Tarokka

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The Tarokka is a variant Tarot Deck created by TSR for the Ravenloft setting of Dungeons & Dragons. And we mean that quite literally; not only is the Tarokka the in-universe version of a Tarot Deck, it's actually been printed as a real-world game prop in several different editions to make it easier for the Dungeon Master to actually perform tarokka readings at their table.

A similar item is the Dikesha, a set of fortune-telling dice originating from the Egypt-themed realm of Har'Akir.

Backstory

On the meta level, the Tarokka is basically just a result of TSR going "okay, the gypsy fortune-teller is a bit part of the Gothic air we're going for in Ravenloft, the Tarot is the card deck that was used in the real world for this purpose, so let's reinvent the wheel and make our own Tarot deck for Ravenloft!" In-universe, we don't actually know anything much about it, other than that the cards were, if not invented by the Vistani, at least brought into and/or spread across the Demiplane of Dread by them.

Using the Tarokka

For players and DMS unfamiliar with performing tarot readings, we'll refer to the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition mechanics from the Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide for 3.5.

The quick and easy way to perform a Tarokka reading is to use what's called The Basic Cross. To make this, draw five cards; place the first in the center and then the other four around it going clockwise, so that's left (2), above (3), right (4) and below). In order, these cards represent the Focus, the Past, the Present and the Outcome.

A more in-depth version is The Divergent Cross. Start by making a Basic Cross, as above. Then draw six more cards; the sixth through eighth are placed from left to right below card #5, and represent Beginnings, The Far Past and The Near Past, which collectively serve to indicate historical information. Then place the last three cards above card #1 from left to right; these indicate the three possible futures coming as a result of this reading, depending on what the players do to influence things (or don't do).

The Basic Cross is a lot easier for DMs to wing stuff, especially if you're actively drawing cards by chance and not stacking the deck; it makes it easier to bullshit your preferred explanation. The Divergent Cross is tougher, but it lets you provide a lot more clues and hooks to your players.

The Books of S also offer alternative uses for the Tarokka to play in-universe card games, similar to how our real-world card games ultimately evolved from the Tarot deck.

The Cards

The Tarokka is divided into two distinct decks; the Lesser Deck of Fate, which is made up of four "suites" of 10 cards apiece that correlates to "common" playing cards, and the Fortuna Magna; 14 individual cards of particularly powerful symbolism, the Tarokka's equivalent to the Tarot's Major Arcana. When performing a tarokka reading, many DMs will only use cards from the Fortuna Magna, as they have more generic meanings and thus it's easier to wrangle them into fitting your desired narrative - or to just make shit up with on the fly.

All Tarokka cards have a "standard" meaning, and a "reversed" meaning, which basically means if it gets placed into position upside down, then its usual symbolism is inverted at least in some way.

The Coins Suite

Associated with the Rat and the Element of Earth, cards from the Coins suite are symbols of the Rogue class and the common man in general. They are generally connected to base emotions such as greed, avarice, jealousy, gluttony and obsession, but may also symbolize generosity and charity.

Ace (1): The Swashbuckler

Standard: Good-hearted rogues, those who rob from the rich to give succor to the poor, one who seeks wealth to help others rather than for personal reasons.

Reversed: Envy or somebody controlled by avarice.

Imagery: A well-dressed female rogue drops a single coin into a beggar's bowl, clearly taken from the slashed pouch of the oblivious and greedy merchant beside her.

2: The Philanthropist

Standard: Unselfish devotion and love, acts of charity, giving, sacrifice.

Reversed: Opportunism, using gifts to cover personal goals, bribery, false friends.

Imagery: Two starving beggars, one a little girl and the other an old woman, huddle against a wall for shelter. The younger gives two coin-shaped pieces of bread to the elder, who hugs her.

3: The Trader

Standard: Commerce in all its forms, trade undertaken faithfully.

Reversed: Bad-faith dealing, treachery in business, bad bargains.

