done. You will be editing the entry for cellulose insulation on Wikipedia before you know it...

Teos, rabid cellulose insulation fan


----------



## Grandpa

grickherder said:


> Grandpa-- I noticed sunrods (1216) don't have a number in their price on the card in the PDF.  Not really worthy of an update/reupload on it's on, but something to add to the list for when you do another update.



Fixed. Thanks.


----------



## BradfordFerguson

LOVE THE CARDS!  My suggestion would be to include page ranges for the classes, magic items, etc, so if folks need to print a select few extras, it is easy for them to do so.  Could put in the notepad file (ie, "Cleric 20-50" or whatnot) Thank you very much!


----------



## patnodewf

I'm going to admit, i'm too lazy to ready through 14+ pages of replies to see if this has already been mentioned, but:

Educated Gamer has a 4e Fan Publishing site hosted by Google Sites with a download specifically for Magic Set Editor (MSE)

It includes fonts for the symbols as well as templates and backgrounds for your power cards.  Quite potent.  I use them with green/red/blue card sleeves.  Printed on plain ole paper with a regular Magic card for support (usually a basic land, LOL).  Green for At Will, Red for Encounters & Blue for Dailies.

You should be able to find them on http://sites.google.com/a/educatedgamer.net/4e-fans/Home/power-cards-1


----------



## Kingbreaker

eloquentaction said:


> Those are cool as hell!
> 
> Have you got a card type that you envision them going on?
> 
> Maybe....  a wood type set or something?
> 
> -- Hirahito




This is a mockup of a card design (latest of many, actually) that I did initially in Fireworks.

Is there a better place to post icon sets than this board?


----------



## Nytmare

I haven't had a chance to look through a lot of your set Hirahito, but I noticed a typo in my first run.  "Warforged's Resolve" was missing it's apostrophe.  

Have you thought about adding an "Action Point" card?


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

Nytmare said:


> Have you thought about adding an "Action Point" card?



Do you mean other than the "Use Action Point" card? I take it you mean you want one to track the number of action points that a character has managed to accumulate?


----------



## Nytmare

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Do you mean other than the "Use Action Point" card?




Yup, that'd be the one.  I was looking under "A".


----------



## Timba

*Kingbreaker*

Congratulations! It's fantastic! Would you attach the MSE files?


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Kingbreaker said:


> This is a mockup of a card design (latest of many, actually) that I did initially in Fireworks.




O   M   G ! ! !

That is really nice, really, really nice.  I hope an MSE set is on its way.  Thanks for sharing that!!!


----------



## ObsoleteSoldier

Grandpa, noticed that the Channel Divinity Paladin Feature text is incorrect.  It shows the Cleric text.  Just noticed before I was going to print it out.

Great job otherwise!  I've really enjoyed what you've done with these cards.


----------



## Grandpa

ObsoleteSoldier said:


> Grandpa, noticed that the Channel Divinity Paladin Feature text is incorrect.  It shows the Cleric text.  Just noticed before I was going to print it out.
> 
> Great job otherwise!  I've really enjoyed what you've done with these cards.



Thanks for the kind words and sharp eye. I've updated with a fix.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

@eloquentaction: By the way... I was trying to entere some new magic items (from an Adventurer's Vault preview), when I discovered a problem.

In your PHB items file, the field "Rules Text" is used for holding, oddly enough, the rules text for a card. However, when I try to type a ~ in the rules text field in order to add a Daily power "banner" to the card text, MSE replaces the ~ with the name of the card. I cannot paste nor type the symbol required for that graphic into the "Rules Text" field. I can use the other (unnamed) field in the main body of the card, but not the the field I should be using.

I assume this is a product of the properties of that field, but it makes it very difficult to enter new magic items.

Also, The auto-fit text sizing for the card name does not seem to be functioning correctly for a new card. When I load the file, "Black Feather of the Raven Queen" runs over the Holy Symbol icon and off the right side of the card.

As one bit of feedback, it would be nice if there was a checkbox icon available in the card text symbol set. I am currently using the "1's face of the die" icon as a check box so that I can have a single card, and then simply check off which level item the card represents. I suppose the other choice is to you the fields on the right hand side to indicate level and value of item the card is being used to represent.

I am doing that so that I only have to have printed one or two full sets of cards, and then the players can use markers on the card sleeve to indicate what level of the item their character currently posseses. Saves on ink that way


----------



## Rhuarc

Hey Hirahito,

first I want to say thanks for your great work, really nice cards and templates you've made there! But I have one question. I'm a really new user of MSE and have no experience whatsoever so maybe the question is a bit dumb. 
I seem not to be able to find the template for the magic item cards in your set. I guess you took the "Simple" style, but all I can add there are the power symbols with the short cuts. Could you tell me how to get the icons for armor, weapons etc in the fields?
Thanks a lot and keep up the great work,

regards


----------



## eloquentaction

Rhuarc said:


> Hey Hirahito,
> 
> first I want to say thanks for your great work, really nice cards and templates you've made there! But I have one question. I'm a really new user of MSE and have no experience whatsoever so maybe the question is a bit dumb.
> I seem not to be able to find the template for the magic item cards in your set. I guess you took the "Simple" style, but all I can add there are the power symbols with the short cuts. Could you tell me how to get the icons for armor, weapons etc in the fields?
> Thanks a lot and keep up the great work,
> 
> regards




Rhuarc -

Here are all the symbols that my set understands.  You can change these symbols by moving your cursor to that field and typing one of the symbols.

code: $   --- dot
code: @  --- white dot
code: F   --- action free
code: I    --- action interrupt
code: M   --- action minor
code: V   --- action move
code: N   --- action none
code: R   --- action reaction
code: S   --- action standard
code: b   --- close blast attack
code: u   --- close burst attack
code: w  --- clow wall attack
code: B   --- area blast attack
code: U   --- area burst attack
code: W  --- area wall attack
code: p   --- personal attack/action
code: t   --- touch attack
code: m  --- melee attack
code: r   --- ranged attack
code: !   --- basic melee attack
code: #  --- basic ranged attack
code: s   --- line of sight attack
code: h   --- hybrid attack
code: H   --- basic hybrid attack
code: 1   --- 1 on a 6 sided dice
code: 2   --- 2 on a 6 sided dice
code: 3   --- 3 on a 6 sided dice
code: 4   --- 4 on a 6 sided dice
code: 5   --- 5 on a 6 sided dice
code: 6   --- 6 on a 6 sided dice
code: %  --- healing surge
code: a   --- at will
code: c   --- consumable
code: d   --- daily
code: e   --- encounter
code: (   --- armor item
code: )   --- armslot item
code: 9   --- belt slot item
code: 0   --- foot slot item
code: -   --- hand slot item
code: _   --- head slot item
code: +   --- holy symbol item
code: =   --- neck slot item
code: [   --- implement - orb
code: ]   --- potion
code: {   --- ring
code: }   --- rod
code: \   --- staff
code: |   --- wand
code: ;   --- weapon
code: :   --- wondrous item
code: `   --- this is a background slot for magic items - consumables
code: ~  --- this is a background slot for daily
code: ,   --- this is a background slot for encounters
code: .   --- this is a ackground slot for at wills
code: ?   --- this is a background slot for healing surges

A bit confusing, but I hope that helps.


-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> @eloquentaction: By the way... I was trying to entere some new magic items (from an Adventurer's Vault preview), when I discovered a problem.
> 
> In your PHB items file, the field "Rules Text" is used for holding, oddly enough, the rules text for a card. However, when I try to type a ~ in the rules text field in order to add a Daily power "banner" to the card text, MSE replaces the ~ with the name of the card. I cannot paste nor type the symbol required for that graphic into the "Rules Text" field. I can use the other (unnamed) field in the main body of the card, but not the the field I should be using.
> 
> I assume this is a product of the properties of that field, but it makes it very difficult to enter new magic items.
> 
> Also, The auto-fit text sizing for the card name does not seem to be functioning correctly for a new card. When I load the file, "Black Feather of the Raven Queen" runs over the Holy Symbol icon and off the right side of the card.
> 
> As one bit of feedback, it would be nice if there was a checkbox icon available in the card text symbol set. I am currently using the "1's face of the die" icon as a check box so that I can have a single card, and then simply check off which level item the card represents. I suppose the other choice is to you the fields on the right hand side to indicate level and value of item the card is being used to represent.
> 
> I am doing that so that I only have to have printed one or two full sets of cards, and then the players can use markers on the card sleeve to indicate what level of the item their character currently posseses. Saves on ink that way




Tristan -

Thanks much for pointing this out.

Since it will be at least another week before I release 4.1, you can fix this by doing the following.

Go into the D&Dh-symbol-black.mse-symbol-font directory in the data directory of MSE and find the "symbol-font" file.

Open it up in WordPad or Notepad.  Go down and find the



		PHP:
	

symbol:
     code: ~
     image: freq_daily_back.png

 
code block (4th from the bottom) and copy the entire thing.  Now move to the bottom of the file and paste it, changing the ~ to a ^ (up carrot - shift 6).  When finished, it should look like:



		PHP:
	

symbol:
     code: ^
     image: freq_daily_back.png

 
Then save the file and re-load MSE.  The set should now understand ^ OR ~ to be a daily background.  This means the old cards work fine, and you should be able to enter new cards with a daily descriptor.

Hope that helps.


-- Hirahito


----------



## Rhuarc

Thanks so much, helps a lot


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

We ran across this during the final fight in H1. During the battle we ended up with a number of characters each with multiple conditions active at the same time. Some were "save ends" and others were "end of your next turn" or "end of <characters> next turn". It got to be somewhat difficult to keep track of which were which.

 As a result, I am making a set of condition cards that are copies of the "You are..." condition cards from Hirahito's set, but which have the heading "Ongoing XXX effect.". It includes the same basic text, but adds a note that the player can save from the effect at the end of their turn.

Likewise, I am adding cards with the heading "Ongoing XXX damage" (where XXX is one of the damage types) to inidicate what ongoing damage a character is suffering. These note that damage is taken at the start of the turn, and a save is allowed at the end of the turn.

Just thought I would bring those up as card ideas, in case someone else sees a value in them.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> @eloquentaction: By the way... I was trying to entere some new magic items (from an Adventurer's Vault preview), when I discovered a problem.
> 
> In your PHB items file, the field "Rules Text" is used for holding, oddly enough, the rules text for a card. However, when I try to type a ~ in the rules text field in order to add a Daily power "banner" to the card text, MSE replaces the ~ with the name of the card. I cannot paste nor type the symbol required for that graphic into the "Rules Text" field. I can use the other (unnamed) field in the main body of the card, but not the the field I should be using.
> 
> I assume this is a product of the properties of that field, but it makes it very difficult to enter new magic items.
> 
> Also, The auto-fit text sizing for the card name does not seem to be functioning correctly for a new card. When I load the file, "Black Feather of the Raven Queen" runs over the Holy Symbol icon and off the right side of the card.
> 
> As one bit of feedback, it would be nice if there was a checkbox icon available in the card text symbol set. I am currently using the "1's face of the die" icon as a check box so that I can have a single card, and then simply check off which level item the card represents. I suppose the other choice is to you the fields on the right hand side to indicate level and value of item the card is being used to represent.
> 
> I am doing that so that I only have to have printed one or two full sets of cards, and then the players can use markers on the card sleeve to indicate what level of the item their character currently posseses. Saves on ink that way





Tristan -

The effect you are seeing - the text running over the right hand side - is caused by the set your using.  I have some masking errors if not all of the fields are used that I'm trying to clean up for version 4.1

You can fix this by entering some text into the top field above the RULES text box.  The RULES textbox should get shoved down and the masking will start working correctly again.

Pain in the ass, yes.

Alternatively - you can select a different card set and the text should show up fine.  Only 2 of the sets (that I know of) have this masking problem.

I'm hoping to have this corrected for 4.1.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Since it will be at least another week before I release 4.1



 I just finished editing all the 4.0 items to include spaces on the right-hand side for level, value, and critDice. What are the upcoming changes?



eloquentaction said:


> Then save the file and re-load MSE.  The set should now understand ^ OR ~ to be a daily background.  This means the old cards work fine, and you should be able to enter new cards with a daily descriptor.
> 
> Hope that helps.



Perfectly!  

Thank you very much!


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> I just finished editing all the 4.0 items to include spaces on the right-hand side for level, value, and critDice. What are the upcoming changes?




This change will have:

The Warlock Star Pact, Fixes for some of the Magic Items, Adding Levels to the Rituals, Entries for All of the Diseases and Poisons in the MM, Some New ENWorld magic items, the Alchemy and Reagents excerpts from WOTC, the Banners and new Ritual excerpts from WOTC, changing the masking on some of the sets and last but not least, yet another set bringing the total to 6.  

There could, potentially, also be other add-ons depending on what gets released in that time period and where my attention wanders.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Kingbreaker

Timba said:


> *Kingbreaker*
> 
> Congratulations! It's fantastic! Would you attach the MSE files?




Thanks  I'd attach them if I had them 

Unfortunately I have no expertise editing MSE templates whatsoever. . . . one of these days.

In the meantime, I HAVE been fooling around with a new way to distribute card-content that doesn't rely on MSE. The idea is to embed a dynamic flash movie in a single editable PDF file that anyone can download, alter, and print from. I need to strike a good compromise between file size and image quality, but I've tested the bits of the format and it works. It's actually really easy to do with a teensy bit of programming knowledge and a lot of patience. (And the software!)

I may be able to post something as early as this weekend.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

tristan_tewksbury said:


> ...I am adding cards with the heading "Ongoing XXX damage" (where XXX is one of the damage types) to inidicate what ongoing damage a character is suffering. These note that damage is taken at the start of the turn, and a save is allowed at the end of the turn.



I decided to change the format a little bit. Since card sleeves allow you to write on the cards with wet-erase or dry-erase markers, I made the cards a bit more generic, allowing me to make up a bunch of them and use them as needed.

As I mentioned previously, I am using the 1's face of a die icon to represent the checkbox.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> I decided to change the format a little bit. Since card sleeves allow you to write on the cards with wet-erase or dry-erase markers, I made the cards a bit more generic, allowing me to make up a bunch of them and use them as needed.
> 
> As I mentioned previously, I am using the 1's face of a die icon to represent the checkbox.




If you'd like, I can add a symbol or two to make check boxes easier to add.

I'll put that on the to do list for 4.1.

I think I'll call them 'Tristi-boxes'.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I think I'll call them 'Tristi-boxes'.



I would be honored


----------



## Duckforceone

hirohito, i must say, i like your templates

So just wanted to say thank you for your great work.

Now a question, how do i get those nice to hit data on my cards? can't seem to find those two boxes you mentioned i needed to change under styles in an earlier post...


----------



## eloquentaction

Duckforceone said:


> hirohito, i must say, i like your templates
> 
> So just wanted to say thank you for your great work.
> 
> Now a question, how do i get those nice to hit data on my cards? can't seem to find those two boxes you mentioned i needed to change under styles in an earlier post...




OK - pull up the card you want to edit in MSE.

Look around to the right hand side of the card (left hand side for the Dzokvik style) and you'll see a series of dotted lines around a small box that looks... well, out of place.

Click on one of these and type something in...  POOF!  An edit box will appear.  Put in whatever you like, it will get stored with the card from then on.

-- Hirahito


----------



## SBalrog

Hirahito / eloquentaction:

Hi, first I'd like to report an error in your set - card 544, the title, class,   attack / utility fields are incorrect:

Title  /  Class  /  Type
Eye of the  /  Warlock  /  Warlock (Star) Utility   - Should be:
Eye of the Warlock  /  Warlock (Star)  /  Utility  


Then I'd like to suggest a new style. I like the simplicity of the simple style, but for some reason, not the background. So I'd like a mix of the Dzokvik style (background) and the Simple (layout). I'd also like some more color options so I could change the color for some of the blue and gold (rituals, diseases, etc) cards, including one monster shade of green for monster cards.


When do you plan to add the magic items from Dragon, and the Dragon 366 stuff (and any other stuff missing from 364 / 365) ? 
I have the data in xml-files if you think that'd help.


----------



## eloquentaction

SBalrog said:


> Hirahito / eloquentaction:
> 
> Hi, first I'd like to report an error in your set - card 544, the title, class, attack / utility fields are incorrect:
> 
> Title / Class / Type
> Eye of the / Warlock / Warlock (Star) Utility - Should be:
> Eye of the Warlock / Warlock (Star) / Utility
> 
> 
> Then I'd like to suggest a new style. I like the simplicity of the simple style, but for some reason, not the background. So I'd like a mix of the Dzokvik style (background) and the Simple (layout). I'd also like some more color options so I could change the color for some of the blue and gold (rituals, diseases, etc) cards, including one monster shade of green for monster cards.
> 
> 
> When do you plan to add the magic items from Dragon, and the Dragon 366 stuff (and any other stuff missing from 364 / 365) ?
> I have the data xml-files if you think that'd help.





The error is duly noted, I'll try and get that fixed for the 4.1 release.

Creating a new set is really up to the whim of the moment (which is why some of them are a bit more whimsical).  I might be moved to make a new set as you describe... but then again I might not.  If you really want to ensure a set is to your liking, please feel free to open up GIMP/Photoslop and create a new set based on my card data.  I am far from a graphics designer, so I'm sure your set(s) will look far better than mine.

Dragon #366 is slated for the 4.1 release.  If you can inform me of anything I've missed from 364 / 365 I'll see if I can add it as well.

-- Hirahito


----------



## SBalrog

I don't know if you plan to add all the feats to the set, but the 7 feats in D364 is missing (6 in Warforged, and 1 in Maldeen article). And the magic items.

From D365, the 6 Paragon Paths powers are missing, the Epic Destiny Power, and one Feat Power. Also 5 feats and the magic items
The powers are all Forgotten Realms / Eberron, but other FR / Eb stuff is added.


And I'll see if I can encourage myself to spend some hours in Photoshop sometime.


----------



## disarray2

Ander00, I was wondering if you plan on updating your power card set?  I really love them because of their clean uncluttered look.  I've also expanded it to make ritual and condition cards.  

I could probably update them myself but I haven't figured out how to add the icons yet.    (I know silly girl).


----------



## Daniel D. Fox

Grandpa said:


> Thanks for the kind words and sharp eye. I've updated with a fix.




Thank you SO much for this! I love the idea of handing out players cards for new equipment, and letting them manage their powers as much as one would with playing cards.

You've just made my games run a lot smoother!


----------



## grickherder

I'm going to start integrating the idea of premaking all magic items as cards to give the players.  Fantastic resource.  Saves player's asking "what's that", me replying, "it's in the PHB" followed by page flipping and whatnot.


----------



## Grandpa

Updated with Ranger fixes. Thanks again for the bug-catches, folks.


----------



## Ouronos

*Ander Set Questions*

Greetings...

I am *sure* that these questions have been asked and answered, but for the life of me, I cannot find the answers.

Using the Ander Power Card set, I need a way to change the printing format from A4 to Letter.  How is this accomplished?

Is there an originating website, feed, link, or service to insure that I maintain the latest version of the files?  I would hate to go through the cards to try and make a lot of changes only to find out that the changes were already made for me and available for download.

Also, how do I keep track of which version/release I am currently using?

Thanks, guys.  I may be an oldtimer when it comes to gaming, but I am definatly new here. 

Until that time...


----------



## Mevis

Hi all and thanks soooo much for creating and providing these fantastic cards! 

I prefer the "official" style of Grandpa's cards but have the following problem:

I don't have a printer.
Our local copy shop cannot enter pages to print using a ","
They can only type in "from page X to page Y".

Therefore I have to pre-select the pages I want on my computer and take them to the shop.

I downloaded the PPT Viewer for the Calibri font and doPDF as well.

However, when selecting pages to print and creating a pdf file using doPDF, the font looks wrong (not clear and with a background as if marked).

Can anybody help me out here?


----------



## Alphastream

Ouronos said:


> I need a way to change the printing format from A4 to Letter.  How is this accomplished?
> 
> Is there an originating website, feed, link, or service to insure that I maintain the latest version of the files?




The wiki has information on the printing format. I've encouraged set authors to maintain version information there as well. There isn't an easy way to identify version, though most authors list recent fixes and you can compare those against your set to verify you have the latest.

Teos


----------



## Grandpa

Mevis said:


> ...when selecting pages to print and creating a pdf file using doPDF, the font looks wrong (not clear and with a background as if marked).



I use doPDF from PowerPoint to create the PDF. Is this what you are doing, or are you using doPDF from Reader to create a new PDF?


If you have PowerPoint... I would try opening the original PPT file, deleting unwanted slides, and using doPDF to create the desired PDF.
If you don't have PowerPoint... I would try opening the original PPT file via Office PowerPoint Viewer, right-clicking, selecting "Print...", and selecting the slides you want doPDF to create the desired PDF from.
I'm curious whether using doPDF from an Office product produces the desired result, since this is how I create the original PDF. Unfortunately, it's difficult to understand the problem without seeing it firsthand.


----------



## Mevis

Thanks for the replies, guys!

My wife actually helped me out by recommending a program she's using at work: Cute PDF. Worked perfectly for me to go from PDF to PDF.

When trying to go from PPT to PDF via doPDF, I have the problem formatting. I cannot type "2,5" for "Width" and "3,5" for "Hight". The system is resetting to "2" and "3" straight away. 

I hope to figure out how it works by the time Martial Powers comes out.


----------



## turk128

Grandpa said:


> I'm curious whether using doPDF from an Office product produces the desired result, since this is how I create the original PDF. Unfortunately, it's difficult to understand the problem without seeing it firsthand.



I had the same problems too; when I drop individual pages into Illustrator to make a costum print pages, I get these errors: "The font TTE18D7A98t00 is missing.  Affected text will be displayed using a substitute font." There's at least 3 other jiberish fonts.

The only solution I found was dropping the PPT into OpenOffice and creating PDFs for each individual card (a bit time consuming).

BTW thanks for all the great cards, they're an inspiration and incredibly useful.


----------



## Grandpa

Well, I'm glad you guys are finding workarounds. I should check out CutePDF. I wish I was better-versed in the PDF creation process, or that there were clearer ways to get the cards printed the way different folks like them (e.g., 8-9 cards next to each other w/o white space between them).


----------



## Ouronos

*HIrahito Questions*

Greetings...

Well, thanks to my downloading Hirahito's Power Cards, the printing question was answered.  Such a silly answer, I'm surprised I overlooked it.

I've been trying to work with HIrahito's power cards, though, and have a few questions.

Using the "flashy" card template:

I was attempting to add a few cards just to try my hand at card creation and editing.  I am sure that these questions have been answered before, but, again, I must have missed the answers when trying to find them in the forum.

How do you change the card color to match the card type?  When I need to change the card color to "red" or "gold" (etc), how is this done?

Is there a way to increase the number of field boxes?  If I want so use the "weapon" and "melee attack" and "die 6" icons, for example, is there a way to show all three?  (As an aside, when using the Dzokvic style, how do I get the second and third field boxes to recognize code?  When I try and put symbols in them, all I get is the typed symbol, not the icon itself)

Attempting to use the "encounter background" or "daily background" fails for me, even after adjusting my files as previously indicated in this thread.  Any suggestions?

Could any (or all) of these issues be created due to moving the files after initial installation?

Again, guys (and gals), thanks for your patience with me as I attempt to make use of these wonderful tools.  My game will never be the same (once I have everything up and running the way I want them to).

Until that time...


----------



## eloquentaction

Ouronos said:


> I've been trying to work with HIrahito's power cards, though, and have a few questions.
> 
> Using the "flashy" card template:
> 
> I was attempting to add a few cards just to try my hand at card creation and editing. I am sure that these questions have been answered before, but, again, I must have missed the answers when trying to find them in the forum.
> 
> How do you change the card color to match the card type? When I need to change the card color to "red" or "gold" (etc), how is this done?




Right click on the card background somewhere there's not a text box.  Near the top on the sides is the best.  A drop down should appear that has a list of all the accepted card background types.



Ouronos said:


> Is there a way to increase the number of field boxes? If I want so use the "weapon" and "melee attack" and "die 6" icons, for example, is there a way to show all three? (As an aside, when using the Dzokvic style, how do I get the second and third field boxes to recognize code? When I try and put symbols in them, all I get is the typed symbol, not the icon itself)




I believe there are 5 boxes available in the "Flashy" style.  These are on the right side.  They don't show up unless you're editing a card.  Once you click on the title, the box contents and outline should appear.  The contents is ALSO editable - so you could put "Weapon" in the title of Box1 and then "Greataxe" in the content box.  Both will show up on the card and both will be saved.

If the question is "Can you go higher than 5 boxes in the Flashy style?" then the answer is "Not without editing the style itself."



Ouronos said:


> Attempting to use the "encounter background" or "daily background" fails for me, even after adjusting my files as previously indicated in this thread. Any suggestions?




"Fails for you?"  As in you don't see a background at all when you select those?  That means there's a file problem.  I'd redownload and see if that clears it up.



Ouronos said:


> Could any (or all) of these issues be created due to moving the files after initial installation?




Uhmmmm....  Yes?



Ouronos said:


> Again, guys (and gals), thanks for your patience with me as I attempt to make use of these wonderful tools. My game will never be the same (once I have everything up and running the way I want them to).
> 
> Until that time...




You're quite welcome.  Thanks for the words of encouragement.  I should be releasing 4.1 around the end of this week or the start of the next one.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ouronos

*Hirahito Reply and More Questions*

Greetings...

Thanks for the detailed response. I had done some work while waiting for the reply and did discover some of the information on my own.

Clicking on the background worked like a charm. I'm a color changing fool now. 

Regarding "field boxes": I now understand what those boxes are.  It seems so obvious now.

_However_, My new question centers around font size. This applies to all templates (in one form/place or another). Is there a way to change the font size for the symbols? If I place the symbol in one of the 'extra boxes' in the Flashy format, for instance, I get a small symbol. Is there a way to make this symbol as large as the 'main' symbols?

This question goes double for Dzokvic. The symbol size in the second and third fields are not the same size as the first (main) symbol. Any way to change this?

(If the answer is "not without changing the template", then would *you* consider looking at this and making the adjustments? Or perhaps a quick primer on working with templates in this fashion?)

Regarding "Daily/Encounter Ability Failure": _Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure.... _You get the point. 

I think that these are all the questions that I have (for now). I'll be doing some fiddling with it tomorrow (Friday), I think, so I'm bound to come up with some issue or another.

I can't wait for 4.1 to show up. You've made an oldtime gamer very. *very*, happy. All of my players love "Flashy", by the way, even if I am a little partial to Dzokvic.

Again, thanks for the quick response, for all your hard work, and your understanding. I'm great at putting the tools to use, just a little slow on the creation of said tools. 

Until that time...


----------



## eloquentaction

Ouronos said:


> Greetings...
> 
> Thanks for the detailed response. I had done some work while waiting for the reply and did discover some of the information on my own.
> 
> Clicking on the background worked like a charm. I'm a color changing fool now.
> 
> Regarding "field boxes": I now understand what those boxes are.  It seems so obvious now.




I'm glad I was able to help.



Ouronos said:


> _However_, My new question centers around font size. This applies to all templates (in one form/place or another). Is there a way to change the font size for the symbols? If I place the symbol in one of the 'extra boxes' in the Flashy format, for instance, I get a small symbol. Is there a way to make this symbol as large as the 'main' symbols?
> 
> This question goes double for Dzokvic. The symbol size in the second and third fields are not the same size as the first (main) symbol. Any way to change this?
> 
> (If the answer is "not without changing the template", then would *you* consider looking at this and making the adjustments? Or perhaps a quick primer on working with templates in this fashion?)




Go into the data\D&Dh-hirahito-flashy.mse-style directory or the data\D&Dh-dzokvic-style.mse-style directory and open the 'style' file using Notepad.

Scroll down in the file until you see the 'rule text:' entry near the left side.  This information also applies to the box_contents#: and box_label#: fields.

Inside the rule text: entry, you'll see a section that says 'symbol font:'.  This is the piece that's telling MSE how to draw the symbols.  You'll see two entries here you'll need to change, 'size:' and 'scale down to:'.  Right now they're set to 15, change them up or down according to your tastes.  

Save the file and then click on MSE's  FILE->RELOAD DATA menu option.  This will allow you to see the card with the new changes in it immediately.  You can keep tweaking the numbers in the 'style' file until you think they are just perfect.

FWIW - MSE does not allow programmatic entries here in the symbol font section.  If it did, I would have copied my font size selections down into here and saved you the hassle of having to do this.  As it was, I just picked one that seemed about right and had to stick with it.

If some of the MSE card designers out there know of a way to fix this, I'd love to hear it - that way I could incorporate the fix into a new release.



Ouronos said:


> Regarding "Daily/Encounter Ability Failure": _Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure that you are in symbol mode when entering symbols. Always insure.... _You get the point.
> 
> I think that these are all the questions that I have (for now). I'll be doing some fiddling with it tomorrow (Friday), I think, so I'm bound to come up with some issue or another.
> 
> I can't wait for 4.1 to show up. You've made an oldtime gamer very. *very*, happy. All of my players love "Flashy", by the way, even if I am a little partial to Dzokvic.
> 
> Again, thanks for the quick response, for all your hard work, and your understanding. I'm great at putting the tools to use, just a little slow on the creation of said tools.
> 
> Until that time...




Each person learns at their own rate.  As long as your rate isn't zero or negative, I'd say you're staying ahead of the race and shouldn't be ashamed of your efforts.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Samtobias

Small point, Grandpa:

Your Animal Messenger ritual card says:

"You target a nonhostile Tiny animal, such as a sparrow,
a raven, a fox, or a crap."

instead of:

", or a carp."


----------



## Grandpa

Samtobias said:


> "You target a nonhostile Tiny animal, such as a sparrow, a raven, a fox, or a crap."



LOL, awesome. Fixed.


----------



## DanmarLOK

Now that's funny.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to lean down close enough to hear that particular messenger's message even if it was of epic importance...


----------



## Ouronos

eloquentaction said:


> Go into the dataD&Dh-hirahito-flashy.mse-style directory or the dataD&Dh-dzokvic-style.mse-style directory and open the 'style' file using Notepad.
> 
> Scroll down in the file until you see the 'rule text:' entry near the left side. This information also applies to the box_contents#: and box_label#: fields.
> 
> Inside the rule text: entry, you'll see a section that says 'symbol font:'. This is the piece that's telling MSE how to draw the symbols. You'll see two entries here you'll need to change, 'size:' and 'scale down to:'. Right now they're set to 15, change them up or down according to your tastes.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Greetings...

This worked like a charm! I am still unsure as to what the "scale down" does (it should be obvious, I think, but I am not seeing any effect on the icon based upon the text that is being entered).

I did notice that I am limited in the amount of text I am able to enter. While the text does autosize in these boxes, there doesn't seem to be a way to force a line break to enter two lines of text.

This would be helpful, especially in the Flashy template, as I would be able to use a symbol, then enter a short two line description of why the symbol is there.

(As an example, I would be able to place the "die 6" symbol and then a descriptor [something like "recharge special ability one but not special ability two" or "if _feat name_ is known, you may gain another attack this round].)

A couple more questions for you, while I'm one a roll:

- Is there a way to create a "box" effect? To explain: using the Flashy template as an example, the template has seven (SEVEN!) fields that can be activated. With Sure Strike (Fighter Attack 1), I would like to be able to use the first field to create a box, label it "STR vs AC", and therefore have a place to enter the requisite modifier. The same could be done for Damage. Ander's templates auto create such boxes; if these boxes could be incorporated into some of your templates, there would be no need for me to pick and choose between the two sets.

(Note: there are things I like about both sets that I have been experimenting with... I guess its just that I want the best of both worlds. hehe)

- How does one go about creating new symbols? I think that I would like a set of symbols for the d8, rather than the d6... or maybe even the d10. This would allow some of my prospective house rules to make it to the cards. (Of course, if anyone out there wants to make the set for me... ).

(You do realize that once this question is answered, and the icons successfully made, that I will be asking how to go about the difficult task of adding them to the templates, right?)

Those are all my questions for now. I hope that I am not being to inquisitive as the newbie to the community. Maybe this weekend I will be able to spend some time in the other parts of the forums other than this thread... 

Oh... there is something else. If you plan on releaseing 4.1 this weekend (or next week), would be planning the next major release near the end of the month? Considering that Adventurer's Guild and FR Players Guide are both due out on the 16th.

Thanks for all your hard work, and if there is anything that I can do to assit the community, don't hesitate to ask. The answer might be "no", or "not right now", but I am always willing to field requests.

Until that time...


----------



## soulkeeper

I tried going through as many pages as I could before I just figured I'd post.  I grabbed the Magic Set Editor and the files for 4E powers, are there any cards for rituals any place, or magic items?  I saw the empty magic item templates that came in the 4e stuff, so I could build them, but I guess I'd really love ritual cards.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Ouronos

*Hirahito Problem: New Card Generation*

Greetings...

I am having an issue when it comes to creating new cards using the Hirahito set.

I can create the card normally, including background, symbols, and text.  The problem is that the database refuses to see the necessary flags to keep the new cards sortable or grouped with others of its type.

For example: I can create a feat power (lets call it 'Channel Divinity: Divine Shield').  It requires you to be a worshipper of 'Shield' and requires you to take the feat 'Divine Shield'.  It is an encounter ability, and can be used at a range of 2.

When creating the card, the card will hold all of the necessary information.  When looking at the database, however, the only field that auto updates is "Name".  The "Class/Race" column (which should be "Feat Power" at this point) remains blank.  As do the rest of the database fields.

This could become particularly problematic if I was creating a new class and needed to input several abilities that require the class name and level to be associated with the card in the database.

Is there something that I am doing incorrectly in order to achieve the desired effect?  I've tried clicking in the database field itself expecting it to be editable, but had no luck with that, either.

Until that time...


----------



## soulkeeper

edit: double post, removed


----------



## Ouronos

soulkeeper said:


> I tried going through as many pages as I could before I just figured I'd post. I grabbed the Magic Set Editor and the files for 4E powers, are there any cards for rituals any place, or magic items? I saw the empty magic item templates that came in the 4e stuff, so I could build them, but I guess I'd really love ritual cards.
> 
> Thanks in advance.




Greetings...

I know that the Hirahito set has Rituals already included in them; so you should check that set out.  The Hirahito set also includes magic items.

At last check, the Ander set doesn't appear to have rituals or magic items, though blank templates for items exist.

Until that time...


----------



## SBalrog

Since I wanted a mix between Ander style and Hirahito's Simple style for my cards, I made a new style greatly inspired by Ander's design.

I liked Ander's simple and elegant cards, but not the landscape format, especially not for rituals, and other cards with a lot of text, and since Hirahito's set included rituals and magic items, I combined them.

Here is the result (unzip and put into data directory).

I only created one of the parchment backgrounds, the medium / light, so if you want one of the other two, you need to create the images yourself (from the template file).


----------



## disarray2

I updated Ander's set if anyone is interested.  I also created condition cards and rituals cards.  I made some condition marks and horse marks as well.  

If anyone is interested I can post them.


----------



## Jan van Leyden

disarray2 said:


> I updated Ander's set if anyone is interested.  I also created condition cards and rituals cards.  I made some condition marks and horse marks as well.
> 
> If anyone is interested I can post them.




I for one would love to see an update of Ander's set.


----------



## Jan van Leyden

Oops, found my error...


----------



## disarray2

Jan van Leyden said:


> I for one would love to see an update of Ander's set.




Please let me know if you find any errors.  I'm new at this.


----------



## WhatGravitas

disarray2 said:


> I updated Ander's set if anyone is interested.  I also created condition cards and rituals cards.  I made some condition marks and horse marks as well.
> 
> If anyone is interested I can post them.



Seeing rituals done this way would be pretty cool! 

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Jan van Leyden

disarray2 said:


> Please let me know if you find any errors.  I'm new at this.




Thanks a lot. Only catch is that I won't be able to take a closer look at your cards in the next few days, with three gaming sessions and an unfinished IRS report in my calendar.


----------



## disarray2

Lord Tirian said:


> Seeing rituals done this way would be pretty cool!
> 
> Cheers, LT.




I'm attaching the files.  I made the background silver and I think you may need the custom files I added that Ander created.  I had to rewrite a bunch of stuff for them to show up so I'm including that too.  

I had to shorten some of them but if they were shortened, it is noted and where the full version is located.


----------



## direkobold

Anyone taken a crack at putting together a set for the swordmage?  The book is out today (mine is somewhere between Amazon's shipping center and my house), and I know some people got it early...  I ask only because I'm playing one tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll have the books in time...   But all the information other than the powers was in the RPGA preview.

If anyone was able to do it you'd have my eternal gratitude.


----------



## KnightCa

*KnightCA Power Cards compiled*

I will be adding/updating my power cards (compiled and modified from other contributors) to the site below. These are pdf files with completed cards in a style similar to what you see in the attached file.

Character Power Card Sets


----------



## Ouronos

JosiahKnight said:


> I will be adding/updating my power cards (compiled and modified from other contributors) to the site below. These are pdf files with completed cards in a style similar to what you see in the attached file.
> 
> Character Power Card Sets




Greetings...

Hey, Josiah!

I like the look of your template, but I think that in the "Att vs Def" box, the title needs to be smaller.  If you make it a title that covers just the top of the box, we would be able to print them out and write in the value instead of squeezing it somewhere else.

Remember, alot of us have taken to the suggestion of sleeving the cards so that we can write in the values and make other various notes.

Thanks for the template - looks great!

Until that time...


----------



## Thordain

the text for the power "steel monsoon" seems incorrect on most of these cards (including JosiahKnights). 

The cards say that one ally can shift up to your INT modifier while the PHB states its the number of allies that is equal to your INT.


----------



## KnightCa

Ouronos said:


> I like the look of your template, but I think that in the "Att vs Def" box, the title needs to be smaller. If you make it a title that covers just the top of the box, we would be able to print them out and write in the value instead of squeezing it somewhere else.
> 
> Remember, alot of us have taken to the suggestion of sleeving the cards so that we can write in the values and make other various notes.




Thanks for the feedback. I actually tried using the boxes like you described in my game for people to fill in their own numbers. My players either didn't like the boxes and preferred them to be gone, or didn't end up actually using the boxes.

That's why I ended up going with the design the way they are. The players that want to have their numbers, tend to just have a short stat block on their character sheet for that.

Thanks for the feedback though and keep it coming.


----------



## KnightCa

Thordain said:


> the text for the power "steel monsoon" seems incorrect on most of these cards (including JosiahKnights).
> 
> The cards say that one ally can shift up to your INT modifier while the PHB states its the number of allies that is equal to your INT.




Nice catch, fixed and updated mine.


----------



## Nytmare

Two bits:

First off, has anyone made a series of "character sheet" cards yet?

And second, aside from what we have seen of the character builder, has anyone heard anything about an "official" release of power cards?


----------



## Timba

JosiahKnight said:


> I will be adding/updating my power cards (compiled and modified from other contributors) to the site below. These are pdf files with completed cards in a style similar to what you see in the attached file.
> 
> Character Power Card Sets




Congratulations! They are beautiful!!!

Would you attach also, the mse-sets and the a templates also?

Anyway I think the empty boxes are meaningless. In my tem all peple handwrinting is unreadable, including meg. So we prefer to make personal cardstes and print them. Ability bonuses changing only by 8 level, so we have bot to reprint them to often.


----------



## Black Plauge

Nytmare said:


> First off, has anyone made a series of "character sheet" cards yet?



I have.


----------



## eloquentaction

Thordain said:


> the text for the power "steel monsoon" seems incorrect on most of these cards (including JosiahKnights).
> 
> The cards say that one ally can shift up to your INT modifier while the PHB states its the number of allies that is equal to your INT.




Most of the cards are correct, then.

The PHB was ratified in the WOTC errata.  The cards are correct.  The PHB is wrong.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ouronos

*Hirahito Update Status*

Greetings...

Any word on how long it is going to take for the next round of Hirahito updates?  Will these updates include the additions presented in Adventurer's Vault, FR Player's Guide and Dragon 366?

I know that these things take time, so I'm not pushing for release, just a general idea on how long it is going to take.

Thanks for all you hard work, I am totally enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Until that time...


----------



## Ouronos

*Josiah Template*

Greetings...

I second the motion for the mse and templates for Josiah's cards.  While I am pretty set on the Hirahito set right now, I enjoy the prospect of giving my players various options for their own power cards.  They are the ones that have to use the ones for their character, after all.

Until that time...


----------



## WhatGravitas

eloquentaction said:


> The PHB was ratified in the WOTC errata.  The cards are correct.  The PHB is wrong.



According to the errata file, however, Steel Monsoon received no errata.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## eloquentaction

Ouronos said:


> Greetings...
> 
> Any word on how long it is going to take for the next round of Hirahito updates? Will these updates include the additions presented in Adventurer's Vault, FR Player's Guide and Dragon 366?
> 
> I know that these things take time, so I'm not pushing for release, just a general idea on how long it is going to take.
> 
> Thanks for all you hard work, I am totally enjoying the fruits of your labor.
> 
> Until that time...




To tell you the truth, I'm still about halfway through the 4.1 update.  With the release of the new FRPHB and the AG, I have a TON of new material I need to try and throw in here.

Then there's the Dragon #364, #365 and #366 (and probably #367 by the time I'm done) as well as the bug reports people are throwing in.

So what I'm thinking of doing instead of large releases is to put out small patches containing just a few days of work and detail on my site what each patch does.  This won't be as nice as getting a whole huge update, but it will get progress out the door.

So expect the 4.1A release sometime next week.  It will have only a few bug fixes, the new Warlock Star Pact and the Diseases and Poisons in the MM.  I had to strip out the Alchemy and new Magic Items because those need to be in the AG release.  I'll also see if I can put in a few of the other card fixes people have been throwing out there.

For those of you who are waiting for this with baited breath, I apologize.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ouronos

eloquentaction said:


> To tell you the truth, I'm still about halfway through the 4.1 update. With the release of the new FRPHB and the AG, I have a TON of new material I need to try and throw in here.
> 
> Then there's the Dragon #364, #365 and #366 (and probably #367 by the time I'm done) as well as the bug reports people are throwing in.
> 
> So what I'm thinking of doing instead of large releases is to put out small patches containing just a few days of work and detail on my site what each patch does. This won't be as nice as getting a whole huge update, but it will get progress out the door.
> 
> So expect the 4.1A release sometime next week. It will have only a few bug fixes, the new Warlock Star Pact and the Diseases and Poisons in the MM. I had to strip out the Alchemy and new Magic Items because those need to be in the AG release. I'll also see if I can put in a few of the other card fixes people have been throwing out there.
> 
> For those of you who are waiting for this with baited breath, I apologize.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Greetings...

Hirahito - there is absolutely no need to apologize.  There is *a lot* of new material to add, especially for one person to perform... by hand... while dealing with "real life"... for free!

If only I had the ability to devote half the time that you are devoting, I would consider myself both lucky and blessed.

I, for one, will continue to wait patiently.  With baited breath, to be sure, but patiently none the less.  Giving it to us in smaller parcels is fine, by the way... some of us, to be sure, will simply wait until it is all done; others will grab what snippets we can.

To be sure, though, we recognize the amount of work that goes into this, and I, for one, am simply grateful that you are doing what you can.

Until that time...


----------



## AceWasabi

I'd like to add a hearty thank you in advance also. I can't say enough how helpful and useful having these has been so far. As I mentioned in another post me and my group are all "returnees" to DnD after a long time not playing and having these card sets just makes our gameplay so much smoother and easier than constantly having to page flip for things we're still learning about.

So yes we're all waiting patiently and completely understand and appreciate the amount of time it must take to make all of this work and to keep it current. 

Thank you so much!


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight's Database and Templates*



Ouronos said:


> Greetings...
> 
> I second the motion for the mse and templates for Josiah's cards. While I am pretty set on the Hirahito set right now, I enjoy the prospect of giving my players various options for their own power cards. They are the ones that have to use the ones for their character, after all.
> 
> Until that time...




The Templates and Database has been added to the other links"
Character Power Card Sets


----------



## khaine1969

*Swordmage power cards*

Heres the cards for theswordmage powers using Grandpas' template and layout.

Enjoy


----------



## Grandpa

Nice, khaine. Thaks. I've added them to the main post.


----------



## Alphastream

JosiahKnight said:


> The Templates and Database has been added to the other links"
> Character Power Card Sets




Nice stuff. I haven't checked out the monster templates yet, but they look cool.

Teos


----------



## KnightCa

*Items (Consumable) added*

_The Items (Consumable) have been added to the other links:
Character Power Card Sets_

_Be aware that some of the items are homebrew items (they are listed as such on the cards)._


----------



## eloquentaction

AceWasabi said:


> I'd like to add a hearty thank you in advance also. I can't say enough how helpful and useful having these has been so far. As I mentioned in another post me and my group are all "returnees" to DnD after a long time not playing and having these card sets just makes our gameplay so much smoother and easier than constantly having to page flip for things we're still learning about.
> 
> So yes we're all waiting patiently and completely understand and appreciate the amount of time it must take to make all of this work and to keep it current.
> 
> Thank you so much!




News on the 4.1 release:

* I've decided I'm not going to make Monster Cards.  I'm doing something different here.  The end result will be HTML and / or PDF stat blocked Mobs printable to a sheet, etc.  The main reason I wanted the cards (as a DM) was for quick lookup which I've decided is better done a different way (sorry, not going into details yet).

* I'm no longer going to support Dragon or Dungeon previews.  I've had to pull every preview article I've entered into my cardset to put in the 'canon' rules from the AV and the FRPHB.  Sorry, it's just twice as much work to support the previews and then have to rip them out to put the new stuff in.

* I now have the AV and FRPHB which I'll be entering into the 4.5 release.

* I'm creating an Ander look alike cardset and some card backs which I'll release with the 4.5 release.  These will most likely be the last card-sets I'll be releasing.

Now, some bad news.  I was upgrading my main computer to handle Quin-boxing (it's where you run 5 simultaneous accounts on WOW using a single keyboard/mouse).  I had my 3 shammie / 2 shadow priest combo just about working when my power supply in my main computer blew out.

So... the 4.1 release is on hold until I can get my main comp working, which should be this weekend.  Sorry for, yet again, having a delay.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> News on the 4.1 release




Thanks for the update! Glad to hear you are on the case for the FRPG stuff, sad to hear you are sans computer for a bit. Best of luck to the PC on the recovery!

Teos


----------



## Thordain

eloquentaction said:


> Most of the cards are correct, then.
> 
> The PHB was ratified in the WOTC errata.  The cards are correct.  The PHB is wrong.
> 
> -- Hirahito




The wotc errata does not mention steel monsoon.


----------



## eloquentaction

Thordain said:


> The wotc errata does not mention steel monsoon.




I'll make sure my cardset has the data from the PHB.  Not sure why it doesn't.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ander00

My last update was quite a while ago and I haven't checked the thread since (monstly because I didn't get to play as much as I would've liked over the summer).

With my new campaign getting off the ground this week, and one of the PCs being a swordmage, I have added some more powers to the set now, fixed a bunch of errors, and incorporated the latest errata. The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364 through 366, as well as the swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.


cheers


----------



## Ander00

eloquentaction said:


> I'll make sure my cardset has the data from the PHB.  Not sure why it doesn't.



I'm looking at the tiefling warlord pregen for KotS right now, which reads as follows (he has an 18 in Intelligence):







> *Hit:* 2d8 + 3 damage, and one ally within 5 squares of you can shift 5 squares.




cheers


----------



## disarray2

Ander00 said:


> My last update was quite a while ago and I haven't checked the thread since (monstly because I didn't get to play as much as I would've liked over the summer).
> 
> With my new campaign getting off the ground this week, and one of the PCs being a swordmage, I have added some more powers to the set now, fixed a bunch of errors, and incorporated the latest errata. The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364 through 366, as well as the swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
> 
> 
> cheers




Sweet, welcome back.  I created ritual cards, condition cards and working on item cards (thru phb and 1/4 way thru AV) based on your set.  Hope that was ok.  

Squee!  I've really loved your set.


----------



## Ander00

Absolutely. The nice thing about having an MSE set is that anyone can fill in the blanks for himself or others.


cheers


----------



## ulrikbb

khaine1969 said:


> Heres the cards for theswordmage powers using Grandpas' template and layout.
> 
> Enjoy




Thank you, Khaine! I'm so happy that someone adds cards to Grandpa's set! I've got pretty much the entire set cut out and laminated now, and I'm glad I get the swordmage as well!


----------



## eloquentaction

Thordain said:


> The wotc errata does not mention steel monsoon.




Allright.  I checked this in my set.

From what I can tell, my set has it shown *exactly* the same as Page 147 of the PHB (Warlord Attack 3, top left of the page: Steel Monsoon).

Not sure why you are saying it's incorrect.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Allright.

I FINALLY got my act together and released 4.1 of my card set.

It has the Warlock Star powers, a bunch of corrections that were reported to me, and all of the Diseases / Poisons and the Ritual found in the MM.

Not much of a change, but it's there.

NOTE:  The Swordmage was REMOVED from this version in preparation for version 4.2 which will have the entire class supported.

BTW, even with the removal the card counts now up to 1,756 cards.  The AV and FRPHB will bring this to ridiculous levels.

Version 4.2 should have most if not all the FRPHB in it and I might throw some or all of the AV in there.  There's a lot to both of those books, so I might pace it across a few versions.

Sorry there wasn't more to it, but I just got my poor computer back up to working again (with the advent of a $150 850 Watt Powersupply.  Man those stupid things are expensive.)

Oh, and for those of you that don't know - my card set can be found in the link in my sig, below.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ladybam

I saw a set of card, that was pdf and you where able to fill in yourself.  I can't seem to find them again.  Anyone know?


----------



## ulrikbb

Some things with Khaine's swordmage power cards:
Daily level 1 power Burning Blade is spelled "Burning blade" (last word's first letter not capitalized) (page 11)
Encounter power level 13 Dimensional Slash, has an extra "." in its flavor text.
Encounter power level 13 Seed of Fire, lacks a final "." in its flavor text.
Utility power level 22 Eyes of the Mage is duplicated (both page 55 and 56)
Utility power level 22 Shackled Warding has its label text breaking the header border into the main text box (page 58)
Attack power level 25, Bounding Lightning has its label text breaking the header border into the main text box, and text in the main box is running off the page (page 62)
Daily power level 25, Icy Shackles is duplicated thrice (page 63, 64, and 64)
Also, the grey/white boxes in the main text box do not always correspond with the bits of text they should contain.

Just notifying you, in case you're a perfectionist, and want to update them. Thanks again for making them!


----------



## Tancread

eloquentaction said:


> Allright.
> 
> I FINALLY got my act together and released 4.1 of my card set.
> 
> <snipped>
> -- Hirahito




I am as impatient as anyone to have this brilliant set up to date, but thank you for the latest work on this and for keeping at it. I love the look of your cards and really appreciate your work.


----------



## Alphastream

Ander00 said:


> I'm looking at the tiefling warlord pregen for KotS right now, which reads as follows (he has an 18 in Intelligence):
> 
> cheers




That pregen is using an old rule and not the final version from the PHB. What Hirohito quoted is correct.

I looked at Hirohito's set and it is fine. The version of Ander00's I have is using the pregen (old) rules. I think the Cameron/Black Plauge version omits the Tactical Presence info, but that could just be my version due to some tinkering.

Teos


----------



## Alphastream

I typed up the Dark Pact warlock powers through level 3, using the Cameron/Black Plauge format. Not of much use, but if someone needs them PM me and I can share them. Might save someone a bit of time.

Teos


----------



## Ander00

Alphastream said:


> That pregen is using an old rule and not the final version from the PHB.



Of course, I was just pointing out the likely reason it's wrong in some sets. The power description in my current one should be correct.


cheers


----------



## turk128

Ander00 said:


> My last update was quite a while ago and I haven't checked the thread since (monstly because I didn't get to play as much as I would've liked over the summer).
> 
> With my new campaign getting off the ground this week, and one of the PCs being a swordmage, I have added some more powers to the set now, fixed a bunch of errors, and incorporated the latest errata. The set now includes all the powers from Dragon 364 through 366, as well as the swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
> 
> 
> cheers



Freakin' sweet, this is just in time and I love using your sets.


----------



## eloquentaction

I'm just releasing version 4.2 of my MSE card set today.

This version has the following added in:

* All FRPHB feats, Paragon Feats, Epic Feats, and multiclass feats.
* All FRPHB gods.
* All FRPHB races (Drow and Genasi).
* All FRPHB classes (Swordmage, Spellscarred and the Warlock (Dark) pact).
* All powers for the above classes.
* All FRPHB Regional Benefits.
* All FRPHB Paragon Paths and Epic Paths.
* All FRPHB Rituals.

* All AV weapons.
* All AV armor.
* All AV Alchemy Formulae.
* The AV Alchemy Ritual.
* All AV Alchemy-made Potions.

Basically, I got to about page 55 or so in the AV and had to quit (my eyes were going wonky).

Card count is now up to 2,281 cards.

Version 4.3 will have most or all of the remaining AV items.

As usual, you can find a link to my most current set in my sig, below.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

Thanks for all the hard work! Cheers


----------



## ulrikbb

eloquentaction said:


> I'm just releasing version 4.2 of my MSE card set today.
> 
> This version has the following added in:
> 
> * All FRPHB feats, Paragon Feats, Epic Feats, and multiclass feats.
> * All FRPHB gods.
> * All FRPHB races (Drow and Genasi).
> * All FRPHB classes (Swordmage, Spellscarred and the Warlock (Dark) pact).
> * All powers for the above classes.
> * All FRPHB Regional Benefits.
> * All FRPHB Paragon Paths and Epic Paths.
> * All FRPHB Rituals.
> 
> * All AV weapons.
> * All AV armor.
> * All AV Alchemy Formulae.
> * The AV Alchemy Ritual.
> * All AV Alchemy-made Potions.
> 
> Basically, I got to about page 55 or so in the AV and had to quit (my eyes were going wonky).
> 
> Card count is now up to 2,281 cards.
> 
> Version 4.3 will have most or all of the remaining AV items.
> 
> As usual, you can find a link to my most current set in my sig, below.
> 
> -- Hirahito




You make it so hard to resist switching to your power cards - they are so well updated it makes my head spin...  Thank you for all the hard work!


----------



## eloquentaction

ulrikbb said:


> You make it so hard to resist switching to your power cards - they are so well updated it makes my head spin...  Thank you for all the hard work!




I'm working on the last thing to flip you to the dark side as we speak...

I've got a portrait version of Ander's cards that have:

* Multiple fonts
* Your choice of Backgrounds:  White / Light parchment / Dark parchment
* A switch between two types of parchment for backgrounds
* All of Ander's top colors plus my own:  Leather, Blood, Water, Grass, Skulls, RustedMetal and GoldPieces
* A switch to turn the icons on or off
* A switch to turn the icons from white to black (if on)
* A switch to put the round Ander circles on the left and right side (under the icons)

Plus this new card style will have all of my cards and the auto-shrink feature I put into my sets.

Soon after I release this new card style, I'm going to release custom backgrounds stolen from Tintagel, etc that has class and race specific backgrounds that you can switch to if you so choose.

But those are all in the 5.0 release which will be in a few weeks (at the very least)... so keep with your Ander style for now, foolish mortal.... MWAHAHAHAHAHAH.  (OK, couldn't resist).

BTW - No offense to Ander, Tintagel, et. al.  - Copying is the most sincere form of flattery.

-- Hirahito


----------



## disarray2

eloquentaction said:


> I'm just releasing version 4.2 of my MSE card set today.
> 
> 
> Basically, I got to about page 55 or so in the AV and had to quit (my eyes were going wonky).
> 
> 
> -- Hirahito




I've made it to page 73 so far.  It is enough to make you nuts.


----------



## Drake Darkarts

Hirahito,

when I try to unzip the set it seem to be asking my for a password, is one needed or am I doing something wrong. this was on set 4.2

Thanks
Jeff


----------



## pukunui

Ander00 said:


> Edit (25/09/08):
> 
> Added the remaining powers from Dragon up to issue 366.
> Added swordmage powers from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
> Incorporated the latest errata to the core powers.
> A few more error corrections.
> 
> 
> cheers



Hey Ander, any chance you'll be adding the Warlock Dark Pact, Spellscarred, and paragon path powers from the FRPG any time soon (assuming that's not what you're working on doing right now)? I really appreciate all that you have done. My players love these guards. They're a lifesaver.


----------



## Ander00

eloquentaction said:


> BTW - No offense to Ander, Tintagel, et. al.  - Copying is the most sincere form of flattery.



Sure, sure. In fact, nothing would make me happier than if  someone made a version of my template that is compatible with your set (or any other set that I don't have to update myself) .


cheers


----------



## Ander00

pukunui said:


> Hey Ander, any chance you'll be adding the Warlock Dark Pact, Spellscarred, and paragon path powers from the FRPG any time soon (assuming that's not what you're working on doing right now)?



I'm currently rather busy, but I'll probably tackle those before long, starting with the Dark Pact warlock.


cheers


----------



## pukunui

Ander00 said:


> I'm currently rather busy, but I'll probably tackle those before long, starting with the Dark Pact warlock.
> 
> 
> cheers



Cool. No rush - no one in my group is using any of that stuff. I only just got the book. But I _love_ the spellscarred, so I'm hoping to work it into the campaign somehow. I've always been a fan of spellfire ...


----------



## eloquentaction

Drake Darkarts said:


> Hirahito,
> 
> when I try to unzip the set it seem to be asking my for a password, is one needed or am I doing something wrong. this was on set 4.2
> 
> Thanks
> Jeff




Uhmmmm....  Nope?

I just did it on my machine - no problemo and it definitely did not ask for a password.

If I had put a password on the zip, MSE would not be able to open it (It assumes no password), so I'm not sure why it's doing that on your machine.

Try downloading 7-Zip and see if that unzips it.  It's freeware and it's a lot more reliable, faster and has better compression that WinZip (IMHO).

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Ander00 said:


> Sure, sure. In fact, nothing would make me happier than if  someone made a version of my template that is compatible with your set (or any other set that I don't have to update myself) .
> 
> 
> cheers




Unfortunately, since you and I use slightly different fields in our GAME files, our sets will never be 100% compatible.

But I will take that as a suggestion to create not just a portrait template of your cards, but a landscape version that closely matches yours.

The gamers in my current group are all a bunch of powergaming bastards who ravenously eat up each and every new splat book before I've even had a chance to see it.

Some of them are secretly planning on killing their characters when some of the newer splat books come out so they can *cough* 'convert' to a new class.

But, since they're my players and I feel some paternal instinct, I try and keep them happy by updating my set with the newest data.

So, those of you that follow my set, you should see me updating it on a fairly grumpy yet frequent basis.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa -

In an earlier message, you had stated you wouldn't mind making icons for me.

I'm holding you to that!

Adventurer's Vault (AV) has some new slot types:  Mount, Companion, Whetstones, Other Consumable, and Reagents.

If you could make those icons and post them back or e-mail them to me, I would be much appreciative.

If not, the world will shudder in my feeble attempt to make these icons.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

love the 'Pa's icons too


Hirahito, we all know the work load, but can you also include the information in the _Advanced Player’s Guide_ by Ari Marmell in your next or next next update?


for more info on the above see: Review: “Advanced Player’s Guide” | Critical Hits


----------



## Melangepa

Ander00.... You're awesome!  These are wonderful.  Thank you for all the hard work you've put into this and for the quick tutorial on how to put your template into MSE.


