Tarot Sheets

I've been meaning to get this work done for ages, since Pandred brought it up and Agravain found the images for me ~ thank you again, good sir!

These are my tarot card descriptions, which were first posted on my Same Universe Wiki back in 2011, before it collapsed and I eventually put together another wiki to survive it.  These images never made it, however, so this is the first time they've seen the internet in about seven years.

In my world, Tarot is an occult practice, which is deciphered by those links to my wiki.  The actual descriptions for the cards can be downloaded from my Google Drive.  I'll add to this by posting the images below, as well; though because it is blogger, it will make a mess of the website.

Occultism (per request)

With this post, the general of the elf and dwarf also completed, I come to the end of all that Pandred asked me to do.  At the moment, I have nothing on my plate that comes from a reader or a Patreon supporter.  Help me fix that!

Sage studies are a major headache.  As I've said before, they are always a rabbit hole and, realistically, they should be subject to adjustment through play.  Any complex subject ~ occultism for example ~ would need to be play-tested before it could be comfortably established.  This is why I usually try to keep any rules I write deliberately conservative.

Much of what appears below, from my game wiki, has not been tested.  I have run the tarot ability, and it worked fairly well.  However, that's largely because my world is very highly defined with an extremely flexible dynamic, so that if a card gives me an idea of a series of events that will happen, I can roll with it very easily and not feel that I or my system is threatened.  Another DM would perhaps not be so confident.

In any case, Occultism would be a mess for anyone.  As I have built the concept so that it stands completely alone from spells, or any of the effects that any game spell provides, the result is both alien and impossible to estimate.  It would only take one very ambitious, innovative player to potentially wreck the concept ... I have kept that in mind throughout and I believe that I have tried to put barriers in place.  None of these things, at least for the level of knowledge discussed, could tip my campaign as far as I could see.  I could be wrong.

Much of this is new, having just written it today: numerology, tea leaf reading, carve sigil, detect mania, make a reading, acupuncture and comprehend aura are all new subjects upon which I haven't written before.  Please enjoy.


Occultism (sage study)

Enables a scientific investigation of magic and the magic arts, not necessarily limited to the employment of magic by any particular class. Also investigates other phenomena, such as mass suggestion, superstition, the nature of the soul and the development of incantation.

A significant part of the study includes the cultivation of wild magic, a naturally underlying power that manifests in the Prime Material Plane from outside influences, most predominantly the four elemental planes and the planes of positive and negative energy. By closely examining these forces through occult disciplines it is possible, and dangerous, to set events in motion that will irreversably change the lives of people and entities. Knowing how these changes are about to emerge, the occultist can then use that advantage to further a cause or find benefits.

While most events set in motion are relatively benign, the wild nature of uncontrolled magic can produce results that are either fortunate or disastrous ... so it is with care that an occultist stirs wild magic. Too many investigations will multiply the possible results to such a degree that unrestrained chaos results ... which, like nature, is nearly always more destructive than helpful.

Effectively to make the occult work as a study, as a DM my duty is to adjust the events upcoming in my world according to the random elements created by investigations into astrology, tea leaves and so on. This can be complicated and problematical for a pre-destined adventure; I have found in the past that the chaos that results usually causes a player to turn to this discipline with extraordinary restraint.

For anyone wishing to invest into the occult, having gained the study, I will require that they choose one of these five disciplines, with the understanding that it is the responsibility of the player, and not the DM, to assemble the necessary materials and learn their use, just as any practicing occultist must:

Astrology: the player will be expected to purchase an astrological book that will enable them to make astrological charts ~ and to make these charts of player and non-player characters in the setting as part of the cultivation of the discipline. The player does not have to believe in astrology, but the effects of making a chart will depend on the player's ability to demonstrate the accuracy and detail of what planets are in what houses at the time of the charted character's birth.

Bone Throwing: to read the bones, the character must purchase or be in possession of six 6-sided dice that are unique of each other, with images instead of numbers. Often called "story cubes." Add to these one 6-sided die that possesses pips. The manner in which the dice land determines the interpretation.

Numerology: requires little preparation, but does require the character keep continuous track of all dice rolled at a table in a given period to have any chance of making an observation. Depending on the die rolls, it is possible that no observation will result from this work that is done.

Tarot: the player must purchase a tarot deck. Results will form from the cards as they are pulled and set out during the reading.

Tea Leaf Reading: the player must provide loose tea and cup, as well as willingness to drink the tea and perform the ritual of tea reading in order to create the images necessary to make a proper reading. The player will be required to study the pattern of the leaves and identify pictures therein.

Occultism associated with other planes of existence and demonology is more appropriately described as dweomercraft.

Amateur

Carve Sigil: inscribes a pictorial representation of the occultist's desired outcome.
Detect Mania: enables the recognition of crowds influenced by unnatural mass influence.
Make a Reading: produces psychic results when the proper rituals are performed.

Authority

Acupuncture: the relief of pain or other malady through the insertion of needles.
Comprehend Aura: enables the detection of the colored aura enveloping a living body; reveals the presence of familiars.
Seek Totem Spirit (NA): self-identifying with a familial animal form to gain greater natural prowess.

Expert

Form Incantation (NA): empowers a cultic rite, enabling a limited mastery of wild magic.

Master Familiar (NA): reveals the true nature of familiars and increases the bond between familiar and master.

Transfiguration (NA): the power to experience a momentary divine radiance.

