Long ago the Fates wove every foreordained event into their great tapestry. Even following the waning power of the Lords of Law, and demise of the Fates, the pattern created still holds sway. For these purposes a deck of tarot cards is used to determine some of the unfolding events of the saga.
At the beginning of the saga shuffle the deck. Draw cards as required, and only re-shuffle the deck following the draw of the Laughing God (0 - The Fool). Below are the associations between a 78 tarot card deck and the elements of the Shrinelands.
| Number | Card | Common Identification |
|---|---|---|
| - | All Sword Cards | Air / Charisma |
| - | All Pentacle Cards | Earth / Wisdom |
| - | All Wand Cards | Fire / Strength |
| - | All Cup Cards | Water / Intelligence |
| 0 | Fool | Laughing God |
| 1 | Magician | Earth lord |
| 2 | High Priestess | Heron |
| 3 | Empress | She-Who-Lurks |
| 4 | Emperor | Dark Lady |
| 5 | Heirophant | Pyros |
| 6 | Lovers | Lalica of the sea |
| 7 | Chariot | Northern Wind |
| 8 | Strength | Red Moon |
| 9 | Hermit | Old Woods |
| 10 | Wheel of Fortune | Wheel |
| 11 | Justice | Ice |
| 12 | Hanged Man | Walking God |
| 13 | Death | Tuvok - Lord of Underworld |
| 14 | Temperance | Crying God |
| 15 | Devil | Southern Wind |
| 16 | Tower | Dead Fates - Western Wind |
| 17 | Star | Siphos of the stars |
| 18 | Moon | Blue Moon - spells |
| 19 | Sun | Sol Invinctus |
| 20 | Judgement | Eastern Wind |
| 21 | World | Serpent |
Draws from the deck are interpreted numerically, as a way to generate numbers between 1 and 14, rather than using traditional oracular associations. Major Arcana represent the major divine powers. These are an excellent occasion to introduce information about some of the more mysterious divine powers as they become relevant, especially if the character’s generate a debt to forces unknown.
Encounters
Draw a card for each day spent adventuring. Often these cards will pass by if no encounter is rolled.
- Major Arcana - if an encounter is rolled, the power in question determines its nature. If nothing seems obvious consult the next card - that encounter is enhanced by the direct plans of the divine. If a second major arcana results then there is a conflict between the powers.
- Suited Card - Number is used on the encounter chart for rolled encounters.
- Air/Swords - weather
- Earth/Pentacles - lair
- Fire/Wands - peril
- Water/Cups - confluence
Cards for weather indicate a change in the weather, see each season for the weather conditions that prevail. A single air card indicates a notable weather condition which occurs for 1 or 2 days, with severity based on rank. Two or more air cards in a row indicate the weather persists until the next air card is drawn.
Nearby lairs dominate the region. Even if no encounter is rolled that day the creatures from a nearby lair may make themselves known. Towns and villages are, in effect, lairs for civilization, and will include hunters, patrols, or other signs of their presence. Rank suggests the nature of the situation. 1-4: tracks, 5-9: nearby patrol, 10-13: direct encounter, 14: full entourage. If an encounter is rolled in addition then combine both results.
The size of a lair determines its area of influence, around which these draws are relevant.
- Minor: within the same hex
- Major: within 2 hexes
- Legendary: within 8 hexes
Peril includes flash floods, sinkholes, disease, or other difficulties which occur during travel. Consult individual hex descriptions for the nature of the peril. The rank of the card determines the difficulty of Bushcraft to foresee the peril. Often, but not always, knowledge of the peril allows it to be avoided, however this may require an alternate route to be taken.
If an encounter is rolled alongside a confluence, consult the next card as well. Both encounters occur simultaneously. If the nature of such a combination is unclear then consider the suit of the next card - Air: chance meeting, Earth: alliance, Fire: conflict, Water: meeting yet to occur
Rolling an Intervention
Draw a card when rolling double 6’s on a skill check to see what the nature of the intervention is. The power responsible will expect an appropriate offering as thanks. Usually this takes the form of acknowledging this aid during the successful celebration of their next festival, or to have the offerings from the next triumph to be dedicated to their temple. If multiple interventions occur during a single adventure then pleasing all parties involved may become impossible, and divine drama will certainly ensue.
- Major arcana - one of the major divine powers
- Suited cards - local spirit of the appropriate element, with potency determined by rank. 1-4 ancestor, 5-10 genus loci, 11 - 14 minor god.
A diviner who witnesses the intervention may determine the appropriate power to thank at difficulty 6, while one working purely from a description of events typically results in the difficulty being raised to 10 - possibly higher if the witnesses forget or misconstrue the circumstances.