So I'm getting ready to run a Ravenloft campaign, and I've been going back through the old AD&D Realm of Terror box set. I'm trying to adapt some of the old mechanics and details of that to 4E. There's one section of the sourcebook that talks about Gypsies, and gets into specifics of fortune telling. It even goes so far as to describe how you can assign meanings and details to a regular deck of cards for use in your game. That way the player can shuffle it and feel like they're having some control over the fate of their character.
Last year at Gencon I picked up a deck of cards from Slugfest Games called "Gambling? I'm in!". It's a sort of generic fantasy-themed deck of cards with a book detailing different games that can be played, and how to gamble with them. I wanted to build a scene where the players had to gamble for a piece of info, but it never worked out. My players wouldn't go the way I wanted them to (surprise). But now I think I can use the cards as a fortune telling tool, and it'll look better than just using a standard deck of cards.
So below here is a list of the different cards and the potential meanings I've assigned to the various details. I'm not using the whole deck, because I want a higher chance for the Dragon card to come up (the normal deck size is somewhere around 100 cards, and there are only 3 dragons total). I'm looking for comments on the meanings I've come up with, and suggestions on other ways to approach that stuff, if anyone has them? Also, I'm not sure what traits to use for the Raven and Hawk symbols. So any suggestions there would be welcome.
In the end, it'll be a lot of making it up on the spot for me. But I still want to have some kind of basic framework to start with. And of course it'll be prefaced with the gypsy saying that they have the chance to change their fate. This is merely one possible future.
Card Faces:
Warrior - Strength/Determination
Princess - Beauty/Deception
Bard - Charm/Travel
Merchant - Wealth/Power
Rogue - Independence/Adaptability
Dragon - Chaos
Colors:
Green - Earth
Blue - Water
Red - Fire
Animal Symbol:
Wolf - Cunning
Horse - Stability
Rabbit - Speed
Raven -
Owl - Perception
Hawk -
In the Deck:
6x Warrior (two each color)
6x Princess (two each color)
6x Bard (two each color)
6x Merchant (two each color)
6x Rogue (two each color)
3x Dragon (one each color)
33 total cards
Playing the cards:
Card 1 represents the core of the PC's character. It reveals details of their soul.
Cards 2 and 3 represent their future. These cards explain what fortunes and dangers await them, what they can accomplish and what consequences there will be if they fail. These cards are dealt on opposite sides of card 1.
Cards 4 and 5 are choices they will be faced with. Challenges are presented to everyone in their lives. These will be their greatest ones. These cards are dealt on the remaining two opposing sides of card 1.
Card 6 is their adversary. This represents the greatest foe that they will face in their lives. This card is laid on top of card 1.
Thoughts?
Last year at Gencon I picked up a deck of cards from Slugfest Games called "Gambling? I'm in!". It's a sort of generic fantasy-themed deck of cards with a book detailing different games that can be played, and how to gamble with them. I wanted to build a scene where the players had to gamble for a piece of info, but it never worked out. My players wouldn't go the way I wanted them to (surprise). But now I think I can use the cards as a fortune telling tool, and it'll look better than just using a standard deck of cards.
So below here is a list of the different cards and the potential meanings I've assigned to the various details. I'm not using the whole deck, because I want a higher chance for the Dragon card to come up (the normal deck size is somewhere around 100 cards, and there are only 3 dragons total). I'm looking for comments on the meanings I've come up with, and suggestions on other ways to approach that stuff, if anyone has them? Also, I'm not sure what traits to use for the Raven and Hawk symbols. So any suggestions there would be welcome.
In the end, it'll be a lot of making it up on the spot for me. But I still want to have some kind of basic framework to start with. And of course it'll be prefaced with the gypsy saying that they have the chance to change their fate. This is merely one possible future.
Card Faces:
Warrior - Strength/Determination
Princess - Beauty/Deception
Bard - Charm/Travel
Merchant - Wealth/Power
Rogue - Independence/Adaptability
Dragon - Chaos
Colors:
Green - Earth
Blue - Water
Red - Fire
Animal Symbol:
Wolf - Cunning
Horse - Stability
Rabbit - Speed
Raven -
Owl - Perception
Hawk -
In the Deck:
6x Warrior (two each color)
6x Princess (two each color)
6x Bard (two each color)
6x Merchant (two each color)
6x Rogue (two each color)
3x Dragon (one each color)
33 total cards
Playing the cards:
Card 1 represents the core of the PC's character. It reveals details of their soul.
Cards 2 and 3 represent their future. These cards explain what fortunes and dangers await them, what they can accomplish and what consequences there will be if they fail. These cards are dealt on opposite sides of card 1.
Cards 4 and 5 are choices they will be faced with. Challenges are presented to everyone in their lives. These will be their greatest ones. These cards are dealt on the remaining two opposing sides of card 1.
Card 6 is their adversary. This represents the greatest foe that they will face in their lives. This card is laid on top of card 1.
Thoughts?