[3.5] Tarot Deck artifact

[Myou]

My goal here was to create a deck of the major arcana that, in the hands of a spellcaster, would give him a random benefit (or penalty) each day. The deck isn't priced, and I'd love suggestions for what it's worth, as well as feedback on it.

Original Post;
My player has asked me for a custom artifact, a deck of the high arcana cards from the tarot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arcana), from which he will draw one card each morning, gaining an effect based on the card for that day. If the card is inverted he instead gets a negative version of the effect.

Hopefully you guys can help he and I come up with the effects and balance the item. The basic pattern is that effects are either all-day or once a day, and negative once a day effects activate whe you roll your first natural 1 in combat that day.

There are 22 cards, 0-21, so he'll be rolling a d22-1 then a d2 to determine if the car is upright or inverted.



0: The Fool
Upright: Roll twice and combine, ignoring further 0s.
Inverted: The deck has no effect today.


1: The Magician
Upright: You gain a +2 bonus to your caster level for the day.
Inverted: Your caster level is reduced by 2 for the day.


2: The High Priestess
Upright: You may use Celerity once a day as a spell-like ability.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 1 in combat today, you are dazed until the start of your next turn.


3: The Empress
Upright: 1d4 times today you may move your speed as a free action. You also gain a +2 bonus to all initiative rolls for the day.
Inverted: You can only move up to half your speed (rounded down) for the day and take a -2 penalty to initiative.



4: The Emperor
Upright:
Inverted:


5: The Hierophant
Upright:
Inverted:


6: The Lovers
Upright: You may use Charm Monster once today as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 1 in combat today, you are targeted by a Charm Monster spell as if the nearest foe had cast it on you, but using your own save DC and caster level.


7: The Chariot
Upright:
Inverted:


8: Justice
Upright: As a free action you may activate this effect. Once active it lasts until your next turn, and each time a creature attacks you, that creature takes nonlethal damage equal to 1/2 the amount of damage it dealt you. This ability is usable 1/2 your HD times per day.
Inverted: Each time you attack a creature roll a d5, and on a natural 1 you take non-lethal damage equal to 1/2 the amount of damage you deal.


9: The Hermit
Upright: For the duration of the day you gain the ability to become invisible at will, as by the Greater Invisibility spell, with a caster level equal to your character level.
Inverted: For the duration of the day you are turned invisible and silenced.


10: Wheel of Fortune
Upright:
Inverted:


11: Strength
Upright: You gain +2 untyped Strength and Constitution bonuses for the day.
Inverted: You gain -2 untyped Strength and Constitution penalties for the day.


12: The Hanged Man
Upright:
Inverted:


13: Death
Upright:
Inverted:


14: Temperance
Upright:
Inverted:


15: The Devil
Upright:
Inverted:


16: The Tower
Upright:
Inverted:


17: The Star
Upright:
Inverted:


18: The Moon
Upright:
Inverted:


19: The Sun
Upright: Once during the day you may activate this effect to gain True Sight and a +5 bonus to Spot checks for one minute per character level. While this effect is active you radiate light as if by a Daylight spell.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 1 in combat today, you are blinded for 1d6 rounds.


20: Judgement
Upright:
Inverted:


21: The World
Upright: You may use Time Stop once today as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 1 in combat today, you are frozen by a Temporal Stasis spell for 1d4+1 rounds with a caster level equal to your character level.



I also need help pricing the finished item. x_x

Well, some months and two new campaigns later, I finally finished this off, so here it is, what do you guys think?

The Ancient Arcana

This ancient deck of ornately decorated cards is a potent major artefact, each card bearing a stylised visage of a character or object, and a number from 0 to 21. Drawing a card from the deck can be done only once per day, and only by the deck’s owner. The card drawn will have a potent magical effect on the person drawing it, and if drawn inverted can be harmful.

The cards in the deck are rigid and durable, formed from smooth, silky material of unknown composition, stiffer and stronger than parchment. Should a card be damaged it vanishes in a flash, and reappears unharmed in the deck. Any card or cards removed form the deck for more than 1 round similarly return to it. The deck has 5 hit points, and no hardness. Should the deck be destroyed it reforms 1 round later.

At the start of the day, before engaging in any combat the owner of the deck may draw one card at random from it. Rolls 1d22-1 to determine which card is drawn, then roll 1d2 to determine if the card drawn is upright or inverted, a roll of 1 indicating that the card is inverted. The character then gains the associated effect of that card in that position. The deck shuffles itself immediately before each drawing (although no outward change can be seen), making it impossible to control or predict the outcome of the draw.