----------



## Melangepa

eloquentaction said:


> I'm just releasing version 4.2 of my MSE card set today.
> 
> This version has the following added in:
> 
> * All FRPHB feats, Paragon Feats, Epic Feats, and multiclass feats.
> * All FRPHB gods.
> * All FRPHB races (Drow and Genasi).
> * All FRPHB classes (Swordmage, Spellscarred and the Warlock (Dark) pact).
> * All powers for the above classes.
> * All FRPHB Regional Benefits.
> * All FRPHB Paragon Paths and Epic Paths.
> * All FRPHB Rituals.
> 
> * All AV weapons.
> * All AV armor.
> * All AV Alchemy Formulae.
> * The AV Alchemy Ritual.
> * All AV Alchemy-made Potions.
> 
> Basically, I got to about page 55 or so in the AV and had to quit (my eyes were going wonky).
> 
> Card count is now up to 2,281 cards.
> 
> Version 4.3 will have most or all of the remaining AV items.
> 
> As usual, you can find a link to my most current set in my sig, below.
> 
> -- Hirahito





Thank you too Hirahito for all the hard work you've put into creating these power cards and including all the most recent information!!


----------



## Aegeri

Grandpa said:


> Below is a complete (1500+) set of power cards in PDF format made from my own PowerPoint template.




Very happy and thanks for providing PDFs. PDFs make my life very easy as I can print them out reliably no matter where I am. I very much like your template and have replaced my power cards with them. Good to see a consistent set of swordmage cards as well, they were quite hard to find.


----------



## Grandpa

Hirahito: I'll see what I can do on those icons. They're fun to make, but my free time is much more scarce at the moment.



Aegeri said:


> Very happy and thanks for providing PDFs. PDFs make my life very easy as I can print them out reliably no matter where I am. I very much like your template and have replaced my power cards with them. Good to see a consistent set of swordmage cards as well, they were quite hard to find.



Thanks for the post! I'm really happy they're working out for you.


----------



## eloquentaction

Grandpa said:


> Hirahito: I'll see what I can do on those icons. They're fun to make, but my free time is much more scarce at the moment.




Grandpa -

No problemo if you can't; but you a far better icon maker than I.

-- Hirahito


----------



## burner2501

I'm loving all these options for 4E power cards. You guys have all done a great job. The problem I have now is that I want to try my hand at making a template of my own for MSE. I am home taught in Photoshop so I think I can come up with a design but I am not versed in how to take those images and build the template for the MSE program. Is there a tutorial anywhere that I may download?

Also, I've been playing with Hirahito's card set and, if I can't readily make my own template, would probably use as my default set. The problem I am having with it is that I see how to make new cards but I don't see how to set some of the values that don't show up on the card but show up in the right pane like Class/Race or Attack/Utility/Etc. Those fields make it easier for me to sort and get just the cards I am concerned with available to print. Am I missing something in MSE to edit those fields when I make a new card?

Thanks much.


----------



## Black Plauge

Hirihito currently makes his sets using a C# program and doesn't edit the cards directly in MSE.  As a result, there are several fields that are filled in for the card sets he's made that can't be accessed or edited by a MSE user.  He's working on this for some future release (I know because I've provided some assistance with the code).

If you want to edit them yourself now, then you need to take advantage of the fact that mse-set files are simply zipped text files.  Rename the set file to .zip and unzip it.  Inside you'll find a file called "set" (no extension) which you can open with any text editor.  Said file will contain the information included on each card, including the fields that are saved but not visible.  Edit those to be what you want, save the file, zip it back up, and rename it to ".mse-set" again.  You should now be able to open the file in MSE and see the values you edited in.


----------



## eloquentaction

Black Plauge said:


> Hirihito currently makes his sets using a C# program and doesn't edit the cards directly in MSE.  As a result, there are several fields that are filled in for the card sets he's made that can't be accessed or edited by a MSE user.  He's working on this for some future release (I know because I've provided some assistance with the code).
> 
> If you want to edit them yourself now, then you need to take advantage of the fact that mse-set files are simply zipped text files.  Rename the set file to .zip and unzip it.  Inside you'll find a file called "set" (no extension) which you can open with any text editor.  Said file will contain the information included on each card, including the fields that are saved but not visible.  Edit those to be what you want, save the file, zip it back up, and rename it to ".mse-set" again.  You should now be able to open the file in MSE and see the values you edited in.




Mr. Plauge is correct.

You can find more information on how to edit the MSE-SET directly in this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/241821-power-card-template-creation.html

Currently, the 4.3 release of my set is slated to be released today or tomorrow with all of the AV items in it.

Since I don't want to hold up this release to get code tweaked, I'm not going to put the changes Black Plauge and myself worked out to edit fields into this release.

Version 4.4 will most likely be a maintenance release which will have this code change, a document on how to edit the fields using MSE, a packaged ZIP file which will have my C# program and some or all of the raw input files I used to build the versions and a few maintenance tweaks to some of the GAME and template files.

Version 5.0 is my next release slated after 4.4 and it is slated to have my next series of templates.

Just keep following this thread, I usually update here.

-- Hirahito


----------



## burner2501

Thanks both of you for the information.



eloquentaction said:


> Currently, the 4.3 release of my set is slated to be released today or tomorrow with all of the AV items in it.




I look forward to the updates. Keep up the great work. I don't envy you the eye strain though.


----------



## Aegeri

So who is getting dibs on the Barbarian in Grandpas style


----------



## eloquentaction

*Version 4.3 is Released...*

I'm releasing version 4.3 of my cards.

This version has all AV items and the AV ritual.

Thanks to TheBouncyPherret (aka EldritchFire) for sending me his Barbarian cards from the Dragon #368.  Because he did all the work, I'm adding them into this version of the set as well.

New card count for this version is: 3,197 distinct cards.

As usual, you can find my set in the link in my sig, below.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Obryn

eloquentaction said:


> I'm releasing version 4.3 of my cards.
> 
> This version has all AV items and the AV ritual.
> 
> Thanks to TheBouncyPherret (aka EldritchFire) for sending me his Barbarian cards from the Dragon #368.  Because he did all the work, I'm adding them into this version of the set as well.
> 
> New card count for this version is: 3,197 distinct cards.
> 
> As usual, you can find my set in the link in my sig, below.
> 
> -- Hirahito



I downloaded your set for the first time last night, and you completely rock.

Thanks for keeping these so well-updated.  It's insanely helpful.

-O


----------



## Tancread

*Amazingly Great Work*



eloquentaction said:


> Thanks to TheBouncyPherret (aka EldritchFire) for sending me his Barbarian cards from the Dragon #368.  Because he did all the work, I'm adding them into this version of the set as well.
> 
> -- Hirahito




You guys are amazing. I can't believe you got the Barbarian stuff into this one. Thanks for all the work here, it really is fantastic and sooo helpful especially when I run my game for kids.


----------



## ronnaldo

*teensy request*



eloquentaction said:


> I'm just releasing version 4.2 of my MSE card set today.
> 
> This version has the following added in:
> 
> * All FRPHB feats, Paragon Feats, Epic Feats, and multiclass feats.
> * All FRPHB gods.
> * All FRPHB races (Drow and Genasi).
> * All FRPHB classes (Swordmage, Spellscarred and the Warlock (Dark) pact).
> * All powers for the above classes.
> * All FRPHB Regional Benefits.
> * All FRPHB Paragon Paths and Epic Paths.
> * All FRPHB Rituals.
> 
> * All AV weapons.
> * All AV armor.
> * All AV Alchemy Formulae.
> * The AV Alchemy Ritual.
> * All AV Alchemy-made Potions.
> 
> Basically, I got to about page 55 or so in the AV and had to quit (my eyes were going wonky).
> 
> Card count is now up to 2,281 cards.
> 
> Version 4.3 will have most or all of the remaining AV items.
> 
> As usual, you can find a link to my most current set in my sig, below.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I was wondering...could you add the unique items in KOTS and the other "official adventures" the one that comes to mind is Aecris the magical longsword from KOTS

Great job with these by the way...love em


----------



## Alphastream

Hirahito, you are insane!

Sincere thanks!

Teos


----------



## eloquentaction

News for version 4.4...

Version 4.4 is going to be a maintenance release which will have some code changes, a document on how to edit the fields using MSE, a packaged ZIP file which will have my C# program and some or all of the raw input files I used to build the versions and a few maintenance tweaks to some of the GAME and template files.

It's also been pointed out that the new Alchemy and Rituals don't have a level on them ([cartman] Gahd-damnit!  [/cartman]), so they'll be added to the 4.4 release as well.

No clue when the 4.4 release will be going out the door.  I'm hoping fairly soon but, since it's a bug fix release, it's always indeterminate on how long it will take to fix some of the things on my list.

After the 4.4 release, I'm going to be building a version 5.0 which will have an Ander-like set in it (both Portrait and landscape).  

Thanks to those that have given me kudo's... even though they all seem to assume I'm insane.  Hmmmm....  

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

ronnaldo said:


> I was wondering...could you add the unique items in KOTS and the other "official adventures" the one that comes to mind is Aecris the magical longsword from KOTS
> 
> Great job with these by the way...love em




Problem being - when I DM I *never* use official adventures.  I find the characters (especially the power gamers) have already memorized the entire plot-line, NPCs, stats of the mobs, where all the treasure is, etc.

I remember running one adventure where a magic sword was supposedly 'hidden' in a pool in one of the rooms.  The player kept making his poor character dive into the pool even when I started giving him hypothermia damage and even though I kept telling him there wasn't anything in the pool.

I swore off of 'canned' adventures from that point on.

So - that being said, I don't have a copy of those adventures to look through and place them items / powers / whatever into my power set.  If someone would like to create cards for me and send a mini mse-set, I'll take a look at it and possibly release it with my next version.

Sorry about that.

-- Hirahito


----------



## ronnaldo

Hirahito...no problem if you don't want to add unique items from officially released adventures...i kind of figured out how to make them myself.  My group (and myself) are very new to D&D and KOTS is just fine for us .

By the way ... your cards are a huge reason we are having so much fun playing the game instead of flip..flip...flip ahh..here it is


----------



## Maskhim

Hi there ! I've been lurking for a while and I think it's about time to thank those whose work I borrowed to enhance my d&d4 experience.

So, thanks Grandpa for your set of powercards, my players are really happy to use them. I followed other's work and even if I chose Grandpa's cards, everyone did a really good job here.


----------



## eloquentaction

ronnaldo said:


> Hirahito...no problem if you don't want to add unique items from officially released adventures...i kind of figured out how to make them myself.  My group (and myself) are very new to D&D and KOTS is just fine for us .
> 
> By the way ... your cards are a huge reason we are having so much fun playing the game instead of flip..flip...flip ahh..here it is




Not sure you understood what I was saying...

I don't have a problem adding the cards from the adventures.  I'm just not going to go out and buy a product I'd never use to do so.

If someone (like YOURSELF, *cough*) want's to make the cards and send them to me, I'd be happy to add them into the official set for everyone else.

-- Hirahito


----------



## defendi

Hirahito,

I think the Barbarian powers are missing keywords in 4.3.  Just an FYI.


----------



## Tancread

eloquentaction said:


> ... even though they all seem to assume I'm insane.  Hmmmm....
> 
> -- Hirahito




I assure you we mean insane in the nicest possible way, not in the get therapy and stop updating kind of way....

Once you have your tools for doing cards I will be happy to try to go through some of the modules and pull out items for you. I don't run them, but I do get them to loot ideas from.


----------



## Fedifensor

Great job, guys!  One question, as I have a game coming up this Sunday - has anyone done a card set that includes the Swordmage powers from the latest Dragon Magazine?  I was hoping to retrain into one of the new daily powers from the article.


----------



## Grandpa

Maskhim said:


> ...thanks Grandpa for your set of powercards, my players are really happy to use them.



You're super-duper welcome. It's been a pleasure to see them get so much use. If others are lurking and use different sets, I hope they weigh in. Having gone through what I did to make the 1500+ core set cards, I know what an enormous amount of life people like Hiro are putting into their projects and making available to the community, and in a timely manner, no less.

Thanks!


----------



## dekarguy

eloquentaction said:


> After the 4.4 release, I'm going to be building a version 5.0 which will have an Ander-like set in it (both Portrait and landscape).




I can't wait 

Props to Ander, Hirahito, and everyone who has contributed, these are so much better than writing out powers on cards, or flipping back and forth between 10 different pages in the books. I can't wait for the Ander template for the Hirahito cards

Keep up the good work


----------



## defendi

Fedifensor said:


> Great job, guys!  One question, as I have a game coming up this Sunday - has anyone done a card set that includes the Swordmage powers from the latest Dragon Magazine?  I was hoping to retrain into one of the new daily powers from the article.




It's really easy to do just one card in one of the MSE sets, if you need to.  Find a similar card.  Copy it.  Paste it.  Change the new version.


----------



## eloquentaction

defendi said:


> Hirahito,
> 
> I think the Barbarian powers are missing keywords in 4.3.  Just an FYI.




I'll take a look at it.  If they are I'll try and get them fixed for the 4.4 release.



Fedifensor said:


> Great job, guys!  One question, as I have a game coming up this Sunday - has anyone done a card set that includes the Swordmage powers from the latest Dragon Magazine?  I was hoping to retrain into one of the new daily powers from the article.




Dragon #368?  I don't think so.  I can see you guys (meaning the users of my cards) are going to force me to buy the Dragon and Dungeon subscriptions.  You are, don't lie about it.  I can hear you guys already...



Grandpa said:


> You're super-duper welcome. It's been a pleasure to see them get so much use. If others are lurking and use different sets, I hope they weigh in. Having gone through what I did to make the 1500+ core set cards, I know what an enormous amount of life people like Hiro are putting into their projects and making available to the community, and in a timely manner, no less.
> 
> Thanks!




Thank you Grandpa.  If I come across as thorough, it's only because I follow in the footsteps of veritable wonders such as yourself.  Plus, if anyone really wants to thank me, they should be thanking the patience of my girlfriend, Jojo.  She's a saint.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Ghaerdon Fain

eloquentaction said:


> ... if anyone really wants to thank me, they should be thanking the patience of my girlfriend, Jojo.  She's a saint.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Thank You, Jojo!


----------



## praetorian75

I have quite literally spent ALL DAY on this project of mine (since 9am), and I can't get it to work, so I'm going to ask for your collective help.

*Goal:

*To be able to print power, feat, and certain types of equipment cards through MSE using Tirian's layout, using the most current data.


*Problems Encountered:*

Primarily, there seems to be a disconnect/incompatibility between Randolph's files (that I download here) and Tirian's tirian.zip (which I can't link because I can't search through the posts and I'm not scrolling manually through 20+ pages).  The tirian.zip file is dated 5/5/08.  The only actual "mse-set" file I found with Randolph's files is for DDXP (whatever that means) and doesn't include any core powers.

I've tried using Anders' set (which has a later date), but that gives me a "word type 'class' not found" error, which leads me to believe there's a compatibility problem between versions, perhaps.

I am no good at editing the actual 'set' files, apparently, since I get all kinds of erroneous errors and nothing works right, if it loads at all.

I realize that even if I get Tirian's layout working with Randolph's data, it wouldn't include many things (such as the gear, armor, and other things included in Hirahito's set).  I can add those myself, later, if necessary.

Ideally, I'd like to see the Tirian style work with Hirahito's data, but I'm not confident enough in my coding to make that happen.



ARGH!  Too many options + too little knowledge =  x 10.


----------



## eloquentaction

praetorian75 said:


> I have quite literally spent ALL DAY on this project of mine (since 9am), and I can't get it to work, so I'm going to ask for your collective help.
> 
> *Goal:
> 
> *To be able to print power, feat, and certain types of equipment cards through MSE using Tirian's layout, using the most current data.
> 
> 
> *Problems Encountered:*
> 
> Primarily, there seems to be a disconnect/incompatibility between Randolph's files (that I download here) and Tirian's tirian.zip (which I can't link because I can't search through the posts and I'm not scrolling manually through 20+ pages).  The tirian.zip file is dated 5/5/08.  The only actual "mse-set" file I found with Randolph's files is for DDXP (whatever that means) and doesn't include any core powers.
> 
> I've tried using Anders' set (which has a later date), but that gives me a "word type 'class' not found" error, which leads me to believe there's a compatibility problem between versions, perhaps.
> 
> I am no good at editing the actual 'set' files, apparently, since I get all kinds of erroneous errors and nothing works right, if it loads at all.
> 
> I realize that even if I get Tirian's layout working with Randolph's data, it wouldn't include many things (such as the gear, armor, and other things included in Hirahito's set).  I can add those myself, later, if necessary.
> 
> Ideally, I'd like to see the Tirian style work with Hirahito's data, but I'm not confident enough in my coding to make that happen.
> 
> 
> 
> ARGH!  Too many options + too little knowledge =  x 10.




MSE uses two main files to determine how to read / display MSE-SET information.

The first is the GAME file which is a flat-file that tells MSE what the fields are and how to treat them.  This is your biggest hurdle because most sets are incompatible unless the GAME files are nearly identical.  MSE itself shows you this by showing the groupings of compatible GAME files when you open MSE and say 'NEW SET'.

The second file is the STYLE file found in the template directory.  It's nowhere near as important but it does tell MSE how to draw the fields onto the cards and which background file(s) to use and where.

If you want a Tirian set, you need to find someone that uses Tirian's GAME file.  Unfortunately, Tirian took an Ander's set and went his own direction (as most of us did, including myself).

You best bet is to take Tirians template directories and move them over into someone elses GAME template styles.  Once you do this, you have to go in and modify all of Tirian's STYLE files to show the new fields.  Then you'll have to massage the MSE-SET info to get it to work.  It's a painful process, to say the least.  But it's definitely do-able.

Last, but not least, if you can wait a month or so - my 5.0 release will have Tirian-like backgrounds for Ander-style cards (as an option - it won't be that way by default).  The juries still out if I'll be updating ALL of my set's in the same fashion, but I'm kinda leaning that way.  Once I do this, I'm probably going to stop updating my templates and just release new data updates as this will satisfy 90% of the people who use the MSE type cards.

If you need more specific help on something, please feel free to ask me questions - I'll certainly help where I can.

-- Hirahito


----------



## praetorian75

eloquentaction said:


> MSE uses two main files to determine how to read / display MSE-SET information.
> 
> The first is the GAME file which is a flat-file that tells MSE what the fields are and how to treat them.  This is your biggest hurdle because most sets are incompatible unless the GAME files are nearly identical.  MSE itself shows you this by showing the groupings of compatible GAME files when you open MSE and say 'NEW SET'.
> 
> The second file is the STYLE file found in the template directory.  It's nowhere near as important but it does tell MSE how to draw the fields onto the cards and which background file(s) to use and where.
> 
> If you want a Tirian set, you need to find someone that uses Tirian's GAME file.  Unfortunately, Tirian took an Ander's set and went his own direction (as most of us did, including myself).
> 
> You best bet is to take Tirians template directories and move them over into someone elses GAME template styles.  Once you do this, you have to go in and modify all of Tirian's STYLE files to show the new fields.  Then you'll have to massage the MSE-SET info to get it to work.  It's a painful process, to say the least.  But it's definitely do-able.
> 
> Last, but not least, if you can wait a month or so - my 5.0 release will have Tirian-like backgrounds for Ander-style cards (as an option - it won't be that way by default).  The juries still out if I'll be updating ALL of my set's in the same fashion, but I'm kinda leaning that way.  Once I do this, I'm probably going to stop updating my templates and just release new data updates as this will satisfy 90% of the people who use the MSE type cards.
> 
> If you need more specific help on something, please feel free to ask me questions - I'll certainly help where I can.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I had a feeling that was going to be the crux of it.  *sigh*  I guess I'm just too picky about the design for these things, given that I didn't even know they _existed_ until this morning, either.

I like Anders stuff, but when I saw Tirian's something just clicked and I said that's the one I want.  Ah, well.

I'll let you know if I actually manage a working version of this - perhaps you can include it in a future release (or not, as you like).  If I get stuck, I'll ask for help - I ain't too proud to beg. 

Thanks for the headsup on where to start, though.  I thought I was going nuts.


----------



## Drabix

*Genasi powers*

Here are the Genasi racial powers using Grandpa's template.

Drabix


----------



## soulkeeper

A favor to ask to all the card developers, esp Ander00 and Hirahito.

I love the cards, and the colors and designs are great, but I'm a black and white printer person, as I assume many folks are.  Can folks include a basic, non-fancy, pretty much black and white version in the future?

I didn't see a version like this, and I'll be honest, I don't really know how to use the MSE very well, so if you already have, and I am missing it, I'll be happy for a little re-education.

Thanks!


----------



## Dash

Josiah, I love your style the best and have been trying to get it to work with the MSE.

I consistantly am getting an error upon opening on your set, which states, "Package not found: [Dir]\D&D-symbol-josiah.mse-symbol-font', followed by another error, "Package not found: "D&D-symbol-josiah.mse-symbol-font".

I've downloaded all of the items on your website and have most of the other sets working.

What am I doing wrong?


----------



## Maxum

I like to thank Ander00, Hirahito and Grandpa and all the rest of the hard working people making and updating the cards sets. They are such a big help playing the game.

I could use some help printing out the cards in a PDF file. When ever I make a PDF its file size is so large. I just did a PDF set of Hirahito Barbarian powers, It was around 49MB. Am I missing a setting somewere? I am using CutePDF Writer. I know I have seen whole card set smaller then that 49MB size.

I like to make PDF files because , Printing out of the Magic Card Program is a pain in the ass.  So I like to do it as little as I can. 

Thanks


----------



## eloquentaction

Maxum said:


> I like to thank Ander00, Hirahito and Grandpa and all the rest of the hard working people making and updating the cards sets. They are such a big help playing the game.
> 
> I could use some help printing out the cards in a PDF file. When ever I make a PDF its file size is so large. I just did a PDF set of Hirahito Barbarian powers, It was around 49MB. Am I missing a setting somewere? I am using CutePDF Writer. I know I have seen whole card set smaller then that 49MB size.
> 
> I like to make PDF files because , Printing out of the Magic Card Program is a pain in the ass.  So I like to do it as little as I can.
> 
> Thanks




Nope.  You have the right of it.

Printing cards to PDF is a royal pain in the arse.

And the file sizes are mammoth.

I was going to print all of my cards to PDF and upload them to my site.  I kept trying this some 5 or 6 times now.

Each time I tried, the size of the PDF file increased from "Wow-too-large" to the latest "OMFGWTFBBQ-sized".

Needless to say, over 3000 cards does not make a small PDF file.

So I've given up on PDF's for the moment and have started putting them into Word files when I want to heavily control their position on a page.  Just go into MSE and export the cards you want into a JPG file and then paste them into a word document as a text-box.  In this way, you have complete control over where it goes on the page.

If someone finds a better way, please tell me.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

soulkeeper said:


> A favor to ask to all the card developers, esp Ander00 and Hirahito.
> 
> I love the cards, and the colors and designs are great, but I'm a black and white printer person, as I assume many folks are.  Can folks include a basic, non-fancy, pretty much black and white version in the future?
> 
> I didn't see a version like this, and I'll be honest, I don't really know how to use the MSE very well, so if you already have, and I am missing it, I'll be happy for a little re-education.
> 
> Thanks!




No promises.  But I think I have what you need in the next version of my set.

I have an option called 'Use alternate backgrounds' which switches Red to 'Blood' and Blue to 'Water' and green to 'Grass' (and so forth).  The important part of that being; when you print these in black and white, it should still be easy to distinguish blood from grass.

I have something similar to that now if you look at the 'FLASHY' version of my current (4.3) set.

Take a look at that and see if it solves your B&W problem.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tecnowraith

For printing with MSE or in PDF, is there any way to use sheets from Avery products instead using standard card stock sheets?


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Dragon #368?  I don't think so.  I can see you guys (meaning the users of my cards) are going to force me to buy the Dragon and Dungeon subscriptions.  You are, don't lie about it.  I can hear you guys already...



Not true. If you actually release the code for the card generator, then some of us might just generate a set of cards from a particular Dragon and make them available. That way other folks can use them, or they could be included for download as well.

I am not swearing it will happen, but it is much more likely to happen


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Printing cards to PDF is a royal pain in the arse...



Amen to that!  I do the same thing you do -- export the images and then import those images into a word processor to print them out. That way I get the ones I want.



eloquentaction said:


> Needless to say, over 3000 cards does not make a small PDF file.



Hey, I told you a while ago to break that beast into smaller pieces and have them available as separate downloads. 

That way if someone is playing a dwarven cleric, they can download the cleric cards, the race cards, and the action cards and be ready to go.

If you discover a problem with the keys for the barbarian, you just have to generate a new set of barbarian cards, and those who are playing the barbarian just have to download those cards to get the update, without having to download all the Adv. Vault cards, Dragon cards, etc. along with it.

As more splat books are released and more articles are printed, this issue is only going to get worse. I know you currently generate a monolithic file, but it would not take that much to rewrite the generator to create mutliple files from the data based on keywords or some other field (such as the source field for instance)


----------



## Grandpa

Drabix said:


> Here are the Genasi racial powers using Grandpa's template.



Fabulous! Seriously! I've added them to the main card set post.


----------



## eloquentaction

tecnowraith said:


> For printing with MSE or in PDF, is there any way to use sheets from Avery products instead using standard card stock sheets?




I believe you can export the card as an image.

Then open up MS Word (or Open Office) and load in the proper Avery template (you can download them from their web site).

Then paste the images into the template for printing.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Not true. If you actually release the code for the card generator, then some of us might just generate a set of cards from a particular Dragon and make them available. That way other folks can use them, or they could be included for download as well.
> 
> I am not swearing it will happen, but it is much more likely to happen




I'm scheduled to release the C# proggy with the 4.4 release.  I've been hesitating to do so because it's really not intuitive at all to use and I don't want to have to answer 1000 questions on how to get it to work.

I'll probably slap a small document together explaining how to operate it with a huge 'Use at your own gwave pewil!'

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Amen to that!  I do the same thing you do -- export the images and then import those images into a word processor to print them out. That way I get the ones I want.
> 
> 
> Hey, I told you a while ago to break that beast into smaller pieces and have them available as separate downloads.
> 
> That way if someone is playing a dwarven cleric, they can download the cleric cards, the race cards, and the action cards and be ready to go.
> 
> If you discover a problem with the keys for the barbarian, you just have to generate a new set of barbarian cards, and those who are playing the barbarian just have to download those cards to get the update, without having to download all the Adv. Vault cards, Dragon cards, etc. along with it.
> 
> As more splat books are released and more articles are printed, this issue is only going to get worse. I know you currently generate a monolithic file, but it would not take that much to rewrite the generator to create mutliple files from the data based on keywords or some other field (such as the source field for instance)





The current program DOES split it up by category.  I tried doing that for the 4.0 release and found it to be a giant, knobby, puss-filled pain in the ass.  So I'm just releasing the MSE-SET separated from the template files and updating each separately.

Compromise.

It's how the world works.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Fedifensor

eloquentaction said:


> The current program DOES split it up by category.  I tried doing that for the 4.0 release and found it to be a giant, knobby, puss-filled pain in the ass.  So I'm just releasing the MSE-SET separated from the template files and updating each separately.



Even split up by category, that is a BIG list.  Have you thought about separating powers and items into separate sets?


----------



## eloquentaction

Fedifensor said:


> Even split up by category, that is a BIG list.  Have you thought about separating powers and items into separate sets?




As I mentioned previously, my proggy currently splits it via:  Information, Powers, Optionals, Items... and something else (which I forget).

I can start doing it this way again - it's just so much easier (for me) to do it as one monolithic MSE-SET.

-- Hirahito


----------



## jbear

Wow this thread is seriously big.

I've made cards for my group but I did it on the Magic Card setting with MSE before this thread exploded/blossomed...

Now looking through I've download many of the beatiful templates people have worked on but I find myself a bit lost

I seem to understand there is a way to take Tintagels template and use it with the MSE, however I extracted those templates into my MSE Archives but it had no effect. Im not sure what I'm meant to do to get these templates added to the MSE list of available ones...

On page 20 or so of this thread Tintagel placed a link to a tutorial video on youtube but thqt video has been supressed.

Does that tutorial exist somewhere else? Can someone IT clued give me a MSE Template installment for Dummies run down of the steps to take? Or if that info has already been answered on this thread and my bleary eyes have missed it can someone post a link...

If anyone can help I'd appreciate it. Cheers.


----------



## Son of Meepo

I've been working on some of the warlock cards using Grandpa's templates (Dark Pact from the FRPG and the Star Pact additions from the Dragon 366 article).  If no one else is already working on them, I'd be happy to share once I'm finished.


----------



## Rils

Son of Meepo said:


> I've been working on some of the warlock cards using Grandpa's templates (Dark Pact from the FRPG and the Star Pact additions from the Dragon 366 article). If no one else is already working on them, I'd be happy to share once I'm finished.




Please do!  Particularly the Star Pact stuff from D366, that'd be awesome!


----------



## tecnowraith

eloquentaction said:


> I believe you can export the card as an image.
> 
> Then open up MS Word (or Open Office) and load in the proper Avery template (you can download them from their web site).
> 
> Then paste the images into the template for printing.
> 
> -- Hirahito




That's not what I meant. I mean that I notice in MSE the print preview shows 9 cards per page and was wondering if there Avery style pre-cut pages for 9 card-size sections?


----------



## eloquentaction

tecnowraith said:


> That's not what I meant. I mean that I notice in MSE the print preview shows 9 cards per page and was wondering if there Avery style pre-cut pages for 9 card-size sections?




I'd be surprised if Avery didn't have one.

Check out the Avery site and see if they do.

I know for a fact there is a company that makes pre-cut playing card sheets in 8 and 9 per page formats.

I haven't tried messing with MSE to get the cards to print on them yet (though I seriously want to) - it's all a matter of money (and the lack thereof).

-- Hirahito


----------



## Son of Meepo

Here's the first draft of the power cards from the warlock article in Dragon 366.  Please send comments, corrects, and suggestions my way.


----------



## Ouronos

*Very Costly Alternative*



tecnowraith said:


> That's not what I meant. I mean that I notice in MSE the print preview shows 9 cards per page and was wondering if there Avery style pre-cut pages for 9 card-size sections?




Greetings...

A very costly alternative does exist.  It may not be appropriate (nor cost effective), but it does exist.

FedEx/Kinkos will outsource the creation of specialized pre-cut paper or cardstock to fit the printouts.  You would just need to bring them a sample page or two, pay whatever the cost is, and wait the appropriate time.

I am not advocating this alternative; if Avery doesn't have the necessary template, then scissors work fine for me.

Until that time...


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> As I mentioned previously, my proggy currently splits it via:  Information, Powers, Optionals, Items... and something else (which I forget).
> 
> I can start doing it this way again - it's just so much easier (for me) to do it as one monolithic MSE-SET.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Just some quick feedback as I don't see it mentioned.  The Dzokvik template seems to be partially broken for the 4.3 release.  With the Dzokvik template, the first 'bubble' has the type of action and that's working.  But the second bubble is supposed to be attack type and I believe the third is damage type.  That's currently not working.

Am I doing something wrong, or did something change where the template isn't quite right with the new release?

Great card sets by the way.  Awesome attention to detail.


----------



## misalo1

Great Job to every who has uploaded their files.

It has given me the urge to 'create' my own sets.  

Create = 'Borrow' heavily from the thread.

I'd like to thank the people I have 'borrowed' from in advance. 

​


----------



## Grandpa

Son of Meepo said:


> Here's the first draft of the power cards from the warlock article in Dragon 366.  Please send comments, corrects, and suggestions my way.



Thanks muchly! That's some fantastic work. I've added them to the main card post.


----------



## eloquentaction

Avrus said:


> Just some quick feedback as I don't see it mentioned. The Dzokvik template seems to be partially broken for the 4.3 release. With the Dzokvik template, the first 'bubble' has the type of action and that's working. But the second bubble is supposed to be attack type and I believe the third is damage type. That's currently not working.
> 
> Am I doing something wrong, or did something change where the template isn't quite right with the new release?
> 
> Great card sets by the way. Awesome attention to detail.




I'll take a look at it.

I'm deep in the inner workings of MSE trying to figure some things out for the 5.0 release, so I've been a bit distracted lately.  Some of the things I solved on the first guess... some of the other things aren't quite so cooperative.

-- Hirahito


----------



## MonkeyMage

Has anyone made a card set that includes Adventurer's Vault items?


----------



## Jynxnet

*Barbarian Power Cards*

I was checking this thread out and saw there we no barbarian power cards from the recently released barbarian playtest (that I could find) so I made some up. Here you go...enjoy

These Use Ander's Template from MSE program, thought I would add that after I realized people were using some differant templates.


----------



## eloquentaction

MonkeyMage said:


> Has anyone made a card set that includes Adventurer's Vault items?






Jynxnet said:


> I was checking this thread out and saw there we no barbarian power cards from the recently released barbarian playtest (that I could find) so I made some up. Here you go...enjoy
> 
> These Use Ander's Template from MSE program, thought I would add that after I realized people were using some differant templates.





The latest version of my set (4.3) includes both Barbarian powers (all of them) and all Adventurer's Vault items, magic items, potions, and rituals.

-- Hirahito


----------



## disarray2

Here's the AV stuff in Ander's style. I haven't gone back thru them to proof them yet. It should have everything from the PG, AV, and current magazines.


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> I'll take a look at it.
> 
> I'm deep in the inner workings of MSE trying to figure some things out for the 5.0 release, so I've been a bit distracted lately.  Some of the things I solved on the first guess... some of the other things aren't quite so cooperative.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Awesome!  Well I look forward to seeing the 5.0 release, I'm holding off on printing cards for the release.  If you can get the Dzokvik working with it I'll be super happy.


----------



## Son of Meepo

Here are the Drow and Dark Pact Warlock cards.

I'd be happy to work on something else from the FRCG.  Any requests?


----------



## thundershot

disarray2 said:


> Here's the AV stuff in Ander's style. I haven't gone back thru them to proof them yet. It should have everything from the PG, AV, and current magazines.




Dude, you are my hero. Ander's is the style I use for my players, since it has a place for all of the attack & damage info, and these are great!


Thanks
Chrsi


----------



## tintagel

Hey everyone,

It's been a long time since I checked this thread, and oh gosh, things have really moved.  I am just about finished modifying my template for perhaps the last time.  Lots of cleaning up and usability adjustments (like being able to select action and attack types from a pull-down list instead of typing characters).

I will have a template for each of the core classes, each race, and items & feats.  Each will have an at-will, encounter, and daily variant for each Tier (so a Heroic, a Paragon, and an Epic variant of At-Will powers for Fighter, for example).

That's 9 variations per class, plus 2 misc ones = 11 variations per class = 88 various backgrounds for the PHB classes.

I am currently selling my MSE template (not the powers text), but I am willing to give a free copy to EN World members.  Details will follow soon.  Until then, here is a sample of some warlord cards.


----------



## Thindaraiel

*Enhancement of Ander00 template*

Hello guys !

I am a lurker from a while now, and found very inspiring and useful all the job made here. Some of you have donc a great job in enhancing Ander00's basic template, and I wanted to put all this stuff together :
- I mainly work on Ander00 template.
- I use the Parchment background from Relbanan, but I am building a full set where you can choose between plain blank (from Ander00), Parchment, Marble (from praxedes) and Shaded blank (from Ander00) body.
- I found the "marble" header from Praxedes really gorgeous. But plain blank will have simple header for printing facilities.
- The colored action icons from Tintagel are perfect. I used them instead of Ander's ones.
- I use a mix of Range icon from Tintagel and Ander00, and I edited them to color them like action icons.
- I use FrizQuadrata and Morpheus fonts like Tintagel
- The "manual text boxes" are transparent in all modes but Parchment, where I find it more readable to have it white background.

Below is a result of this work, which I'm already happy with.

But I would like to enhance this, and I do not have the proper files to do it.
Please, Praxedes, could you send me 
- your templates of full headers (without circle nor text bar) for the different colors (black, red, green, blue, orange, grey, gold)
- create 2 more for silver and iron
- the circles and text bar as separate elements

with all this, I should recreate all the combinations missing.

Please Praxedes, help me !!
Of course, all contributors will be credited as they should be.


----------



## Alphastream

tintagel said:


> I am willing to give a free copy to EN World members.  Details will follow soon.  Until then, here is a sample of some warlord cards.




Great stuff! I love the shiny! And, Thindaraiel's stuff is nice too.

I hope you will both post your templates in the near future.

Teos


----------



## Chronic Alcoholic

There is one thing that can be added to power card sets. It's the Half-Elf racial power Dilettante.

Basicly what you would have to do is take all the at-will powers and

1) Copy them and paste into a new card
2) Change the background to Red
3) Change at-will into encounter
4) Change class attack 1 (name2 part) into Half-Elf Racial Power

of course people can do that individiually for thei own character but having them all ready wouldn't be to bad either. Also the problem (at least with Hirohito set wich I use) is that it will still come up as an at-will, class power at level 1 in the list. Changing it in the zip file is possible but maybe a bit much for some people. I recommend copying/pasting first and looking for the version with the red background so you don't change the original.

Maybe Hirohito has an easier way of doing this with his program, could maybe look up all at-will and auto change the info or something, I'm no programmer.


----------



## Chronic Alcoholic

Ok I decided it wouldn't be to hard for me to do myself so I dit it, made a new small set with all the class at-will powers from PHB and FR (no previews or optionals form Dragon mag). I was wondering if I should also put Dilettante somewhere on the card, maybe have the power name be Dilettante: Eyebite or somewhere along those lines to differiate (sp?) from the original or maybe it's just enough that it says Half-Elf Racial Power at the bottom?

Not sure how to host this small set file so I can Email it to someone that can.

BTW it's using hirohito data


----------



## thundershot

Thindaraiel said:


> Hello guys !
> 
> I am a lurker from a while now, and found very inspiring and useful all the job made here. Some of you have donc a great job in enhancing Ander00's basic template, and I wanted to put all this stuff together :
> - I mainly work on Ander00 template.
> - I use the Parchment background from Relbanan, but I am building a full set where you can choose between plain blank (from Ander00), Parchment, Marble (from praxedes) and Shaded blank (from Ander00) body.
> - I found the "marble" header from Praxedes really gorgeous. But plain blank will have simple header for printing facilities.
> - The colored action icons from Tintagel are perfect. I used them instead of Ander's ones.
> - I use a mix of Range icon from Tintagel and Ander00, and I edited them to color them like action icons.
> - I use FrizQuadrata and Morpheus fonts like Tintagel
> - The "manual text boxes" are transparent in all modes but Parchment, where I find it more readable to have it white background.
> 
> Below is a result of this work, which I'm already happy with.
> 
> But I would like to enhance this, and I do not have the proper files to do it.
> Please, Praxedes, could you send me
> - your templates of full headers (without circle nor text bar) for the different colors (black, red, green, blue, orange, grey, gold)
> - create 2 more for silver and iron
> - the circles and text bar as separate elements
> 
> with all this, I should recreate all the combinations missing.
> 
> Please Praxedes, help me !!
> Of course, all contributors will be credited as they should be.





While I can't help because I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to these cards, I really really like your update on Ander's... These I could use without any fuss... I hope it works out!


Chris


----------



## eloquentaction

Chronic Alcoholic said:


> Ok I decided it wouldn't be to hard for me to do myself so I dit it, made a new small set with all the class at-will powers from PHB and FR (no previews or optionals form Dragon mag). I was wondering if I should also put Dilettante somewhere on the card, maybe have the power name be Dilettante: Eyebite or somewhere along those lines to differiate (sp?) from the original or maybe it's just enough that it says Half-Elf Racial Power at the bottom?
> 
> Not sure how to host this small set file so I can Email it to someone that can.
> 
> BTW it's using hirohito data




Send it to me (my e-mail's on the front page of my site).

I'll see about adding it to the next release.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Thindaraiel

thundershot said:


> While I can't help because I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to these cards, I really really like your update on Ander's... These I could use without any fuss... I hope it works out!
> 
> Chris




Thanks for the feedback !
I'm still working on the template, there are few things to tune now.

Already done :
- 4 graphic templates to choose : marble, parchment, shaded, and simple (printer friendly)
- 9 colors : Red, Green, Black ; Orange, Blue, Grey ;  Silver, Iron, Gold
- total control on circles and text bar appearance in header, and this for all colors !
- I reorganized the action/range icons shortcuts, and added the items icons from Josiah template. They appear only when you choose "Object" in the class/race field !

Message for Praxedes : forget my previous message, I found how to re-create the missing colors and isolate the graphic elements. Thanks for your previous work, it was really useful !

Things to do :
- cleaning/optimization of game/style text files, in order to make it more readable
- management of language (hey, I'm french and I'd prefer to have french keywords for my cards !)
- write a little conversion tool to make existent sets compatible with the new template
- analysis of Hirahito's template, because if they can be compatible, why not merge all that stuff together ?

I'm already working on language problem. When I've solved it, I will release a first version of the template.


----------



## Chronic Alcoholic

eloquentaction said:


> Send it to me (my e-mail's on the front page of my site).
> 
> I'll see about adding it to the next release.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Done, it's not much but might save some people time making cards for a Half-Elf


----------



## eloquentaction

Chronic Alcoholic said:


> Done, it's not much but might save some people time making cards for a Half-Elf




Half-elve's are such a pain in the rear.

Disregard the e-mail I sent you.  Your source is obviously the Half-Elf race description.

I'll see about changing these for the next version (even though it's a major pain in the rear).

Obviously, I'll need to look at the Dwarven powers... and any other racial modifiers that change abilities.

* Cries *  And all I wanted was to just release my newest 5.0 changes....!  (* sobs *)

-- Hirahito


----------



## Chronic Alcoholic

Half-Elfs are the only race that have this kind of a racial trait, it gives them the option to take on at-will power from any class not his own and have it as an encounter power.

There is nothing in the dwarf I see that affects powers in this way.


----------



## Black Plauge

Dwarves modify Second Wind, which some sets have as a power card.


----------



## Citan

Is there some way to take tintangel's templates (which I bought *g*) and apply them to the cards of Hirahito - the most complete set I've seen so far?


----------



## tintagel

Hey Citan,

You may not need to.  I am spending today updating my MSE sets.  Also, my powercards have gotten a big update on the usability side.  They also now support Labels for attack and effect notes, which can be turned on or off.  Almost all icons and default values are now pull-down menus as well.

Look for an update by 5 PM today.

Here is a sample of the Drow cards.


----------



## eloquentaction

I thought, since Tintagel has been putting up teasers, I should put up some teasers of my Version 5 Template.

This is only the first draft and even then it's only the Portrait version.  Expect the new release in a week or two.

Here are some of the cards...

Note that the BASIC card (the first) is just a redo of Ander's set.

Some highlights so far:

*  This template has 9 different types of backgrounds.  Each background can be made semi-transparent or full-on.
*  This template has 11 different types of headers, each (except plain) can be made transparent or not.
*  This template has 6 different types of icon placements (and even the ability to turn icons off)
*  There are over 44 built in images including 10 user defined images that can be placed on the background of the card at your discretion.

This gives (not including font and color choices) some 51,030 possible choices for one card.

This template also includes some new colors as well as the old ones:  Red, Green, Black, Blue, Iron, Silver, White, Gold, Orange, Purple and Leather as well as the ability to select your own custom colors from a full color palette.

If anyone else has some suggestions for this set, please let me know as it's still in its Alpha stage.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Jeff Carlsen

Hirahito,

I like the set a lot, though I wish there was a template that looked like Grandpa's cards, though the first sample you gave is close.  I like the "pulled out of the book" look.

Possible options:  

The ability to put the flavor text at the top of the card, like the power descriptions in the book.

If possible, alternating backgrounds for various parts of each power, again, like in the book.

And, finally, a distinctive greyscale template for printing without color, but where it is easy to tell at a glance if it's an At-Will, Encounter, or Daily power.


----------



## tintagel

Very nice Eloquenaction!  I particularly like the sepia race pics.

Well, my Powercard template is done.  Some new features include:


Support for labels, so you can write your own numbers for attack and damage values - this is optional.
Pull-down menus for all icons and for action types, range, and labels
streamlined code - tightened things up - removed need for 2 directories
New Paragon and Epic variations of all cards, plus 2 misc colors.  Total of 11 variations per class.
     This new version should make entering the data MUCH faster, but it WILL invalidate some of the information in your existing cards.  You will need to manually update some of that content, I am afraid.  

However, I have some of the cards already updated, and within the week, I will update all of my MSE files at my website:  http://4e.educatedgamer.net  to level 30.  That way, you shouldn't have to re-enter any data for core PHB classes.

If anyone wants to contribute their efforts to entering other data from newer books, email me:  rivera.ga (at) gmail.com   

*If any EN World member wants a free copy of the template, send me a private message.*  Of couse, I buying it for $5.99 would go a long way to convincing my wife that I'm not completely insane, just a struggling artist.  LOL!   Still, for a limited time, I will give it to you guys for free.   Look for a video and updates to the MSE files coming soon.


----------



## tintagel

My page is up: 4E Power Cards

Includes a Youtube video showcasing the data input process.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rByyyBg8kfM"]YouTube - 4E Power Cards[/ame]


----------



## Grandpa

Son of Meepo said:


> Here are the Drow and Dark Pact Warlock cards.



Once again, phenomenal work and once again, I've added them to the main post for everyone. Thanks so much for doing these!


----------



## angelus1380

@ Ander00 - Thanks for making the power set cards... been using them for my wife & I's characters.  We enjoy them and look forward to the updates as they come.


----------



## Waveblade

*Cards for Rituals from Dragon #366*

This thread has been extremely useful to me so I decided to try and do some of my own. Using Grandad's templates I've compiled the new rituals from _Dragon _#366. I hope these are up to scratch and I might try going through the Adventurer's Vault next.


----------



## Grandpa

Waveblade said:


> This thread has been extremely useful to me so I decided to try and do some of my own. Using Grandad's templates I've compiled the new rituals from _Dragon _#366. I hope these are up to scratch and I might try going through the Adventurer's Vault next.



I can't believe how nice these additions are! Thanks for doing these; I've added them to the main post as well.


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight's Power Cards*



Dash said:


> Josiah, I love your style the best and have been trying to get it to work with the MSE.
> 
> I consistantly am getting an error upon opening on your set, which states, "Package not found: [Dir]D&D-symbol-josiah.mse-symbol-font', followed by another error, "Package not found: "D&D-symbol-josiah.mse-symbol-font".
> 
> I've downloaded all of the items on your website and have most of the other sets working.
> 
> What am I doing wrong?




I realized that a folder (the one you mentioned) was missing from the Main Templates zip file. Added that folder and they should work great now. Let me know if you have any other problems. I will continue adding pages as I finish them (for example, the consumable items are done).


Knight (http://www.josiahknight.com/game/PowerCards/sets/index.htm)


----------



## misalo1

I new icon for the future 'melee beast' attack mode from Martial Powers book.


----------



## Netminder69

*Help with MSE!*

I have been using Ander's card set as i like it the best.  However, his set is lacking in some symbols (different symbols for Immediate Reation and Interrupt, Walls, etc.).  I took the symbols from a different set and added them to his font symbol folder and altered the symbol.font file to have entries for them.

The symbols don't show up though.  I have combed through the game file to see if there was soemthign in there that needed to be changed but I can't find anything in there.  I also checked the style file (a long shot, I know) to see if anythig was calledin that but there was nothing.

Any help on getting those new .png files to show up would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Avrus

Is anyone doing card backs?  The six from Nytmare look fantastic but I haven't seen anyone else take a stab at it.


----------



## benensky

Avrus said:


> Is anyone doing card backs?  The six from Nytmare look fantastic but I haven't seen anyone else take a stab at it.




Knight does great ones

Knight (http://www.josiahknight.com/game/Pow...sets/index.htm)

Knight - are you planing to add any new ones soon?  Also do you have cards for Action Points or Healing Surges?

-benensky


----------



## KnightCa

*Additional Knight Cards*



benensky said:


> Knight does great ones
> 
> Knight (http://www.josiahknight.com/game/Pow...sets/index.htm)
> 
> Knight - are you planing to add any new ones soon? Also do you have cards for Action Points or Healing Surges?
> 
> -benensky



Why thank you benensky. I must admit that most of my inspiration and ideas came from other earlier users on enworld, but I'm happy to add my contribution.

Do you mean new backgrounds or new classes (such as the barbarian) or something else?

I don't currently have cards for action points and healing surges since it seems to be working well to just use magic the gathering colored beads for them. Do you find that you'd rather have cards for action points and healing surges? (there is already one for second wind)


----------



## benensky

Knight - thx for the quick response!



JosiahKnight said:


> Do you mean new backgrounds or new classes (such as the barbarian) or something else?




Eather - I was wondering if I was going to see any new additions soon.



JosiahKnight said:


> Do you find that you'd rather have cards for action points and healing surges? (there is already one for second wind)




I would rather have cards for action points and healing surges. Am prototyping a folder to hold all my cards (so they are not lose on the table) and also my charicter and record sheets. Then all I need is my dice and my mini.

I use the second wind cards.

When I get a finished model I like to use, I willl post it.

-benensky


----------



## Nytmare

Avrus said:


> Is anyone doing card backs? The six from Nytmare look fantastic but I haven't seen anyone else take a stab at it.




I was just looking for a new project. Any requests?




benensky said:


> Knight does great ones




Yeah, those look great. *smirk*


----------



## Foxdave

I'm just popping in to say I've been using Tintagel's cards, and I'm getting a phenomenal response from my players.  I had missed printing a few of the powers they needed, and at our last session on Saturday, the ones without their cards were a little upset.

I'm now planning on doing some additions to the set for initiative cards with some quotes from my gaming group to add that special personal touch.


----------



## KnightCa

*Knight Updates*



benensky said:


> Eather - I was wondering if I was going to see any new additions soon.
> 
> I would rather have cards for action points and healing surges. Am prototyping a folder to hold all my cards (so they are not lose on the table) and also my charicter and record sheets. Then all I need is my dice and my mini.
> 
> I use the second wind cards.
> 
> When I get a finished model I like to use, I willl post it.
> 
> -benensky



I went ahead and added the alchemical items into the consumable items pdf as well as edited the other consumable items for ease of reading.

If you can give me a idea of what color and design you'd like the action point/healing surge cards, I'll see what I can manage.

I'm in the middle of mid-terms at chiropractic school, so I'm abit distracted.. but I can still work on specific things if you're looking for them.


----------



## KnightCa

*Card Backs*



Nytmare said:


> I was just looking for a new project. Any requests?
> 
> Yeah, those look great. *smirk*



Which ones did you have Nytmare? I'd love to see them. Tried to look back in the posts, but there is simply too many of them.


----------



## disarray2

-- Hirahito,  I haven't been able to get to your website.  I keep getting a google site login.  

Any ideas what I can do?


----------



## Nytmare

JosiahKnight said:


> Which ones did you have Nytmare? I'd love to see them. Tried to look back in the posts, but there is simply too many of them.




Post 22

They might look a little familiar to you.


----------



## tintagel

Foxdave said:


> I'm just popping in to say I've been using Tintagel's cards, and I'm getting a phenomenal response from my players.  I had missed printing a few of the powers they needed, and at our last session on Saturday, the ones without their cards were a little upset.
> 
> I'm now planning on doing some additions to the set for initiative cards with some quotes from my gaming group to add that special personal touch.



Thanks for the props, Foxdave.  I'm working on updating more powers today  and might try to get a background for the FR set. 
Home (4E Fan Publishing) - click on powercards to the left

Nytmare, I could always use new racial backgrounds for my templates.  Jut so you all know, I am giving those away for free since they use copyrighted art.  I charge for my other template, but am giving it away to EN World folks for free - just send me a private message.


----------



## padden

H, I can't get access to your site, google tells me it's restricted. 
"See my 4th Edition Site:  Here"


----------



## KnightCa

*Card Backs*



Nytmare said:


> Post 22
> 
> They might look a little familiar to you.



Yep, you're wonderful backgrounds were what I based the ones I adjusted from. Thanks so much for the excellent work. If you'd like the image file that I have modified so far, just let me know.. although I suspect you have better.


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> I new icon for the future 'melee beast' attack mode from Martial Powers book.




Misalo -

Thanks much for that image, I'll make sure to add it into my icon set here soon.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

padden said:


> H, I can't get access to your site, google tells me it's restricted.
> "See my 4th Edition Site:  Here"




P, that's because the site is down.  I'm rebuilding it for Version 5.

I'm also seeing about finally putting up the PDF's of at least one of my sets (yes, all 3000+ cards) which is requiring me to find places that will store that much.

Sorry for the hassle.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Jeff Carlsen said:


> Hirahito,
> 
> I like the set a lot, though I wish there was a template that looked like Grandpa's cards, though the first sample you gave is close.  I like the "pulled out of the book" look.
> 
> Possible options:
> 
> The ability to put the flavor text at the top of the card, like the power descriptions in the book.
> 
> If possible, alternating backgrounds for various parts of each power, again, like in the book.
> 
> And, finally, a distinctive greyscale template for printing without color, but where it is easy to tell at a glance if it's an At-Will, Encounter, or Daily power.




Jeff -

Thanks very much for the input!

I've taken a lot of what you're asking for to heart.  Version 5 will allow the flavor text at the top or the bottom.

I'm looking into (but can't yet promise) that there will be different background colors / shadings for different sections (the problem is getting the sections to cut themselves to a certain size - I think I have it figured out, but MSE is being difficult).

As far as the black & white - well, I can't promise anything there yet except that I've experimented with a switch that will turn everything B&W.  It works, but the results aren't quite what I want yet - so I probably won't implement this.

-- Hirahito


----------



## benensky

JosiahKnight said:


> If you can give me a idea of what color and design you'd like the action point/healing surge cards, I'll see what I can manage.




The new card looks great.

The work you do is good. I would leave that up to you. However, if you are stuck and want an ides - make the action points black and white (possibly checkerboard) with an explosion (like what surrounds the word POW in the comics) theme. The healing surge would be best in pink or candy-cane-stripe color and the Red Cross/First Aid theme.

-benensky


----------



## tintagel

Here are my Action Point cards, for what it's worth.  The logo was taken from the seriously epic thread here on ENWorld, LOL


----------



## Thindaraiel

*Ander's template upgraded and online !*

Hello to all D&D players !

I have finally uploaded the Ander's template I enhanced. I made some important modifications on the template, so it took me more time than I expected. But I think it was worth the effort.
You can find the template here : Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire

You will need
- the D&D-Ander.zip file. It contains the common files, as well as a README.txt which explains how to install it.
- one of the language package : D&D-Ander-french or D&D-Ander-english.zip. These packages are mutually exclusive.
- one or more of the graphic packages : D&D-Ander-Simple, -Shaded, -Marble or -Parchment

download what you need, install it into the MSE2 directory (all the packages contain the data directory), install the fonts which are in the fonts directory, and that's all !

The new features of the template are :
- 9 colors (green, red, black, blue, orange, grey, iron, silver, gold)
- 4 styles (simple - printer friendly, Marble, Shaded and Parchment)
- graphic elements (left and right circles, text bar) tunable separately
- left circle allows action or items icons ; right circle deals with range and items icons
- damage icon can be added
- special symbols for items powers in the rule zone
(I forgot to mention it in the readme ! here are the shortcuts for the icons :
s m o i f for action icons, % ~ , . ? for frequence icons. Use the symbol button to activate)
- card color ar graphic shape, class, nature of power, frequency are all in english or french depending on the package you installed.

But I still have some upgrades to do in the future :
- allow several damage icons and increase a bit their size
- create a "language pack helper" to allow the creation of other language packages
- allow special symbols to be resized with text font size.
- allow insertion of image
- create a tool to easily transform "old Ander sets" into new one.
So expect some new versions to come in following weeks.

Here are some sample cards created with the template. Sorry they are in french, I lost the english cards I made.

Please do not hesitate to send me your feedback !!
I hope this wil be useful


----------



## Ander00

Uploaded an update to the set. It now includes the powers from Dragon 367, as well as the barbarian powers from Dragon 368 (an edited version of Jynxnet's barbarian set, so thanks Jynxnet).


cheers


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault Project-COMPLETED*

A few days ago I said I might do Grandad style cards for Adventurer's Vault. Turns out I decided that I would but so I don't lose focus halfway through (Cataloguing pages and pages of magic items is getting monotonous  ) I'm releasing the parts as I do them. It also means I can fix problems when they are reported. When I finish the book I'll upload them as one .pdf
Oct 30 - Chapter 1-Equipment. This includes the new types of armor, weapons, mounts and vehicles (plus movement action cards) and alchemy (including new feats).
Nov 2 - Chapter 2- Magic armor and weapons have been uploaded.
Nov 3 - Chapter 2- Holy Symbols, Orbs, Rods, Staffs, Wands = uploaded
Nov 7 - Chapter 2- Arms, Feet, Hands and Companion/Mount slot items uploaded
Nov 22 - Chapter 2- Head, Neck, Rings and Waist Magic Items! Almost DONE.
Dec 14- Completed! Edited most of the previous sections too. Features new icons for cards and redone mounts.
Adventurer's Vault.rar: Is the Power Point File
Adventurer's Vault v1.0.rar
Adventurers Vault Power Cards .PDF v1.0.zip: Is the .PDF file

Alternately visit http://www.mediafire.com/waveblade for the files.


----------



## disarray2

Ander00 said:


> Uploaded an update to the set. It now includes the powers from Dragon 367, as well as the barbarian powers from Dragon 368 (an edited version of Jynxnet's barbarian set, so thanks Jynxnet).
> 
> 
> cheers




I have the mse set file for the AV items if you would like to use them. It's based on your set but I'm sure you can make them look better with icons and such. But at least you wouldn't have to type or C/P everything in.


----------



## ricardo440

disarray2 said:


> I have the mse set file for the AV items if you would like to use them. It's based on your set but I'm sure you can make them look better with icons and such. But at least you wouldn't have to type or C/P everything in.





That is really cool. Cheers for that. It will be helpful.

Oh and I might as well than Ander00 for his set too while I'm at it. I've been using it. Glad to see the update for the barbarian.


----------



## im_robertb

Sorry for not reading the whole topic, but will Anders' cards fit into standard Magic: The Gathering card sleeves?


----------



## ricardo440

yes.

If you put a magic card behind them it makes them nice and stiff too.


----------



## Nytmare

So since the official character creator is going to spit out to .xml, who amidst our group is currently fluent enough to be able to make pretty card formats?


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> Misalo -
> 
> Thanks much for that image, I'll make sure to add it into my icon set here soon.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Here is the Melee Weapon and Beast Hybrid icon.
I made it for the 'Twin-Soul Strike' power who's attack is listed as:

Melee weapon (beast 1)


----------



## skitleer

What do you guys think about the power cards generated by the soon to be released character builder : http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/20081029_13f.jpg


----------



## eloquentaction

skitleer said:


> What do you guys think about the power cards generated by the soon to be released character builder : http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/20081029_13f.jpg




I think they are basic.

I think they'll work (in a pinch), but:

*  They're ugly
*  There's only 8 to a page instead of 9.
*  They don't print backs

On the plus side, they are customized for the character.

I think I'm going to write a proggy that takes the XML and prints the MSE related cards (9 to a page) out with the same information.  XML is easy, but my proggy will only work for Windows users (sorry).

-- Hirahito


----------



## Nytmare

eloquentaction said:


> I think I'm going to write a proggy that takes the XML and prints the MSE related cards (9 to a page) out with the same information.




