I cannot find the reference for this, but I’d swear there was a mention of an Action(?) Deck that would be done after the main book is all up for sale. Is this going to be a thing? Is it like the cards that came with my Mouse Guard Box Set? Any chance of spoilers about what the cards will cover?
Oh, and if this is a thing, how many cards will make up said Deck?
Any action deck or dice rumors are floating around because certain people online have expressed desires for them. Not part of the plan at the moment, from what I’ve read. It’s all about finishing the book and getting it to supporters on time.
If you check the “what’s needed to play” stuff, cards are explicitly mentioned (but undefined - could be homemade eh?)
“Needed” seems like kind of a strong word. I was able to play Mouse Guard very easily without the cards, but they were a nice addition once they were available through the boxed set.
I (as GM of our regular Mouse Guard game) tend to script my actions with quick little ticks on my GM page. When you know the actions you want to script, it seems faster than finding the right cards.
Once the dust settles, maybe Luke and Thor will do a follow-up Kickstarter to release Torchbearer cards and dice. Even given what I said above, my players seem to love the cards, and we all bought Mouse Guard dice, so I know I’d definitely buy Torchbearer add-ons.
I took it to mean homemade, personally. I agree that the cards can make a fun “game object” but my group made do with simple blank note cards and a pencil in Mouse Guard (and they saved the territories).
Maybe with Drivethru offering to do cards now. Maybe it is a little more enticing for a official version?
Ok well update #9 answered that. Foot slightly inserted into mouth.
I plan on getting at least two decks, to make sure that only 12 Action cards shared between players and GM does not end up giving away any moves when scripting. “Hrm, based on the cards that are no longer in the deck, I think we should…” And also maybe make sure that the more popular Item cards are available for everyone at the table. Hopefully they print a lot of these.
Ooh, those look pretty!
I hope they’re normal playing-card sized too. Cause I found some cool plastic cases that fit those.
From my experience with Mouse Guard, this isn’t how the action deck will work. (Although, this is how the decks in FreeMarket play.) The action cards merely are a way to choose one’s conflict actions in secret, without all that erasing and paper covering.
I think the point is that if I’m the GM and I script Feint Feint Feint (which I always do), it’s easy for the players to see that “Feint” is no longer in a shared deck.
Right. It’s similar to the concept of counting a deck or shoe in blackjack. When you know what’s not in the deck, you know what the other side has played.
It seems like two decks really is the obvious answer. That way there’s no interaction between what one side chooses and the other sees.
Ah, I see what people are saying now, thanks.
It’s worth pointing out that, for scripting, 3 identical, square cards with the action names on the edges, and a plastic paperclip for each can be used for scripting far easier than a full deck per team.
The full deck is more intuitive, but my players loved the 3 squares in a pocket I used for MG.