Random Reviews: Power Cards by Ander00

I want to apologize about there being so few posts this month.  Work has been a bit crazy, so I haven't had much time to devote to the blog.  This has been especially hard on my Alignment Series, as I still have to do some research before I can begin posting my new system ideas. 

That being said, I did get an opportunity to actually play in a 4th Edition D&D game this weekend.  It was a 15th level D&D 3.5 game that converted over last session.  I have to admit, I had a bit of trepidation jumping into my first 4th Edition game (as a player) at 15th level.

I shouldn't have worried, because I had found Ander00's Power Card's on ENWorld.  These cards have a clean, functional design.  Each card includes a summary of the power, boxes for you to fill in your modifiers, and a little flavor text.  At the moment Ander00 is pretty much up to date with all of the powers in the Core Books, Dragon Magazine, as well as a few fan versions of old favorites, like druids and bards, from the ENWorld forums.

It's amazing how functional these cards are during play.  Laying them out on the table allowed me to easily scan my available powers.  By turning them over as I used them I could keep track of which ones I had used.  I know that none of this is rocket science, but it really helped me get into my 15th level character without worrying too much about what I could do.

As for downloading and printing these cards, Ander00 basically presents two ways to do it.    One is to download the PDF Version of the cards and print them out.  This works fine, but it is a 95 page print out!  Another option is to download the Magic Set Editor, an Open Source Card Creation program.  Using this program, you can not only choose which cards you wish to print out, but you can edit them or even create your own.

I suppose you could print them on card stock, but I just bought 100 card sleeves for $0.55 at my local comic book shop.  I then put them in the sleeves with actual cards to provide the necessary stiffness.  Cheap, but effective.

Seriously, I just want to tip my hat to Ander00 for doing excellent work putting these cards together.  Considering how 4th Edition D&D powers were designed to easily fit on cards, it's simply amazing to me that Wizards of the Coast hasn't already attempted to sell me something like these.

But I must admit I enjoy getting them for free.