Yeah, that's what I was saying. I might be wrong, but I was lead to believe that you'll be able to output from the character builder to your own xml sheets, which means that you'll be able to design the cards any way that you want.


(EDIT - at least as long as they give you all the right bits of information)


----------



## eloquentaction

Nytmare said:


> Yeah, that's what I was saying. I might be wrong, but I was lead to believe that you'll be able to output from the character builder to your own xml sheets, which means that you'll be able to design the cards any way that you want.
> 
> 
> (EDIT - at least as long as they give you all the right bits of information)




Well, even if they just print it out as a PDF I have some C# libraries that let me rip apart a PDF (as long as it's not password protected) and look at all the text.  I could just parse the PDF and come up with my own set of card information.

Sometimes it's nice to be a hacker.

BTW - Nytmare.  I would appreciate it if you e-mailed me.  I'd like to work together with you (full credits given to you) on some projects I'm working on.  I like your design-sense more than most on here (including my own).  Send me a private PM if that's OK with you.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Maledictus

For anyone who's been playing with Ander's power cards with a Paladin:

Please check your PHB pg. 92 (Bolstering Strike) and make a correction. The actual ability is read as "...gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier." where Ander's cards read "...equal to your Wisdom."

This is a HUGE difference which can massively overpower this ability(i.e. 10 temp hp vs 0 temp hp...or 20 instead of 5). I'd recommend with all the power cards you use, double check them and maybe we can get another thread going for just glitches we find in the sets.


----------



## IncompleteUserNa

Maledictus said:


> For anyone who's been playing with Ander's power cards with a Paladin:
> 
> Please check your PHB pg. 92 (Bolstering Strike) and make a correction. The actual ability is read as "...gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier." where Ander's cards read "...equal to your Wisdom."
> 
> This is a HUGE difference which can massively overpower this ability(i.e. 10 temp hp vs 0 temp hp...or 20 instead of 5). I'd recommend with all the power cards you use, double check them and maybe we can get another thread going for just glitches we find in the sets.




Ander's cards (with a few exceptions, mostly in Warlord powers) abbreviate references to "Wisdom Modifier" with "Wis," "Intelligence Modifier" with "Int," and so on. This isn't a big deal after the first time you look at a power and say "There's no way this power is that good," check the rest of the cards, and see what's going on. I actally went through the set to replace the few lingering instances of the full ability score names with their abbreviations and only found one power that referred to an ability score, it did something extra if your Dexterity was at least 15, but I can't find it right now.

An actual error I've found was that Chill Strike has the Cone icon instead of the Ranged icon.


----------



## Maxum

> Thindaraiel said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hello to all D&D players !
> 
> I have finally uploaded the Ander's template I enhanced. I made some important modifications on the template, so it took me more time than I expected. But I think it was worth the effort.
> You can find the template here : Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do you have a Data Set for this template ? I tried Ander00 Set but does not work right with your template. I get an error when I try to change the style.
Click to expand...


----------



## Maledictus

IncompleteUserNa said:


> I actually went through the set to replace the few lingering instances of the full ability score names with their abbreviations and only found one power that referred to an ability score, it did something extra if your Dexterity was at least 15, but I can't find it right now.
> 
> An actual error I've found was that Chill Strike has the Cone icon instead of the Ranged icon.




Any way you could upload that dataset anywhere for the rest of us? So that we don't have to go through 1127 power cards and checking them. While I have the PHB, MM, DMG, AV, FRPHB, and a few other books, it'd be a SERIOUS pain to go through checking each of the power cards versus their sources.


----------



## Avrus

Nytmare said:


> I was just looking for a new project. Any requests?




Maybe some fantasy backs like giants, dragons etc?


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault Updated*

Magic weapons and armor completed.

Go here http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528553-post1234.html for files.


----------



## benensky

skitleer said:


> What do you guys think about the power cards generated by the soon to be released character builder : http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/20081029_13f.jpg




They work for me.  About time Wizards is getting around to doing it.  Not as ascetically pleasing as many of the cards produced here but they will do.

-benensky


----------



## benensky

Waveblade said:


> Magic weapons and armor completed.
> 
> Go here http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528553-post1234.html for files.




They look good.  Thanks for all the work getting them out. Looking forward to more.

-benensky


----------



## IncompleteUserNa

Maledictus said:


> Any way you could upload that dataset anywhere for the rest of us? So that we don't have to go through 1127 power cards and checking them. While I have the PHB, MM, DMG, AV, FRPHB, and a few other books, it'd be a SERIOUS pain to go through checking each of the power cards versus their sources.




It's really not that bad, you just search for "Strength" "Constitution" "Dexterity" "Intelligence" "Wisdom" and "Charisma" in turn. I made the mistake of initially searching for the word "modifier" but there's a few that are actually unabbreviated in the attack descriptor, i.e. they say "Intelligence vs. Fortitude" or something like that.

I could upload my sets somewhere (I split them up by class because the unified set was a bit too monolithic) but before I do it'd be nice if someone told me how to edit the "Source" field, as more than a few of my cards have blatantly incorrect values in that field.


----------



## Grandpa

Waveblade said:


> Magic weapons and armor completed.
> 
> Go here http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528553-post1234.html for files.



Many, many thanks for your awesome work. I hope you don't mind me adding a link to your post from my main.


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault Updated*

Thanks for all the encouragement people!

Ok I've uploaded the next part. This update includes the holy symbols, orbs, rods, staffs and wands.

Files Here


----------



## Thindaraiel

Maxum said:
			
		

> Do you have a Data Set for this template ? I tried Ander00 Set but does not work right with your template. I get an error when I try to change the style.



I'm working on adapting Ander00 set to my template. I have errors too, even after some conversions. I'm working on it, and I will post the converted set as soon as I can.


----------



## brunswick

In response to Ricardo440s idea of sticking a magic card behind the power in the card sleeve.

I never thought of that - good idea. I had been using the power cards, which I printed on light card but they'd be even sturdier with a magic card tucked behind the power in the sleeve. Cheers!


----------



## Waveblade

misalo1 said:


> Here is the Melee Weapon and Beast Hybrid icon.
> I made it for the 'Twin-Soul Strike' power who's attack is listed as:
> 
> Melee weapon (beast 1)



Hello I'm using a different template for cards but could I use your beast (paw print) icon as a stand in for the companion items in the Adventurer's Vault?


----------



## Maledictus

Card stock will print pretty solidly through most printers, and it's not very expensive. You can pick up a package of 250 pages for less than $15 usually. I've been printing all my cards on card stock and sticking them in card covers. Works wonders, and my power cards look beautiful.


----------



## Aridhra

Waveblade said:


> A few days ago I said I might do Grandad style cards for Adventurer's Vault. Turns out I decided that I would but so I don't lose focus halfway through (Cataloguing pages and pages of magic items is getting monotonous  ) I'm releasing the parts as I do them. It also means I can fix problems when they are reported. When I finish the book I'll upload them as one .pdf
> Oct 30 - Chapter 1-Equipment. This includes the new types of armor, weapons, mounts and vehicles (plus movement action cards) and alchemy (including new feats).
> Nov 2 - Chapter 2- Magic armor and weapons have been uploaded.
> Nov 3 - Chapter 2- Holy Symbols, Orbs, Rods, Staffs, Wands = uploaded



 Thank you Waveblade for the enormous efford. Is it possible to post the powerpoint versions also, to make personal adjustments, like importing pictures for items. 
By the way, I'm a huge fan of grandpa's cards.
Grtz, Aridhra


----------



## Nytmare

Maledictus said:


> Card stock will print pretty solidly through most printers, and it's not very expensive.




It's a lot cheaper, especially with the ever expanding number of cards there will be, to just print enough card backs on card stock and have the front of the cards be on normal paper.


----------



## misalo1

Double Post


----------



## misalo1

Waveblade said:


> Hello I'm using a different template for cards but could I use your beast (paw print) icon as a stand in for the companion items in the Adventurer's Vault?




Sure. I like that.
I'm going to do the same.
Thanks for the idea.


----------



## Ouronos

Greetings...

I am having some difficulty in using the modified Ander templates that you made, Thindarial.  I keep getting a "Template made for wrong game" message.  I would really like to take a more in-depth look at your work while I wait for Hirahito.

I sent you a private message detailing my issues, as well.

Any chance that you (or anyone else) might have a solution for me?

Until that time...


----------



## Slicklines

After being caught up in this thread for way too long yesterday, I thought the least I could do was join what looks to be a vibrant community and post a few words of thanks as well as a really newbie question.  Be forewarned I am a writer by profession and my idea of high-end computer skills is turning one on and pulling up Word.

Ander:  Thank you for posting a clear set of instructions on loading the software most of these cards are based on.  Without this, I would have been completely lost.  I have down-loaded your card set, as it is one of the designs I really like.

Grandpa:  I like your sets as well.  The amount of work that goes into all of these is just amazing.  But here comes that newbie questions: the cards all come up as separate pages.  What is the quickest way to arrange multiple cards on a single page for printing?  (Hides in shame of computer incompetence)

Hirahito:  Another winning set of designs.  I am one of many waiting for your website to come back up.  I am hoping you will post on this thread when that happens.  Your creations are first class.

Sooner or later I will have to decide which set or sets I will go with, but for now it's fun looking at all the options.  Thanks again for sharing all this hard work.


----------



## Khaalis

Slicklines said:


> Grandpa:  I like your sets as well.  The amount of work that goes into all of these is just amazing.  But here comes that newbie questions: the cards all come up as separate pages.  What is the quickest way to arrange multiple cards on a single page for printing?  (Hides in shame of computer incompetence)



Don't have it handy so not sure which page it is, but right in the beginning of the set is a "How to Print multiple cards to a page" instruction card. Its basically a simple setup for printing the pdf.


----------



## Fritti

Hey all,

I just registered to say that I really appreciate all the hard work from all people here. We will probably start a D&D 4th campaign in a few weeks, and now I have to make a hard choice -- which of these excellent cards are we going to use! 

Although I really like the look of Grandpa's cards, for me Openoffice 3.0 doesn't import all cards correctly. Anders cards are perfectly fine due to Magic Set Editor of course, but I'm leaning towards an upright position. So actually I'm hoping Hirahito's site is coming back online soon(ish) so I can check his set out as well! Any update on that?

Again, thanks for all the hard work you all. As others already said, this thread is very inspirational!


----------



## Duniagdra

Ander00,

I like your cards. I was searching the wonderful web for exactly what you have. Will you be incorporating ALL powers, feats, features, items, and rituals eventually? I tried making my own through MSE, but I don't think I'm doing it right. I have my own custom character sheet in acrobat that is still being fleshed out and your cards make an excellent complement to it. By selecting the cards I need and printing them to pdf I can combine them with my sheet for each character and... Awesome!

*EDIT: *What's really nice is that if willing to invest the money, they can be printed on heavy weight paper and cut out and laminated.


----------



## harzerkatze

Grandpa said:


> Once again, phenomenal work and once again, I've added them to the main post for everyone. Thanks so much for doing these!




Very nice, thank you!

Now all I need is a Doppelganger Change Shape card and a Swordmage Multiclass: Blade Initiate Swordmage Warding Daily Multiclass Ability card and I am all set up.

Those do not by chance exist somewhere?


----------



## Rolemancer

I am having trouble finding or printing Swordmage Power Cards.  If anyone has a link to a PDF of them, I certainly would appreciate that very much.

I could not access some found in this thread.  I'm hoping for a "hold my hand" type link I can go to and just print them.

Thanks!


----------



## harzerkatze

Rolemancer said:


> I am having trouble finding or printing Swordmage Power Cards.  If anyone has a link to a PDF of them, I certainly would appreciate that very much.
> 
> I could not access some found in this thread.  I'm hoping for a "hold my hand" type link I can go to and just print them.
> 
> Thanks!




That's easy: http://www.enworld.org/forum/4476155-post1089.html

Have fun

harzerkatze


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault Update (Nov 7)*

The Arms, Feet, Hands and Companion/Mount slot items have been uploaded.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528553-post1234.html

PS: Thanks Misalo!
PPS: The PPX file will be uploaded when it is completed.


----------



## Thindaraiel

I have transformed the entire MSE set from Ander into my enhanced template. 
Please report any problem.


----------



## brooksgbanks

Waveblade said:


> The Arms, Feet, Hands and Companion/Mount slot items have been uploaded.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528553-post1234.html
> 
> PS: Thanks Misalo!
> PPS: The PPX file will be uploaded when it is completed.



Waveblade,

Would it be possible for you to post the powerpoint files you used to create the PDF's (or did you just create them straight in Adobe)?  One of the reasons I like Granpa's cards so much is that I can use them on my work computer (which has Powerpoint loaded, but I can't load additional software such as MSE) when I need to, and I can modify the item/power/etc to include the actual attack and damage values before printing them out.

Thanks...


----------



## disarray2

Thindaraiel said:


> I have transformed the entire MSE set from Ander into my enhanced template.
> Please report any problem.




I get an error message trying to open it.  It states the D&D-Ander.mse-game file is missing.  I went in and renamed the game directory from his set but it still doesn't open.


----------



## Thindaraiel

disarray2 said:


> I get an error message trying to open it. It states the D&D-Ander.mse-game file is missing. I went in and renamed the game directory from his set but it still doesn't open.




Have you installed the enhanced version of Ander set I put on line a few days ago ? This template is not compatible with classic Ander set.


----------



## takasi

Running D&D for some brand new players and just discovered these cards.  I love Grandpa's Power Cards!  

In the Weekend in the Realms packet, Wizards sent a PDF with cards including one for basic Ability Scores and Defenses.  I haven't gone through this thread so I apologize in advance, but has anyone made cards similar to Grandpa's that have blank spots for Ability Scores (and modifiers), HP and Defenses?


----------



## turk128

takasi said:


> Running D&D for some brand new players and just discovered these cards.  I love Grandpa's Power Cards!
> 
> In the Weekend in the Realms packet, Wizards sent a PDF with cards including one for basic Ability Scores and Defenses.  I haven't gone through this thread so I apologize in advance, but has anyone made cards similar to Grandpa's that have blank spots for Ability Scores (and modifiers), HP and Defenses?



I actually created a single card character sheet-- but it's horizontally oriented :\


----------



## Nytmare

I ended up splitting the "character sheet" across 7 different landscape cards, though they're all in Excel.

A "character card" with the basic information (level, class, character info) abilities, defenses, passive skills
Skills
Basic attacks and defenses
Racial traits
Class abilities
Feats
Wealth and Equipment
Then all of the individual powers have their own card.


----------



## Highland Raider

This actually looks quite nice.  Doubt I'll use it for PCs, but it looks perfect for NPCs.


----------



## Highland Raider

turk128 said:


> I actually created a single card character sheet-- but it's horizontally oriented :




Bah, this is the post I refer to in my previous reply.  Fumble fingers strike again.


----------



## KnightCa

*Turk's Character Card*



turk128 said:


> I actually created a single card character sheet-- but it's horizontally oriented :




Heya Turk,

I love the card design (horizontal as it is). Do you happen to have the magic set editor templates to go with the card so I don't have to design one from scratch?

Thanks for the help,
Knight

P.S. Almost finished with the barbarian set, but need a background and need to check them for errors.
Character Power Card Sets


----------



## kalfalnal

I want to thank everyone who has put their time into making these great card sets! I've been using Ander00's for my group of mostly inexperienced players and they are working great.

Has anyone made cards for the basic equipment such as the items in the 'Adventurer's Kit'? 

I'd like to make cards for every piece of the player's equipment along with notes about their uses (range of illumination for torches, climbing DC's for rope/Climbing kits, etc). I'd then make a card sized envelope to represent each player's pack and to hold the cards for the items that pack contains. The idea is it'll help them think of uses for their mundane but essentail gear. They all have sunrods...but have only ever used torches so far!


----------



## Znax

*Andrer00 in letter ???*

Hello all

Ander00, I'm Canadian, and we use letter format here. It's shorter than A4, and I don't want to scale pages.
Do you have same set more compact, just one centimeter less in top and bottom ? Should be great.

Anyway, your card set is wonderful, and so useful.

Thx for your job

Znax


----------



## KnightCa

*Barbarian Card Background*

Is there any suggestions for card background texture for the barbarian?

So far, I have considered a fur background but would love to have more suggestions.

P.S. Please don't suggest no texture or a flat color background as that isn't the theme of the cards I create.


----------



## KnightCa

*Barbarian Card example*

Here is the barbarian card background I have so far.


----------



## Maledictus

Znax said:


> Hello all
> 
> Ander00, I'm Canadian, and we use letter format here. It's shorter than A4, and I don't want to scale pages.
> Do you have same set more compact, just one centimeter less in top and bottom ? Should be great.
> 
> Anyway, your card set is wonderful, and so useful.
> 
> Thx for your job
> 
> Znax




If you want to print Magic Set Editor cards on letter paper, just make sure you change your print settings after you click the Print button to resize from A4 to letter. It'll print just fine. (I do it all the time.)

Maledictus


----------



## turk128

JosiahKnight said:


> Heya Turk,
> 
> I love the card design (horizontal as it is). Do you happen to have the magic set editor templates to go with the card so I don't have to design one from scratch?



Unfortunately, the only experience I have with MSE is user end. I did the character card all in Adobe Illustrator, here's a editable PDF of it if that helps in any way.


----------



## Highland Raider

Thindaraiel said:


> Have you installed the enhanced version of Ander set I put on line a few days ago ? This template is not compatible with classic Ander set.




Where are all the files for this?  I downloaded the ander-enhanced  zip file but I get the "file missing" message as well.

Thanks.


----------



## Highland Raider

Thindaraiel said:


> Hello to all D&D players !
> 
> I have finally uploaded the Ander's template I enhanced. I made some important modifications on the template, so it took me more time than I expected. But I think it was worth the effort.
> You can find the template here : Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire




OK, these I do have; however, when I try to run ander-enhanced, I get a "file not found" for D&DAnder.mse-game message.  Not sure what to do to get this set of power cards pulled up.

Thanks.


----------



## 11lon

Woah, amazing work!  I wish I had the l33t skillz you guys have with photo-editing software or with MSE!

One request though:  Can we have a top-post with links to what everyone has done so far?

With my limited internet time (and can only surf the net at work, no connection at home), I can't really comb through this entire thread and view each one, so if someone else can do it, it'd be great.  Or is there a way to save this ENTIRE thread in one go?


----------



## Thindaraiel

Highland Raider said:


> OK, these I do have; however, when I try to run ander-enhanced, I get a "file not found" for D&DAnder.mse-game message. Not sure what to do to get this set of power cards pulled up.
> 
> Thanks.




OK. Here is the process to follow :
1) you will need MSE2 v0.3.7 in order to use the template
2) download the needed files :
- D&D-Ander.zip
- one or more style files : D&D-Ander-Simple, -Marble, -Shaded, -Parchment.zip
- one language pack : D&D-Ander-french or -english.zip
3) copy these files into MSE2 directory (not in data subdir)
4) unzip all files into MSE2 directory (they all contain the data directory)
5) unzip the D&D-Ander enhanced.zip file in whatever location you want

This should work !! Please report any problem.


----------



## Asm0dai

Thought you guys might be interested in this...


Dragonkard is proud to announce it’s new range of gaming card stock designed specifically for home printers.

Pre-printed and laminated like a playing card on one side!
Pre-printed scroll effect border on flip-side!
60% Pre-cut inc. Corners! Only 2 cuts per card required to free card!
9 cards per sheet, available in Green, Red, Black, Gold or Blue!
Great for 4E Power Cards and a host of other in-game uses!

Available immediately to all shipping destinations. Mail order only at this time. Please allow 2-5 working days for delivery.

Find out more and purchase direct at www.dragonkard.com

*Smallprint:*
Home printer required. Not suitable for printers with complex feeds.


----------



## Sonja

What are the differences between the enhanced and non-enhanced versions? I'd like to compare them visually first, without installing any one of them, because people seem to be reporting bugs.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Sonja said:


> What are the differences between the enhanced and non-enhanced versions? I'd like to compare them visually first, without installing any one of them, because people seem to be reporting bugs.




Ander's original template and set can be found here : http://www.enworld.org/forum/4274554-post568.html

Ander enhanced template (made by me from Ander's original template) can be found here : http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528485-post1232.html
I have made some clarifications on install process here : http://www.enworld.org/forum/4544480-post1292.html
And the corresponding set can be found here : http://www.enworld.org/forum/4538465-post1273.html

Note that original Ander's template and mine are not compatible. Eventually I will create a little conversion program, but I do not have time for the moment.

You can see some images here : http://www.enworld.org/forum/4528485-post1232.html 
As I kept the original design, you can have a good idea of card appearance in original Ander's template. I added some backgrounds, some icons, and more flexibility in the header's shape.

I have ideas to do more modifications to the template, but it will deeply change its design, so I am thinking in renaming it, to avoid confusion.


----------



## MudbloodMage

Thindaraiel those are awesome. Nice to see they are complete and accurate (as far as I can see) too. Only things not included are feats (not sure I'll bother) rituals and the items from the PHB.

The only problem I have is printing, my printer doesn't have the options posted here to make 9 per page. I think I'll have to export them, resize them and make my own pages to print. Or buy a new printer.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to Ander and Thindaraiel.

P.S. I made a new folder and put a copy of MSE.exe in it and made a data folder inside that with a copy of the en.mse-locale. Then I downloaded your files (except the french lang one) and unzipped them into the data folder (except the enhanced mse-set which I put in the main folder). Everything works fine.

Just one question; I want to shorten the line that shows the special symbols for items powers in the rules zone. I want to move it a bit to the left, can you tell me which file I need to edit to do that?

_Edit: Nevermind I found it, but nothing seems to happen when I change the numbers, (shrug)_


----------



## Sonja

Cool! I think I'll either go for Ander's originals, or for Hirahito's once his website goes back up. Wow, I can't believe I just scanned through 44 pages of this thread.


----------



## Sonja

Actually, there's something about Grandpa's cards I really like. Where can I find cardstock that easily detaches into the exact size of these cards? Or do I need to cut all the cards by hand with a paper cutter or scissors?

Too bad we couldn't make the cards the standard business card size, since such perforated cardstock is easy to buy in office supply stores.

Are there any other suppliers besides dragonkard.com ?


----------



## Sonja

Has anyone added the Artificer and Alchemy to Grandpa's PowerPoint cards?


----------



## Sonja

Grandpa, on slide 25, the script of Common should be Common.


----------



## Nahat Anoj

Sonja said:


> Actually, there's something about Grandpa's cards I really like. Where can I find cardstock that easily detaches into the exact size of these cards? Or do I need to cut all the cards by hand with a paper cutter or scissors?



I cut mine out using a hobby knife guided by a ruler.  It would be nice to have perforated card paper, though.  I don't know where you can get that.

I really like the simplicity of Grandpa's cards. They are clean, crisp, and just do what I need them to do (although occasionally I wish the write-in boxes were a little wider  ).


----------



## Nahat Anoj

I did up power cards for the bard using Grandpa's format, but I can't save them to a pdf file.  Well, actually, I can on my home computer, but my home computer is a Mac and I don't have Calibri!  Is there a free, Calibri-like font for Macs out there?


----------



## Znax

*Fields available for cards name*

Hello all

I use the Ander00 template, in MSE, and I want to organize my saved images...
I saw the name field ({card.name}, I discover the level field, but I don't know about the class/race field...
Can someone help me please ?

Thx


----------



## firesnakearies

Sonja said:


> Actually, there's something about Grandpa's cards I really like. Where can I find cardstock that easily detaches into the exact size of these cards? Or do I need to cut all the cards by hand with a paper cutter or scissors?
> 
> Too bad we couldn't make the cards the standard business card size, since such perforated cardstock is easy to buy in office supply stores.
> 
> Are there any other suppliers besides dragonkard.com ?






Check these guys out, they have some good stuff:

Perforated Paper - Custom Perforated Paper and Perforated Card Stock


----------



## JackSmithIV

Hey there!

There's so much incredible stuff going on in this thread. So many incredible templates. I was wondering if any of the authors of these templates could tell me if there was a card template that was available for commercial use for products distributed by PDF? There would be full credit involved, of course. If someone is interested in putting up a template, please get in touch, or let me know somehow. It'd be greatly appreciated!


----------



## Ladybam

JosiahKnight said:


> Heya Turk,
> 
> I love the card design (horizontal as it is). Do you happen to have the magic set editor templates to go with the card so I don't have to design one from scratch?
> 
> Thanks for the help,
> Knight
> 
> P.S. Almost finished with the barbarian set, but need a background and need to check them for errors.
> Character Power Card Sets




Thanks for such great card.  Josiah cards are my personal fave, but Andr00 are also great cards. Thanks so much for great cards.


----------



## eloquentaction

Josiah -

Hey.  Just a word of warning - your web site has PDF's that are exact scans of the AV and PHB (there might be more, that's all that I saw).

I'm 190% positive that's a total no-no.

You might want to drop those off of there before someone at WOTC see's them and decides to pop you.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Maledictus

Sonja said:


> Are there any other suppliers besides dragonkard.com ?




Disclaimer: I AM NOT making these cards for a profit. The original works of the cards is produced by others and therefore I am not out to make a profit. I AM making these cards so that other DnD players out there can have something that looks nice and is fun to use during play.

With that said, I can print cards from any set so far produced within MSE(Ander's, Thindariel's enhanced Ander's, hirahito's, and tintagel's.)

Note: If you want to purchase tintagel's cards from me, you must first purchase his template from him. 

Price per page(9 cards) is $1.10. It includes all printing, driving, cutting, etc. I use cardstock, not vellum, so it's as thick as a business card and a little more expensive.

With that said, you can purchase a full class type(about 89 cards average, for lvl 1-30) for around $11. 

Anyhow, picture below: Cards are printed one-sided and placed in card sleeves with your choice of back color.


----------



## Sonja

How do I editor adjust the background gradients in grandpa's files? I'm not figuring it out.


----------



## MudbloodMage

I don't think you can adjust the gradients. If you have the mse-style images you could edit them in photoshop or Irfanview or something. I'm pretty sure you can't change the pictures with the MSE program. And you definately can't change them in the PDFs.


----------



## Maledictus

actually, changing pictures in MSE is very simple as long as you read the template text file.


----------



## Llwynog

I've been using the modified Ander set (the one with blast radius next to the attack symbol) but ran into an issue when trying to make beastmaster cards for my wife: there's no "beast" attack symbol.

I made a symbol of my own and thought I had it edited in but it's not working.  Does anyone know how to make it work?  Or better yet: has anyone already edited the mse data files to add a beast symbol?

Thanks.


----------



## MudbloodMage

You want to add another damage icon? (Like the acid, cold, fire etc..?) If i'm right you'll have to edit the "data\D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include\damage-icons and data\D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include\icon-fields files to include your image. Make your image named damage-beast.png or .gif
Just follow the same format the other damage icons do for directory paths.


----------



## Thindaraiel

I will soon release a new version of the template, which includes the beast icons seen on the forum. I plan on putting the template online before the end of the week. If you can't wait, please send me a private message, and I will send you the needed modifications of code.


----------



## jffdougan

G'pa --

I think the current version of the rules has all 1st level hit point totals as X + Constitution score, not X + constitution modifier.


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault Updated FINALLY*

Sorry for not updating for awhile but stuff came up. Anyway I've uploaded the next part. This includes the head, neck, waist items and rings. 

All I have to do now is the wonderous and consumable items+Plus edit the alchemy cards for new icons.

Link here.

PS I'll Say again the Powerpoint file will be uploaded in the end which will be in a day or two.

PPS: Did we get another page merge or something?


----------



## Duniagdra

Mercutio01 said:


> After about a week of wrangling and design, Black Plauge and I have come up with what we feel is a serviceable design for using MSE to make character cards.  You can check out the evolution in this thread at DragonAvenue.  A lot of the numbers and such are automated (surges, HP calculation, ability modifiers), and I think it looks pretty darn good.
> 
> Even better than that, we've made it so you can use the same card to make monster cards, in the same template format.
> 
> I have attached the MSE game and style folders.
> 
> You can look at two samples below.



I just tried accessing your cards through MSE and I'm doing something wrong. While I have Ander's set running, I'm unable to get your set to run. I added your set to MSE >> data folder, the same as Ander. I'm supposed to click open new set, right? When I do, I'm not finding anything but empty folders. What did I forget?


----------



## Black Plauge

What's the exact error message you're getting?


----------



## disarray2

The error message (well the first of many) I get is

Can't convert "falsefalsefalsefalse" from string ("falsefalsefalsefalse") to interger number in function convert_defenseicon while updating card value 'defensetext'


----------



## Duniagdra

disarray2 said:


> The error message (well the first of many) I get is
> 
> Can't convert "falsefalsefalsefalse" from string ("falsefalsefalsefalse") to interger number in function convert_defenseicon while updating card value 'defensetext'



I'm getting the same error message now.


----------



## Black Plauge

That sounds like you're trying to use the older version of the files with the newer version of MSE.  Try downloading the files from here and using them instead.


----------



## Duniagdra

Black Plauge said:


> That sounds like you're trying to use the older version of the files with the newer version of MSE.  Try downloading the files from here and using them instead.



Thanks, it works great.


----------



## disarray2

Black Plauge said:


> That sounds like you're trying to use the older version of the files with the newer version of MSE. Try downloading the files from here and using them instead.




That got rid of the errors so thank you very much.  But I'm still having a weird problem.  I can't see the list of cards.  It's the same for all the files.


----------



## Black Plauge

You don't have any columns set to visible then for the set.  Click on the bar where the column headers are supposed to go and then select the columns that you want to see.  This is a recurring problem with MSE because that setting is saved locally and so I can't see what is or isn't visible when I play around with the field definitions (as my local preferences override any defaults I might set).  I've tried changing that behavior by setting some defaults, but can't seem to get it right (as evidenced by the fact that you're having the problem).


----------



## Nahat Anoj

EDIT - Well, someone brought up a very good point to me, so I think I'll take these down.


----------



## Daelkyr

Okay, this is a question for Thindaraiel, how do you change the selected font for the power names for your enhanced Ander00 power cards? I've been doing some modding with the set. (Love your versitility, but wanted to keep the older icons for my players so I worked them back into the set.) Anyway, the reason I ask, is because I want to have the power names in DnDLolth so they match the headers in the PHB. Thanks for any help.


----------



## Thindaraiel

You can modify the "game" file in the .mse-game directory. Each text section (name of power, rule, flavor, descriptors...) has a font described. Name of the power is (surprisingly) "name" section. You just have to change the font name with one already installed on your PC.

Maybe I should add the font choice in the template for future versions ?


----------



## Daelkyr

I'm sorry, I'm looking at the game file, and I can see the sections you are talking about, but I can't seem to gork what lines actually handle the font selection. Could you maybe provide a screen shot of what I need to replace?


----------



## Black Plauge

Fonts are handled in the style file, not the game file (tsk, tsk, Thindariel).  Look for the "name" field in the style file and it should be fairly obvious which line controls font selection (hint, you're looking for the fields under the "font" heading).


----------



## Moribund

I've created a wall icon for my purposes.  I went the isometric projection of a brick wall approach.  I decided to post it here in case anyone wants to use it in their sets.






It does look better with a white background.


----------



## Daelkyr

Thanks much, was able to easily replace the Morpheous font with the DnDLolth font from the Player's Handbook. I really appreiciate the help Black Plauge.

I've fallen in love with this font and have been trying to find excuses to use it with everything.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Black Plauge said:


> Fonts are handled in the style file, not the game file (tsk, tsk, Thindariel).




ooops...

sorry


----------



## DennisB

Ok i know im new to this thread but i have a power card and it is going to have the new powers from the martial powers handbook. tell me what you all think about the set up.


----------



## Llwynog

MudbloodMage said:


> You want to add another damage icon? (Like the acid, cold, fire etc..?) If i'm right you'll have to edit the "dataD&D-Ander-dict.mse-includedamage-icons and dataD&D-Ander-dict.mse-includeicon-fields files to include your image. Make your image named damage-beast.png or .gif
> Just follow the same format the other damage icons do for directory paths.



I don't have a directory named D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include (in fact, I don't have any MSE data folders with "dict" in their names).

I created the image in D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font as "beast.png" (which follows the existing naming convention) and added the following entry to symbol-font:


		Code:
	

symbol:
	code: B
	image: beast.png

But hitting "B" in the empty attack icon field doesn't do anything.


----------



## disarray2

DennisB said:


> Ok i know im new to this thread but i have a power card and it is going to have the new powers from the martial powers handbook. tell me what you all think about the set up.




It would be YOUR not You're (contraction for You are)


----------



## Sans Serif

are the hirahito files hosted anywhere else?  I had them, but had to rebuild my computer - now I can't find them anywhere.


----------



## MudbloodMage

kitsunegami said:


> I don't have a directory named D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include (in fact, I don't have any MSE data folders with "dict" in their names).
> 
> I created the image in D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font as "beast.png" (which follows the existing naming convention) and added the following entry to symbol-font:
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> symbol:
> code: B
> image: beast.png
> 
> But hitting "B" in the empty attack icon field doesn't do anything.



I'm pretty sure the D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font file is for the rules and flavor text areas only. Just for a kicks, try typing 'B' in the rules text area and see what happens.

If you want to add icons you have to edit other files. As for the "D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include", I thought you were using the Anders enhanced version.


----------



## Ladybam

Grandpa great selection of cards, just wondering if anyone is going to add the god from LFR.  Would be a great addition... also, just a comment Martial Power would be nice.  Keep up the awesome selection for us non-talented to use.  THANKS


----------



## Zald

Sans Serif said:


> are the hirahito files hosted anywhere else?  I had them, but had to rebuild my computer - now I can't find them anywhere.



I too would be interested in an alternate source for Hirahito's latest files (pre- v.5.0).  Of course, I'd rather have 5.0, and keep looking at his site, hoping the "Maintenance" is done!


----------



## Llwynog

MudbloodMage said:


> I'm pretty sure the D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font file is for the rules and flavor text areas only. Just for a kicks, try typing 'B' in the rules text area and see what happens.
> 
> If you want to add icons you have to edit other files.



That is the only directory with "Ander" in its name that contains icons.  And among those icons are melee.png (melee weapon), burst_c.png (close burst), etc.  So it seems like the right place to add an icon for the beast attack type.

Typing "B" does nothing anywhere.  Though it could have been rather entertaining to have it work in the rules text box.  8o)



> As for the "D&D-Ander-dict.mse-include", I thought you were using the Anders enhanced version.



I am...


----------



## Thindaraiel

kitsunegami said:


> {D&D-Ander-symbol.mse-symbol-font } is the only directory with "Ander" in its name that contains icons.
> 
> I am { using the Anders enhanced version }




If you use the enhanced version, you should have a directory named D&D-Ander-icons.mse-include
In the enhanced version, this is the only directory where you should find range icons. 

if this is not the case, we do not have the same template...


----------



## tintagel

Some updates to my card templates:

*** Changes in 2.2 ***


Class and Level fields are broken into 2 separate fields for easier sorting and searching in the table.  This may break older card sets, but should be easy to fix the cards - just re-enter the class and level data.  I've uploaded a newer version of the MSE sets to incoporate this change and spare you some time: 4E.educatedgamer.net - click on Powercards
Templates are much more streamlined and now have the background separated from the labels.  This serves 2 functions:
** You can now change the background for any template and place the texture that you want in there.  Just copy over the old background.png file (make a backup first!)
** File size for the installer and subsequent updates are significantly reduced since each card basically resuses the same frames.  Installation file size went from 74 MB to13.5 MB and that's with 3 new templates
Swordmage and Warlock: Dark Pact themes are now incorporated into the main installation.  Genasi and Drow themes are available on: 4E.educatedgamer.net  for free - with all of my other race themes.
A Generic Racial and Generic Class template is now part of the set, for custom data sets.
The Item card template now has 3 different item styles, plus the basic 3 at-will, encounter, and daily.  That's 6 styles with heroic, paragon, and epic variants each.
Nab the templates here:
4E Power Cards

I also re-did my second wind and action point cards, if anyone wants them (attached).  You might notice some familiar art... LOL


----------



## DennisB

I relaized that someone in the mid of this thread made one like the one i made before me, so i remade it. how is this?


----------



## firesnakearies

DennisB said:


> I relaized that someone in the mid of this thread made one like the one i made before me, so i remade it. how is this?
> 
> (( Big image here. ))






Very nice, man!


----------



## DennisB

Thanks, i have cards for 
powers
Skills
Feats
Race
Class
Rituals
Equipment
Weapons
Armor
Magic Items
Monsters

All of which is a different style and backgrounds. If you want copies of them just let me know and i will send them as i finish them.
All of which will be done within 3 - 5 months.


----------



## catsclaw227

tintagel said:


> Thanks for the props, Foxdave.  I'm working on updating more powers today  and might try to get a background for the FR set.
> Home (4E Fan Publishing) - click on powercards to the left.



Any word on when you will get the Swordmage cards done?


----------



## Llwynog

Thindaraiel said:


> If you use the enhanced version, you should have a directory named D&D-Ander-icons.mse-include
> In the enhanced version, this is the only directory where you should find range icons.
> 
> if this is not the case, we do not have the same template...



Apparently we don't.  Or at least not entirely.

Before settling on the modified Ander's set, I installed nearly every MSE template listed on this thread so my data folder is rather cluttered.  Having to reinstall some of the templates as they got updated just made things worse when they tended to overwrite each other.

I may have to wipe the whole thing and start over with just the template I want to clear out all the clutter.


----------



## Llwynog

I removed every D&D related data folder from my MSE installation then redownload both Ander's and Thindaraiel's templates but it seems that the version of Thindaraiel's template that I have lacks the range spaces which I find incredibly handy.

Where can I download the newest versions and do I need to install Ander's first or is Thindaraiel's complete without it?

Thanks.


----------



## DennisB

I could have the swordmage done by Monday if you want them.


----------



## catsclaw227

DennisB said:


> I could have the swordmage done by Monday if you want them.



Wow, thanks(!), but don't knock yourself out for it.  I don't need them that quickly.


----------



## DennisB

Actually, it will be done by tuesday, i forgot i had a thanksgiving dinner today so i have to make the pumpkin pie and 16 lbs of mashed potatoes. but i already started, see. and the whole deck will be done by then. i already have the cleric deck done and 1/2 the fighter deck done.


----------



## Moribund

kitsunegami said:


> That is the only directory with "Ander" in its name that contains icons.  And among those icons are melee.png (melee weapon), burst_c.png (close burst), etc.  So it seems like the right place to add an icon for the beast attack type.
> 
> Typing "B" does nothing anywhere.  Though it could have been rather entertaining to have it work in the rules text box.  8o)
> 
> 
> I am...




Unfortunately, you have to change more than just the symbol-font file.  You need to make some changes to D&D.mse-game/game as well.

You see, in several places there is a text filter that makes it so non-matching characters are ignored.  Look for any place that has "uUbernpPt" and change it to "uUbernpPtB" in your case.

You will also need to modify the range_list_filter, adding a line so that the "Beast" range will be correctly sorted and displayed in the set list.

Also if you are using Misalo1's beast.png, keep in mind that it is white, not black like the other images in Ander00's symbol-font.  So you might need to invert it for it to show up.


----------



## Micronian

*Martial Power*

Hey Guys,

I've followed Ander's style of cards and have completed levels 1-6 of the new Martial Power book. I'll continue to work on this as time allows but hopefully this will get you started.

*Class & Level Completed*
Fighter (1 - 6)
Ranger (1 - 6)
Rogue (1 - 6)
Warlord (1 - 6)

As suggested, the files below are the exact same. One in .RAR and the other .ZIP ...which ever is your preference.


----------



## DennisB

rar files are hard to open for some people, may i suggest putting it in a file that everyone can use. just a friendly suggestion.


----------



## themaze75

Pretty cool stuff, Ander!

MSE is cool, but it annoyed me when trying to select which cards to print.

I quickly whipped up this little java app.  What it'll do is load up a master set built with your D&D power card template and allow you to build a "subset" from the selected cards.

The subset can be loaded through MSE and you can just print all the cards from there.

The interface has a few simple filter tools to help you quickly pick the powers you want.

With MSE, your template & data + this little app, I've created power cards for a whole party in a matter of minutes.

Hoperfully this'll help some other people until the guys at MSE build a proper UI.

Oh, to use it, simply install the latest java runtime and you should be able to run the app by double-clicking on the jar file (at least under Windows)


----------



## Llwynog

Moribund said:


> Unfortunately, you have to change more than just the symbol-font file.  You need to make some changes to D&D.mse-game/game as well.
> 
> You see, in several places there is a text filter that makes it so non-matching characters are ignored.  Look for any place that has "uUbernpPt" and change it to "uUbernpPtB" in your case.
> 
> You will also need to modify the range_list_filter, adding a line so that the "Beast" range will be correctly sorted and displayed in the set list.



Thanks.  I finally figured it out and got the new beast icon to work.

But for whatever reason, the weapon beast icon (for "Melee weapon (beast 1) attacks") doesn't work even though I did the same thing for it.  I'm assuming that I must have missed something somewhere that I'll track down eventually.



> Also if you are using Misalo1's beast.png, keep in mind that it is white, not black like the other images in Ander00's symbol-font.  So you might need to invert it for it to show up.



I'm using my own beast.png that I created from a lineart of a wolf.  It only took a minute to make with gimp.


----------



## Moribund

kitsunegami said:


> Thanks.  I finally figured it out and got the new beast icon to work.
> 
> But for whatever reason, the weapon beast icon (for "Melee weapon (beast 1) attacks") doesn't work even though I did the same thing for it.  I'm assuming that I must have missed something somewhere that I'll track down eventually.




Hopefully so.  You used "B" for beast attacks, what character are you using for Melee weapon (beast 1) attacks?




> I'm using my own beast.png that I created from a lineart of a wolf.  It only took a minute to make with gimp.



Cool.


----------



## DennisB

What do you think of this style, i like it better because it is sleeker and seems like i can put more information on it, i have the 3 basic colors as well as
Gold = magic Items
White = Rituals
Blue = Feats


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> What do you think of this style, i like it better because it is sleeker and seems like i can put more information on it, i have the 3 basic colors as well as
> Gold = magic Items
> White = Rituals
> Blue = Feats




That's a pretty good adaptation of the Magic The Gathering Set that comes with MSE.

I think I would modify the left side to use black instead of white.  The white on the white/green is too low contrast for my taste.

Also - your boxes need to use the supplied mask that comes with the MSE set.  The mask is white except for 4 black rounded corners.  The mask will get rid of the artifacts you're seeing around the edge of your boxes (or maybe it's the other way around; I seem to recall that MSE does its masking opposite from most programs I've seen in the past).

BTW - You can expand upon your 6 colors by taking the background image into GIMP and reducing the background to black & white and then using the Colorify feature.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Well, there is a few things.

1) I did not use MSE with this, i can't figure out how to put it in the template section and i cant figure out how to redo the text fields so i did it with paint.net.

2) And i already changed it to black instead of white.

3) and i would love to change the background colors but i dont have GIMP.

But thanks for the criticism. It always help.

Modified: 
I just got GIMP but need to work with it for a few days to get the hang of it.


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> Well, there is a few things.
> 
> 1) I did not use MSE with this, i can't figure out how to put it in the template section and i cant figure out how to redo the text fields so i did it with paint.net.
> 
> 2) And i already changed it to black instead of white.
> 
> 3) and i would love to change the background colors but i dont have GIMP.
> 
> But thanks for the criticism. It always help.
> 
> Modified:
> I just got GIMP but need to work with it for a few days to get the hang of it.




I sit corrected!

Sorry, I thought you were using MSE...

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Thats cool, so do you or anyone else know how to put you're own templates into MSE and how to set you're own text fields? Any help would be shown back to you by means of a copy of all the cards I make sent to you for i also don't know how to put files on here for people to download them self so i will e-mail them to you. I am a stay at home dad so i am on the computer all the time working on this and when i find new sources i will make the cards and send them to you and it will be up to date at all times. And thanks again for any help anyone can give me.


----------



## DennisB

catsclaw227

I have the Swordmage completed, all i need from you is your e-mail address so i can send it to you. I hope you enjoy the cards, what deck would you like to see next. i have all the books so finding the information is no prob. 
After 1 1/2 months of trials and era's the is the best set up. only one power gave me a hard time but all other powers flowed right onto the cards, this is the final look and this is how all of them is going to look like.







If anyone else wants copies just ask me and i will send them to you, if someone can put them as a direct download please feel free to do so but please let me know so i can stop e-mailing them.


----------



## Alphastream

DennisB said:


> What do you think of this style




It looks great. However, I find the style too modern. More fitting for something like Spycraft or Star Wars than a game like D&D. Just my opinion.

Teos


----------



## Alphastream

themaze75 said:


> I quickly whipped up this little java app.  What it'll do is load up a master set built with your D&D power card template and allow you to build a "subset" from the selected cards.
> 
> The subset can be loaded through MSE and you can just print all the cards from there.




Does this work with any MSE template? I run several styles depending on the PC.

Thanks,

Teos


----------



## tintagel

I think this java app is a wonderful idea, if you could get it to work with any template.  I use my own template.


----------



## DennisB

Can't make everyone happy, oh well, as long as you like the style, (and time and effort) i put into it. lol


----------



## Thindaraiel

tintagel said:


> *** Changes in 2.2 ***
> 
> 
> Templates are much more streamlined and now have the background separated from the labels. This serves 2 functions:
> ** You can now change the background for any template and place the texture that you want in there. Just copy over the old background.png file (make a backup first!)
> ** File size for the installer and subsequent updates are significantly reduced since each card basically resuses the same frames. Installation file size went from 74 MB to13.5 MB and that's with 3 new templates





I came to the same conclusion : there is no need to store both the card background and the colored header in the same image. The final card can be a layered combination of several smaller graphic elements, each one being less space consuming. My next version of the template will implement such a functionality.

With the appropriate splitting of code (I use include files), it is also very easy to add a new background or header : I just have to modify the menu which propose it, the script code which associates the name in the menu and a file name, and it's done !


I experimented another improvement that you may find useful for your own template, as it uses menu for action/range icons : colored action/range (or item for my template) icons for *every color*. The idea :
- the image displayed on the card is not the icon itself, but a 73x73 square image containing the color (depending on the card color field). There must be an image per color available in the template
- the image is displayed through a mask which has the shape of the range/action icon (the one selected by the menu).
=> no need to have a gren/red/black/whateverColor version of each icon, you only need one mask per icon and one color image per card color. Adding a new color is easy, as is adding a new icon.


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> I sit corrected!
> 
> Sorry, I thought you were using MSE...
> 
> -- Hirahito



how goes your work on version 5? Will you be incorporating martial powers also?


----------



## themaze75

Alphastream said:


> Does this work with any MSE template? I run several styles depending on the PC.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Teos




Haven't tried it... it might react oddly, but it might work - when it creates subsets it copies the data from the original MSE file.

Share some the templates/content you use and I'll take a look at it when I get the chance.


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> how goes your work on version 5? Will you be incorporating martial powers also?




It is taking a while, isn't it?

My apologies for that.

Since it is taking so long, I'm most likely going to throw up the new website with the older version 4.3 set of mine.

I haven't dropped version 5.  I've been extremely busy due to the Holidays and I've seen a lot of set designers taking my set data and basically relabeling it as their own.  I wouldn't really mind that so much if it wasn't for the fact that no credit to me was given for entering in what amounts to a huge amount of data.

So, with a feeling that I'm not even getting a kiss before I'm screwed; I've been disinclined to release the set 5 data which now has over 5,000 cards just to see everyone else 'suddenly' have all the same data in their sets.  

To answer your question; yes.  The set 5 data has all of the latest Dragon articles, Martial Powers and even some new ENWorld stuff in it as well as the fact I've now included the artifacts.  I'm currently playing with two new types of cards; Initiative cards which allow the DM to quickly keep track of who is where in the initiative queue and mini-character cards which allow players to print their character sheet onto a set of about 5 cards.  I'm not sure if these will make the final cut or not, but currently they're promising.

This new set even has some (what I think are) new ideas on allowing customization:

* The headers now allow you to pick your own color, so you're not restricted to a fixed list
* I've simplified the customization process down (my old sets had 50+ options and it was hard to customize the card, the new set has a lot of the settings on 'auto' which will change automatically according to just a few settings at the top)
* There are now 50+ card background images as well as 10 user defined images - these background images look kind of like a sepia picture that sits behind the rules text.
* There are now 10 user defined icons so you can define your own icons if you don't like mine (or add new ones if a new set of rules come up)
* There are now 10 user defined header masks which allow you to customize the top of the card
* There are now 10 user defined card background images which allow you to customize the way the card looks
* There are no more strange funky keyboard shortcuts for icons, actions, etc.  Everything is in a drop down (including the card colors)
* There is now an option called 'Edit Mode' which allows you to see, enter and edit the 'hidden text fields' that used to show up only in the list



-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> [/LIST]I came to the same conclusion : there is no need to store both the card background and the colored header in the same image. The final card can be a layered combination of several smaller graphic elements, each one being less space consuming. My next version of the template will implement such a functionality.
> 
> With the appropriate splitting of code (I use include files), it is also very easy to add a new background or header : I just have to modify the menu which propose it, the script code which associates the name in the menu and a file name, and it's done !
> 
> 
> I experimented another improvement that you may find useful for your own template, as it uses menu for action/range icons : colored action/range (or item for my template) icons for *every color*. The idea :
> - the image displayed on the card is not the icon itself, but a 73x73 square image containing the color (depending on the card color field). There must be an image per color available in the template
> - the image is displayed through a mask which has the shape of the range/action icon (the one selected by the menu).
> => no need to have a gren/red/black/whateverColor version of each icon, you only need one mask per icon and one color image per card color. Adding a new color is easy, as is adding a new icon.




It's interesting to note that I'm using much the same technique for my new Version 5.

The backgrounds, background images, headers and icons all use masks and base images.

I didn't steal this idea from you Thin, but it seems like both of us were moved towards the same conclusions.

I got where I am by studying the MtG card sets that are included with MSE.  Some of those templates are simply amazing at the level of complexity they are going to get their effects.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> It is taking a while, isn't it?
> 
> My apologies for that.
> 
> Since it is taking so long, I'm most likely going to throw up the new website with the older version 4.3 set of mine.
> 
> I haven't dropped version 5.  I've been extremely busy due to the Holidays and I've seen a lot of set designers taking my set data and basically relabeling it as their own.  I wouldn't really mind that so much if it wasn't for the fact that no credit to me was given for entering in what amounts to a huge amount of data.
> 
> So, with a feeling that I'm not even getting a kiss before I'm screwed; I've been disinclined to release the set 5 data which now has over 5,000 cards just to see everyone else 'suddenly' have all the same data in their sets.
> 
> To answer your question; yes.  The set 5 data has all of the latest Dragon articles, Martial Powers and even some new ENWorld stuff in it as well as the fact I've now included the artifacts.  I'm currently playing with two new types of cards; Initiative cards which allow the DM to quickly keep track of who is where in the initiative queue and mini-character cards which allow players to print their character sheet onto a set of about 5 cards.  I'm not sure if these will make the final cut or not, but currently they're promising.
> 
> -- Hirahito



Hey, no rush, but I am getting impatient.lol
I went through a lot of time reading through and keeping track of Ander's, Grandpa's, and your progress. As well as others who have added onto Ander's and Grandpa's work. It gets confusing at times, but I never got to see your work.

It saddens me to that your work has been pirated (no credit to the originator). I can only imagine the time and effort you all spend building these power card only to find someone else has taken you work to save themselves time and not give thanks. That's pretty low.

I'm in the midst of completing a 4 Ed pdf character sheet that does all the computing for you. I know how I'd feel if someone took it and said they made it. I was going to add into it a script to generate power cards right from the sheet, but I think instead I'll just pimp the three of you out giving links to each of you main tracking posts/websites. It's been a lot of work just getting the sheet to work how I want it; adding in a feature for power card too... Damn, if I have the time...


----------



## tintagel

Very interesting, Thin. I'll have to see it so fully understand.  Please know that I don't pretend to be a coder in any way.  I have zero scripting or coding skills.  I struggled (and do mean struggled) to teach myself the basic syntax and commands for my templates.  I'm stumbling my way through it all.


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> Hey, no rush, but I am getting impatient.lol
> I went through a lot of time reading through and keeping track of Ander's, Grandpa's, and your progress. As well as others who have added onto Ander's and Grandpa's work. It gets confusing at times, but I never got to see your work.
> 
> It saddens me to that your work has been pirated (no credit to the originator). I can only imagine the time and effort you all spend building these power card only to find someone else has taken you work to save themselves time and not give thanks. That's pretty low.
> 
> I'm in the midst of completing a 4 Ed pdf character sheet that does all the computing for you. I know how I'd feel if someone took it and said they made it. I was going to add into it a script to generate power cards right from the sheet, but I think instead I'll just pimp the three of you out giving links to each of you main tracking posts/websites. It's been a lot of work just getting the sheet to work how I want it; adding in a feature for power card too... Damn, if I have the time...




I always take the time to credit the people that added to the project in my header files.  (Only the coders see them, but only coders really need to, don't they?)  That's all it takes to make most people happy.

And... amazingly enough I have been toying with a .NET C# program that would take basic inputs from flat rule files and spit out a PDF character sheet as well as a set of power cards that are appropriate for your character (including customizing the math to match your stats).

I scrapped that idea in favor of a new one...  take the output of the DnDI Character Builder and then spit out a new PDF sheet(s) based on your character.  At the same time, customize and then print out a set of power cards that had all the correct math and text based on the feats your character had selected.  (A dwarf's Second Wind power card, for example, would mention that it was not a standard action.)  It's my thought that WoTC won't be pissed off at a project that requires their product instead of replacing it.  PCGen replaced them for version 3.5E and WoTC went after them, basically making them jump through Mickey Mouse hoops.

That project is currently on hold until I get version 5 out the door, BUT...  I would be much interested in collaborating with someone good at making PDF's for the output stage of this project.   Interested?

-- Hirahito


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> I always take the time to credit the people that added to the project in my header files.  (Only the coders see them, but only coders really need to, don't they?)  That's all it takes to make most people happy.
> 
> And... amazingly enough I have been toying with a .NET C# program that would take basic inputs from flat rule files and spit out a PDF character sheet as well as a set of power cards that are appropriate for your character (including customizing the math to match your stats).
> 
> I scrapped that idea in favor of a new one...  take the output of the DnDI Character Builder and then spit out a new PDF sheet(s) based on your character.  At the same time, customize and then print out a set of power cards that had all the correct math and text based on the feats your character had selected.  (A dwarf's Second Wind power card, for example, would mention that it was not a standard action.)  It's my thought that WoTC won't be pissed off at a project that requires their product instead of replacing it.  PCGen replaced them for version 3.5E and WoTC went after them, basically making them jump through Mickey Mouse hoops.
> 
> That project is currently on hold until I get version 5 out the door, BUT...  I would be much interested in collaborating with someone good at making PDF's for the output stage of this project.   Interested?
> 
> -- Hirahito



WOW!

Please don't get me wrong. When I said I'm making a character sheet, I'm mostly hacking my way through it. I'm not a pdf coder. I'm learning though and have some reference materials. I'm interested, but I just want to be sure you understand I'm far from a professional programmer. I do have the resource available for when I get stuck on something. I'm curious to know more in how you would implement this.


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> WOW!
> 
> Please don't get me wrong. When I said I'm making a character sheet, I'm mostly hacking my way through it. I'm not a pdf coder. I'm learning though and have some reference materials. I'm interested, but I just want to be sure you understand I'm far from a professional programmer. I do have the resource available for when I get stuck on something. I'm curious to know more in how you would implement this.




I'm a C# programmer.  I have a few libraries that let me rip apart PDF's and reassemble them as I desire.

So, the plan would be to place tags inside the PDF like {STR:BASE}, {STR:BASEMOD}, {STR:FINAL}, {STR:FINALMOD} and so forth.  My program would rip apart the PDF and replace these tags with their appropriate values and then print them out.

No PDF programming required.

As for the Power Cards, MSE added a new feature in version 3.7 that allows you to 'talk' to it in a command line type interface.  So I would tell MSE to load the appropriate set, find a card, modify it's text, then Export it as an image into a directory (wash and repeat for each card).  Once all the images were exported, I'd re-assemble them onto a PDF that matched the output format they selected and viola!

It's not rocket science, but I think it would be better than what's out there now.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> I'm a C# programmer.  I have a few libraries that let me rip apart PDF's and reassemble them as I desire.
> 
> So, the plan would be to place tags inside the PDF like {STR:BASE}, {STR:BASEMOD}, {STR:FINAL}, {STR:FINALMOD} and so forth.  My program would rip apart the PDF and replace these tags with their appropriate values and then print them out.
> 
> No PDF programming required.
> 
> As for the Power Cards, MSE added a new feature in version 3.7 that allows you to 'talk' to it in a command line type interface.  So I would tell MSE to load the appropriate set, find a card, modify it's text, then Export it as an image into a directory (wash and repeat for each card).  Once all the images were exported, I'd re-assemble them onto a PDF that matched the output format they selected and viola!
> 
> It's not rocket science, but I think it would be better than what's out there now.
> 
> -- Hirahito



Sure I'm interested. It could be fun. Two people working to the same goal can get there twice as fast.


----------



## Zald

eloquentaction said:


> It is taking a while, isn't it?
> 
> My apologies for that.
> 
> Since it is taking so long, I'm most likely going to throw up the new website with the older version 4.3 set of mine.
> 
> 
> -- Hirahito




Hirahito-
Don't worry.  I would kiss you before screwing you, but I'm not a programmer, so it doesn't matter.  

I am, however, a big fan of using MSE with your data (thankyouthankyouthankyou) and styles.  While I'd love to see v.5, if it is going to be more than a few days, could you throw 4.3 back up?  Pretty please?

Keep it up!

Zald


----------



## eloquentaction

Zald said:


> Hirahito-
> Don't worry.  I would kiss you before screwing you, but I'm not a programmer, so it doesn't matter.
> 
> I am, however, a big fan of using MSE with your data (thankyouthankyouthankyou) and styles.  While I'd love to see v.5, if it is going to be more than a few days, could you throw 4.3 back up?  Pretty please?
> 
> Keep it up!
> 
> Zald




Sure thing.  I'll try and get the new site up in the next few days.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> Sure I'm interested. It could be fun. Two people working to the same goal can get there twice as fast.




PM me here on ENWorld.  I'll get you my contact info.

I won't be able to start until version 5 is out the door (read a week or two). And we should probably wait till they finalize the DnDI generator a bit more.

But we can get started on the raw basics of it.  The 'proof of concept', as it were.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

eloquentaction, I still dont know how to put a card design into MSE and also do you know how to change the text area or modify it, i realey want to use MSE but none of the design works for me, could you please help me, right now i am using Paint.Net and it is slow going.

Also, how do i post my work on this site so anyone can download it when they want.


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> eloquentaction, I still dont know how to put a card design into MSE and also do you know how to change the text area or modify it, i realey want to use MSE but none of the design works for me, could you please help me, right now i am using Paint.Net and it is slow going.
> 
> Also, how do i post my work on this site so anyone can download it when they want.




Dennis -

Not sure on how to post your stuff here, I went and got my own site to post my stuff up there (was running into size restrictions...  (that's what SHE said...) and they weren't letting me put things up they way I wanted).

As far as moving to MSE, I would suggest d/l'ing a few of the simpler sets (like Ander's) and studying the GAME and the SET files.  These control how MSE reads and displays your information.  You can change out the background images very simply and then start modifying the SET data to place the fields where you want them.  It's a trial and error process.

