Enclosed below is some text Mark Grundy wrote and posted to rec.games.frp some time ago concerning the use of tarot for roleplaying. While the examples given are within the Pendragon genre the basic concepts are applicable to Vampire or any genre. -------8<--snip---snip---------------------------------->8------------ TAROT and NPC REACTIONS - Part I Ages ago, I mentioned some of the neat roleplaying uses to which you could put tarot. Recently my girlfriend bought me an Elemental deck, which I've found to be especially good for generating NPC personalities, and to help determine how an NPC reacts to something. The Elemental deck is based on the common Rider, or A.E. Waite tarot deck, with some significant changes. It's very New Age, but still quite interesting. The piccies are very pretty and exotic, and unfortunately the damned thing is out of print. For those who don't know much about tarot decks, they're usually divided into Major and Minor Arcana. The Major cards are the most famous, consisting of cards like The Fool, Judgement, Death etc... The Minor Arcana are generally in four suits, like playing cards. There are usually 14 cards in each suit: ten number cards and 4 picture cards - two male and two female. For the usual purposes of tarot, some people toss out the Minor Arcana and just use the Major Arcana, because they're simple and obvious. But with the Elemental deck, I've found the Minor Arcana to be more useful, as they're more flexible, and open to plenty of interpretation. Rather than exhort everyone to go out and buy the tarot deck (which is out of print anyway), I thought I'd post a list of the Minor Arcana, and some suggested uses. You can use the list as a lookup-table if you like. Roll a 1d4 for suit, then 1d14 for the card. It helps to have pictures to look at, but there should be enough to go with just from the table. In the next few postings, I'll put the table, some notes on how to use it, and some examples. Hope you find it useful. TAROT and NPC REACTIONS - Part II This posting contains stuff on how to understand the table I'll be posting. The Minor Arcana has 4 suits: Fire, Earth, Air and Water. In the Rider tarot, these correspond to Swords, Pentacles, Wands and Cups respectively. Each suit has 14 cards: 1-10 plus Daughter, Son, Mother and Father (in the Rider tarot, these are called Page, Knight, Queen and King). Each of the suits corresponds to some aspect of human awareness: Fire is will and creativity, Earth is practicality and material issues, Air is thought, communication and society, Water is emotion and sensation. Each of the numbered card values follows the same progression, which is listed below: 1 A beginning. 2 One joined with a new factor. Counterpoint, connection or opposition. 3 Resolution of opposition, or else connection brought to fruit. 4 From the fruits come stability and security - like a square. 5 A new factor is introduced - change or challenge from outside. 6 Challenge overcome, producing stability. 7 Change or challenge from within. A venture forth, so as to avoid stagnation. 8 The venture succeeds. Experience leads to recognition, establishment and total commitment. One square built above another... 9 The system is now understood, and therefore transcended. With this understanding comes quality and true satisfaction. 10 The passing of perfection. Collapse and disintegration pave the way for a completely new beginning. Thus, the four of Earth might represent material prosperity, while the seven of Air might represent a re-think of ideas, or perhaps the desire to travel. The four face cards represent personalities or behaviour that interact with the element. The daughter represents the emotional (water) aspects of the element; the son represents the creative (fire) aspects. The mother embodies the practical or material (earth), while the father represents the intellectual or communicative (air). Thus, for instance, Father of Fire is a symbol of the intellectual/communication aspects of creativity/will. Perhaps a patron or scholar of the arts... This description alone is enough to give you the general idea. All the table does is help things along with some keywords, but you should feel free to use your own interpretations, based on the situation. Some sample uses will also follow in another posting. TAROT nad NPC REACTIONS - Part III This posting contains the table. In each entry, there is a card name, and some keywords. The purpose of these words is to help you find an interpretation that fits the situation. They are not definitive interpretations of the cards. The Suits, or Elements: Earth/Pentacles: The material. Posessions and practical considerations. Air/Wands: The intellectual. Travel, society, communication. Water/Cups: The emotional. Feelings, sensations, empathy, antipathy. Fire/Swords: The will. Creativity. Visionary intuition. Enthusiasm, energy. Fire Cards Name Keywords 1 Lightning Conception/Impulse 2 Flame Magnetism/Opposition 3 Beacon Achievment/Arrogance 4 Hearth Contentment/Boredom 5 Furnace Stimulation/Discontent 6 Torch Power/Tyranny 7 Meteor Risk/Disruption 8 Volcano Fame/Exploitation 9 Radiance Strength/Energy 10 Flare Passion/Revenge Daughter Organiser/Workaholic Son Adventurer/Danger Seeker Mother Business Minded/Liberator Father Patron/Honor Seeker Earth Cards Name Keywords 1 Seed Win/Bright Prospect 2 Plant Choice/Vacillation 3 Fruits Reward/Conceit 4 Clay Foundation/Limitation 5 Quake Movement/Worry 6 Harvest Success/Indulgence 7 Avalanche Gamble/Negligence 8 Mountain Prosperity/Rigidity 9 Forest Popularity/Accomplishment 10 Desert Change/Loss Daughter Artist/Poseur Son Executive/Ruthless achiever Mother Provider/Slave Father Director/Opressor Air Cards Name Keywords 1 Breath Idea/Prejudice 2 Zephyr Discussion/Impasse 3 Breeze Solution/Obscurity 4 Ozone Understanding/Bigotry 5 Storm Originality/Desperation 6 Open Air Recognition/Propaganda 7 Wind Reassessment/Naivete 8 Cloud Inspiration/Self Deception 9 Thunder Idealism/Transformation 10 Cyclone Breakdown/Provocation Daughter Communicator/Critic Son Idealist/Militant Mother Career Minded/Intriguer Father Evangelist/Dictator Water Cards Name Keywords 1 Fountain Excitement/Premonition 2 Spring Attraction/Prosperity 3 Spa Fulfillment/Insincerity 4 Moat Security/Illusion 5 Sudden Rain Shock/Disappointment 6 Oasis Pleasure/Nostalgia 7 Ocean Fantasy/Seduction 8 Well Stillness/Stagnation 9 Lake Well-being/Love 10 Coastal Water Compulstion/Revelation Daughter