Bookman, our party wizard, has a rather colorful character trait that makes him a bit of a collector. He doesn’t crave fine wines or historical relics. Instead, he fishes for the unusual and extreme. He’s a bit of a DIY caster and often needs unique components to concoct new, experimental spells. Leftovers are saved for his next visit to the local trading post in hopes of a better barter with the shop’s proprietor. Let’s take a look at some of his recent finds.

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We recently had a Twitter gamer ask how we make those nifty card decks for our monthly D&D campaign game. A video tutorial seemed appropriate as our blog entries have only touched on certain pieces. Best of all, you can also download many of the materials right here off The Pile.

A Classic RPG Pile Deck contains the following:

• Stats card
• Basic Attack cards
• Power cards
• Feat cards
• Magic Item cards
• Basic Gear cards
• Quest cards
• Face cards (Paizo or Customized)
• Place cards
• Trait cards

We use the following materials and templates to make our cards:

• A color Wizards DDI Character Sheet Printout
• A good paper cutter
• Ultra Pro Deck Protectors (see-through)
• Slip cards (old Magic or Warlord cards will do)
• Blank PHB Power Cards or Character Sheet version
• 4E Fan Publishing Power Card Builder
• NPC Tracker PSD template
• Magic Items PDF template
• Rubber band
• Deck box

So, why not make a quick player deck for an upcoming game and spice up your D&D life? You’ll be hooked before you know it.

Questions to Ponder: Are you a die-hard-sheet-kinda-guy or would you give the deck a try? Do you play a lot of magic or does the card stuff bore you?

Watch it | NPC Tracker Cards | Customize Your Own Cards | Face Cards

The Internet is an RPG game aid paradise for the simple fact that it lets you build upon others’ awesome ideas – case in point with our version of NPC Tracker Cards. Ben first caught wind of an NPC Photoshop template on Newbie DM’s site. He then found a spinoff of those cards on The Free RPG Blog site. Creative juices began to overflow-eth.

Operation Iraqi Freedom and the infamous deck of cards used by the military was the main inspiration for yet another Dungeons and Dragons homebrew project. Who could ever forget the four aces?

With all this knowledge in-hand, Ben set off to create his own set for his monthly Thunderspire campaign. Remembering those story plotlines is a difficult task for many of the players, especially if you only play every 3 or 4 weeks.

So Ben wanted to create some eye-popping NPC cards that would help his group better identify with the villains and their role in the story. He used the front for a fancy image and then utilized the back for key stats/hints. You can even use the WotC Character Builder for your item stats on the card backs.

Google images provides a wealth of photo options. It’s kinda fun picking older D&D art for nostalgia-sake. Besides characters and magic items, Ben is looking to do some key places as well.

You can download the Photoshop templates here or peruse the first three PDFs here, here and here. A special thanks to all for paving the way. We’ll be sure to update the NPC cards as we add more.

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Discovering treasure never gets old. The party has worked hard for it so the DM holds a duty to ensure the final payoff possesses the right pizzazz. And that’s where GameMastery Item Cards from Paizo Publishing come in extremely handy.

This addicting card line (12 sets and counting) comes with a bevy of choices including weapons, armor, scrolls, potions, and rings. Liven up your next general store run by laying them out on the table to clearly show the shop’s current inventory.

The front of the card shows a slick illustration while back reveals a brief description and area for notes. Ben especially likes to use this handy PDF template and print out his own D&D 4E descriptions.

These item cards are a RPG slam dunk, y’all. Try the Essentials deck for starters.

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