You can also go to Magic Set Editor's site and get more information there as well as posting questions on the forum there to the people that designed MSE.  That's how I got the answers for how to do some of the more advanced stuff I'm doing with my Version 5.

Hope that helps.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Could you give me a step by step on how to start the process of creating my own template. I have added all the card formats to MSE and the ones that was zip, i cant figure out how to add them to the MSE. For 2 days i have tried to add them.


----------



## Fusky

Here there are the spellscarred powers done using the Ander template.


----------



## DennisB

eloquentaction

If i send you my cards, could you post them on your sight for people to download?


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> I scrapped that idea in favor of a new one...  take the output of the DnDI Character Builder and then spit out a new PDF sheet(s) based on your character.  At the same time, customize and then print out a set of power cards that had all the correct math and text based on the feats your character had selected.  (A dwarf's Second Wind power card, for example, would mention that it was not a standard action.)  It's my thought that WoTC won't be pissed off at a project that requires their product instead of replacing it.  PCGen replaced them for version 3.5E and WoTC went after them, basically making them jump through Mickey Mouse hoops.
> 
> That project is currently on hold until I get version 5 out the door, BUT...  I would be much interested in collaborating with someone good at making PDF's for the output stage of this project.   Interested?




I always like to give back. I'm in for some data entry to help get 5 out. I don't have any skillz to really contribute beyond that, though I can hack a file like anyone.

I do think you are focused on the right path. The DDI builder is surprisingly great, and once it handles all levels (and if it quickly adds the new content), it will be hard to see turning to something else. The pdf PC sheet is cool, but leaves some desires and the power sheet is terrible. Even with some improvements, the power sheet is likely to be behind the curve right now.

I recently typed up the first 3 levels of bard for Tintagel, and I'm glad to do that or other things for you as well. 

Teos


----------



## Thindaraiel

eloquentaction said:


> I'm currently playing with two new types of cards; Initiative cards which allow the DM to quickly keep track of who is where in the initiative queue and mini-character cards which allow players to print their character sheet onto a set of about 5 cards.
> 
> * The headers now allow you to pick your own color, so you're not restricted to a fixed list
> * There are now 10 user defined images , 10 user defined icons , 10 user defined header masks ,10 user defined card background images which allow you to customize the way the card looks




I too am playing with "character cards". The template shown on WoTC site is interesting but really ugly, and I'd like to revamp it. For the moment, I came to a 3-card model (profile, hit points/surge, and competence sheets), and I am trying a more dense model (based on an idea given sooner on this thread).

Concerning your template, I'm curious to see how you manage the "user defined" elements. It's an interesting idea.



eloquentaction said:


> It's interesting to note that I'm using much the same technique for my new Version 5.
> The backgrounds, background images, headers and icons all use masks and base images.
> I didn't steal this idea from you Thin, but it seems like both of us were moved towards the same conclusions.




This is not a problem for me, even if you "steal" code from my template ! I have, after all, stolen the design from Ander's, icons from Tintagel's, and some elements from your's. 

I too went slowly in understanding what MSE can do (and indeed, it can do fantastic things !) by studying others' templates, and I surely came to the same conclusion than you and Tintagel : a card made of several small elements combined together is far more versatile and small-in-size than a bunch of monolythic cards !


----------



## Thindaraiel

DennisB said:


> Could you give me a step by step on how to start the process of creating my own template. I have added all the card formats to MSE and the ones that was zip, i cant figure out how to add them to the MSE. For 2 days i have tried to add them.




an MSE template is defined in 2 main files :
- game file in the mse-game directory
- style file in the mse-style directory

find a template you like, and analyse these files. You will understand how to modify them, than create your own.

Here are some hints to begin with :
- game file contains the card fields definition. For instance, name of the card is a one-line text field, where card color is (often) a choice between predefined values, and rule/flavor zones are multi-lines text fields. Game file contains only definitions, no display. 
- style file contains the implementation of fields into a display. It defines where on the card each field appears (or not), by giving the coordinates (top-left, height-width) of the fields, the way it must be rendered (text, image...). 
- both files can contain functions to compute values. For instance when you choose "Green" as a color in a menu for the card color, the card style for "background" field will use a function to compute which image file is associated with the "Green" keyword, and use this file for the card rendering. Functions that are defined in the game file can be used in the style file, but not the other way round.

Hope this helps !


----------



## DrunkenEwok

I've been lurking a long time, and have dabbled with several different sets...

I was wondering if any progress had been made towards standardizing the back-end data sets.  It seems as though crowd-sourcing the data entry would make all the designers' jobs a lot easier.  Instead of each designer spending hours and hours on data entry, we'd have a single consolidated set that everyone could use.  Then the graphics gurus could focus their efforts on making prettier or more user-friendly templates.

I'd also like to offer my services towards the DDI project.  My skill-set includes some basic-intermediate XML, PHP, and Python.  I'd also be interested in picking up some GUI or PDF editing skills, if that would prove useful.  My C# skills are virtually non-existent, but I could probably pick it up relatively quickly (assuming I can get access to a cheap/free compiler).  I've perused the DDI XML output - and while it isn't nearly as user-friendly as I'd hoped, it does look like outputting customized char-sheets and cards is at least possible.

Feel free to PM me, and we can exchange more conventional means of communications.


----------



## Ladybam

Micronian said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> I've followed Ander's style of cards and have completed levels 1-6 of the new Martial Power book. I'll continue to work on this as time allows but hopefully this will get you started.
> 
> *Class & Level Completed*
> Fighter (1 - 6)
> Ranger (1 - 6)
> Rogue (1 - 6)
> Warlord (1 - 6)
> 
> As suggested, the files below are the exact same. One in .RAR and the other .ZIP ...which ever is your preference.




Great set, but I would be helpful to be in .pdf.  I'm not very good in the editior


----------



## eloquentaction

DrunkenEwok said:


> I've been lurking a long time, and have dabbled with several different sets...
> 
> I was wondering if any progress had been made towards standardizing the back-end data sets.  It seems as though crowd-sourcing the data entry would make all the designers' jobs a lot easier.  Instead of each designer spending hours and hours on data entry, we'd have a single consolidated set that everyone could use.  Then the graphics gurus could focus their efforts on making prettier or more user-friendly templates.
> 
> I'd also like to offer my services towards the DDI project.  My skill-set includes some basic-intermediate XML, PHP, and Python.  I'd also be interested in picking up some GUI or PDF editing skills, if that would prove useful.  My C# skills are virtually non-existent, but I could probably pick it up relatively quickly (assuming I can get access to a cheap/free compiler).  I've perused the DDI XML output - and while it isn't nearly as user-friendly as I'd hoped, it does look like outputting customized char-sheets and cards is at least possible.
> 
> Feel free to PM me, and we can exchange more conventional means of communications.




I'm fairly certain that the XML output from DDI isn't finished yet.  Once it is, you create an XSD from it and C# auto-generates an interface based on the XSD.  The interface allows you to read / write from the XML like it was a datasource.

I've already looked into this and it's extremely easy to code which means keeping up with any changes in the DDI XML document should be just a matter or issuing a maintenance release.

Plus, this gives us the ability to allow the users to edit the DDI result and re-save the results back to XML, which is definitely something I want going forward (though I doubt it will be in the first release).

As far as C#, there's a free C# compiler using the Mono library here:  CSharp Compiler - Mono 

I like C# because it's freaking easy to write 2 lines of code that do about 2,000 lines of java code and it runs far faster with better memory usage.

I've never used Python, when I've looked at Python code it's always made my head hurt (not to say it's a bad language, more of a character flaw).

I don't see the first version as very GUI-ish.  It grabs the XML file, asks which PDF character sheet(s) you want to print to, asks where your MSE set is that you want to use, and then gets busy.  More options and tweaking will come with later versions.

We should probably set up a site for the project where we can all chat without taking up this thread.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

DrunkenEwok said:


> I've been lurking a long time, and have dabbled with several different sets...
> 
> I was wondering if any progress had been made towards standardizing the back-end data sets.  It seems as though crowd-sourcing the data entry would make all the designers' jobs a lot easier.  Instead of each designer spending hours and hours on data entry, we'd have a single consolidated set that everyone could use.  Then the graphics gurus could focus their efforts on making prettier or more user-friendly templates.




I'm willing to do this.

But it would take more than myself to make this a 'standard'.  We'd also need people like Ander to respond and re-release his set on the new standard.

Ander lurks here, but I'm not sure if he's willing to change his set.

Basically, it would mean the developers would have to get together and agree on a single GAME file.

It also means that we'd (most likely) have to standardize on a single set of icons with alternates out there if the players chose them.

The nice thing about this would be that, with a few tweaks here and there, a user could literally use any set designers template without losing any of their data.

Don't like the way us uppity card designers make our cards?  Copy one of our templates and make your own.  All the data will be the same, so you wouldn't have to start from scratch.

I'm already willing to re-write my C# card conversion application to handle the new format (if we can agree on one) and then release ALL of my original source files (as well as the notes on how to make them) to the public.  Trust me, entering in the files in my raw format is 100 times easier than hand-typing it into each of the MSE fields.

It also means we could write a small app to export the data to the Open Office XML format so people like Grandpa wouldn't be left out in the cold.  When the main card set got updated, Grandpa could export the new data and import it into his Powerpoint slides.

The juiciness for people to use the card data exported in a standard Open Office XML format cannot be over-stated.  All kinds of applications could be written to use this format.  Need to look up a power?  Bamf - Card Lookup Utility.  Want something that customizes the cards based on your DDI character sheet?  SuperBamf - DDI Converter utility at your service.

But, as yet, this is all a pipe-dream.

-- Hirahito


----------



## catsclaw227

eloquentaction said:


> As far as C#, there's a free C# compiler using the Mono library here:  CSharp Compiler - Mono
> 
> I like C# because it's freaking easy to write 2 lines of code that do about 2,000 lines of java code and it runs far faster with better memory usage.



Or you could just download the free Visual Studio Express for C#.

I am also waiting to see the final XML that DDI will be using.  I plan on developing some common libraries that will give a developer some simple import/export and serialize/deserialize methods for using the XML data.


----------



## catsclaw227

A quick question for everyone....

Where do you find 2.5 x 3.5 sheets of blank cardstock (preferably "precut", like all the 3.5 x 2 avery-style business cards) to match up with the size of a Magic Card?

Has anyone done some 3 x 5 card templates?


----------



## firesnakearies

catsclaw227 said:


> A quick question for everyone....
> 
> Where do you find 2.5 x 3.5 sheets of blank cardstock (preferably "precut", like all the 3.5 x 2 avery-style business cards) to match up with the size of a Magic Card?
> 
> Has anyone done some 3 x 5 card templates?




Perforated Paper - Custom Perforated Paper and Perforated Card Stock



$


----------



## DennisB

Thanks Thindaraiel, that 411 was very helpful, i have been having a blast with it all day, it don't look as good as the one i was doing in paint but it is taking 1/2 the time to do now. What i am going to do is do the first set with MSE then at my leaser do them in paint.


----------



## Thindaraiel

eloquentaction said:


> But it would take more than myself to make this a 'standard'. Basically, it would mean the developers would have to get together and agree on a single GAME file.
> 
> It also means that we'd (most likely) have to standardize on a single set of icons with alternates out there if the players chose them.




IIRC, the major templates published on this thread all started from a unique game file, initialized by Randolph. I did not analysed all templates, but I saw many corresponding infos in Tintagel's, Ander's, Hirahito's and Josiah's templates. I suppose this should not be too difficult to modify the game files in order to have the same basis infos.

But some other informations have real differences. For instance, Ander's template store the card color and shape as a unique value 'background' and the card "filling image" as a style property ; where my last template separates card color, shape and filling image as 3 fields "header color", "header shape" and "background". 

Concerning the "filling image", for instance, my enhanced version of Ander's template proposes 4 values : Parchment, Marble, Shaded and Simple. Hihahito's version 4 proposes "leather", "light", "none" (and even other values depending on the style !). To standardize this, we should store a "code" value and create association tables depending on the style. It it to say, the menu proposes the different options depending on the style, but the value stored in the set would be "Img1", "Img2", etc... independently on its real appearance. The style will then interpret this value to find the corresponding image, for instance "Img1" will be "Simple" in my template and "None" in Hirahito's. It can be done, I already had some results with this kind of MSE code.

In the same way, icons can be style-dependant. The style file refers to its own set of icons, and the same keyword stored in the set file will be associated to different icons depending on the style you use. This had already been used by you, Hirahito, with the different mse-symbol-font in your v4.3 template. 

I think that the main difficulty is to define 
- which fields to define in common
- which values can these fields take (for non text, non numerical fields)
Every template author will then have to define a map between these constant values and his own style definitions.

I have no time for creating a dedicated website/forum for this discussion, but if someone creates such a site/forum, I will participate. I already had the idea some weeks ago of creating "bridges" between the different templates, by writing a conversion program or making the templates evolve to a common game file. The last solution seems to me more efficient to do.


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> IIRC, the major templates published on this thread all started from a unique game file, initialized by Randolph. I did not analysed all templates, but I saw many corresponding infos in Tintagel's, Ander's, Hirahito's and Josiah's templates. I suppose this should not be too difficult to modify the game files in order to have the same basis infos.
> 
> But some other informations have real differences. For instance, Ander's template store the card color and shape as a unique value 'background' and the card "filling image" as a style property ; where my last template separates card color, shape and filling image as 3 fields "header color", "header shape" and "background".
> 
> Concerning the "filling image", for instance, my enhanced version of Ander's template proposes 4 values : Parchment, Marble, Shaded and Simple. Hihahito's version 4 proposes "leather", "light", "none" (and even other values depending on the style !). To standardize this, we should store a "code" value and create association tables depending on the style. It it to say, the menu proposes the different options depending on the style, but the value stored in the set would be "Img1", "Img2", etc... independently on its real appearance. The style will then interpret this value to find the corresponding image, for instance "Img1" will be "Simple" in my template and "None" in Hirahito's. It can be done, I already had some results with this kind of MSE code.
> 
> In the same way, icons can be style-dependant. The style file refers to its own set of icons, and the same keyword stored in the set file will be associated to different icons depending on the style you use. This had already been used by you, Hirahito, with the different mse-symbol-font in your v4.3 template.
> 
> I think that the main difficulty is to define
> - which fields to define in common
> - which values can these fields take (for non text, non numerical fields)
> Every template author will then have to define a map between these constant values and his own style definitions.
> 
> I have no time for creating a dedicated website/forum for this discussion, but if someone creates such a site/forum, I will participate. I already had the idea some weeks ago of creating "bridges" between the different templates, by writing a conversion program or making the templates evolve to a common game file. The last solution seems to me more efficient to do.




GAME file standards shouldn't cover looks and style.  The card backgrounds (leather, wood, stone, etc.) should not be in the game file.  The only reason the card color is in the GAME file is because it's germane to the type of card.  Perhaps we should abstract the card color into the card types such as: at-will, encounter, daily, information, item, artifact, magicitem, ritual and so forth.

That way, each template could keep it's own consistency relating to the types of card being displayed.  This would actually help with the b&w cardset I was creating.

A lot of the other fields can be made using the extra card fields that MSE allows you to add to the end of the style definition.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

eloquentaction said:


> GAME file standards shouldn't cover looks and style.  The card backgrounds (leather, wood, stone, etc.) should not be in the game file.  The only reason the card color is in the GAME file is because it's germane to the type of card.  Perhaps we should abstract the card color into the card types such as: at-will, encounter, daily, information, item, artifact, magicitem, ritual and so forth.
> 
> That way, each template could keep it's own consistency relating to the types of card being displayed.  This would actually help with the b&w cardset I was creating.
> 
> A lot of the other fields can be made using the extra card fields that MSE allows you to add to the end of the style definition.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I'm going to piece together the first draft of a 'common' GAME file and then throw it up on my site here.

Game developers, please download it and take a look to see if there's anything you think should be changed.

Remember, this is to be generic for all 4E sets going forward so it won't have my strange and non-standard 'Combined' fields and so forth.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

This is not the style of cards but the color of the cards, how will this do for standard colors?















































Now, as far as the skills, there is no way to put 1 entire skill on 1 card so i suggest putting the sub skills on one card.


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## DrunkenEwok

Since I'm too cheap to pay to send PMs...

I've got a website, forum, and wiki already setup that could very easily be repurposed and adapted to support the development project.

toosigma.com

My primary email is on toosigma.com


----------



## C_M2008

eloquentaction said:


> I'm going to piece together the first draft of a 'common' GAME file and then throw it up on my site here.
> 
> Game developers, please download it and take a look to see if there's anything you think should be changed.
> 
> Remember, this is to be generic for all 4E sets going forward so it won't have my strange and non-standard 'Combined' fields and so forth.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Awesome, I've been following(if not posting) this thread for a long time and this is an excellent idea. Unfortunately I have zero computer expertise to help such a project, but I wish you the best.


----------



## Ouronos

Greetings...

I've been a way for a while, and I am very happy with the continuing discussion in this thread.

I noticed the talk about making some type of interface with DDI, and I think that this idea is great... for those that use DDI.

Does this mean that the stand-alone projects are going to cease?  I am still hoping for updates including Martial Powers (and all the other wonderful products about to be released), and am hoping that I won't have to get a subscription to DDI just to be able to print out powercards.

(Of course, I use so many house rules that DDI would just be a waste of time for character creation at this point, too.)

Thanks.

Until that time...


----------



## Duniagdra

DennisB said:


> This is not the style of cards but the color of the cards, how will this do for standard colors?
> 
> 
> Now, as far as the skills, there is no way to put 1 entire skill on 1 card so i suggest putting the sub skills on one card.



I'm assuming this was just a sample to start? It's missing Utility, Weapons, and others.


----------



## eloquentaction

Ouronos said:


> Greetings...
> 
> I've been a way for a while, and I am very happy with the continuing discussion in this thread.
> 
> I noticed the talk about making some type of interface with DDI, and I think that this idea is great... for those that use DDI.
> 
> Does this mean that the stand-alone projects are going to cease?  I am still hoping for updates including Martial Powers (and all the other wonderful products about to be released), and am hoping that I won't have to get a subscription to DDI just to be able to print out powercards.
> 
> (Of course, I use so many house rules that DDI would just be a waste of time for character creation at this point, too.)
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Until that time...




We're (or at least *I*) am talking about two different projects.  They are both posted on this long-ass thread because they both pertain to power cards.

The first project is an attempt to standardize the GAME file used for all (or at least most) of the 4E cards.  This would allow us to do the following:
* All MSE 4E cards could share the same data.  This means that anyone that made a card template would automatically get the benefit of all the latest cards.  It also means that anyone adding new cards (from a Dragon or an ENWorld project) would automatically be adding them into the collective shared pool.
* It also means that, if you decided you didn't like a template, you could switch to a different one and not lose any of your data (hopefully).

It should be noted that this project has nothing whatsoever to do with DnDI.

The OTHER project we've been talking about is the DnDI project.  This project basically allows a character created in DnDI to be downloaded, tweaked, printed on whatever PDF's you like, and then allows you to print whatever (customized) MSE Power cards you'd like for that character.

Consider it a new back-end for the DnDI project that incorporates all the work the people at the custom character sheets threads and the people in the custom power cards threads together into one project.

For THIS project, you'll need DnDI.  Which, IIRC, is supposed to allow 'custom' data to be entered on the sheet at some near point in the future.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

DrunkenEwok said:


> Since I'm too cheap to pay to send PMs...
> 
> I've got a website, forum, and wiki already setup that could very easily be repurposed and adapted to support the development project.
> 
> toosigma.com
> 
> My primary email is on toosigma.com




FYI... I sent you an e-mail to your primary account.  

Just to reiterate my main point: I'm interested.  Yell if you didn't get my e-mail.

-- Hirahito


----------



## GothicProphet

First off, I want to say thank you to all of the designers out there!  Although, Hirahito, I still haven't seen yours personally but "hear" good things, looking forward to v5 like everyone else!  But I had a question for those of you much more versed in MSE than I.  I'm adding a few cards (homebrew, MP, and other cards I feel would be useful) to Ander's set, but I can't figure out how to change the "Source" field from a card I've copied, pasted and modified.  Can anyone help me?


----------



## eloquentaction

GothicProphet said:


> First off, I want to say thank you to all of the designers out there!  Although, Hirahito, I still haven't seen yours personally but "hear" good things, looking forward to v5 like everyone else!  But I had a question for those of you much more versed in MSE than I.  I'm adding a few cards (homebrew, MP, and other cards I feel would be useful) to Ander's set, but I can't figure out how to change the "Source" field from a card I've copied, pasted and modified.  Can anyone help me?




Version 5 is getting hacked up to support the new 4E Common Game Project.

I'll most likely put version 4.3 out on my site in the next few days.

Version 5 will still be released, but most likely will get split up into:

* Card set

* Flat Text Reader

* Several (much simpler) card templates released slowly

And, to answer your main question, you can't.  Ander's 'Source' field is a hidden field that he does not expose to the main part of the card.

You'd have to go into the MSE-SET card file itself and edit the definition there, I hate to say.



-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Like i said, it was just a starting point. on MSE, what i have been doing for utility is mixing white with the color of the power (Black + White / Red + White) I'm just trying to contribute as much as i can.

Also, I have a template ready (Cleric powers 1-9) and i know everyone has a job, me, i am a stay at home father and i have plenty of time and i have all the 4E books so far released and i want to know what people think of it, but i dont know how to put it (MSE) on here for people to look at it and tell me what they think. So if you want to check it out let me know and i will e-mail it to you to look at. like i said i want to help with the universal card project.


----------



## firesnakearies

eloquentaction said:


> The first project is an attempt to standardize the GAME file used for all (or at least most) of the 4E cards.  This would allow us to do the following:
> * All MSE 4E cards could share the same data.  This means that anyone that made a card template would automatically get the benefit of all the latest cards.  It also means that anyone adding new cards (from a Dragon or an ENWorld project) would automatically be adding them into the collective shared pool.
> * It also means that, if you decided you didn't like a template, you could switch to a different one and not lose any of your data (hopefully).
> 
> It should be noted that this project has nothing whatsoever to do with DnDI.
> 
> The OTHER project we've been talking about is the DnDI project.  This project basically allows a character created in DnDI to be downloaded, tweaked, printed on whatever PDF's you like, and then allows you to print whatever (customized) MSE Power cards you'd like for that character.
> 
> Consider it a new back-end for the DnDI project that incorporates all the work the people at the custom character sheets threads and the people in the custom power cards threads together into one project.






Man, both of these projects sound GREAT!  You guys are really awesome.  Keep up the amazing work!


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## DrunkenEwok

I've got the basics up and running for the development project(s):

Blog entry - toosigma » Blog Archive » D&D Software Project
Forum - toosigma.com • View forum - RPG Development
Wiki - Development Homepage - Toosigma

(they all say pretty much the same thing for now)

Any and all people who are interested in contributing (in whatever form) are welcome to join in.


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## DennisB

What about adding power cards in MSE form for downloading. I just completed the cleric cards and it is complete, all powers up to date from PHB and Forgotten realms including all paragon paths from both books.

Right now i am working on the fighter powers from the PHB, Forgotten Realms and Martial Powers handbook. thats over 250 powers.


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## warderbrad

I went to the Wiki and it looks like a good start.  I agree that a unified game file would make combining work easier.  Right now I am using the set from the Dragon Avenue group as they had the best character card style I IMHO.  However they don't have all the updates to the card sets for new books and mag articles, so I am considering switching, but the issue is that all the work I have done on character and monster cards will not move over with me.  A unified game file would resolve this.  

What I really think that any card set needs (including the one I use) is a source field where the source of the power or item or whatnot can be listed so that a DM or player doesn't have to remember where all the stuff comes from.  I realize it would take a bit of work to implement but it would be well worth it as more and more books are put out.


----------



## catsclaw227

eloquentaction said:


> Version 5 is getting hacked up to support the new 4E Common Game Project.
> 
> I'll most likely put version 4.3 out on my site in the next few days.
> 
> Version 5 will still be released, but most likely will get split up into:
> 
> * Card set
> * Flat Text Reader
> * Several (much simpler) card templates released slowly



I am new to the MSE game here, but I would be interested in participating.  I am a C#/VB.NET/SQL developer, with a fair amount of XML experience.  I am always interested in standardizing data so that more people/companies/etc can utilize datasets for their individual projects.

I know VERY little about MSE, and will take some time to learn about its intricacies, but I could lend a hand if necessary.

Do you already have a text parser in place that can read copy and paste text and place it into a "card" element for MSE?


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## DennisB

I already have that covered, All my books are in PDF and cutting and pasting is the easy part, also, i already put the source information on my cards

eg. PHB 75 = Players Hand Book page 75
      MP 7 = Martial powers book page 7
      FRPHB 12 = Forgotten Realms Players Hand Book page 12
and so on.


----------



## eloquentaction

catsclaw227 said:


> I am new to the MSE game here, but I would be interested in participating.  I am a C#/VB.NET/SQL developer, with a fair amount of XML experience.  I am always interested in standardizing data so that more people/companies/etc can utilize datasets for their individual projects.
> 
> I know VERY little about MSE, and will take some time to learn about its intricacies, but I could lend a hand if necessary.
> 
> Do you already have a text parser in place that can read copy and paste text and place it into a "card" element for MSE?




Short version...  "Yes".

Long version... "but it needs to be modified to match whatever the new format is going to be.  Before I can do that, we need to come up with what the new format is going to *BE*."

Thus my current effort:  Coming up with version 0.1a of the Unified Card Project GAME file.

-- Hirahito


----------



## warderbrad

eloquentaction said:


> Thus my current effort:  Coming up with version 0.1a of the Unified Card Project GAME file.




Where are you on it and do you need any help.  I have modified the Dragon Avenue game file and created a few card styles so I have exp and am willing to help.  If you would like to contact me offlist and fill me in on how I can help I am all for it.  
AIM and Yahoo messenger with this ID
MSN messenger and email at warderbrad <at> haridzadar <dot> com


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## firesnakearies

warderbrad said:


> What I really think that any card set needs (including the one I use) is a source field where the source of the power or item or whatnot can be listed so that a DM or player doesn't have to remember where all the stuff comes from.  I realize it would take a bit of work to implement but it would be well worth it as more and more books are put out.






This is a very good idea.


----------



## catsclaw227

warderbrad said:


> Where are you on it and do you need any help.  I have modified the Dragon Avenue game file and created a few card styles so I have exp and am willing to help.  If you would like to contact me offlist and fill me in on how I can help I am all for it.
> AIM and Yahoo messenger with this ID
> MSN messenger and email at warderbrad <at> haridzadar <dot> com



You can contact me as well, either by PM, or by sending me email to matto323 [at] the yahoo [dotcom]


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## wcpfish

*quick edit*

Just to let u know Cape of the Mountebank  with an N not Mounteback with a C, and thanks for all your efforts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Znax

Hi all...

Just to let you know about the new thread :
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/246438-power-cards-selector.html

Thx

Znax


----------



## Timba

Znax

It's great!!! Would you send me the php code of your generator? I would like to translate it to Hungarian? ( My team is translating Ander's set to Hungartian. ) My mail is mail@timba.biz.

Thank you very much in advanced.


----------



## Thindaraiel

*Thindaraiel's template (previously Enhanced Ander's)*

Some weeks ago, I posted a modified version of Ander's template. I found his template really useful but wanted to add some graphics and functionnalities. The first version of this modified template was named "Enhanced Ander's template". But this name led to some confusion, so I decided that I would give another name to a new version.

Here is the second version of this template, with a new name, and to avoid another confusion I named it "Thindaraiel 1.0".
You can download it here (no french package this time, it will come later) : Thindaraiel1.0.zip

I finished this version some days ago, before the idea of a common "game" file for all templates occured on the forum. Therefore, when this project will be completed, I will release a new version of my template.

I deeply modified the template from its previous version. Here are the main features :
- the 4 old styles (Parchment, Marble, Shaded, Simple) are now merged into a unique style. The "theme" of the card can be selected from a drop down menu. 2 more styles were added : Wood and Marble2. Each theme has both a card background and appropriate headers.
- Header colors and shapes have now 2 separate menus. There is now 18 colors to choose from.
- There is now 2 styles : Horizontal, which is the old Ander's landscape design, and a new Vertical style, with a portrait orientation. With 18 colors, 6 themes and 2 styles, you can now have 216 different cards !!
- I added some icons, seen on this forum : Reaction, Beast, Ranged Blast and ranged wall. Icons are now colored from the card color (i.e. 18 colors available !). Some range icons activate a range value and/or a burst radius value text zone near the icon.
- Damage icon is larger, and can be multiple (up to 4 damage types). But I had to suppress some lateral boxes and reduce the descriptors zone
- the template allow to create "Powers" cards, or character "Sheets" cards. Sheets are on the same format than powers, and are abstracts of the character sheets. For the moment, these are only empty sheets that you will have to complete manually, but in the future, I want to add fields to allow entering values. There are 4 fields, one is a complete model (useful for monsters and NPCs, as they give a complete overview of the creature), and the 3 others are designed for a PC, a sheet for the profile, another for Hit points and Surges, the last for the competences.

In a few days, I will publish a conversion guide to help those who have a previous set in Original Ander's or Enhanced Ander's templates to migrate their sets in the new format.

I hope you will find all this enhancements useful, and I hope that some technical ideas will inspire other template designers ! Every feedback is welcome !


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> Some weeks ago, I posted a modified version of Ander's template. I found his template really useful but wanted to add some graphics and functionnalities. The first version of this modified template was named "Enhanced Ander's template". But this name led to some confusion, so I decided that I would give another name to a new version.
> 
> Here is the second version of this template, with a new name, and to avoid another confusion I named it "Thindaraiel 1.0".
> You can download it here (no french package this time, it will come later) : Thindaraiel1.0.zip
> 
> I finished this version some days ago, before the idea of a common "game" file for all templates occured on the forum. Therefore, when this project will be completed, I will release a new version of my template.
> 
> I deeply modified the template from its previous version. Here are the main features :
> - the 4 old styles (Parchment, Marble, Shaded, Simple) are now merged into a unique style. The "theme" of the card can be selected from a drop down menu. 2 more styles were added : Wood and Marble2. Each theme has both a card background and appropriate headers.
> - Header colors and shapes have now 2 separate menus. There is now 18 colors to choose from.
> - There is now 2 styles : Horizontal, which is the old Ander's landscape design, and a new Vertical style, with a portrait orientation. With 18 colors, 6 themes and 2 styles, you can now have 216 different cards !!
> - I added some icons, seen on this forum : Reaction, Beast, Ranged Blast and ranged wall. Icons are now colored from the card color (i.e. 18 colors available !). Some range icons activate a range value and/or a burst radius value text zone near the icon.
> - Damage icon is larger, and can be multiple (up to 4 damage types). But I had to suppress some lateral boxes and reduce the descriptors zone
> - the template allow to create "Powers" cards, or character "Sheets" cards. Sheets are on the same format than powers, and are abstracts of the character sheets. For the moment, these are only empty sheets that you will have to complete manually, but in the future, I want to add fields to allow entering values. There are 4 fields, one is a complete model (useful for monsters and NPCs, as they give a complete overview of the creature), and the 3 others are designed for a PC, a sheet for the profile, another for Hit points and Surges, the last for the competences.
> 
> In a few days, I will publish a conversion guide to help those who have a previous set in Original Ander's or Enhanced Ander's templates to migrate their sets in the new format.
> 
> I hope you will find all this enhancements useful, and I hope that some technical ideas will inspire other template designers ! Every feedback is welcome !




That's a much improved set, Thindariel.

I'll take some of your ideas and incorporate them into the Universal Card Set Project.

One thing that's stumping me is the Set Style Definitions.  Those are defined in the GAME file, but each set is most likely going to want to do their own.  I'm wondering if they can be moved to the STYLE file, or possibly defined in such a way as they appear in an include file that moves with the card template being used.

Once I jump this (and two other) hurdles, I'll release the version 0.1a of the UCSP.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Calico_Jack73

Can someone post a link to Ander00's files?  I keep getting an error that the RAR files are corrupt.


----------



## warderbrad

eloquentaction said:


> That's a much improved set, Thindariel.
> 
> I'll take some of your ideas and incorporate them into the Universal Card Set Project.
> 
> One thing that's stumping me is the Set Style Definitions.  Those are defined in the GAME file, but each set is most likely going to want to do their own.  I'm wondering if they can be moved to the STYLE file, or possibly defined in such a way as they appear in an include file that moves with the card template being used.
> 
> Once I jump this (and two other) hurdles, I'll release the version 0.1a of the UCSP.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Will your Universal Card set support character and monster cards as well as power and item cards?  The main reason I have not wanted to use the Ander set or your own (regardless of how nice they look) is because I can't make one file for my character and be done with it.  If you would like someone to help share the burden of that part I am happy to help, I have heard nothing from you regarding the offer of help before.


----------



## DennisB

eloquentaction

Speaking about the universal cards, I want to help with the universal card decks, i am a stay at home father and have plenty of time to input information onto the cards. also, i want to e-mail you a sample of what i have been working on and i want you to tell me what you think about this set up for the universal decks, all decks will have the same set up. When finished, it will have all information from the books, dragon magazine and any other official source i can find and if i can't find, it I'm sure you can and send it to me to input it into the decks. I hope you agree to allow me to assist on this project for i would be a big asset.


----------



## catsclaw227

Thindaraiel said:


> Some weeks ago, I posted a modified version of Ander's template. I found his template really useful but wanted to add some graphics and functionnalities. The first version of this modified template was named "Enhanced Ander's template". But this name led to some confusion, so I decided that I would give another name to a new version.
> 
> Here is the second version of this template, with a new name, and to avoid another confusion I named it "Thindaraiel 1.0".
> You can download it here (no french package this time, it will come later) : Thindaraiel1.0.zip



Which *.mse-set file should we use with your new templates?


----------



## Thindaraiel

eloquentaction said:


> One thing that's stumping me is the Set Style Definitions. Those are defined in the GAME file, but each set is most likely going to want to do their own. I'm wondering if they can be moved to the STYLE file, or possibly defined in such a way as they appear in an include file that moves with the card template being used.




I'm already working on moving all style infos to another location. I wanted to post this version to have some feedback, even if I knew that I'd have to modify it again for the UCSP.

I made a list of the infos I need for the template. Here it is :
- background : the image background of the card. (Should be moved to the style)
- header color : color of the card
- header shape : the appearance of left/right/center zones for icons/title (should depend on the style)
- name : name of the card
- super_type : class/race of the character (should be renamed)
- sub-type : type of the power (should be renamed)
- level
- left icon : reserved zone for action/item icon. (Should be split into "action" and "item" icons)
- right icon : reserved zone for range icon. (Should be renamed "range")
- rangevalue : distance in squares
- burstvalue : distance in squares
- frequency : use a drop down list
- flags : free text
- rule text : free text
- flavor text : free text
- box label1, box label2, box label3 : 3 additional text infos

I hope this will help you in defining the first draft of the game file.


----------



## Thindaraiel

catsclaw227 said:


> Which *.mse-set file should we use with your new templates?




For the moment, you can not use any existing mse-set, as the template is not compatible with older versions.

I am already working on 2 conversion guides, which will allow you to transform old mse-sets into the new format (some structural changes prevent the compatibility). One guide will be for original Ander's template, the other for Enchanced Ander's template. Expect it for the end of the week.


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> I'm already working on moving all style infos to another location. I wanted to post this version to have some feedback, even if I knew that I'd have to modify it again for the UCSP.
> 
> I made a list of the infos I need for the template. Here it is :
> - background : the image background of the card. (Should be moved to the style)
> - header color : color of the card
> - header shape : the appearance of left/right/center zones for icons/title (should depend on the style)
> - name : name of the card
> - super_type : class/race of the character (should be renamed)
> - sub-type : type of the power (should be renamed)
> - level
> - left icon : reserved zone for action/item icon. (Should be split into "action" and "item" icons)
> - right icon : reserved zone for range icon. (Should be renamed "range")
> - rangevalue : distance in squares
> - burstvalue : distance in squares
> - frequency : use a drop down list
> - flags : free text
> - rule text : free text
> - flavor text : free text
> - box label1, box label2, box label3 : 3 additional text infos
> 
> I hope this will help you in defining the first draft of the game file.




Yep, those were already defined.

I added:

- source.  Where the card came from.
- name.  Renamed to 'card name'.
- super_type.  Renamed to 'class race'.
- sub_type.  Renamed to 'power type'.
- card type.  This is the basis for what color the card will be.  Since each set might want to define their colors/styles differently for different types.  Current Values are:  At-will, Encounter, Daily, Ritual, Item, Magic Item, Info, Artifact, Character, Initiative, Monster, Skill, Condition, Disease, Trap, Social.  These should be mapped to a card color inside the STYLE.
- frequency, level.  Stay the same
- flags.  Renamed to 'keywords'.
- rules text.  Renamed to 'rules'.
- flavor text.  Renamed to 'flavor'.
- action icon.  Renamed to 'action symbol'.
- range icon.  Renamed to 'range symbol'.
- rangevalue, burstvalue, level.  Remain the same (though if I could think of something more generic than burstvalue, I'd rename it).
- box label now goes out to box label 9.
- box text now goes out to box text 9.

The idea of splitting the action symbol into action symbol and magic item power symbol is a good idea.  I was also thinking of maybe adding a damage type symbol 1 through 5 so card makers that wanted to display the damage type(s) of a card could use these.

I'm splitting the GAME file into a bunch of includes like you did.  I think it makes the overall file smaller and easier to comprehend.  I just wish their was an intellisense editor for MSE files.

Problems:

* Splitting the set style definitions away from the GAME file.
* Coming up with a way to do the card backs that's both simple, flexible and can be easily understood by new set designers.
* Coming up with a way to do the symbols that allows for masking and also allows for new effects to be added without making it hugely complex.
* Making a default set (based off of Ander's, most likely) so other set designers can learn from it.

I think I've fixed most of the problems, but you had a very clean approach that I want to adhere to, so I'm tweaking the files.  Unfortunately, this hits during the Holidays which means I have very little free time.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Based loosely on Anders idea, This setup is simple and so easy to make. And it will be in MSE form.
I have created the wizards cards and in the middle of rouges, like i said i would like to help with this project but if you dont want any help just let me know.


----------



## tempor

I've been a lurker for quite some time now. I just have to say it. The work you guys have been doing is *PHENOMENAL*!!!

Keep up the good work!


----------



## DennisB

Thanks for the cu does


----------



## Thindaraiel

eloquentaction said:


> - card type. This is the basis for what color the card will be. Since each set might want to define their colors/styles differently for different types. Current Values are: At-will, Encounter, Daily, Ritual, Item, Magic Item, Info, Artifact, Character, Initiative, Monster, Skill, Condition, Disease, Trap, Social. These should be mapped to a card color inside the STYLE.
> - box label now goes out to box label 9.
> - box text now goes out to box text 9.
> 
> The idea of splitting the action symbol into action symbol and magic item power symbol is a good idea. I was also thinking of maybe adding a damage type symbol 1 through 5 so card makers that wanted to display the damage type(s) of a card could use these.




If you can add the damage icon, it would be really useful for me (and some others that have implemented this feature).

Box label/box text should be renamed "additional label/text" as it can be used for something else than a box.

I have a problem with colors : you have defined 16 of them, and I already have 18 colors. Can you add "special 1" and "special 2" ? These could be extended if another template proposes more colors.



> Problems:
> * Coming up with a way to do the symbols that allows for masking and also allows for new effects to be added without making it hugely complex.
> 
> I think I've fixed most of the problems, but you had a very clean approach that I want to adhere to, so I'm tweaking the files. Unfortunately, this hits during the Holidays which means I have very little free time.




We must define a standard list of symbols' shortcuts, because if they are not defined in each style, there will be a problem when switching from a style to another (symbol codes not recognized).

In the same way, we need to define the list of actions/items/ranges/damage keywords, to ensure that switching from a style to another keeps the value of the icon. This must be like the color list. For the moment, I identified :
- Actions: Minor, Move, Standard, Free, Immediate Interrupt, Immediate Reaction. We can add "No action" for templates which do require an icon even when this is not an action (in my template, masking the zone is possible)
- Ranges: Close/Ranged Blast, Close/Ranged Burst, Close/Ranged Wall, Personal, Touch, Ranged, Melee, Beast, Melee and Ranged, Melee and Beast
- Items: Armor, Arm slot, Belt slot, Hand slot, Foot slot, Head slot, Neck slot, Holy symbol, Orb, Potion, Ring, Wand, Rod, Staff, Weapon, Wondrous (and I'd like to add Crystal for the psionic campaign I'm involved in). 
- Damage: Acid, Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Necrotic, Poison, Psychic, Radiant, Thunder
Should we add others "special icons" to allow some templates to propose specifi icons ?

In a second version, we should define some fields for character sheets (characteristics, defenses, HP/surges, and so on...)

If you do not have time to split and clean the code, you can send me the template as is, and I will do the job. 

Thanks for your help. I'm really excited at the idea of using ALL the wonderful templates together !


----------



## Thindaraiel

DennisB said:


> Based loosely on Anders idea, This setup is simple and so easy to make. And it will be in MSE form.
> I have created the wizards cards and in the middle of rouges, like i said i would like to help with this project but if you dont want any help just let me know.




I love it. Really gorgeous. Please continue to develop it, and keep an eye on the Universal Game project. 

On a technical side, can you PM me how you did the transparent mask on right side of the card ? Thanks


----------



## DennisB

It came with the template. what i am doing is cutting the border off the card in paint.net and placing the information onto the card and placing the card on a full art card on MSE so if i want to add more cards later it will be a snap. i am making power cards and magic items and feats for starters. if you want a copy of the decks as i finish them just let me know and i will e-mail them to you along with the template to open each deck.

Also this is what the magic cards are going to look like. like i said all the cards are going to have the same format.


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> If you can add the damage icon, it would be really useful for me (and some others that have implemented this feature).
> 
> Box label/box text should be renamed "additional label/text" as it can be used for something else than a box.
> 
> I have a problem with colors : you have defined 16 of them, and I already have 18 colors. Can you add "special 1" and "special 2" ? These could be extended if another template proposes more colors.
> 
> 
> 
> We must define a standard list of symbols' shortcuts, because if they are not defined in each style, there will be a problem when switching from a style to another (symbol codes not recognized).
> 
> In the same way, we need to define the list of actions/items/ranges/damage keywords, to ensure that switching from a style to another keeps the value of the icon. This must be like the color list. For the moment, I identified :
> - Actions: Minor, Move, Standard, Free, Immediate Interrupt, Immediate Reaction. We can add "No action" for templates which do require an icon even when this is not an action (in my template, masking the zone is possible)
> - Ranges: Close/Ranged Blast, Close/Ranged Burst, Close/Ranged Wall, Personal, Touch, Ranged, Melee, Beast, Melee and Ranged, Melee and Beast
> - Items: Armor, Arm slot, Belt slot, Hand slot, Foot slot, Head slot, Neck slot, Holy symbol, Orb, Potion, Ring, Wand, Rod, Staff, Weapon, Wondrous (and I'd like to add Crystal for the psionic campaign I'm involved in).
> - Damage: Acid, Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Necrotic, Poison, Psychic, Radiant, Thunder
> Should we add others "special icons" to allow some templates to propose specifi icons ?
> 
> In a second version, we should define some fields for character sheets (characteristics, defenses, HP/surges, and so on...)
> 
> If you do not have time to split and clean the code, you can send me the template as is, and I will do the job.
> 
> Thanks for your help. I'm really excited at the idea of using ALL the wonderful templates together !




Yeah - I'll add 10 special icons and 10 user defined card types.  That way we shouldn't run out of room too fast.

I've already taken my icons, added the beast icons, and made them into a symbol-font.  One of my 'to-do's is to standardize the damage symbols based on the ones Mercutio and Black Plauge have come up with.

And I agree on changing the box labels, etc.  I'll make them more generic.

Thanks for the input.  I'll release the set to you here shortly and you can split it and make it all purty for a version 0.2a.

Oh, and Thin - you can get the mask on the right hand side by creating a 50% transparent white PNG with borders that 'fade' to higher transparency, then just bring it in as an extra 'layer' in MSE.  Just make sure you use the exact same size as the PNG or when MSE changes the size, you'll get odd artifacts in the resizing and it'll look odd.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Black Plauge

I'm going to suggest against using a symbol font for icons and using choice fields rendered as images instead (much like I did on my set).  Symbol fonts are inherently cumbersome to use (though easy to program) because they require knowing the letter to symbol mapping.  Even when that is made as intuitive as possible, that's still a whole bunch of user overhead that makes using the style more difficult.

The one situation where symbol fonts make sense (and the primary reason MSE has them) is in situations like the mana cost of a Magic card where you know you are going to have several symbols appearing in the same field in arbitrary combination.  Most of the places where MSE styles for D&D cards have used symbol fonts, it has been in a field that contains only one icon (such as action type, range, damage, etc.).  In those cases a choice field that is rendered as an image makes far more sense from a user interface point of view.  Heck, even in cases where multiple icons might be needed (as in damage for some powers) it's possible to use a multiple choice field to handle that (check out my set for an implementation of that).

This will also make it easier to swtich from style to style as a style using a different set of icons would simply map the choice selections to the images it wants to use instead of having to write up a whole new symbol font.


----------



## eloquentaction

Black Plauge said:


> I'm going to suggest against using a symbol font for icons and using choice fields rendered as images instead (much like I did on my set).  Symbol fonts are inherently cumbersome to use (though easy to program) because they require knowing the letter to symbol mapping.  Even when that is made as intuitive as possible, that's still a whole bunch of user overhead that makes using the style more difficult.
> 
> The one situation where symbol fonts make sense (and the primary reason MSE has them) is in situations like the mana cost of a Magic card where you know you are going to have several symbols appearing in the same field in arbitrary combination.  Most of the places where MSE styles for D&D cards have used symbol fonts, it has been in a field that contains only one icon (such as action type, range, damage, etc.).  In those cases a choice field that is rendered as an image makes far more sense from a user interface point of view.  Heck, even in cases where multiple icons might be needed (as in damage for some powers) it's possible to use a multiple choice field to handle that (check out my set for an implementation of that).
> 
> This will also make it easier to swtich from style to style as a style using a different set of icons would simply map the choice selections to the images it wants to use instead of having to write up a whole new symbol font.




There's a solution that solves both problems.

First - there HAS to be a symbol font or no symbols can be included inside the rules or flavor fields.  There's a way to automagically add a drop down symbol selection list to the Insert Symbol tab in MSE and I've added that code to this symbol-font.

Second - I'm planning on including the same set of symbols as an mse-include with optional code that they can include in their STYLE file that allows them to use it as a choice field, as you're suggesting.  I'm trying to figure out a way where I don't have to include the same set of symbols as a font and then as an include and I think I've found a solution (but I've got to try it out).

-- Hirahito


----------



## Black Plauge

> First - there HAS to be a symbol font or no symbols can be included inside the rules or flavor fields.



This is true, but neither the flavor nor the rules field include symbols in any of the published material.  There is no need for these fields to have symbols in them.


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## eloquentaction

Black Plauge said:


> This is true, but neither the flavor nor the rules field include symbols in any of the published material.  There is no need for these fields to have symbols in them.




Technically true.

But I can see using symbols in the Magic Items and they are semi-required for Monster cards.

Plus, it's nice to have the option.

But you're right - technically they don't need to be there.

-- Hirahito


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## DennisB

I would like to put my 2 cents in this, if it is ok.

having symbols for powers is useless, however, symbols for magic items is still a good idea. if you look at the magic card i posted on here, i think that would be a good symbol style, i can not remember where i got them but i love them. it covers every category of magic items there is.


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## tempor

Thindaraiel said:


> Here is the second version of this template, with a new name, and to avoid another confusion I named it "Thindaraiel 1.0".
> You can download it here (no french package this time, it will come later) : Thindaraiel1.0.zip




Hi Thindaraiel... I downloaded the ZIP file, extracted as per ReadMe file, but I see that there are at least two missing files: sheet-menu and sheet-script from Thin-locale.mse-include.

Am I missing something?


----------



## Thindaraiel

tempor said:


> Hi Thindaraiel... I downloaded the ZIP file, extracted as per ReadMe file, but I see that there are at least two missing files: sheet-menu and sheet-script from Thin-locale.mse-include.
> 
> Am I missing something?




No. I discovered that the english version of the template (I work mainly on the french version and report code on the english one) was incomplete.

I will send a corrective patch on the forum on tuesday (I do not have the file at hand for the moment).


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## Znax

Maybe I missed something...
Is it a "standard" card (mse-set file) to plug on different template ?
If yes, cool, good, 
If not, is it possible / interesting ?
Possible : yes, I can change a little my card selector, and we could have  generic, multilingual card generator


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## DennisB

There is a basic set of MSE when you download the main program and if you want other styles you download that style.


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## DennisB

OK boys and girls, after 2 months of making and remaking power cards and with the help of the other players and there inputs for which I would like to say thanks too, I have finally finished the first deck of power cards including the paragon path powers from the players handbook as well as Dragon magazine. now mind you this is version 1.0 because of the impending release of the arcane powers handbook as well as upcoming dragon magazine releases, plus I am sure there is small mistakes here and there and if you see mistakes please let me know so i may correct them for the next version. the first deck to be released is the wizards powers. here is a sample of the cards below. December 12th I am not making any power cards and taking a break. it takes 2 days to make 1 deck, but i would like to know what deck you would like to see next. the most request will be made next. I hope you enjoy the deck at least until the universal deck is completed. All cards can be sent to you either in MSE format or Paint format, please let me know when you request the deck. you must download the magic full art cards format to use this in MSE.


----------



## Siberys

Inspired by the above, I made my own power card set for mse.

The coding is heavily based of of Ander00's, and I wasn't _quite_ sure what I was doing, and I know a lot of the code is extraneous - so any suggestions on how I can clean it up'd be appreciated.

The frame is a heavily modified planeswalker card from Magic, recolored to fit my needs. I did not use a space for flavor text or for the boxes on Ander00's; I felt the got in the way, personally.

I also did not code auto-formatting; It's something I've been trying (though admittedly not very hard) to figure out for about a year now. I can get by with manual bolding and so forth, though.

I did add one additional symbol, to separate the upper portion of the power from the hit and effects; a simple horizontal rule, keyed to h, though as I said I didn't set it to auto-format.

Let me know what you think!


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## DennisB

I just tried it out and not bad, it has everything you need, although it is a little plain, it is great. me, as you can tell from my endeavor, i like flash, flair and piazza. but besides the looks, all i have to say is, WOW!!!!!!!!
4 out of 5 still has a few minor bugs in it.

on another note, how the heck do you put a deck of MSE files on here for anyone to download?


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## Thindaraiel

ENWorld does not accept every file type. The simplest way is to zip your files and attach them to your message, or store them on the web (mediafire for instance) and  give the link.


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## DennisB

OK here, i think i did it, can someone tell me if i did it right.
And if i did it right, i added the MSE template to the file as well so you dont have to search for it in that huge list.





If correct, this is all the wizards in 4E up to this date.
View attachment 37870


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## Bayuer

DennisB that are great cards! I like it very much, but one problem. I translate cards to my native language and those I can't couse thats only images... Can I somehow edit them? Maybe if you will give a photoshop files I could edit text ther.


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## DennisB

It is in paint.net then I put them in the MSE, but if you want the Paint.net cards e-mail me and i will send them to you.


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## Thindaraiel

DennisB, the cards are great, but as they are only images, we cannot edit them, nor extend them (my group and I have a bunch of home rules, we don't use the exact powers). 

I think that your template can be made fully in MSE. Wait until the universal game file is ready, and we should help you to create the appropriate style file.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Thindaraiel said:


> No. I discovered that the english version of the template (I work mainly on the french version and report code on the english one) was incomplete.




Here is a corrective patch to deploy in MSE/data directory in addition to the template Thindaraiel 1.0. This will make the character cards work.


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## jsepeta

*PDF help*

Wow. Took a couple of days to read through every freaking single post in this thread. I've already printed out Ander00's PDF set (which scaled down to fit on 8.5x11 -- now my cards are smaller than average!) and laminated them and have been cutting for 3 days. ugh. Only 5 more sets to go before Saturday's excursion with 2 players who are new to D&D, and my daughter, who has been running a different character in our 3.x campaign.

I'm quite impressed by the progress that's been made with power cards over the past couple of months, and I'm thrilled to see so much awesome work done by Ander00, Grampa, Thindaraiel, eloquentaction, Hirahito, and others. Standardizing the data sets then farming out the tedious data entry to other members of the group makes a great deal of sense -- it's kind of that "open source" philosophy that will allow the game of D&D to expand and prosper beyond WotC's expectations.

I've been playing 4e in a couple of groups and using Ander00's cards for my 6th level ranger Nariah was quite helpful in this past Wednesday's adventure. However, I still recognize a level of frustration from old-timers like myself with some of the changes WotC have introduced with the 4e version. For instance, many powers, abilities, and spells from 3.x and previous versions did not make it to the current version -- this has led to a more balanced game, but perhaps one that may seem a bit "genericized". However, if we (a group of enthusiastic developers) can decide on a common template for data entry, it likely would not be long before industrious hobbyists convert some of the features of previous versions for use in 4e. If this data were to be kept in separate sets, such as "rituals from Spell Compendium", "cool items from Dragon #76" and "powers from Magic Incarnum", "feats from a cool D20 book", and "homegrown races" that would help DMs to further personalize the adventures and campaigns they run. This notion excites me, as it would encourage more gamers to participate in growing the world of D&D.

I would like to volunteer to help with PDF creation from various templates and mse-sets. I work for a Mac dealer and I own a couple of sweet and powerful computers (Apple & HP) as well as Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro, so this kind of task would be right up my alley. Also, by providing downloadable PDFs, it makes these cards more accessible to gamers who aren't that technically inclined or who don't want to spend hours dorking with the Magic Set Editor. Hirahito, please contact me here because your new website doesn't have a working email link.


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## eloquentaction

jsepeta said:


> Hirahito, please contact me here because your new website doesn't have a working email link.




Shows how busy and hectic things have been.

The new website is an old design that I don't really like (but it looks remarkably better than nothing).  I threw it up there to at least get a place holder.

I've got two projects at work that HAVE to get done before the end of the year.  I've got one of them almost complete and the second is giving me nothing but grief... so much so I'm contemplating ripping it apart and rebuilding the framework I'm so pissed off at it.

Once these two projects (that are my bread and butter) are complete, I should have plenty of time to complete the web site, post my new campaign rules and changes, post the version 0.1a of the Unified Card Set Project, post the UCSP Flat file converter and post all of my original Text files up to my 4.3 release, then release my first card set based on it (which needs to be redesigned because Thindariel already did an Ander re-make), also I want to re-make a new card design based on an idea I saw the other day.  Lastly, I want to perfect my Character cards and Initiative cards.

As a side effort - I'm starting to realize that there needs to be a pre-loader for the sets that does what the Javascript utility does; allows you to filter what cards you want to see.  I also want this pre-loader to have the ability to put in stats for your character and have the cards show the correct values in the main rule text and in the side bars.

This is all before I start the DnDI project which I really want to do because the Wiesbaden based Excel sheets look like they are no longer being supported (which is the sheet I've been using for everything - very good sheet, IMHO).  So I either want to start my own new Excel based sheet to take over the Weisbaden project or do the DnDI and hope the WoTC people finish up more of the DnDI past 3rd freaking level.

As you can see, my plate's kinda full!

;-)

BTW - EloquentAction and Hirahito are the same person.  And if you want my e-mail it's EloquentAction (at) Yahoo (dot) com.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Thindaraiel: i tried to put the information on the MSE cards that look like this but there is a glitch in it, the card program is set for large print only and the left side is for pics only so i had to improvise. and after many triles and mistakes i got it the way i wanted, now i am not saying it is for everyone, i am saying that it is complete as far as "ALL" the powers up to date and it could be used as a quick refence guide for everyone. i know it can't be modified except by me, and for that i am sorry, that is why i asked everyone that gets the decks to inform me of any ymistakes so i may correct them and update them. This was the only answer to many problms i came across while making the cards, it took me 2 months of downloading every template of MSE and testing them out to make it just right. now when I get to version 2.0 of all the cards i might do what ander did and put stat boxes on the cards. but until the universal deck gets completed, please accept thease decks as a christmas gift to all of you and i hope yu all enjoy them and all my hard work I have put in them.


Jsepeta: You said

"I've been playing 4e in a couple of groups and using Ander00's cards for my 6th level ranger Nariah was quite helpful in this past Wednesday's adventure. However, I still recognize a level of frustration from old-timers like myself with some of the changes WotC have introduced with the 4e version. For instance, many powers, abilities, and spells from 3.x and previous versions did not make it to the current version -- this has led to a more balanced game, but perhaps one that may seem a bit "genericized"."

I agree, however, as you know, there is going to be a release of the Arcain powers handbook soon, i have the martial powers handbook and it expands the powers greatly, i think the Arcain powers will do the same thing, you need to realize that there is only so much room in the players handbook so they could not put all the powers in one book, also, you need to think from a profet standerd, if you put all the powers into one book, then there would be no room to release more books later to make more money.


----------



## Znax

eloquentaction, did you take a look a my selector ?
Cards generator
Maybe it's a part of what you're looking for...


----------



## eloquentaction

Znax said:


> eloquentaction, did you take a look a my selector ?
> Cards generator
> Maybe it's a part of what you're looking for...




Yes, actually I did.

It's a great idea.  But since I wasn't sure if you were on-board with the new project, I figured we'd have to write our own.

Plus, I have an idea on how to parse the tags (using an EVAL or something similar) to change the box contents box(es) to match the equation(s) in the box titles.

So, for example:  A card with "1[W] + Str" would turn into "1d10 + 4" for a first level fighter using a Greatsword.

But I may have to write that piece myself.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

OK, i have gotten lots of request for the next deck and surprisingly, the barbarian will be next, however it is the play test barbarian, so it will be incomplete until the players handbook 2 is released. out of 6 people that asked, 3 of them wanted the barbarian. who knew.


----------



## Siberys

I modified the template I made.

I re-added the flavor text section.

Now, all of the text on the border turns white if the white border option is chosen.

Also, I added a white version of each symbol-font symbol. To type it in, simply use the caps version.

This required a slight bit of re-mapping of keys. The new symbol font matches up as below;

ACTIONS
(s)tandard
m(o)ve
(m)inor
(i)mmediate
(f)ree

RANGES
(c)lose burst
(a)rea burst
m(e)lee
(r)anged
hbrid
(b)last
(t)ouch
(p)ersonal

There is no White version of the (h)orizontal rule, as that would only really be useful in the always-white textbox.


----------



## DennisB

Siberys:

Could you add the bard and barbarian to the list on the cards, they are guaranteed classes upcoming and already have playtest releases.

Also, on the cards could you have a small section to place the book and page #. May i suggest putting it in the bottom middle of the card in the black area. make the format white. And last suggestion, try making it a little fancy, could you make the title text magic medieval to add a little panache.

Also there is a few glitches in the program:
1) Orange 2 - orange 3 - orange 4 - Grey - gold - silver and iron dont work
2) you have 2 attack, utility, encounter blocks and they are overlaping, one dont work and the other is hard to get to.
3) insert a section to input the level of the power.
4) Lastly, the Icons are barely noticeable, could you make them a little bigger?

other than that, it looks good and is easy. tell you what, you fix thoes glitches and i will make the decks in that format as well as mine and i will give you the decks in you're format as i finish them. Deal?


