| Zachary W Anderson |
So after killing another character (I've started getting a reputation as a killer DM... even though I haven't had any TPKs yet!), I decided to try to cobble together a system that uses the Harrow Deck to create characters.
Shuffle the deck (or, if you want the personalization, have them shuffle it). If you want there to be a general role or theme for the character, or any other background decisions like nationality or race, discuss that with your player now; it will affect how the following questions are answered.
Lay 9 cards out in a 3x3 grid.
Tell the player to ask a question. Directing the in the order of such (there is a certain cadence for past-to-future) gives a more focused narrative, but it could be in any order. Also, you might want to align the cards so you can read them and reveal them for the player, or align them so they reveal themselves to the player.
The cards in the leftmost column are past, the cards in the center column are the present, and cards in the right column are the future. The top row is good, external circumstances, and/or community, the middle row is personal and immediate, and the bottom row is evil, internal, and/or spiritual. If the player is having problems thinking of questions, use these as guidelines.
Decide which position best represents the player’s question, reveal the card in that position, and answer it as per the Harrow interpretation. Cards with a concordance (card position with the same row or column as the icon on the card) should be read as more significant, and cards with major concordance (same row and column; e.g. in icon in the center of the card in the center of the reading) should be a defining characteristic for the character. Similarly, cards with a discordance (icon position in the card in the opposite column or row as the card’s position in the reading) should be read as the “inverted” definition given in the Harrow interpretation, and a major discordance (both opposite row and column) would also represent a paradigm shift for the character (e.g. a soldier facing death on the field for the first time).
It is worth mentioning that because “opposite” only applies to top vs. bottom and left vs. right, there will be fewer discordances than concordances. Also, major discordances can only happen at the corners.
Cards with both a concordance and a discordance (e.g. icon top right, card bottom right) should also show up as “quirks” for the character: A favorite game, allergy, an appreciation for fine weaving, and so on.
Next, instruct the player ask another question to help clarify this place on the reading, draw a card, and lay it across the first. The same rules as above about the significance of the card’s position and the potency of the answer apply.
Repeat this process for the next eight positions on the board, and you have a character history! Next up, stats:
Find all of the “strength” cards. For each concordance, they get +2 (and hence +4 for a major concordance). For each discordance, they get -2 (and hence -4 for a major concordance, and +/- 0 for a concordant discordance). For each “strength” card that is neither concordant nor discordant, they get +1. Add these results together, and add 10. This is the character’s strength score. Repeat for each other ability score.
It is unlikely but still possible to get characters with scores above 18 or well below average. If that happens, you’ll need to take some time to balance numbers at this point:
- For the most common possibility, one or more scores above 18 and others below 8, subtract a few from the high number and add the same amount to the low number until all scores are within a reasonable range.
- If some scores are above 18 and all scores are above 12, subtract one from every score until all of them are below 19.
o This is where you get to add a balancing factor: If, in your opinion, the character’s stats are still beyond exceptional (e.g. nothing below 15), I think it would be fun to give them a curse or three. The simplest would be to grab a flaws out of Unearthed Arcana, but creative GMs can find all kinds of interesting ways to challenge this person. The best option would be to find a way to tie them into the major discordances from the reading. Or one could let them go up to 20, but at that point they’re a reborn Azlanti and Aboleths, Tar-Baphon, and every other big bad on the planet is looking for them…
- If all scores are below 12, add one to every score until at least one score is a 12.
o Again with the balancing factor: To represent the fact that this character has some kind of heroic destiny, you could let them have an additional +2 to a score, or a free special ability like Evasion or a luck reroll once per day or automatic stabilization or a spare feat, or more creative ideas. Again, whatever it is, it would best be represented by one of the major concordances. If you’re an older-school GM who says heroes are made, not born, you could also run with a below-average character; since it is entirely possible that they become heroes simply by surviving the odds. But the corollary there is that the odds are not in their favor.
You can also count concordances and discordances to determine alignment, or just whichever position shows up the most often, or let them choose. Similarly, I think most players tend to play their own gender, but if they want it to be randomly determined you can either assign stats to gender and use whichever comes up the most, or if you want a slight male bias decide the four polar alignments (CE, CG, LE, LG) as well as true neutral represent male while the other four (CN, LN, NE, NG) represent female. Or you could just flip a coin. Tweak for your campaign, YMMV, caveat emptor, I am not a professional dungeon master but I play one on TV, this is not intended as legal advice and may not be used to diagnose or treat any medical conditions and all that jazz.
| Liz Courts Contributor |
I did something similar to this in Wayfinder #5. I like your take on it!
Also, moving thread.
| Zachary W Anderson |
Here’s an example! This reading happens to go LG-LN-LE-NG-NN-NE-CG-CN-CE.
