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The GameMaster's Apprentice: Fantasy Deck |
$9.99 |
Average Rating:4.8 / 5 |
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As I said, I'd review when they arrived, they arrived :)
First off, the deck box is a nice sturdy item.
Second, the size is pocket friendly.
And 3rd THIRD!! this product is very well made.
Because both sides are employed, there is no dead weight surfaces. Smooth slick surface means shuffling is very nice. This could be one of the best DM treats I have given to myself.
I might get the base deck, but I think this deck can handle any of my needs.
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I got the base deck first, and picked this up for the Prompt Icons to have the alternate randomizer.
I loved it more than I expected to. Similar to other story icon generators, you flip over as many as you want/need and interpret. While the rest of the card works exactly like the base deck but has a fantasy slant to the prompts, the icons are useful enough I've taken to keeping this deck on hand just for those. Best modification to the base deck of all the sets in my mind.
I love the GMA decks - they are flexible and easy to use a little, a lot, or to entirely drive your game. I highly recommend getting at least one set if you regularly play solo or GM.
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My single favourite and most-useful GMing tool. I've stressed a lot creating homebrew sessions weekly, but a few shuffles of these cards can easily make up random events, characters and story locations with a bit of help from my imagination. I also have the Story Cubes, a much more budgeted product, which are cool but have the problem of being a bit too open to interpretation at times. I find these cards are a brilliant middle-ground which have options for "open interpretation" but also some good specific words and ideas which help speed up the content-creation process. For example I tried to think of a random event and I got a location as "Good Planes", which seemed too out-there for my low-level campaign, so instead I decided that the NPC was FROM the good planes - an angel. I also got the keyword "Heartbroken". Immediately I came up with the idea that this angel had fallen in love with a seductive and clever mortal witch who had been seeking power and secrets from the greater planes. So now I have an angel disguised as a mortal, a powerful wizard with secrets from the celestial planes, and a great story to go along with it. Of course the angel doesn't want to corrupt their soul with vengeance, but are struggling with it, so in comes my player! Hasn't played out yet but I look forward to it.
That is just one example, I have used the cards to create a lot of content for my homebrew campaign and they have been so worth the money. I also ended up getting the base, horror and sci-fi decks for future use or playing solo games as I sometimes do that.
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Creator Reply: |
I just had to say, that’s one heck of an example! I try not to respond to all reviews individually, but I really appreciate hearing that something that cool came from the cards, and it’s exactly the kind of good news I needed in these pandemic times.
Stay safe, and I hope the cards continue to serve you well! |
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I got the fantasy and science fiction decks. The price dropping during this pandemic helped me in deciding to pick these up. Plus I appreciate the gesture of lowering prices to help keep gamers home during these trying times. Shipping was fast and the cards are incredible. I am a very happy dungeonmaster/wannabe writer.
![(https://photos.app.goo.gl/4zZA1nekc8iwzA9L8/)]
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I think the Gamemaster's Apprentice is one of the coolest GMing tools I've ever seen.
When I first got it, I thought it was an interesting device, but now that I've had some time with it, I have come to use it for so much more than I had initially thought I would.
I use it not only for random die rolls and names, which is plenty useful, but for sensory, directional, environmental, and story-telling inspiration, both in-game and during the planning phase. The information on the cards are game- and genre-agnostic, which allows the GM to take whatever the Gamemaster's Apprentice gives them and fit it neatly into their story.
The card stock is very nice and great for fidgety card shuffling.
I can't say enough about the Gamemaster's Apprentice. I recommend it highly.
The one bit of feedback I have on the Fantasy Deck specifically: I feel like all the fantasy illustration makes the content on the cards hard to read. The layout and design of the Base Deck is much more clean and organized. The Base Deck illustration is tastefully done and stays out of the way of the content.
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NOTE: I bought the Base Deck, Fantasy Deck, and Universal Instruction Cards, so this review is for each.
I debated whether to buy these or story dice, and I don't regret going with these. If you get them, I highly recommend buying the protective case as well. Also, you don't need a printed copy of the Universal Instruction Cards, but it's worth it if you like having the instructions with the decks.
Some things I like:
--They're printed on paper that feels like regular Poker cards, none are off-center, and the ink quality is very good.
--They have just about everything you need to get a story going on the fly.
--There is some overlap between the Base and Fantasy Decks, but the differences are enough to justify buying both.
--I received them a day earlier than expected.
Some things I would change:
--As others have noted, there are only a few Vices and Virtues. More would be better.
--The Universal Instruction Cards include one card that can be used as cover art, and I wish every set included one of these.
--The GMA Key card (included with the Universal Instruction Cards) is printed on both sides so that I had to keep flipping it over to learn how the cards work. It would be better if these were separated.
Overall, my gripes are minor, and these cards are easily worth the purchase.
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I use my deck very regularly to get prompts and ideas for solo RPG play, and enjoy the huge variety of tools and generators on each card.
I do have one suggestion for improvement: This version of the deck (Fantasy) has the noisiest background elements of all of the decks so far. It creates a great fantasy atmosphere, but at times all that atmosphere slows down interpretation of results.