----------



## Siberys

DennisB said:


> Siberys:
> 
> Could you add the bard and barbarian to the list on the cards, they are guaranteed classes upcoming and already have playtest releases.
> 
> Also, on the cards could you have a small section to place the book and page #. May i suggest putting it in the bottom middle of the card in the black area. make the format white. And last suggestion, try making it a little fancy, could you make the title text magic medieval to add a little panache.
> 
> Also there is a few glitches in the program:
> 1) Orange 2 - orange 3 - orange 4 - Grey - gold - silver and iron dont work
> 2) you have 2 attack, utility, encounter blocks and they are overlaping, one dont work and the other is hard to get to.
> 3) insert a section to input the level of the power.
> 4) Lastly, the Icons are barely noticeable, could you make them a little bigger?
> 
> other than that, it looks good and is easy. tell you what, you fix thoes glitches and i will make the decks in that format as well as mine and i will give you the decks in you're format as i finish them. Deal?




For the colors - yeah, I realized that last night. Easy fix.

I'm not seeing the double-thing...

You can just type in a level, but it could be worth adding in...

Page number's a good idea...

Bigger Icons should be easy.

With the classes list, it wasn't really important to have them in there, at least for me, because I use a large number of 3pp classes and home brew, so typing in new stuff was never difficult. Might as well, though.

As for the decks, thanks for the offer, but, as I use so much homebrew, it'd end up just being easier for me to type up powers as our groups need 'em. Thanks for the offer, though.

EDIT: I added all known upcoming classes and races to the drop down list, increased the size of the icons, added a page number field, added a level drop-down, and fixed the color choice problem.

I can't be adding in every class or race to that list, though, or else it would get very unwieldy, very fast, especially if I were adding in 3PP stuff. I'm not even sure the drop-down is necessary...

Whatever the case, here's the updated version.


----------



## DennisB

Much better, looks great. glad i could help.


----------



## Siberys

I have changed the class drop-down - now it is tiered and contains all of the Classes, races, PPs, and EDs I allow in my games!

To add something to the list, you'll need to modify the mse-game file - I can explain how to anyone who doesn't already know.

The new download link is in my sig, under _My 4e Binder_.


----------



## DennisB

I would like to know how to modify 1 template to fix it. i like the card style i am using but the MSE version is defective so i had to use the template and paint.net then paste it onto a full art card. it takes longer to do that, so please teach me how to fix it.


----------



## DennisB

Ok now here is the wizards and barbarian powers

Next, the cleric this will take about 4 or 5 days to make, again it will have all the powers from all sorces.


----------



## Zald

*The new project is great and all..*

...But I was really hoping to see v. 4.x or 5.0 on your site soon, Hirahito.
Any chance of getting the last version put up?

Zald

Oops. Sorry Hirahito. I just saw your post on the previous page that you are busy with "real" work. I just love your styles (I think "wax" is what I was using.) Unfortunately, I think I lost the .set file.

I'm going to start using Ander's set now, but its a bit plain for my tastes. 

If anyone else has the Hirahito files handy, and can email/host them someplace, please let me know.

Thanks to EVERYONE doing the work on these!

Zald


----------



## DennisB

Siberys:

I am using your cards extensively and it is great, but there is still 2 small glitches.

1) You have no area wall icon
2) Could you allow the icons for us to add the # for range for quick reference?

Other than that, it is taking 1/2 the time to make a deck. you are the man. 
(Or woman, whatever the case may be)


----------



## Siberys

Man. 

Anyways, for point one, sure. I had to make it myself, but it's in there now, as well as ranged blast and beast. In official monsters, an area wall would likely use the area burst graphic, but I like this better. Just use w.

As for range number, that'd be rather unwieldy, as sometimes you may have something like "Area wall 3 within 6 squares"; since all this info'd be typed into the text box, adding a new range# field seems unnecessary.

The fixed version of the style is in my sig now.


----------



## DennisB

Again, you the man


----------



## Waveblade

*Adventurer's Vault FINALLY COMPLETED 14 DECEMBER*



After weeks of procrastinating and editing my work to bring it into line of what I wanted I've finally compiled the entire book. I've fixed up previous mistakes and completely redone the mounts. Also, all the new sections and some previous ones have new icons plus handy key.
Since the file is too large to host on here I have it on mediafire in it's pure form just in case the .rar doesn't work. The .rars of the PP and .PDF files are there as well- since this forum is currently very slow.
Adventurers Vault v1.0.pdf

Go here for the .rar which are with the other files.


----------



## DennisB

I have decided to use Siberys template to create the decks, it takes about 1 day to make a deck (what with a baby and a 9 year old with autism) where as it took 2 1/2 days to make it in the format i was doing. Special thanks to Siberys for creating the template and taking my suggestions on how to improve it a little here and there.

And again, it is complete up to 14 Dec 08, there will be updates as they become released.


----------



## Siberys

glad to know I'm appreciated! 

I was thinking about removing the area blast template, as I checked the book and there... isn't one. :\ Of course, I could go the other way, and make a close wall symbol, even though there aren't any of those...

EDIT: I added it. Updated files are in my sig.


----------



## DennisB

Also, if you look in the forgotten realms handbook, you dont have all the paragon paths listed.

BTW how do i put the files I download like you have it so it is not just in one message box but all of them.

And are you going to do a magic item card? The feats are good.


----------



## Siberys

That one I was aware of. You'll note I said "All of the classes, races, paragon paths, and epic destinies _I allow_." I didn't like some of the PPs (I felt they were too foe-specific) so I don't allow 'em.

Adding more is trivial, though, so here's a quick tutorial

[sblock=Adding Classes, races, etc...]
Go to c:\program files\Magic Set Editor 2\data\4e.mse-game. Open the "game" file in notepad.

You should see the following;







Scroll down 'till you see this;






After that, it's pretty self explanatory. You'd be modifying the "type" section, and it's structured like this:



		Code:
	

word list:
	name: type
	word:
		name: Class (first option)
		word:
			name: Eberron Player's Guide (first option of first option)
			word: Artificer (first option of first option of first option)
		word:
			name: Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (second option of first option)
			word: Spellscarred (first option of second option of first option)
			word: Swordmage (second option of second option of first option)
			word: Warlock (Dark) (third option of second option of first option)


etc. Just look at the structure in the text document. One thing to keep in mind is that you MUST use the correct number of tabs, or else there will be errors.[/sblock]

As far as your second question, I'm not quite sure what your asking. If you're asking how my previous posts with that linked to my .zip link to the current one, well, I just deleted the old file and replaced it with the new one, on the same "place" on the internet. Does that answer your question? 

As for Magic Items, that's what the yellow frame is for, and the newest version of the template has a Magic Item option in the dropdown. Click the same place you'd click to choose a class, and go to Other > Magic Item. It should look as follows;

[sblock=Magic Item Card]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/sblock]


----------



## DennisB

I was going to suggest Icons for each category of magic items and i have a file that has good ones, i will put it here, could you add to magic item section. as far as reprogramming, LMFAO, are you kidding, Back in the mid 80' when computers were just starting to get into schools, i crashed the entire system, so i dont go into programs no more.

update:
WOW i am actually doing it, I just dont know how to add fields.


----------



## Siberys

Adding fields is more time-intensive and complicated, and requires modifying the style document, not the game document.

For Magic Item symbols, I can just add them to the program the same way I add new range icons. In fact, since magic items don't need a range field (often having several powers with different ranges), you can just use the field you'd normally use for range to display the magic item icon.

Do you have some of the icons, sans flashy background? I could put those in the system real easy.


----------



## DennisB

the icons are in the file in my last message.


----------



## Siberys

Yeah, but they have that crazy purple frame. y'got any with just the symbol?


----------



## DennisB

sorry. no. tell you what, can you add them like that, let me download than you can remove. can that work?


----------



## Siberys

There ya go.

Do you think you could shop the symbols out? I sure could use 'em.


----------



## DennisB

what do you mean shop?


----------



## Siberys

(photo)shop, though you needn't necessarily use that program.

Doesn't matter, though; I found a place that had 'em; I just need to hack together some images of the right size.


----------



## DennisB

again, glad i could help with this project of yours. and what is the codes to bring up the magic item symbols?

Also, is there any way you can take the decks i finish and set it up so anyone can download them anytime they want?


----------



## Siberys

oh, yeah; forgot about the codes;

[sblock]
	
	




		Code:
	

symbol:
	code: -
	image: slot_arm.png
symbol:
	code: =
	image: slot_armor.png
symbol:
	code: [
	image: slot_consumable.png
symbol:
	code: ]
	image: slot_feet.png
symbol:
	code: (backslash)
	image: slot_hand.png
symbol:
	code: ;
	image: slot_head.png
symbol:
	code: '
	image: slot_holysymbol.png
symbol:
	code: ,
	image: slot_neck.png
symbol:
	code: .
	image: slot_orb.png
symbol:
	code: /
	image: slot_potion.png
symbol:
	code: _
	image: slot_ring.png
symbol:
	code: +
	image: slot_rod.png
symbol:
	code: {
	image: slot_staff.png
symbol:
	code: }
	image: slot_waist.png
symbol:
	code: |
	image: slot_wand.png
symbol:
	code: :
	image: slot_weapon.png
symbol:
	code: "
	image: slot_wonderous.png

[/sblock]

As for the decks, sure. e-mail 'em to me and I'll set it up.


----------



## DennisB

Wonderous items dont work.


----------



## Siberys

simple fix.


----------



## DennisB

Here is the cleric deck. let me know where you can download it so i can tell my friends on other sights where to download it.


----------



## Siberys

Not to be a smart alec, but...

http://www.enworld.org/forum/attach...ing-your-own-power-cards-cleric-powers-v1.zip

the link in your post? 

I can put it offsite, though. Is that the only deck you've got so far?

Anyways, I've updated the template, and the link is in my sig. It now contains magic item symbols in the symbol font. Each symbol for a magic item is bound to a number or one of the following: -=[]\

Caps for white, as always.

to see a list of these bindings in-program, put your pointer over the descriptor line. There will be a tooltip at the bottom explaining it.


----------



## DennisB

I have been doing a lot of testing today, i mean look at the cleric deck, looks good though, also, i have a 20 month old running around the house as well as a 9 year old with autism so i have my hands full, but by the time i get done i will have all the powers, magic items, rituals, feats and other stuff, Wizards is almost done. 
Now i have 1 more project for you if you feel up to it some time this week, could you make a special card for monsters, i would like to help the DM's as well with monster decks.


----------



## Siberys

You could honestly do it just fine with the cards I have now, although you'd likely have to distribute them over multiple cards.

Also, I've updated the template YET AGAIN, this time with a slate-blue card to match the PHB (for characters), a maroon to match the DMG (for templates, traps, and skill challenges), and olive to match the MM (for monsters). I also added several more symbols, just for the hell of it. Link's in the sig.

Also, here's an example monster card I put together.


----------



## DennisB

Ok the new colors are great, gives me more room to work with so i can input equipment as well. good job.

Now back to the monsters. could you do a double sided card, one side for stats and the other for descriptions. also, can you make it stand upright?
I have tried to input information on the other cards, however, some monsters have extensive information and will require both sides of the cards. and some will even require 2 cards. I know this is a lot to ask for, but we can do anything, we are good. (OOPS, I meant you are good) lol


----------



## Siberys

For a double-sided card, just make two cards and slide them both into a transparent sleeve - no need for a special template. And yes, multiple double-sided cards would be needed for some monsters, I'm sure. Portrait-oriented cards, though, would take more work - a LOT more work - and it seems to me that they wouldn't be able to fit as much information...


----------



## DennisB

I was thinking box information in portrait and description in landscape. sorry, i am not thinking much today and i probably am not going to finish the wizards cards today, am very sick.

Also, here is another suggestion, instead of making the attack and utility separate from level, try making it as one as it is universal and have it in the 2nd box and have the racial and feature and other stuff in the 3rd box. or have the feature and racial with the 2nd box as well in that list and everything else in the 3rd box.


----------



## DennisB

Could you put the decks where i can copy and paste direct links in another blog sight for those guys to download at will as well as the template so they can read it?


----------



## DennisB

This is where i decided to put all the power cards, tell me what you think.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/246979-power-cards-downloads.html


----------



## DennisB

Siberys

I keep getting 2 warning errors

Warnings while reading file:

on line 592: key:' strength and resolve to fight on.</i-flavor>' starts with a space; only use TABs for indentation

on line 592: Unexpected key: 'strength and resolve to fight on. </i-flavor>'

on line 651: key:' only when one of you is victorious.</i-flavor>' starts with a space; only use TABs for indentation

on line 651: Unexpected key: 'only when one of you is victorious. </i-flavor>'

And there is another one but i forgot what it is and when i see it again i will let you know. but it keeps shutting down the program and wont let me save. yesterday i was almost done with the paladin powers when it deleated it all so now i am saving every 20 min.


----------



## DennisB

Here is the other error:

Not enough separators for combine_editor, expected 3
    In function combine_editor
    In function forward_editor
    While updating value 'sort type'

And
Stock overflow
This one crashed the MSE and wont let me save

I hope you know what these means, it is slightly annoying. But with as good as you are i know you can fix it.


----------



## Duniagdra

I may not be here often, but each time I return there is some awesome work being done. Good job to all who contribute to the cause.

eloquentaction, I'm patiently tracking your progress and am looking forward to any help I may be able to offer with this D&DI project. I was not aware though that D&DI is still limited to 3rd lvl. Guess I will not be subscribing anytime soon. lol

It's also good to see such positive reactions in the proposed "standardization" of the MSE Power Card sets. I think this will make for great future progress by essentially having this, as someone in this thread put it, "open source".

Also,


DrunkenEwok said:


> I've got the basics up and running for the development project(s):
> 
> Blog entry - toosigma » Blog Archive » D&D Software Project
> Forum - toosigma.com • View forum - RPG Development
> Wiki - Development Homepage - Toosigma
> 
> (they all say pretty much the same thing for now)
> 
> Any and all people who are interested in contributing (in whatever form) are welcome to join in.



Are these being used? I see posts by DrunkenEwok and elequentaction in the toosigma.com forum and am curious as to where all the current progress will be to stay up to date.

Jim.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

Duniagdra said:


> Also,
> Are these being used? I see posts by DrunkenEwok and elequentaction in the toosigma.com forum and am curious as to where all the current progress will be to stay up to date.
> 
> Jim.



So far it's pretty quiet - which I'm hoping is primarily attributable to the holiday season.  I know eloquentaction and thindariel have been communicating on the standardization project, so hopefully it will continue forward.  I've also gotten requests from Dennis B to join the project(s).  Anyone else is more than welcome to sign up (I've opened registration on everything, and it should stay that way until I get swamped with spam) even if all you want to do is make suggestions, it'll help keep the project on track.

For my own part, I plan to keep plugging away at it, regardless of any other participation, it'll just take a lot longer to get done.  It'll also kinda defeat the purpose of a standardized format if I'm the only one using it...  but I spose we'll see how things go.


----------



## DennisB

Actually, I am pretty far along on my decks of cards and don't want to quit now, take a look at what i mean. And with as many people who is downloading in 4 days then i think these are going to be another standardized version as well.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/246979-power-cards-downloads.html


----------



## Duniagdra

DrunkenEwok said:


> Duniagdra said:
> 
> 
> 
> Also,
> Are these being used? I see posts by DrunkenEwok and elequentaction in the toosigma.com forum and am curious as to where all the current progress will be to stay up to date.
> 
> Jim.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So far it's pretty quiet - which I'm hoping is primarily attributable to the holiday season.  I know eloquentaction and thindariel have been communicating on the standardization project, so hopefully it will continue forward.  I've also gotten requests from Dennis B to join the project(s).  Anyone else is more than welcome to sign up (I've opened registration on everything, and it should stay that way until I get swamped with spam) even if all you want to do is make suggestions, it'll help keep the project on track.
> 
> For my own part, I plan to keep plugging away at it, regardless of any other participation, it'll just take a lot longer to get done.  It'll also kinda defeat the purpose of a standardized format if I'm the only one using it...  but I spose we'll see how things go.
Click to expand...


Right now, I'm seeing no reason for this to rush, but I do expect you're right that the holiday obligations are slowing this down. But from the reactions I've read thus far I'd say it's most unlikely that you'll be the only one using it or participating in its progress.


DennisB said:


> Actually, I am pretty far along on my decks of cards and don't want to quit now, take a look at what i mean. And with as many people who is downloading in 4 days then i think these are going to be another standardized version as well.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/246979-power-cards-downloads.html



Those are some respectable numbers for 4 days by your post.


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> I may not be here often, but each time I return there is some awesome work being done. Good job to all who contribute to the cause.
> 
> eloquentaction, I'm patiently tracking your progress and am looking forward to any help I may be able to offer with this D&DI project. I was not aware though that D&DI is still limited to 3rd lvl. Guess I will not be subscribing anytime soon. lol




You should.  DnDI includes monster creators, encounter editors, the character builder (which is supposed to include ALL levels come late January), as well as all of the Dragon articles.  I can think of a lot worse things to do with $5.99 a month.



Duniagdra said:


> It's also good to see such positive reactions in the proposed "standardization" of the MSE Power Card sets. I think this will make for great future progress by essentially having this, as someone in this thread put it, "open source".
> 
> Also,
> Are these being used? I see posts by DrunkenEwok and elequentaction in the toosigma.com forum and am curious as to where all the current progress will be to stay up to date.
> 
> Jim.




I'm still plugging away at the UCS Project (Universal Card Set).  I've included all of my 5th edition images as part of the new UCS.  Basically, that includes 25 different background images (3 leather, 3 parchment, 5 metal, 2 stone, 3 wood and 10 user defined that can be changed), a 'standardized' set of icons that includes the new beast images and damage type images, 40 'standardized' background images that can optionally show up behind the rules and flavor text.

I'm also including my version 5 template as a starting point for everyone using the UCS.  I'm going to have people using DrunkenEwoks web site beta test it to see if there are any suggestions before we release it to the general public.

I'm also rewriting my C# flat file parser and adding a lot of 'nice' things like the ability to mark sections of the rule text as a table (yes, I figured out how to make MSE used a fixed font for a table without using the stupid <code> tags that are abysmal to use).  It's getting tweaked to also output the MSE-SET files as one huge file as well as individual files based on the class_race and card type field.  I'm only going to release my 4.3 MSE-SET info to begin with (the version 5 info had a lot of stuff that I'm going to have to go back and clean up with the UCS version, so it's going to be delayed).  That means UCS version 1 will have everything in the AV, everything in the MM, everything in the PHB, all of the FRPHB stuff and a few other add-ins like barbarian, artificer, etc. but not some of the latest things I've added and none of the MP stuff.



DrunkenEwok said:


> So far it's pretty quiet - which I'm hoping is primarily attributable to the holiday season.  I know eloquentaction and thindariel have been communicating on the standardization project, so hopefully it will continue forward.  I've also gotten requests from Dennis B to join the project(s).  Anyone else is more than welcome to sign up (I've opened registration on everything, and it should stay that way until I get swamped with spam) even if all you want to do is make suggestions, it'll help keep the project on track.
> 
> For my own part, I plan to keep plugging away at it, regardless of any other participation, it'll just take a lot longer to get done.  It'll also kinda defeat the purpose of a standardized format if I'm the only one using it...  but I spose we'll see how things go.




DrunkenEwok is a site hosting god.  I appreciate him hosting things.  I've been checking his site periodically but haven't seen much activity there, so I've been working mostly on getting things done.



DennisB said:


> Actually, I am pretty far along on my decks of cards and don't want to quit now, take a look at what i mean. And with as many people who is downloading in 4 days then i think these are going to be another standardized version as well.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/246979-power-cards-downloads.html




DennisB -

Your cards look good!  

But I think you're misunderstanding what we mean by 'standard.'  You've written your own GAME file, which means it's not standard.  The UCS is a move to use common resources and the SAME GAME file.  That's important because it means anyone that uses cards written for the UCS can interchange them with anyone who has written UCS templates.  If they like your initiative cards better (for example), they can use them and still use Thindariels cards (or my poor attempt).  The point being is; they don't have to cross their fingers or do some sort of hack to make their cards work if they want to change templates.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Bayuer

*DennisB*
I hope you didn't ened with creating power cards from your older project (wizard powers). The images are great and I like them very much even if I can't edit the cards. So what. Siberys power cards are nice but your version was much cooler!


----------



## DennisB

It was cooler but i was running into a lot of problems in making them, as well as it took  about 3 1/2 min to make where as it now takes about 30 sec to make, do the math, lol. now, if you can fix the MSE program of that style i will make those cards as well, i can't figure it out.

And as far as eloquentaction post, all the decks that i am making is going to be the same template so that means no more downloading after that. the only problem I am having ts the monster cards, anyone got any ideas?
Some of the monsters have extensive information that wont fit in the cards or even 2 cards on both sides.

Right now i am working on the heroic teir feats, it will be done tonight, tomorrow i am going to get the warlock, and 3 days later (because there is so many of them) i am going to post the ranger powers.


----------



## DennisB

The Feats - Heroic Tear deck is completed everyone, feats from the players Handbook, Forgotten Realms, and the Martial Powers Handbook.

Others will be forthcoming.


----------



## Thindaraiel

eloquentaction said:


> DennisB -
> 
> But I think you're misunderstanding what we mean by 'standard.' You've written your own GAME file, which means it's not standard.






DennisB said:


> And as far as eloquentaction post, all the decks that i am making is going to be the same template so that means no more downloading after that. the only problem I am having ts the monster cards, anyone got any ideas?




I browsed through Sybaris' game file, this is the same used by Ander with some minor modifications. So when USC project will be done, I will be able to write a conversion procedure which will transform the sets written by DennisB into the new game file. All the job done won't be lost !

DennisB, I think you underestimate the task of maintaining the sets. WotC will continue adding some powers and monsters and other additions, so there will never be an end to the sets modification. 
More over, the USC is usefull to let people choose their prefered style without having to re-write a full mse set. The sets you are writing would be useable with any compatible style. Actually, many authors have written their own set to correspond their own style. With the USC, there will be one set, and many styles.


----------



## DennisB

I have been playing Dungeons & Dragons sines the AD&D 1st edition, trust me when i say i know about non stop adding information, but i figure when i get caught up that it would only take 24 hours a month to update. (I HOPE)


----------



## C_M2008

Thanks for the progress update guys, I am sure there are many folks here hanging on your every word. 

If there is anything us less computer literate folks can do to help let us know.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

DennisB said:


> I have been playing Dungeons & Dragons sines the AD&D 1st edition, trust me when i say i know about non stop adding information, but i figure when i get caught up that it would only take 24 hours a month to update. (I HOPE)



I don't doubt you understand all the implications of adding cards to your set, and I definitely admire your willingness to devote your time to updating your card set(s).

Right now, every designer who makes a card set has to put in those 24 hours a month (or more) to keep their card sets up to date.  They also have to put in time/energy keeping their templates working, and potentially making improvements to those templates.  By my admittedly hazy memory, there are at least six different designers working on card sets - which means six different designers all spending as much time as you are to get caught up to the current releases, as well as six designers who all have to put in time to keep their sets up to date.

The idea behind the UCS is to make it so all that duplicated data-entry effort is eliminated.  Instead of 6+ designers each updating their separate game files, ALL of the designers can use the communal game file as soon as it's updated once.  The advantages are many:

Each new power will only be transcribed once when any new sourcebook is released.
Every participating designer will have access to the most recent game file available, without having to expend any real effort at all - allowing them to devote more time to making new templates or improving existings ones
End users will be able to use whichever style they prefer, without having to pick a different set just because it has more cards available.
By having multiple templates available for the UCS, it will encourage more people to contribute to the UCS project, which in theory will keep it more up-to-date than any individual could hope to match
With more people contributing, the UCS should be much less vulnerable to obsolecence.  While you may be more than willing to devote 24 hours/month to keep your card sets up to date, what happens 6 months or a year from now, when your enthusiasm wanes or real life starts to intrude?  By having more contributors to the communal project, someone else can step in and pick up the slack or carry on from where you leave off.
 Distilled to its essence, the UCS is about making a team effort, pooling all our resources to make a better product for everyone involved (data-entry, designers, end users).  It may also have the side effect of making it easier to incorporate new features - like the DDI character card generation project.

I don't mean to diminish your efforts - far from it, I think you've done an excellent job - but I (we?) are really hoping to harness your enthusiasm to help contribute to a goal I think will be an even greater benefit to the entire 4E gaming community.


----------



## eloquentaction

DrunkenEwok said:


> I don't doubt you understand all the implications of adding cards to your set, and I definitely admire your willingness to devote your time to updating your card set(s).
> 
> Right now, every designer who makes a card set has to put in those 24 hours a month (or more) to keep their card sets up to date.  They also have to put in time/energy keeping their templates working, and potentially making improvements to those templates.  By my admittedly hazy memory, there are at least six different designers working on card sets - which means six different designers all spending as much time as you are to get caught up to the current releases, as well as six designers who all have to put in time to keep their sets up to date.
> 
> The idea behind the UCS is to make it so all that duplicated data-entry effort is eliminated.  Instead of 6+ designers each updating their separate game files, ALL of the designers can use the communal game file as soon as it's updated once.  The advantages are many:
> 
> Each new power will only be transcribed once when any new sourcebook is released.
> Every participating designer will have access to the most recent game file available, without having to expend any real effort at all - allowing them to devote more time to making new templates or improving existings ones
> End users will be able to use whichever style they prefer, without having to pick a different set just because it has more cards available.
> By having multiple templates available for the UCS, it will encourage more people to contribute to the UCS project, which in theory will keep it more up-to-date than any individual could hope to match
> With more people contributing, the UCS should be much less vulnerable to obsolecence.  While you may be more than willing to devote 24 hours/month to keep your card sets up to date, what happens 6 months or a year from now, when your enthusiasm wanes or real life starts to intrude?  By having more contributors to the communal project, someone else can step in and pick up the slack or carry on from where you leave off.
> Distilled to its essence, the UCS is about making a team effort, pooling all our resources to make a better product for everyone involved (data-entry, designers, end users).  It may also have the side effect of making it easier to incorporate new features - like the DDI character card generation project.
> 
> I don't mean to diminish your efforts - far from it, I think you've done an excellent job - but I (we?) are really hoping to harness your enthusiasm to help contribute to a goal I think will be an even greater benefit to the entire 4E gaming community.




Well said.  That's exactly what the UCS is all about.  We're also trying to expand the basic idea behind it to make it more versatile.

That way, you don't have to create a set that does everything.  Attempting to do so is exhausting (trust me on this).

End Users and Designers are constantly coming up with new ways to modify and add to their sets.  Initiative cards are new.  So are character cards.

Taking the information put out by the DnDI monster creator and throwing it onto a nice card for the DM is an idea I've thought about.

There are many others, including making new projects entirely.

I currently don't have time to do that BECAUSE I keep having to spend those 24 hours a month (which is expensive when you factor in time that could be spent having family time, reading the latest book, playing the latest game, playing DnD, getting ready for the next DnD session, sex, eating....  and well, the thousand other things I could be doing.)  Quite simply put - I don't want to be forced to spend 24 hours a month updating when I don't have to.

I think the greatest reason, however, is that there is currently a perceived 'rivalry' between the card designers... at least among the end users.  So some are 'sticking' to their favorite card designers even when that designer is burnt out of having to update on a constant basis.  This should not be the environment to foster in a Public domain setting.  There should be constant updates of people adding to the 'SET' and then other designers (new and old) releasing new looks and tweaks to the possible ways to show that SET data.  There should be an open camaraderie between all the people working on the cards.  Not an environment of competition.  

The last thing a new designer should worry about is that no one is going to give up their current set to look at his, because his doesn't support all of the cards.  Nor should an older designer feel ripped off because someone took his card set data and made a new look to it (without giving him credit).  Since the card set is Universal, no one 'owns' it.  Since the different templates are public, who cares if they get tweaked.

'Nuff said.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

I do totally understand what you are doing, however, The reason i am doing it like this is because some people, like myself, have a laptop and has all the books and information on the laptop so i bring it to the games. You're project is great, however, as far as I can tell, you have to be online in order to  use it. With my setup, you don't need to be online and if you need a card in a pinch, just click and print (It does help if you have a compact cheep printer)
You don't need to be online with this. But don't get me wrong, i do agree in what you all are doing and like i said, if you need help with the information input just ask me and i would love to help, til then, I will keep working on the offline project as well.


----------



## Duniagdra

DennisB said:


> I do totally understand what you are doing, however, The reason i am doing it like this is because some people, like myself, have a laptop and has all the books and information on the laptop so i bring it to the games. You're project is great, however, as far as I can tell, you have to be online in order to  use it. With my setup, you don't need to be online and if you need a card in a pinch, just click and print (It does help if you have a compact cheep printer)
> You don't need to be online with this. But don't get me wrong, i do agree in what you all are doing and like i said, if you need help with the information input just ask me and i would love to help, til then, I will keep working on the offline project as well.



I'm a little lost here. Unless I missed something in a post, no one needs to be online to use the UCS. Just as someone would have your set on their computer, so would anyone using the UCS. I also use my laptop at some games (some GMs don't permit it, personal preference), so I'm fully anticipating this release. If you're referring to the DDI project, that's only going to be during the intial character creation, per my interpretation (possibly needing it for character leveling?). However, this is not a mandatory requirement. Your cards are nice and by all means, if you feel a stand-alone approach is right for you, feel free. This is purely a voluntary project that other designers are being invited to join. Some will, some wont. 

I may not be a designer myself, but I feel that this is a great approach for the exact reasons DrunkenEwok and elequentaction pointed out. once complete, not every design need to feel pressured into keeping the set up to date. Contributors could actually alternate updating the UCS. It's efficient and logical, as Spock might say. Also, no one designer can predict the future and crap happens. This way, any one designer can feel comfortable knowing that when life throws a wrench at you, someone out there will continue the work until you're able to get back.


----------



## DennisB

I agree, but I am a stay at home father and i have more than enough time on my hand, in fact, i just got the manual of the planes and there is even more paragon paths in there as well as plenty of magic items. so this is going to be longer now until i get caught up, unless some wants to help me with this project.


----------



## Daniel D. Fox

Has Grandpa updated his cards yet with the Martial Powers book? Tried searching here without luck!


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## DennisB

For what it is worth Moniker, i have the fighter powers with all powers from all sources. And right now i am working on the rangers powers as well.
just click on the link below and pick and choose.


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## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> I'm a little lost here. Unless I missed something in a post, no one needs to be online to use the UCS. Just as someone would have your set on their computer, so would anyone using the UCS. I also use my laptop at some games (some GMs don't permit it, personal preference), so I'm fully anticipating this release. If you're referring to the DDI project, that's only going to be during the intial character creation, per my interpretation (possibly needing it for character leveling?). However, this is not a mandatory requirement. Your cards are nice and by all means, if you feel a stand-alone approach is right for you, feel free. This is purely a voluntary project that other designers are being invited to join. Some will, some wont.
> 
> I may not be a designer myself, but I feel that this is a great approach for the exact reasons DrunkenEwok and elequentaction pointed out. once complete, not every design need to feel pressured into keeping the set up to date. Contributors could actually alternate updating the UCS. It's efficient and logical, as Spock might say. Also, no one designer can predict the future and crap happens. This way, any one designer can feel comfortable knowing that when life throws a wrench at you, someone out there will continue the work until you're able to get back.




The UCS just uses MSE.  No online required.  I can understand DennisB's viewpoint, but I think he's being a bit too optimistic;  life throws strange curves at you, including stay-at-home dads.  Tomorrow you may find you have no spare time for the next 3 months and everyone that's come to rely on your cards will be yelling at you for the next 273 new classes, books, and dragon articles.  That's what the UCS is all about - once you have your template out there, someone ELSE can update the UCS and your template is still up to date.  It's the best of both worlds.

The DnDI project WILL require access to the DnDI Character Generator, but so far that doesn't require online access except to download it.  That might change with the full release (I honestly don't know on this one).

It will require you make any changes using the DnDI character generator, then 'save' the changes - the DnDI Project will then spit out the character sheet PDF and any cards relevant to your saved character.  Yeah, it's a 2 step process that's kind of a pain in the rear, but it allows the best of both worlds.  And since we don't have access to the Character Builder code - it's the best we can do at the moment.


----------



## DennisB

You are right about one thing eloquentaction, with my health failing, i might not be able to keep up after i get caught up. but i am willing to try. lol


----------



## DennisB

The Rangers Powers is now complete, it includes powers from all sources including the Manual of the Planes as will all decks in the near future.


----------



## Siberys

Okay - I did a major clean-up of the code. There was a lot in there that I just didn't need, and some of it caused errors. Those _should_ all be fixed now, but if others come up I can fix 'em.

New download is in my sig, as before.

EDIT: If you open a previously-made set with the new files, it'll display an error message - but this can be ignored. The file is looking for an image 'location' that just isn't there any more, and was never used in the first place. Just re-save the file after opening it and all will be well.

As a side effect of that, you may want to do the above and then re-upload your decks, DennisB.


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## DennisB

Are you talking about re-doing the decks? HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Thanks for all the help, have you checked the link on the bottom of my message? I have been busy.


----------



## Siberys

Nononono.... Just re-open, ignore the error, re-save, and re-upload to the net. That way, when others open the file, they won't see the error.


----------



## DennisB

When I Post the warlock powers tomorrow i plan on doing just that, and by the way, you're template has been downloaded about 50 times, our hard work is paying off. and good job on the template.


----------



## eloquentaction

Version 1 of the UCS is going Beta.  We'll have a few people check it on TooSigma before releasing it.

Within the next few days we'll be releasing the first template for the UCS, and then we'll start releasing the flat-file converter as well as the first set of actual set data.

We're completely redefining the way the cards work.  Before, almost everything was defined as either a Power (At-will, Encounter or Daily) with almost everything else as an INFO type card.  Now, there are 'Class Info' type cards which will have all of the Class, Paragon Class and Epic definitions.  Plus, Magic Items are going to be split into a card per magic item level so you can hunt down the specific card for your +3 Pelor's Holy Symbol of the Sun and see it's exact cost and stats instead of having to work off of a generic magic item card.  Further - Skills that have in-combat definitions will be redefined as if they were a power.  That way Bluff will show up as an Encounter type card with a red card back.

This will result in more cards, but we think the utility of each of the cards will go up.

Obviously, however, it will require us to go through the card set and re-adjust some things.  We'll be releasing the UCS card set in stages with a tally of what changes and cards are going into each release.

-- The UCS team


----------



## infocynic

Hm, I liked the generic magic item cards because they didn't have to be reprinted if you upgrade the item. Oh well, can't be that hard to make new cards that do just that.


----------



## eloquentaction

infocynic said:


> Hm, I liked the generic magic item cards because they didn't have to be reprinted if you upgrade the item. Oh well, can't be that hard to make new cards that do just that.




Maybe we'll just update the combined cards we have to make it more apparent which level item has which plus and which cost.  Right now they are kinda confusing.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Netminder69

Mercutio01 said:


> After about a week of wrangling and design, Black Plauge and I have come up with what we feel is a serviceable design for using MSE to make character cards.  You can check out the evolution in this thread at DragonAvenue.  A lot of the numbers and such are automated (surges, HP calculation, ability modifiers), and I think it looks pretty darn good.




I like this idea...but it doesn't work.  I load this card into MSE and first I get a bunch of error boxes, then the cards themselves don't work.  HP doesn't calc correctly, Ability modifiers show 1/2 points, etc.  Is it because I'm using the latest version of MSE?  (0.3.7 beta)


----------



## RangerRob

eloquentaction said:


> Version 1 of the UCS is going Beta.  We'll have a few people check it on TooSigma before releasing it.
> 
> -- The UCS team




I just wanted to drop in a note to say that this is a fabulous idea to create a central and standard format for the card data. I cringed every time I saw yet another person having to re-enter all the power/item/etc data that was already done in a previous set by someone else.

It should make maintaining a complete set of cards possible. Thank you for the amazing efforts!

Rob


----------



## Black Plauge

Netminder69 said:


> I like this idea...but it doesn't work.  I load this card into MSE and first I get a bunch of error boxes, then the cards themselves don't work.  HP doesn't calc correctly, Ability modifiers show 1/2 points, etc.  Is it because I'm using the latest version of MSE?  (0.3.7 beta)



The change to 0.3.7 required significant updates to the code.  Download the most recent version here for compatibility with 0.3.7.


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## eloquentaction

Sample card image from the UCS version 1.

Hope you guys enjoy.  This is just from *ONE* designer in a beta project.  

So far we've got at least two card styles in works with a lot more in the future if more card designers will step forward.

NOTE:  Yes, the icons are a bit off, the styling isn't perfect.  It's a BETA, people!  ;-)


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## RangerRob

eloquentaction said:


> Sample card image from the UCS version 1.




Looking good, I am excited to see this release!


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## DennisB

Siberys:
I found a great monster card template. It calculates the stats for you as well. So i am going to do the monsters as well while i am doing everything so I wont fall behind too far.


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## misalo1

DennisB said:


> Siberys:
> I found a great monster card template. It calculates the stats.....




Share... Please !!!


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## DennisB

I will post the template this weekend then. I will be jotting down all the monsters from all the sources anyways after the magic items are posted on my link below.

P.S. I have just completed the warlord's powers and included in them is the powers from the manual of the planes.


----------



## DennisB

misalo1:
Tell you what, would you help me get the monster deck together and i will mail you the template now. It would take me a month to get all the monsters on individual cards.


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## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> Sample card image from the UCS version 1.




Promising stuff! I look forward to see more!

Teos


----------



## DennisB

misalo1: This is what the template looks like, I don't know who made it, but it is great, the only little problem I have is it don't calculate the saves correctly But that's OK, I just manually input the information. 

Here is what you do, Input the information on the card that it ask for, then in the card information section below the card i put the entire text of the monsters in there. the cards are for quick references.

So it would look something like this.







MotP 114

Initiative +18 
Senses Perception +12
HP 122; Bloodied 61
AC 30; Fortitude 28, Refl ex 29, Will 27
Immune disease, poison; Resist 15 lightning
Speed fly 8 (hover)

Spiked Chain (standard; at-will) ✦ Lightning, Weapon
Reach 2; +22 vs. AC; 2d4 + 5 damage plus 2d6 lightning damage, and the target is pulled 1 square.

Cyclone Fling (standard; recharge 4, 5, 6)
Close burst 1; +19 vs. Fortitude; 2d8 + 8 damage, and the target is pushed 3 squares and knocked prone.

Whirlwind Escape (move; at-will) ✦ Teleportation 
Adjacent creatures are pushed 1 square, and the archon zephyrhaunt teleports 8 squares.

Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Primordial
Skills Stealth +19
Str 16 (+11) Dex 23 (+14) Wis 18 (+12)
Con 20 (+13) Int 15 (+10) Cha 14 (+10)

Equipment plate armor, spiked chain

Air Archon Zephyrhaunt Tactics
A zephyrhaunt surges forth and targets as many enemies as possible with cyclone fling. While waiting for this power to recharge, it attacks with its spiked chain, unleashing a barrage of attacks before using whirlwind escape to briefly retreat.

Air Archon Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Arcana check.

DC 20: Zephyrhaunts are elemental assassins, and tempestblades serve as the vanguard in battles.

DC 25: Zephyrhaunts transform into raging cyclones that fling enemies away. Screaming winds protect tempestblades by turning aside weapons and projectiles.

Encounter Groups
Air archons fight alongside other elemental creatures, even those of different elements.

Level 20 Encounter (XP 12,000)
2 air archon zephyrhaunts (level 16 lurker)
2 air archon tempestblades (level 18 skirmisher)
1 ice archon frostshaper (level 20 controller)
2 red slaads (level 15 soldier)


----------



## firesnakearies

I think that in order to be particularly useful, the monster cards need to explain what the powers do, right on the card.  You could use both sides, and abbreviate a lot of things.  

But having to consult the book to know what the creatures' abilities do sort of defeats the purpose of having all of that other information on a card in the first place.

That's just me, though.



*$*


----------



## DennisB

I agree, however, I have tried many different ways to do just that and it failed on so many levels, So I decided to do this. Either it took 2 and some times 3 cards for one monster or the text was so small no one could read it.


----------



## firesnakearies

A thought occurs to me...

Strictly speaking, do the monster cards really *have to* be the same size as the power/item cards?  Could they be bigger, like large index cards or something along those lines?


----------



## misalo1

DennisB said:


> Here is what you do, Input the information on the card that it ask for, then in the card information section below the card i put the entire text of the monsters in there. the cards are for quick references.
> 
> So it would look something like this.




Thanks for the preview... but that's not what I was looking for. 
Sorry...


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> misalo1: This is what the template looks like, I don't know who made it, but it is great, the only little problem I have is it don't calculate the saves correctly But that's OK, I just manually input the information.
> 
> Here is what you do, Input the information on the card that it ask for, then in the card information section below the card i put the entire text of the monsters in there. the cards are for quick references.
> 
> So it would look something like this.




Dennis -

Unless I'm very much mistaken, that's Mercutio's and Black Plauge's card format.

To my knowledge, they are the only ones that have made the monster card format work on a standard 2.5" x 3.5" format.

They even talked about not being able to put the powers on the card and were talking about having secondary cards to hold the powers.

You should probably talk to them to get more info.


-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

firesnakearies said:


> A thought occurs to me...
> 
> Strictly speaking, do the monster cards really *have to* be the same size as the power/item cards?  Could they be bigger, like large index cards or something along those lines?




This is close to what I was thinking.

Right now, a Letter sized sheet of paper holds 3 cards across and 3 deep of 2.5"x3.5" cards.

So, if you knocked the card size up to 3"x5" cards, you'd get 2x2 on a letter sized sheet with .5" gaps.

You should be able to fit most monsters onto a 3"x5" card, with only the very high level monsters requiring possibly 2 cards for everything to fit.

I also thought 3"x5" character sheets would be pretty cool, because I can fit MOST of the character info on only 2 3"x5" cards with power cards for all of the powers.

But, those are all projects for after we have the UCS out the door!

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Like I said, i do not know who made it, I just thought it was a great setup.
I agree about the the powers not fitting, but like i said, The cards notes in MSE under the card is a good spot to put the descriptions of whatever you want.
I could of opted to just put the powers descriptions in it, but I decided to put the entire monster descriptions in that section.

Now if anyone has a better monster card, please let me know.


----------



## Black Plauge

That is Merc and my work (though without the correct fonts installed).  It's meant to be used alongside power cards.  The assumption is that the monster/character's powers will be on their own power cards.  The size was chosen so that the character card would fit in the same storage container as a power card.

Also, the calculation of the defenses is setup to calculate the base for a character.  It doesn't calculate monster defenses or take into account character items (the first because I didn't think of it, the second because it can't).  That's why they're editable.


----------



## DennisB

Either way, I do like the set up, Sines you made it, I would like to use it if it is ok with you.

Can i make one suggestion, The suggestion is could you make the type and level section in the header shrink the longer the title is like you did in the skill and feats section. The words disappear off the edge when it gets too long.
Also, could you insert a section for the XP like in the bottom right of the card.


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> Dennis -
> 
> Unless I'm very much mistaken, that's Mercutio's and Black Plauge's card format.




Yep, it is theirs. The cards have their own thread on the Dragon Avenue set. They work really well, though the auto-fill can result in differences from the Monster Manual (probably because the MM is in error). I have used them and find them pretty useful, though not indispensable. The MM format itself is pretty easy to use and most LFR mods come with all monsters on a single page, making it ok to just use an initiative card and refer to the page. The real benefit is in using the attack powers off of the initiative card, and in the retyping you can easily organize what you want to make bold, italics, etc. so the card is more useful than the MM block.

DennisB, what changes have you introduced, if any?

Thanks,

Teos


----------



## DennisB

I have not made no changes, I dont know about this program enough to make changes. For the most part i like it the way it is with the exceptions i noted before, And i dont know how to do it. (Wish I did)


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> I have not made no changes, I dont know about this program enough to make changes. For the most part i like it the way it is with the exceptions i noted before, And i dont know how to do it. (Wish I did)




I'm confused....  so you HAVE made changes....?

"...Not...No..."??


----------



## DennisB

I have used this program as is (As I got it) so I have not changed anything.


----------



## erf_beto

Hey, what do you think of these?

EDIT:
sorry, I hit "post" before attaching the .jpg 

I edited what I believe to be knight_otu's template, wich borrowed from the DDM RPG stat cards. I've been working on it reaaaal slow, but it works for both monsters and PCs (I have a BIG style, wich prints 4 "cards" per page).


----------



## eloquentaction

erf_beto said:


> Hey, what do you think of these?
> 
> EDIT:
> sorry, I hit "post" before attaching the .jpg
> 
> I edited what I believe to be knight_otu's template, wich borrowed from the DDM RPG stat cards. I've been working on it reaaaal slow, but it works for both monsters and PCs (I have a BIG style, wich prints 4 "cards" per page).




Those look good.


----------



## DennisB

Does it fit long description stat boxes (Does it shrink the more lines you put in it?) If so, could i have a copy.


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> Does it fit long description stat boxes (Does it shrink the more lines you put in it?) If so, could i have a copy.




I have code for that.


----------



## DennisB

Could you insert that and send me the template so I may start making the monster Deck or decks.


----------



## turk128

eloquentaction said:


> Sample card image from the UCS version 1.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy.  This is just from *ONE* designer in a beta project.
> 
> So far we've got at least two card styles in works with a lot more in the future if more card designers will step forward.
> 
> NOTE:  Yes, the icons are a bit off, the styling isn't perfect.  It's a BETA, people!  ;-)



Any chance the UCS will enable horizontal oriented cards (like Ander's for instance)?


----------



## eloquentaction

turk128 said:


> Any chance the UCS will enable horizontal oriented cards (like Ander's for instance)?




Thindariel says he's converting his two formats.  One of them is horizontal.

Mine are typically portrait (I personally like that format better), but I will most likely be converting all of my 4.3 templates over.  One of these is a horizontal card.

And the way UCS works - it works with any template whatsoever (as long as they standardize on the same GAME file).

-- Hirahito


----------



## erf_beto

DennisB said:


> Does it fit long description stat boxes (Does it shrink the more lines you put in it?) If so, could i have a copy.



Yes it does: the one line fields can shrink and the combat text field scales down to a 6 size font. I dit fit a Goblin Hexer on a previous iteration of it  (hard to read, but not impossible)

I'm not in my PC right now, and the template (though functional) needs a little lapidation, but I'm thinking of releasing it as a way of asking for help: I've been working on it on-and-off since what, August? Then I stopped using MSE (on account of some personal problems) and now that I'm back(ish), I'm finding it hard to remember all the coding and styling options I had been aiming for... maybe someone who likes the template can help me improve it. 

I also have another template, for powercards (anything-cards, really), that might benefit from the UCS.


----------



## DennisB

erf_beto: 
Does that monster card come in MSE. If so, I will help you with it. I just need the Template to help you with.


----------



## Bayuer

@erf_beto
This templates are great! I like them very much. Could you post MSE templates?


----------



## erf_beto

Ok, done! 

For now, it's only the statcards template. I've removed a lot of the stuff I meant to add to the style/game files but never finished. It's supposed to work. 

There are two styles, one is standard card size (9 per page), the other is BIG (4 cards per A4 page - just remember to set your printer to landscape!), wich I plan on using for important NPCs, as well as PCs with powercards - just the at-will powers or race/class features go in the big card, everything else goes on power card. I think I'll probably do a spiffy back side with character bios and portrait later... 

Both styles have a lot of card color choices (some taken from the "official" WotC colors - I just added Martial Purple to the list -, while others I played around with). I even included a plain black and white, printer friendly, version (my favorite). 

Linky:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/c2twmdd3jhd/betoMSE.rar

Hope you enjoy it.


----------



## DennisB

Nice template.


----------



## turk128

erf_beto said:


> Ok, done!
> 
> Linky:
> http://www.mediafire.com/file/c2twmdd3jhd/betoMSE.rar
> 
> Hope you enjoy it.



These are great!


----------



## pdzoch

*Card Backs for Power Cards*

I decided to create some additional card backs for all the power cards sets that are out there. I chose to select unique card backs for the different types of power frequencies so that once played/used, it can be turned over once complete to prevent a player from losing track of which power was used, and recovering only powers that have been renewed (picking up encounter powers after the encounter ends yet leaving the daily powers used face down until recharged). I adapted from the versions that Nytmare posted early in this thread.


----------



## DennisB

I like the backs, now, if I can just figure out how to put it in the MSE decks, it would be perfect.


----------



## Bayuer

@pdzoch This are great. If you just do a couple horizontal... That will be superb;D Can you do it?


----------



## DennisB

That is a good idea, All my cards are the same way


----------



## eloquentaction

pdzoch said:


> I decided to create some additional card backs for all the power cards sets that are out there. I chose to select unique card backs for the different types of power frequencies so that once played/used, it can be turned over once complete to prevent a player from losing track of which power was used, and recovering only powers that have been renewed (picking up encounter powers after the encounter ends yet leaving the daily powers used face down until recharged). I adapted from the versions that Nytmare posted early in this thread.




pdzoch -

Can I have your permission to take this idea and place it into the UCS?

We need card backs and I like the design of these.

-- Hirahito


----------



## pdzoch

*Into MSE*



DennisB said:


> I like the backs, now, if I can just figure out how to put it in the MSE decks, it would be perfect.





I would like to do that also; however, I have no idea how to import or design templates in MSE.  I've been looking for a tutorial on it, but I haven't found one.  If anyone knows how to import into MSE, it would be great knowledge for everyone, I am sure.

Meanwhile, I just print these using acrobat on the backs of MSE printed pages.


----------



## pdzoch

*Horizontal Backs*



Bayuer said:


> @pdzoch This are great. If you just do a couple horizontal... That will be superb;D Can you do it?




How about this?  Two versions.  I may have to change the images to find ones that best suit the Landscape format.


----------



## pdzoch

*Action Point*

I also created an Action Point card, just so there was something tangible to be spent. I would liked to have used a token (poker chip type token), but since I was doing cards, the flip side would explain exactly what the action point offered (great for new and young players).


----------



## pdzoch

*Quest Cards*

One last creation, in draft form.  I took to heart the idea in the DM's guide regarding Quest Cards (pg 103).  Sure, it is another card but larger (5x8) for players possess and remind them of thier purpose on the adventure.

I've created two versions, one with and one without images.  I've attached samples of the same quest for both versions.


----------



## disarray2

Pdzoch, I love the work you did with the card backs.  I would 2nd or 3rd the horizontal cards.  I like the 2nd card type best, the one with condition on the top.  

I like the quest card idea as well.  How are you entering the data?


----------



## pdzoch

*Horizontal Card Backs*



disarray2 said:


> Pdzoch, I love the work you did with the card backs. I would 2nd or 3rd the horizontal cards. I like the 2nd card type best, the one with condition on the top.
> 
> I like the quest card idea as well. How are you entering the data?




I whipped the designs up quickly, and the first version was my attempt to be quick and make as few changes to the original design as possible, but the layout did not quite look right in the landscape format. So I made the second version, which provided some better looking layout, but I am not quite happy with it either (I think mostly because the "gold frame" between boxes now seems incomplete and out of place on the card).

As for the quest card, my design is not completely functional in that I am using photoshop to input the data directly on to the card design. Although, I could easily make it a fillable adobe form. I haven't progressed far enough in the project yet -- draft is only a few hours old. 

If I knew how to make templates in MSE, I would use that program for simplicity sakes. All the power cards are already in that format thanks to the contribution of other gamers. And I hate haveing several different programs to manage a single game.


----------



## eloquentaction

erf_beto said:


> Ok, done!
> 
> For now, it's only the statcards template. I've removed a lot of the stuff I meant to add to the style/game files but never finished. It's supposed to work.
> 
> There are two styles, one is standard card size (9 per page), the other is BIG (4 cards per A4 page - just remember to set your printer to landscape!), wich I plan on using for important NPCs, as well as PCs with powercards - just the at-will powers or race/class features go in the big card, everything else goes on power card. I think I'll probably do a spiffy back side with character bios and portrait later...
> 
> Both styles have a lot of card color choices (some taken from the "official" WotC colors - I just added Martial Purple to the list -, while others I played around with). I even included a plain black and white, printer friendly, version (my favorite).
> 
> Linky:
> http://www.mediafire.com/file/c2twmdd3jhd/betoMSE.rar
> 
> Hope you enjoy it.





erf -

Anyway you'd consider adding these as a template to the UCS project?

These are a great character / monster type cards for everyone to use.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Duniagdra

So many posts and designers, I can't keep track. You guys are doing an awesome job here, all of you. The contributions are astounding. I've tried looking, but seem to be at a loss. Were there any power cards from Forgotten Realms?


----------



## DennisB

I got them mixed in with my decks. I have all the powers up to date, I even have all the feats from there as well. Right now I am working on monsters and Magic items at the same time.


----------



## misalo1

Great Job to every who has contributed to the this thread over the last 9 months.

It has given me the urge to put my sets online.

*INCLUDED* so far...
Class Powers - Heroic, Paragon, Epic (including some features)
Racial & Feat Powers
Conditions, Effects (i.e. Invisible), Second Wind, Action Points
Detailed Version Numbers

*BOOKS* so far...
Core Books - PHB, DMG, MM (including WotC Errata v3)
Forgotten Realms: Player Guide
Dragon Magazine 364 to 369

Available here.

All comments, suggestions, and error reports would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## pdzoch

*Horizontal Card Back*

Here is a third version of a horizontal card back.  It seems to allow the largest picture yet still allow for a color and text marker to identify the card type.  Let me know which of the three versions of horizontal card backs are most appealing and I will get the rest done.


----------



## eloquentaction

pdzoch said:


> Here is a third version of a horizontal card back.  It seems to allow the largest picture yet still allow for a color and text marker to identify the card type.  Let me know which of the three versions of horizontal card backs are most appealing and I will get the rest done.




I vote for this last one.  Anyway you can make a version of the portrait backs that are slanted like this one?

I think it's the best look.

-- Hirahito


----------



## pdzoch

*Fillable Quest Cards*

Here are the fillable (pdf) quest cards.  They already include a image option in the corner.  I made a Gold and Silver version for those who wanted a Major and Minor quest version. Not a perfect product, but functional.


----------



## disarray2

pdzoch said:


> Here is a third version of a horizontal card back. It seems to allow the largest picture yet still allow for a color and text marker to identify the card type. Let me know which of the three versions of horizontal card backs are most appealing and I will get the rest done.




I vote for this last one as well.  Looks really good!


----------



## disarray2

pdzoch said:


> Here are the fillable (pdf) quest cards. They already include a image option in the corner. I made a Gold and Silver version for those who wanted a Major and Minor quest version. Not a perfect product, but functional.




  Thanks!


----------



## misalo1

Dragon Magazine 370 has been added.


----------



## DennisB

I cant wait til you finish the card backs too, those are the best i have seen yet.


----------



## Bayuer

@pdzoch
Third version is great! I vote for them too!


----------



## DennisB

OK everyone who cares, The decks of mine have been taken off by me until 12:01AM new years day. As the thread of mine says, I cleaned up the decks, fixed a few bugs, and organized the decks for ease of use. I am also going to add the magic items decks from the players handbook and the armor from the adventurers vault to the downloads as well.
I am starting with a few monsters in the monsters deck, however, that will grow fast, it will include all the monsters from all sources. And During all this, I will be creating a deck of NPC found in various adventures, dragon magazines, and other sources Including the backgrounds, personalities and all text about that person.

*To see a preview of what the cards are going to look like, click on the link below.*

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## misalo1

My template & card sets are now online in this thread.

Included So Far

Player's Handbook
Dungeon Master's Guide
Monster Manual
WotC 'Core' Errata v3
Forgotten Realms: Player Guide
Dragon 364 to 370

I'm working on the Martial Power book....
Will update ASAP. 

5 Sample cards are here.


----------



## DennisB

Pdzoch, are you almost done with the horizontal card back, They are great and i can't wait to use them.


----------



## pdzoch

*Power Card Backs*

Happy New Year,

I've finished the horizontal backs for power cards. I've made four versions of each type of card (each type has a different image but is the same design). This will offer everyone choices. I've also included eight versions (images) for a generic power card in case anyone simply does not want to have the backs labled in any way special (but the images could serve that function if you so choose). All told, there are 36 power card designs provided. Enjoy! I've included a sample of each card design for each zip package.


----------



## DennisB

Looks great, I hope you don't mind but i put them on my download thread as well. That kind of work needs to be shared with the world.


----------



## pdzoch

DennisB said:


> Looks great, I hope you don't mind but i put them on my download thread as well. That kind of work needs to be shared with the world.



It's a good spot for them also. Or the UCS.


----------



## DennisB

Also, I just converted them into MSE so it wont take up so much memory.

It is posted on my thread, enjoy.


----------



## firesnakearies

pdzoch said:


> Happy New Year,
> 
> I've finished the horizontal backs for power cards. I've made four versions of each type of card (each type has a different image but is the same design). This will offer everyone choices. I've also included eight versions (images) for a generic power card in case anyone simply does not want to have the backs labled in any way special (but the images could serve that function if you so choose). All told, there are 36 power card designs provided. Enjoy! I've included a sample of each card design for each zip package.






Those are gorgeous, pdzoch!  Thanks for sharing them!


----------



## disarray2

pdzoch said:


> Happy New Year,
> 
> I've finished the horizontal backs for power cards. I've made four versions of each type of card (each type has a different image but is the same design). This will offer everyone choices. I've also included eight versions (images) for a generic power card in case anyone simply does not want to have the backs labled in any way special (but the images could serve that function if you so choose). All told, there are 36 power card designs provided. Enjoy! I've included a sample of each card design for each zip package.




Any chance you would be up to making a ritual card back, feat, and game mechanics.


----------



## Siberys

Character, race, class, trap, skill challenge... even initiative card. There are so many possibilities. Ar you willing to make them?


----------



## pdzoch

*Request Card Backs*



disarray2 said:


> Any chance you would be up to making a ritual card back, feat, and game mechanics.




As requested.  I'm sure others might be interested in them also.  I made four versions of Rituals and Feats and they are in the zip file.  I only made two Game Mechanics cards and both are presented as images.


----------



## pdzoch

Siberys said:


> Character, race, class, trap, skill challenge... even initiative card. There are so many possibilities. Ar you willing to make them?



I'll see what I can come up with.  I'm running out of image ideas.  The skill challenge sounds more like a card most suitable to a design like the quest card I made earlier -- a 5 x 8 prop that the game group can look at as a group.  The 2.5 x 3.5 game card is a little too small for everyone to look at together without passing it around.  Just my thought.  But I understand the desire to keep a consistent size of cards.


----------



## pdzoch

Siberys said:


> Character, race, class, trap, skill challenge... even initiative card. There are so many possibilities. Ar you willing to make them?





How about these?  And two more Ritual Cards.  This bring the total backs designed to 52.


----------



## DennisB

And all the one's you are making is being downloaded by me and converted to MSE and they are great.


----------



## link306

Wow... I see awesome work being done here but I have one question. Is Ander00 or anyone else going to be adding in the new powers from the new books?

I have poured over the posts trying to find my answer but I cannot find it. I know someone has done the first 6 levels from Martial Power but I can't remember if they are continuing using Ander00's style.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and much thanks to all the hard working individuals/groups of people out there in internet land doing all this awesome hard work. I know I spent over 9 hours (spent over several days) cutting out all the cards from the Player's Handbook and the add-ons from the Dragon Magazine in Ander00's style just to benefit my group. This does not compare to what you people are doing however.