Imagery: A smiling merchant drops 3 coins into the hand of a Vistani in exchange for a tightly-tied sack.

4: The Merchant

Standard: Shady dealings, deceit, someone seeking profit at the expense of others, bad business trades.

Reversed: An unexpected find or an unseen bargain.

Imagery: Two shadowy figures in silhouette. One hands a bag with a hole in the bottom, from which four coins are falling, to the other, who is clutching a dagger behind his back.

5: The Guildsman

Standard: Cooperation for mutual profit, fraternity, partnership, in-group loyalty, a fair and just organization.

Reversed: Selfishness, neutrality, dishonesty and treachery to those outside the group.

Imagery: Five bards sing in chorus, arms linked. A hat with five coins in it lies at their feet.

6: The Beggar

Standard: Gaining wealth (literal or symbolic), unexpected rewards.

Reversed: Loss, possible ruin, great risk.

Imagery: Identical twins, one clad in a wealthy man's attire and the other in beggar's rags, face each other. The wealthy man is dropping six coins into the beggar's cup.

7: The Thief

Standard: Thievery, theft, something valuable will be stolen.

Reversed: An unexpected, important or long-sought gain, usually through unfortunate circumstances.

Imagery: A female thief kneels over a murdered noble, stripping him of his valuables. Seven coins glitter on bloodstained stone paving.

8: The Tax Collector

Standard: Corruption and deceit (especially amongst government or nobles), somebody wanting to be bribed.

Reversed: Somebody of power who is nonetheless trustworthy and just, even if their organization is corrupt.

Imagery: An ominous mounted figure, face hidden by shadow, clutches eight coins, clearly taken from the impoverished peasant woman cowering at his feet.

9: The Miser

Standard: A miser, a hedonist, somebody entirely self-centered, false or unusable wealth.

Reversed: A sudden fortune may be in the offering, an important goal will be achieved.

Imagery: An ugly old man sits amongst a mound of treasure, clad in rags and counting eight coins by candlelight. A rat watches, a ninth coin held in its paw.

10: Master of Coins: Master

Standard: Meeting a master of roguishness or the manipulation of wealth and receiving a positive reaction from them.

Reversed: Meeting such an individual who is apathetic or even outright hostile.

Imagery: A well-dressed woman, her face shadowed and a rat on her shoulder, sits at a table. Before her are a dagger, a silvery flute, and a bag spilling ten gold coins.

Note: This card is also symbolic of the Darklord Jacqueline Renier.

The Swords Suite

Associated with the Raven and the Element of Air, cards from the Swords suite are symbolically connected to the Fighter and its fellow warriors, as they represent violence, bloodshed, aggression, and storms both literal and metaphorical.

Ace (1): The Avenger

Standard: Righting wrongs, swift judgement, a sense of honor and justice, decisiveness.

Reversed: Foolish choices, a hopeless battle.

Imagery: A bloodstained warrior holds a visibly enchanted sword aloft in triumph, surrounded by the corpses of slain monsters.

2: The Paladin

Standard: Good triumphing over evil, the pursuit of good, justice.

Reversed: Treachery in the name of good deeds, hubris destroying a chance for victory.

Imagery: A noble, courageous warrior in full plate kneels before a banner adorned with a rose as an unseen figure taps their shoulder with the point of a sword, clearly knighting the,

3: The Soldier

Standard: An uncertain future, chance or fate will decide.

Reversed: A definite ending, hard work, a slow victory.

Imagery: A warrior, his expression uncertain, reaches for a rack containing three swords with differently colored scabbards; one white, one gray, one black.

4: The Mercenary

Standard: Someone who follows a professional code of conduct and sticks to it, endurance, stamina, strength in the face of physical adversity.

Reversed: Somebody who is altruistic but rigid in their beliefs, physical weakness or illness.

Imagery: Four warriors stand in a circle around an open chest filled with gold, drawn swords crossed over the chest and free hands on hearts as they take an oath.

