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I recently began playing out an idea I had based on the Harrow Cards and Liz Courts' character generation rules for Harrow in Wayfinder #5. Finding time to game with my friend has been difficult lately, so I suggested bringing the game to the boards.

Here's how the first session went (admittedly with more description than I gave initially):

[GM]: Drawing back the heavy, lavishly colored velvet curtain, you enter a darkened chamber. Candlelight flickers from the tops of skulls, incense jars, and from within braziers. They illuminate fantastical paintings of angels and demons, portraits of toiling men and women of all races, and smiling beasts of all types, along with many other strange sights. The thickly-flavored smoke of the burning incense hangs heavily in the air, casting the small chamber in a dreamlike manner. In the center of the room there is a table covered in a shimmering cloth, upon which sits prophetic elements: bones, cards, and a crystal ball. In front, there is a small, padded chair. Behind the table there is a figure cast in shadows. She appears aged, but is draped in layers of silken shawls, so it is difficult to tell.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: Ahh, so you have finally arrived. I have waited long for this day. Yes, I know what it is you seek. But first, come, sit. You will drink the chaptka, pay the coin, and I will tell your Harrow.

[GM]: For reasons only your character is aware of - not you as a player - your character does as instructed. The Fortune Teller takes up the deck of Harrow cards, shuffles it thrice, then passes the deck to you. She instructs you to cut it, shuffle it, and then place eleven of the cards face down in specific positions. That done, she lights another stick of incense, and then begins to turn the cards… All Ability scores begin at 10.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: The Betrayal. There was something, early in your life, that turned you against the world that would have slain you. In this act of defiance, you found yourself. +1 Charisma

The Tyrant. This… this was your father, was it not? A cruelty knowing no bounds. Despite your defiance of him, you have yet learned from him. You know now how to command obedience from those before you. +1 Charisma

The Sickness. Your soul is made weary by what you have seen. What you have done. You steel your body, thinking that it will guard your heart. +1 Constitution

The Survivor. This is you. All that you have been through in life, it has been an ordeal, yes? A life, surrounded by shackles. And yet you thrive. +1 Constitution

The Brass Dwarf. Though you fight against a world that would choke you, you have found aid. But, time and again, your companions fall, and you are left alone. You ask yourself, why? +1 Constitution

The Juggler represents fate - the fate that brought you here today. It is time for you to slip lose the bonds that remain. +1 Dexterity

The Beating. You have earned your freedom the only way you know - through violence. Do not lose yourself in your strength. +1 Strength

The Bear. Or, perhaps you already have. +1 Strength

The Uprising. I see. You are not lost in your Strength. You have purpose in it. You will need it in the days ahead. +1 Strength

The Trumpet. You know what you face. You have already met this force before. Gird yourself with care. +1 Constitution

The Rabbit Prince. Be swift in your actions. The tide of battle may turn against you at any moment. +1 Dexterity

You believe yourself to be balanced in your actions, neither partaking fully of anarchy nor adhering to any law save your own. You are practically-minded, and only your allies are saved from your wrath. N or NE (player chose NE)

[GM]: The Fortune Teller sets the remaining cards in the deck aside, takes up those on the table and shuffles them. She presents them to you in a fan, and has you select three. The rest she sets on the deck.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: This card represents your family… The Betrayal. You were born a bastard - your father discarded you, sold you into slavery… You have no family. True match to alignment: +2 Charisma

This one represents your allies. The Beating. Note how it is misaligned. Your friends are your allies in chains, are they not? When you broke free from slavery, it was with their aid. True match to alignment: +2 Strength

And this card… this represents your enemies.

[GM]: The Fortune Teller gasps and looks hard at you before continuing.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: The Uprising. You have made very powerful enemies. I know now why you seek the thing you have come for.

[GM]: The Fortune Teller gathers up all the cards and begins to shuffle them again.

[Mysterious Fortune Teller]: And now that we have delved into your self, we will see your past, your present, and what lies ahead. Is your chaptka cold? Take from that jar, and mix it thoroughly. Now then…

The player chose to make the character a half-orc barbarian. We decided that he was sold to slavery in Rahadoum as a child.

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