My regular gaming group (Hello Dualers!) have had the opportunity to sample my products in the early stages of development and this Friday was no different as I used them for playtesting my Decision Deck.
What's a Decision Deck? you say, well it's a pack of cards which I use instead of rolling dice. Each card has a dice roll value corresponding to the size of dice be it a coin toss or D3 to D30. In the production version I've added a number of other random metrics including Critical Hit, Fumble, Poker Hands and Dice Hands. It means I don't have to look for the appropriate dice anymore or have to consult a random result chart.
I know some players object to using cards instead of dice themselves but I gotta say as a GM I really felt they worked for me. I had my numbers ready at the turn of a card and the combat ran smoother and quicker than with dice.
What are your thoughts on the legitimacy of GMs using anything other than dice?
I'm not a fan of using cards to replace dice simply because a deck of 20 cards with numbers 1 through 20 on them takes up a heck of a lot more room in my bag than a d20 does. Also, I'm not a fan of shuffling (despite my years of playing Magic: The Gathering).
ReplyDeleteThat said, when I'm the DM I use MapTool to run my games, either online or in person with a projector, so I don't roll dice either; the program does that for me.
I'm not so much a traditionalist about dice as a pragmatist. Cards are too fiddly, can get one lost, can get stuff spilled on them, can get marked / damaged, etc. These really aren't issues you have to deal with when it comes to dice.
But if you're having fun with the cards, then absolutely go with it! At the very least it sets you apart as having a unique twist to your DMing style.