Pathfinder Chronicles: Harrow Deck

The artwork really works for this product. The cards look like something that was made by hand by the Varisians. The images are clear and representational of what they're supposed to be, and I've found some pretty cool nuances in certain images. I love the placement of the Suit graphic on the card to indicate its alignment - brilliant!

I agree. There's something about the Blog previews that don't convey the work properly in real life, even though it is the same art.

For example: I was okay with the art from the Blog previews, but once I got the cards and studied them in real life, and isolation from other media.. They're great.

Now I have never before read Kyle Hunter's Downer comics, so I had no preconceptions of his art.. But hell, I've looked at plenty of tarot decks in books stores over the years, and I own a few. I've seen a good many decks that weren't as nice as this, or were just as good. Or had okay art, but no symbolism to grab on to.. These illustrations are pretty rich with little details and symbols.

It's a particular style of art, true. And everyone's taste is very individual anyway, so I can't disagree with anyone that doesn't like it. But honestly I think the art is a whole lot better than has been given credit for.

I just received my Harrow deck today, and it's absolutely beautiful. I haven't tried the reading aspect of it, but it seems simple and intuitive. I like that each card is kind of a combination suited/major arcana card.

I have one teensy weensy little issue, and that's that I got a miscut on my Twins card. On both the back and the front, the card is cut with the image far too close to one side, and on the back, it's far enough to one side for a line of white to be showing along the other edge.

I haven't read through all these posts, but I would like to jump on the "this deck is beautiful" bandwagon. To my mind, only a handful of my favorite fantasy artists could have done this justice: Brom, Charles Vess, Michael Kaluta, or P Craig Russell. Kyle's art was a perfect fit; and I'm not just saying that b/c I'm a Downer fan.

Hey Paizo..

Just to be clear.. I am not asking for a PDF of the cards.

:)

It wasn't this thread, but I swear somewhere I read that there was going to be a PDF with the contents of the tiny rule book that comes with the Harrow Deck... Sort of an easier to read document.

Is that going to happen?

To be honest, I took my little rule book out of my box of cards to read it without having the cards out... and I misplaced it. Now I'm I'm tearing my stuff up looking for it.

If there isn't one to be publicly available, is there any chance someone could send me a Word Document (PDF) so that I'll still have them?

Thanks!

Funny story, that. I made my social rogue with a touch of con artistry and Profession (fortune-telling) a couple of days before you released the Harrow. I was just gonna read tarot and keep it in downtime but this is funnier. I've been annoying my DM by randomly reading the cards in-game since day 3 of RotRL.

Good times.

I just got mine in yesterday's mail. It's pretty cool. I like the gambling game, too. I'll be using it for a pirate gambling den in my homebrew setting.

Hey Paizo..

Just to be clear.. I am not asking for a PDF of the cards.

:)

It wasn't this thread, but I swear somewhere I read that there was going to be a PDF with the contents of the tiny rule book that comes with the Harrow Deck... Sort of an easier to read document.

Is that going to happen?

To be honest, I took my little rule book out of my box of cards to read it without having the cards out... and I misplaced it. Now I'm I'm tearing my stuff up looking for it.

If there isn't one to be publicly available, is there any chance someone could send me a Word Document (PDF) so that I'll still have them?

Thanks!

Bump!

I'm not intending to be impatient, but I want to keep this towards the top so that it doesn't accidentally get skimmed over by the staffers. Especially since they seem to be posting right now.

Hey Paizo..

Just to be clear.. I am not asking for a PDF of the cards.

:)

It wasn't this thread, but I swear somewhere I read that there was going to be a PDF with the contents of the tiny rule book that comes with the Harrow Deck... Sort of an easier to read document.

Is that going to happen?

To be honest, I took my little rule book out of my box of cards to read it without having the cards out... and I misplaced it. Now I'm I'm tearing my stuff up looking for it.

If there isn't one to be publicly available, is there any chance someone could send me a Word Document (PDF) so that I'll still have them?

Thanks!

I'm not sure if there's a plan to produce a PDF of the rules booklet. In fact, I'm pretty sure that at this point there are no plans. You might wanna drop a line over with the customer service folk though, to see if they can help.

In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about PDFs of ther rulebook at this end. Worst case scenario, I'll see if I can't get a copy of the rules to you somehow...

Thanks James! I got an e-mail off to Customer Service!

While it won't help you play Towers, while you're waiting, you can use the rules in Pathfinder #7 if you've got it. I think they're identical to the booklet.

While it won't help you play Towers, while you're waiting, you can use the rules in Pathfinder #7 if you've got it. I think they're identical to the booklet.

I appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think they are identical. For example, there's a third level spell that in the booklet that works through the Harrow that is not in the article.

I'm thinking the article is more of a resource for getting by if you don't own the Deck (or at least just a supplement).

I do appreciate the help though!

Customer Service took care of me! Paizo for the win!

Can someone post a review of the actual game play (the card game, not the fortune telling feature)?

Any chance we could get a .pdf of the rules, Paizo folks?

Thanks,
Galen

The Harrow deck arrived today, along some more Paizo goodies (CotCT Player's Guide, Pathfinder 7, Guide to Korvosa - the perfect AP starting package!).

It's a thing of beauty. Mr. Hunter has really outdone himself, and some cards hold adventure sparkling potential just in themselves. Great choice of card thickness too.

An oustanding prop, and excellent integration into the AP.

I got mine the other day, and it really is a thing of beauty.

I'm currently running Rise of the Runelords, and would like to somehow work it into that AP (probably via the old Varisian woman who makes her home in Sandpoint - can't remember her name at the moment...).

Has anyone come up with suggestions for which ability applies to each adventure in Rise of the Runelords (similiar to those in the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP)?

Last night my wife and I played Towers for the first time. It was a blast! The game design was very well constructed, and the fact that this was not the primary reason for the deck just adds to my pleasure.

Kudos!

Yah. My wife doesn't play d&d but is good at card games. She got Towers right away and beat me several times. It's a pretty fun game.

Last night my wife and I played Towers for the first time. It was a blast! The game design was very well constructed, and the fact that this was not the primary reason for the deck just adds to my pleasure.

Sometimes the best ideas come from what you don't have available to you as a game designer. When I came up with the principles for the Harrow deck (six symbols, nine positions), we were left without numbers, letters, or indexes in the upper left corner. This challenged us to come up with a very different kind of gambling game. Jason wandered by my desk and said, "What if it was about overlaying the cards in one of the outer positions?" And from there we just went. In a lot of ways, it was a lot easier to come up with the first gambling game for this format than the 10,000th for a Bicycle deck.

Mike

I just got my Harrow Deck. I like the art on the cards, but I do have one itty bitty complaint:

The art on the backs of the cards. I had honestly been hoping for cards that looked like the ones pictured in "Edge of Anarchy.". That simple pattern wasn't flashy or crazy, but it looked like the kind of deck of cards a fortune teller would have.

I'm still happy with the deck, but I think it's going to take away from the full effect when I lay the cards face down on the table before the PCs and dramatically tell them to choose their fates - and they have nine cartoon fortune teller ladies staring up at them, each highlighted with the word "HARROW" to drive the point home.

Was the idea of a more subdued backing to the cards brought up in the design process, I wonder? I for one would've been much happier with a design that looked authentic on both sides. Just my two cents.

I just bought my deck on a convention (These cards are rather hard to come by here in germany). While I'm overall impressed I found (unfortunately to late) that one card (neutral evil constitution) was missing from the deck - since the cards were still sealed and I bought from a large shop I figure It must have been missing since the cards were packed. I just wanted to ask if anyone else had a problem like this or if I am the only lucky guy...

I found (unfortunately too late) that one card (neutral evil constitution) was missing from the deck

Fey,

I apologize for the mis-packed deck! I'm sending you an email about how we can get you a complete deck.

thanks,
cos

Thank you!

The booklet for the Harrow Deck states that we can download additional Harrowing Chronicles on the website. What is the link to download these.

Thanks.

The booklet for the Harrow Deck states that we can download additional Harrowing Chronicles on the website. What is the link to download these.

Thanks.

The link is in the Harrow product listing above, but here it is for your convenience.

Thanks Vic... As always much appreicated.

I'vr had the deck for a number of weeks, and finally used it for the first time yesterday, in my own game. I was a bit nervous about using this and making up a sensible reading.

But it worked really well!

We've been playing this campaign for almost 2 years, so had lots to draw on from the past, and was easy to suggest he has knowledge and true divination powers. The current reading was fine, with a means to suggest one of the RBDM encounters is not best resolved with steel, and the future! Wow. I've foreshadowed some of the hidden aspects of things as well as painted a picture the future holds real danger to them and the nation as a whole, and another hint about a RBDM encounter.

Players loved the art, and I'm excited to see how they look back at the reading once this "module" is completed!

Vic has been using the Harrow deck in our newly started Rise of the Runelords campaign. He is playing a Varisian sorceress with an emphasis on harrowing. So far, every time he pulls a card for a reading, it has been eerily prescient! Even Vic has been a little freaked by how accurate the deck has been. Makes for a nice plot device and I look forward to riffing off of Vic's readings as we go forward.

