Love the Adventure Deck and it's great to see it getting some attention. Though I strongly suggest editing the cards by removing and adding back in cards that fit the setting the GM wants. We also tend to allow swapping out of cards so the guy who is straight melee and has no Arcane at all. But gets a handful of Arcane cards can trade them with other players who do have Arcane skills and powers. So no-one really has all dud cards. We also tend to use a filter system of the players all handing their remaining cards (if they have any left due to ranks) to the players who still have the ability to use cards. It's glorious chaos at times.
One thing to mention is when to give the cards, I've found that giving at the beginning of the session (after recap) helps players to remember what cards they have. This may seem trivial, but I found that players can easily forget they have the cards during a game.
I use the adventure deck in every game except for oneshots and curate it depending on the setting. I changed the rules slightly though. The players still get a card for each rank, but they need to choose a single card they want to keep for the game before we even start. Sometimes the card will be amazing, sometimes it will not be used. This reduces the swingy-ness and the head aches for me as the DM. Also, and that's even more important, the players keep their card a secret, even from the DM. They can play them anytime (when appropriate) even for other players, which creates a really amazing effect whenever a player pulls out their card dramatically and saves the day (or engages in shenanigans). This way the cards worked out perfectly for my groups so far. Feel free to try these rule adjustments and see if it fits your game as well. :)
I run Savage Pathfinder and use the adventure deck. I did remove a few cards that I saw as problematic, so they are out of rotation. I also ditched the rule about one card per rank - it’s just one card period at my table. With those restrictions the deck’s power is toned down a bit and remains a fun and exciting aspect to Savage Worlds.
I've used it as a GM and used them as a player. They certainly CAN derail plans. My first experience with them was the start of a big arc story of Stargate in Savage Worlds Deluxe edition, and at the end of the session we see the system lord heading towards the gate. There is no chance we can get there, but we have a sniper on our team who deals out a headshot for an incredible amount of damage... ...only, the Gua'uld's personal shield flares to life, having the shot plink off harmlessly... ...only the Sniper player lays down his adventure card, "A piece of technology fails." So, the GM lost their big-bad in session one and we moved onto a different game for a bit. It was hella-fun, but yah - disruptive.
Someone made a Fallout adventure deck, and that was the first time I heard about them. I think if it doesn't go against genre and flow, then go for it. I will probably try them out. I like the idea of having a Mysterious stranger card for every one of my games, and it gives a temporary ally. Cards are definitely something that add another layer of random fun.
I haven't used them with my group, but I do like the idea. I see that PEG has made these available for the different companion books, so I'm curious as to how those will work. the idea of more player agency is a good selling point, to me. ⚔🍻
I played one campaign with this deck of cards. It's cool. I didnt like it for oneshots where I often have a timeslot for my adventure. The card could mess to much with my timetable. Often I sort some cards out that didnt like this evening (I know we have a combat heavy dungeon crawl - so I sort cards out that aim for social encounters)
It's a great tool. But I won't use it in a one-shot. I played in a con game that used it, and it threw in way too much chaos for the limited time we had.
We tried it once in one of my games, but the players had difficulty matching up the ability on the card with the situations presented in the game, which meant some players got to use them, others didn’t get the special fun. It might be ok if I gave out new cards at the beginning of each session, so each player has a chance of getting to do something special, or draw cards equal to the number of players and allow players to pick and choose which card they wanted.
We used this when i first learned SW about 3 editions ago. It was for a con, so it wasnt a terrible thing, and we had fun just making it work. I can see however in a preset adventure like a pathfinder AP how it wouldnt be helpful to ask the whole plot to be changed on the fly. If i had to implement it, i would likely have the players have one less benny at the start, since this seems to fufill the role of Bennies anyways.
Some of the cards are just too lolrandom for many of my games and give too much extra power especially when dealt out in the numbers suggested. If anything I might hand specific cards out as a special benny for story/character progression reward for a player based on context. (ie. Can keep card between sessions and use either as face description or an extra benny).
The issue with the adventure deck is less an issue of power and more of an issue with roles in the game and pacing. Most players do not think about genre; they are thinking about how to solve a problem or deal with something in character. You kind of have an issue running a mystery with the "spill the beans" or a monster of the week style horror game with a "turn coat" when the monster is the only true opposition. A gm can always throw more extras at the players or make a few Wild Card to balance the game in their favor, and these cards do not really get in the way of that. They do irode the already thing genre rules SW has; ie, at some point your ETU game becomes an Agents of FEAR game if you lose the thread for the college kids plot points.
Love the Adventure Deck and it's great to see it getting some attention. Though I strongly suggest editing the cards by removing and adding back in cards that fit the setting the GM wants. We also tend to allow swapping out of cards so the guy who is straight melee and has no Arcane at all. But gets a handful of Arcane cards can trade them with other players who do have Arcane skills and powers. So no-one really has all dud cards.