If there are more decks to come, I'd love to see a version that makes layout and quick interpretation a top priority, or allows me to reorient and stagger stacks of cards to get several of one kind of prompt, while covering the info I'm not using at the time.
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These are pretty awesome! My only complaint really is that I kinda wish that Virtue and Vice had more than just the 7 deadly sins/7 heavenly virtues. Maybe possitve or negative personality traits.
Maybe having some more neuanced odds than just good/even/bad, though that is a minor quibble that would require redesiging the card.
Still other than that these are great, and the creator was able to help me out with getting the bundle for these after I had already bought one.
I highly recommend getting these, they work both as a general GM tool as well as a gm emulator.
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Brought my GM Apprentice deck to a game that my friend is running, used the cards in lieu of dice (didn't use them for anything else as I obviously wasn't playing a solo game). Had an epic moment where we were fighting the Big Bad Evil Guy and I stood up and said "I believe in the heart of the cards!" and legit drew a natural 20 on my attack roll. Scored a critical hit and sent the BBEG's soul to the Shadow Realm. Lookout Seto Kaiba, here I come! 10/10 would draw another crit again.
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After purchasing and using the basic, scifi, and horror decks for some time now, it was a no-brainer to back the fantasy deck on Kickstarter. I use these decks in every game I run. I've always used the basic deck when running fantasy games, but now I have a dedicated deck for such occasions. There is so much information on each card, it's ridiculous. Especially if you are a GM who likes to wing things and improv a lot, these are the fastest way I have found to gain a bit of inspiration at the table. I highly recommend them.
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I got both the PDF's and the physical cards. It was a nice surprise when I went through the online material and found quite a lot of usefull information. There's a guidebook on using the deck for generating quests ideas, NPC's personalities (and names) and other elements.
The cards have a lot of elements on them (see the sample image) so I was happy there was a quickstart guide that does a good job of detailing each field and adding some potential uses for it all.
I've found most of it very helpful already in generating ideas, generating quick names on the fly, providing some color to descriptions and as a good generic answer oracle.
Since I said most I'll point out one area I think may not have a long term use for me - the dice wheel. For some it may be useful, and it can be used for getting die rolls without telegraphing to your players that you are rolling. But for me, I just prefer rolling dice (honestly it's one of the things I really enjoy about gaming) and would have prefered something else use up that corner real estate. Also, I'm rolling so often about so much I don't think hiding rolls is that big an issue. YMMV.
Honesetly though this is a quibble and for some that may be a killer feature. There is so much on these cards, and with everything else so helpful I know I'll have them with me for a while.
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Great idea great cards one glaring problem, There are no backs to the cards. so when printed you have a deck of 60 cards and no idea how to randomize what side to use. I really like the idea and the card designs but it is hard to know what side is the one to use as they dont even gave evens on one side and odd on the other. It is a huge mess.
I would suggest doing 120 with a standardized back. If they were to fix it later.
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Creator Reply: |
Hi!
Thanks for taking the time to leave specific feedback! If I do another edition, which would you prefer: A deck of only 60 card faces with a standardized back on each, or a deck of 120 cards with a standardized back (to preserve all the randomizers and content, but at the cost of being harder to hold/shuffle)? Or something else?
I usually use the cards by simply flipping over the top of the deck, or cutting them and looking at the top card I cut to, so I'm not 100% sure what would solve your problem the best. I actually tend to GM while standing, so I carry the deck in my hands and idly shuffle, and then whenever I need something I can just cut and look and then keep shuffling, and my players have no idea if I was rolling for their perception or trying to build a new NPC fast :-) |
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I backed this on Kickstarter and can't say a bad thing about it. This is essential for both solo RPG and games mastering fantasy RPGs. As others have said there is so much information on each card with absolutely no wasted space: random names, directions, smells, belongings, dice rolls, elements and many more. This is a very well-thought through system and is essentisl for any fantasy RPGs.
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This is hands down the best RPG resource I have ever come across! Every inch of the card is used to maximize the space available. This deck has soooo many possible ways to use not just the cards themselves, but given pieces of info on the cards. While I have found some digital resources that come close to accomplishing what there cards can, this product is quicker to use and NOT digital. The designer did a tremendous job! Just in case you think at first glance that there may be too much going on with these cards, I can assure you that with the effective instructions you'll have it down in minutes. This is also a blessing for solo RPG play!
In short, I'm super happy with this product!
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This is Nathan Rockwood's latest iteration of his GameMaster's Apprentice decks. This one, as you can see on the title, is focused on the Fantasy genre. Additionally, this time he has added ONE more generator in the form of a random image inside the dice rolls. In short, these products are the foundations of my dungeon mastering and solo playing: it only takes me (literally) 20 seconds to create new quests, describe new scenes, NPCs... And it keeps the game fresh, which is something I like as a GM (being surprised by the game). The only bad thing about them is that the shipping cost to the EU is too high, but that is a DrivethruRPG problem, not Nathan's. Overall, any Game Master who likes to improvise things (and I'd say that everyone has to do it sometimes) should get these. If you're running a different plethora of genres, you can just get the base one. But if you only run D&D, Pathfinder and such, do yourself a favor, get this deck (pro tip: if you get it on pdf, you can load it an app like Cardwarden on iPad and use it on the go) and enjoy all of its random glory.
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