D&D 4E Fortune Telling in 4E

[bennyhobo]

Yes, it's going to be put on them as part of the first session's opening sequence. The quick version of what's going to happen:

Two of my players have never played 4E before, so I'm going to start the three as generic minions, working in the house of an evil lord. By being minions in the first encounter, it'll be a good way to ease them into the battle mechanics without worrying about complex powers. Then, while they're serving their master dinner, a heroic adventurer will burst in to kill the bad guy. The players can choose to defend their master, stand back and do nothing, or side with the hero and kill their master. Part of the lore of the Domains of Dread is that each domain changes and can be reshaped by the most powerful (usually most evil, but not always) being in there. When the hero kills the lord, the hero then becomes the most powerful being. The players are re-formed into the characters they built as the land changes to fit the hero's will. But something is different with these three. All other residents of the domain are unaware of the change, but the players remember their pasts as minions, as well as the history of their current lives. But the dead master, with his dying breath, curses any of his servants who stood against them. I'm also going to let that choice determine the players' alignments. If they fought against their master, they are good. If they stood back and did nothing, they're unaligned. If they fought against the hero, they're evil. I'm 90% sure they'll all side with the hero.

So yeah, they'll be cursed from the start. I just need to decide what kind of curse they should have.

 

[MortalPlague]

So yeah, they'll be cursed from the start. I just need to decide what kind of curse they should have.

That sounds like a really cool setup! I like the option of giving them a choice as to who they fight for; it could make things really interesting.

As for what kind of curse, if it's a 'plot curse', it doesn't need much in the way of mechanical effects. Just give them one of the standard symptoms; nightmares, a general sense of unease, a feeling they're being watched, a slight feeling of nausea in some locations (churches?), plants wither at their passing, animals are hostile to them, some people can't see them, etc...

If you're going for a mechanically-significant curse, I'd use the disease track and have it slowly get worse over time. Give them some mini-goals that can slide it back up, maybe some sort of ritual that can temporarily abate the effects...

 

[bennyhobo]

Thanks! I'm hoping it works out well.

Yes, I definitely want a "plot curse" sort of thing. Nightmares, discomfort, paranoia, that's all good. I like that. I think maybe I've been trying to be too specific with it.

 

[Quickleaf]

As much as I'd like to go out and buy a tarot deck, I'm pretty set on using the one I've got. You're right, it doesn't exactly lend itself directly to fortune telling. But I think I can make it work. It's still better than a regular deck of cards, and I already paid for it.

Go download the free 32-page Harrow deck rules from Paizo and adapt them for your deck. I think it's a good match because Harrow also has 6 suits and is oriented around a past/present/future layout. Good rules.

http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/pathfinder/campaignSetting/35E/v5748btpy80sv

 

[bennyhobo]

I thought I'd check in with a quick update. We had our game and like all good players they wanted to do everything but what I had ready for them. Absolutely no interest in having their fortunes told. I had to really tempt them to give it a try, and then they did nothing but hassle the gypsy about it. So it was kind of a bust. Still, it might be useful later? Dunno. I guess not everything has to work.

 

[Halivar]

I have wanted to do something like this for so long, I decided to make a custom tarot deck for D&D (with the in-game effects on each card), with rules for both a 3-card divination and a full field. I'm about half-way through the deck, and will post a PDF of it when I'm finished. I found a lovely resource for printable tarot cards at plaincards.com.