Btw, one of the reasons why Vic is able to make some great readings is because he did the editing on all of the adventures. So he is using his bit of knowledge to make the readings very useful, yet not give plot elements away. So far, so very good. :)

-Lisa

Btw, one of the reasons why Vic is able to make some great readings is because he did the editing on all of the adventures.

In the "credit where credit is due" category, Paizo has many fine editors; I merely *proofread* most (but not all) of the adventures.

If these ever get reprinted, I'm hoping the backs will be changed from the ludicrous current ones to a generic usable back.

I hate the deck as it currently is because of the card backs and wish I had my $16 dollars back.

Lisa Stevens wrote:

Btw, one of the reasons why Vic is able to make some great readings is because he did the editing on all of the adventures.

In the "credit where credit is due" category, Paizo has many fine editors; I merely *proofread* most (but not all) of the adventures.

Proofreading is a vital, time-consuming and absolutely necessary task! And I'm not just saying that because I used to work with a small army of professional proofreaders with well-worn No.2 pencils and red pens. I've seen proofreaders take high-falutin academic and managing editors to task over missed or mis-used style points (or god-forbid statistics) and come out the better for it. It takes smarts, memory and (sometimes) balls of steel.

and now that i've buttered youse guys up, I'd like to repeat Watchers plea for rules for towers, as I've got my Harrow deck in pristine condition, but can't find the rule to save my life.

Also, is there a good place to propose new games/rules using the Harrow Deck as a basis? I'm thinking of a variant on "Palace" aka Karma, China hand, or "something really not repeatable on the boards", all of which are based off of Paskahousu.

Finally, the deck art is completely awesome and worth every shiny penny.

If these ever get reprinted, I'm hoping the backs will be changed from the ludicrous current ones to a generic usable back.

I hate the deck as it currently is because of the card backs and wish I had my $16 dollars back.

Have you tried putting them in those plastic sleeves favored by CCG buffs, with a thin piece of generic card or paper to mask the card back? I put my cards in these things anyways, to avoid fingerprints (and I'm a horrible shuffler, prone to bending the heck out of cards.)

It's been awhile since I posted on these boards. It's also been awhile since I looked at the Harrow deck. So, given that, I took a look at it to see if my initial thoughts on the product have changed. I think I can still say that I love the concept of the product. I can't say the same for the execution of the product. The card art still does nothing for me. I know a lot of people praise it, say it reminds them of stained glass, and think it is wonderful. I look at it and think that it looks like poorly drawn coloring book art. It's just not a style I appreciate. The backs of the cards aren't that hot either. One would hope for something more like the card being held in the illustration on the box. After all, the character on the box is supposedly using the deck that is inside.

It's a shame that the concept didn't work out in production. For me, at least, it was a wise pass on purchasing. If the art and card backs were changed, maybe I would get it. But, that practically means making a completely new product. Not something I expect any time soon.

Stephen Miller
Ancient Gamer and Curmudgeon

Is there any plans to incorporate this into other modules or AP's?

Is there any plans to incorporate this into other modules or AP's?

Well, there is the Harrower PrC in the Campaign Setting hardcover . . .

You may now download a free PDF of the rulebook. You'll find it under a new "Downloads" section in the product description above.

Is there any plans to incorporate this into other modules or AP's?

Pathfinder 12 introduces the Harrow Deck of Many Things. Looks to be even more crazy than the core D&D Deck.

SJMiller wrote:

The art really is not suitable for a fantasy game...

Thats exactly how i feel about the art on the cards also. I really do admire Kyle's style, and think the art on Downer is pretty outstanding, but i just dont think its appropriate to a DnD prop intended to be used in game.

I personally think the deck would have been better served with an artistic style similar to the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot cards.

Actually, I was just looking at the box art and even though I think it's cheesy to put that image on the back of every card, the picture itself brought a smile to my face.

The whole image is a re-imagining of The Magician from the Rider-Waite deck. Dagger = Swords, Tankard = Cups, Candle = Rods, Coins = Coins. The table is analagous to the magician's, the gypsy is holding her hands and pointing her fingers in the same way, and she's even wearing a red stole that mimicks the magician's red robe. There's even a ghostly floral motif in the background art that alludes to the roses and lilies that grow around the magician's table.

While there's no black cat on the face of my Rider-Waite cards, just as the male magician has been swapped for a female gypsy, I think it's a cool tongue-in-cheek reference to put a white mouse in the scene on the Harrow deck. Such artistic license calls to mind the other influences that are often associated with the notion of a mystic. For an artist to take such a liberty shows that they have a pretty solid understanding of what tools like the Tarot are really all about.

