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While I love the idea of somehow involving the harrow deck into the Carrion crown AP, I was kind of disappointed with how it was handled in the PG.
I have been thinking about a system where each card grants both a gift and a curse and those should be thematically appropriate for the card. Furthermore I was thinking that each card could have a one time effect if you spent the card, in which case both the curse and the gift would be gone. In addition each cards gift would be more powerful if it was aligned and the curse would be worse if the card was misaligned. Drawing a card should be completely optional and should only be done at the beginning of each AP installment.
Here is an example of what a card might look like:
The paladin:
Gift: As long as you have this card in your possession you can take the adverse affect that one other creature within 5 feet suffers, be it a failed saving throw, a negative condition (including death) or raw damage. You can spend this card as an immediate action to have any creature (including yourself) ignore the effects of one attack or failed save.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession you take a -1 penalty to AC and saving throws and will also be the first chosen if an effect calls for a random target. If the card is misaligned you suffer double the penalties. If the card is aligned you suffer no penalties from this card.
If we work together we might make a system including all 54 cards.
The Keep:
Gift: This card represents quiet, unshakable strength. As long as you have this card in your possession, you gain a +2 bonus on strength checks and a +1 insight bonus to AC as you stand firm under the mantle of The Keep. You may spend this card as an immediate action to automatically force a combat maneuver check used against you or any allies within 5 feet to fail.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession you find yourself falling into temptation. The bearer takes a -2 penalty on saving throws versus enchantment and mind-affecting effects. If aligned, this penalty is removed. If misaligned, the owner of The Keep may not share the use of any item they own that is over 50 gold pieces in value, and constantly has the sinking feeling that they are beset on all sides by an assailing force.
The Demon's Lantern:
Gift: As long as you have this card in your possession you automatically receive a perception check, using any and all modifiers normally used, to notice the following: the presence of illusory magic, the presence of a charmed or enchanted individual, and any and all traps, magical or non-magical. This check is granted when you approach the catalyst within 30 feet. A successful perception check reveals the presence of colorful floating lights, as well as a terrible dread that misfortune is approaching, but does not reveal any details about the perceived thing, including if the catalyst is a trap, enchantment or illusion, the spell level, if the trap is magical or nonmagical, or if the lights are attempting to draw them into a trap of their own (see below). This card may be spent as an immediate action to see the true path, automatically knowing how to bypass a trap without setting it off, making the will save to resist an illusion, or to know exactly who used enchantment magic on the person they are perceiving.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession, you are haunted by the glowing lights of the Demon's Lantern. While unable to directly attack the bearer of their card, the lights attempt to trick the bearer into danger when seen. For example, if the bearer perceives a trap, a pair of scythes in the walls of a hall, the lights may attempt to lead the bearer directly through the trap to the door at the far end. If misaligned, the lights gain the ability to use suggestion (DC15) once per day upon the bearer, limited to the command "follow the lights". If aligned, the lights do not attempt to trick the bearer to his death, knowing they have found an owner wicked enough to feed their unholy essence.
The Keep:
Gift: This card represents quiet, unshakable strength. As long as you have this card in your possession, you gain a +2 bonus on strength checks and a +1 insight bonus to AC as you stand firm under the mantle of The Keep. You may spend this card as an immediate action to automatically force a combat maneuver check used against you or any allies within 5 feet to fail.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession you find yourself falling into temptation. The bearer takes a -2 penalty on saving throws versus enchantment and mind-affecting effects. If aligned, this penalty is removed. If misaligned, the owner of The Keep may not share the use of any item they own that is over 50 gold pieces in value, and constantly has the sinking feeling that they are beset on all sides by an assailing force.
The Demon's Lantern:
Gift: As long as you have this card in your possession you automatically receive a perception check, using any and all modifiers normally used, to notice the following: the presence of illusory magic, the presence of a charmed or enchanted individual, and any and all traps, magical or non-magical. This check is granted when you approach the catalyst within 30 feet. A successful perception check reveals the presence of colorful floating lights, as well as a terrible dread that misfortune is approaching, but does not reveal any details about the perceived thing, including if the catalyst is a trap, enchantment or illusion, the spell level, if the trap is magical or nonmagical, or if the lights are attempting to draw them into a trap of their own (see below). This card may be spent as an immediate action to see the true path, automatically knowing how to bypass a trap without setting it off, making the will save to resist an illusion, or to know exactly who used enchantment magic on the person they are perceiving.
Curse: As long as you have this card in your possession, you are haunted by the glowing lights of the Demon's Lantern....
Great stuff :)
I want to encourage this thread to grow. I'll also suggest that we create a new "type" of bonus, the "harrow"-type, in order to make stacking rules clear.
Also, let's standardize: "gift, persistant" and "curses" are always "as long as you have this card in your possession", without needing to state it. Also, "gift, instant" is "as an immeadiate action, you may" without needing to state it.
