Using Tarot for Character Creation
Many years ago, in a now essentially dead Neverwinter Nights Roleplay Server, my PC had his fortune read by a Vistani seer using a divination deck (essentially, the other player doing a 5 card draw from their deck). I instantly found the thought exercise so cool. Tarot had always been portrayed as delusional mysticism in a lot of media; however, experiencing it through my PC showed me how it can be used to tease out unformed, unconscious thoughts floating in my brain and distill them into a cohesive whole.
My wife floated the idea of using it to make a character or campaign prep.
I've tried this a few times. I did a single card draw originally and got the upright Hanged Man. The hanged man lead to my character: a burly former criminal enforcer turned gentle doctor after growing disillusioned with where he was going in life, but still struggling to fully shake off his old ways.
I recently stumbled on a this article by Allison Gunn. I have a new campaign coming up, and I really wanted to try something newer and more defined on the outset, so I decided to try it out.
The Draw
Core: Death, Reversed. Stagnation as a result of avoidance and denial. This poor bastard is going to be stuck on something.
Higher Self: Ace of Pentacles. So, the higher self represents them at their finest. Ace of Pentacles represents new opportunities, prosperity, and abundance. It also symbolizes optimism.
Base Self: King of Cups. Very interesting. King of Cups represents wisdom and calm. This is person is, at their core, aloof. Yet, they are aware and careful with the feelings of others.
Predominant Trait 1: The Lovers. This person is drawn to others and they deeply value the relationships they do have. I'm interested to see how that plays out with 'aloof'.
Predominant Trait 2: Strength. This person is a force to be reckoned with. I feel like this person is the type to move fast and break things. (I'm reading Careless People at the moment, so Zuckerburg is on my mind - but I promise they will not be evil!).
Pro of Trait 1: Page of Swords. This person is genuinely curious, and motivated to learn about people. Maybe they have some social science like leanings? At this point, I decide they are a scholar of some kind.
Con of Trait 1: Three of Cups. The downside of their attraction to people. I'll be honest, I'm blanking on what to do with this.
Pro of Trait 2: Knight of Wands. This person is passionate in their chosen pursuits. Nothing will frighten or dissuade them from their pursuits once they've set a mind to task. This person is shaping up to be quite stubborn. I feel like they're a wizard. Given their attraction to people, maybe they are from the School of Civic Wizardry.
Con of Trait 2: Page of Pentacles. This person hyper fixates, to the detriment of the rest of their life.
Conclusion
So, we have an individual who is optimistic, almost brazenly so. They get results. They are empathetic, and community oriented, but value their independence and space. Sometimes, their passions cause them to forget to be a person. This passion manifests as stubbornness in other areas of their life. I think the downside to their social nature is that they tend to go over the top to keep people in their life around, maybe even to the extent that they are a doormat. Yet, in their professional life, they are dedicated to the point of obsession. Early mornings, late nights, and lots of uneaten meals.
I think they refuse to grow or slow down out of fear they may fail at their life's work. Running themselves at an unsustainable pace is something that can be compartmentalized to be confronted when they're dead. That's the Death, Reversed, I think.
Thanks for reading - hope you liked it.