The card effects listed here assume that the bell-curve variant rule is in play. (If not, refer to the threat range conversino table found here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/bellCurveRolls.htm) for the d20 equivalent values)

0: The Fool
Upright: Roll twice and combine, ignoring further 0s.
Inverted: The deck has no effect today.

1: The Magician
Upright: You gain a +2 bonus to your caster level for the day, and gain bonus mana equal to double your character level.
Inverted: Your caster level is reduced by 2 for the day.

2: The High Priestess
Upright: You may use Celerity once a day as a spell-like ability.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 3, 4 or 5 in combat today, you are dazed until the start of your next turn.

3: The Empress
Upright: For the rest of the day you gain the ability to heal living creatures with your touch. You can restore 1d4 hp per hit die to a touched creature as a standard action, or lift one of the following negative conditions; blinded, confused, deafened, frightened, nauseated, panicked, paralysed, petrified, shaken, sickened.
Inverted: For the rest of the day, whenever you take damage roll 1d4. On a result of 1 you suffer the effects of the effects of the sickened condition for 1d4 rounds.

4: The Emperor
Upright: For the rest of the day you gain immunity to the blinded, confused, dazzled, deafened, fascinated, frightened, nauseated, panicked, paralysed, petrified, shaken, sickened, staggered and stunned conditions. Furthermore, once during the day you may use a standard action to make a ranged touch attack against one enemy, which, should it hit, deals 1d4 damage per hit die you posses, and leaves the target stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 3, 4 or 5 in combat today, you are stunned for 1 round.

5: The Hierophant
Upright: For the rest of the day, whenever you roll a natural 16, 17 or 18 on an attack roll the target of your attack takes 1d4 holy damage per character level, even if your attack misses.
Inverted: For the rest of the day, whenever you roll a natural 3 on an attack roll you take 1d4 profane damage per character level.

6: The Lovers
Upright: You may use Charm Monster once today as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 3 in combat today, you are targeted by a Charm Monster spell as if the nearest foe had cast it on you, but using your own save DC and caster level.

7: The Chariot
Upright: 1d4 times today you may move your speed as a free action. You also gain a +2 bonus to all initiative rolls and a +10ft bonus to your movement speed for the day.
Inverted: Your speed is halved (round down) for the day.

8: Justice
Upright: As animmediate action you may activate this effect. While this ability is active, each time a creature attacks you that creature takes nonlethal damage equal to 1/2 the amount of damage it dealt you. This ability is lasts for a number of rounds equal to half your hit dice, and the duration may be spread over multiple activations.
Inverted: Each time you attack a creature roll a d4, and on a natural 3, 4 or 5 you take non-lethal damage equal to 1/2 the amount of damage you deal.

9: The Hermit
Upright: For the duration of the day you gain the ability to become ethereal and incorporeal at will as a swift action. You also gain an insight bonus on knowledge checks equal to your hit dice.
Inverted: For the duration of the day you are turned ethereal and incorporeal.

10: Wheel of Fortune
Upright: For the rest of the day treat every roll of natural 3 on a ‘d20’ roll as a natural 18, every roll of natural 4 on a ‘d20’ as a natural 17, and every roll of natural 5 on a ‘d20’ as a natural 16.
Inverted: For the rest of the day, treat natural 3s as automatic failures.

11: Strength
Upright: For the rest of the day you gain untyped bonuses to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution equal to one quarter of your total hit dice (round up).
Inverted: You gain -2 untyped Strength, Dexterity and Constitution penalties for the rest of the day.

12: The Hanged Man
Upright: For the rest of the day you radiate a constant Prayer effect as the spell, to all creatures within a 60ft radius of you. The bonus or penalty each creature takes is equal to one fifth of your hit dice total (round down), minimum 1.
Inverted: For the rest of the day you radiate a constant Prayer effect as the spell, to all creatures within a 60ft radius of you, but you and your allies take the penalty effect of the spell, while your enemies gain the bonus effect. The bonus or penalty each creature takes is equal to one tenth of your hit dice total (round down), minimum 1.

13: Death
Upright: One during the day, as an immediate action, you may redirect an attack, spell or other effect targeting you back on the creature or object that initiated it. The effect affects the new target normally, as if it were the original target.
Inverted: The first time you roll a natural 3 on an attack roll in battle today, the attack is redirected back on you. The attack affects you normally, as if you were the original target.

14: Temperance
Upright: For the rest of the day you gain an untyped bonus to saving throws and armour class equal to one fifth of your hit dice total, minimum 1, round up, and gain fast healing equal to half your hit dice total, minimum 1, round up.
Inverted: For the rest of the day you gain a -1 penalty to saving throws and armour class.

