Praxian fortune deck
These are the cards I developed for the fortune deck for my Praxian Everway rules variant. To make sense of this, you'll probably need to read the Praxian elements page too.
Some 'designer notes' are at the bottom of this page.
| Card | Meaning | Reversed meaning | Associations |
| The Leaders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Khan | Authority | Solitude | Authority (leadership) |
| Queen | Solidarity | Undiscerning | Beast (nurturing) |
| Storm Khan | Violence | Unreasoning | Storm (aggression) |
| Shaman | Intuition | Lack of connection to world | Spirit (understanding mysteries) |
| The Nations | |||
| Sable | Balance | Self-centred | All elements in balance |
| Morokanth | Innovation | Impracticality | Spirit (intuition) |
| High Llama | Perception | Haughty | Authority (perception) |
| Bison | Resilience | Unyielding | Beast (robustness) |
| Impala | Activity | Restlessness | Storm (activity) |
| The Places | |||
| Plateau of Statues | Meaninglessness | Seeing hidden truths | Failure of spirit |
| Plains | Stagnation | Freedom | Failure of storm |
| Serpent | Discord, rapid change | Flexibility | Failure of authority |
| Oasis | Weakness | Recuperation | Failure of beast |
| The Feathered Rivals | |||
| Raven | Impetuosity | Achieving the unexpected | Excess of spirit |
| Thunderbird | Transgressing boundaries | Ignoring constraints | Excess of storm |
| Sun Hawk | Hubris | Taking necessary action | Excess of authority |
| Condor | Dogmatism | Self-reliance | Excess of beast |
| The Outlanders | |||
| Genert | Hopelessness | Paradise found | All elements in balance |
| Dragon | Devastation | Overpowering | Active (auth + storm) |
| Teshnans | Compliance, retreat | Eventual return | Passive (beast + spirit) |
| Westeners (Orlanthi) | Incessant activity | Serendipity | Power (storm + beast) |
| Kralori | Meditative inactivity | Careful investigation | Wisdom (auth + spirit) |
| Hsunchen | Labour in vain | Success of tradition | Conservative (auth + beast) |
| Pentans | Breaking the Covenant | Reflecting the others power | Change (storm + spirit) |
| Oasis farmers | Defeat | Hope in bleakness | None |
| The Spirits | |||
| Bright Treasure | Realising limits | Over-preparation | Authority over Spirit |
| Bronze Treasure | Concealment | Treachery | Spirit over Storm |
| Malia | Corruption | Test that strengthens | Spirit over Beast |
| Dark Eater | Slavery | Over-reliance on others | Beast over Storm |
| Wildfire (Oakfed) | Exuberance released | Controlling wildness | Storm over Authority |
| Foundchild | Successful simplicity | Lack of imagination | Storm over Spirit |
| The Universals | |||
| The Warband | Going outside | Exposure | Authority over Beast |
| The Herd | Home, safety | Indulgence | Beast over Authority |
| Life Stages | |||
| The child | New life | Fragility of life | Beast over Spirit |
| The youth | Discoveries | Mistakes | Storm over Beast |
| The adult | Purposeful activity | Constraints | Authority over Storm |
| The elder | Holistic awareness | Inability to act | Spirit over Authority |
Designer Notes
Developing the fortune deck was rather more difficult than it first appeared. I tried several combinations and sets of cards and ideas, and nothing seemed to really work. Then I had the realisation that, although the fortune deck appears to be a divination tool, it is actually a game adjudication device. This allowed me to rebuild the deck around the notion of the factors that a GM could use to influence their decision on the success of an action. And that is what is above.
Despite this focus on the game rather than the world, I do think that the fortune deck is a pretty fair representation of the important things in a Praxian's life and cognitive map. The topics embedded in this deck are the things that he (or she) knows and is concerned with. To that end, I think it gives an important insight into the Praxian mind.
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