Post by DM Stretch on Jun 9, 2016 1:11:36 GMT
I'm planning on running curse of strahd soon, and have already gone and made my own tarokka deck using printed images from the book, and then pasting them onto old magic cards.
Using these cards will help determine where the important points of the adventure, but I thought that they could be used for more than simply that!
I looked up how to do a tarot reading using the celtic cross method, and using a tarokka deck you can come up with some interesting character back story, motivations, and such!
I'll do an example reading right now, for the sake of S&G; I'll include the cards name in the order in which it is drawn. I'll be doing this reading for... let's say..... a half-elf by the name of Bartley Greenwillow!
Let's get started!
Order of Draw) Significance: Card Name (Card Number) - suggested meaning
1) Present: Enchanter (3 of Stars) - Inner Turmoil
2) Immediate Challenge: Evoker (6 of Stars) - Uncontrollable Magic/Supernatural Power
3) Distant Past: Darklord (Major Arcana) - A single, evil individual of significant power
4) Recent Past: Paladin (2 of Swords) - Just and noble warrior(s)
5) Best Outcome: Thief (7 of Coins) - Those who steal or burgle/ the loss of something of significance
6) Immediate Future: Charlatan (7 of Glyphs) - Liars/ those who profess false beliefs
7) Factors affecting Current Situation: Ghost (Major Arcana) - The looming past
8) External Influences: Bishop (8 of Glyphs) - Strict adherence to a code or belief
9) Hopes/Fears: Hooded One (7 of Swords) - Bigotry, Intolerence, and xenophobia
10) Final Outcome: Transmuter (1 of Stars) - Unforseen Consequences
So, what does all this gobbledegook mean? Here's my interpretation!
Bartley Greenwillow is a warlock who is struggling to contain the dark energies locked away inside him when an archmage trapped a deamon of no small power; he can make use of the magics granted to him through a pact with the bound deamon inside him, but each time he does, the bonds keeping the deamon contained weaken ever so slightly. Lately, Bartley met with a proud warrior (possibly a party member) who agreed to help him contain the vile entity within his body, in the hopes to somehow banish the creature altogether.
However, his newly found warrior friend has long been a secret cultist in service of the trapped deamon, seeking to nurture Bartley's growing talents in the hopes for rewards in the infernal plane. Bartley's past is also catching up with him: righteous zealots (fellow members of Bartley's church) seek to end his existence before he becomes a major threat, using his dogmatic beliefs to their advantage; Bartley has avoided wounding them severely thus far, but fears that their intolerant convictions wil no longer afford him the luxury of morality. He may yet be forced to slay those he once called friends.
Bartley's final fate is unknown, but one thing is certain: he will have to determine his true friends from his false ones.
There we have it: a fairly fleshed out character (by my standards anyways); the beauty of this method is that the reading will be unique from person to person, based upon their interpretation of the cards!
Feel free to try this out with other settings, and let me know how it works out!
Using these cards will help determine where the important points of the adventure, but I thought that they could be used for more than simply that!
I looked up how to do a tarot reading using the celtic cross method, and using a tarokka deck you can come up with some interesting character back story, motivations, and such!
I'll do an example reading right now, for the sake of S&G; I'll include the cards name in the order in which it is drawn. I'll be doing this reading for... let's say..... a half-elf by the name of Bartley Greenwillow!
Let's get started!
Order of Draw) Significance: Card Name (Card Number) - suggested meaning
1) Present: Enchanter (3 of Stars) - Inner Turmoil
2) Immediate Challenge: Evoker (6 of Stars) - Uncontrollable Magic/Supernatural Power
3) Distant Past: Darklord (Major Arcana) - A single, evil individual of significant power
4) Recent Past: Paladin (2 of Swords) - Just and noble warrior(s)
5) Best Outcome: Thief (7 of Coins) - Those who steal or burgle/ the loss of something of significance
6) Immediate Future: Charlatan (7 of Glyphs) - Liars/ those who profess false beliefs
7) Factors affecting Current Situation: Ghost (Major Arcana) - The looming past
8) External Influences: Bishop (8 of Glyphs) - Strict adherence to a code or belief
9) Hopes/Fears: Hooded One (7 of Swords) - Bigotry, Intolerence, and xenophobia
10) Final Outcome: Transmuter (1 of Stars) - Unforseen Consequences
So, what does all this gobbledegook mean? Here's my interpretation!
Bartley Greenwillow is a warlock who is struggling to contain the dark energies locked away inside him when an archmage trapped a deamon of no small power; he can make use of the magics granted to him through a pact with the bound deamon inside him, but each time he does, the bonds keeping the deamon contained weaken ever so slightly. Lately, Bartley met with a proud warrior (possibly a party member) who agreed to help him contain the vile entity within his body, in the hopes to somehow banish the creature altogether.
However, his newly found warrior friend has long been a secret cultist in service of the trapped deamon, seeking to nurture Bartley's growing talents in the hopes for rewards in the infernal plane. Bartley's past is also catching up with him: righteous zealots (fellow members of Bartley's church) seek to end his existence before he becomes a major threat, using his dogmatic beliefs to their advantage; Bartley has avoided wounding them severely thus far, but fears that their intolerant convictions wil no longer afford him the luxury of morality. He may yet be forced to slay those he once called friends.
Bartley's final fate is unknown, but one thing is certain: he will have to determine his true friends from his false ones.
There we have it: a fairly fleshed out character (by my standards anyways); the beauty of this method is that the reading will be unique from person to person, based upon their interpretation of the cards!
Feel free to try this out with other settings, and let me know how it works out!