----------



## DennisB

I have every single powers up to date on my link below, it is based on Ander00 style but different, but i also have feats, magic items, monsters and more, take a look.


----------



## pdzoch

*Features Card by request*

It was requested that some cards said Features on them, so here they are.


----------



## disarray2

pdzoch said:


> It was requested that some cards said Features on them, so here they are.




*huge smile*  You are the BEST!


----------



## disarray2

link306 said:


> Wow... I see awesome work being done here but I have one question. Is Ander00 or anyone else going to be adding in the new powers from the new books?
> 
> I have poured over the posts trying to find my answer but I cannot find it. I know someone has done the first 6 levels from Martial Power but I can't remember if they are continuing using Ander00's style.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated and much thanks to all the hard working individuals/groups of people out there in internet land doing all this awesome hard work. I know I spent over 9 hours (spent over several days) cutting out all the cards from the Player's Handbook and the add-ons from the Dragon Magazine in Ander00's style just to benefit my group. This does not compare to what you people are doing however.




This website has all of them.  The Dungeon Crawl - Power Cards

I also posted ones that I corrected from his website.  He had a couple that were spelled wrong and such.


----------



## misalo1

A new icon for 'Unarmed Attacks'.

I made it for my home brew monk... but it might be useful, to someone.


----------



## Talchwi

pdzoch said:


> It was requested that some cards said Features on them, so here they are.





Man these are the bomb!  Can you create these for vertical cards as well.

Thanks...


----------



## DennisB

He did but everyone asked him to make the horizontal cards instead, lol


----------



## Timba

I vote for or vertical cardbacks too.


----------



## DennisB

Well you will have to see what he says, he has not been on all day.


----------



## pdzoch

*City / NPC Cards*

I have made a few NPC cards backs.  I do not necessarily keep all NPC data on my cards.  Instead, I keep character details that allow me to role play for my group easily -- traits, personality, mannerism, and key information he or she may know.  On the back of the card, I list the city in the banner where the person lives and I place the location key number from the map of the city in the circle.  I normally only use a few version of the card (the city name it what matters to me), but I created 29 versions for a variety of settings.  I left the banner and circle blank on all the cards so you can fill them in by hand.

if I knew enough about MSE to make a template, I would do that to allow maximum flexibility in all the cards I have made.  But until that skill materializes, these will have to do.


----------



## disarray2

pdzoch, would you mind zipping up all the "loose" cards and posting them?  They don't come out the correct size like the other ones do.  

I printed out backs for all my cards yesterday.  They look fantastic!


----------



## DennisB

@ pdzoch
I will Convert the backs to MSE in the morning, are you going to make any more in the near future so i will know if I should post in the morning or wait til you finish.


----------



## Siberys

If you can get me the images you are using for the bands across the picture, I could easily make an MSE template for your backs. Once I got those I could very easily re-color them for lots of options.


----------



## DennisB

Hay Siberys, How are you doing, I already did the MSE thing with the card backs. too little too late. lol


----------



## pdzoch

I am done for quite a while. I am tapped out. 90 cards in Horizontal. I even got the verticle set done for an additional 94 cards. I am trying to load up a single zip file, but my .png files are huge and the zip file is even larger. I would like to know the secret of the MSE conversion so people could simple add thier own pictures and card titles.


----------



## DennisB

first go to my link then download the MSE main program and go to the 3rd set of downloads and download the template and have fun.


----------



## pdzoch

O.k.  Thanks.  I'll get both versions converted to MSE sets and post them in the next day or so.  Sometime I will figure out a way to make a new template for the backs for maximum flexibility for everyone.


----------



## Talchwi

misalo1 said:


> A new icon for 'Unarmed Attacks'.
> 
> I made it for my home brew monk... but it might be useful, to someone.





Nice work, do you have one for Ranger's beast or Druid's beast form?


----------



## Siberys

DennisB said:


> Hay Siberys, How are you doing, I already did the MSE thing with the card backs. too little too late. lol




My intention is to make a dedicated template for these card backs, including;

User-choice of portrait or landscape
User choice for the color of the card
User-entered text
user-entered image
a space to indicate what is on the other side (A text box to type in, say, the name of the power on the other side)

Yours is just an image cell containing pre-determined images. Works great for those backs already produced, but if someone wanted an image of their own, or has their own color scheme, or their own text, etc., it doesn't exactly work without asking pdzoch to make some more.

And, pdzoch, all I need from you is, as I said, a blank card. Then a template can be made.


----------



## DennisB

That works too


----------



## disarray2

It would be really helpful if someone could make the card backs for Anders set so those of us who use that style wouldn't need to download another set.  Is that possible?


----------



## Siberys

Well, not if you wanted to be able to edit what the back looked like. If you just wanted to set it as a pre-set image, then it'd be easy, but that wouldn't be well-built...

Actually, now that I think about it, I _could_ do that, but it would take a metric ton of code, and it would only be usable by those who use Ander's template. Making a whole new template would be easier and accessible to a much wider audience, and templates don't take up a whole lot of space - they're just some images and text documents.


----------



## disarray2

Siberys said:


> Well, not if you wanted to be able to edit what the back looked like. If you just wanted to set it as a pre-set image, then it'd be easy, but that wouldn't be well-built...
> 
> Actually, now that I think about it, I _could_ do that, but it would take a metric ton of code, and it would only be usable by those who use Ander's template. Making a whole new template would be easier and accessible to a much wider audience, and templates don't take up a whole lot of space - they're just some images and text documents.




I just read your post about making a separate one.  Sounds good.  I was just going off of needing to download Dennis' stuff to have them as card backs.  But a nice neat self contained one would be good.


----------



## DennisB

amd when sebrys is done,  i will post it on the sight.


----------



## misalo1

Talchwi said:


> Nice work, do you have one for Ranger's beast or Druid's beast form?




Yes.

You can find a beast icon here and a melee/beast hybrid icon here


----------



## Siberys

PDZoch's Card Back Template is finished! The link is in my sig.

It'll print 6 cards to a sheet. I couldn't figure out how to get it to change dimensions based on if the card was portrait or landscape, but that's the only side effect. I have an idea for how to get it to fit 9 to a sheet, but it'd take a fair bit of work, so I'm not sure if I'll do it. Plus, if I did do it, landscape cards would appear sideways in-program...

I took the liberty of making Arial and Iokharic available as alternate fonts, as  styling options. Arial, because it's common and very easy to read, and Iokharic on a whim. Iokharic is the official draconic script for D&D, and I converted it to a Truetype font for my personal use. You can download it in my sig, too.

How's that look, PDZoch? I didn't try and match exactly the colors used in official books, though; For example, the green I used is brighter and less pale.

FEATURES
• The D&D logo is removable.
• There is a field for entering information about what's on the reverse of the card, and a bulge in the card's border is what contains this info. However, that bulge does not appear unless information is entered into the field.
• Similarly, there is an "Orb", as seen in PDZoch's location backs above, that does not appear unless information is entered.
• You can switch the card between portrait and landscape.
• Features a large number of color options - Red, Green, Black, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Purple, Brown, Grey, White, PHB Blue, DMG Red, and MM Green. The same swatch as in my own power card template, in fact... 
• As aforementioned, you may switch between 3 fonts. Additionally, the font size can be changed, and the font color can be set to Black, White, or Red.
• And, of course, the image used as the background can be changed.


----------



## DennisB

Nice template good job, I am going to post this on my thread as well, keep up the good work.


----------



## pdzoch

Absolutely beautiful.  Great job.  Bugger about the printing issue, but it will be debug by someone eventually I am sure.  I'll replicate my sets and post them here in a few moments.  Then everyone will have access to the images and then can modify them as they wish for whatever purpose they want.


----------



## pdzoch

*Card Backs*

I have finished replicating all my card designs into the new MSE card set. You will need the card back template coded for me by Siberys (which is included in the zip). I've included both horizontal and vertical card versions. Plus I included a few more extra cards of each type based on the images I had available. I moved all the location cards to the end of the set (since not everyone will use them). This should give everyone enough options with enough images and flexibility to create whatever card backs they want for thier cards.

Siberys and DennisB will include this set on their download pages. And they may be included in the UCS still in progess by other coders.


----------



## DennisB

Could you add midevil magic font to the template. I love that font.


----------



## Siberys

I haven't got that font. However, adding new fonts is easy.

1. Open the style file in Notepad.
2. Scroll down until you find "card_font"
3. Add in, after Iokharic, 







> else if styling.font == "Midevil Magic" then "Midevil Magic"



4. Scroll down until you find the styling field named "font"
5. Add in 







> choice: Midevil Magic



6. Make sure the tabs match.
7. Save and enjoy.

Also, are you sure you don't mean medieval? I could be wrong, of course, but...?


----------



## pdzoch

Siberys,

I think I figured out the printing problem.  I sent you a possible fix in direct emai.  In a nutshell, two style-sheets are needed because your orientation option always preserves the entire canvas, regardless of which orientation is selected.  Should be an easy fix.


----------



## DennisB

siberys, I had it all wrong anyways, it was MagicMedieval font. and now I am going to try it out.

Update:
Something is wrong with the font section, all the fonts are the same no matter which one you pick.


----------



## Siberys

Replace the style file with the following style file.


----------



## DennisB

Nice job, as always, on fixing that, that's why you're the man Siberys.

Also, I have gotten lots of request for fillable stats boxes (3 is all we need) for powers and magic items How hard would that be?


----------



## Siberys

Actually, it'd be rather hard, though not impossible. Plus, I haven't the slightest where I'd put them on the card.


----------



## DennisB

Could you move the book \ page text to the left and put the fallible boxes to the right of that or on the right side of the main text sideways. it dont need to be big, just readable? but if you can not thats cool, you have done a lot for this.


----------



## Siberys

Down in the page portion, though, what'd be the point? It is my understanding that the fillable boxes are wanted as a space to manually write in bonuses and damage, no? If I put that space in the page area, either the people would have to enter the info in in MSE, or else it'd be barely legible. Making boxes within the whited-out text box is the other possibility, but those would suck up a LOT of space, at least if they were big enough for people to write in.


----------



## DennisB

I was talking about having them "typing it up" and printing it up, after all, they would be needing to change it only once in a while.

But thats cool. they will have to live without it.


----------



## Bayuer

Actualy everybody want to print they cards just once and refill them when they advence in level. Boxes for type bonuses is pointless couse you could just edit cards and put numbers in curent templates and print them every time they changed. Thats why Anders template is so good when you want to print cards just once. Anyway it's still great work.

DennisB your project with those nice grafic power cards was great! I'm so unhappy that you droped it:/ Well at least magic cards and monster cards can be useful. Keep good work guys!


----------



## DennisB

The Problem with that template was that the whole left side was for pics only and the text side on the right would not shrink and I could not figuer out how to fix those 2 major problems. I liked that style as well and wish I could keep it.

But if someone wants to step up to the plate and look into that problem and fix it, I would even think about remaking the entire powers decks (Grudgingly) and the magic decks, however they would have to add the stats boxes (4 of them)
Here is the template, I hope someone can fix it for D&D 4E, If someone thinks they can do it, let me know and I will let you know how I want to set it up.


----------



## DennisB

This is how the cards look, Sorta, with a few tweaks,  But generally like this.
This is what Bayuer was talking about, It would be the best looking power cards out there. But like I said, here is a few problems with this template that needs to be fixed.

1) There is no way to get rid of the pic section on the left side.
2) the text section on the right side will not shrink with extended text.
3) Needs 2 types of template on the same template One for powers and one for Magic Items.
4) There is no way that I can tell to make monster cards with this template.

Good luck to who ever can fix it. I am rooting for whoever can do this.
E-mail me if you feel up to the challenge at dennis.bratcher@yahoo.com and I will work with you on this.

These samples were made with paint, but it takes about 10 minutes to make 1 card. That's why I gave up on them.


----------



## Bayuer

DennisB said:


> 4) There is no way that I can tell to make monster cards with this template.



No, no. Monster template that you have is good. I love it. Ther's no need to make another. Keep good work and update more levels of monsters

Yeah. That's the cards I was talking about. They are nice. They could get some changes and improvements but they the best looking cards I saw on this forum.


----------



## disarray2

I don't like them. They are hard to read because of the white text and white in the background, and in other areas black text on black background. If you want to go for visually appealing, Tintagel's are beautiful. His can be found at Power Cards â€Ž(4E Fan Publishingâ€Ž).

I still like Ander's set because it's easy to read and uncluttered. I dress up the cards by putting on pretty backs.


----------



## DennisB

Well, I found someone who thinks he is up to the challenge of redoing the cards. He has some good ideas on how to do it. 

as far as Tintagel's cards, they look good but it is almost like others, my style will be recognizable as unique.  but I will have 2 styles to choose from. the plain style or the fancy style.

As far as the background clashing with the words, I do have an idea on that, we will test it when we get to that part. I already thought of that. thanks for the input.


----------



## SBalrog

DennisB said:


> This is how the cards look, Sorta, with a few tweaks,  But generally like this.
> This is what Bayuer was talking about, It would be the best looking power cards out there. But like I said, here is a few problems with this template that needs to be fixed.
> 
> 1) There is no way to get rid of the pic section on the left side.
> 2) the text section on the right side will not shrink with extended text.
> 3) Needs 2 types of template on the same template One for powers and one for Magic Items.
> 4) There is no way that I can tell to make monster cards with this template.
> 
> Good luck to who ever can fix it. I am rooting for whoever can do this.
> E-mail me if you feel up to the challenge at dennis.bratcher@yahoo.com and I will work with you on this.




It should not be too difficult to solve this technically, but I'm no designer and would need help to create the images needed.
It is possible to have different looks and fields for several different card types, i.e. one for powers, one (or maybe even several depending on type of item) for magic items, one for monsters, etc.

The main problem in my opinion is to maintain and update the card sets. I know that I'm not going to do it, so for this reason it would probably be best to base it on the ucs project.


----------



## DennisB

Well, I am a stay at home dad so I have all the time in the world, what with my kids hog the TV all day, so I am on the computer during the day.
Also, I have a partner now working on this with me. He is just doing the template and adjusting the template to what I want, and he is good and quick. This set of cards is going to have the Boxes in them (10 of them) To input the information for character specific stats and magic item specific stats as well. 
As far as keeping up, once I get caught up, keeping up is no problem, Now mind you that this is the first rough draft and still needs work but for a starting point, this is great.
Here is a sample of what deck2 is going to look like, I will reveal the programmer's name when the full release of the template is done, please give feedback.

The power cards do have lots of faults right now, and here is a few.
The text on the right will be black in the final template.





Daily power cards will not be black and white, it will be a dark purple bordering on black.





In the section where is says "Divine, Implement" It only holds 2 words. but when it is done it will compact to fit up to 4 words (Very few powers has more than 4)





The magic items for right now will be the only ones with icons sines they only need 1.


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## DennisB

SBalrog, I was thinking about it, If you want to give it a crack as well, Go for it, A few different perspectives would be great as long as I can get the basic setup that I am looking for.


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## eloquentaction

*UCS Beta 2*

Hey everyone!

Long time no see.  Just wanted to update everyone on the status of the Universal Card Set.

We've just released Beta 2.  I've attached a few images created in just one of the templates for the UCS.

You can see the project and give us feedback at http://toosigma.com

P.S. - For those of you that have been following my cards, etc - THIS is the infamous Version 5 of my set.  Thanks to help from a few people at the site above, I think it is far better than my previous card templates.

Let me know if you like them:


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## eloquentaction

Just realized all of those samples looked exactly the same.

The nice thing about some of the UCS templates is that they are completely customizable with a LOT of options.

Here's the exact same template with a different look and feel:


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## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> Here's the exact same template with a different look and feel:




Both look fantastic. I see the clean lines of some sets with the graphical beauty of others. Very nice. Hurry up and finish... I can help type in some powers if that is useful!


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## Thindaraiel

Note that UCS game file will see very very little changes. Therefore, any mse-set written in UCS Beta1 can be converted in UCS Beta2 with very small effort. If you want to help by typing some powers, feel free to do so. The result can be integrated into the common set written by Hirahito in a few clicks. 

Concerning Hihahito's V5 template, the few samples he gave do not give it any justice. The template is really highly ( hugely, I would say) customizable, and can give really different result depending on the options you use on the styling panel. I played with it during a moment to discover its full potential.

Thindaraiel's V2.0, designed for UCS Beta2, will be soon released. I'm working on small adjustements, and some improvements made by Hirahito on his own template are quite inspiring. 
I also plan to convert Original Ander's template under UCS (even if my template already offers the same layout), with a conversion guide to help all Ander's template users to switch to the UCS (this should not be very difficult to do). 
When these templates will be out, you will see the full potential of UCS, allowing you users to switch from a template to another without loosing data. I hope this will demonstrate its utility, and encourage authors like Josiah, Black Plauge, Tintagel (and I forget more of them!) to move their templates into the UCS game file.


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## erf_beto

eloquentaction, can you give me an overview of what is the UCS? I couldn't follow this thread for quite some time, and from what I understand it is a project to make some sort of universal game file for powercards, so designers would only make the style files. End users would just choose the style they like and no need for typing, since it's all the same game and has been typed before. 

Am I wrong?

You see, I'm working on a template but as much as I'd like to, I don't think, by design, it could benefit from that, because it's not "just" a power card template. It's highly customizable, so it rewards creativity: you could do powers, classes, conditions, magic itens, skills challenges, npcs, monsters, and even make game props and card backs.









http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=zymox2tizmq&thumb=5



There are actually 4 templates, depending on the size/orientation of the card you want. I thought I was preety much done, but seeing how much people like those fillable boxes, I'm trying to implement them in the template.


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## Thindaraiel

erf_beto said:


> can you give me an overview of what is the UCS? from what I understand it is a project to make some sort of universal game file for powercards, so designers would only make the style files. End users would just choose the style they like and no need for typing, since it's all the same game and has been typed before.
> 
> Am I wrong?



You're right. This is exactly what the UCS is.



erf_beto said:


> I'm working on a template but I don't think, by design, it could benefit from that, because it's not "just" a power card template. It's highly customizable, so it rewards creativity: you could do powers, classes, conditions, magic itens, skills challenges, npcs, monsters, and even make game props and card backs.




UCS is not just a powercard template. Each card has a type, which can be a AtWill/Encounter/Daily/Ritual power, but also an Item, a Condition, a Trap, a Monster, and so on. The UCS proposes also 6 "Optional" types, to which you can give any signification you want. So your card types could fit into.
The templates provides 20 text fields for different uses. I'm working on designing a character or monster card on these fields. You can build a template for skill challenges using all these fields, they should be sufficient for this usage (and many many other usages).

If you're familiar enough with MSE, download the UCS template and look at the game file. I think you will find inside the fields you need for these cards. If not, then you can ask for a modification of the UCS: if it is not Universal enough, it deserves an evolution !


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## DennisB

Thindaraiel I am already doing the monster cards that eloquentaction said I could put on there.


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## eloquentaction

erf_beto said:


> eloquentaction, can you give me an overview of what is the UCS? I couldn't follow this thread for quite some time, and from what I understand it is a project to make some sort of universal game file for powercards, so designers would only make the style files. End users would just choose the style they like and no need for typing, since it's all the same game and has been typed before.
> 
> Am I wrong?
> 
> You see, I'm working on a template but as much as I'd like to, I don't think, by design, it could benefit from that, because it's not "just" a power card template. It's highly customizable, so it rewards creativity: you could do powers, classes, conditions, magic itens, skills challenges, npcs, monsters, and even make game props and card backs.
> 
> There are actually 4 templates, depending on the size/orientation of the card you want. I thought I was preety much done, but seeing how much people like those fillable boxes, I'm trying to implement them in the template.




erf -

The UCS is the Universal Card Set.  Basically, its a common GAME file that everyone agrees on.

This doesn't sound like too big a deal until you start realizing that ANY card entered into the UCS will be visible with ANY other card template set that supports that card type.

Don't like the way I did my Initiative card?  Make your own template.  Not only can you mix and match cards this way, anyone that likes your template better can switch *without losing all their hard work*.  In other words, they won't lose any cards.

Decided that making your own template is a pain in the butt?  Either ask for help from the many card template designers out there or just move back to one of the other templates.

As Thindariel has suggested; we're not competing here at the UCS.  There's no 'my card set is better than yours.'  Many of the designers in the UCS are even sharing their resources out there so any set designer can use them easily.  What does that mean for you?  It means more designers will be able to make more templates that all work together.

At the UCS, we're also trying to make it as flexible as possible.  Our GAME file right now supports 22 different types of cards.  They are:  At-Will, Encounter,  Daily, Info, Ritual, Item, Magic Item, Artifact, Character, Initiative, Monster,  Condition, Trap, Social, Class Info, Disease/Poison, and Optional1 through Optional6.

Not all templates will support all card types (like currently, we don't have any templates for Monster or Character card types) but the nice thing about the UCS is that you can use one template for a certain type of cards and another template for everything else.

As far as customizability; that's what the UCS is about.  We want our template designers to come up with radical and cool new ideas.  The only thing we don't want is 509 versions of the GAME file.  Because then we'd be back to where we started - a whole bunch of really cool card sets that don't talk to each other.

I hope that makes sense and that you'll decide to come over to the dark si.... I mean the UCS project.

-- Hirahito


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## DennisB

eloquentaction, I have been working hard on monsters in a template that might be compatable with your system, if you want to try ti install it into the UCS then download it and see what you can do and tell me what you think.


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## BradfordFerguson

DennisB said:


> please give feedback.




(new cards with blanks)

Looks very nice!  I would use them.


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## DennisB

Thanks, and like I said it will take about 2 or 3 more days before it is up and running, We are still working out a few kinks, this time, unlike last time, I want to have only one version, last template we went threw about 5 versions til we got out all the bugs. but it will be worth it, unlike anders set, Mine has one major improvement. The character specifics text can be modified anytime by anyone.
Other Improvements:
1) The decks are magic item compatible
2) Feats will be included
3) rituals will be added
4) All cards can be modified for "house rules"
5) Unlike ander, I will be keeping on the updates with every dragon mags and core books release
6)Every possible style (Except monsters) can be created. (Powers - Equipment - Skills ect)

I will give a 24 hour notice on the first release. However, I will start with the race sines there is only a few of there powers so everyone can see the final layout and if anyone sees any glitches they can let me know. there will be no releases for 48 hours after that to fix any last minute glitches.

But it is shaping up to be a great looking and usable deck and I hope everyone enjoys the effort of (Grudgingly) remaking all the powers.
This is the style I wanted to do in the first place but could not find anyone to fix it til now.


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## disarray2

1) The decks are magic item compatible
2) Feats will be included
3) rituals will be added
4) All cards can be modified for "house rules"
5) Unlike ander, I will be keeping on the updates with every dragon mags and core books release
6)Every possible style (Except monsters) can be created. (Powers - Equipment - Skills ect)

The Ander decks has all of those things already done.  Stop trashing other people's work just to make yourself sound better.


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## Bayuer

Well Ander style (impreved) can be finded here. They are fully updated with new dragons and books. And with this modifing specific text? I translated all cards for my own language without problem...
The Dungeon Crawl - Power Cards

Well, feat on power cards aren't good idea. Why bother with these? Powers, items, rituals yes. Rest? Its the lost of time. Better thing to do is to write are feats/features/magic item properities/paragon features on blank paper shet. You have all what you need just before you. If you have 30+ cards what the point of making them anyway.

My advice. Make monsters/powers/magic items/rituals in that order. Maybe monster later. Other things are just time consuming and don't worth the efforti in my opinion.


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## DennisB

I did not know he updated his deck, last time i saw them it was in PDF only, if it was update, then i am sorry.


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## eloquentaction

Bayuer said:


> Well Ander style (impreved) can be finded here. They are fully updated with new dragons and books. And with this modifing specific text? I translated all cards for my own language without problem...
> The Dungeon Crawl - Power Cards
> 
> Well, feat on power cards aren't good idea. Why bother with these? Powers, items, rituals yes. Rest? Its the lost of time. Better thing to do is to write are feats/features/magic item properities/paragon features on blank paper shet. You have all what you need just before you. If you have 30+ cards what the point of making them anyway.
> 
> My advice. Make monsters/powers/magic items/rituals in that order. Maybe monster later. Other things are just time consuming and don't worth the efforti in my opinion.





I disagree.  Feats and Info cards are awesome at the game table.

What's the one thing you want at a game?  Fast play with few to no interruptions.

When the Warrior says 'My Extend Breath feat allows my breath weapon to be thrown out into an area blast 5 range 10.'  I can ask for the feat card, read the exact rules and not have to look them up.

Also, having the skills written down as if they were power cards is AWESOME.  It's VERY nice to have a pile of skill cards and just look through them during game play to find out, Oh - I can only use Attempt Bluff once per encounter when attempting to hide, not 57 times in a row.

Sure, a DM and most players will memorize most of these feats and rules, but there have been times when I've forgotten specific effects or bonuses (or penalties) that have applied in certain circumstances and I've ignored them because I didn't want to bring game play to a screeching halt to go look them up.  It's nice to have them on hand if I want them.

-- Hirahito


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## erf_beto

eloquentaction, thindaraiel:  thanks for the update. I wasn't so far out, it seems. 

But I still don't know if my template _as of now can _fit the UCS standards. The reason is this: 


Thindaraiel said:


> The templates provides 20 text fields for different uses. I'm working on designing a character or monster card on these fields. You can build a template for skill challenges using all these fields, they should be sufficient for this usage (and many many other usages).



 I'm using generic fields to split the "main" text of the card (8 actually: text1, text2, text3...). The other fields are "flavor", title, level, type, xp and image. I suppose most templates out there have only one field to describe the power and I might be able to convert those sets into mine (by leaving text2-8 blank), but not the other way around. You see, I really want to try and make it compatible with UCS, because I think it's such a wonderfull idea and will save a lot of (my) time to input data!  

But is it? 

I'm thinking about releasing the template as is and I'll probably make another one later, to comply with the UCS rules.

Just one thing: where can I download these UCS files?


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## eloquentaction

erf_beto said:


> eloquentaction, thindaraiel:  thanks for the update. I wasn't so far out, it seems.
> 
> But I still don't know if my template _as of now can _fit the UCS standards. The reason is this:
> I'm using generic fields to split the "main" text of the card (8 actually: text1, text2, text3...). The other fields are "flavor", title, level, type, xp and image. I suppose most templates out there have only one field to describe the power and I might be able to convert those sets into mine (by leaving text2-8 blank), but not the other way around. You see, I really want to try and make it compatible with UCS, because I think it's such a wonderfull idea and will save a lot of (my) time to input data!
> 
> But is it?
> 
> I'm thinking about releasing the template as is and I'll probably make another one later, to comply with the UCS rules.
> 
> Just one thing: where can I download these UCS files?




Check my sig, the toosigma.com link is in there.

You can release the template files to us as a beta and we'd be more than happy on making suggestions on how to make it UCS compatible.

-- Hirahito


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## Bayuer

@erf_beto
Your card template is nice. Looking just like in PHB. It will be hard time to decide with one to use when all the templates will be ready

@eloquentaction
Who said about rembering all the things. Write all properities on paper. Ehh. Just like this.




Anyway I see your point and it could be helpful but when you got cards for all it's to confusing. 30+ cards. No thanks. It will be killing on epic tier. Anyway if you want do it. I'm sure there will be many players who will thank you for your effort.


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## Thindaraiel

This is the point of the UCS: giving people (players and GMs) tools to play with. 

As a developer, I prefer a template which provides everything which can be useful. If as a player or GM I don't find one or other functionality useful, I won't use it. For instance, I'm not really sure as a player of the use of skills cards. But I will provide them as a developer for those of you who will want to use them.


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## DennisB

Because some skills, like athletics, has many sub sections and having a quick reference to all the abilities is good on hand so if you have an idea on how to use it then between you're turn you can glance at the card to see if it is possible


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## BradfordFerguson

disarray2 said:


> 1) The decks are magic item compatible
> 2) Feats will be included
> 3) rituals will be added
> 4) All cards can be modified for "house rules"
> 5) Unlike ander, I will be keeping on the updates with every dragon mags and core books release
> 6)Every possible style (Except monsters) can be created. (Powers - Equipment - Skills ect)
> 
> The Ander decks has all of those things already done.  Stop trashing other people's work just to make yourself sound better.




1) you are reading tone into "unlike ander"
2) the only claim that his will be different is that he intends to update (more?) often.  The other numbers aren't claims that they will be different.  Frankly, if ander and grandpa are burnt out, then I am glad that someone else has picked up the torch and is fired up.


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## tristan_tewksbury

Thindaraiel said:


> This is the point of the UCS: giving people (players and GMs) tools to play with.
> 
> As a developer, I prefer a template which provides everything which can be useful. If as a player or GM I don't find one or other functionality useful, I won't use it. For instance, I'm not really sure as a player of the use of skills cards. But I will provide them as a developer for those of you who will want to use them.



And, since you don't have to enter all the skill data yourself, it is much easier to provide that extra functionality for those that want it -- you just need to ensure your template supports the skill card.

I think it is wonderful that so many are working together on this. It means the data entry can be shared so that no one person does all of it, but that players have maximum flexibility to find the cards that most appeal to them to bring to the table for play.

My group has been using these cards for a while and we really like them.  Mostly power cards (to keep track of what powers have been used so far during a combat), but also skill cards, action cards, and magic item cards. They really let us avoid consulting the actual books during a game session, which can really break the pace of the game.


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## BradfordFerguson

Dunno if someone has made the comment... please leave the area where stuff will be written as a solid white background.  If I print these on a color laser, then it is difficult to write over the glossy toner if the background is not white.


----------



## BradfordFerguson

DennisB said:


> please give feedback.




OK, you note that the text will be black on the right.  That's good.  My main fear with the cards is legibility (edit: especially at the gaming table where lighting conditions may not be ideal).  Not sure if the font is big enough nor if the contrast is high enough (though black text against a light background should be much better).  

White text seems to have the best contrast on the left side.  I'd rather the text be larger and limit the number of user-entered boxes to 6 (or less). (exclude gold value for starters)


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## disarray2

BradfordFerguson said:


> 1) you are reading tone into "unlike ander"
> 2) the only claim that his will be different is that he intends to update (more?) often. The other numbers aren't claims that they will be different. Frankly, if ander and grandpa are burnt out, then I am glad that someone else has picked up the torch and is fired up.




The ander stuff gets updated after every magazine.  How much more often do you need it?  Ander00 hasn't updated anything in a long time.  Other people are.  

Yes, I read tone into it.  Considering he was told twice already that the ander decks were updated, I can only go on he's ignoring the fact for his own reasons.  

I don't want to get into a pissing contest.  Women always lose those with you guys.  /sigh.  I do, however, want the work that myself and many others have done to not be trashed.


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## DennisB

BradfordFerguson, I agree about the # of boxed, However, the magic item cards will need 10 boxes, like I said, the cards are going to be VERY character specific in that even the level of the magic item - bonus - and gold value- are all going to be inputted. Even the weapon type of a magic weapon.

Also, I will look into the fonts.


----------



## misalo1

My Power Card Update

Version 1.03
Added - Artificer (Dragon 365) 
Added - Warden (Dragon 371)
Correction - Typo in the 'Insubstantial' card (Core Set - Misc. File)

Still working on the Martial Power book


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## C_M2008

Since the Gold Amount is tied to the items level, can a formula not be entered in the UCS file that auto-fills/calculates the GP Value of an item?
But, since their are so many variables, I can see that a large number of inputs would be required. 

If someone is doing magic item cards for the UCS I would suggest that weapons/armor should be left "Blank": Delvers Armor  for example and then the text for what it does, with a spot for the user to add weapon/armor type and the plus(an embedded formula changing the rules text according to the plus entered perhaps?) as well as Level. A page reference would also be useful.

Is there anything we computer illiterate can do to help with the UCS?


----------



## DennisB

Here is a look at the updates done on the cards

As you can tell, the daily cards are not black and white now and the text on the right is now black







The special and surge stickers are going to be in the format section in the menu bar on the top, this is optional if you want them in there or not.






As you can see, if a power's text gets to be too extensive then the text will shrink automatically.






Today we are working on adding the keyword icons on the top right section. and the "Equipment type" is going to be left blank so all information can be imputed.


----------



## BradfordFerguson

disarray2 said:


> The ander stuff gets updated after every magazine.  How much more often do you need it?  Ander00 hasn't updated anything in a long time.  Other people are.
> 
> Yes, I read tone into it.  Considering he was told twice already that the ander decks were updated, I can only go on he's ignoring the fact for his own reasons.
> 
> I don't want to get into a pissing contest.  Women always lose those with you guys.  /sigh.  I do, however, want the work that myself and many others have done to not be trashed.




Can we get a sticky for the power cards efforts of the various folks so people don't have to hunt a 80-page thread for them?


----------



## DennisB

Here is what is going to happen with the magic item cards:
1) The 7 boxes on the left side are going to be standard for all magic item cards. this saves time on making the cards in the first place and wont clutter the right side.
2) as I said before, the keyword icons will be on the top right section.
3) as you can see some magic item has 2 power types: in this case, at-will and daily, what we are going to do in this case is install 2 drop down boxes side by side on the bottom right section and if 2 is needed then they will shrink to fit the book and page reference still.
4) doing the box to the left saves more for the Power information on the right so it is easier to read.

Any Questions or suggestions let me know.


----------



## Bayuer

Surge and Special are to bright. Try to blend them into card. Now ther are a very diffrent from the rest of the card. Also with all this boxes. Why so many? Level ok. Bonus/GP -> Type all the prices and bonus somewhere (maybe right side). Enchancement, well if you realy need it. I will type in. Critical - ok. Implement? What for?


----------



## DennisB

The boxes are write able, not Type able, it was requested that way by quite a few people.
As far as the level and gold, well it takes too long to input that information after a few hundred cards, this way is quick and so easy to make the item cards.
However, I will look into making the boxes optional either way. but i can not promise anything.


----------



## Bayuer

If you can make boxes optional that will be great. I like Ander style becouse of this. Keep the good work.


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## DennisB

It is going to start off as write able and after we get the card the main way then we will look into making it type able as well, will that work?


----------



## misalo1

Another Icon

The 19th Level Ranger Attack 'Ferocious Roar' has the following attack...

Close burst 2 (beast)

So here is the icon 
----------------------
Also included are my other beast icons

Beast
Melee / Beast


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## DennisB

thats nice, you dont mind if i use them do you?


----------



## misalo1

DennisB said:


> thats nice, you dont mind if i use them do you?




Sure...

------------------------

You too Hirahito if you'd like them for the Universal Card Set.


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## DennisB

They will be added on the next template.


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> Sure...
> 
> ------------------------
> 
> You too Hirahito if you'd like them for the Universal Card Set.





I already have two of those.  But the Beast Burst.... besides seeming a VERY wrong thing to do to such a poor beast, I do not have.

I'll most likely take that one and add it to the 2.1 Beta of the UCS.

Thanks for letting me use that.

BTW - Isn't PETA against Rangers using Pets as exploding combat tricks?   "LOLZR!!  My Pet Cat Beast Bursts 2 for 2d8 + Con Mod!!  LOLZR!"

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

C_M2008 said:


> Since the Gold Amount is tied to the items level, can a formula not be entered in the UCS file that auto-fills/calculates the GP Value of an item?
> But, since their are so many variables, I can see that a large number of inputs would be required.
> 
> If someone is doing magic item cards for the UCS I would suggest that weapons/armor should be left "Blank": Delvers Armor  for example and then the text for what it does, with a spot for the user to add weapon/armor type and the plus(an embedded formula changing the rules text according to the plus entered perhaps?) as well as Level. A page reference would also be useful.
> 
> Is there anything we computer illiterate can do to help with the UCS?




We can always use people for the UCS!!  Computer illiterate or not!

We need beta testers and card entererererererersss...  you can sign up for either!  Both!  At the same time!  While standing on one leg!!  And whistling Dixie!!

Seriously though.  If you'd like to sign up, just follow my yellow link in my sig....  WOW, did THAT sound wrong...

Allright, you get the idea though.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

pdzoch said:


> I decided to create some additional card backs for all the power cards sets that are out there. I chose to select unique card backs for the different types of power frequencies so that once played/used, it can be turned over once complete to prevent a player from losing track of which power was used, and recovering only powers that have been renewed (picking up encounter powers after the encounter ends yet leaving the daily powers used face down until recharged). I adapted from the versions that Nytmare posted early in this thread.




Those cards are awesome.

Can you post some that are by class instead of by power usage?

I'd like to make decks sortable by class.

Thanks!


----------



## Dracorat

Hira:

Until the UCS is in Alpha - can I find your latest version of the 4.x set anywhere on your site?

I clicked the link and couldn't find one, but I'm very much itching to get some cards printed out and from reading the whole thread it would seem your set as it has been described would be the best fit for me.

Thanks.


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> Hira:
> 
> Until the UCS is in Alpha - can I find your latest version of the 4.x set anywhere on your site?
> 
> I clicked the link and couldn't find one, but I'm very much itching to get some cards printed out and from reading the whole thread it would seem your set as it has been described would be the best fit for me.
> 
> Thanks.




Go to the http://toosigma.com/wiki/index.php/Development_Homepage site.

You can find the UCS Beta 2 download as well as the Version 5 of my card template there.

I'll be uploading new versions to the toosigma site soon.  I would have done it already, but I've been slammed at work.

I will slowly be converting my version 4 templates over to the UCS, but I'm not making that a priority as I have about 20 other things to do.

BTW - Thanks very much for your support!

And also - My website will be updated soon... oh yes.  It WILL be updated...  I plan on installing an el-cheapo blogging software and putting my campaign guide and the UCS downloads on it.

Last but not least - you might want to wait before printing cards.  I'm uploading about 3200 cards in an MSE-SET as well as the new version of the UCS and a new version of my template in a day or less.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

I will wait and THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

Much respect!

--Dracorat


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> Go to the Development Homepage - Toosigma site.
> 
> You can find the UCS Beta 2 download as well as the Version 5 of my card template there.
> 
> I'll be uploading new versions to the toosigma site soon.  I would have done it already, but I've been slammed at work.
> 
> I will slowly be converting my version 4 templates over to the UCS, but I'm not making that a priority as I have about 20 other things to do.
> 
> BTW - Thanks very much for your support!
> 
> And also - My website will be updated soon... oh yes.  It WILL be updated...  I plan on installing an el-cheapo blogging software and putting my campaign guide and the UCS downloads on it.
> 
> Last but not least - you might want to wait before printing cards.  I'm uploading about 3200 cards in an MSE-SET as well as the new version of the UCS and a new version of my template in a day or less.
> 
> -- Hirahito




This version has the updated Dzokvik template working ... right?


----------



## eloquentaction

Avrus said:


> This version has the updated Dzokvik template working ... right?




Sorry.  No.

The Dzokvik template was one of my 4.3 templates (well, not MINE, actually, but you get the idea).

It's also been in pretty high demand and will most likely be the first or one of the first templates I move to the UCS.

The template I have is called 'Hirahito-Simple' and it's basically a VERY simple not yet complete version of my Version 5 template re-made for the UCS.

I have about 7 templates I want to move to the UCS, but other UCS related projects are in the front of my queue at the moment.

Thanks for your support, and trust me, I have neither forgotten nor abandoned you.  It's all just a matter of getting the time.

Here's some images from the Version 5 Simple template.  Please excuse the fact they are Beta and pretty rough looking.

























-- Hirahito


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> Sorry.  No.
> 
> The Dzokvik template was one of my 4.3 templates (well, not MINE, actually, but you get the idea).
> 
> It's also been in pretty high demand and will most likely be the first or one of the first templates I move to the UCS.
> 
> The template I have is called 'Hirahito-Simple' and it's basically a VERY simple not yet complete version of my Version 5 template re-made for the UCS.
> 
> I have about 7 templates I want to move to the UCS, but other UCS related projects are in the front of my queue at the moment.
> 
> Thanks for your support, and trust me, I have neither forgotten nor abandoned you.  It's all just a matter of getting the time.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Sorry if this comes out as verbal garbage but the whole power card thing is becoming quite frustrating.  

I absolutely support the UCS project, I think it's long overdue - if you look at the number of people in this thread creating templates and data sets from scratch.

My frustration comes in that the only template I've found that is easily used by my players is something similar to the Dzokvik or Rimwar sets where it shows a quick icon for Action, key stat for attack, and versus / defense.  

What I'm looking for is one consistent style similar to above that doesn't go extinct in a month so I have to reinvent the wheel.

So far nothing fits the bill, and I'm beginning to think I should just throw in the towel and order the WOTC cards since they'll be consistent.


----------



## Dracorat

eloquentaction said:


> The template I have is called 'Hirahito-Simple' and it's basically a VERY simple not yet complete version of my Version 5 template re-made for the UCS.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I wouldn't really call those basic.

They look pretty "popping".


----------



## DrunkenEwok

@DennisB - I'm not sure if you can manage to add drop-shadows to the left-side text, but that can make a huge difference in legibility against varying-contrast backgrounds.

I know it's possible - Hirahito did one for his latest template - but it might have just been a poor-man's version, where you print the text twice - first in a contrasting color (e.g. black), offset by 1-2 pixels to the right and down - then again over top in the original position in your primary color (e.g. white).


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

DennisB said:


> Because some skills, like athletics, has many sub sections and having a quick reference to all the abilities is good on hand so if you have an idea on how to use it then between you're turn you can glance at the card to see if it is possible



This does bring up a really good point I wanted to mention. I would really like the heading to include the actual skill... 

For example: if I am looking for how to use Heal for first aid, I am going to be looking for "Heal: First Aid" rather than "First Aid". I have been using these cards for quite a while now, and that sort of things still throws me, since everything else is where "I expect it to be".


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> Sorry.  No.
> 
> The Dzokvik template was one of my 4.3 templates (well, not MINE, actually, but you get the idea).
> 
> It's also been in pretty high demand and will most likely be the first or one of the first templates I move to the UCS.
> 
> The template I have is called 'Hirahito-Simple' and it's basically a VERY simple not yet complete version of my Version 5 template re-made for the UCS.
> 
> I have about 7 templates I want to move to the UCS, but other UCS related projects are in the front of my queue at the moment.
> 
> Thanks for your support, and trust me, I have neither forgotten nor abandoned you.  It's all just a matter of getting the time.
> 
> Here's some images from the Version 5 Simple template.  Please excuse the fact they are Beta and pretty rough looking.
> 
> -- Hirahito




The cards look great, imho.  But again -- I'm looking for function first, form second.

Every time a player uses a power they need to know what the action type is, what the source is, what stat modifier it uses, and what it's versus.  (and also melee ranged etc).

So when I look at it from a player perspective, I want those things to be first and foremost on the card for icons.  That way a player can quickly look at the card, fire those stats off, and then read the details if needs be.

Combat is at times excruciatingly slow, and having the relevant information quickly available to the players moves things along.

Edit: on a fresh install with the UCS Beta 2 I'm getting an invalid command line arguement.  Any idea why?


----------



## eloquentaction

Avrus said:


> Sorry if this comes out as verbal garbage but the whole power card thing is becoming quite frustrating.
> 
> I absolutely support the UCS project, I think it's long overdue - if you look at the number of people in this thread creating templates and data sets from scratch.
> 
> My frustration comes in that the only template I've found that is easily used by my players is something similar to the Dzokvik or Rimwar sets where it shows a quick icon for Action, key stat for attack, and versus / defense.
> 
> What I'm looking for is one consistent style similar to above that doesn't go extinct in a month so I have to reinvent the wheel.
> 
> So far nothing fits the bill, and I'm beginning to think I should just throw in the towel and order the WOTC cards since they'll be consistent.




I totally understand your frustration.  It's why a few of us template designers banded together to MAKE the UCS, after all.

I'm currently way too busy in getting the UCS off the ground to try and make the Dzokvik conversion.  I can, however, reassure you that the Dzokvik conversion is inevitable and that I will make it the top of my priorities once I get some free time.

If you'd like to convert the Dzokvik to the UCS yourself, I would be more than willing to release the template to you and give you help on doing the conversion.

That's the best I can do, unfortunately.

If *I* do the conversion, the Dzokvik conversion will make them look somewhat similar in graphic style to the Simple set I showed previously with the text, icons and flow in the same position as they are in the Dzokvik template now.

If *you* do the conversion, you can make them look however you like.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> This does bring up a really good point I wanted to mention. I would really like the heading to include the actual skill...
> 
> For example: if I am looking for how to use Heal for first aid, I am going to be looking for "Heal: First Aid" rather than "First Aid". I have been using these cards for quite a while now, and that sort of things still throws me, since everything else is where "I expect it to be".




That's a great point.

I'll try and remember to change the cards in the MSE-SET to have the skill as part of their title (at least for the UCS).

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

@ DrunkenEwok
If I let you take a look at the template that my partner has been working on, maybe you can show me what you are talking about, would that work, if so i will e-mail you a copy.

@ tristan_tewksbury
Thats why I am going to be making a deck of cards for skills, and each sub section is going to have there own card for ease of use.


----------



## eloquentaction

Avrus said:


> The cards look great, imho.  But again -- I'm looking for function first, form second.
> 
> Every time a player uses a power they need to know what the action type is, what the source is, what stat modifier it uses, and what it's versus.  (and also melee ranged etc).
> 
> So when I look at it from a player perspective, I want those things to be first and foremost on the card for icons.  That way a player can quickly look at the card, fire those stats off, and then read the details if needs be.
> 
> Combat is at times excruciatingly slow, and having the relevant information quickly available to the players moves things along.
> 
> Edit: on a fresh install with the UCS Beta 2 I'm getting an invalid command line arguement.  Any idea why?





Please go to toosigma and make those suggestions on the development thread.   I'm sure all of the card designers (including myself) are very interested in your opinions on card layout.

As far as the error - I'm not sure why this is occuring.  Open the MSE-SET via the front panel rather than double-clicking.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> Please go to toosigma and make those suggestions on the development thread.   I'm sure all of the card designers (including myself) are very interested in your opinions on card layout.
> 
> As far as the error - I'm not sure why this is occuring.  Open the MSE-SET via the front panel rather than double-clicking.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Sorry, my error.  Was extracting the files into the data subfolder instead of the MSE directory.


----------



## illathid

DennisB said:


>




Hey I really like the set up you have for these, but do you think you could make a printer friendly version without the background? I 'd like to not use too much ink and I think a simple look might improve them a bit.


----------



## DennisB

Like I said, This template is very adjustable, You can make the cards black and white in the styles section right before you print it. that is one of many options I am going to be giving people. 

You can change the fonts.

And we are looking into making the option of the boxes either typeable or writeable.

Another option we are looking into is the black and white version having the borders of the appropriate colors of the cards so it can be printer friendly.

It is a very long and complicated program with lots of options. I have taken the ideas of many players (Not all) and implemented them into this template.
I have also been reading many threads as well and seeing what people want. 

On a final note, We thought it was going to only take a few days, however, this has been proving to be an unreal goal, it will take about another week at least. When we release the template we want no bugs in it and when I do release the template, I am going to release the magic item deck, all magic items in one deck. I will say this, "you can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all the people all of the time" but if you have any ideas then let me know and I will see what we can do.

This is the latest update picture.


----------



## bleedingedge

eloquentaction said:


> You can find the UCS Beta 2 download as well as the Version 5 of my card template there.




I may very well be rolling a 1 on my perception roll, but I don't see the UCS simple template there.  I see the UCS itself, but not the template.


----------



## xarinth

Just curious, but has anyone made a set of cards for Martial Power using Grandpa's template? His is still my favorite, and I'm trying to find them (I'm not good at making them myself or I would). I know there are plenty of good card types out there, but I like these and am hoping for them. 

I have checked through the pages from his post with all of them, to here and can't find anything besides other people suggesting their cards when someone else asks, so please don't reply with your cards, if noone has made the Grandpa's set for martial that is fine. (I could be blind and just missed someone replying with his cards as well, that was a lot of pages).


----------



## DennisB

bleedingedge here is a direct download link

http://hirahito.com/ucs/ucs-beta2.zip


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

bleedingedge said:


> I may very well be rolling a 1 on my perception roll, but I don't see the UCS simple template there.  I see the UCS itself, but not the template.



You did not follow the link to "MSE Card Set Links". You can get the template HERE, but be warned that you will need to edit the style file and replace "card name:" with "name:" or the name field will not appear on the cards. Also note that the file only contains the template for the cards, not any of the card text.

I like the layout very much. Clean but playable. Nice work.

There is an "edit" option for that template that exposes a lot of the hidden fields to allow you to include things like Source and such. That is a nice addition. A lot of card elements are now done as drop-downs, which saves having to remember a set of characters to type. I just hope my checkbox character is still included for my custom cards.

The only thing I don't like is that a lot of the colors are pretty dark. I need to see if I can play with saturation levels a bit, but currently these will use a LOT of ink.

Another question was that you were using some nice backgrounds in your examples that were not present in the file. I assume you have added these later but not updated the version linked via the MSE Card Set Links page.

I just joined the dev board (as Jax) and will start feeding my input over there.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> You did not follow the link to "MSE Card Set Links". You can get the template HERE, but be warned that you will need to edit the style file and replace "card name:" with "name:" or the name field will not appear on the cards. Also note that the file only contains the template for the cards, not any of the card text.
> 
> I like the layout very much. Clean but playable. Nice work.
> 
> There is an "edit" option for that template that exposes a lot of the hidden fields to allow you to include things like Source and such. That is a nice addition. A lot of card elements are now done as drop-downs, which saves having to remember a set of characters to type. I just hope my checkbox character is still included for my custom cards.
> 
> The only thing I don't like is that a lot of the colors are pretty dark. I need to see if I can play with saturation levels a bit, but currently these will use a LOT of ink.
> 
> Another question was that you were using some nice backgrounds in your examples that were not present in the file. I assume you have added these later but not updated the version linked via the MSE Card Set Links page.
> 
> I just joined the dev board (as Jax) and will start feeding my input over there.




I'll get the latest version out there.  I'm recovering from having to work late and then getting raped by my girlfriend.

I still have about a half dozen things to do to release the newest versions.

The new MSE-SET will be the 4.3 cards set with about 3200 cards (All of PHB, MM, DMG, some of the dragons, some ENWorld stuff, the FRPG and the AV).

It's not everything, but it's a start.

And ALL of the backgrounds I used in the examples are in the Beta 1 of the cards.

Try the following settings:
* NOTE: Changing the saturation requires a FILE->Reload.
Saturation to LIGHT
Background to Metal2
Top Mask to Metal5
Icon back to CharcoalRing
Icon Background color to NO

That should be close to what I was using for the samples.

Also - I really appreciate the support Tristan.  

And to tell you the truth, Tristan - I had totally forgotten about the checkbox character.  I just wrote down in my notes to include some checkboxes and squares, etc for you.  I'll add them to the symbol file.

BTW - Tristan, try the BETA 1 of my template and see if you can figure out how to make the symbols W5, R5 and the other typable symbols to appear.  Every time I try and get them to work, they don't.  Very irritating.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tecnowraith

How do I add Hirahito's, DennisB and other templates to MSE? I forgot how.


----------



## DennisB

Open the file and copy the"Data" file and replace it with the "Data" file in the MSE program file.


----------



## tecnowraith

Ok I am somewhat confused on using the UCS files in MSE. I downloaded the UCS and followed the directions from:Getting Started - Toosigma but cannot open the cards


----------



## DennisB

You also have to copy the other files in the original folders and paste them in the "Data" folder.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

tecnowraith said:


> Ok I am somewhat confused on using the UCS files in MSE. I downloaded the UCS and followed the directions from:Getting Started - Toosigma but cannot open the cards



The directions, like everything else UCS, is still in Beta.  I just did another install, and updated the instructions as I did - it should be a little more useful at this point.

Note that there seems to be a version mismatch between the UCS-Core and Hirahito-Simple template available at the moment.  Because of this, the card name won't display - this will be fixed before we exit Beta (which should be soon - but I can't nail down a date yet)

Thanks again to all for your patience, cooperation, and encouragement in this effort.  It is much appreciated.

If you're interested in participating - feel free to visit How You Can Help! for some ideas on where you might be able to contribute.  Many hands make light work, and we can use all the help we can get!


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

tecnowraith said:


> Ok I am somewhat confused on using the UCS files in MSE. I downloaded the UCS and followed the directions from:Getting Started - Toosigma but cannot open the cards



What exactly do you mean by "cannot open the cards"? If you mean, "where are all the power cards for classes, races, items, etc. that I saw in 4.3 of Hirahito's sets" then the answer would be that the card text is not in the UCS yet, at least not as found in the zip file.

{Note: I use Hirahito's cards, so that is why I am using his name in this explanation. I am not trying to slight anyone else's cards! Once the other templates are modified for UCS users will have a wonderful range of card styles to use for their character's cards}

Basically, the UCS tells MSE how to understand the various elements used to *make* 4E cards, and includes a very basic default background, icons, etc. The templates like Hirahito's Simple adds more graphics options and a different layout for the elements defined by UCS, but does not include the actual 4E rules text. The last part (which is not yet available) is the actual game text, but that is not available yet. 

If you want to see the graphics so far, try the following (and hopefully I am clear):

Once you install the UCS, you can open up MSE and click [New set]. You will see a set of icons representing the various game sets available, divided into two lists. The top list is labeled "Game type:" and there you will see a n icone called "4E USC" with the basic melee symbol. That is the UCS. On the second list below that yuou will see only a style called "Default" unless you have installed Hirahito's Simple template, in which case you can also select that one.

Having done that, you will not see anything other than a very blank card. 

Once Hirahito has released the card text (as he mentioned in a previous post, it is the 4.3 content at this time) you will be able to use use the [Open set] button rather than [New set] and then you will have all the cards from Hirahito 4.3, and can then choose a style for those cards if you do not like the default look.

Hopefully, that clears things up


----------



## dzokvic

Well, after taking a break from working on power cards for awhile after releasing my first template, to put in some serious work on my 4E campaign, I am back, at least for the time being.

It is gratifying to know that people are using and liking my template.  Many thanks to all those who do.  I am currently working on an update to it, not many sweeping changes, just cleaning up some areas, tightening up the design a bit, and playing with some stuff.  I will post the new template here when I am done, (which will hopefully be soon)and would appreciate any and all feedback you can give.

I am curious though, regarding the legality of using official 4e fonts in the power cards.  I have versions with and without, and I must admit, I really like the unified look using the fonts out of the book can give.  If anyone can enlighten me that would be excellent.

The idea of the UCS is _very_ exciting.  Props to everyone who is putting in time on this.


----------



## DennisB

DrunkenEwok, could you look at a template for me and see what you can do with it. It has a few glitches left in it and was wondering if you could, with you're vast knowledge, fix them for me, I can not make heads or tails of it.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Hello guys !

Here is a new version of the Thindaraiel template. This v2.0 version is designed to work with UCS Beta2 game file (not included in the package, you will have to download it also from Hirahito's links). No new functionnality, but everything that was in it before is still there.

With this version, you will be able to test the potential of UCS: the template is fully compatible with Hirahito's one, you can use both templates in the same mse-set.

Have fun !

Download : Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire


----------



## Dracorat

Grandpa said:


> *From Page 36 of this thread (assuming default posts per page)*
> Below is a complete (1500+) set of power cards in PDF format made from my own PowerPoint template. [...] New icons were made for Area and Close powers despite my itch for an official look, to delineate between bursts, blasts, and walls -- per type -- with a standardized visual approach to help new players understand how to use them on the Battlemat. The official icons don't seem to be built with that in mind.




Grandpa ...

I am making vector images of many of the icons people will need to use in preparation for creating my own power card template.

Some of the icons you have created are simply awesome. I can try to reinvent the wheel, but I would much rather use what you have for some things. Do you mind if I take some of your icons and use the basic design when I recreate all my icons? I am willing to include a readme that says "Some icons are directly inspired or molded after the icons created by ENWorld's 'Grandpa'"

??


----------



## eloquentaction

dzokvic said:


> Well, after taking a break from working on power cards for awhile after releasing my first template, to put in some serious work on my 4E campaign, I am back, at least for the time being.
> 
> It is gratifying to know that people are using and liking my template.  Many thanks to all those who do.  I am currently working on an update to it, not many sweeping changes, just cleaning up some areas, tightening up the design a bit, and playing with some stuff.  I will post the new template here when I am done, (which will hopefully be soon)and would appreciate any and all feedback you can give.
> 
> I am curious though, regarding the legality of using official 4e fonts in the power cards.  I have versions with and without, and I must admit, I really like the unified look using the fonts out of the book can give.  If anyone can enlighten me that would be excellent.
> 
> The idea of the UCS is _very_ exciting.  Props to everyone who is putting in time on this.




Dzokvik -

Good to see you back.

It's on my to-do list to update your style into the new UCS.  Do you want me to hold on this and hand over the project to you?

It's your template, control of where it goes is up to you.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Once Hirahito has released the card text (as he mentioned in a previous post, it is the 4.3 content at this time) you will be able to use use the [Open set] button rather than [New set] and then you will have all the cards from Hirahito 4.3, and can then choose a style for those cards if you do not like the default look.
> 
> Hopefully, that clears things up




Tristan -

Check the toosigma.com site.  The new Beta 3 of the UCS has been released and now my template has been updated to work with it.

Plus, the new Beta 3 of the UCS now has an MSE-SET that has 3206 cards;  All of the PHB, the MM, the DMG, the AV, the FRPG, some of the Dragons and some of the ENWorld material.

This is all in Beta, so we'd appreciate any feedback; good or bad.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> This does bring up a really good point I wanted to mention. I would really like the heading to include the actual skill...
> 
> For example: if I am looking for how to use Heal for first aid, I am going to be looking for "Heal: First Aid" rather than "First Aid". I have been using these cards for quite a while now, and that sort of things still throws me, since everything else is where "I expect it to be".




Tristan -

BTW - you can now officially call me a 'bastard'.

I wasn't able to get your skill title changes into this release, nor did I get your 'tristaboxes' into the set.

There was a lot of pressure to make the Beta 3 release, so they've slipped down to the next release.

Sorry dude.  I know this will crush you and make you hate the world and all...

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Thindaraiel said:


> Hello guys !
> 
> Here is a new version of the Thindaraiel template. This v2.0 version is designed to work with UCS Beta2 game file (not included in the package, you will have to download it also from Hirahito's links). No new functionnality, but everything that was in it before is still there.
> 
> With this version, you will be able to test the potential of UCS: the template is fully compatible with Hirahito's one, you can use both templates in the same mse-set.
> 
> Have fun !
> 
> Download : Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire





Thin - 

Your v2 template looks simply awesome.

Keep up the good work.

-- Hirahito


----------



## mps42

I'm sure this is user error but I really can't get UCS to work at all. I've dl and installed MSE as well as Beta 3 of the UCS as well as the Simple hirohito style and copied it all into the ME dir.
 When I open MSE I can find and open the beta 3 set but MSE gives me a "warning" window at the bottom of the screen with nothing in it. When I choose the style I get error "card has no member 'classification' " and if I try to apply the style to the cards I cannot veiw ANY card.

HELP!


----------



## VikingChris

DennisB said:


> This is the latest update picture.




This looks awesome!  I look forward to printing them out.


----------



## Avrus

eloquentaction said:


> Tristan -
> 
> Check the toosigma.com site.  The new Beta 3 of the UCS has been released and now my template has been updated to work with it.
> 
> Plus, the new Beta 3 of the UCS now has an MSE-SET that has 3206 cards;  All of the PHB, the MM, the DMG, the AV, the FRPG, some of the Dragons and some of the ENWorld material.
> 
> This is all in Beta, so we'd appreciate any feedback; good or bad.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Is it possible to add a downlink page link to the left hand navigation of the main page?  Unless you've bookmarked the page directly it's challenging ot navigate to.

