Hey there programmers, I know this is a more markup/typesetting deal, but I thought there might be people who are interested. After being dissapointed with many of the options out there for making ttrpg item cards, I made a LaTeX template for that exact purpose. I wanted it to be relatively easy to use, generate clean images, and be (semi) form fillable. The cards scale in height with the quantity of text given and image size, so users don’t need to finagle with the box dimensions too much, and all card sections (generated by custom commands) can either be commented out or toggled off if they aren’t relevant to the item.
If there are any people familiar with TeX who have thoughts or constructive criticism, I would love to get some more eyes on this. I have already posted this in the relavant ttrpg areas, but I am hoping people here might have more technical critiques. I have already gotten feedback that a setting for fixed dimensions would be smart in case players want to get card sleeves or a card binder, and want to make a back side for longer item descriptions, which I will work into V2.
Here is an example of a completed card with all the trimmings: Staff of the Jackal Lord
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to check it out, and if anyone uses it, please let me know what you think!
Commenting so I ca find this later. This looks fantastic and I’m excited to try this for my game.
You mention that the cards scale automatically which is great for online games, but is it possible to fix the size to say an index card for printing?
Edit: should have finished reading, just saw you mention that as a goal for v2.
Yeah, I feel kinda silly for not thinking about it in v1. I play in person, but distribute items via discord, so it never even crossed my mind.
That’s an interesting way to DM, but I love the idea! Do you need to pay for Overleaf or can you download it, use the template, and just take it to Kinko’s or something?
Overleaf is free (the paid tier is mainly for work stuff, collaborative document editing and the like) or you can install a LaTeX interpreter and run the files locally on your computer. Then you can print it off at home, at a print shop, etc.
Hey, the printable card setting has been implemented (just waiting for Overleaf to publish it), but I thought I’d show off the result here first:
It fixes the card size to a 5:7 ratio, the same as any playing card (usually 2.5×3.5in), so it will fit any sleeve for game cards when printed.
v1.1 is live on overleaf:
https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/d-and-d-item-card-template/ndfdspmmxnrn
That’s pretty cool!
Thanks! I couldn’t sleep one night last week so I threw the basics together. Then I went on a mission to understand how to implement logic gates into LaTeX, get everything turned into commands, automating the sizing, etc. By Friday it was easy enough to use and made a good enough looking card that I figured I would share it with the world!