15: The Devil
[NSFW]

16: The Tower
Upright: Once during the day you may strike a chosen creature or object with a bolt of thunder that descends from the heavens (the bolt passes harmlessly through obstacles). You must make a ranged touch attack roll to strike the target, dealing 2d6 damage per caster level (use your own caster level), knocking the target prone, and dazing it for 1 round. The target is both knocked prone and dazed even if you miss.
Inverted:Upon your first roll of natural 3 in combat today, you are knocked prone and dazed for 1 round.

17: The Star
Upright: Your total hero points are multiplied by 1.5 for the day (minimum increase of 1 point, round up). The bonus hero points must be spent before the end of the day. Furthermore, for the rest of the day you gain the benefit of the Mind Blank spell.
Inverted: You lose 1 hero point for the day.

18: The Moon
Upright: For the duration of the day you gain the ability to become invisible and/or silent at will, as by the Greater Invisibility and Silence spells, with a caster level equal to your character level. Activating or deactivating either effect is a free action.
Inverted: For the duration of the day you are turned invisible and silenced.

19: The Sun
Upright: For the rest of the day you gain True Seeingas the spell and a +5 bonus to Spot and listen checks. Furthermore, while this effect is active you radiate light as if by a Daylight spell, with a caster level equal to your own.
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 3 in combat today, you are blinded for 1d6 rounds.

20: Judgement
Upright: The first time you die in battle today, your body and possessions immediately vanish, exploding in a blast of holy energy that deals 2d6 damage per hit die you posses to the creature responsible for your death. Furthermore, 1d6 rounds later you are revived in the same spot, or as near to it as possible, by the effect of a True Resurrection spell. Your possessions are also restored, unharmed.
Inverted: Each time you kill an enemy in battle today, roll 1d4, and on a result of 1 you take 1d6 holy damage per hit die of the enemy slain.

21: The World
Upright: Once during the day you may use Time Stop as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level, the duration of the effect is not 1d4+1 rounds, rather it lasts for 1 round per five character levels (round down, minimum 1).
Inverted: Upon your first roll of natural 3 in combat today, you are frozen by a Temporal Stasis spell for 1 rounds. The spell has a caster level equal to your character level.

[NotJesus]

Yarrr, I ask way too much. ^^;

*Is the player in question*

[Myou]

Yarrr, I ask way too much. ^^;

*Is the player in question*

But I love you anyway. :smallbiggrin:

[The Neoclassic]

What level are these characters? That'll help a bit in terms of balancing.

6. The Lovers
Charm monster for one hour/level (must end by sundown or midnight though). If inverted, you instead fall helplessly in love with the first foe who makes eye contact with you for the duration of the day (again, until sundown/midnight).

13. Death
... Once per day death touch ability? If it's inverted, make a Fortitude (or Will?) save or die.

I'll let you know if I have any more ideas...

[Myou]

What level are these characters? That'll help a bit in terms of balancing.

6. The Lovers
Charm monster for one hour/level (must end by sundown or midnight though). If inverted, you instead fall helplessly in love with the first foe who makes eye contact with you for the duration of the day (again, until sundown/midnight).

13. Death
... Once per day death touch ability? If it's inverted, make a Fortitude (or Will?) save or die.

I'll let you know if I have any more ideas...

Level 7 (almost 8) gestalt, probably 10 by the time he gets the deck. But really I'd like it to stay useful up to at least level 20.

The Lovers is intersting - I was thinking of that sort of effect for The Emperor, but The Lovers miht be a better one to have it. I think I'll go ahead and add that for now.

Death: That would really be The Tower more than Death, Death is actally about transition, sadness and the like.

[The Neoclassic]

Level 7 (almost 8) gestalt, probably 10 by the time he gets the deck. But really I'd like it to stay useful up to at least level 20.

OK. I'm just thinking in terms of crazy-overpowered abilities. If some stuff's power/duration is dependent on level, that could help.


Death: That would really be The Tower more than Death, Death is actally about transition, sadness and the like.

It's been a while since I've read up on tarot. I'll give it a glance over again before I make any more suggestions. :smallwink:

[Myou]

OK. I'm just thinking in terms of crazy-overpowered abilities. If some stuff's power/duration is dependent on level, that could help.

Oh, that's a good idea, yeah!
I'm totally overwhelmed by the sheeh amount of material to come up with/balance. xD


It's been a while since I've read up on tarot. I'll give it a glance over again before I make any more suggestions. :smallwink:

That's what I've been doing myself, but it' not required. ^^

[Edge]

Death:
Upright - 1/day, plane shift one targeted foe to the Plane of Shadow/Plane of Negative Energy.
Reversed - Make a Will save or be plane shifted to the Plane of Shadow/Plane of Negative Energy.

