Tarot-based games?

#21

I am not sure how tarot-based it is, since it uses its own special reading of the tarot cards, but moonflower uses tarot cards (the major arcana) as a mechanism of coming up with a scene’s worth of story. Players draw five cards when each Chapter begins and use three as story hooks. The chosen cards’ readings are mixed with each other to come up with a Chapter’s starting points.

In a way, the tarot is used to replace the GM’s role as the person who comes up with story hooks. I kinda like how it does its own thing!

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#22

There’s Chariot, a tarot inspired and mechanically interesting rpg.

There’s also my fave, Hell 4 Leather. Recommend this one a lot.

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#23

Artesia, by Archaia Studios Press, uses a custom Tarot deck. Multilpe Ennie winner, and a good if crunchy game if I recall (played it 12 years ago).

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#24

Thanks, Nick! I’d add the codicil that Alas, Vegas! explicitly builds a rotating GM into the rules, so it might not be for every group. It’s why I’m fascinated by it but have never seen it played.

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#25

I’ve never played this, because the RPG is Italian with no translation, but I hear it uses Tarot cards for it’s challenges. Just read the wikipedia, the world it takes place in is nuts!

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#26

Relevant to the discussion of Tarot based RPGs, there’s Relics: A Game of Angels, a new game using the Alas Vegas core system to play angelic beings, on Kickstarter now.

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#27

Hmm. I’ll have to watch that Kickstarter. A quick run through makes it sound interesting. I’m hoping it’s not going to be shipping from Australia…

Damn. Looks like it’s all white dudes. Disappointing.

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#28

There’s a Brazilian card-based pbta game called Aventuras Ancestrais that started with some kind of Tarot before they started drawing their own cards. It’s based on Northwestern folklore and the illustrations emulate cave paintings that are found in the area.

The cards in the player’s hands function as archetypes (classes) and items, but if they’re on the central stack, they are like dice. I don’t really remember all the rules, but the suits are stats, and you resolve conflict pulling a number of cards equal to your stat’s value. The number on the last card you pulled works just like a dice result in pbta and the illustrations are catalysts for the fiction that follows.

The system is neat, they actually adapted it for regular playing cards and it’s called Trama Cards now. Recently, the designers funded a slasher game based on it. If there’s interest (and assuming you could understand my English), I can consult the rules and give more details.

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#29

Sounds very interesting — what is the theme of the game? Ancient Adventures I gathered, but in what sense?

#30

You play a member of a pre-historic tribe trying to survive in a world full of monsters and magic. The classes are the Brute, the Painter, the Aprentice, the Hunter, the Elder and the Pajé (shaman) and the other cards describe monsters, itens or actions. It’s very subjective: if you pull the card Hanging off a cliff, for example, you could interpret it as a literal or a metaphorical fall, a near death experience, a tight escape and so on… The players can use the card as a jumping off point to build the fiction as they wish.

The rules are in Portuguese, but you can check some of the art here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12XpuO6SIvRU6vQR_PwvWR8o1Na9GruAc/view

It’s kinda late, but we can talk more tomorrow =)

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#31

I was reading this thread hoping someone would mention this! I played it once and would definitely love to try it again.

I made a joke about playing “Hello 4 Leather” with the Hello Kitty Tarot back in 2012 or something and have been musing on and off about actually doing it ever since…

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#32

I know it’s been mentioned already, but there’s a physical copy of Royal Blood in the works, and it looks gorgeous :sweat_smile:

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#33

I can verify this, having seen one of the print proofs. It looks more like a coffee table magazine than an rpg

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#35

Saw this while looking through a game jam on itch.io:

Uses the Tarot as a task resolution mechanic (alternatives are also provided)

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#36

Josh from Rise Up Comus posted about tarot-based resolution for social encounters yesterday. It seems he has a whole houserule set that uses tarot, although I don’t think he’s published it:

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#37

Was just about to recommend Hell 4 Leather. Absolutely love it though haven’t had a chance to play it in far too long. For anybody interested you can get it at:

#38

Thrilled to learn about Aventuras Ancestrais as well as about Coletivo Historiart, @Marcio_Moreira . I had no idea this little gem was out there. Do you happen to know which year this version (which I’m assuming is the final one) was made available?

#39

I second Dungeon Solitaire.

There are a couple different flavors of the game. You can play a super straightforward version of the game with a regular deck of 52 playing cards. I liked it so much that I actually went out and bought a deck of tarot cards just to play the full version of the game, which was much more engaging and strategic. There are a custom suite of cards you can purchase and add to play an advanced version of the game that I haven’t tried that.

#40

Hey, @marden.muller!
The game was released last year, 2018. And I forgot to say this, but the art is based on actual cave paintings found on the Rio Grande do Norte region!

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