Heck, even the name of the deck, "Harrow", calls the Tarot to mind. I'm impressed (now please just keep that image off the back of every card in the next printing)! :P

If these ever get reprinted, I'm hoping the backs will be changed from the ludicrous current ones to a generic usable back.

I hate the deck as it currently is because of the card backs and wish I had my $16 dollars back.

Yeah, I just got them and I was really disappointed that they had the logo and drawing on the back of each one. I was looking forward to a kind of prop to use in game... instead of playing MTG. I was looking forward to a richly designed geometric and cool back that I could use with people who were non-gamers.

I love KH's drawings and I think that they are appropriate... but the backs!

C'mon!

Jhulae wrote:

If these ever get reprinted, I'm hoping the backs will be changed from the ludicrous current ones to a generic usable back.

I hate the deck as it currently is because of the card backs and wish I had my $16 dollars back.

Have you tried putting them in those plastic sleeves favored by CCG buffs, with a thin piece of generic card or paper to mask the card back? I put my cards in these things anyways, to avoid fingerprints (and I'm a horrible shuffler, prone to bending the heck out of cards.)

I think that dog eared Tarot cards are more scary... I would like them to look worn.

Change the backs. I'll buy another set.

Change the backs. I'll buy another set.

Actually, count me in on that too.

My one regret is that the deck isn't those big reinforced cards.

*hugs his tarokka deck tightly*

What's the size of the cards ?

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What's the size of the cards ?

They are the size of a standard card like the magic the gathering, the ultra pro sleeves fit the card.

selios wrote:

What's the size of the cards ?

They are the size of a standard card like the magic the gathering, the ultra pro sleeves fit the card.

"Poker-sized" is the official term (as opposed to Bridge-sized or custom-sized).

I had great misgivings about the Harrow Deck, but then I got to use them as a player and really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the info.

I got my Harrow Deck in an order a couple of weeks ago (thanks Paizo!) but I only just got around to opening the cards yesterday.

Wow. Love them. The art (front and back) is fantastic and evocative. I’ve played around doing some sample readings and with the Towers game and it all looks very cool.

One minor complaint / question; all the cards have an over-slick, slightly greasy feel / texture to them. They actually seem to have some kind of really thin oily film on them. It lets the cards slide over each other really easily when shuffling the deck, but I think it actually makes them a bit too slick, they tend to spill out of your hands when holding or shuffling the deck.

Is this slickness an intentional design feature or a flaw? Did anyone else find this with their cards?

I got my Harrow Deck in an order a couple of weeks ago (thanks Paizo!) but I only just got around to opening the cards yesterday.

Wow. Love them. The art (front and back) is fantastic and evocative. I’ve played around doing some sample readings and with the Towers game and it all looks very cool.

One minor complaint / question; all the cards have an over-slick, slightly greasy feel / texture to them. They actually seem to have some kind of really thin oily film on them. It lets the cards slide over each other really easily when shuffling the deck, but I think it actually makes them a bit too slick, they tend to spill out of your hands when holding or shuffling the deck.

Is this slickness an intentional design feature or a flaw? Did anyone else find this with their cards?

No one's found this with their cards?

Mothman wrote:

I got my Harrow Deck in an order a couple of weeks ago (thanks Paizo!) but I only just got around to opening the cards yesterday.

Wow. Love them. The art (front and back) is fantastic and evocative. I’ve played around doing some sample readings and with the Towers game and it all looks very cool.

One minor complaint / question; all the cards have an over-slick, slightly greasy feel / texture to them. They actually seem to have some kind of really thin oily film on them. It lets the cards slide over each other really easily when shuffling the deck, but I think it actually makes them a bit too slick, they tend to spill out of your hands when holding or shuffling the deck.

Is this slickness an intentional design feature or a flaw? Did anyone else find this with their cards?

No one's found this with their cards?

Slippery or slick, yes, like a new deck, but not greasy-ish ...

Yeah, it definitely felt different (to me) to that slick new deck feel. And there was certainly some sort of residue; after handling the deck, my hands felt like they do after I’ve just eaten a packet of crisps or something, slightly oily.

I got mine from the local game store just a few days ago.

I had my misgivings, as Downer wasn't a big favorite of mine, but I have to say the cards are great!

They have the look of hand-painted cards, and lots of little details you can use to alter "readings" to suit your fancy.

Evocative and imaginative, IMHO.

Part of the fun is in what the cards CAN mean, beyond the short descriptions in the booklet. A GM can really play with it.

I'm writing some fiction using a harrower now, and the cards really add to the story.

A+!

My cards felt like a typical new deck. Nothing too greasy, here.