I see that the cards can be purchased but how, in game terms, are they used? Are they simply a prop for Divination or is there a separate skill/spell use?
Do you mean the Harrow Deck? Or something else ?
You can use them if you have the "Harrowed" feat, but if you don't have them you can roll dice.
You can use them if you take the "Harrower" prestige class, but if you don't have them you can roll dice.
You can use them when you cast the "Harrowing" spell, but if you don't have them you can roll dice.
EDIT:linkification
There are adventures that use these cards (optional) with some extra rules. As example in the adventure 'The Harrowing' the players can draw cards and in corresponding situations they get some hidden buffs.
hmm, they dont seem to pop up in the PRD? Where in the books are they covered?
As already stated, actualy owning the Harrow deck is not necessary to the mechanics of using the feat, spell or class that utilizes them - all can be done with dice. However, I think your character needs to own a deck to use them. Obviously, that can be done with backstory, or coordinating with your GM to have an in-session find/purchase/gift made for your character to gain the deck.
The deck is a nice prop to have, if you like props. I found a deck at my local gaming shop, and picked it up. My group is going through the Carrion Crown AP and my witch is getting ready to take both the feat and the spell, so I'm looking forward to using the deck in game soon. The feat allows the character to draw a card and gain a one time daily bonus to a roll based on the stat the card represents. I think having the card in front of me with my character sheet will help me remember to use the bonus, rather than just making a note somewhere.
I purchased a scratch-n-dent Harrow Deck, but only the packaging was damaged. The cards themselves were fine.
My character is a Varisian Bard who has done a couple "between sessions" readings, spoiler-tagged here if anyone cares to see them.
A: The Choosing
1) Choose the question
What door should Vindath choose for his acceptance trial ? (the door choices are past, present or future)
2) Choose the controlling ability for the question
We chose intelligence
3) Have the subject randomly choose one of the cards from the corresponding suit
Vindath chose "The Wanderer"
The Wanderer (neutral good, Intelligence) is a collector. This centaur appreciates that which others regard as junk or trash. The Wanderer appears to those clever enough to find the true worth in something others ignore or treat as worthless. Misaligned, The Wanderer signifies a loss of values, or the inability to see what is truly valuable in a person or situation.
B: The Spread
Past Present Future
Lawful Neutral Chaotic
Good The Beating The Tyrant The Liar
LG - NE NG - LE CG - CE
Misaligned Misaligned Misaligned
Partial Match
Neutral The Dance The Crows The Cyclone
LN - LG NN - NE CN - CE
Partial Match Partial Match Partial Match
Evil The Winged Serpent The Queen Mother The Brass Dwarf
LE - LG NE - LN CE - LN
Partial Match
Misaligned
There are no True Matches and no Opposite Matches, so we fall back to partial matches. Being misaligned (Evils vs Good) changes the meaning of the card but does not increase or decrease the significance.
I note that the top row consists of nothing but misaligned cards, evil cards that should be interpreted in the best way, but only the future column is also a partial match.
Reading the Past column:
Two partial matches. The Dance suggests that Vindath would have to stay in perfect step if he chooses the past, but the misaligned Winged Serpent suggests that he will miss seizing the moment or will do so ill-advisedly.
Reading the Present column:
Only one partial match. The Crows suggest that a dangerous group will attempt to take something from Vindath by force (and likely succeed).
Reading the Future column:
Two partial matches. The Liar is misaligned, suggesting a new relationship beginning. The Cyclone suggests some sort of irresistable force, not natural, but from the plot of intelligent beings.
Lumi (my bard character) would advise Vindath to select either the present or the future. The present has a dangerous group, while the future may contain an ally (if that's what the new relationship is) but also contains an irrestable force.
1) Question: Should I encourage Tanis and Laurana as a couple ?
2) What ability best suits the question ? Charisma
3) Of the nine cards of that suit, pick one (for each questioner)
The Liar (chaotic evil, Charisma) is love at its most treacherous. This is not the love that moves mountains, this is the love that
rips the heart in two and causes lovers to leap to their deaths. This lamia can mean obsession, unrequited passion, or doomed love.
Misaligned, the card can indicate a new relationship beginning, although disguised as something much less beautiful.
[Lumi's interpretation: Be extra careful not to fall for Tanis herself, nor to provoke jealosy in Laurana.]
4) Reshuffle and perform a spread.
