Curse of Strahd Tarokka (Dungeons & Dragons)

Product Information

locations in Castle Ravenloft don't actually refer to the castle ("We know it's in a crypt. Do we know where a crypt is?"), but Eva can add something about "beneath the Devil's tower" or glance nervously in its direction.

Four of Glyphs (Shepherd): Can be used to alert players that someone needs urgent help "bearing a burden too big for them." Sample Readings Information Gathering works much the same way. The first 5 cards are unchanged, the subsequent 4 either add to, or clarify cards 2-5 Nine of Swords (Torturer): Handy if your players are waffling around about an NPC and you want to tell them "This is an irredeemable monster, let's move on please." For a flow of events reading, the first 5 cards are identical to the basic cross. The other four...

On Cards

Great rage or passion; something bestial or malevolent hiding in plain sight or lurking just below the surface Sir Klutz is a funny option (Ghost, King of Hearts) if your table needs all of the laughs it can get. Strahd’s Location in the Castle Finally, Card 10 represents the final outcome of this flow of events. This card is not a guarantee, but represents the outcome of this flow of events assuming the following: You consider and learn from the 'past' cards, minimize or destroy that which opposes you, bolster and sustain that which aids you, and prepare well to deal with the near future. And even then, the future is often unclear (DM Note: Because your players are unpredictable, as are your dice). I finished reading the campaign book through, and I'm now assembling notes and thinking deeper about how I want to run the game. Sometimes a card is simply the card. The Raven could refer to a literal Raven (or Wereraven) rather than any of its other possible meanings.

I'm not looking for your ideas. I'm looking for ways described in the module, or lore from previous editions and visits to Barovia. Anything published goes. The imminent death of one rightly or wrongly convicted of a crime; false accusations and unjust prosecution Artifact (Joker 1) Chapel - there’s something haunting about facing Strahd in the desecrated chapel of his castle, and it’s a good battleground.

COFFIN COMPONENTS

Detailed Interpretation: The Dictator, Vargas Vallakovich developed an unhealthy obsession (with 'Happiness') in the past. He is opposed by one who spreads folly to others (Fiona and her 'get rich off devils' cult), aided by an unrepentant monster (Izek), and his future warns of an unexpected change in his status or fortune Either something else going on in the present that is of greater importance than Card 3, or a clarification that provides extra detail about Card 3. Either something else that needs to happen further in the future (a sequence of events) after Card 4, or a clarification.

The Six of Glyphs (Anarchist) could be partially inverted to represent someone whose beliefs are put to the test, and come out the other side unchanged. The Pyramid is a highly specific reading that is designed to predict a final outcome, and the route one must take to get there. It is a much more advanced form of the 'Flow of Events' cross readings, but the added complexity can make it much more confusing. The Two of Stars (Diviner) could be entirely inverted to represent willful ignorance, or partially inverted to represent one pursuing knowledge with no regard for consequences. Cards 9, 10, and 11 are each treated separately. These three cards represent 3 possible divergent futures. Unlike card 4, these tend to speak of Outcomes rather than Future Events. (Note: When doing a reading on a PC...feel free to always include The Horseman (the 'Death' and 'Horrible Defeat' card) in the possible futures :D ) One of Stars (Transmuter): Can warn players that something they are planning may have unforeseen consequencesDetailed Interpretation: The Avenger: the revenant Vladimir is the subject of this reading. Cards 2 and 6 speak of two distinct past events...2 speaks of failure, despair, and the loss of someone or something important (Argynvost). Further in the past than that, 6 tells us Vladimir was an upright, honorable, and just warrior. At present, 3 shows he follows a destructive path and 7 shows that he now destroys (rather than protects). Looking to the future, 4 shows that an item of great importance (Argynvost's skull) must be recovered, and 8 warns that doing so is going to take a significant deal of cleverness (because surviving Castle Ravenloft is best done carefully, rather than with brute force). Finally, if this item is returned, 5 shows that Vladimir will undergo a fundamental change and 9 shows he will be freed from his imprisonment. Detailed Interpretation: Stella is Broken...pretty obviously. Card 2 tells us that, in the past, she was a peaceful little thing not given to violence. Cards 3 and 5 tell us that she is opposed by one who pursues knowledge without wisdom (Victor), and has an Ally in 'The Raven' (The Martikovs are fond of her in my game). Card 4 tells us that there is a coming chance that she could be healed. Either an additional important element that took place further in the past than Card 2, or a clarification that provides extra detail about Card 2 The Nine of Swords (Torturer) could be entirely inverted to represent the sort of individual who would be a willing martyr, or one who is being tortured. Or it could be partially inverted to represent someone evil or sadistic who IS, in fact, redeemable. Donjon: Can be used to inform the PCs that their thinking is too narrow and that they need to think a little more outside the box (lit. trapped in their own beliefs)