In There is Therefore a Strange Land Tarot (like God, Satan, etc.) is real and can be used by all characters. There is also a unique Tarot Reader class. I've even drawn up a table of key words:
The Fool
|
Excuses
|
The
Magician
|
Precision or concentration
|
The
High Priestess
|
Intuition, wisdom
|
The
Empress
|
Mothering,
sexuality, nature
|
The
Emperor
|
Fathering,
authority, power
|
The
Lovers
|
Love, passion,
bonding
|
The
Chariot
|
Conquest, honour,
impulsivity
|
Justice
|
Impartiality, clear
vision, logic
|
The
Hermit
|
Silence, guidance,
understanding
|
Wheel
of Fortune
|
Opportunities,
possibilities, fate
|
Strength
|
Self-control,
solidity, perseverance
|
The
Hanged Man
|
Sacrifice,
surrender, acceptance
|
Death
|
Loss, transition,
inescapability
|
Temperance
|
Harmony,
moderation, healing
|
The
Devil
|
Materialism, anger,
hedonism
|
The
Tower
|
Chaos, disillusion,
sudden change
|
The
Star
|
Calmness, trust,
joy
|
The
Moon
|
Lack of clarity,
deception, anxiety
|
The
Sun
|
Enlightenment, splendour,
personal power
|
Judgment
|
Rebirth,
reconciliation, decision
|
The
World
|
Accomplishment,
prosperity, wholeness
|
The basic idea is as follows: once in a given period of time (a month, say), a PC can go to an NPC fortune teller and have a single fortune told - which means they are assigned one Major Arcana.
A PC of the Tarot Reader class can also read their own Tarot, which means taking a number of cards based on their level and combining them. So, for instance, a 5th level Tarot Reader might be able to take 3 draws. He or she can then combine the 3 cards, or use them individually.
The way this happens is that, when the PC encounters what he or she considers an applicable situation, he or she gets a premonition or feeling that bestows an advantage. So if he drew the fortune of The Chariot, he could use it when trying to browbeat a thug or whatever because it is associated with conquest, and automatically succeed: it was written in the stars that the thug would be intimidated. Or if he has The Moon, he can use it to automatically succeed when trying to tell a lie: fate had already determined this.
I think the critical thing is making sure this doesn't become too story-gamish or too overpowered. I'm not sure I like the idea of somebody being captured by bandits and just using The Tower to dictate that the camp gets thrown into chaos by a distraction, or using The Hanged Man to generate the outcome "the dragon surrenders" as soon as it's encountered. It feels a little bit too much like narrative control. Not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, but I like D&D effects to be a bit more concrete and measurable - bonuses, saving throws, etc. And yet at the same time just providing bonuses to dice rolls strikes me as a bit banal.
