Hazard Cards

[Mortikar]

Hello all,

I am new to The One Ring and new to the forums. I bought this game on discount at my LGS. Let's just say I was in the middle of starting a gaming group for D&D 4e, and I quickly abandoned that idea to dive head deep into this game. I love the layout, design, mechanics, and simplicity of the whole thing. Not to mention, Tolkien trumps D&D when done right in my book.

With that said, I wanted to kick around some ideas and get feedback from LMs and players alike on a few things. I am a big fan of miniature games, board games and card games. My experience tells me that some of the mechanics of this game could be vastly improved by being prepared for a variety of spontaneous situations, such as Hazards. Therefore, I was wondering if anyone has attempted or completed coming up with a database for Hazards and/or enemies? Moreover, after playing LoTR card game for quite some time now, I believe that Hazard cards would be perfect for adventurer's (specifically journeys) much like the Treachery Cards in the card game.

So, my plan is to create at least 50 Hazard cards that I will print on either card stock or photo paper and then put some colored sleeves on them and shuffle prior to a journey. When the adventurer's endure a Hazard, I can simply draw a random Hazard card, read the narrative, and require a test with the TN based on the difficulty of the area they are in. If they fail, the negative effect will be the same, but the difficulty of passing will be adjusted based on the area. Once the Hazard is played, I remove it from the deck so that they won't feel redundant to the players.

What do you guys think? Has anyone tried an idea like this? If so, did it work. If not, would you be interested in either assisting me or want me to share the end product. I am using Adobe Photoshop for the cards and Excel to manage the Hazard text, much like a database. Please let me know what you guys think.

I have already play-tested the combat function, and I really like what I experienced there. Although, the characters have no real business in excessive combats with Weary being right around the corner, especially after the Journey step. Oh, and I am also making monster cards, so I don't have to flip through the books constantly looking for monster stats.

[voidstate]

I think this is a great idea. Just yesterday, I was thinking about doing something like this as my game stalled as I searched the adventure book for an encounter to steal.

Some suggestions:

You could have some kind of colour-coding for terrain on one edge and for role on another, so you could quickly find a suitable card.

There was a thread on RPGnet ages ago with lots of encounters. If you could find that, you could use them.

Vs

[Jon Hodgson]

Has anyone tried an idea like this?

Hmmm mayyyyyybe...

[Valarian]

That would be great, especially if you've been drafted to illustrate them Jon. Count me in for a purchase.

[Yusei]

Has anyone tried an idea like this?

Hmmm mayyyyyybe...

Can we start asking for a release date already?

[Ecorce]

Oh ! Very very very nice idea. I love it. Integrate some random. Could be funny. Several cards pack according to the difficulty, or the situation...

[Otaku-sempai]

I'm interested in anything that makes the Loremaster's job easier. Even a Hazard Table would help.

[Yusei]

I've mastered so many MERP games that I've become allergic to tables... I'd definitely prefer Jon-illustrated cards

[Mim]

Hmmm mayyyyyybe...

There you go, stringing us along again

You have to admit, though, this would be cool.

[Rich H]

I'm interested in anything that makes the Loremaster's job easier. Even a Hazard Table would help.

There are numerous hazards all collected up and listed in my Additional Rules supplement. Check out the links in my signature.

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You'd struggle with a deck of 'random draw' cards though as hazards are based on the roles of PCs within the journey - eg, guide, scout, look out, hunter. You'd therefore need piles of cards based on role and then there'd be the terrain and circumstances to consider. A random draw may not be without it's problems so to resolve that you'd have to create some kind of system for identifying them, and if that system becomes too difficult to remember or reference then that could negate any benefit of having cards in the first place. Not insurmountable, but potential challenges nonetheless.