Might be a bit harsh, of course.

[Myou]

Death:
Upright - 1/day, plane shift one targeted foe to the Plane of Shadow/Plane of Negative Energy.
Reversed - Make a Will save or be plane shifted to the Plane of Shadow/Plane of Negative Energy.

Might be a bit harsh, of course.

If he got plane shifted to the negative energy plane we'd never get him back. :smalleek:

[Edge]

Well then, use the Plane of Shadow.

And pray no nightwalkers stumble across him. :smallbiggrin:

[Myou]

Well then, use the Plane of Shadow.

And pray no nightwalkers stumble across him. :smallbiggrin:

Well, actually, a more serious problem is that interplanar travel is impossible in my setting. I should have said that first. XD

[drakir_nosslin]

Justice : Each time a creature hits you, that creature takes 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage.
Inverse: Each time you hit a creature, you take 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage.

The Hermit: Gain a luck bonus equal to your HD on all knowledge checks and treat them as trained, but take a penalty equal to 1/2 your Int modifier to spot and listen checks.
Inverse: Take a penalty to all knowledge checks equal to your HD, but gain 1/2 your int modifier luck bonus to your spot and listen checks.

This is based on the keywords found on wikipedia:
Introspection, Silence, Guidance, Reflection
Solitude, Looking inward, Reclusion, Being quiet
Inner search, Deep understanding, Isolation
Distance, Retreat, Philosophical attitude

Wheel of Fortune: Every time a d20 comes up with a 19, treat it as a natural 20.
Inverse: Every time a d20 comes up with a 2, treat it as a natural 1
(More to come...)

[Tyrmatt]

The Empress: Upright: On this day, you can 1d4 times move your speed as a free action. You also gain a +2 bonus to all initiative rolls for the day.
Inverse: You can only move up to half your speed (rounded down) for the day and take a -2 penalty to initiative.

A bit more chess based than the traditional tarot definition, but an interesting effect.

[deuxhero]

What class is he? If we knew we could design effects like (for a cleric)

?
Upright:Gain the spells and domain power of one (or two) new domain(s) granted by your deity for the day.
reverse:lose domain powers and domain spells for the day.

If the deck is an artifact (praticularlly one that hurts almost as often as it helps) I don't think it should be priced.

[Myou]

What class is he? If we knew we could design effects like (for a cleric)

?
Upright:Gain the spells and domain power of one (or two) new domain(s) granted by your deity for the day.
reverse:lose domain powers and domain spells for the day.

If the deck is an artifact (praticularlly one that hurts almost as often as it helps) I don't think it should be priced.

Good question, he's a Sorcerer//Unarmed Swordsage.

Well, a PrC he's taking lets him roll twive on random tables and take the better result, so the odds of a negative effect are only 1 in 4.


Justice : Each time a creature hits you, that creature takes 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage.
Inverse: Each time you hit a creature, you take 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage.

The Hermit: Gain a luck bonus equal to your HD on all knowledge checks and treat them as trained, but take a penalty equal to 1/2 your Int modifier to spot and listen checks.
Inverse: Take a penalty to all knowledge checks equal to your HD, but gain 1/2 your int modifier luck bonus to your spot and listen checks.

This is based on the keywords found on wikipedia:
Introspection, Silence, Guidance, Reflection
Solitude, Looking inward, Reclusion, Being quiet
Inner search, Deep understanding, Isolation
Distance, Retreat, Philosophical attitude

Wheel of Fortune: Every time a d20 comes up with a 19, treat it as a natural 20.
Inverse: Every time a d20 comes up with a 2, treat it as a natural 1
(More to come...)

Hmm, Justice is a bit too strong for an all-day effect....

The Hermit actually seems a little weak.... What if it didn't carry the spot/listen mods? I'm not ure that knowledge checks are rifgr for the Hermit though. NJ, what say you?

Wheel of Fortune I like a lot, buuut we don't treat 1s as failures, so do you think that might be unbalancing or is that fine?


The Empress: Upright: On this day, you can 1d4 times move your speed as a free action. You also gain a +2 bonus to all initiative rolls for the day.
Inverse: You can only move up to half your speed (rounded down) for the day and take a -2 penalty to initiative.

A bit more chess based than the traditional tarot definition, but an interesting effect.

Oh, I love the effect!
But are you sure it's the Empress you're suggesting? I don't see the conection (feel free to explain it to me xD).

[Owrtho]

Oh, I love the effect!
But are you sure it's the Empress you're suggesting? I don't see the connection (feel free to explain it to me xD).