5: The Myrmidon

Standard: The fickleness of fat, sudden or violent change, unlikely victory.

Reversed: Situations become static, change is difficult or impossible to implement.

Imagery: A beautiful young female Vistani wearing broken shackles stands before the mists, five figures emerging from the gloom, visible only by the glint of their swords. Whether they seek to aid or destroy her is impossible to tell.

6: The Berserker

Standard: Barbarity, brutality, beings driven by instinct or thoughtless of the consequence, therianthropes.

Reversed: Thoughtfulness, well-planned actions, unexpected or unlikely compassion

Imagery: A werewolf warrior triumphantly holds his sword aloft and bares his teeth, despite still being impaled with the swords of the five warriors slaughtered at his feet.

7: The Hooded Man

Standard: Deceit and evil actions caused by stupidity, bigotry, intolerance or xenophobia, temptations to (wrongful) violence, a suspected and feared stranger, outcast or outsider.

Reversed: Unlooked-for understanding or tolerance, an unexpected visit from an important or beloved person.

Imagery: A Caliban cowers within a cage of seven swords, menaced by an ominous hooded figure with skeletal hands leading an angry peasant mob.

8: The Dictator

Standard: Corruption amongst places of power, tyrants, despots, oppression, domination, acts of terror, an unjust leader or someone elevated to power through treachery.

Reversed: A good and just ruler.

Imagery: A despairing man lies pinned to the ground by chains anchored with eight swords driven blade-first into the earth. A storm hovers above him.

9: The Torturer

Standard: All-consuming evil, creatures of darkness, sadists, fiends, the violently insane, any that revel in suffering and torment.

Reversed: Redemption.

Imagery: A mutilated man hangs in chains, whilst nine swords glow red-hot in a brazier.

10: Master of Swords:

Standard: Meeting a powerful warrior and receiving a positive reaction, truce or alliance.

Reversed: Meeting a powerful warrior and receiving a negative reaction, assassination, war.

Imagery: An older but still powerful noble warrior stands on castle battlements, watching a night storm as it rolls in. A sword is at his hip, and nine others are scattered around him.

Note: This card is also symbolic of the Darklord Count Strahd von Zarovich.

The Stars Suite

Associated with the Serpent and the Element of Fire, the Stars Suite governs knowledge, power, magic and all things beyond the comprehension of mortals. Needless to say, it is heavily associated with Wizards and other academics.

Ace (1): The Transmuter

Standard: An unexpected and/or dangerous discovery, success at the expense of one's original goals or values, unhealthy obsession, obsessive love.

Reversed: Happy failure, a beneficial and long-awaited ending to an endeavor.

Imagery: A wiry, middle-aged man reads a book propped up on a table alongside a needle, scalpel and spool of thread, oblivious to the hulking figure whose hands are reaching for his throat from the darkness behind him.

Note: This card is associated with the Darklord Dr. Mordenheim.

2: The Diviner

Standard: Solid understanding of consequences, meticulous preparation, science, healing, benevolent magic, honesty, truth, one who seeks knowledge to benefit all.

Reversed: Compassionate deception.

Imagery: By the light of two stars, a young wizard with a small snake coiled around their throat kneels at the feet of an older wizard who wears a crown of flame, holding up a large, open white tome for the elder to read and watching the elder with open admiration.

3: The Enchanter

Standard: Challenge in magic or research, eventual success, determination

Reversed: Failure, being hopeful.

Imagery: A wizard struggles to cross a narrow, arched bridge through a terrible windstorm to reach a small cottage, light shining from within. Three stars are visible in the slowly dispersing clouds above.

4: The Abjurer

Standard: An investigator, fact checking, data analysis, the use of logic, warning against assumptions and hasty interpretations, the need to rethink and review.

Reversed: Inspiration, sudden and/or intuitive understanding.

Imagery: An elderly Vistani seer peers into a crystal ball, lit from within by four stars.

5: The Elementalist

Standard: Nature, the power of nature, mastery over nature, good luck in natural endeavors.

