Card Design > Showcase

Write-In Cards

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N.A. Larson:
This is my take on a write-in card for TSSSF. I've modified the format to make it more conducive to handwriting/hand-drawing. Here is the bleed file so you can print your own for personal AND commercial use. That’s right; you may print and sell this card. Also, if you come up with anything good, be sure to post it below (keeping in mind this site's PG-13 rating).







Here's an example of how to use this card (commissioned from Trish Forstner http://animatedvisions.com/):





1. Name:

This is the name of your character. If it's different than the name most people would know them as, add their usual name as a keyword.

2. Gender Symbol:

Male, female, both, or none (leave blank).

3. Race Symbol:

There are 4 in-game races: Alicorn, Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn. Non-pony characters are assigned to one of these races based on whether they have horns and/or wings, and their actual race is added as a keyword. If the character does not resemble a living creature, you may leave this symbol blank (such characters usually get the Object keyword).

4. Timeline Symbol:

This denotes that the character is from an alternate timeline. The most common alternate timeline is the Dystopian Future (hourglass).

5. Art Box:

Your character should be the focus of this art. Also, be sure to get the artist to sign their work.

6. Keywords:

If there are any keywords (Princess, OC, Mascot, etc.) that would help this card count toward existing Goals, add them here. For a list of the most commonly used keywords, please refer to Section 7 in the TSSSF Style Guide. Note: Keywords, including name keywords and racial keywords, should be arranged alphabetically.

7. Reminder Text

If there is something the player should know about this card, such as the number of Ponies it counts as, put that text here.

8. Power Name

The power name is used to explain why the power makes sense for your character.

9. Power Type

To save space, the 6 standard Pony powers are listed here for you to choose from (If you don’t know what they do, please refer to 2.6.3-2.6.8. in the TSSSF Style Guide). “Special” has been omitted for two reasons. The first is the amount of space it would take to write out. The second is that Special powers require some trial and error to get right, so by using a standard power you are guaranteed a playable card, which is especially important if you already paid for an art commission.

Lord LunaEquie is me:
This is a fantastic idea!

Though, I imagine most people who need to playtest cards are trying out entirely novel abilities. Maybe there should be a version of this card without the power type checkboxes at the bottom?

I have to admit, though, my first reaction when seeing this was "shouldn't there also be a ship and goal equivalent" before I realized that's mostly silly. I'm just the kind of person who looks at the ratio of pony cards to ship cards and goal cards and thinks to take up the lesser-used design space in the latter two.

N.A. Larson:
Thanks!

Although these cards can be used for playtesting, they are intended to be final products. These cards are a quick and easy way for players to add their OC or favorite background pony to the game. Limiting the choice of card power to the 6 standard ones eliminates the need for playtesting, and being able to draw art directly on the card eliminates the need to use the card generator and a printing company.

If it’s playtesting you’re interested in, you’re better off using scraps of paper and sliding them into card sleeves in front of existing cards (they don’t even have to be TSSSF cards, just roughly 2.5”x3.5”). If you’re working on new card mechanics, you’ll be making a lot of changes, so this is much cheaper/easier.

I don’t plan to make write-in versions of the Ship and Goal cards because most people want characters, and Ships and Goals represent situations (which btw are also harder/more expensive to commission). Also, writing good Goal requirements can take a lot of trial and error.

Lord LunaEquie is me:
Point.

It hadn't even entered my mind that these weren't for playtesting. I've never been so attached to a character that I've wanted to see them as a card in anything (I come from about... a decade of M:tG, and probably >5 years of Yu-Gi-Oh before that), but I can admit a lot of people seem to want to do just that. Personally I see the character card market kind of flooded and would rather a card that I make come up more often. Then again, I typically play with the entire 500-some-odd collection I have, so that could be part of it.

So far I've just been slipping a couple of old M:tG cards in the fronts of my goals sleeves. Been trying to figure out if "events" is a viable mechanic in this game.

I didn't know that ships and goals would be harder to commission, though. I've had zero experience with commissions and next-to-zero experience with artist that even do commissions. Good to know, though.

N.A. Larson:
TSSSF is different from MtG, Yugioh, etc., because while those games have some backstory, gameplay does not advance that story. In TSSSF, you actually build stories as you play, thus it is important to have characters (and situations) you care about. This is the main reason I don't play with all the cards at once (the other of course is unfun mechanics).

There are probably as many Pony cards as all other types combined (confirmation coming soon), but I wouldn't call the market "flooded," as there are still many canon characters that don't have even ONE card. Soarin'. Hoity Toity. Nurse Redheart. Cherry Jubilee. The list goes on. Sketch Cards are an easy way to get these characters into the game for those who want them.

Goal and Ship art is harder/more expensive to commission than Pony card art because they will usually involve multiple characters, doing something specific, possibly in a specific setting. Also, most artists who offer at-con sketch commissions will usually be doing character sketches.

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