Thanks for the great work!


----------



## Avrus

dzokvic said:


> Well, after taking a break from working on power cards for awhile after releasing my first template, to put in some serious work on my 4E campaign, I am back, at least for the time being.
> 
> It is gratifying to know that people are using and liking my template.  Many thanks to all those who do.  I am currently working on an update to it, not many sweeping changes, just cleaning up some areas, tightening up the design a bit, and playing with some stuff.  I will post the new template here when I am done, (which will hopefully be soon)and would appreciate any and all feedback you can give.
> 
> I am curious though, regarding the legality of using official 4e fonts in the power cards.  I have versions with and without, and I must admit, I really like the unified look using the fonts out of the book can give.  If anyone can enlighten me that would be excellent.
> 
> The idea of the UCS is _very_ exciting.  Props to everyone who is putting in time on this.




Yes I love your card template, if you're taking suggestions I would really enjoy giving some feedback.  I'm eager to print off a new batch of cards.


----------



## dzokvic

@ Hirahito - Feel free to update my set and put it in the UCS.  I have absolutely no ability to script, code, or perform whatever voodoo magic it is that you programmers do to make awesome things like the UCS work.  I make a pretty looking template that is functional, and that is about as far as my skill goes.  Also, if you want to make a MSE template out of my new version when it is finished, you are more than welcome, and I certianly would understand if it was low on the priority list.  Is there any way I could make this easier for you?

@ Avrus - Absolutly I am taking suggestions on the updated design.  My goal is to create a simple card design that has all of the pertinent information on it.  I want it to look pretty, but not have the looks detract from players being able to access the information at a glance in the middle of combat.  So if you have suggestions, by all means, fire away.

BTW - not upset or anything, but my handle is DZOKVIC, no K on the end, lol 

With that, here is the first preview of my new template; let me know what you think.


----------



## DennisB

VikingChris said:


> This looks awesome!  I look forward to printing them out.




The template is kinda on hold right now, have not heard from my partner but By my life, It will be completed and be part of the UCS If it is the last thing I do before I die..

My partner can only do it at work and he lives in Paris so the time difference gives us very little time to communicate. But I do understand that work comes first and I can not find anyone else to assist us. I figure it has about 3 or 4 more hours of work left before it is fully up and running.


----------



## Avrus

dzokvic said:


> @ Avrus - Absolutly I am taking suggestions on the updated design.  My goal is to create a simple card design that has all of the pertinent information on it.  I want it to look pretty, but not have the looks detract from players being able to access the information at a glance in the middle of combat.  So if you have suggestions, by all means, fire away.
> 
> BTW - not upset or anything, but my handle is DZOKVIC, no K on the end, lol
> 
> With that, here is the first preview of my new template; let me know what you think.




I'd love to see an option for your template to have a symbol in the second box for the attack (INT / STR whatever) and the defense in the third box.  Or even one with four boxes where the 3rd box is the + and the fourth box is the defense.


----------



## tecnowraith

Are there any programs that auto-calculates the power cards?


----------



## DennisB

Not at this point, I think it would be too complicated to make a program like that.


----------



## Timba

*Dzokvic*

It's beuatiful, but I guess there should be 5-6 field.

1. Action Type
2. Attack
3. Defense
4. Damage
5. Damagetype #1
6. Damagetype #2

Anyway as I se there is enough space for this fields.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

Avrus said:
			
		

> Is it possible to add a downlink page link to the left hand navigation of the main page? Unless you've bookmarked the page directly it's challenging ot navigate to.



This has been done on the wiki - also added a new forum announcement with direct links to the Download and Getting Started pages.  Should make it easier to find things.  Thanks for the heads up, and please let me/us know if there's anything that can make using UCS easier.



			
				technowraith said:
			
		

> Are there any programs that auto-calculates the power cards?



Actually, one of the projects on the drawing board (which will go into development once UCS is up and running) is to build a DDI character converter that will allow users to pick and choose from a variety of character sheet templates and will automatically create a mse-set with pre-calculated information based on your DDI character stats.  So while we don't have auto-calc cards yet, it is something we're planning to work on.  

The DDI Character Builder does currently create cards (only up to L3 for now) - but you're locked into their choice of template, which isn't nearly as gorgeous as anything our uber-talented designers have come up with, imho.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> Your v2 template looks simply awesome.
> -- Hirahito



For those working more closely on the UCS, I have a question that was triggered by Thindaraiel's template.

I thought the idea was to use the UCS as a standard base. I was surprised to see a special version of the symbol and icons folders specific to Thindaraiel's template. Is there stuff missing from UCS that was required?

More specifically, would the standard text work with Thindaraiel's template and utilize those special symbols? The flip-side question is: If someone makes a card using the special symbols, would they be useable by someone who does not have Thin's template loaded?


----------



## Avrus

DrunkenEwok said:


> This has been done on the wiki - also added a new forum announcement with direct links to the Download and Getting Started pages.  Should make it easier to find things.  Thanks for the heads up, and please let me/us know if there's anything that can make using UCS easier.




Thanks very much!


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> I wasn't able to get your skill title changes into this release, nor did I get your 'tristaboxes' into the set.



Don't worry about it! I am very happy to see the work on Beta 3 and I hope this project succeeds grandly.

Actually, now that I am pouring over the card text in UCS, I am changing my tune a bit regarding Basic Actions.

The titles get a bit large for something like "Perception: Search" or "Thievery: Open Lock" so putting the skill in every title does not seem like such a great idea anymore. I would personally still change the title of First Aid, but apparently I am not unclear on other skill uses, so it is a personal flaw 

I am sure this will only get better as there are more templates to choose from so that people can personalize the cards exactly as they want them. 

BTW: I love the flexibility of the "Hirahito-Simple" template. I switched the background style to 'Parchment3', the top mask to 'Leather2', and the icon background to 'Brassring' and I have a nice set of cards that I find esthetically pleasing.


----------



## eloquentaction

tristan_tewksbury said:


> For those working more closely on the UCS, I have a question that was triggered by Thindaraiel's template.
> 
> I thought the idea was to use the UCS as a standard base. I was surprised to see a special version of the symbol and icons folders specific to Thindaraiel's template. Is there stuff missing from UCS that was required?
> 
> More specifically, would the standard text work with Thindaraiel's template and utilize those special symbols? The flip-side question is: If someone makes a card using the special symbols, would they be useable by someone who does not have Thin's template loaded?




These are great questions.

UCS is (as you may have noticed) releasing a 'common' set of symbols, art, and so forth.  Any set designer is free to use these as much (or as little) as they desire.

But the UCS is *not* going to lock a template designer to just these common tools.  If a template designer wants to create all new symbols, art and so forth, they are more than free to do so.

There's really only two rules for the UCS:  Don't change the GAME file and re-release it (but you can ask that changes be made to the GAME file in the next release), and the last rule of:  Don't use someone's resources without asking and then re-posting a 'Thanks to...' message.

So, if you wanted to use Thin's resources, you'd have to ask him and get permission then repost a 'Thank you Thin for letting me use your XXX.'

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

And to continue with eloquentaction answer about stiles, I opted for the magic items to go with the colorful blue symbols so they can be quickly noticeable where as others opted to go with the plain black symbols and any special conditions (Like Healing surge and special conditions, ect. will also be on mine and the others wont, like he said it will all be compatible though. 

like so.


----------



## dzokvic

Well...there is good news and bad news.  The bad being that I just built a new computer and in the process of transferring data over, I experienced some corruption, and my power card template does not currently exist.  

The good news is, this allows me to start from scratch, rather than trying to edit my 1.0 template.  I also have a light week at work, so progress can be made fairly quickly.  Hopefully I will have something up later in the week.

I will see what can be done about making more fields on the left hand side.  I was originally going to go with icons here for the attack and defense, but I found that they were not grokkable enough by players.  If anyone has some good ideas for icons that could be used for this purpose, please share.


----------



## eloquentaction

dzokvic said:


> Well...there is good news and bad news.  The bad being that I just built a new computer and in the process of transferring data over, I experienced some corruption, and my power card template does not currently exist.
> 
> The good news is, this allows me to start from scratch, rather than trying to edit my 1.0 template.  I also have a light week at work, so progress can be made fairly quickly.  Hopefully I will have something up later in the week.
> 
> I will see what can be done about making more fields on the left hand side.  I was originally going to go with icons here for the attack and defense, but I found that they were not grokkable enough by players.  If anyone has some good ideas for icons that could be used for this purpose, please share.




The UCS has some attack and defense icons in the common symbols section originally made by Black Plauge and Mercutio.

Please feel free to use those or to make your own.

-- Hirahito


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

eloquentaction said:


> The UCS has some attack and defense icons in the common symbols section originally made by Black Plauge and Mercutio.
> -- Hirahito



Speaking of symbols... what happened to the [W] in the power text in Beta3?


----------



## DrunkenEwok

tristan_tewksbury said:


> Speaking of symbols... what happened to the [W] in the power text in Beta3?



This is a bug we've identified and (hopefully) resolved.  It's not a particularly simple fix, but you can find it on this thread.

Future versions should not have this problem, so it's only an issue if you really can't wait for the next release.


----------



## DennisB

OK, As soon as I can figure out how to put my template onto UCS, It will be put on there. With the exception on a few cosmetic alterations, it is done. Right now I am working on putting the martial Powers Handbook on the UCS. I feel it will take about a week, give or take a few days. This is what my template looks like. 

Things to look forward to in version 2.
1) The icons will be a little bigger.
2) We are going to look into making the boxes either writeable or typeable (right now it is writeable only)
3) Giving the option of either full color or black and white with color borders for printer friendly.
4) For some reason, for which we dont know why yet, When I cut and paste the information, The word "your" is changed into "our". It will be fixed by v2

Here is a sample of what the template looks like


----------



## tecnowraith

Is anyone else having problems printing cards in MSE? I am that when I print my cards, it cuts at bottom. So I missing art and info on certain cards when they place at the bottom of the page.


----------



## DennisB

Try printing it in landscape.


----------



## defendi

tecnowraith said:


> Is anyone else having problems printing cards in MSE? I am that when I print my cards, it cuts at bottom. So I missing art and info on certain cards when they place at the bottom of the page.




No, no, no.    MSE looks to have been created by a European because it defaults to A4 paper size.  If you force that through, it will cut off the bottom of your cards.  When you tell it to print and it brings up the print dialog, select preferences and change your paper to letter (or whatever size you're actually using).  That should fix you right up.


----------



## Angellis_ater

Is there any way to get these cards in PDF format? I'm running Linux and thus MSE (and associated tools) aren't an option right now (and I'm sure other Mac/Linux-users out there would appreciate it).


----------



## Dracorat

It strikes me that the UCS should export some fields in multiple formats. Then, the card designers can decide which is appropriate for their design.

The skill thing for example. There could be a "SkillName" field and an "ExtendedSkillName" field - no?


----------



## DennisB

This is still a beta program, Were just getting all the information on there book by book, once that is done then they are going to organize them by groups.


----------



## Dracorat

Angellis_ater said:


> Is there any way to get these cards in PDF format? I'm running Linux and thus MSE (and associated tools) aren't an option right now (and I'm sure other Mac/Linux-users out there would appreciate it).




I'll be sure to do this once they give us the go-ahead to go nuts.


----------



## Bayuer

@DennisB
You didn't include icons like in Ander version nor make something to blend this "Special" grafic or "Surge". I'm little disapointed. Anyway it looks good. I can't wait when it will be ready for use. Then I will see if it will beat Ander's cards, or I will stay with them.


----------



## DennisB

OK, until I figure out how to put it on the UCS, here is the template for you're edification. Like I said, this is v1 and in about a month or 2 we will release v2. If you have suggestions then let me  or the programmer of this template know, it is *Thindaraiel*. He did an outstanding job on this template. However, he is working as he is making it. thats why it will take about a month or 2 to do v2. Give him props if you like it.


----------



## eloquentaction

Angellis_ater said:


> Is there any way to get these cards in PDF format? I'm running Linux and thus MSE (and associated tools) aren't an option right now (and I'm sure other Mac/Linux-users out there would appreciate it).




MSE runs on WINE.  There's also a LINUX version that works spectacularly in.... Linux (amazingly enough).

One of the reasons us card designers went with MSE was because it was multi-platform.

Thus - no PDF required.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> It strikes me that the UCS should export some fields in multiple formats. Then, the card designers can decide which is appropriate for their design.
> 
> The skill thing for example. There could be a "SkillName" field and an "ExtendedSkillName" field - no?




The Monster and Character fields got added last version.

They have not been (by any stretch) finalized as of yet.

We'll take your suggestions under advisement for the next release.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Angellis_ater

Dracorat said:


> I'll be sure to do this once they give us the go-ahead to go nuts.




Thankyou SO much!  Power cards have been heaven-sent for my gaming group! And a big thanks go out to the people who help put this together!


----------



## Duniagdra

I think I'm doing something wrong because when I load the UCS Beta 3 into the MSE2/data folder, I get the default set image to show, but nothing else. Does the UCS come with a set included for testing out? I tried installing Dennis' set, but I get "Parameter Field 1: card has no member 'class race'". Was it not ready for UCS yet?


----------



## eloquentaction

Duniagdra said:


> I think I'm doing something wrong because when I load the UCS Beta 3 into the MSE2/data folder, I get the default set image to show, but nothing else. Does the UCS come with a set included for testing out? I tried installing Dennis' set, but I get "Parameter Field 1: card has no member 'class race'". Was it not ready for UCS yet?




Apologies.

The UCS is in beta.  It's got a few problems.  The DEFAULT set, for instance does not allow you to view or edit the cards (with this release, anyway).

So, yes, you need to load someone's template to view the cards.  DennisB's set was done in Beta 2.  If you'd like to use his template, you need to open his STYLE file and change the following:
change 'class race' to 'classification'.
change 'power type' to 'type'.
change 'card name' to 'name'.

Once you save this, it should load just fine in MSE.

Unfortunately, this is what happens with Beta software / projects - things are changed and break.

Once we release the first actual 'working' version you shouldn't see issues like this cropping up.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

Yah, sorry about that, we finished the template about an hour before beta 3 was released. oops.


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> Apologies.
> 
> The UCS is in beta.  It's got a few problems.  The DEFAULT set, for instance does not allow you to view or edit the cards (with this release, anyway).
> 
> So, yes, you need to load someone's template to view the cards.  DennisB's set was done in Beta 2.  If you'd like to use his template, you need to open his STYLE file and change the following:
> change 'class race' to 'classification'.
> change 'power type' to 'type'.
> change 'card name' to 'name'.
> 
> Once you save this, it should load just fine in MSE.
> 
> Unfortunately, this is what happens with Beta software / projects - things are changed and break.
> 
> Once we release the first actual 'working' version you shouldn't see issues like this cropping up.
> 
> -- Hirahito






DennisB said:


> Yah, sorry about that, we finished the template about an hour before beta 3 was released. oops.




Thanks. I'm excited to see progress. You're all doing a great job and hopefully, more will join the cause.


----------



## misalo1

Hi, All

My Template and Sets have been updated to Version 1.04

Template
First... there is no version 1.02 or 1.03
Added 4 new icons
Small addition to code

Sets
 Added 'Martial Power' book (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlord, Paragon, Epic)
Updated Artificer set to use new icon for a short rest


----------



## SlimJim

In order to make a type of card for Magic Set Editor, you need to learn a fair amount of their scripting.  It's a little tough, but I betcha there's someone out there who'll do it.  Eventually I plan to learn it for my own style of Power Cards and a custom card game I'm making.  If I get around to it, I'll do it for ya!  Soon I'll post a download to get my Photoshop card creation for power cards.  If you have Photoshop CS2+, I think you guys will enjoy.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

Angellis_ater said:


> ...I'm running Linux and thus MSE (and associated tools) aren't an option right now...



I am running MSE on Linux using Wine. Except for a single error message when the application first starts, there are no other issues with it. Works perfectly for me. Having said that, I should add that I do not actually print from MSE either on Windows or Linux. My printer has a strange printable area, so I export the images, then use OpenOffice to lay out the cards 8 to a page and print that way.


----------



## Alphastream

Regarding printing and pdf vs MSE, this is covered fairly well in the Wiki.

(I will update the Wiki to contain a link to the UCS project. We should probably have the UCS also link to the Wiki).


----------



## SlimJim

Here it is!  SlimJim's fully operational Power Card Creation Toolkit!  Instead of MSE, I use Photoshop.  So, to use this card kit, you must have Photoshop.
View attachment Z-Card System.zip - Comes with complete instructions on how to use everything in the kit.

Screenshot of a power card
HP tracking card
Character card
Character skills


----------



## tecnowraith

defendi said:


> No, no, no.    MSE looks to have been created by a European because it defaults to A4 paper size.  If you force that through, it will cut off the bottom of your cards.  When you tell it to print and it brings up the print dialog, select preferences and change your paper to letter (or whatever size you're actually using).  That should fix you right up.




Ahhh no wonder... That worked thanks.


----------



## Duniagdra

eloquentaction said:


> Apologies.
> 
> The UCS is in beta.  It's got a few problems.  The DEFAULT set, for instance does not allow you to view or edit the cards (with this release, anyway).
> 
> So, yes, you need to load someone's template to view the cards.  DennisB's set was done in Beta 2.  If you'd like to use his template, you need to open his STYLE file and change the following:
> change 'class race' to 'classification'.
> change 'power type' to 'type'.
> change 'card name' to 'name'.
> 
> Once you save this, it should load just fine in MSE.
> 
> Unfortunately, this is what happens with Beta software / projects - things are changed and break.
> 
> Once we release the first actual 'working' version you shouldn't see issues like this cropping up.
> 
> -- Hirahito



I made the changes you suggested to all but card name. I was unable to find that entry anywhere in the file. After doing so, all errors went away, but the cards come up blank. nothing but the template comes up.



misalo1 said:


> Hi, All
> 
> My Template and Sets have been updated to Version 1.04
> 
> Template
> First... there is no version 1.02 or 1.03
> Added 4 new icons
> Small addition to code
> 
> Sets
> Added 'Martial Power' book (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlord, Paragon, Epic)
> Updated Artificer set to use new icon for a short rest



Same for your cards. The template loads, but that's it.


----------



## misalo1

Duniagdra said:


> I made the changes you suggested to all but card name. I was unable to find that entry anywhere in the file. After doing so, all errors went away, but the cards come up blank. nothing but the template comes up.
> 
> Same for your cards. The template loads, but that's it.




Did you make changes to my template?
Which of my sets are you have trouble with?


----------



## Duniagdra

misalo1 said:


> Did you make changes to my template?
> Which of my sets are you have trouble with?



All I did was download the two compressed files you had in your thread for the template and all sets I think it was, then loaded them (decompressed of course) into MSE2/data. The template works, I can change through the different styles, but I find no cards. It's the same thing with Dennis as I mentioned above. Very confounded, since I thought it was straight forward. I've used MSE before and had no trouble using card sets.


----------



## misalo1

Duniagdra said:


> All I did was download the two compressed files you had in your thread for the template and all sets I think it was, then loaded them (decompressed of course) into MSE2/data. The template works, I can change through the different styles, but I find no cards. It's the same thing with Dennis as I mentioned above. Very confounded, since I thought it was straight forward. I've used MSE before and had no trouble using card sets.





I load mine by clicking on the set itself.

Other loads I've tested:

1. MSE2 Opening Screen -- using the 'Open Set' option. Locate the sets on your Hard Drive and click on any of my sets.

2. MSE2 File Menu -- Open (Crtl-o). Locate the sets on your Hard Drive and click on any of my sets.

Hope this helps.


----------



## dzokvic

Alright, here is a preview of the latest revision of my template.  Since all of the changes are not evident in these samples, I will give you a qiuck list of changes since 1.0.



There are now 5 fields on the left hand side, each of which can be individually toggled and filled with whichever information the player desires.  Currently available are action type, defense, and attack bonus.  Damage and possibly damage types will be included shortly.
The information in the attack vs. defense field has been replaced with an icon showing the defense.  Since the attack bonus is on the card, it seemed irrelevant to also include the attacking stat.  If this is something people would like changed, I can work on icons for the attack stats as well, and put them in one of the other fields.
The entire design has been tightened up in order to give more space for power text.
Flavor text has been removed.  My reasoning here was that at least in my games, players re-flavor the majority of their powers anyway, so having the text on the bottom of the card was pointless, and a waste of space.
The icon sets have been redone.  I am now using a mixture of the standard burst and blast icons, some of Grandpa's excellent icons, and the defense icons I have done myself.  Let me know what you think.
D&D Fonts Lolth and Mentor now used for the headings and power text respectively.
Now I just have to finish it up, and figure out how to actually make an MSE template out of my working PSD.  Feedback always welcome!


----------



## Timba

They are much beter than I ever hoped and these icons are wonderful!!! Where we can download these PSD-s from?


----------



## Avrus

dzokvic said:


> Alright, here is a preview of the latest revision of my template.  Since all of the changes are not evident in these samples, I will give you a qiuck list of changes since 1.0.
> 
> 
> 
> There are now 5 fields on the left hand side, each of which can be individually toggled and filled with whichever information the player desires.  Currently available are action type, defense, and attack bonus.  Damage and possibly damage types will be included shortly.
> The information in the attack vs. defense field has been replaced with an icon showing the defense.  Since the attack bonus is on the card, it seemed irrelevant to also include the attacking stat.  If this is something people would like changed, I can work on icons for the attack stats as well, and put them in one of the other fields.
> The entire design has been tightened up in order to give more space for power text.
> Flavor text has been removed.  My reasoning here was that at least in my games, players re-flavor the majority of their powers anyway, so having the text on the bottom of the card was pointless, and a waste of space.
> The icon sets have been redone.  I am now using a mixture of the standard burst and blast icons, some of Grandpa's excellent icons, and the defense icons I have done myself.  Let me know what you think.
> D&D Fonts Lolth and Mentor now used for the headings and power text respectively.
> Now I just have to finish it up, and figure out how to actually make an MSE template out of my working PSD.  Feedback always welcome!




Wow those look great I can't wait to try them out!


----------



## SBalrog

Well I've released my template for the UCS Beta 3. It is heavily inspired by Grandpa, Ander & Hirahito / Eloquentaction

You can find the UCS Beta 3 files and card sets here (the UCS Beta 3 files is needed but not included in the zip file):
Category:Universal Card Set - Toosigma

Here is a few samples and the template:


----------



## misalo1

*MSE2 3.8 has been released*

If you are going to test 3.8........ *back-up your sets*.

Going back to 3.7b is a pain if you save a set with 3.8.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Hello

I have quickly made 2 new versions of my template. 

First one is a new version of Ander's template, compatible with UCS Beta3. I have cut all the functionnalities that I have added in the previous version, and kept only the basic functionnalities from Ander's template. You can fint it here (Ander00 v2.0 for UCS Beta3.zip). This will allow Ander's fans to move to the UCS standard.

Second one is a first draft of Thindaraiel template for UCS Beta3. It does not contain the Monster/character cards, nor some of the new symbols. You can find it here (Thindaraiel v3.0 for UCS Beta3.zip). Expect a new version for the next week, implementing Monster/Character cards.


----------



## dreamwisp

You guys are positively brilliant!

A few things I noticed--
Thin--your Horizontal orientation is not selectable for the set--you cannot apply it to all cards.

*edit--it's now working...so please disregard!

In terms of basic data, all of the encounter powers are showing up as half-elf racials. 

Other than that, you guys are amazing!!! Thank you SO much--my group and I appreciate your efforts so incredibly much each time we use our beautiful cards.


-jen


----------



## SBalrog

All At-Will powers are indeed entered as Half-Elf Racial Encounter powers since a half-elf character can select one At-Will power from another class as an encounter power.

They should also be present as normal At-Will powers if you look


----------



## illathid

SBalrog said:


> Well I've released my template for the UCS Beta 3. It is heavily inspired by Grandpa, Ander & Hirahito / Eloquentaction
> 
> You can find the UCS Beta 3 files and card sets here (the UCS Beta 3 files is needed but not included in the zip file):
> Category:Universal Card Set - Toosigma
> 
> Here is a few samples and the template:



I really like this these. Great Job!

I do have 1 problem though, for some reason none of the cards display "[W]" , and whenever I try and type it in, it disappears. What can I do to fix this?


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

illathid said:


> I do have 1 problem though, for some reason none of the cards display "[W]" , and whenever I try and type it in, it disappears. What can I do to fix this?



This was mentioned here.


----------



## DennisB

They are fixing  that glitch as we speak, It is a glitch for all templates, not just 1 so it is the UCS.


----------



## JasonK

Not to derail the work, but is anyone working on a set of Grandpa's-style cards for Martial Power?  

No offense, but the sets most people here are working on are too visually complex (or seem to require me to download more than just a file to print).

- jasön


----------



## tecnowraith

what is the best way to update MSE program? 3.8 came out.


----------



## DennisB

I am working on the martial powers as we speak. It should be complete by this Sunday.  Sorry it is taking so long, I have ran into some personal problems that came first before the decks.


----------



## DanmarLOK

Not to mention the costs of printing.   My group is all approaching middle years and the subsequent onset of visual acuity and the downgrades there-of so I use a personally modded version of Anders format, primarily just reduced the color header in half, a spot of color is all we really need to know what type of power it is at a glance and as a result I get twice the prints per color cartridge.   But black text on white background is almost mandatory for the body text for us to be able to easily read the cards as they lay on the table.  

Don't get me wrong, some of the designs are really works of art and the authors should be commended on their artistic talent and flair but from a gameplay perspective, for us, simple wins out hands down. 



JasonK said:


> Not to derail the work, but is anyone working on a set of Grandpa's-style cards for Martial Power?
> 
> No offense, but the sets most people here are working on are too visually complex (or seem to require me to download more than just a file to print).
> 
> - jasön


----------



## DennisB

@ DanmarLOK

And I agree with you, some people like the flash and flair and some people like the simple. That is why me and my partner are working on a black and white option with the color thin border to be printer friendly. but as my template is still new it is still a work in the progress. However, This is why I like to read the threads to see what the players want and try to put the ideas of the players into my template.


----------



## SBalrog

JasonK said:


> Not to derail the work, but is anyone working on a set of Grandpa's-style cards for Martial Power?




My template for the UCS (post #1782) is mostly based on Grandpa's design: white background with black text as default (but can be configured), simple one color headers (not yet configurable) with the same color codes as the PHB uses, but I do use the icons from the standard UCS download (which was mostly copied from grandpa's style i believe), and has boxes which are a little smaller than Grandpa's cards, and the flavor text style is taken from Ander's template.

I plan to implement the following additions within a week or two:
- Backgrounds for the icons (similar to Grandpa's)
- Option to choose bigger boxes (3 & 4 boxes layout in addition to the 6 boxes)
- Option for shadow borders like Ander's template

Someone is adding Martial Powers into the UCS format, and as soon as these are done, they can be used with any UCS template.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

UCS Update:

Added links to all the templates I'm aware of to the download page: Downloads - Toosigma  Please let us know if we're missing anyone, or feel free to add your link to the list.
Updated the core Beta-3 files to correct the "[W] bug" (where the [W] is interpreted as a symbol).  It should work as expected with the initial install, and the bug-fix is no longer necessary.
Updated the UCS-Complete card set to include all the currently available cards - still doesn't include Martial Power, Manual of the Planes, or any Dungeon Mag material, but those should be available soon.
There are some minor issues with some templates, and not all the cards are perfect, please report any bugs/issues so they can be corrected.


----------



## JasonK

SBalrog said:


> My template for the UCS (post #1782) is mostly based on Grandpa's design ... Someone is adding Martial Powers into the UCS format, and as soon as these are done, they can be used with any UCS template.



Thank you but, unfortunately, I can't make use of UCS.  The computer I print cards from is at work, and I can't install software onto it; at home I use a Mac and don't have a printer, anyway.

As I said, I'm hoping someone has a card set for MP where the only download is the cards themselves.

Thank you, though, DennisB - I'll look forward to your release.

- jasön


----------



## SBalrog

JasonK said:


> Thank you but, unfortunately, I can't make use of UCS.  The computer I print cards from is at work, and I can't install software onto it; at home I use a Mac and don't have a printer, anyway.
> 
> - jasön




You do not need to install MSE to make it run on a computer, you only need to extract the MSE files, unfortunately they are a bit difficult to extract from the installation program, but I've made a zip archive with the application only. Just extract the files to a folder on you computer, add the UCS files and the template to the data folder, and run the mse.exe.

You are of course restricted to the fonts on your computer if you cannot install fonts.
And you need to open the mse-set files from the application, since it is not installed there is no file association.

Here is a link to a zip file with the application only (no templates):
4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download MSE-v0.3.8-NoTemplates.zip


----------



## Thindaraiel

You can install MSE on your own computer, and generate PDF throug a pdf-printer (like PdfCreator). Then print these PDF at your office.


----------



## Alphastream

Thindaraiel said:


> You can install MSE on your own computer, and generate PDF throug a pdf-printer (like PdfCreator). Then print these PDF at your office.




That's a pretty good solution. This way you would be able to make any edits to the cards (such as adding your PC's bonuses, if desired), print to pdf only the cards you will be using, and then take that pdf to work and print to paper just those cards you need. That milks all the advantages of using MSE.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

DennisB said:


> They are fixing  that glitch as we speak, It is a glitch for all templates, not just 1 so it is the UCS.



Sorry if I implied it was only with a given template. The good news is that it is fixed now, so not to worry in any case


----------



## DennisB

It was annoying to see that, but i am so glad they fixed that.


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> It was annoying to see that, but i am so glad they fixed that.




Sorry to say this, Dennis, but when you add as many features as we're adding into a Beta project; things like this are just bound to happen.

That's why it's a BETA.  It's NOT production.  We're clearly warning people that things may crash and go 'boom'.

So far, this is the largest error we've released.  Hopefully future versions won't repeat these mistakes.

-- Hirahito


----------



## JasonK

Alphastream said:


> That's a pretty good solution.



Unfortunately not for me.  I run a Mac at home.  

I'll give the "don't actually install the MSE" thing a try next time I'm in the office, though.  Thanks for that tip.

- jasön


----------



## DennisB

eloquentaction, I know, It was a joke. You all are doing a great job in this program.


----------



## Dracorat

JasonK said:


> Unfortunately not for me.  I run a Mac at home.
> 
> I'll give the "don't actually install the MSE" thing a try next time I'm in the office, though.  Thanks for that tip.
> 
> - jasön




Once the major stuff is worked out, I'll export everything to a PDF anyway, if you can wait. That way, all you have to do is print the PDF.


----------



## Warren

Hey guys, I appreciate everyone's effort with the MSE cards.  I think I've finally be convinced to change format from Grandpa's original PPT/PDF format, but they're all good.

One question: why don't you include master versions with all cards released to date?  It seems like every class/card type has it's own set.  Any reason not to combine them all?

I don't have too much experience with MSE, can it sort on multiple columns?

Thanks.


----------



## DennisB

Warren, While you are writing you're message me and drunkenewok are making the cards for the martial powers handbook and at the same time i am organizing the decks into categories so people can download just what they want, like if a player has a dragonborn fighter then all they need to download is the fighters deck and race deck and if they realy want, then the equipment deck also.


----------



## tecnowraith

I have question on some of the UCS templates. Will there be space to stats mods for damage and saves? I do not see them in most of them on my program like on on all the released ones.


----------



## DennisB

On 2 of the templates like mine there is invisible boxes on the left side of the card where you input the information you want and right now we are looking into making the boxes typeable as well but for right now it is writeable only.
The other 2 templates were made to input just the information about the powers or whatever section and not made for player boxes. this was done so players have even more choices. I hope this information was helpful.


----------



## Dracorat

Here is the Hirahito style of the UCS with some options changed away from defaults (because I liked how the new options looked better).

It is PDF and arranged in Landscape. I thought I read you got more cards per page that way, but you don't. But it took 5 hours to process, so I am not going to change it, at least not right now, as I am going to produce the UCS in a few other of the readily available styles so that people have options.

Oh, and it's 37 MB. Yeah - that's big.

Edit: OK It's on my site. Urgh. I hope that doesn't kill me bandwidth.

Here is the url to the file *THE ZIP IS PASSWORD PROTECTED - KEEP READING*

http://keithratliff.com/ucs/ucs_hirahito_landscape.zip

I want to be sure people are using my work only if they legitimately have a PHB (instead of as a replacement for it). Thus, the password is the first word you'll find on page 22 of the PHB.

And don't usurp my protection by posting the password on the thread or I'll change the password and the zip. (Or possibly just remove it, which benefits no one.)


----------



## meandog

I down loaded the UCS beta 3 and then the different templets from the toosigma.com web site. but get an error when i run the DennisB style. also when i unzip the following  plete-Beta3.MSE-SETedia:UCS-Complete-Beta3.MSE-SET a set file is in the folder where does this file go?
Has anyone posted MSE templets with the powers already entered?
thank you


----------



## Dracorat

The set file goes anywhere you like - it is the "save file" that has all the cards. I suggest My Documents.

Then, in MSE, that's what you "open".


----------



## meandog

Sorry Dracorat, I have another question, i put it in the folder but there is no file extention so when I try opening it MSE does not recognize it. Sorry for being so computer stupid.
Thanks for your help


----------



## Dracorat

It should have .MSE-SET as the file extension. Try downloading it again. (If you extracted it with a zip program you did an extra step too many - don't extract the .MSE-SET file, just stick it somewhere)


----------



## meandog

I still get a file named set with no extention on it.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

More UCS Updates!  Yay!



*Martial Power and Manual of the Planes are in*, and have been added to the Complete mse-set download on the Downloads Page.  We're now pushing almost *4700 cards* in total!
With this upload, we're just missing Dragon #378, the Dungeon Magazines, the Published Adventures, and material just released in the last week.  *We can always use more people for new card entry and proofreading the existing cards.*  If you've got some spare time and access to a source or three, please volunteer a little time so we can spread the workload around.  
*If you're having problems opening the mse-set files* from Windows explorer by double-clicking the file (you get an error like: Invalid command line option) the problem is with the file extension.  If you rename the file with a lowercase file extension (.mse-set vs. .MSE-SET) it should correct the problem. Future downloads will have the lowercase extension by default.
If you're having problems getting the UCS to work, please report issues here or on the Toosigma Forums so we can address any issues.  We can't fix something if we don't know it's broken.
@meandog - it sounds like you're extracting the set from the mse-set file.  This is unnecessary: MSE reads the .mse-set file directly.  The actual set file (what you've extracted) is just a text file with the card data - you shouldn't ever need to open this file unless you want to edit the data with a text editor like Notepad.

@Dracorat - if you'd like, you can add your template to the Downloads page on the UCS, or, with your permission, we can add it for you.

@technowraith - three of the currently functional templates have extra entry boxes for data - Thindaraiel's Horizontal and Vertical, and SleepyBalrog.  DennisB's template will include them, as will Ander00 - but both are having technical difficulties at the moment.  Future templates will definitely have this as an option - though whether the option is available is up to the template designer.


----------



## Dracorat

DrunkenEwok said:


> @Dracorat - if you'd like, you can add your template to the Downloads page on the UCS, or, with your permission, we can add it for you.




I don't have a template atm. I am just providing people with PDFs of the cards for those who don't have easy access to install the files (or even copy them) or just want to quickly run to a friend's house to print some, et al.

I realized shortly after my last upload that I used the card set with the [W] bug still in it. I am trying to export a new pdf with the new set, which wouldn't have the [W] bug in it.

And FWIW, I am seriously considering making a card template. But it'll be a while. Im a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to many things. This would be no different.

And also, I will be approaching card background images from a per-class point of view. I started with my first class. The Warlord - and the image I created to use as a background is attached.

I'll be making more as I have time. One note though - all will be female. I don't have any male models save one that's in an anime style. (Not quite true - I have a few oddball ones too, but few and far between, certainly not the level of customization I have with female toons)


----------



## meandog

> DrunkenEwok said:
> 
> 
> 
> More UCS Updates! Yay!
> @meandog - it sounds like you're extracting the set from the mse-set file. This is unnecessary: MSE reads the .mse-set file directly. The actual set file (what you've extracted) is just a text file with the card data - you shouldn't ever need to open this file unless you want to edit the data with a text editor like Notepad.]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ok when i click on the link to download the set, the file download box pops up and asks if i want to open or save this file. If I open it the files are extracted, if i save it they it just saves the zip file. So how do I get the complete set file so MSE can read it.
> If I can get this to work I would be glad to help review stuff.
> Again sorry for being so slow with the computer
Click to expand...


----------



## Dracorat

Use "Save" and make sure the extension is ".mse-set" and not ".zip".

That's all you have to do.


----------



## tristan_tewksbury

meandog said:


> Ok when i click on the link to download the set, the file download box pops up and asks if i want to open or save this file. If I open it the files are extracted, if i save it they it just saves the zip file. So how do I get the complete set file so MSE can read it.



IIRC, the answer was buried in this thread somewhere. IE has a problem with the file and renames it to *.zip rather than *.mse-set. If you just rename the file *.mse-set, it should work fine.

Oh, and insert obligatory plug for Firefox here


----------



## meandog

Thanks for the help, I got it to work. Ander00 and DennisB templets will not work though.

If you need someone to check info let me know how I can help.

Also where did the Bard and druid powers come from did someone make them up? When the PHB2 comes out in 2 months are you going to change that? 

Do you need help with inputing the Invoker and warden info?

again thanks for the help


----------



## eloquentaction

meandog said:


> Thanks for the help, I got it to work. Ander00 and DennisB templets will not work though.
> 
> If you need someone to check info let me know how I can help.
> 
> Also where did the Bard and druid powers come from did someone make them up? When the PHB2 comes out in 2 months are you going to change that?
> 
> Do you need help with inputing the Invoker and warden info?
> 
> again thanks for the help




Thindariel has updated the Ander template.  It should work with Beta 3.

The Bard and the Druid powers are ones I got off of work done here on ENWorld.  When the PHB2 comes out, we'll keep what we have.  There will be a PHB2 set and the original ENWorld set.  We'll most likely start entering in more 'optional' material from ENWorld here shortly - that way you can enjoy the fruits of all the ENWorld contributor's labor.  (There are some truly awesome ideas on this board).

I *believe* that the Invoker and Warden (found on Dragon #371) have not yet been started.  If you want to volunteer for this, you need to head over to toosigma and jump to the 'How can I help' thread.  There's a link there that goes to our main card enterererererer's WIKI page where the Drunken Ewok whips all the card entererererererererererer's into doing his evil bidding.

On that note, however, I will say that; with the exceptions of 2 Dragons, most of the Dungeons and a few modules, the UCS has been caught up and now includes ALL of the 4E material available.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

OK I just paid MediaFire to go "Pro" and can now upload through my Web site to them, so that they can eat the bandwidth.

Man, I feel almost dirty.

Again, the password to the zip is as described before.

Here is the URL to the latest export, which is the 3700 card UCS export, but this time with fixed [W].

I'll fix the original export I did next with the new, larger set next week.

Get the ZIP at:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/mfmgocndtjy/ucs_thindariel_simple.zip

And remember, use your PHB to unlock it! (I describe this is the previous page of this thread)


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> Here is the Hirahito style of the UCS with some options changed away from defaults (because I liked how the new options looked better).
> 
> It is PDF and arranged in Landscape. I thought I read you got more cards per page that way, but you don't. But it took 5 hours to process, so I am not going to change it, at least not right now, as I am going to produce the UCS in a few other of the readily available styles so that people have options.
> 
> Oh, and it's 37 MB. Yeah - that's big.
> 
> Edit: OK It's on my site. Urgh. I hope that doesn't kill me bandwidth.
> 
> Here is the url to the file *THE ZIP IS PASSWORD PROTECTED - KEEP READING*
> 
> 
> 
> http://keithratliff.com/ucs/ucs_hirahito_landscape.zip
> 
> I want to be sure people are using my work only if they legitimately have a PHB (instead of as a replacement for it). Thus, the password is the first word you'll find on page 22 of the PHB.
> 
> And don't usurp my protection by posting the password on the thread or I'll change the password and the zip. (Or possibly just remove it, which benefits no one.)




Draco -

Very cool.  And yes, I like those options as well.  When I chose the one I did, I went for the one that three people picked as their top or near the top.  And that's also why I added the ability to change the template - so you can customize the looks.

I also very much like the fact you kept the centering turned on for the top section even when only one icon is 'on'.  I'll most likely change my Beta4 template to do the same.

Thanks for posting the PDF's.  I've been wanting to do that for ages, but the danged things just were too large.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

ALSO NOTE - When typing in Draco's password, the FIRST LETTER ONLY is uppercase!  Even though the PHB shows as all upper case, it's not!!

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

eloquentaction said:


> ALSO NOTE - When typing in Draco's password, the FIRST LETTER ONLY is uppercase!  Even though the PHB shows as all upper case, it's not!!
> 
> -- Hirahito




Good point. I thought it showed the first as upper, but I'll be sure to update my post with a hint to this.

And thanks for the kudos! (Though the one you downloaded will need some fixin! Monday!!)


----------



## meandog

Nice cards Draco. Thanks alot for all your work.


----------



## Avrus

dzokvic said:


> Alright, here is a preview of the latest revision of my template.  Since all of the changes are not evident in these samples, I will give you a qiuck list of changes since 1.0.
> 
> 
> 
> There are now 5 fields on the left hand side, each of which can be individually toggled and filled with whichever information the player desires.  Currently available are action type, defense, and attack bonus.  Damage and possibly damage types will be included shortly.
> The information in the attack vs. defense field has been replaced with an icon showing the defense.  Since the attack bonus is on the card, it seemed irrelevant to also include the attacking stat.  If this is something people would like changed, I can work on icons for the attack stats as well, and put them in one of the other fields.
> The entire design has been tightened up in order to give more space for power text.
> Flavor text has been removed.  My reasoning here was that at least in my games, players re-flavor the majority of their powers anyway, so having the text on the bottom of the card was pointless, and a waste of space.
> The icon sets have been redone.  I am now using a mixture of the standard burst and blast icons, some of Grandpa's excellent icons, and the defense icons I have done myself.  Let me know what you think.
> D&D Fonts Lolth and Mentor now used for the headings and power text respectively.
> Now I just have to finish it up, and figure out how to actually make an MSE template out of my working PSD.  Feedback always welcome!




How are these coming along?


----------



## Bayuer

I went to UCS site. Downloaded all templates and Dennis B don't work... Ehh. That what it gives to me.

Parametr field1: card has no member 'classification'

Parametr field1: card has no member 'classification'
in function combined_editor


----------



## Bayuer

I went to UCS site. Downloaded all templates and Dennis B don't work... Ehh. That what it gives to me.

Parametr field1: card has no member 'classification'

Parametr field1: card has no member 'classification'
in function combined_editor


----------



## dzokvic

Avrus said:


> How are these coming along?




The PSD that I am working from is done, it now has all of the icons put in where they should be.  My current hurdle is learning how to make an actual MSE template out of it.  Hirahito did the last one for me, but he is understandably quite busy with the UCS at the moment.  So I need to get my template made and have it up to UCS standards is where I am at.  I am working on learning how to do it, but I do not have the mind of a programmer.  Slow, would best describe my progress at this point.  At least it is a learning process though.

I am also not sure if the fonts can be legally included or released, since they are the official WoTC fonts.  Anybody have any idea on this one?


----------



## Timba

Where can we download the PSDs from?


----------



## Dracorat

And now, installment #2 in iconic PC backgrounds, I bring thee ... ranger!


----------



## Surina

I get a couple errors when I try to open up the UCS versions of Thindaraiel and Ander00.

The one I get for Ander00 is File not found:"script-damage.txt" in package 'FILE LOCATION\4E-UCS-Ander00-commons.mse-include'

The one I get for Thin's is: Parameter field1: card has no member 'class race' in function combined_editor

Is there anyway I can fix this? I've downloaded all the UCS files several time...


----------



## dzokvic

Timba said:


> Where can we download the PSDs from?




I will try to get them hosted sometime this week, though I have quite a bit coming up at work so it may not be until Thursday or Friday.  The fonts will not be included, as I am still unsure of the legality.


----------



## Thindaraiel

Surina said:


> I get a couple errors when I try to open up the UCS versions of Thindaraiel and Ander00.
> 
> The one I get for Ander00 is File not found:"script-damage.txt" in package 'FILE LOCATION4E-UCS-Ander00-commons.mse-include'




Sorry for the error. Lord Tirian made a corrective version on the UCS development forum. You can download it here : Ander00-UCS3.rar



> The one I get for Thin's is: Parameter field1: card has no member 'class race' in function combined_editor




I'm suprised by this error. What version of UCS and what version of the template do you have ?


----------



## misalo1

Hi, All

My Sets have been updated to Version 1.05

Sets
Added 'Manual of the Planes' book
Updated sets with WotC Updates files (Jan 2009)
Correction - 'Coordinated Devastation' Card had Wrong Name


----------



## Bayuer

Thindaraiel said:


> I'm suprised by this error. What version of UCS and what version of the template do you have ?




MSE 3.8 and all the most actual versions of UCS from the stie. I even try to download the older UCS versions but it didn't help.


----------



## catsclaw227

I noticed in the UCS that there isn't a combined column for "Race/Class Level"  that used to be in the Anders and the Tintagel (sp?) cards.

Is this by design or it just hasn't been implemented yet?

It was very easy to sort by this column and you can, for example, get the Ranger cards sorted by level.


----------



## Surina

Thindaraiel said:


> Sorry for the error. Lord Tirian made a corrective version on the UCS development forum. You can download it here : Ander00-UCS3.rar
> 
> 
> 
> I'm suprised by this error. What version of UCS and what version of the template do you have ?




I'm using the latest downloads from the website. Beta3 for cards and the templates for Beta3.

I do have one other question...the cards for Ander's do not show the nifty boxes on the side for all the to hit, damage, etc... What happened to those? I just grabbed the corrective version so now I can use them again.


----------



## Waveblade

*The Manual of the Planes Power Cards*

Hi everyone I'm back again with some new stuff. The Manual of the Planes to exact. I think I went a bit crazy; you see at first I just did the Paragon Paths and Items but then I thought, 'Hey I may as well go through the whole book' so the result also has all the monsters, hazards, summaries of the planes and so on.

Manual of the Planes Power Cards.pdfhttp://img43.onemanga.com/mangas/00000018/000136212/02.jpg


----------



## eloquentaction

*UCS Beta 3.1 Update*

Just wanted to update everyone here on ENWorld about the UCS project.  Currently, we're on Beta 3.1 of the project.

We have 5 designers who all have at least 1 template on this version with a few more expressing interest.

We've caught up and surpassed most card set's out there in that we've entered in the PHB, DMG, MM, FRPG, FRCG, AV, MP, MotP, Dragonomicon, Dragons #364-371, some of the Dungeons, most of the modules, and even some work here at ENWorld.

Our next two steps are the creation of Monster cards and we expect those within the next few weeks, and the creation of a DnDI Character Builder card creator that allows you to take the saved character file of the Character Builder and turn it into a series of customized (and filled out) Power Cards in whatever set is your favorite.

Drop on by over at toosigma (link is in my sig) if you're interested.  We'd love to hear your opinions and / or advice.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DrunkenEwok

A couple more UCS updates:

The UCS Complete Set was just updated - now with 5116 (!) cards (though there are a couple duplicates).
If you'd rather deal with a smaller set - you can download all the cards from a single source at the Card Editors page. We're also working on getting content based sets built (Magic Items, Class-based, Races, Traps, Rituals, etc.)
All of the current templates have been fixed - the correct download links are on the Downloads Page


@Surina - The nifty boxes on the side are hidden by default. You can create them by choosing the template, returning to the Cards view, and then clicking on one of the dotted outline boxes on the side - type in some text for whatever you want the box to contain, and voila! the box appears.  This "feature" is available on several (all?) of the other templates as well.

@Bayeur - I've just done a wipe/reinstall of the whole MSE/UCS stack.  With MSE 0.3.8 and the latest links from the Downloads page, everything is working as advertised. If it still doesn't work - you might try deleting the template folders from your MSE data directory so you don't have any legacy files from older editions causing problems.

@catsclaw227 - the reason we don't have a "Race/Class Level" field is that it's actually separate bits of data. It would be ideal if MSE had multi-column sorting, but I agree that being able to sort by both values (instead of just either/or - as is currently availabe) could be useful. We'll see if we can work it in - in the meantime, you can always create a custom set by deleting all the powers you don't want (say, everything but the Ranger powers) and then sort the resulting set by a variety of criteria.

@anyone - if you have access to decent hosting, anyone is more than welcome to create some PDF versions of whatever UCS content they want. We realize not everyone wants to deal with installing a new program, and PDF versions are a great way to get more cards into more people's hands.


----------



## Dracorat

I'm still making PDFs but ran in to a memory issue. (I run out with a full swap file but can't change the swap file due to the file system. I'll be correcting over the weekend.)


----------



## thundershot

I'm trying to figure out exactly which files to download to make them show up in my MSE program.... I got some of the older ones working, but the new ones keep saying they're missing a file. The Ander00 versions are my favorite... which files do I need to download to get them to all appear?


Thanks
Chris


----------



## DrunkenEwok

thundershot said:
			
		

> I'm trying to figure out exactly which files to download to make them show up in my MSE program.... I got some of the older ones working, but the new ones keep saying they're missing a file. The Ander00 versions are my favorite... which files do I need to download to get them to all appear?



Try the Getting Started page. You'll need to download three separate files - the UCS, the Ander00 Template, and any of the Card Sets (e.g. UCS Complete.

Let us know if the instructions are unclear or difficult, along with any suggestions you have on improving them!


----------



## misalo1

Dragon 371 powers are now available for 'Misalo Set'.


----------



## dreamwisp

Hirahito, I had one request...your cards are AMAZING, but can you add boxes for Damage and Stat vs. Stat?

Thanks again so much!!!


----------



## eloquentaction

dreamwisp said:


> Hirahito, I had one request...your cards are AMAZING, but can you add boxes for Damage and Stat vs. Stat?
> 
> Thanks again so much!!!





Thanks for the support!

First, let me open by saying, since I've been doing a lot of UCS work, this template is nothing but a Beta.  Yes, there are quite a few things missing on it.

I've been playing with it some and have both cleaned up the look as well as thrown back in the optional boxes on the cards again with the Beta 3.2 release which should be coming out in the next few days.

This release will allow you to enter in text in the boxes, but it will NOT have any of that data there to begin with.

However, when Beta 3.3 gets released, I'm hoping to have the DnDI Character Editor convertor program working.  This little beasty is something I've been cooking up in the back labs - it will take a character saved in the DnDI Character Editor and make a new MSE set for you that includes all of the cards applicable to your character in the style you choose.

Unfortunately, the Beta 3.3 still won't fill those boxes in on the first pass.  That'll take a bit more work on my part - I'm hoping to have that ability in the near future.

Suffice it to say that I'm working towards cards that are auto filled in based on your character.  (Because I'm inherently lazy and I hate it when I miss a rule that could have given me an extra +1 to hit or a +3 to damage)

-- Hirahito


----------



## thundershot

DrunkenEwok said:


> Try the Getting Started page. You'll need to download three separate files - the UCS, the Ander00 Template, and any of the Card Sets (e.g. UCS Complete.
> 
> Let us know if the instructions are unclear or difficult, along with any suggestions you have on improving them!




For some reason, I still can't get it to work. What folders do I put everything in? I've been putting things in the data folder, but when I go to use the set file, it gives me an error... 


Thanks
Chris (I really did get the original ander00 ones working)


----------



## thundershot

Okay, somehow I managed to get it to work... (not sure how), however, some of the cards give me errors, and it won't let me save it without the program crashing...


----------



## Maxum

I got a problem with the UCS Complete (all Media:UCS-Complete-Beta3.mse-set 2009-01-29 5116 cards.

When I unzip it I get one file "set" If I change it to "set.mse-set" I get an error. File not found: 'set' in package...

Is that Zip file ok?


ok if found the problem.



> IIRC, the answer was buried in this thread somewhere. IE has a problem with the file and renames it to *.zip rather than *.mse-set. If you just rename the file *.mse-set, it should work fine.




Maybe you guys should put that on the download page. So people know to rename the file right of the bat and not have a problem.


----------



## misalo1

Message Deleted


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> A new icon for 'Rituals'.
> 
> @Hirahito
> 
> If you find it useful for the UCS... Enjoy!




I like your icons and have given you credit for some of the ones in the UCS going out with the newest release (most notably, the Beast related icons).

I'll probably add this one as well.

-- Hirahito


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> I like your icons and have given you credit for some of the ones in the UCS going out with the newest release (most notably, the Beast related icons).
> 
> I'll probably add this one as well.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Excellent 
I little scan/cut/paste with Gimp and bingo...

If you need any icons feel free to ask... and I'll see what I can come up with.


----------



## tecnowraith

Well to let everyone know that the UCS templates and files are now working find after installing the updates. The cards look good and Dennis yours is impressive but I think it will waste a lot of ink and gamers are not rich for printing at home at a printshop.


----------



## misalo1

Hi, All

The new preview of the 'Shaman' class is at WotC and there is a new attack form -- Melee spirit 1.

So here is an icon to go with it. How you like it. 

@Hirahito

Feel free to grab and go... for the UCS.


----------



## eloquentaction

dreamwisp said:


> Hirahito, I had one request...your cards are AMAZING, but can you add boxes for Damage and Stat vs. Stat?
> 
> Thanks again so much!!!




Dreamwisp -

As promised, here's the first step towards my cards having what you asked for.

I've implemented side bars.  Only 5 on this set, and right now there's only 1 look.

-- Hirahito

BTW - For those card designers that are interested, I finally figured out how to make conditional masking work on a field in MSE.  The example is in my card set (on the toosigma site).


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> Hi, All
> 
> The new preview of the 'Shaman' class is at WotC and there is a new attack form -- Melee spirit 1.
> 
> So here is an icon to go with it. How you like it.
> 
> @Hirahito
> 
> Feel free to grab and go... for the UCS.




Misalo -

Need some work on an icon.  I wanted to tweak the look of Beast Burst.  I think the symbol you have in the center of your version is too small.  Unfortunately, the version I came up with is pretty hideous.

If you could work out some sort of median between the two, I would be much obliged...

Here's what I came up with (I'm not responsible if you laugh so hard you injure yourself).

-- Hirahito

ALSO - I noticed your ritual icon and it got me thinking.  The UCS has a bunch of card types that have no icons (like rituals).  In fact, there are:  Info, Ritual, Initiative, Trap, Class Info (or just Class), Disease/Poison and Social cards.

Ritual can be the book, if you get a wild hair and think up icons for any or all of the other ones, we'd be very much appreciative.


----------



## DennisB

i must say it looks good, sorry i have not posted in about 2 weeks, but we got hit with a major ice storm and i lost power for a week then when i went to log onto my computer, i realized it was fried, but now i have a laptop, so it was a good thing my desktop fried. but now i am back


----------



## catsclaw227

Hey gang --

Is there a field in the UCS for "source"?  Something to designate the original source of the item in question.

For example, I look at all the Paragon Paths (135!) and I wonder where they all came from.  Are all of them "official"?  Are some from 3PP?  Are some fan creations?


----------



## eloquentaction

catsclaw227 said:


> Hey gang --
> 
> Is there a field in the UCS for "source"?  Something to designate the original source of the item in question.
> 
> For example, I look at all the Paragon Paths (135!) and I wonder where they all came from.  Are all of them "official"?  Are some from 3PP?  Are some fan creations?




 Yes.  There is a field in the UCS for the source of the power / monster card.

Oddly enough, it's called 'source'.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

DennisB said:


> i must say it looks good, sorry i have not posted in about 2 weeks, but we got hit with a major ice storm and i lost power for a week then when i went to log onto my computer, i realized it was fried, but now i have a laptop, so it was a good thing my desktop fried. but now i am back




Dennis -

Sorry to hear about your computer!

Are you one of the people that got their power knocked out for like... a bazillion years?

-- Hirahito


----------



## catsclaw227

eloquentaction said:


> Yes.  There is a field in the UCS for the source of the power / monster card.
> 
> Oddly enough, it's called 'source'.



Yes, you are right.... I am too tired, for sure.  Infants will do this....

My Bad... and the UCS team's GOOD!  

If I get some time, maybe I can actually contribute instead of just taking what is given to me.


----------



## eloquentaction

catsclaw227 said:


> Yes, you are right.... I am too tired, for sure.  Infants will do this....
> 
> My Bad... and the UCS team's GOOD!
> 
> If I get some time, maybe I can actually contribute instead of just taking what is given to me.




 Just having someone double check our work *is* contributing.

And the only way you can do that is to 'take' our work.

-- Hirahito


----------



## DennisB

my city alone, there were 26 deaths, 89% of the city was out of power, and 100% of the trees were damaged in some fashion. Im just glad we have a gas stove, that kept us warm and our neighbor has a generator that he let us plug into for 1 lamp and the tv so the kids would not bounce off the wall.

Now, back to the topic on hand, I have been set back bigtime because of the situation. but i am hoping i will be back on track, I am just re downloading everything from scratch and i need to reorganize it, so give me a week to get back on track with the UCS. I have to start all over again with sorting out the decks and uploading them onto the UCS.

As far as sorces, All but druid and bards are all from official sources from dragon, dungeon and the main books. when the players handbook is released then the official bards, druids powers will be updated. til then, they are fan created rules.


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> Misalo -
> 
> Need some work on an icon.  I wanted to tweak the look of Beast Burst.  I think the symbol you have in the center of your version is too small.  Unfortunately, the version I came up with is pretty hideous.
> 
> If you could work out some sort of median between the two, I would be much obliged...




OK one 'Big Paw' version... hope you like.



eloquentaction said:


> ALSO - I noticed your ritual icon and it got me thinking.  The UCS has a bunch of card types that have no icons (like rituals).  In fact, there are:  Info, Ritual, Initiative, Trap, Class Info (or just Class), Disease/Poison and Social cards.
> 
> Ritual can be the book, if you get a wild hair and think up icons for any or all of the other ones, we'd be very much appreciative.




OK let's have a look...

Info = I'll think about this one. 
Ritual = Grandpa's Icon (Done)
Magic Item: Tome = Book (Done)
Initiative = d20 (Done)
Trap = Killer Boulder (Done)
Class Info (or just Class) = 3 powers (Done)
Disease/Poison = Cobra/Rat & Skull/Biohazard  (Done)
Social cards = Drama Masks  (Done)

Misalo


----------



## WhatGravitas

misalo1 said:


> Ritual = Book (Done)



This one could have a small problem - Arcane Power is seemingly going to feature a Tome implement for wizards.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## misalo1

Lord Tirian said:


> This one could have a small problem - Arcane Power is seemingly going to feature a Tome implement for wizards.
> 
> Cheers, LT.




Not a problem. I don't use icons to represent implements.


----------



## WhatGravitas

misalo1 said:


> Not a problem. I don't use icons to represent implements.



Well, not for you, but for the UCS, at least - they use it for magic items and differentiate between the different implements.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## misalo1

Lord Tirian said:


> Well, not for you, but for the UCS, at least - they use it for magic items and differentiate between the different implements.
> 
> Cheers, LT.




Sorry I misunderstood the implements reference. 
I also use the wand, etc in my magic items... but so far my ritual cards are blue and magic items are yellowish... so I can use the same icon... but for the UCS, you bring up a good point.

