# Did You Get Magic in My D&D?



## DesOps

A lot of the original Magic novels seemed to be perfect ideas for RPG campaigns. I specifically enjoyed "Ashes of the Sun" and "Arena"


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## Dannyalcatraz

Southern Oracle said:


> Have you converted anything from Magic the Gathering to use in your D&D campaigns? Have you used Greek mythology as the basis for a campaign?




I used the art of the original Hurloon Minotaur as the inspiration for a Minotaur Ftr/MU in 2Ed from a Plains-Indian culture.*   His white fur marked him as a great omen for his people.**

I'm also writing up some campaign rules for running a M:tG-themed fantasy game in HERO 6th.





* Too big for horse riding, they used chariots, spears, bow & arrow, and a variety of axes.

** based on the Great White Buffalo of Native American legends.


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## malcolm_n

I have an entire setting for 3.5 that I wrote up but never shared because I was worried about copyright, etc... I had rules for summoning creatures using decks of cards; calling on mana. It was a lot of fun to toy around with.


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## DesOps

malcolm_n said:


> I have an entire setting for 3.5 that I wrote up but never shared because I was worried about copyright, etc... I had rules for summoning creatures using decks of cards; calling on mana. It was a lot of fun to toy around with.




Have you read "Arena"? That book goes into a lot of detail about how magic works, spells as objects/gems, and so much more. It is the perfect resource if you are looking at adapting the card game to another medium.


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## malcolm_n

That was actually one of the first books from Magic I've ever read; and yes, it was a great resource. 


DesOps said:


> Have you read "Arena"? That book goes into a lot of detail about how magic works, spells as objects/gems, and so much more. It is the perfect resource if you are looking at adapting the card game to another medium.


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## Kinak

Magic as a whole is great for looting. The Ravnica sets are top notch for urban games and Mirrodin could be great for Numenera, now that I think about it.

There was an article in an old issue of the Duelist talking about using Magic cards for something much like this. I seem to recall the idea was to keep a stack of flavorful cards and, whenever you need an idea fast, just shuffle and draw. That's always a good way to jolt some ideas loose.

I've also seen people use big (1") hole punches on old CCG cards to make color tokens in place of minis. It's actually not a bad deal if you can score a huge pile of commons, even though it feels a little sacrilegious.

Cheers!
Kinak


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## MJS

I think a deck of cards also has great appeal to rules light gaming, one that could be overlooked by associations.


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## Dannyalcatraz

Kinak said:


> There was an article in an old issue of the Duelist talking about using Magic cards for something much like this. I seem to recall the idea was to keep a stack of flavorful cards and, whenever you need an idea fast, just shuffle and draw. That's always a good way to jolt some ideas loose.




Kind of like Jonathan Tweet's _Everway RPG_.


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## Southern Oracle

Kinak said:


> I've also seen people use big (1") hole punches on old CCG cards to make color tokens in place of minis. It's actually not a bad deal if you can score a huge pile of commons, even though it feels a little sacrilegious.




I have done this, since I have a surplus of old, old cards (I've played since Beta).  Magic does have some of the best art in gaming.


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## Kinak

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Kind of like Jonathan Tweet's _Everway RPG_.



Yeah, very much so. I was thinking mostly as an idea generator, but it could also work for inspiration cards.

So, if the players get a priest's blessing or find an invigorating spring, you can give them the Serra's Blessing or Stream of Life (as a physical representation) and they can cash it in for an appropriate benefit or get-out-of-jail-free later. I'm not sure how well it would work, but I've been kicking that around since I read this article.



			
				Southern Oracle said:
			
		

> I have done this, since I have a surplus of old, old cards (I've played  since Beta).  Magic does have some of the best art in gaming.



True story. And they make beautiful, sturdy, high-color tokens.

I print my own and punch them out, but it's black and white. On the bright side, we can write on the tokens and, when the fighter cuts something in half, we can literally tear it in half. The fighter's player is 31, but she might as well be six when I do that 

Cheers!
Kinak


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## DarthQueeg

I ran a 4E game based in the City of Ravnica where the PCs unearthed a certain oily substance that begin to corrupt things around them. For races, I simply used the existing 4E races but "skinned" them to fix Ravnica races. For example, for Loxodon, players could choose Minotaur or Goliath. For goblin, players could pick Halfling or Gnome.


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## The_Silversword

I was a little worried at first when I read the article title, I was thinking "what use cards instead of dice in D&D games?" Ever since WotC bought TSR ive been worried that they would make D&D more "Magicy", when they put out those encounter cards or whatever they were called for 4e I was like oh here we go. But yeah I see what you all are saying, using themes and creatures from MtG in D&D games, makes sense to me.


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## Dannyalcatraz

You could also use a deck of cards as a randomized foe generator, MtG-ized version of the Deck of Many Things or Rod of Wonders, etc.


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