It is in the Cards, Part II: Cards in Gaming

Originally published August 27, 2014

In this set of posts, I review the use of Tarot cards in gaming from how to use them to create characters and plots for your games to systems that feature them prominently to decks built for specific games. This week it is Tarot within games and reviews of the Mage: the Awakening Tarot deck as well as Story Forge which takes the basic concept of a Tarot deck and strips away all of the mysticism but none of the brainstorming capability.

Tarot in Gaming Systems

Tarot cards have long appeared in roleplaying games. The dangerous Deck of Many Things that appeared in many versions of D&D contains aspects of it. Amber: the Diceless Roleplaying Game includes the concept of Trump, magical cards that allow communication and transport across reality. In the novels that the game is based upon, they can be used for divination in a manner like Tarot. The World of Darkness has spawned not one but two Tarot decks.

Neither is using Tarot cards in roleplaying games as a character creation aid a new idea. 7th Sea uses the Tarot cards (called Vodacce Sorte decks in the setting) as an optional way to define a character's Hubris or Virtue. This is not a brainstorming tool but rather a set of optional advantages/disadvantages that the character can have. The game also includes a specific form of sorcery that uses the Tarot deck.

Game Specific Decks

The earliest game specific deck I became aware of was TSR's Tarokka deck for the Ravenloft setting. I still have portions of it, having lost several cards over the years. Instead of a copy of the standard Tarot deck, they decided to create their own unique deck with four suits of 10 cards (1 through 9 plus the Master) and a unique set of (14) Major Arcana.

The idea of variant decks, especially additional or altered cards in the Major Arcana is one I see repeated often. It reflects the tangled history of the cards which went through several variations over the centuries.

The cards of the Tarokka were tiny however, smaller than typical playing cards and made of relatively cheap materials. This made them less easy for shuffling and less able to withstand the abuse.

Here are a pair of decks that I own that are intact:

Minireview: Mage: the Awakening Tarot

This beautiful deck sports a variant of the Mage: the Awakening cover on the back of each card and gorgeous artwork by the artists Michael William Kaluta, Saana Lappalainen, Staphanie Pui Mun Law, Vince Locke, and Imaginary Friends Studios on the front. Each card, even the suits, have interesting and thematic pictures consistent with the world of Mage and the meaning of each card.

The cards themselves have a nice glossy finish on high quality card stock. They are a touch larger than my 1JJ Swiss Tarot deck: 4.75 inches by 3.75 inches. While I don't use them very frequently they have held up better than many professional card games I own with no visible damage since I bought it in 2009.

My only real complaint has to do with the box the cards came in. It is not of the same quality. In addition it is hard to open with the cards inside and splits the deck in two. I've already torn it in the process of simply getting it open.

Also included with the deck was a nice small book by Matthew McFarland which discusses using the Tarot for divination and as a brainstorming tool. It also handily includes interpretations for each card, examples for use in character creation and story creation, and the cartomancy Merit.

Overall this is a beautiful and functional deck.

Minireview: Story Forge

Story Forge cards are not technically Tarot cards but their usage and form makes the parallel clear. This deck is essentially a brainstorming tool for building characters, plots, and other details for your game (or story).

Physically the Story Forge cards are a bit bigger than the Mage: the Awakening Tarot with a similar glossy finish. They are broken up into 5 colors which map out to 5 categories: Destiny (Purple), which focuses on life changing issues; Wealth (Yellow), which deal with material matters whether it be wealth, shelter or security; Will (Blue), which deal with matters of conscious choice; Emotion (Red); and Identity (Green), which deal with how one is perceived as well as one's health.

Each card has two sets of text on opposite ends of it. One set describes a particular meaning for the card like virtue. The other set is upside down and describes an opposed or opposite concept such as Vice.

This isn't too different from a normal Tarot deck. The size is similar as well as the alternate meaning for upside down or reversed cards. One might even identify the Purple suit with the Major Arcana (and Yellow = Pentacles, Red = Cups, and Blue = Swords). Several of the sample spreads they provide are those you would use in a normal Tarot reading.

But instead of artwork, it uses plain text and I think that is where it shines. By eliminating the barrier to entry of either recognizing the common meanings of the cards or painfully referencing a book, it greatly simplifies the process of using the cards as a brainstorming tool.

The deck also includes several blank cards for your own self-expansion and a nice book of spreads and ideas for usage. I would have really loved if they were dry or wet erase compatible but I guess you can't have everything.

Overall I feel it is well worth the price of purchase. Due to the ease of use I use it more often than I do a normal Tarot deck.