Empress is close to queen. In chess, the queen can move any number of spaces in any direction.

Owrtho

[drakir_nosslin]

Hmm, Justice is a bit too strong for an all-day effect....

The Hermit actually seems a little weak.... What if it didn't carry the spot/listen mods? I'm not ure that knowledge checks are rifgr for the Hermit though. NJ, what say you?

Wheel of Fortune I like a lot, buuut we don't treat 1s as failures, so do you think that might be unbalancing or is that fine?


Well, Justice can easily be adapted a bit, like this:
Justice(SU): Until your next turn, each time a creature hits you, that creature takes 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage. This ability is usable 1/2 your HD times per day.
Inverse: Each time you hit a creature, roll a d20, on a number between 1 and 5, you take 1/2 the amount of non-lethal damage.

You can also say that the ability is usable a number of times/day = to wis modifier.

Another idea for the hermit could be a 2 bonus/penalty to your wisdom, the hermit is a wise old man. Or it might grant the spell like ability to cast rope trick or a similar spell, to be able to flee from the disturbances of the world around you and spend some quality time alone :smallbiggrin:

Wheel of Fortune inverse; change it so for the rest of the day a natural 1 is a failure for the character. The change in penalty is minor, instead of never having to fear an auto fail, you now do that on 1/20 rolls, as opposed to failing on 2/20 rolls instead of 1/20.
Otherwise just give him a straight out luck bonus/penalty on every d20 roll for the rest of the day. Or limit it like with Justice.

[Zakaroth]

12: The Hanged Man
Upright: Spell-like ability that has similar effects as the Drown or Choking Sands spell, might want to rework the flavor a bit ofource.
Inverted: Let the player choke on a natural 1

[cha0s4a11]

18: The Moon

Upright: Allows you to Hide in Plain Sight (as per the Ranger ability) on any terrain and +5 to hide for the next hour.

Inverted: On your first natural 1 roll for either skill use or combat, any hostile people/creatures within 1 mile will alerted to your location

19: The Sun

Upright: Grants you true sight and +5 to spot for the next hour

Inverted: On your first natural 1 roll in combat, you are blinded for 1d6 rounds.

[onthetown]

Another idea for The Moon...

Upright: Can use Globe of Darkness as a spell-like ability that day.
Inverted: In battle, is affected as if a Globe of Darkness is cast on them.

Not as powerful or interesting as the other :smallredface:

[deuxhero]

12: The Hanged Man
Upright: Spell-like ability that has similar effects as the Drown or Choking Sands spell, might want to rework the flavor a bit ofource.
Inverted: Let the player choke on a natural 1

Isn't he hanging by his foot, not his neck?

[NotJesus]

Wow, quite a few posts since I ADD'd and forgot to look at the thread. ^^; A lot of good ideas, too, in my opinion, after having a look! Seeing as I think Myou wants me to mention my favourites out of the ones I've seen so far, I think I'll do just that. Oh, and thanks to everyone who posted, I really appreciate it!

I like Drakir Nosslin's suggestions for Wheel of Fortune and Justice a lot, especially Justice now that it's been rebalanced, and as for Wheel of Fortune, I think a straight out luck bonus/penalty would probably be a good idea. After all, as much as I do like the original idea, I'd be pretty much guaranteed to fail/succeed on a roll of 1/2 or 19/20 anyway, I think. Unless I was attempting something ridiculous, at any rate... still, I could be wrong, and if you prefer your original idea/something else you came up with, then feel free to convince me that I am, it's generally not too hard to do so! =P

Oh, as for the hermit, I'm not sure which of the ideas I prefer, they all sound interesting and hermitty in their own way. Anyway, moving on... The Neoclassic's suggestion for the lovers gave me some mental images that nearly caused me to crack up, and I must admit, I do like it a lot, both the positive and the negative effects. Death sounds a tad on the extreme side, and as Myou said, not 100% fitting for the card, despite the name... yay for misleading card titles! Oh, and as a more general point, I'm totally with you and Myou that level-dependant abilities would be good and easier to balance.

Tyrmatt's idea for The Empress is cool! Could also possibly work for The Chariot, though the reference to chess is pretty neat in my opinion.

Cha0s4a11's suggestion for the sun is awesome! And while the suggestion for The Moon is also pretty cool, my character's more likely to be seen in a dress than trying to hide. ...which conjures some interesting mental images. :smalleek:

Oh, er, almost missed Zakaroth's post... sounds interesting, though I'm not quite sure how choking would work, unless there's a rule for it which I just forgot about or something ^^; (And as Deuxhero pointed out, the Hanged Man card is indeed generally depicted hanging by his foot, so strangling someone like that would be a bit odd, to say the least.)

