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Any D&D/D20

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[wierd]

It's rooted in a number of things, mostly related to magical thinking, specifically sympathetic magic.

To name a thing, is to understand, and control a thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name

Sympathetic magic is based on the notion that "this, is like that", but makes the connection further-- "This *IS* that"-- and then goes off the deep end. "I can control THIS, so, logically, I ALSO control *THAT*."

By understanding a true name, you understand an underlying nature. that understanding is the same as controlling.  the name is not just a name, it *IS* that thing. By controlling the utterance of the name, they control the being it represents.

Total and complete hogwash, of course-- but that is the premise of operation.

It really is fascinating how many cultures have nearly identical conceptions of sympathetic magic in their history, and how similar they tend to be, despite cultural isolation.  It seems almost hardwired into humans to make these kinds of absurd jumps of cognition. Fascinating subject.

Speaking of--  Are you considering how you want to implement magic?  I've studied the subject of actual folklore and "clever folk" derived magical practices, because the similarities across cultural lines were so stark, I could not help but be intrigued.  At the very least, I could point you to some interesting material.

[IcyTea31]

In the specific case of bears in Finnish tradition and mythology, it was more rooted in fear, the idea that if you speak the name of the big scary predator, you might accidentally summon it. Less sympathetic magic, more "speak of the devil".

[wierd]

"speak of the devil, and he appears" is indeed, rooted in magical practice.

It's kinda how invocation works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invocation

The difference is-- the magician does it on purpose, with a prepared command or means of controlling the invoked being.  The fool utters the invocation unprotected or unprepared.

[Jimmy]

Also, there's the ever-popular Latin Ursa and it's derivatives for bear names. Ursula, for example, means 'little bear.'

In one campaign, I gave my players a heads up that the town guard captain and her brother were both were-bears by naming her Ursa and him Bjorn. Since werebears are lawful good, every full moon they'd transform into bestial creatures and go out hunting bandits, toppling corrupt lords and building orphanages.

[Kagus]

and building orphanages.

With their bear hands?

[wierd]

Hey, running a safehouse for the children of plagues and wars in the dark ages was a tooth and claw affair!  Who else do you expect to run one? Nuns? Phhhht. 

[Mephisto]

Tarot cards are things that exist. Few games use them. I think you could probably count the number of games using a legit tarot deck on one hand even if it were missing two fingers.

So if you were going to experience a game making use of tarot cards, how would you like them to be used? Simply another funky randomizer? Special mechanics for each of the major arcana, maybe bonuses/penalties for the minor arcana based on what you're doing? Maybe an entire "solo" mechanic or some world-building mechanics based around a fake tarot spread? Something else entirely?

[Trekkin]

Tarot cards are things that exist. Few games use them. I think you could probably count the number of games using a legit tarot deck on one hand even if it were missing two fingers.

So if you were going to experience a game making use of tarot cards, how would you like them to be used? Simply another funky randomizer? Special mechanics for each of the major arcana, maybe bonuses/penalties for the minor arcana based on what you're doing? Maybe an entire "solo" mechanic based around a fake tarot spread?

Something like Deadlands Classic's unified card mechanic, I think. It was never explicitly identified as such, but mad science and hucksterism's many flavors all ran on the same mechanic under the hood, using poker hands as the basic determinant of how good a card you got with special effects for jokers. Expanding that to cover all the non-numerical tarot cards would work well.

[Kagus]

I mean, the Deck of Many Things is effectively a tarot deck...

There was an old lovecraftian RPG that dabbled quite a bit in cards, but if I remember correctly that was mostly just using wands/cups/swords/etc as character stats and difficulty ratings for challenges.

Game was actually quite intriguing, had a lot of potential to it... shame no one ever heard about it and the company went tits-up.


Dungeon Crawl has tarot-adjacent decks courtesy of Nemelex Xobeh, but that's really just another randomizer.

Victor Vran has skill and stat cards, but they're leveled, so I dunno... Would be interesting to see something like that, but where it would let you invert the cards for different effects. Don't think I've ever seen anything address that aspect of tarot, although I don't really know anything about the stuff and as such don't know if the inversion thing is "proper" tarot or just fortune teller hogwash.

[Mephisto]

Something like Deadlands Classic's unified card mechanic, I think. It was never explicitly identified as such, but mad science and hucksterism's many flavors all ran on the same mechanic under the hood, using poker hands as the basic determinant of how good a card you got with special effects for jokers. Expanding that to cover all the non-numerical tarot cards would work well.

If this hypothetical game ends up having a magic system (who am I kidding; it's tarot, there's going to be a magic system), it'll definitely have a push-your-luck system similar to that. I know there are actual old card games using a tarot deck. Maybe there's something there that could be used.

I mean, the Deck of Many Things is effectively a tarot deck...

Kind of. 22 cards in the Deck (at least in PF; I'm assuming D&D is similar), 22 major arcana. But the guidelines I've read online seem to use a pared down tarot deck with half of the major arcana and the remainder filled out from the minor. Assuming you're not just using the "standard 52-card deck" rules.

There was an old lovecraftian RPG that dabbled quite a bit in cards, but if I remember correctly that was mostly just using wands/cups/swords/etc as character stats and difficulty ratings for challenges.

Game was actually quite intriguing, had a lot of potential to it... shame no one ever heard about it and the company went tits-up.

That sounds interesting. Do you happen to recall the name? I can probably find it myself eventually, if not.

[Cruxador]

I think you could probably count the number of games using a legit tarot deck on one hand even if it were missing two fingers.

Don't underestimate the plethora of obscurity. I imagine even if you limit it to published games, there's more than that rotting away on obscure corners of DriveThruRPG or collecting dust on forgotten shelves in European warehouses.

[wierd]

If I were to use tarot in a pen and paper scenario, I would make use of the tarot for their intended purpose; allegory for what is next in the scenario. (See also, "fool's Path", and the differences between the major and minor arcana.)

(that is to say, I would create a scenario that uses this mechanic.  It would essentially be a very advanced "which way" book, that has different plot paths, based on what the cards say.  I would break it up into "chapters", each starting with a tarot reading. I think the only way to make it work, would be with a computer. After a few chapters, the story would have more branches than a tumbleweed. Whether or not the player characters stuck with the "fated" narrative or not, the events cast by the cards still happen one way or another, with very negative outcomes if they try to bail.)

The idea is to create a scenario book that can be replayed hundreds of times, and be subtly different each time.

[Grim Portent]

Now I'm wondering if it would be cool to try doing a backwards tarot reading during char gen for PCs, use the cards to determine a major event from their past rather than their future so it can be used to flesh them out and link them to the world in a less structured way than most random background options are.

[Mephisto]

I would make use of the tarot for their intended purpose; allegory for what is next in the scenario playing games

Cartomancy using tarot decks came like 3-4 hundred years later.

[Kagus]

There was an old lovecraftian RPG that dabbled quite a bit in cards, but if I remember correctly that was mostly just using wands/cups/swords/etc as character stats and difficulty ratings for challenges.

Game was actually quite intriguing, had a lot of potential to it... shame no one ever heard about it and the company went tits-up.

That sounds interesting. Do you happen to recall the name? I can probably find it myself eventually, if not.

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/OC/Occult_Chronicles.html

Took me a bit of fiddling around, my brain kept trying to remember the company as "Red Comet" rather than "Cryptic Comet"... Anyways, the demo might still be available/playable, but I don't think it's possible anymore to purchase a license for the complete product.