What was the character’s family like? “The Teamster” They’re ambitious, always trying to outdo everyone (including each other) and enough is never enough. (NN 1, Con 11)
How were most of them occupied? “The Locksmith”, a minor concordance. The most obvious way to read it is literally, but that’s not as exciting an answer, and doesn’t sound like something at which they could challenge each other as read in the previous answer. A family of “acquisition specialists” (legal and otherwise) is much more interesting. (LN 2, NN 1, Dex 12, Con 11)
Where was the character raised? “The Carnival”, a concordant discordance. The family’s lifestyle necessitated a number of false fronts and continual movement, so they lived on the road. As a quirk, the character is always itching to leave; gets edgy when in the same town for too long, might sleep wearing armor. (no change)
How did the character feel about this lifestyle? “The Waxworks”, a minor discordance. While the character felt trapped in the cycle of falsehood, the same things learned gave the character the tools to break away and forge a new life. (LN 2, NN 1, CE -2, Dex 12, Con 9)
How did the character end up leaving the family? “The Fiend”, a major concordance. After a number of jobs that weighed too heavily on the conscience (false plague cures, stealing money from a farm that later comes to ruin), the character came to blows with a cousin and left for a nearby tavern. Soon after, a troop of Hellknights found the family. Some escaped, some were imprisoned, and most were killed. (LN 2, LE 4, NN 1, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 12, Con 9)
How did the character deal with this event? “The Idiot”, a minor concordance. Overwrought with guilt, the character tried to free the imprisoned family. They only managed to succeed in rescuing the aforementioned cousin, who is disgusted with the character. (LN 2, LE 4, NN 1, NE 2, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 12, Con 9, Int 12)
What blessings have helped the character survive? “The Joke”, a minor concordance. In a blatant rejection of the family’s teachings, the character has found success in using the old skills to randomly help people, and trusting them to help as well. (LN 2, LE 4, NN 1, NE 2, CG 2, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 12, Con 9, Int 14)
How does the character relate to other people now? “The Eclipse”, a minor discordance. As above, the character trusts unseen circumstances to make things work. (LN 2, LE 4, NN 1, NE 2, CG 2, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 12, Con 9, Int 14, Wis 8)
How does the character make a living? “The Survivor”, a minor concordance. Since the familial tragedy has made the character wary of large cities, the character lives on the edges of civilized land, aiding travelers or villagers. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE 2, CG 2, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 8)
Right, but how? “The Rabbit Prince”, a minor concordance. Fighting and hunting. Probably one of them rangers. Dangerous folk. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE 2, CG 2, CN 2, CE -2, Str 14, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 8)
What problems does the character face? “The Snakebite”, a minor concordance. While the character thinks the world at large is ready to help, individuals are dangerous and not to be trusted, especially not the former family. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE 2, CG 2, CN 2, CE 0, Str 14, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 8)
How does the character choose to address these problems? “The Cricket”, a concordant discordance. The character doesn’t address them directly, but by continuing to move and trust in luck the character expects to find a safe place with safe people. The character’s quirk is to always greet people by shaking the forearm to check for daggers, and (assuming this person joins a party) continually testing allies for trustworthiness. (no change)
Where can the character find a community to trust? “The Mute Hag”, a minor discordance. The lack of trust is entirely within the character, and loyalty is found in action. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE 0, CG 2, CN 2, CE 0, Str 14, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 6)
How can the character inspire loyalty? “The Beating”, a minor discordance. By showing resolve in trying circumstances. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE -2, CG 2, CN 2, CE 0, Str 12, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 6)
What else could happen for the character? “The Midwife” The character has the chance to start a new family. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 1, NE -2, CG 2, CN 3, CE 0, Str 12, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 7)
How could such a vagabond character possibly find a mate? “The Owl”, a minor concordance. Pragmatically, the wide-ranging travels makes it easy to find people, although harder to find ones who can also travel. That’s the common thread. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 3, NE -2, CG 2, CN 3, CE 0, Str 12, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 9)
What is the character’s doom? “The Rakshasa”, a concordant discordance. While the character does well under fire, planning long-term goals and having “a regular life” is problematic. The character is constantly amazed by what “normal people” do, and how they know what they’re doing with their lives. (no change)
How can the character develop through this trait? “The Mountain Man”, a minor concordance. Since there will always be dangers of some kind to face, the character has to accept the separation from society, and instead reframe goals and events in such a way that they fit into the character’s “what do I have to do next?” tunnel vision. (LN 2, LE 4, NG 2, NN 3, NE -2, CG 2, CN 5, CE 0, Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 9)
And the roundup: A chaotic neutral character makes all kinds of sense with the family upbringing and sense of individualism, although there’s room to grow, and you’ll want to tilt this towards good if you have problem players. The stats aren’t amazing, but they’re definitely respectable; I said ranger earlier, but you could also go “Wilderness Rogue” given the good intelligence, or multiclass ranger/rogue. I went back and forth seeing a male and female character in these, but it was almost always human in my mind. Thinking back over it, a gnome would also work.
| Zachary W Anderson |
And finally, the math.
For the four poles we have:
Major Concordance +4 (1/9 chance), minor concordance +2 (2/9), concordant discordance +0 (2/9), neutral +1 (1/9), minor discordance -2 (2/9), major discordance -4 (1/9)
Total +1/9, times four.
For the four demi-neutrals we have:
Major concordance +4 (1/9), minor concordance +2 (3/9), concordant discordance +0 (1/9), neutral +1 (2/9), minor discordance -2 (2/9)
Total +8/9, times four.
And for the one filled with a heart of pure neutral, we have:
Major concordance +4 (1/9), minor concordance +2 (4/9), neutral +1 (4/9)
Total +16/9
Nine cards should give 52/9 (5 and 7/9ths), and eighteen gives 104/9 (11 and 5/9ths). Divided six ways, you end up with just a fraction beneath two added per ability score. A character with scores of all 12, while not remarkably heroic, is still exceptional in being a little good at everything, so I decided that a base line of 10 would be a good place to start.