Last but not least! Riyoukaze's idea sounds... interesting, but I have no idea what the Globe of Darkness spell does. I shall go look it up! In the meantime... well, thanks again everyone. ^^ It's nice to see so many people leaping up to be helpful!

...Also, sorry if this post is a giant wall of text, I need to get the hang of quoting people. :B

[The Neoclassic]

The Hermit
You gain invisibility as a spell-like ability for 10 minutes per level for the day. You may dismiss it at will. If the card is inverted, you are instead turned invisible for the entirety of the day, until you draw your next card. This effect may be dispelled by a spell of sufficiently high level, but you may not voluntarily dismiss it.

[NotJesus]

The Hermit
You gain invisibility as a spell-like ability for 10 minutes per level for the day. You may dismiss it at will. If the card is inverted, you are instead turned invisible for the entirety of the day, until you draw your next card. This effect may be dispelled by a spell of sufficiently high level, but you may not voluntarily dismiss it.

...I love it. :smallbiggrin:

[Myou]

Thanks to everyone who posted! Keep the ideas coming! :smallsmile:


Wow, quite a few posts since I ADD'd and forgot to look at the thread. ^^; A lot of good ideas, too, in my opinion, after having a look! Seeing as I think Myou wants me to mention my favourites out of the ones I've seen so far, I think I'll do just that. Oh, and thanks to everyone who posted, I really appreciate it!

I like Drakir Nosslin's suggestions for Wheel of Fortune and Justice a lot, especially Justice now that it's been rebalanced, and as for Wheel of Fortune, I think a straight out luck bonus/penalty would probably be a good idea. After all, as much as I do like the original idea, I'd be pretty much guaranteed to fail/succeed on a roll of 1/2 or 19/20 anyway, I think. Unless I was attempting something ridiculous, at any rate... still, I could be wrong, and if you prefer your original idea/something else you came up with, then feel free to convince me that I am, it's generally not too hard to do so! =P

Right then, I'll add Justice! ^^

What if for Wheel you roll a d4 and add the result to all d20 rolls for the day, or if inverted, subtract that number instead?



Oh, as for the hermit, I'm not sure which of the ideas I prefer, they all sound interesting and hermitty in their own way.

The Hermit
You gain invisibility as a spell-like ability for 10 minutes per level for the day. You may dismiss it at will. If the card is inverted, you are instead turned invisible for the entirety of the day, until you draw your next card. This effect may be dispelled by a spell of sufficiently high level, but you may not voluntarily dismiss it.

...I love it. :smallbiggrin:

I don't see the disadvantage to all-day invisibility, otherwise it would be great. :smallconfused:


Anyway, moving on... The Neoclassic's suggestion for the lovers gave me some mental images that nearly caused me to crack up, and I must admit, I do like it a lot, both the positive and the negative effects. Death sounds a tad on the extreme side, and as Myou said, not 100% fitting for the card, despite the name... yay for misleading card titles! Oh, and as a more general point, I'm totally with you and Myou that level-dependant abilities would be good and easier to balance.

Well, that's The Lovers sorted out then, bt we're still working on Death.


Tyrmatt's idea for The Empress is cool! Could also possibly work for The Chariot, though the reference to chess is pretty neat in my opinion.

Mmm, I wondered that, but The Empres is one that I've had no other ideas for, so I'll add it there for now, since you like the chess reference. ^^


Cha0s4a11's suggestion for the sun is awesome! And while the suggestion for The Moon is also pretty cool, my character's more likely to be seen in a dress than trying to hide. ...which conjures some interesting mental images. :smalleek:

Then The Sun is in! :3
And Sedana would look wierd in a dress. xD


Oh, er, almost missed Zakaroth's post... sounds interesting, though I'm not quite sure how choking would work, unless there's a rule for it which I just forgot about or something ^^; (And as Deuxhero pointed out, the Hanged Man card is indeed generally depicted hanging by his foot, so strangling someone like that would be a bit odd, to say the least.)

Choking Sands is a spell - you showed it to me once. xD
Drown is also a spell, SpC, p74. :3


Last but not least! Riyoukaze's idea sounds... interesting, but I have no idea what the Globe of Darkness spell does. I shall go look it up! In the meantime... well, thanks again everyone. ^^ It's nice to see so many people leaping up to be helpful!

