DND 3.5 home brews assemble! (Trying to make capture cards)

[Savarin]

i Need help lol I’m not good with homebrew designs but I wanted to try something and need you guys!

My plan is run a game using capture cards. Kinda like poke balls but card form or something idk just a rough idea. But I want the player to be able to capture monsters or humans? Or both in the cards. But I want to know dcs for capturing or ones that would work nicely. Cost per buying a capture card or different rarities of cards.

So say a level 1 player has a silver capture card and comes across a wolf they can attempt to capture it in the card. Lower the hp higher chance? If captured can’t use monster until it’s hp is fully recovered and you make a successful hand monster check. If you fail the check it runs away after using the card or breaks free. Only 1 card can register a monster. After it’s used it’s dead.

I’m not sure if I’m making myself clear but I need help and hope you can help hammer together some ideas with me. Because I would like to try a mini campaign with it :)

[rferries]

Some things to iron out:

1) Is a captured creature released from the card as a conjuration (calling) effect, or a conjuration (summoning) effect? In the former case does the card become reuseable if the creature is killed? In the latter, can the card be used to summon multiples of the creature?

2) How often can the cards be used each day? Can a card be used to capture a new creature, displacing an old one?

3) What power level are you looking at? A series of cards that can capture creatures approximating summon monster I to IX? Cards that can hold creatures of varying CRs or Hit Dice (or even class levels)?

4) Will the DCs be based off of the user's level/ability scores (like a staff or a monster's special attacks), or have a fixed DC? Do status conditions (poisoned, asleep, charmed, etc.) increase the DC for a target to resist the card?

5) What save (or saves) are needed to resist the card? Reflex to avoid a "thrown" card, Will to resist becoming under the captor's power, Fortitude to resist becoming transformed into a card-creature, or some combination of the above? Spell resistance yes/no?

Hopefully the answers to these will help you flesh out the cards (comparing them to an equivalent item of summon monster is hopefully a good baseline). Good luck!

[Savarin]

Some things to iron out:

1) Is a captured creature released from the card as a conjuration (calling) effect, or a conjuration (summoning) effect? In the former case does the card become reuseable if the creature is killed? In the latter, can the card be used to summon multiples of the creature?

2) How often can the cards be used each day? Can a card be used to capture a new creature, displacing an old one?

3) What power level are you looking at? A series of cards that can capture creatures approximating summon monster I to IX? Cards that can hold creatures of varying CRs or Hit Dice (or even class levels)?

4) Will the DCs be based off of the user's level/ability scores (like a staff or a monster's special attacks), or have a fixed DC? Do status conditions (poisoned, asleep, charmed, etc.) increase the DC for a target to resist the card?

5) What save (or saves) are needed to resist the card? Reflex to avoid a "thrown" card, Will to resist becoming under the captor's power, Fortitude to resist becoming transformed into a card-creature, or some combination of the above? Spell resistance yes/no?

Hopefully the answers to these will help you flesh out the cards (comparing them to an equivalent item of summon monster is hopefully a good baseline). Good luck!

1 hmm I’m thinking more of a summon effect, I don’t think the card should be able to be reused if the creature is killed. I think separate cards for same creatures also because that seems to make it better for the dc and such and more reasonable to control multiple you need to roll separate.

2 until the monster reaches 0 hp I believe. Then you must wait until his hp is restored to full before using that card again. I would say needs to be a new card for new monster, maybe the monster it first captured imprinted the card so it can’t be reused. So gives the players a reason to buy the cards also :)

3 I was thinking of just three different types. Bronze silver gold. Maybe add platinum just for the heck of it lol. Cr is hard to judge a monster by itself so maybe a combination of both? Idk having troubles making a good dc in my head but makes sense higher monsters higher dc.

4 I think effects like that might work as a bonus check. So like if monster is sleeping you get a +4 bonus. If charmed +2 something like that. I think capture has to be level based though maybe 10+ 1/2 level + cha?

5 I think both reflex and will would be nice :) but maybe the card can have a binding spell like affect. If the user tries to capture a monster it holds it in place until the dc vs monsters save to see who wins.
Tell me if this looks reasonable? Please
(10+1/2lvl+cha.) vs (10+monster hd+wis)
(D20 concentration check) vs (10+mon hd+wis)

I’m not good at dc and stuff like that. That’s why I come to the pros! Lemme know what you think about this please :)