Category:Tarokka Deck (Item)
A Tarokka Deck is the traditional deck of fortune-telling cards used by the Vistani.
The deck included in Forbidden Lore consists of 54 cards, and is divided into a "lesser deck" and a "high deck". The lesser deck consists of 10 cards in each of 4 suits: stars, glyphs, coins and swords. Each suit corresponds to a 2nd edition class: wizard, priest, rogue, and warrior, respectively. Each suit is also tied to an element, and each rank to an alignment. The high deck consists of the following suit-less cards: The Darklord, The Artifact, The Horseman, The Marionette, The Innocent, The Temptress, The Mists, The Donjon, The Hangman, The Ghost, The Broken One, The Raven, The Beast, and The Esper.
In the Ravenloft Tarokka Deck, The Darklord is replaced with The Dark Master, The Ghost is replaced with The Spirit, The Donjon is replaced with The Prison, and the Esper is replaced with the Hero.
The cards of the lesser deck are named as shown in the following table.
| Rank | Swords | Stars | Coins | Glyphs | Alignment | Master | The Warrior | The Wizard | The Rogue | The Priest | None | 1 | The Avenger | The Transmuter | The Swashbuckler | The Monk | Chaotic Good | 2 | The Paladin | The Diviner | The Philanthropist | The Missionary | Lawful Good | 3 | The Soldier | The Enchanter | The Trader | The Healer | Neutral Good | 4 | The Mercenary | The Abjurer | The Merchant | The Shepherd | Lawful Neutral | 5 | The Myrmidon | The Elementalist | The Guildsman | The Druid | True Neutral | 6 | The Berserker | The Invoker | The Beggar | The Anarchist | Chaotic Neutral | 7 | The Hooded Man | The Illusionist | The Thief | The Charlatan | Neutral Evil | 8 | The Dictator | The Necromancer | The Tax Collector | The Bishop | Lawful Evil | 9 | The Torturer | The Conjurer | The Miser | The Traitor | Chaotic Evil |
|---|
In the Ravenloft Tarokka Deck, The Invoker is called the Evoker, and the Traitor is called the Heretic. Also the Master of each suit doesn't have a name beyond "The Master/Mistress of ____." Also, each Master card is considered to be rank 10 in that suit, whereas in the Forbidden Lore version, the Masters have no numerical rank. And the master cards, as well as several other cards, are associated with specific Darklords or other NPCs.
The two decks also disagree on which suit corresponds to which element.
| Suit | Forbidden Lore element | Ravenloft Tarokka Deck element | Coins | Air | Earth | Swords | Earth | Air | Glyphs | Water | Water | Stars | Fire | Fire |
|---|
The deck is used by first choosing a "Focus card" to represent the subject of the reading. Then other cards are laid out around the focus card in one of several patterns. The most common is the "basic cross" with one card on each side, above and below. The "Expanded Cross" adds an additional card in each direction. The "Tower" is a basic cross with a row of 3 cards above the cross and another row of 3 below it. "The Pyramid" is a triangle made of four rows of cards: 4 cards at the base, and 1 at the top. The focus card sits in the center of the row of three.
In each case, the positions of the cards within the pattern each have a meaning with respect to the focus card, and each card has multiple symbolic connotations. The fortune teller (or DM) must analyse the symbolism of each card and develop a reading based on them. Forbidden Lore and the Ravenloft Tarokka Deck disagree on the meaning of the positions in the basic cross, but it's possible that each Vistana has their own style.
Further elaborations of the brief instructions that come with the Ravenloft Tarokka Deck can be found in the Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
|
|
|
|
Circle of Darkness - p10 | |
|
Death Ascendant - pp3-4 |
Pages in category "Tarokka Deck (Item)"
The following 2 pages are in this category, out of 2 total.