We also tend to use a filter system of the players all handing their remaining cards (if they have any left due to ranks) to the players who still have the ability to use cards. It's glorious chaos at times.
I assumed it was just a fancy initiative deck and never looked at it properly
Lol. Now that you say that, I remember I thought the Action deck was the Adventure deck when I first got it in 2015
One thing to mention is when to give the cards, I've found that giving at the beginning of the session (after recap) helps players to remember what cards they have.
This may seem trivial, but I found that players can easily forget they have the cards during a game.
I use the adventure deck in every game except for oneshots and curate it depending on the setting.
I changed the rules slightly though. The players still get a card for each rank, but they need to choose a single card they want to keep for the game before we even start. Sometimes the card will be amazing, sometimes it will not be used. This reduces the swingy-ness and the head aches for me as the DM.
Also, and that's even more important, the players keep their card a secret, even from the DM. They can play them anytime (when appropriate) even for other players, which creates a really amazing effect whenever a player pulls out their card dramatically and saves the day (or engages in shenanigans).
This way the cards worked out perfectly for my groups so far. Feel free to try these rule adjustments and see if it fits your game as well. :)
I don't hate this at all. Do you find certain cards always get thrown away?
I run Savage Pathfinder and use the adventure deck. I did remove a few cards that I saw as problematic, so they are out of rotation. I also ditched the rule about one card per rank - it’s just one card period at my table. With those restrictions the deck’s power is toned down a bit and remains a fun and exciting aspect to Savage Worlds.
I've used it as a GM and used them as a player. They certainly CAN derail plans. My first experience with them was the start of a big arc story of Stargate in Savage Worlds Deluxe edition, and at the end of the session we see the system lord heading towards the gate. There is no chance we can get there, but we have a sniper on our team who deals out a headshot for an incredible amount of damage...
...only, the Gua'uld's personal shield flares to life, having the shot plink off harmlessly...
...only the Sniper player lays down his adventure card, "A piece of technology fails."
So, the GM lost their big-bad in session one and we moved onto a different game for a bit. It was hella-fun, but yah - disruptive.
I would love to play on a Savage Stargate game.
I love the adventure deck. It adds a constructive level of chaos, which as a GM is something that I've come to relish.
Someone made a Fallout adventure deck, and that was the first time I heard about them. I think if it doesn't go against genre and flow, then go for it. I will probably try them out. I like the idea of having a Mysterious stranger card for every one of my games, and it gives a temporary ally.
Cards are definitely something that add another layer of random fun.
Do you happen to have a link to that?
I haven't used them with my group, but I do like the idea. I see that PEG has made these available for the different companion books, so I'm curious as to how those will work. the idea of more player agency is a good selling point, to me. ⚔🍻
I played one campaign with this deck of cards. It's cool. I didnt like it for oneshots where I often have a timeslot for my adventure. The card could mess to much with my timetable. Often I sort some cards out that didnt like this evening (I know we have a combat heavy dungeon crawl - so I sort cards out that aim for social encounters)
It's a great tool. But I won't use it in a one-shot. I played in a con game that used it, and it threw in way too much chaos for the limited time we had.
We tried it once in one of my games, but the players had difficulty matching up the ability on the card with the situations presented in the game, which meant some players got to use them, others didn’t get the special fun. It might be ok if I gave out new cards at the beginning of each session, so each player has a chance of getting to do something special, or draw cards equal to the number of players and allow players to pick and choose which card they wanted.
We used this when i first learned SW about 3 editions ago. It was for a con, so it wasnt a terrible thing, and we had fun just making it work.
I can see however in a preset adventure like a pathfinder AP how it wouldnt be helpful to ask the whole plot to be changed on the fly.
If i had to implement it, i would likely have the players have one less benny at the start, since this seems to fufill the role of Bennies anyways.
Some of the cards are just too lolrandom for many of my games and give too much extra power especially when dealt out in the numbers suggested. If anything I might hand specific cards out as a special benny for story/character progression reward for a player based on context. (ie. Can keep card between sessions and use either as face description or an extra benny).
The issue with the adventure deck is less an issue of power and more of an issue with roles in the game and pacing.
Most players do not think about genre; they are thinking about how to solve a problem or deal with something in character. You kind of have an issue running a mystery with the "spill the beans" or a monster of the week style horror game with a "turn coat" when the monster is the only true opposition. A gm can always throw more extras at the players or make a few Wild Card to balance the game in their favor, and these cards do not really get in the way of that. They do irode the already thing genre rules SW has; ie, at some point your ETU game becomes an Agents of FEAR game if you lose the thread for the college kids plot points.
That's a really good point. Well said.