My Custom Fate Deck

[bass]

Hello, just stumbled onto this forum right this moment.

I'm a big fan of the SAGA system, and revamped it a great deal to make things play better. Lots of things are gone, but the basic skeleton is still there.

I also made a new fate deck because, ugh, the old one is too ugly. And the events aren't explained on the cards (which would help). I kept the old suits, but added a new one; "Super", which always, always, trumps. It's a fun one. Here's a quick sample:

[wizzer]

Good work.

And you didn't make it with Marvel characters only. Do you intend to use it in a non Marvel campaign?
Whatever, using movie pictures is a great idea.
Have you used DC characters too? Or other sources than mangas, comics or movies?

One other thing I noticed is that you didn't keep the callings on the cards. How do you handle "response bonus" then?

[bass]

Glad you like them.

My campaign isn't based on an existing intellectual property. It's just a group of pulp heroes banding together each week to stop the world from exploding.

As for callings - I got rid of them as it seemed arbitrary and didn't do much. Instead I give players a 'plot twist' token whenever they do anything cool. (The token can be used to basically go, "This thing happens".)

[oninowon]

I am envious of people who can do those sorts of things with their computer.

As for your campaign, it is neat that you are using SAGA to run a pulp genre. It would have been better if all the modified cards had a consistent theme though (I would have liked to see all the pictures related to the pulp genre). That would really pique my interest in trying to run one with SAGA.

A request. I've been working on and off on Deadlands conversion (a spagetti Western by Pinnacle Entertainment, in case you never heard of it). I would like to see the cards with a Western theme to it. I know several members in this forum would be very interested.

[bass]

I felt that having an eclectic category of images in the fate deck became more evocative than any one group. That and, there's the practicality of rounding up enough high-res images that work on the cards and are varied enough to create different events (you don't want 10 versions of the same type of event).

As for a western feel; I did this in photoshop. It's a rather simple process. The picture is found on line; the background texture is made from a tutorial also found online (there's LOADS of tutorials out there, so you just find one that fits), then you just find an appropriate font and you're done.

The templates themselves don't take forever to make, but finding all the images, the events, working out which has what number and what aura and what event... that takes ages.

[Tommy Brownell]

That is freaking awesome.

That'd be a great tool for a non-Marvel take on SAGA. That's the only reason I don't use the current deck for non-Marvel games.

[bass]

Thanks!

[Tommy Brownell]

Do you have all the files uploaded somewhere?

Or even to where you can e-mail them to me? (link is on all my posts)

I'd like to see the whole product, if you don't mind.

[bass]

Since I own none of the art used, I don't want to share the fate deck as it might piss off some artists - especially since no credits are put on any of the cards.

The actual templates though, I made from scratch and would be happy to share with anyone who wants them.

[Tommy Brownell]

I don't have Photoshop, so the templates wouldn't do me much good...=)

Still, looks awesome.

[bass]

I'm glad you like them. I'd like to share them with you but I just don't think it'd be appropriate.

That said, the templates could work as jpgs and then in paint you just copy and paste the picture into the picture area. It's just harder to do since you can't use layers in the same way. The text wouldn't be as cool looking but... it's doable.

Or you could pirate photoshop somewhere. :/

[jaysin1414]

Jan 6, 2009 1:40:23 GMT -5 Tommy Brownell said:

I don't have Photoshop, so the templates wouldn't do me much good...=)

Still, looks awesome.

You may want to try this website:
magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/

The cards aren't nearly as impressive as those made by Bass, but they're workable (if you don't mind changing some small aspects of SAGA (for example, I can't find a purple card, so Willpower becomes white)).

I used the Magic template to make these Buffy-related cards (/hoping they appear):

img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=printingprintoutig9.pdf

The number value of the card goes in the upper and lower right-hand corners. The border colors (other than purple) are all available. The middle bar is where I type the Calling and Events. I included the transparent symbol in the text section (which I use to put a character quote for flavor) to reinforce the card's suit (they're color-specifc). There's a little square next to the Calling/Event text that Magic uses to specify how rare the card is. I use it for Aura (as well as placing a +/-/* symbol next to the lower card-value).

The software is free and printing it to pdf is a piece of cake.

From there... here's a place that sells perforated paper that can be used on most normal deskjet printers.

www.plaincards.com/store/shopdisplaycategories.asp

They also sell a varnish to make the cards more professional feeling, but I've read online that any wood varnish will work as well (your mileage may vary).

On their website, you'll also find that they sell a program that lines the artwork up to their pre-cut cardstock, but I'm going to try buying just the paper as adobe seems to lines up with the printout almost perfectly if you landscape the paper.

I'm happy to let you all know more as I experiment more with creating my own custom Fate Deck. I'm finding that the Magic Cards template is an easy first step to making SAGA cards. They also have templates for the Vs. card system (which, while having Marvel and DC logos, aren't quite as versatile as the Magic template in my opinion) and the Yu-Gi-Oh templates (which I found to be completely worthless as SAGA cards).

Bass's cards are the best (by far), but if you're lacking Photoshop the card templates might be a satisfactory substitute...

[Tommy Brownell]

Darn, no...the Buffy images didn't appear. Too bad, I'd have liked to see them. I had the Magic Set Editor bookmarked at one time...but lately I am too busy to work on much extra myself.

Still, awesome info sir, and welcome to the board.

[jaysin1414]

Thanks for the welcome.

I'm sorry about the Magic Cards not showing. I'm not the most tech-savvy guy on the block. I can send a pdf to the email listed in your bio, hopefully you can take a look at them there.

They're passable. I love Bass's cards, they're top-rate, but for my computer skills (at the moment) these certainly fit the bill...

[bass]

Actually, there IS a purple template for MSE. Someone made an 'extended magic' template that includes purple, yellow, brown, and orange.

And thanks again for the praise.

I sent you the psds, right? It shouldn't be hard at all to just stick pictures in of Buffy (or whoever) and make your own fate deck with all manner of cool images!

I'm thinking, I might try and see if there's a way to use my psds in paint (if I seperate the elements it might be doable). In which case, I can help non-photoshoppers use the templates.