Initiate/Victim Son Lover/Philanderer Mother Helper/Drudge Father Counselor/Deceiver TAROT and NPC REACTIONS - Part IV In this posting, I've got some examples of how to use the tarot to generate NPCs and to set the tone of encounters. Suppose that the PCs are travelling through a small kingdom, and guested by a royal family, consisting of a King, a Queen and a Princess. [This is all made up off the top of my head as I type, so you can treat it as fairly typical of a hectic, harried impro'ed game session :-)] Rolling an aspect for the King, we get 6 of Water: Oasis. The keywords are Pleasure and Nostalgia. ``Oasis'' suggests a fixed location - a welcome respite from the cares of the world. Its waters are smooth and mirror-like. You can think of palm trees bending towards the water in introspection. I imagine that the king is a good host - congenial and jovial. Perhaps once he was some great go-getter, but now he's quite content to live in his little oasis kingdom, enjoying the fruits of his labours, and singing about the glory of times past. Like an oasis, he is visited by a guests of great diversity, and gives freely to each of them. But he is no gullible fool. Still waters run deep, and his placid equanimity probably conceals a deep understanding of human nature. For the Queen: Father of Air. This card is the pinnacle of thought and communication, and the keywords are Evangelist and Dictator. Although not a Fire card, it is a card of power, because it symbolises knowledge, charisma and persuasion. It is likely that the Queen is a great power in the kingdom, as many people would come to her for her knowledge and quick, incisive judgements. By comparison, the King would seem slow, stagnant and superficial. The couple would make a devastating pair for intrigue - the friendly, placid King attracting guests from all over, filling them with food and drink and releasing their inhibitions, while the brilliant, charismatic Queen jumps on every nuance and shade of meaning in the gossip that results. Although the little kingdom seems insular, it is clear that it is not starved for news of the outside world. Under the circumstances, it is possible that the Queen might adopt an aloof facade, disguising her own prodigious skills in persuasion, and making it seem that the real power lies in the hands of the King. For the Princess: 4 of Water - the Moat. The keywords are Security and Illusion. She is young. She thinks that the whole world is like her kingdom, and that all people are like her parents. She is probably trusting, accepting everything at face value. In temperament, she follows her father, lacking her mother's incisive wit and cynicism, but displaying the empathy that often comes with Water cards. It would be easy to betray her with gentle words, or bring power to bear against the King and Queen by deceiving her. This suggests a little plot: Because of a bad storm, or perhaps fleeing some war, the players come to the small kingdom. There they find other refugees, some enemies. All are here at the hospitality of the king, whose royal feast overcomes the tensions in the air. Many tongues are made loose, and the players may find out things of interest from people who wouldn't ordinarily tell them. Later, there is betrayal. Perhaps the Princess is kidnapped, or killed in the garden. All of the guests are still present in the castle, and each denies responsibility. The bereft king hasn't the wit to act, so the Queen interviews the guests individually. As the Queen, you speak to each player, listening to their responses and drawing a single card for the Queen's reaction. You use the card as a ``lens'', to focus the player's words onto the character of the Queen. One player, trying to impugn his arch-enemy, the Duke of Gonfalon lies: ``Majesty, I saw yon Duke speaking with your daughter. What passed between them, I know not, but she seemed greatly upset by it.'' The card drawn is 1 of Fire - Lightning. Spots of red appear on her cheeks, and without even questioning the duke, she yells: ``Seize the Duke of Gonfalon! Confine him until this matter is settled!'' The duke protests: ``Majesty, yon varlet is my enemy! He seeks to besmirch my name! By my honor, I swear that I spoke not with your daughter, and would never defile the fine hospitality of your court with the base act of which he accuses me!'' The card drawn is now 5 Air. The keywords are Originality and Desperation. These may not suggest any particular response. Recall that five is always the condition of external challenge. Air is the card of intellect. Whatever the Queen's response, it is intellectual and will serve to help the original problem of her lost daughter. She's a smart cookie, and should use the players for her own ends. Here's one solution: The Queen looks to the player who first spoke. ``If you lie, you have caused great harm to Us by protecting the true culprit. But if _you_ lie, Your Grace, then you must have somewhat to hide. Therefore let each of you be sent forth with six of our men at arms. They will prevent you fleeing our judgement, but will otherwise serve you. You will not be permitted to travel with other companions or members of your retinue. You both have one week to uncover the foundation of this matter, and then must return with such proof as you have discovered. If there is proof against one of you or the other, then let him meet Our wrath. If the matter is not settled by this time, then We shall have you both confined until it is. If either of you should try to flee, then your guilt shall be proven. Now go.'' To the other guests: ``The rest of you shall remain here until the week is out. Those who wish to aid Us in discovering the culprit may depart under the same terms: escorted by six men at arms. Otherwise, none shall leave for the next seven days.'' [Meanwhile, the once-jolly king is sitting in tears on his throne, content to leave his normally silent wife to run the whole show.] [The rest of the plot probably involves shaking off the escorts, sabotaging the efforts of the enemies to discredit the players, dodging the posse's, as well as discovering the real culprit in the process...] Well, that's the end of it for now. Comments and questions will be gratefully received. Later on, I might post some stuff for the Major Arcana. It's a bit harder, so I've left it for now. I'm also doing occaisional work on a magic resolution system based on the Elemental Tarot. Any suggestions for this are also most welcome.