Sage
Maleficium (NA): the mastery of wild magic with the intention of causing harm.

Mysticism (NA): the practice of religious ecstasy as a means of controlling wild magic.

See Also,
Illusionist's Sage Abilities
Mage's Sage Abilities

Bone Throwing (occult practice)

Pandred, a reader and former player in the online Juvenis campaign (hoping for a return) asked that I work on the Occult study, a specialty of mages and illusionists. I've done some work on the initial page, which in turn links to this content:

Bone Throwing

A form of occultism by which wild magic is comprehended through the casting of bones or various objects. For players with little experience in this practice but with sufficient knowledge in the occult, the bones are typically represented by dice. A more dedicated player may, if wished, employ a more authentic collection of throwing bones ~ though players should be warned that the actual practice of bone throwing is not to be taken lightly. For the role-playing dilettante, a simple set of dice are recommended.

The player is asked to obtain six unique six-sided dice without numbers, called story cubes or story dice. Desirably these dice would contain images that were appropriate for the time period. of the role-playing game (nothing anachronistic). Every image on every die should be unique, a total of 36 images. To this should be added an ordinary six-sided die, preferably with pips and not numbers. It is important to understand that none of these seven dice should be thrown for any purpose other than rolling bones.

Of the six picture dice, one should be designated as “the self,” the die that specifically defines your game character. Obviously, the die should be chosen with this purpose in mind. Each of the other five story dice must also be assigned a meaning. These meanings can be personal, but unless the player has much experience with bone throwing, it is recommended that these five meanings should be health, wealth, relationships, magic and morality (evil vs. good, wrong vs. right).

The numbered die may then be used varyingly, as a 50/50 to designate male or female, few or many, friend or foe, yes or no and so on; or it may be used as a measure of 1 to 6 to describe importance, danger, chance of success and so on.

Much of the reading beyond this is an art form. The player must interpret the throws based on the meanings of the dice, how they fall, where they touch, the distance or lack thereof between the pieces, what falls nearest to the bone thrower and what falls furthest away. The dice must be thrown with two hands and then effectively a story is made from the results. The story must be explained and accepted as reasonable by the witnesses of the bone thrower.




Authentic Sets

If the bone thrower wants to perform a more authentic means of bone throwing, a collection of objects such as small rocks, bits of driftwood, smoothed pieces of glass, crystals, carved wood figures or whatever feels right should be collected. Each item must have a genuine memory of location and meaning for when it was acquired, the emotional state it conveys and a comprehension for how the object falls, else a reading is not practical.

For instance, if a bit of petrified wood is included in your collection, that you gained as a child when on a journey to Arizona with your family, the wood will have a distinct shape and ways in which it will come to rest: “facing” away from you, towards you, laying on its back, pointing at another object, pointing at nothing, etcetera, as you interpret it. In this aspect it is your mother, in that your father; its relationships to other things are memories, conflicts, unresolved issues and so on. Bone reading can be extraordinarily esoteric and profoundly personal.

Ten or fifteen “bones” with these connections can make for an intricate reading, one that would be highly difficult for the non-bone thrower to see, since the pieces would be familiar to the reader alone. Still, as long as the lay of the bones can be defended by the player, this form of authentic bone throwing can be accepted into the game.

Resolution

As ever, the reading made by the bone thrower causes events to come into being; an ill omen occurs, an expected relationship creates a compatible non-player character, enemies or friends turn up to threaten or sustain the party, while events spontaneously occur in keeping with the reading. This can be a difficult process for the DM, who must be as flexible as the readings themselves.

Some players will attempt to manipulate the results by interpreting every reading as “good luck” or some promise of benefit or success. The DM must be cautious, designating certain pictures or patterns as clearly bad, whatever the player may say. For example, if the die symbolic of the self lands far from any other die in the throw, the player should not be encouraged to see that as “proof” of anything except the obvious meaning that the character does not benefit from the span of distance. Likewise, if the character’s self die lands close to wealth, but far from health, that too speaks to a particular kind of interpretation. Beware of players who will try to massage the interpretation as a means of controlling the results.

For this reason, bone throwing can be particularly troublesome as an occultist knowledge. Remember that it is often to the game’s benefit that the results be good; it does not mean that benefits will simply fall into the player’s lap. The DM is still entitled to create obstacles and require risks, though an occultist will have some warning of those risks.

Post Script,

I'll add a few words that are not on the wiki. Obviously, I don't believe in bone throwing or reading ... however, the practice has been around for centuries and has its interesting angles, just as all religion does. I feel the value of the practice here in the game is that it gives the player a different means of influencing their environment, adding dimension to the game and opportunities for insight. I have no doubts that it would be tricky to DM ... this more than the other practices I've proposed, because much of this is very subjective. But it is still group story telling; the other players should be encouraged to give their own take on the thrown bones, whether dice or objects, as this adds a puzzle-solving dimension where there is no definite "answer" ~ only an interpretive innovation that encourages thinking and discussion. I always appreciate these things.

For the lazy player, however, one that does not wish to invest in the dice or hazard the difficulty of getting a result that isn't clearly written out, I would recommend not taking the occult as a study and viewing the slow accumulation of occult points as a sideline of going up levels as mere trivial interest. There's nothing in the above that says the players must roll bones; the choice is left entirely in the players hands. No rule exists that says a player who knows how to throw bones must employ that skill. The best rules are those that do not require participation.

See also Astrology.