Past (lawful) : Present (neutral) : Future (chaotic)
good Demon's Lantern (CE:Dex) : The Teamster (N:Con) : The Tangled Briar (LE:Con)
opposite match , misaligned partial match opposite match, misaligned
neutral The Dance (LG:Dex) : The Big Sky (CG:Str) : The Desert (CG:Con)
partial match no match partial match
evil The Empty Throne (LG:Cha) : The Cyclone (CE:Str) : The Marriage (LN:Cha)
partial match partial match partial match
5) Past shows a misaligned opposite match and two partials
Present shows only two partial matches
Future shows a misaligned opposite match and two partials, in the same pattern as the past
[Lumi's interpretation: the present doesn't matter much to the question, but the past and the future carry equal weight]
Past
The Demon’s Lantern (chaotic evil, Dexterity) is the card of traps and tricks, sleight of hand and sleight of mind. These will-o’-
wisps and the man who sought their light represent an impossible or intractable situation. Misaligned, it represents an opportunity
or a guide arriving at a perfect moment to show the way.
[Lumi's interpretation: An opportunity presented itself at just the right time and Laurana took it. Perhaps Lumi can be a guide ?]
The Dance (lawful good, Dexterity) is a rich and delicate framework that, like the universe itself, requires everyone within
it to abide by its rules, lest the entire construct collapse. It advises staying in perfect step, knowing your place in the greater good.
Those who step out of the pattern do so at their peril
[Lumi's interpretation: Both Tanis and Laurana felt constrained by the elven social rules and abided by them, wich was the right thing to do at the time.]
The Empty Throne (lawful good, Charisma) has a sense of loss that is palpable. The ghost signifies that those who are gone will
always be with us. They taught us important lessons, if only we choose to listen. This card can bring information from a far-off or
ancient source.
[Lumi's interpretation: This has something to do with Tanis's relationship with his lost mother, but Lumi feels she doesn't have the necessary information to interpret this any better.]
Present: The war (Cyclone) is driving us (Teamster) to this task of freeing people (Big Sky)
[Lumi's interpretation: Duh ! How is this important to the question ? It isn't, really]
Future
The Tangled Briar (lawful evil, Constitution) is a card of ancient deeds. It indicates an object or person from long ago
that will somehow have great influence on the situation. The object or person in question is one lost or murdered in some
foul way. Misaligned, the thorny past brings not just pain, but hope for the future.
[Lumi's interpretation: Is this the sword recovered from the elven king ? If so, it is right that Tanis is wielding it. Are there any unions of an elf and half-elf in old elven stories that apply ?]
The Desert (chaotic good, Constitution) is an environment so bleak that none can survive it without aid. For those who find
that aid, the journey across the wastes can lead to great things. Misaligned, it implies the subject cannot rely on the help of others
and will assuredly be lost. The sphinx on this card can refer to a mystic or doctor bringing salvation in times of plague or illness.
[Lumi's interpretation: Tanis and Laurana need each other's support. Perhaps this journey is ment to lead to great things for them if they support each other.]
The Marriage (lawful neutral, Charisma) can be a union of people, ideas, kingdoms, or other distinct things. The progeny of
the salamander and water weird shows that a union might bring forth new power from both parties, or it might be a ruinous joining
of that which should never have been united. Once wedded, the two cannot be parted. This is the card of permanent change.
[Lumi's interpretation: Tanis and Laurana will be married, but it is not yet clear if that will be for good or ill.]
Overall conclusion: Lumi should encourage Tanis and Laurana, but carefully so that her efforts are not misconscrued.
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There's a really good fan-made reference HERE.
As well as describing how to perform the reading, the individual card meanings are described, in their alternate contexts (fully aligned, partially aligned, misaligned).
The only issue I have with the official rules is The Choosing: the part involving taking out the cards of one suit of the subject's choice, and having them pick one, to reflect the overarching theme.
I find this part ungainly, finding those specific nine cards, then having to shuffle them back into the deck afterward, with the possibility of having them not distributed evenly...
Then if more than one PC is wanting a reading, you have to do it again with another suit,...etc.
A better way to perform The Choosing would be to have a set of chits, dice, or extra cards, to dictate the morality and ethics of the theme (ie the Law/Chaos and Good/Evil card position), which can then be fit to the suit (Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Dex) picked by the subject.
Saves a lot of sorting and shuffling.
So, if the subject were to pick Dex as the important ability, the Harrower could roll D3 (2=N) and D3 (1=G), and the result would be the same as if the player were to have physically picked The Cricket.
I was just interested in having an NPC do readings for a fee. I dont have any real interest in the cards and actually using them for real, but it seemed fortune telling would be cool 'in game'. I thought there was a Feat or Spell or something somewhere I was missing.
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If you look at the bottom of that linked page, it describes the feat, the spell and the prestige class.
None of these require the physical cards; they're nice if you have them, but this aspect can be proxied by die rolls.
You don't need to do even this, if you don't want, just assume it's all part of a PC's day job, assume they earn a few gold whenever they could attract passing trade to their bunko booth.
The actual game mechanic elements of the feat/spell/PrC are to grant some minor floating boons (or sometimes a penalty) to various actions, which can shift around.
If you can handle the math in playing an Inquisitor, you should be able to handle having a good omen hanging over you.