My contribution:
Rabbit Prince: Represents the quirky vicissitudes of melee combat.
Gift, persistant: You gain a +2 harrow bonus on Initiative checks.
Gift, instant: Gain the ability to act in a surprise round that you would otherwise be ineligable to participate in.
Curse, general: You find yourself unable to grapple with all of the unexpected changes around you: take a -2 harrow penalty to your CMD.
Curse, misaligned: In addition to the above, you are always considered to be flat-footed with respect to anyone who has a higher initiative result than you (even after the first round of combat).
Curse, aligned: You take only a -1 harrow penalty to CMD.
I want to encourage this thread to grow. I'll also suggest that we create a new "type" of bonus, the "harrow"-type, in order to make stacking rules clear.
Also, let's standardize: "gift, persistant" and "curses" are always "as long as you have this card in your possession", without needing to state it. Also, "gift, instant" is "as an immeadiate action, you may" without needing to state it.
My contribution:
Rabbit Prince: Represents the quirky vicissitudes of melee combat.
Gift, persistant: You gain a +2 harrow bonus on Initiative checks.
Gift, instant: Gain the ability to act in a surprise round that you would otherwise be ineligable to participate in.Curse, general: You find yourself unable to grapple with all of the unexpected changes around you: take a -2 harrow penalty to your CMD.
Curse, misaligned: In addition to the above, you are always considered to be flat-footed with respect to anyone who has a higher initiative result than you (even after the first round of combat).
Curse, aligned: You take only a -1 harrow penalty to CMD.
Nice, I like it a lot.
The Wanderer: It represents a centaur collector who appreciates things others discard as junk.
Gift, persistant: Whenever you pick through a pile of garbage, comb the aftermath of a large battle, or find any other location with many of abandoned items, you are able to find any item listed in the Core Rulebook with a value less than 100gp. Such objects always have the Broken condition. Furthermore, you may ignore the effects of the Broken condition of any item (not merely ones found through this card).
Gift, instant: You are able to find an item costs up to 500gp per character level. It has the Broken condition, but you do not suffer penalties for using it. It can be repaired normally.
Curse, general: You lose the ability to see worthlessness for what it really is. You recieve a -5 harrow penalty to Appraise checks, Spellcraft checks to identify magic items, and any other skill check to determine the worth/identity of an item. On a natural 1, the GM should provide you with false information.
Curse, misaligned: The penalty increases to -10, and you are unable to determine if objects are Broken or not.
Curse, aligned: No penalty.
The Avalanche: It represents disaster: an unthinking panic and destruction that overruns all.
Gift, persistant: Whether by sword or by spell, you are a roving force of disaster. Whenever you produce an effect that allows for a saving throw, the target rolls twice and takes the worse result. You also gain a +4 harrow bonus to confirm critical threats.
Gift, instant: You can expend this card after failing a saving throw to bury everyone around you in the same disaster that has befallen you. Every valid target within a 30ft radius, centered on yourself, is targeted by the same effect that you just failed. (In the case area-of-effect spells, this could cause targets to be exposed to the same effect twice.) The secondary effect is considered to be cast by the harrow card itself for purposes of effects that relate to the caster (such as vampiric touch or charm person). In the event that creatures are charmed by the card, they simply become violently destructive, as appropriate to the level of the spell.
Curse, general: Whenever you make a saving throw, roll twice, taking the worse result.
Curse, misaligned: Whenever you make a saving throw, roll three times, taking the worst result of the set.
Curse, aligned: When you first recieve this card, chose one saving throw (Fort, Ref, or Will). That saving throw is immune to the effects of this card. The other two saves are treated as described above.
The Avalanche: It represents disaster: an unthinking panic and destruction that overruns all.
Gift, persistant: Whether by sword or by spell, you are a roving force of disaster. Whenever you produce an effect that allows for a saving throw, the target rolls twice and takes the worse result. You also gain a +4 harrow bonus to confirm critical threats.
Gift, instant: You can expend this card after failing a saving throw to bury everyone around you in the same disaster that has befallen you. Every valid target within a 30ft radius, centered on yourself, is targeted by the same effect that you just failed. (In the case area-of-effect spells, this could cause targets to be exposed to the same effect twice.) The secondary effect is considered to be cast by the harrow card itself for purposes of effects that relate to the caster (such as vampiric touch or charm person). In the event that creatures are charmed by the card, they simply become violently destructive, as appropriate to the level of the spell.Curse, general: Whenever you make a saving throw, roll twice, taking the worse result.Curse, misaligned: Whenever you make a saving throw, roll three times, taking the worst result of the set.
Curse, aligned: When you first receive this card, chose one saving throw (Fort, Ref, or Will). That saving throw is immune to the effects of this card. The other two saves are treated as described above.
Yeah, that one seemed a bit over the top. I was thinking that none of the harrow cards should have any obvious magical effects also. I would just give it a bonus to confirm checks (for both the harrowed character and against him) and an auto crit if the card was spent.
