Brainstorming Rules for a Tarot-based Game

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I've got the seed of an idea for the next EN World Chicago Gameday, October 23rd. I want to step into the Horror genre as GM for the first time. And my thoughts went straight to the Tarot. I want to run a rules-lite narrative-style game that incorporates the direct use of a tarot deck as the main game mechanic. But I'm stumped and thought I'd reach out to the inventive minds here at EnWorld. I'm looking for any ideas that can make this work and make for a fun event.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

My contribution to the brainstorming:

Each player would draw a card and could use the card at any point to steer the narration of the game based on the meaning of the card. How this would work rules-wise is still out of my grasp though. I'd still like a little structure I geuss.

 

[Asmor]

I'd take a bit of inspiration from Dread and try to really get the feeling of a tarot reading.

Quick disclaimer: this is assuming the DM knows the meaning of the tarot cards, or at least is able to fake it well enough that his players don't notice.

Deal a layout to each player face down. When they need to resolve something, they flip one of the face down cards. The DM interprets the meaning of the card vis-à-vis its location. When a player flips over the last card of their layout, the DM interprets the layout as a whole and something significant story-wise happens. Then deal a new layout.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

You could do "mini-readings" at critical junctures: not a full tableau, though (that's can be more than nine cards to interpret, depending upon the method used). Maybe just use three cards-- for past, present and future. That way, it's fairly straightforward to "mash" the past and present cards' interpretations into what you and the players understand, and then you as GM can use the future card to foreshadow... or even keep the reading nebulous, and leave it to the players to fully interpret themselves. Of course, a single card at any time could be used to inform a decision, as well.

Also there are so many different decks with different illustrations, including the traditional ones, as well as ones with strong vampire, or cthulhu mythos, or generic occult, or dark ages, or sci fi, etc feels. That choice alone can heavily influence the feel of your game. Do you know which one you'll be using?

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I was planning to use the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg.

 

[clip]

500 instead of 200 when you pass Go. Changes everything.

 

[Nameless1]

You want a card based RPG with a narrativist creative agenda and a horror theme. I would check out the free Predator Echos. It's a Dogs in the Vineyard hack by Levi Kornelsen that is a monster hunter hurror game using cards instead of dice. Dogs is potentially my favorite narrativist game, and while I haven't played Predator Echos, it seems pretty fun. It has a few tweaks to the original Dogs that seem like they would run well. It also uses cards in a creative way, without a lot of complications to make it unwieldy. It would be a simple matter to add a little bit to the game and use a Tarot deck instead of the standard playing card deck. The game is not completely finished, and it requires at least familiarity with the original Dogs, but to me that sounds like an excuse to buy Dogs anyway if you don't have it. Oh, and it is FREE.

Another one that would be fun would be Geiger Counter. Geiger Counter is a slick free game that is a hack of a hack of Dogs in the Vineyard that turns out to be nothing like Dogs. It is designed to be a no-prep, rules-light, one-shot GM-less narrativist game. You could add a GM and a little prep if you wanted, but it is unnecessary. The simple mechanic would easily allow the use of cards (flip cards, choose top 2, compare to the top 2 of the opposition) and the GM-less nature would allow the use of the major arcana in interesting foreshadowing/prescription ways with very little modification from the original. Did I mention it was FREE?

Another favorite of mine is InSpectres. This is pretty much Ghost Busters the RPG, done in a rules light, very low prep, narrativist game. The mechanic is simple enough that cards could be used with minimal easy hacking, and like previous examples, the rules are light enough that you can add a lot using the major arcana. InSpectres is one of the most fun games around, and having an excuse to buy it ($!0 pdf) might be good. There are also some free supplements to make it darker (a la Cthulhu mythos). InSpectres is not free, but it is relatively CHEAP, and well worth it.

I could easily come up with more, but those would probably be my top choices, and if you want more, I'll brainstorm with you. Check those out first though.

 

[Wik]

Be careful using Tarot cards. I once played a game of poker with the silly things, and got a full house.

Three people died.

 

[Nameless1]

I am not sure whether to give you XP for the joke or to offer my sympathies.

 

[Wik]

I am not sure whether to give you XP for the joke or to offer my sympathies.

Don't worry, they were only gypsies. They won't be missed.