...Also, sorry if this post is a giant wall of text, I need to get the hang of quoting people. :B

Yes, the only Globe of Darkness I can find is in Baldur's Gate II. ^^;

[The Neoclassic]

I don't see the disadvantage to all-day invisibility, otherwise it would be great. :smallconfused:

Imagine trying to buy something, talk to the king... Pretty much anything that requires not killing. Perhaps add not being able to speak either? So you can't communicate with your teammates easily; not much good being able to sneak up on folks if your party has no clue what you're doing or where you are.

[Myou]

Imagine trying to buy something, talk to the king... Pretty much anything that requires not killing. Perhaps add not being able to speak either? So you can't communicate with your teammates easily; not much good being able to sneak up on folks if your party has no clue what you're doing or where you are.

Well, given he's a sorcerer with at-will cantrips, it seems pretty easy to get around it - write things down, use images, sounds, etc. I love the idea, but it seems to easy to get around, and is still great in combat. Unless perhaps it imposes a Silence effect on him which impares casting? But that might be to bad.

[Eldhusgaur]

14: Temperance
Upright: Gains a +4 to all saves through out the day.
Inverted: Gets a -4 to once to each type of save. (fort, Ref, Will first one of each gets a -4)

16: The Tower
Upright: Gains a Burrow Speed equal to your base land speed.
Inverted: Through out the day, whenever you roll a 1 on any check, you fall prone and take 1d4 bludgeoning damage.

[cha0s4a11]

A few more ideas for cards:

15: The Devil

Upright: +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Forgery, Intimidate, and Sense Motive for the day. In addition, any magical attempt to determine your alignment will return as if you were of the same alignment as the caster. (i.e. A lawful good paladin will detect you as if you were lawful good, regardless of your true alignment)

Inverted: -2 penalty to Bluff, Diplomacy, Forgery, Intimidate, and Sense Motive for the day. In addition, any magical attempt to determine your alignment will return as if you were of the opposite alignment as the caster. (i.e. A lawful good paladin will detect you as if you were chaotic evil, regardless of your true alignment)

16: The Tower

Upright: If you ever score a critical hit against an enemy during the day, all subsequent attacks against that enemy during that encounter will automatically threaten critical.

Inverted: If you roll a natural 1 in an attack roll against an enemy during the day, all subsequent attack rolls against that enemy during that encounter will automatically be treated as if they were a natural 1.

20: Judgement

Upright: Should you die from any cause (other than old age) today, your body and all of your equipment will vanish immediately. Your body and equipment will reappear at a safe location of your choice at nightfall/midnight and will be revived as by a True Resurrection spell with no cost. Any attempts to render you unrevivable (like Soul Bind or turning you into an undead) will automatically fail.

Inverted: Should you die from any cause today, you will be unrevivable, as if you died of old age.



...I think I've been playing a bit too much Persona 3 and 4 lately...

[onthetown]

Last but not least! Riyoukaze's idea sounds... interesting, but I have no idea what the Globe of Darkness spell does. I shall go look it up! In the meantime... well, thanks again everyone. ^^ It's nice to see so many people leaping up to be helpful!


Sorry, I think I'm calling it the wrong thing... I'm thinking of what's usually a drow racial ability. You can target the globe on anything, or just leave it hanging around, and it effectively blocks out all light and leaves them in a shroud where they're more or less blind... I thought it was a spell, but maybe I'm just going crazy :smalleek:

[NotJesus]

Guess who keeps forgetting to post? >.>; Sorry, anyone who was waiting for a response, and thanks for the ideas, guys.

Neoclassic's updated idea for the Hermit's negative effect sounds pretty hilarious, and as Myou suggested, perhaps adding a silence effect to it would make it even more 'fun' for poor Sedana.

Anywho, moving on... Eldhusgaur's ideas are pretty interesting, but neither of them seem all that thematically appropriate to me, unless I'm missing something? o.ó And the negative effect of the tower isn't a huge disadvantage, more of an annoyance, really. Other than that, interesting suggestions.

Cha0s4a11... first off, I should probably mention this idea was inspired by the "Arcana Chance!" thing in Persona 4.

Anyway, moving on... I must admit, I do like all your suggestions. The Tower seems a tad extreme, but if Myou has no problems with it, then I must admit I like it. Judgement's inverted effect, if it came up, would probably force me to alter my play style a bit, which would lead to an interesting change of pace, and the Devil... well, I find the idea of getting it inverted then being chased around by paladins to be hilarious, personally. All in all, I like them all!

Thanks again for this, everyone. I really appreciate it.

Oh, and Riyoukaze, you're not going crazy. You're going sane in a-

Um, actually, I'm not sure what referencing The Tick has to do with Tarot, or D&D. Either way, maybe you were just thinking of Baldur's Gate or something?

