We thank Inkwell Ideas for having sent us for this review some of their decks. Inkwell Ideas offers many accessories for roleplaying players; we have already reviewed Dungeonmorph Dice and Cards and this time we focus on their decks, intended for two specific purposes.
First ones are Sidequest Decks, which offer adventure hooks. The second ones are NPC Portraits Decks, which present pregenerated NPC full of infos. Every product is system neutral.
All decks are available for purchase at the Inkwell Ideas website and each is sold, printed, for $ 12.55 (about € 11), including the PDF version. The digital version alone costs $ 4.99 (about € 4) for the Sidequest Decks and $ 3.99 (about € 3.5) for the NPC Portraits Decks.
In this review I will focus on the three decks that Inkwell Ideas sent us, but the choice is very varied. There are 11 Sidequest Decks, ranging from genres (such as Horror, Lovecraft, Science Fantasy) to more specific situations (Dungeons and Caves, High Seas and Pirates, Arcane Academy). A special mention to the “After the Total Party Kill” deck. The Horror Fantasy and Science Fiction decks have arrived in our editorial office. As for the NPC Portraits Decks, there are 10 types, mostly focused on the fantasy genre and divided by places or types (monsters, adventurers, wingmen) with a deck dedicated instead to characters of the scifi genre. We will analyze the deck that concerns the Coastal Townsfolk.
Review of the Materials of the Inkwell Ideas Decks
The decks consist of 54 cards collected in cardboard boxes. The quality is good but I have doubts about their durability in case of intensive use. It cannot be considered a defect because I don’t think there were great alternatives. I would like to see packs larger than the size of the deck of cards from time to time. In this way it would be possible to use protective sleeves while still being able to put the cards back in their original packaging. The individual cards are standard quality, durable, and will likely stand up to heavy use.
How do the cards look like? Those of the NPC Portrait Deck have on one side the portrait of an NPC and on the other its description, which I will explain later when I talk about the contents. Those of the Sidequest Deck have on one side the map of the mini adventure and on the other the essential information.
Art and Layout
In terms of layout, the cards are rightly simple. The background color is soft, the font clean. Through good contrast and good spacing each card contains a lot of information, even if obviously the dimensions of the text are small, but easily readable.
From a graphic point of view, the faces of the characters in the NPC Portrait Deck are cute. They are very reminiscent of the graphic possibilities of RPG video games. I found the quality is average, but even in this case the choice is correct: it would not have made sense to commission dozens and dozens of portraits of the highest quality. The illustrations do their job: they give a clear idea of the NPC that is easily viewed by game masters and players.
The maps of the Sidequest Decks are varied, based on the type of deck and adventure. Qualitatively they are sufficient, just enough to give an idea of the place. But these are low resolution and extremely simple products. This is not meant to be a criticism. Personally, I approve of the choice, especially if it served to prevent the final price from rising. Just know that scanning the cards to enlarge the image to use as a map is one possibility, but it will lead to very rough results. However, it remains a fast and viable road.
Review of the Contents of Inkwell Ideas Decks
I start by talking about the NPC Portraits Deck. As I mentioned, the deck that has arrived is focused on the inhabitants of coastal settlements. Each card contains a lot of information, according to a very specific scheme. Name and surname, race, occupation. Then there are several small paragraphs dedicated to personalities, particularities, needs, secrets, information to be used as a lever to persuade them and background. A short quote concludes the paper. In short, the information is really a lot to be contained in a few square centimeters!
The characters are not just about the sea, although there are pirates, sailors and dock workers. In reality there are characters of many different types, also considering the extreme variety that can be encountered in a large city on the coast. The characterization is remarkable and each card offers ideas for both interpretation and play. Between the backgrounds, secrets and needs, each character gives the game master small threads to pull and new narrative possibilities.
Sidequest Decks cards also offer great play ideas and insights. Content composition is slightly different for the two Inkwell Ideas card decks evaluated in this review. For both there are the title and some keywords underneath, which allow you to immediately frame the main topics covered. A very brief summary follows.
After which both have three paragraphs: the first on how to hook the player characters, the second, the most full-bodied, on the encounters and events of the adventure, while the last are ideas for continuing it further. The mini sci-fi adventure cards also have an additional paragraph, with suggestions on how to adapt the card to a fantasy setting.
Final Considerations about the Inkwell Ideas Decks
The Inkwell Ideas decks made a good impression on me. They were made with intelligence and practicality. They are nice and well made, but also simple and no frills. From an aesthetic point of view they are more than acceptable, while as regards the contents they are a mine of ideas, the result of excellent creative work. Their usefulness depends on the type of game and the type of game master, but undoubtedly they can be useful in all those moments in which, for one reason or another, the ideas at the table seem not to be able to come out.
They are also very comfortable decks for those who love to play sandbox or free-roaming, or for masters who already have a lot of things to manage and want something that helps them to take off at least some weight. The purchase of the physical version must take into account the shipping costs. The digital version, on the other hand, has a truly exceptional cost per idea ratio.