@Hirahito
Any ideas on the direction the UCS will be taking on this.

I could work on 2nd 'book' type icon for the ritual and we could keep the simple one to use with the magic items.


----------



## Dayspire

I have a quick question (although I do want to take a moment to thank you ALL for such great work).

I know that there are always going to be new iterations of the cards, as there will be new books coming out all the time.  But what I like to do with the cards is make customized versions - meaning, on the 'Cleave' card, put the fighter's to-hit and damage, and save it (although I do keep an unmarked 'Cleave' card as well).  I wonder though - when next I update my cards, will my customization be erased?  Even though both cards are called 'Cleave', which one is written over, if any?

Thank you for your answers.


----------



## catsclaw227

Dayspire said:


> I know that there are always going to be new iterations of the cards, as there will be new books coming out all the time.  But what I like to do with the cards is make customized versions - meaning, on the 'Cleave' card, put the fighter's to-hit and damage, and save it (although I do keep an unmarked 'Cleave' card as well).  I wonder though - when next I update my cards, will my customization be erased?  Even though both cards are called 'Cleave', which one is written over, if any?



You can do what I have done.  I wanted to make a Ranger only list.  So I...


highlighted all the Ranger cards
copy (CTRL-C)
Create a new empty set based on UCS
Paste cards in
Save new set

Then you can still import the new sets and leave your special group alone.  Now... If there's a change to one of the cards in your set and you need the update, you can selectively copy/paste/delete the ones in question.


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> ALSO - I noticed your ritual icon and it got me thinking.  The UCS has a bunch of card types that have no icons (like rituals).  In fact, there are:  Info, Ritual, Initiative, Trap, Class Info (or just Class), Disease/Poison and Social cards.




Initiative....

How's this...


----------



## DennisB

Dayspire, my template, we are working on typeable boxes on the left side, the only thing you can do is write in the boxes right now.


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> ALSO - I noticed your ritual icon and it got me thinking.  The UCS has a bunch of card types that have no icons (like rituals).  In fact, there are:  Info, Ritual, Initiative, Trap, Class Info (or just Class), Disease/Poison and Social cards.




Classes....

How's this...


----------



## Drabix

*More Swordmage powers*

Attached are the Swordmage powers from Dragon 367, done in the format Grandpa uses. 

One thing to note - I went with the "Daily" text for Elemental Aegis and changed the color of the card to gray.


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> ALSO - I noticed your ritual icon and it got me thinking.  The UCS has a bunch of card types that have no icons (like rituals).  In fact, there are:  Info, Ritual, Initiative, Trap, Class Info (or just Class), Disease/Poison and Social cards.




Poison & Disease (Two versions)

The 2nd pair (skull & biohazard) were too modern for me so I came up the cobra & rat.

Enjoy


----------



## jffdougan

On the subject of Grandpa's cards (where is he, anyway?), look at his icons for race/class/etc. Why reinvent the wheel if it's usable?


----------



## Grandpa

I still check in here and there to see if anything in the basic card set needs adjusting, but it was a monumental effort to get that in place and it suits my needs (which don't extend past the core books). Others have made amazing contributions to the set (which was the point of doing them in PPT) but it makes sense the community is heavily involved with UCS since the highest cost in producing cards is typing in all of the information.

I have different design needs and continue to use and love my set and hope others find a use in them too. But I am humbled by the generosity of community. The work preparing cards is staggering and everyone involved has been incredibly gracious.

But yeah, I'm kind of around if you have questions. I wish I had more time to participate, but I don't anymore. :/


----------



## misalo1

jffdougan said:


> On the subject of Grandpa's cards (where is he, anyway?), look at his icons for race/class/etc. Why reinvent the wheel if it's usable?




Are they available in png (or something similar) so we can use them in MSE.
If not the work is the same.

Edit...
Someone just pointed me to Grandpa's ppt files.
We can get the icons from there (Doh) .
I'll convert them if Grandpa doesn't mind....


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> Ritual can be the book, if you get a wild hair and think up icons for any or all of the other ones, we'd be very much appreciative.




As Lord Tirian noted the _Arcane Power_ book will have a new implement 'Tome' - we'd probably be better off saving my 'Open Book' icon for that. It seems to fit in with Magic Item icons.

I had another look at Grandpa's Icons and to replace it I'd use his 'Ritual' icon.
His icons for Conditions and Races are really good. So I converted them to png so they can be incorporated in to the UCS.

The icons below are: Ritual - Races - Conditions - Magic Item: Tome (the 1st three are by Gramdpa & the last one is mine)


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> As Lord Tirian noted the _Arcane Power_ book will have a new implement 'Tome' - we'd probably be better off saving my 'Open Book' icon for that. It seems to fit in with Magic Item icons.
> 
> I had another look at Grandpa's Icons and to replace it I'd use his 'Ritual' icon.
> His icons for Conditions and Races are really good. So I converted them to png so they can be incorporated in to the UCS.
> 
> The icons below are: Ritual - Races - Conditions - Magic Item: Tome (the 1st three are by Gramdpa & the last one is mine)





Misalo -

Those are awesome icons.  And yes, I've stolen a lot of Granpa's icons for use with other magic items (with his grudging, grumpy, granpa-like permission).  *wink*

I will definitely be bringing most, if not all those icons across.

I owe you a six pack of the favorite brew, sir.  And well, Granpa, tell me whether you prefer Ensure or Boost old people drink and I'll get you a case right out to you.  *snort*  (I keeed, I keeed).

Right now, I'm trying to finish up my Monster card template so I can start working on the printing tool for the DnDI Character Editor.  I've managed to finagle the use of a copy of Acrobat Professional so I can edit some of the fine PDF character sheets out there.  Between that and the power card piece, it ought to be a pretty cool tool.

-- Hirahito

P.S. - You had asked what a 'Social' card was.  Well, currently, it hasn't been defined.  My intention, however, is to make a set of cards the DM can use to enhance role-play.  For example; if a player does a heroic deed and almost gets post-toastied trying to save a local or a damsel, he gets a 'Heroic' card which allows them a special bonus they can use during the next few sessions.  Likewise, good role-playing also nets social cards that allows a (for example) +1 to hit for a round or +2 to damage, etc.

Suddenly, good role-playing becomes 'worthwhile' to the combat-whores in the group.


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> Misalo -
> 
> P.S. - You had asked what a 'Social' card was.  Well, currently, it hasn't been defined.  My intention, however, is to make a set of cards the DM can use to enhance role-play.  For example; if a player does a heroic deed and almost gets post-toastied trying to save a local or a damsel, he gets a 'Heroic' card which allows them a special bonus they can use during the next few sessions.  Likewise, good role-playing also nets social cards that allows a (for example) +1 to hit for a round or +2 to damage, etc.
> 
> Suddenly, good role-playing becomes 'worthwhile' to the combat-whores in the group.




OK... I got an idea for that... I'll let you know, 

BTW... Which Poison / Disease icon do you prefer:
Modern (Skull/Biohazard) or Animal (Cobra/Rat)?

Just Curious...

Alain (Thral Misalo)


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> OK... I got an idea for that... I'll let you know,
> 
> BTW... Which Poison / Disease icon do you prefer:
> Modern (Skull/Biohazard) or Animal (Cobra/Rat)?
> 
> Just Curious...
> 
> Alain (Thral Misalo)




I was thinking the Cobra / Rat ones.  Further, I was thinking I need to go clean the dataset... errr... the card entries to split Disease and Poison into two different clearly different types of cards.

BTW - Not to influence your idea(s), but my 'icon idea' for the Social card was the comedy / tragedy masks.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

Just used some printed UCS cards for my game this last weekend. They were a big hit. That said, a couple things I couldn't find:

An "Action Point" card. We could find the second wind, but not the AP card. Can anyone point me to what it's called?

- there was an alternative "Second Wind" card that claims it was from the PHB and said you could take your second wind to regain the use of encounter powers. Really? Where have I missed that?

There was no "Grabbed" status card I could find. We had to look up grabbed and escape rules. (But to the cards' credit, they are the ONLY rules I had to look up!)


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> Just used some printed UCS cards for my game this last weekend. They were a big hit. That said, a couple things I couldn't find:
> 
> An "Action Point" card. We could find the second wind, but not the AP card. Can anyone point me to what it's called?
> 
> - there was an alternative "Second Wind" card that claims it was from the PHB and said you could take your second wind to regain the use of encounter powers. Really? Where have I missed that?
> 
> There was no "Grabbed" status card I could find. We had to look up grabbed and escape rules. (But to the cards' credit, they are the ONLY rules I had to look up!)




There's no Action Point card in the UCS Beta 4 set.  We'll have to add that and Grabbed and Escape cards, obviously.

And the alternative Second Wind you're seeing is an optional card I threw in from an ENWorld thread here.  It should say 'Optional' in the keywords.  If it doesn't, I'll need to make sure and add that as it is NOT RAW.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

If "optional" was on the card, it didn't make sense, so I don't remember it. The "source" field should probably say something like "house rule" instead of "PHB Chapter 6"

And thanks for clarifying that!


----------



## misalo1

eloquentaction said:


> I was thinking the Cobra / Rat ones.  Further, I was thinking I need to go clean the dataset... errr... the card entries to split Disease and Poison into two different clearly different types of cards.
> 
> BTW - Not to influence your idea(s), but my 'icon idea' for the Social card was the comedy / tragedy masks.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Done


----------



## Griogre

Grandpa said:


> I still check in here and there to see if anything in the basic card set needs adjusting, but it was a monumental effort to get that in place and it suits my needs (which don't extend past the core books). Others have made amazing contributions to the set (which was the point of doing them in PPT) but it makes sense the community is heavily involved with UCS since the highest cost in producing cards is typing in all of the information.
> 
> I have different design needs and continue to use and love my set and hope others find a use in them too. But I am humbled by the generosity of community. The work preparing cards is staggering and everyone involved has been incredibly gracious.
> 
> But yeah, I'm kind of around if you have questions. I wish I had more time to participate, but I don't anymore. :/



Grandpa, I'm a big fan of your cards.  Do you have any plans to update them with the Jan '09 errata from Wizards?


----------



## wigwam

This may not be the right place to ask - but does anyone have a set for the Star Wars Saga Edition?


----------



## eloquentaction

wigwam said:


> This may not be the right place to ask - but does anyone have a set for the Star Wars Saga Edition?





I don't have the books for this, nor do I currently play it.  I'd love to adapt the Power Card idea to it, however.

What does everyone else think?

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

misalo1 said:


> Done




You sir, are a poet.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

I just found that "SOURCE" is part of the "Card Editable" section of the Hirahito Simple Template so that if you turn off Card Edit, it goes away. I don't mind the racial and class etc fields going away, but SOURCE isn't found anywhere else on the card and that bugs me. Could you add (when you find time) the SOURCE somewhere in the regular card space? (Outside the Edit Fields)


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> I just found that "SOURCE" is part of the "Card Editable" section of the Hirahito Simple Template so that if you turn off Card Edit, it goes away. I don't mind the racial and class etc fields going away, but SOURCE isn't found anywhere else on the card and that bugs me. Could you add (when you find time) the SOURCE somewhere in the regular card space? (Outside the Edit Fields)




The Source field is meant to be part of your search criteria in that it shows up on the card field list on the right hand side of MSE.

If your MSE is being naughty and not showing it, you can select it by hitting CARDS -> Show Fields (or something similar, I don't have MSE in front of me), and then selecting the Source field as one of the shown fields.

The nice thing about this is that it becomes one of the filterable and sortable fields on the right, which means you can, if you desire, sort by source and see all of the AV cards at the top of your list.

As far as adding the Source field to the card, you are more than welcome to copy my template and add it to your own version.  I, personally, don't see a need or want for it on the card.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

OK Thanks, I'll do just that (copy and add).

It's valuable because I like to know where things come from. It helps me to keep things straight.


----------



## shieldknight01

*How does it work?*

I enjoy using the power cards everyone is creating.  I have been on this thread off and on for the last couple of months.  I am not a computer programmer, but would like to know a little more about the creation of the card sets (on the programming side).  I have downloaded MSE and have used it to create cards that weren't in a set yet to use for LFR and home campaigns.  However I was hoping to be able to adjust the sets so they were by class, feat, race, etc... instead of by book.  That way, when a player in my group wanted to view the Fighter powers of 3rd level, they could just pull up the Fighter set and sort by level.  Or if they want the Cleric info they just pull up the Cleric set.  And they wouldn't have to page through all the classes.  Or look through several different sets trying to find all the fighter powers.  If someone would be willing to just point me in the right direction or give me a quick overview of it, I would appreciate it.  I know this requires more updates, but would make using the sets much easier and more efficient.

Thanks for all the work you guys are doing.  Please contact me if you need help, even typing in information, I'm more than willing to help out.  Especially since I have been getting so much out of these cards myself.  I have also been using the power sets as a kind of compendium because I don't have internet access at home.

Thanks,


----------



## DennisB

If you right click on the right side of the page in the UCS you can sort out the decks as you wish, and the top on the list if you left click it also sorts the deck as well:

But here is another suggestion. you can cut the deck up to make a deck for fighters, wizards, magic items, and so forth.

As far as not having internet connection, thats easy, download what you need onto a disk and then onto your home computer.


----------



## wagenejm

As someone who has been following this thread since Ander00's original set (and I've been using his template almost predominantly) I'm more than thrilled to have quietly watched the community working on the UCS project. I've even learned a thing or two about tweaking some of the settings in the template folders to make the cards do a little more of the specific things I wanted to do with them.

It was worth my while to download the new UCS base template and then proceeded to get the updated Ander build that Thindaraeil put together, mostly because everyone has been keeping up with the current-game powers and classes. I put my previous tweaks in to customize it the way I liked and off I went.

As I've been looking through the new UCS 0.4 set, I realized it's much too big for me to load and run with. Too much miscellaneous information cards that I might never intend to use. So I set about breaking down the main set into chewable pieces. Each class has its own set; the paragon paths are a set; the epic destinies are a set; each armor type is a set. You get the picture.

This brought up a concern for me, as the set of cards gets updated and moves forward. It's currently being posted as a full set, including all new updates. Is there anywhere that specifically lists the additions to the set in the update? Is it possible to ask for a set of only the updates, so I can add to what I have? With the set already above 5000 cards, it's a daunting task to think of having to compare all the sub-sets with each newly updated mega-set to find out what's missing.

Just a questioning thought...


----------



## eloquentaction

wagenejm said:


> As someone who has been following this thread since Ander00's original set (and I've been using his template almost predominantly) I'm more than thrilled to have quietly watched the community working on the UCS project. I've even learned a thing or two about tweaking some of the settings in the template folders to make the cards do a little more of the specific things I wanted to do with them.
> 
> It was worth my while to download the new UCS base template and then proceeded to get the updated Ander build that Thindaraeil put together, mostly because everyone has been keeping up with the current-game powers and classes. I put my previous tweaks in to customize it the way I liked and off I went.
> 
> As I've been looking through the new UCS 0.4 set, I realized it's much too big for me to load and run with. Too much miscellaneous information cards that I might never intend to use. So I set about breaking down the main set into chewable pieces. Each class has its own set; the paragon paths are a set; the epic destinies are a set; each armor type is a set. You get the picture.
> 
> This brought up a concern for me, as the set of cards gets updated and moves forward. It's currently being posted as a full set, including all new updates. Is there anywhere that specifically lists the additions to the set in the update? Is it possible to ask for a set of only the updates, so I can add to what I have? With the set already above 5000 cards, it's a daunting task to think of having to compare all the sub-sets with each newly updated mega-set to find out what's missing.
> 
> Just a questioning thought...




Next to Monster cards, this is probably the biggest request I'm seeing right now for the UCS.

Based on that info, I'm making it a priority for Beta 5.  Because of the work I'm doing with the DnDI Character Editor, I've already in the midst of a program that 'splits the deck' based on the options selected in the saved .4EDND character file.  Since the UCS has all the fields that split the cards by type, it should be fairly simple to make the Deck Splitter an open tool that will split any mega-file you give it into a series of set based on internal specifications.  I'll slate this program for the Beta 5 release.

This will push the DnDI Character Printer out a bit, but I think it's worth it based on all the requests I'm seeing.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Dracorat

It'll certainly help with PDF exports which just failed on me again after 6 1/2 hours of trying to export a PDF with the latest set.

Tomorrow, I try again!


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> It'll certainly help with PDF exports which just failed on me again after 6 1/2 hours of trying to export a PDF with the latest set.
> 
> Tomorrow, I try again!




 Wait till I get the splitter out.

I'll see if I can kick it out the door quickly here in the next day or two.

-- Hirahito


----------



## Alphastream

eloquentaction said:


> I don't have the books for this, nor do I currently play it.  I'd love to adapt the Power Card idea to it, however.
> 
> What does everyone else think?
> 
> -- Hirahito




SAGA does not use powers. It uses Feats and Talents. So, you would probably want an icon for each. 

You might also want a field where you store the "Talent Tree" name for each talent. Each talent then just has text, which is usually pretty brief (like 2-3 sentences) but is sometimes fairly massive (2-3 paragraphs, etc.). 

Talents and feats both have prerequisites, though that may not be important on a card. 

You could also have a Class and Prestige Class card, which could have a field to capture Class Feature (some classes have a short text benefit, such as the Delay Damage ability for Elite Trooper). 

You could of course go nuts with equipment and skills, but you could use existing templates for that.


----------



## Dracorat

eloquentaction said:


> Wait till I get the splitter out.
> 
> I'll see if I can kick it out the door quickly here in the next day or two.
> 
> -- Hirahito




Sounds good!

As ever, much appreciative of all the work you're doing (and contributors too!)


----------



## eloquentaction

Dracorat said:


> Sounds good!
> 
> As ever, much appreciative of all the work you're doing (and contributors too!)




It's the contributors.  There are about a half dozen of them that do all the work.

I'm only the most visible because they like me to be the scapegoat if and when any errors are made.

-- Hirahito


----------



## wagenejm

eloquentaction said:


> Next to Monster cards, this is probably the biggest request I'm seeing right now for the UCS.
> 
> Based on that info, I'm making it a priority for Beta 5.  Because of the work I'm doing with the DnDI Character Editor, I've already in the midst of a program that 'splits the deck' based on the options selected in the saved .4EDND character file.  Since the UCS has all the fields that split the cards by type, it should be fairly simple to make the Deck Splitter an open tool that will split any mega-file you give it into a series of set based on internal specifications.  I'll slate this program for the Beta 5 release.
> 
> This will push the DnDI Character Printer out a bit, but I think it's worth it based on all the requests I'm seeing.
> 
> -- Hirahito




I greatly appreciate that you'll be working on this for Beta 0.5, and I think the deck splitter is a great idea, however one of the questions I had asked was about the possibility of having a set comprising only of new cards that have been added for a particular update. Even if I have my sets split out a certain way, how will I know what cards are new when the updates release? I'm still trying to avoid having to split everything out all over again with every new update, even if there's a tool to do it. I don't know about others, but that will discourage me from staying current.

For example, when I download an update for World of Warcraft, it comes in a patch that is only the new files and information. I don't have to re-download the entire game every time it updates. Currently when an update to the card set is released, it's a full set of everything that has to be downloaded and split. I'm asking for a second set that is only the newest cards.

When you update to Beta 5, I'm hoping in addition to the full Beta 5 set, you'll also include a set of "New cards added since Beta 4" that I can just add to my current Beta 4 set to update it to Beta 5.

Again, thanks a ton for spearheading this incredibly awesome effort.


----------



## DrunkenEwok

wagenejm said:


> I greatly appreciate that you'll be working on this for Beta 0.5, and I think the deck splitter is a great idea, however one of the questions I had asked was about the possibility of having a set comprising only of new cards that have been added for a particular update. Even if I have my sets split out a certain way, how will I know what cards are new when the updates release? I'm still trying to avoid having to split everything out all over again with every new update, even if there's a tool to do it. I don't know about others, but that will discourage me from staying current.



As of right now, the easiest way to find out where the new cards are is to go to the UCS Card Entry page and look for files updated since you downloaded the main file. Any new cards are added to the Card Entry Source-based sets first, and then compiled into the uber-master set on some (ir)regular schedule - currently whenever I have time and feel like compiling.

We also have (had?) plans to manually create sub-sets of the master - based on class, race, magic items, rituals, or whatever other content-based divisions we decided on. Hirahito's splitter may fulfill this role - but I'm not sure how good a job the program will be able to do at this point. It can easily split all the cards with classification = "Cleric" for example, but it won't be able to add in all the cleric-specific feats, paragon paths, and/or epic destinies. Splitting out the paragon paths and epic destinies will be especially difficult - since they are currently classified as both "paragon path" and the actual name of the paragon path (e.g. Warpriest). We can probably work around this issue with some modifications - but it may take longer than a few days to have everything working seemlessly.

As for a true difference-based release cycle - I don't know that it will be feasible anytime soon. Being able to download one specific package and keep adding only the new information adds a huge amount of overhead to our processing workflow - we have to create all the possible difference files, and have someone dedicated to compiling them. In the long run, when/if we migrate to a full database system for storing the cards and dynamically generating sets, we could probably manage this sort of release system - but it's not likely to happen very soon.  We might manage a major release difference set - like your suggestion on new cards released between Beta4 and Beta5 - but that may entail fewer releases of the complete card set (to only coincide with major updates to the whole UCS).

On the plus side - having to download the whole package every time there's an update is much less of a problem for our project than it would be to something the scale of World of Warcraft. Even the largest set we have available is only a 700KB download - while the average WoW download (even just the difference version) tends to be measured in 100s of MB, if not GB.

Sorry for the doom-and-gloom - we'll definitely try to address any issues people bring up, but sometimes the logistics (for this purely volunteer and part-time effort) may put a damper (or at least a delay) on any feature requests.


----------



## eloquentaction

DrunkenEwok said:


> As of right now, the easiest way to find out where the new cards are is to go to the UCS Card Entry page and look for files updated since you downloaded the main file. Any new cards are added to the Card Entry Source-based sets first, and then compiled into the uber-master set on some (ir)regular schedule - currently whenever I have time and feel like compiling.
> 
> We also have (had?) plans to manually create sub-sets of the master - based on class, race, magic items, rituals, or whatever other content-based divisions we decided on. Hirahito's splitter may fulfill this role - but I'm not sure how good a job the program will be able to do at this point. It can easily split all the cards with classification = "Cleric" for example, but it won't be able to add in all the cleric-specific feats, paragon paths, and/or epic destinies. Splitting out the paragon paths and epic destinies will be especially difficult - since they are currently classified as both "paragon path" and the actual name of the paragon path (e.g. Warpriest). We can probably work around this issue with some modifications - but it may take longer than a few days to have everything working seemlessly.
> 
> As for a true difference-based release cycle - I don't know that it will be feasible anytime soon. Being able to download one specific package and keep adding only the new information adds a huge amount of overhead to our processing workflow - we have to create all the possible difference files, and have someone dedicated to compiling them. In the long run, when/if we migrate to a full database system for storing the cards and dynamically generating sets, we could probably manage this sort of release system - but it's not likely to happen very soon.  We might manage a major release difference set - like your suggestion on new cards released between Beta4 and Beta5 - but that may entail fewer releases of the complete card set (to only coincide with major updates to the whole UCS).
> 
> On the plus side - having to download the whole package every time there's an update is much less of a problem for our project than it would be to something the scale of World of Warcraft. Even the largest set we have available is only a 700KB download - while the average WoW download (even just the difference version) tends to be measured in 100s of MB, if not GB.
> 
> Sorry for the doom-and-gloom - we'll definitely try to address any issues people bring up, but sometimes the logistics (for this purely volunteer and part-time effort) may put a damper (or at least a delay) on any feature requests.




As usual, the Ewok has said it best.

I've completed about half of the Deck Splitter.  But he's right; it's going to split the deck based on class name, card type and a few other criteria.  It will, by no means, be a perfect split.

Short of having a human run through the deck manually and then being double checked by several people; there's no way to make a perfect set of split decks.  Not to mention the fact that the maintenance would be mind numbing.  It's an overhead that a volunteer-based system just isn't going to handle easily.

This is the main reason I felt an automated splitter was the best option; because it takes no effort from our fantastically talented yet very limited time-wise volunteers.

Right now, the splitter de-zips the deck, reads the header, modifies the header as appropriate for the type it's making, creates a new file based on the criteria and splits the deck apart by card.  It currently is waiting on the logic to tell which card belongs in which deck and then the logic to re-assemble the mini-decks back as 'set' files then into appropriately named (zipped) .mse-set files.  Right now, if it can't understand the deck (because it's a non-UCS deck, for example) - it gets pissy and throws all the cards into an 'Other' deck.  I don't think I want to throw in the logic to convert other decks into a UCS compatible deck, so I'll probably keep this logic.

Also - it's written in my language of choice:  C# on the .NET platform.  That means it won't run on Linux or on the Apple.  If you want to run it, use WINE and don't whine to me about wanting it compatible, because it's not going to happen.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

While looking through the code for the Deck Splitter, I realized the UCS set now contains a field called 'time modified'.

So, what I plan on doing is also aggregating a new deck for each modified time.  This will mean that the request for a deck with only the new items will automagically 'appear' when the Deck Splitter is run.

This may mean that a few small decks need to be re-joined manually to make the 'Beta 567.1' release deck, but it should be far less work than any other method I can think of.

-- Hirahito


----------



## eloquentaction

Just a note for those of you that have expressed interest; the UCS Deck Splitter has been completed and is on the toosigma website (link in sig).

It only works with the UCS deck.

It's very much alpha.

It will most likely kill your dog, get your girlfriend pregnant, steal your car, destroy your house and give you hairy palms and bad eyesight.

But hey, it splits the deck.

Try it out and give me feedback.

-- Hirahito


----------



## wagenejm

This sounds great. I wasn't looking forward to re-parsing the sets over and over again, and if the deck splitter can split cards out by timestamp of their add/modify, I can handle that. I'll have to try out the splitter sometime this weekend if I get a chance. I'm having to hurry to finish up my next adventure


----------



## wagenejm

One more question, sorry.

From glancing at the UCS Card Entry page, it seems that entire publications are being added as a whole, rather than just cards willy-nilly whenever they're done. Is this correct?

If you are adding to the set on blocks of entire publications (magazines, books), my worry about parsing out new cards from updated sets really ends up being a moot point, because the "updated cards" will be whichever sets are completed.

I appreciate all your efforts, and so do my players.


----------



## misalo1

@Hirahito

I'm back.....

Here's one for Traps (a la Dr. Jones)


----------



## Nytmare

Hey, I made some new backs!

They're kinda sloppy, sorry. I needed to rush them out so I could print them in time for my game. There are more in the works.


----------



## Timba

*dzokvic*

Would you upload the PSD-s somewhere?


----------



## dzokvic

Timba said:


> Would you upload the PSD-s somewhere?




Here ya go.

RapidShare: Easy Filehosting


Sorry that took me so long to get posted; things have been a little hectic around here recently.  You'll have to get the fonts yourself, as I am still not sure of the legality of releasing them.  A quick Google search can tell you how to get them out of the various PDF's that WotC has published.


Thanks again for your interest!


----------



## DanmarLOK

FYI, the person who's doing basically what the power cards is doing only through a web site rather than MSE apparently received a C&D from Wizards...



> Sorry for not responding to all the requests!
> 
> T*he much anticipated Cease and Desist letter finally came from Wizards.* It was a little earlier than I expected, since their powercards are not going to hit the market for another month or so. Either way, I appreciate all the support. I have a few ideas on how to rework what I've done in order to keep this project alive, but in between my full time job and my contracting I don't have too much time for play! I keep you guys in the loop if I divine some time for the additional programming!


----------



## Black Plauge

Well, the advantage to using MSE, is that all WotC can order a cease and desist on is the production of the card sets that contain their copyrighted text.  The concept of power cards is not copyrightable and the design of any power cards made in MSE remains the IP of the designer, to do with as they please.

It's sticking points like that that allow MSE itself to continue operating.


----------



## Garthanos

Black Plauge said:


> Well, the advantage to using MSE, is that all WotC can order a cease and desist on is the production of the card sets that contain their copyrighted text.  The concept of power cards is not copyrightable and the design of any power cards made in MSE remains the IP of the designer, to do with as they please.
> 
> It's sticking points like that that allow MSE itself to continue operating.



You missed copyright images and trademarked logo's ...or other trademarked things.


----------



## WhatGravitas

Garthanos said:


> You missed copyright images and trademarked logo's ...or other trademarked things.



Well, most icons and symbols and so on are pretty much all self-made - by Grandpa, misalo and co. The only things re-used are the blast/burst/melee/ranged icons from the MM. These are quickly replaced by something similar that conveys the same idea.

And once the DDI -> powercards converter works, we really don't have to use anything directly from WotC.

Cheers, LT.


----------



## catsclaw227

Lord Tirian said:


> And once the DDI -> powercards converter works, we really don't have to use anything directly from WotC.



Except that I am pretty sure that the *.dnd4e files for characters don't have the power card text within the XML.  So you would still have the full WOTC power text issue to contend with.


----------



## WhatGravitas

catsclaw227 said:


> Except that I am pretty sure that the *.dnd4e files for characters don't have the power card text within the XML.  So you would still have the full WOTC power text issue to contend with.



Haven't looked at them yet, so well, that's probably bad - but seriously, having the template alone is pretty great already!

Cheers, LT.


----------



## Black Plauge

Actually, yes it does.


----------



## Timba

*dzokvic*

Thank you very much!  Does it contain only the daily (black) card? I have found only that. Sorry, I'm not a Photoshop expert.


----------



## Mercutio01

Since I made a large portion of the icons in my set with Black Plauge, I'm not worried about that being an issue.  I stopped putting my power cards online anyway because not many people were downloading.  (Per mediafire, I've got about 1500 downloads per set for the basic PHB1 classes).  Plus the tediousness of hand entering all the data was driving me nuts.  Now I only make the cards that I need.


----------



## DennisB

Mercutio01

Some of us figured out to get the books in PDF then all you have to do is copy and paste, it saves so much time and effort...


----------



## Black Plauge

Even copy/paste processes take a long time.  Time that those of us working on advanced degrees don't have.


----------



## DennisB

LOL, 

I forgot, I graduated about 10 years ago but now I am a stay at home dad, so I have all the time in the world.


----------



## Mercutio01

I'll soon have that kind of time myself.  I just finished my advanced degree (a Master's in Creative Writing--I'm a poet), and I'll soon be staying home with my second daughter (in April).

That said, I think I'll stay away from the IP C&D stuff by not posting anything other than templates, if I even feel the need to tweak what I have, which so far I don't.

I do have to say that I'm liking the UCS idea.  I think Hirahito (Eloquentaction) et al have done a fantastic job with it.  I still like mine though because I like using visual icons rather than text.


----------



## Piratecat

Hey, folks! We want to make sure that we're not hosting or linking to illegal use of WotC's IP. That's been a big problem with power cards. As a result, if you've linked to a problematic site anywhere in this thread, or have wotc IP uploaded here in power card form, please remove it.

Morrus has provided additional guidelines in a sticky thread in this forum.

Thanks!


----------



## C_M2008

What version of MSE is the UCS using? Is it compatable with other versions? (I am using 3.6 I believe).


----------



## eloquentaction

C_M2008 said:


> What version of MSE is the UCS using? Is it compatable with other versions? (I am using 3.6 I believe).




UCS is compatible with 3.6 and higher, though I recommend going ahead and grabbing the latest:  3.8

-- Hirahito


----------



## FdL

*Ander's new cards for UCS*

I like Ander's card template an I've been using it a lot. 

I like it has the boxes where I can write with a pencil the exact current attack mod and damage. It's more of a quick reference on how what to roll that way.

No, I've noticed they designed the new version without them, and I was totally bummed about it.

Is there another version of them which has the boxes? I mean compatible with the UCS. No other card compares to these for me, because none seems to have the thing of the boxes.

If not, I'll be forced to use the old ones I've been using.

Edit: Been looking at all the sets in UCS, and noticed they show my loved writeable white boxes in the previews, in fact, there are some invisible fields that look like them in the card design. How do I enable them? Did i install anything wrong?


----------



## DanmarLOK

Just put some text in the boxes.


----------



## FdL

Thanks!!! That worked perfectly.

It's a drag to have to edit all the cards I'll use, but it's  good solution.


----------



## dreamwisp

Hirahito--
I'm in love.  You rock my world.  I, and my 7 other cronies who have been playing every Friday since '02 sincerely appreciate your efforts and phenomenal cards.

You guys all rock!


----------



## kingworks

Hello, 

I'm new here.  I have been printing out Ander's wonderful set for my PC's.

I would like to use it for Rituals as well as Powers.  To that end, I've created some icons, but have no idea how to add them to the MSE.  I PM'ed Ander about this, but he may be too busy/uninterested/etc at the moment.  

Does anyone have any experience with adding images/icons to the MSE?

You can view them here.


----------



## Llwynog

kingworks said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm new here.  I have been printing out Ander's wonderful set for my PC's.
> 
> I would like to use it for Rituals as well as Powers.  To that end, I've created some icons, but have no idea how to add them to the MSE.  I PM'ed Ander about this, but he may be too busy/uninterested/etc at the moment.
> 
> Does anyone have any experience with adding images/icons to the MSE?
> 
> You can view them here.



I like your icons but don't really know how to get them into MSE.  The most I've done is swap out the existing icons for some I liked better.  My attempts to add new ones have met with abject failure.


----------



## kingworks

kitsunegami said:
			
		

> I like your icons but don't really know how to get them into MSE.  The most I've done is swap out the existing icons for some I liked better.  My attempts to add new ones have met with abject failure.



Thanks.  

I can copy and paste the icons used within the set, and when I use the M:TG template to create item cards, it has a space marked "Double click to add photo." 

That's as far as I've gotten, myself.


----------



## eloquentaction

kingworks said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I can copy and paste the icons used within the set, and when I use the M:TG template to create item cards, it has a space marked "Double click to add photo."
> 
> That's as far as I've gotten, myself.




There's a couple of different ways you could add those into the UCS.

First, convert them to PNG's and them into the data\4E-UCS-cameos.mse-include directory by changing the User1 through User10 PNGs that are in there.  You could then just go to one of the cards, click on the edge (a huge drop down will appear) and select User1 through User10 and the background image of the card will become your icon.

For best effects, you should make the white area transparent and you should resize the image to be 375x420.

Another way to do it, is to drop the image (once again as a PNG) into the data\4E-UCS-symbol-white.mse-include directory.  Once again, the white area of the images will need to be transparent and you'll want to resize the images down to 73x73 for best effect.  You'll want to make the 'visible' part white to match the other icons that are there. (just invert the colors if you're in GIMP).

Once you've done that, decide whether you want the new icon in the attack menu or in the action menu.  Look in the data\4E-UCS-{Card Style}.mse-style directory and edit the file called 'style.'

Depending on who the author of the style you're using is, and their method of displaying icons, this will change.  Based on my template, follow the following directions:

* Locate a field called 'action' or 'attack'.  You'll see a long list of 'choice images'.  Just go to the bottom of this list and add a new name - let's call it Test1.  Based on that, you should type something like the following:

Test1:                script: drop_shadow(input: "/4E-UCS-symbol-white.mse-include/{mynewimagename}.png", offset_x:0, offset_y:0, blur_radius: 0.1, alpha: 1, color: get_shadow_color())

* Next, go into the action-menu or attack-menu file under the data\4E-UCS-scripts.mse-include directory and just add a new entry onto the list there called 'choice: Test1.'   *IMPORTANT - make sure the choice is exactly what you typed in the style file.

That's all there is to it!

-- Hirahito


----------



## mps42

*Templates*

if anyone is interested, these are the templates I've been using. Very much influenced by the Grandpa style. feel free to grab at-will (no pun intended).

Also, somewhere during all this power card business someone posted a fold-up box to keep them in but i'll be darned if I can find it now...


----------



## Mercutio01

mps42 said:


> if anyone is interested, these are the templates I've been using. Very much influenced by the Grandpa style. feel free to grab at-will (no pun intended).
> 
> Also, somewhere during all this power card business someone posted a fold-up box to keep them in but i'll be darned if I can find it now...



Hi, yes the box was me.  You can download it from mediafire.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/4mumintzm0k/PowerCardBox.pdf


----------



## kingworks

@ eloquentaction / Hirahito

Thank you!  I finally got it to work.  Here's a quick set I did with the Rituals my PC's have:






If any one is interested in adding the icons to your MSE template, here are the .png's I used (Note: I created these based around Ander's template):

http://www.mediafire.com/file/me5ymnwlzmn/ritual symbols.zip


----------



## Apocrypha

Nice. Thanks for the symbols. Going to make some ritual cards for my own PC.


----------



## Thindaraiel

I have updated the Thindaraiel Template (based on Ander's) for UCS. You can find the main information thread on toosigma forum which is UCS main home, at this address : toosigma.com • View topic - Thindaraiel template, version 4.6

This version of the template implements the ritual icons proposed by Kingworks.


----------



## Thiorn

soo .. i honestly don't have the time right now to dig through 98 pages of replies to see if this has already been asked so here goes:

i was experimenting with the "export to image" function of MSE2 to get image files to the power cards wit the following name format:

<level of power> - <card type> - <name>.jpg

where <card type> refers to at-will, encounter or daily powers

but i don't seem to be able to find the right expression for the <type> part ... if i put{card.type} in the dialogue, it gives me the the power type (attack, utility etc.) 

anyone care to help out ?


----------



## shieldknight01

*Copy and Paste*

I like having the power cards separated into different sets based on class, feats, racial, etc...
Originally I just took a set that was already done and copied and pasted into a new file.  However, as the sets get more symbols and updates, I am finding that they don't copy anymore.  For example, I can't copy the new Fighter powers from a Martial Power set into the Fighter set I developed using an original Players Handbook set.  Is there any way around this?  Is it possible to cut and past info so that I don't have to retype the powercards into the set I like?

Thanks,


----------



## hardwire

*Most Updated Power Cards*

Will someone with the most updated Power Cards please email me their set? I have been using Ander00's set, but it seems I have been out of touch for awhile and now I am behind.

I only have Ander00's latest set from his original post, but that doesn't include PH2. I'm on the road most of the time and I like what everyone is doing. I just need caught up.

Please send email to hardwire@usa.com

Thanks,
Hard Wire


----------



## bagger245

Yes, as well as the latest grandpa cards...


----------



## Thindaraiel

shieldknight01 said:


> Originally I just took a set that was already done and copied and pasted into a new file. However, as the sets get more symbols and updates, I am finding that they don't copy anymore.




This occurs because the set you copy from and the one you copy into are not based on the same game file. For instance, a Tintagel template and an Ander template share only some informations, but are not fully compatible because they have each their own game file, with their own fields.

That is one of the reason we worked on the UCS model. This is an unique game file, with several templates based on it. The compatibility between the templates is ensured by the common game file. Copying from one set to another, both based on the UCS, even with different templates, is possible.


----------



## Duniagdra

I'm really not sure what's wrong here, but for the very longest time I've been having trouble getting anything to work. I've loaded MSE 2v3.8. I downloaded Media:UCS-Complete-Beta3.mse-set and loaded it into the data folder. I downloaded Hirahito-Modified and loaded that into the data folder. I downloaded Universal Card Set and loaded that into the data folder. I opened MSE and went to the styles and there is only the default set and that will not export anything but the default opening image, no matter how many cards I select. Before any changes I was able to open MSE and use Ander's set. Now I get nothing. Can someone please help? I'm looking for power card that are current and complete and was hoping the development of the UCS would give me this. I'm running Windows Vista.


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## Mercutio01

Thindaraiel said:


> <snip>



I just wanted to note that I think it's AWESOME that someone else uses the damage icons I spent a lot of time creating.  I really thought they were just languishing in the limbo that is my own home card template.


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## xerent

I've been trying to make my own template for power cards while I was at work, I figured I would post them here and see if people were at all interested





They're magic card sized, so they'll be able to fit into sleeves.


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## Khaalis

Could someone with the latest Anders set drop me a private message / email?


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## Timba

*xerent*
These cards are fantastic! Would you share the template?


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## Duniagdra

Duniagdra said:


> I'm really not sure what's wrong here, but for the very longest time I've been having trouble getting anything to work. I've loaded MSE 2v3.8. I downloaded Media:UCS-Complete-Beta3.mse-set and loaded it into the data folder. I downloaded Hirahito-Modified and loaded that into the data folder. I downloaded Universal Card Set and loaded that into the data folder. I opened MSE and went to the styles and there is only the default set and that will not export anything but the default opening image, no matter how many cards I select. Before any changes I was able to open MSE and use Ander's set. Now I get nothing. Can someone please help? I'm looking for power card that are current and complete and was hoping the development of the UCS would give me this. I'm running Windows Vista.



Anyone with any suggestions here?


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## sora7548

grandpa your cards are real super cool


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## Highland Raider

Duniagdra said:


> I'm really not sure what's wrong here, but for the very longest time I've been having trouble getting anything to work. I've loaded MSE 2v3.8. I downloaded Media:UCS-Complete-Beta3.mse-set and loaded it into the data folder. I downloaded Hirahito-Modified and loaded that into the data folder. I downloaded Universal Card Set and loaded that into the data folder. I opened MSE and went to the styles and there is only the default set and that will not export anything but the default opening image, no matter how many cards I select. Before any changes I was able to open MSE and use Ander's set. Now I get nothing. Can someone please help? I'm looking for power card that are current and complete and was hoping the development of the UCS would give me this. I'm running Windows Vista.




Go into Program Files -> Magic Set Editor 2 -> Data -> then look for another Data folder.  That's likely where those files wound up.  I had a similar problem and went through figuring out where the files had dumped themselves after unzipping then had to cut all the files in the second Data folder and move them back out to the first data folder.  Does this make sense?

What you probably have is this Program Files>Magic Set Editor 2>Data>Data with the files and folders you need in this second folder.  Just cut-n-paste everything from there back out to the first folder so the path is this:

Program Files>Magic Set Editor 2>Data with all of your needed folders and files here.  Then delete that spare data folder.

Hope that helps.


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## Henrix

Khaalis said:


> Could someone with the latest Anders set drop me a private message / email?




I'd like to ask the same, please.

I've got a DDI subscription, but I much prefer the Ander0 cards.


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## Thindaraiel

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that there is no more update to ander0 card sets. At least, I didn't see any update in the last few months.

You can search for the UCS project, where you will find the latest cards sets, and if you appreciate Ander's template, you can still use it as I have converted the template to the UCS format.


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## Netminder69

Has anyone created icons for Action: Opportunity action or Attack: Melee Spirit?

I have 0 artistic ability and could use them for the Shaman cards for my PHB 2 cards (The Dungeon Crawl - Home).


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## Thindaraiel

I have just finished 3 new icons for opportunity actions and melee-spirit and range-spirit attacks.

What do you think of them ?


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## Nytmare

They make me want to play Pacman...


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## dragon23ca

I just added the Player’s Handbook Heroes: Series 1 cards to the Universal Card Set (UCS) for anyone who wants them.
UCS-Card Entry - Toosigma


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## daan

Some very nice templates on here!

I'm wondering, would any of you be willing to allow your designs to be used on http://www.godeckyourself.com? Its an online tool for card creation, for people who just want to create some cards without fiddling too much with layout (sort of a lightweight MSE).


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## Nytmare

daan said:


> I'm wondering, would any of you be willing to allow your designs to be used on http://www.godeckyourself.com?




Be forewarned that WOTC has been cease and decisting websites that let people download power cards.


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## daan

Nytmare said:


> Be forewarned that WOTC has been cease and decisting websites that let people download power cards.




Thanks for the warning!

Godeckyourself.com is gaming system agnostic and intended for homebrew cards. Copies of commercial cards, copyrighted or trademarked materials are not allowed (plus there are enough of those around anyway). 

For example, you won't be able to find the typical Rogue powers on there, but there might be one or two home made powers.


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## Mercutio01

daan said:


> Some very nice templates on here!
> 
> I'm wondering, would any of you be willing to allow your designs to be used on http://www.godeckyourself.com? Its an online tool for card creation, for people who just want to create some cards without fiddling too much with layout (sort of a lightweight MSE).




daan - if you'd like to use the card designs that Black Plauge and I made, feel free.  Let me know what you need via PM.


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## daan

Mercutio01 said:


> daan - if you'd like to use the card designs that Black Plauge and I made, feel free.  Let me know what you need via PM.




Thanks  I'll work your material into some templates.


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## Thindaraiel

*UCS updated*

UCS Beta 5.1 is the newest version for the UCS model, adding only a few functionalities and correcting some little problems to the Beta5.0.
- new card type: Power Feature (for powers who have no level and are class/race/talent dependent)
- default card is now "Power Feature"
- 'type' field is no more defined by the card type, but is only initialized with the card type. You can modify the value as you want
- new ritual category: Thievery (for alchemy rituals)
- new field: 'trap conditions' contains the description of the trap and the conditions of activation. This must be used to separate the "pure" rule field from the specific "trap info"
- 'action' field is enabled on Traps
- missing icons have been added (see other thread)
- symbol menu and shortcuts have been updated

The Thindaraiel template has been improved to fulfill these functionalities, plus some little updates:
- when selecting an alchemy category on a ritual card, the card design changes for "alchemy ritual": icon and color are not the same
- new illustration added (mainly for my own campaign, but it can be useful also for you !)
- automatic keywords are lowercase in the keywords zone. damage keywords and ritual skill keywords are now separated by comas instead of slashes. styling option "keywords field" proposes a new value "sorted (no edition)". When selected, you cannot modify the keywords field, but all the keywords (including manual ones) are now sorted alphabetically and are lowercase.
- I added in 5.0 the new item and ritual fields (cost, enhancement bonus, ritual manifestation, and so on) as hidden fields before the rules. You have to move the cursor before the rules to access these fields. This was not really easy to use, so I have added a new styling option "rules edit mode" to show all the hidden fields.
- new styling option "header icon small" for those who prefer the small icons like in Ander00 original template rather the bigger icons I propose.
- new design for some of the character/monster cards. Try them !

Ander00 template has been updated to be compliant with UCS Beta5.1. It is still a reduced version of Thindaraiel template, thus limited to its functionalities.

Hirahito template has been updated to correct a major bug:
- a new box is available in the header to select the power frequency (it's a shame I didn't see that before !)

Naienko (formerly DnD) template has been updated.

You can find the UCS Beta5.1 and all these templates, and the Beta4->Beta5 converter by Meigetsu, at the following adress: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=e00e4cf5c7c06234ab1eab3e9fa335ca612adfdc3fd0631c 


Do not hesitate to send a feedback !


UCS Beta5.2 will certainly contain a bunch of programming aids for template developpers, plus some little information fields I'm thinking of. I want to develop the Feat/Race/Class info cards. If you have any suggestion, please notify me !
UCS Beta5.2 will have to wait till late august, due to real life and vacations, unless there is a major bug to correct.

You can follow the original post on toosigma here: toosigma.com • View topic - UCS Beta 5.1 on line


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## Kzach

Don't suppose anyone who's followed this thread since the start or at least is up to date with it all, could post a summary of the latest info?

I once had the MSE with a nice template but now I can't find the template at all so can't make any cards. Trawling through this entire thread just isn't worth it when I don't even know what to look for


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## Thindaraiel

summary:
- is granpa continuing with his template ? I don't know
- many MSE templates have disappeared
- MSE UCS model is still alive. But the discussions have moved on toosigma.com forums. There you can find the latest info. Some of the old MSE stand-alone templates have moved to the UCS norm : Ander00, DnD for instance.


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## Mercutio01

Granpa was using Powerpoint primarily.  Ander00 I think stopped.  My template that Black Plauge and I created is still available, but would be easier to find on Dragonavenue.com.


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## Alphastream

Most of the old templates work just fine. In general, it isn't a big deal to take an old project and make a few cards for it.

I still vastly prefer the various cool templates on this thread to the DDI CB power cards and I take the time to type up my powers (and PC-specific bonuses) in the MSE templates.


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## C_M2008

Anyone know of any smaller cards out there?

The magic card sized ones are cluttering my table at this point. Ideally I'd like some about the size of half of a MTG split card. If there was a template for full text split cards for Magic set editor that would help too (and then I could just keep them together and sleeve them).

Can anyone point me in the right direction?


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## SweetRein

This is a little throwing, joining an unrelated forums and seeing the site you own (pifro) linked in a random sticky.
That aside,


C_M2008 said:


> Anyone know of any smaller cards out there?
> 
> The magic card sized ones are cluttering my table at this point. Ideally I'd like some about the size of half of a MTG split card. If there was a template for full text split cards for Magic set editor that would help too (and then I could just keep them together and sleeve them).
> 
> Can anyone point me in the right direction?




Half the size of a split card... half? So, 1/4th the size of a magic card if I understand you correctly?
It is easy enough to do this by creating a custom template with Magic Set Editor. Just copy the template folder that you are using for the cards over, open the data (or -styles, I forget what format MSE uses now) in a text editor, and reduce all the layout related pixel values by 1/4 (or 1/2 if that's what you meant).
If the backgrounds no longer scale, then you might need a quick photoshop to just reduce the image sizes as well, though, that shouldn't be an issue.

You could also get a pdf printer application (as comes with Acrobat, or there are many others online for free). When you 'print' the set, print it to a pdf.
Open Acrobat/Reader, and go to print, then Acrobat has options to print up to 4 pages on a sheet. Or whichever size you need to.


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## C_M2008

SweetRein said:


> This is a little throwing, joining an unrelated forums and seeing the site you own (pifro) linked in a random sticky.
> That aside,
> 
> 
> Half the size of a split card... half? So, 1/4th the size of a magic card if I understand you correctly?




I phrased that poorly, I meant the size of one piece of the split card, 1/2 the size of a magic card. I'm fiddling but I can't seem to make a textless version of the split card(which is basically what I want) so I'm just asking if anyoe knows of anything similiar size wise.

Thanks for the technical info though, I'm atrocious at this sort of thing, but I'll give it a shot.


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## Alphastream

Setting the pages to print per page is the way to go, though you will need to test it to get the right size. First, print to the pdf. Once you made the pdf, in Acrobat choose print and in that box, choose "Multiple Pages Per Sheet" under Print Scaling. Then toy with the Pages per sheet options. Setting it to 2 should result in half the size, more or less.


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## Hadrian the Builder

Does anyone know of a pdf form for wizard's power cards that I can use to enter custom powers by hand?


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## Alphastream

If you want to hand-write them, the ones at DragonAvenue are pretty good. 
If you want to type in the info, I would use MSE and one of the sets described in this thread.


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## JoyrexJ9

Sorry for the epic bump, as this thread appears to be dead - I was wondering if anyone had done cards for the powers in the Essentials books (Heroes of the Fallen/Forgotten) ? Preferably in MSE format? 

I've googled to death and can't find anything?
Have WotC clamped down on these things?

Thanks!


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## Llwynog

JoyrexJ9 said:


> Sorry for the epic bump, as this thread appears to be dead - I was wondering if anyone had done cards for the powers in the Essentials books (Heroes of the Fallen/Forgotten) ? Preferably in MSE format?
> 
> I've googled to death and can't find anything?
> Have WotC clamped down on these things?
> 
> Thanks!



I still have MSE set up with a customized version of Ender's cards, but I haven't made any in over a year 'cause the whole group got tired of having to keep up with multiple stacks of cards.  I finally made a generic character sheet that let me get everything, including powers, onto a single sheet of paper so now I really don't need them.

That said, I can zip up MSE for you so that all you'll have to do is type in the text of the cards since I've already done all the tweaking necessary to make the card set work with a newer version of MSE than the one for which it was designed (but I expect there have probably been at least a couple of new releases since I last updated MSE).


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## DennisB

I am still making the power cards as the powers are being released, and I am also reorganizing the powers into class books, combining the powers from all sources into sepperate books, Like all information about fighters into one easy to use book. I have been working on this for about 9 months now, and soon I will start pumping them out. And as soon as I see 4th edition stop making new books I will release the cards as well.


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## Llwynog

DennisB said:


> I am still making the power cards as the powers are being released, and I am also reorganizing the powers into class books, combining the powers from all sources into sepperate books, Like all information about fighters into one easy to use book. I have been working on this for about 9 months now, and soon I will start pumping them out. And as soon as I see 4th edition stop making new books I will release the cards as well.



That's commendable.  It's a great deal of work than I am unable to do (but I'm hoping that will change after my surgery Wednesday morning) so I'm glad someone else is willing to.

But the last two statements seem to be contradictory.  Are you releasing them soon or when the game dies?  They're thankfully down to a book a quarter instead of a book a month but there's no indication that they're going to stop making new books any time soon.


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## knightofround

I haven't gone through all 134 pages of this thread, only the last couple pages.

But just in case someone missed it, I really like this online power card generator, it's very minimalist and generates code to format it pretty for blogs etc

D&D Tools - Power Card Creator


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## Alphastream

Interesting. What is the best way to print that? Open xml in a web browser? 

I like that you can add custom elements and that the look and feel is like the books. However, I like more control. I like to use custom backgrounds, my own quotes, place the default attack and damage values, write in crit amounts, etc. 

I find I can only do that with MSE. I find that once the template I like is set up I just make a copy for a new card and type in my info. Doing this once every level or so (and making any adjustments to default attack and damage if desired) is not much work at all. Setting up a brand new PC at upper levels is work, but it is a one-time effort. With the Compendium to copy-paste, the overall effort is pretty low compared to other things I do.

[sblock=Example MSE power card



[/sblock]

The above is based on Daniel Rivera's template. I talk about it a little, post more examples and have a link to where you can find it here.


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## Highland_Piper

133 pages is a lot to wade through.  The MSE website does not seem to have a lot of documentation on how to create your own custom templates.  Does anyone have a link to some place I could get started with this?

I appreciate it.  Thank you.


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## Llwynog

Highland_Piper said:


> 133 pages is a lot to wade through.  The MSE website does not seem to have a lot of documentation on how to create your own custom templates.  Does anyone have a link to some place I could get started with this?
> 
> I appreciate it.  Thank you.



What little I used to know about it I learned by hacking the modified Ender00 set so I can't really help you. That said, I'm designing a non-collectible card game and would like to use MSE to fill in the cards so I wouldn't mind some MSE tutorials either.


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## Alphastream

I'm not particularly knowledgeable in the underpinnings, so I can't share much on the deep technical side. 

As a user, you want to install MSE and then a template you like. Some people like to install MSE once for each template, having the executable into that subfolder. I use this technique, as it keeps things clean. 

Fire up the MSE executable that you have for that template folder, then open any of the template .mse-set files. I like Tintagel's core set here. Once open you can create a card very easily, typing in the power. Making a low level PC is a fast affair once you have done it a few times. As you level you usually just need a new card at a time, which isn't a big deal time-wise.

You can make some simple changes by looking inside the data directory and opening the files you find in the Game or various Style directories. It takes a bit of practice, but you can do things like change the background image (I like having an image of my PC in the background) or adjust how things are arranged. Make a copy and work slowly. You could try PMing some of the guys that made sets and see if they can offer more help.

Also, the site where you get MSE has forums. They are mainly focused on Magic, but they do discuss general templating.


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## Siberys

If you know an existing formatting-based programming language (such as javascript) it's pretty easy. You basically define the various areas in the mse-game file, then define their placement and looks in the mse-style folder.

The best way to learn it is to take an existing template and mod it. If you do that long enough, you'll start grokking the structure and can start making very heavy modifications, or even design your own.

I can't do a full tutorial, but if you have more specific questions, I can probably help; I've made several templates.


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## Daigotsu_Kaminari

Maybe I am just being dumb and can't find what I am looking for, but how do I change the card type from Power to say Class Info in the Thindaraiel 5.1 template? I am trying to make power cards but I just can't figure that part out.


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## Thindaraiel

Daigotsu_Kaminari said:


> Maybe I am just being dumb and can't find what I am looking for, but how do I change the card type from Power to say Class Info in the Thindaraiel 5.1 template? I am trying to make power cards but I just can't figure that part out.




just rigth clic on the card background, and the menu will appear.


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## zoggynog

Has anyone ever figured out a way to print power cards that are formatted for 3X5 note cards?

I've found many good ways to make cards, but the pain of it all is cutting them out.

Sure would be nice to load up some 3X5 note cards and hit print.


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## Nytmare

You can grab the images for cards individually and paste them onto a template for something like these: Laser & Ink Jet Index Cards

...hmmm

Or we could start a Kickstarter to make printable perforated sheets of 2.5x3.5 cards.


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## zoggynog

I have been able to some degree to make a index sized word document that will print straight to 3X5 note cards, no need for special paper.

The problem is I haven't ever found a quick little program that I could just hit print from to make these cards quickly.  Instead I have to edit my little template, which isnt advanced enough to do things like shrink font size to fit more text into the same area physical area on a card.  I still haven't figured out how to get it to do borderless printing as well...always leaves a small margin on the cards.

Many printers can directly print to 3X5 these days.  I'm very surprised by now that no one has created a program made to print directly to them, think how great that would be.


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## Apocrypha

Hi, all

I've recently found a D&D 4e group to start playing again with and I am now coming back to making/printing power cards using MSE/UCS/Ander template. I am having a problem though...I have all these sets that I was working on ages ago but they now no longer work properly as they are complaining about not being able to find the Ander00-Horizontal Stylesheet. I have the Ander template from this thread but cannot find for the life of me the Ander00-Hoizontal stylesheet these file are complaining about.

Does anyone have any idea at all where I can find the zip that has this? I am desperate. I realize this thread hasn't seen any action for about a year now but I am hoping someone knows what I am talking about.

EDIT:
Found them but i can't post the link. 
Still having some problems in that all the text on the cards in the sets aren't showing up for some reason. Guess I'll have to just keep plugging away at until I figure it out. May be I have to use an older version of MSE.


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## Nemesis Destiny

This thread is still going! Awesome. I don't have the inclination to wade through all 200 pages; was there ever an updated list of links made?


----------



## Thomas Meiners

*Thanks*

Thanks for Sharing your stuff!  This saves me sooo much time!!



RandomCitizenX said:


> Here is the full deck for anyone who is interested. I changed to wording to make it as character neutral as possible. I intend to modify the cards again once I know 100% what the final wording will look like in the PHB.


----------



## Tymophil

Hi all,

I am back to D&D4, and I would like to update all the softwares I used back in the days.

So, I would like to know what is the latest version of the DnD-4E-UCS, and where I can find it. There is a project page on Source forge, but it is empty...


----------



## Nemesis Destiny

I don't know where there is an updated version, but I just manually enter all card data as needed. You can copy-paste from the compendium and do minimal editing.

If you want to go all digital, power2ool.com still works if you force your browser to ignore the expired certificate, but I expect it will be a short time before it goes dark, so don't put anything important there.

And welcome back to the fold! Some of us never left, but there hasn't been much going on as far as new developments go. Cheers!


----------



## Nytmare

And because I see that the old server I had my power card backs hosted on has long since disappeared:  https://imgur.com/a/0DAhoq6


----------



## Yaarel

Any chance of doing these cards for 5e spells and features?


----------



## pdzoch

Have you seen these:

Spell Cards for D&D 5E using Magic Set Editor (MSE)


----------



## Yaarel

pdzoch said:


> Have you seen these:
> 
> Spell Cards for D&D 5E using Magic Set Editor (MSE)




I guess I am going to have to figure out how to use the Magic Set Editor to make these files work?


----------



## Nemesis Destiny

MSE is a piece of cake.


----------