Double also, something Myou and I came up with over MSN for the Hierophant, what do you guys think?

The Hierophant

Upright: Whenever a natural 20 is rolled on an attack roll that day, the target of that attack takes 1d4 holy damage per character level (doesn't have to succeed, or even threaten a critical, so it still works against undead etc.)

Inverted: Whenever a natural 1 is rolled on an attack that day, the person who drew the card takes 1d4 profane damage per character level.

[Myou]

You're not the only one who forgot to post. ^^;

Thanks to everyone who posted!


Neoclassic's updated idea for the Hermit's negative effect sounds pretty hilarious, and as Myou suggested, perhaps adding a silence effect to it would make it even more 'fun' for poor Sedana.

Ok then, let's go with that. ^^


Anywho, moving on... Eldhusgaur's ideas are pretty interesting, but neither of them seem all that thematically appropriate to me, unless I'm missing something? o.ó And the negative effect of the tower isn't a huge disadvantage, more of an annoyance, really. Other than that, interesting suggestions.

Temperance make sense to me - it makes you harder to harm. But maybe you'd prefer some other effect?

I'm not not sure I understand the reasoning of the Tower either though.


Anyway, moving on... I must admit, I do like all your suggestions. The Tower seems a tad extreme, but if Myou has no problems with it, then I must admit I like it. Judgement's inverted effect, if it came up, would probably force me to alter my play style a bit, which would lead to an interesting change of pace, and the Devil... well, I find the idea of getting it inverted then being chased around by paladins to be hilarious, personally. All in all, I like them all!

I was thinknig that the Tower's negative effect was a little too punishing, imagine getting a 1 against the BBEG. :smalleek:

Judgement actually seems a bit too good/bad to me.

Devil is fine if you want to use it. ^^


Double also, something Myou and I came up with over MSN for the Hierophant, what do you guys think?

The Hierophant

Upright: Whenever a natural 20 is rolled on an attack roll that day, the target of that attack takes 1d4 holy damage per character level (doesn't have to succeed, or even threaten a critical, so it still works against undead etc.)

Inverted: Whenever a natural 1 is rolled on an attack that day, the person who drew the card takes 1d4 profane damage per character level.

I'm fine with putting this in if there are no objections. ^^

[Golden-Esque]

Not to be nit-picky, but technically there's 70 cards in the traditional Tarot Deck; 22 Major Arcana and 48 Minor Arcana. You can't have a real Tarot Artifact with less then half of the actual deck.

[Myou]

I actually finished it, what a surprise. xD
(See first post.)

[megabyter5]

15: The Devil

Upright: +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Forgery, Intimidate, and Sense Motive for the day. In addition, any magical attempt to determine your alignment will return as if you were of the same alignment as the caster. (i.e. A lawful good paladin will detect you as if you were lawful good, regardless of your true alignment)

Hate to tell you, but you can only detect a specific alignment component. As in, the paladin would use detect evil, and you'd show up as non-evil. If he also had access to detect good, he'd get a yes on that, as well as detect law, but if he just used detect evil, it would only narrow the choices down instead of specifying. On a related note, that makes it completely redundant to cast Undetectable Alignment on a true neutral character.

[cha0s4a11]

.........
15: The Devil
[NSFW]
.......


Ok, now I'm curious. Could you at least narrow this one down? :smallbiggrin:

[Debihuman]

This is a Major Artifact obviously but it leads me to ask some pertinent questions. Can you stack the deck? How durable are the cards? Can you still use it if some of the cards are missing?

Debby

[Myou]

This is a Major Artifact obviously but it leads me to ask some pertinent questions. Can you stack the deck? How durable are the cards? Can you still use it if some of the cards are missing?

Debby

Good questions! I better add some detail on the size and durability to the OP when I get the chance (sadly I'm only around for a few minutes before college at the moment).

What do you mean by stack the deck though?


Ok, now I'm curious. Could you at least narrow this one down? :smallbiggrin:

Well, look at the the card description on wikipedia... suff like; Self-bondage, Lust, Obsession, Hedonism, Passion, Sexuality, Temptation and Physical attraction. :smalltongue:

[Debihuman]

"Stacking a deck of cards" is gambling terminology. Basically, you arrange the cards so that you know what order the cards are in. Then, you make a a Sleight of Hand check to see if you can pull the card you want from the deck.

Debby

[Myou]

"Stacking a deck of cards" is gambling terminology. Basically, you arrange the cards so that you know what order the cards are in. Then, you make a a Sleight of Hand check to see if you can pull the card you want from the deck.

Debby

Ah, gotcha.

I've updated the OP. :3