Reversed: A negative natural event.

Imagery: A mage stands in a lush green field under a bright sun, a snake looking up between his feet at five stars spread in an arc between the mage's upstretched hands.

6: The Evoker

Standard: Temptation leading to possible disaster, trespass into the forbidden, grave robbing, dark magical lore, an encounter with evil.

Reversed: A return to sanity, the resisting of a nearly overwhelming yearning.

Imagery: A redheaded young woman pensively peers through a partially open window adorned with six stars at a handsome vampire waiting outside.

Note: This card is associated with Tatyana, the doomed victim sought by Count Strahd von Zarovich.

7: The Illusionist

Standard: Imminent deceit, trickery, information gathered by evil means, the focus may be sacrificed.

Reversed: Secret societies both benign and malevolent.

Imagery: A dark-robed mage performs arcane gestures over a blindfolded man trapped in a complex fiery diagram. Seven standing stones, each adorned with a star, are visible in the background.

8: The Necromancer

Standard: Power turned against itself, someone sowing the seed of their own destruction, a keen and learned mind in pursuit of dark power, the undead.

Reversed: Hope of turning against evil or defeating a powerful undead creature - especially through newly gained knowledge or intelligent and morally upstanding choices.

Imagery: A hooded figure stands before eight open graves, each marked with a tombstone bearing a star, and makes arcane gestures, causing the dead within to reach out.

9: The Conjurer

Standard: Evil knowledge being put to terrifying use, fiends and other malevolent beings from beyond, cultists, thralls to otherworldly powers.

Reversed: Repression of truth, someone purposefully withholding vital information.

Imagery: A beautiful woman, scantily clad, tattooed with nine stars and wearing a snake-shaped armband, writhes in a passionate dance with a shadowy fiend against a curtain of flame.

10: Master of Stars:

Standard: One who hungers for knowledge and/or mystical power, a sage or arcane magic user, riddles, a mystery, the supernatural, the unknown, the presence of secrets, hidden knowledge necessary for success

Reversed: A misleading clue, a powerful and evil mage.

Imagery: A dark figure, cast in shadow by the ten-starred hooded cloak he wears, save for the burning flames of his eyes, stares outward in desperate search.

Note: This card is associated with the Darklord Azalin.

The Gylphs Suite

Associated with the Wolf and the Element of Water, the cards of the Glyphs suite are representive of all things spiritual, holy or religious, and are powerful symbols of priests. The titular glyph is shaped like an 8, with triangles added to the points where the two circular halves join.

Ace (1): The Monk

Standard: Self-reliance, inner strength, physical and mental improvement, the need for contemplation.

Reversed: Rash decisions, someone with a debauched mind and body.

Imagery: A shaven-headed man sits with folded legs on a wooden bench, dressed in a simple breechcloth and contemplating a plain bowl of water cupped in his hand. His single visible ear is pierced with an earring shaped like a glyph.

2: The Missionary

Standard: Enlightenment, wisdom.

Reversed: Dark days are coming.

Imagery: A grim-faced female cleric preaches to an unseen crowd from a podium, clutching two books - one black, one white, both adorned with a glyph.

3: The Healer

Standard: Healers, healing.

Reversed: Illness, disease, curses.

Imagery: A young female priestess tenderly wipes the brow of an elderly invalid, her hands aglow with divine magic. Three glyphs are carved into the wall behind them, and a wolfdog is curled at her feet.

4: The Shepherd

Standard: Dedication, loyalty, devotion, devoted followers, loyal companions, trustworthy friends.

Reversed: Betrayal, a trusted friend will fail whether by accident or on purpose.

Imagery: A young shepherd boy, his crook adorned with four glyphs, keeps an eye on his flock, but his dog is asleep and a wolf lurks amongst the sheep.

5: The Druid

Standard: A release of emotions, freedom from mental domination.

Reversed: Inner turmoil, mental illness, obsession.

Imagery: A druid stands in a grove of five glyph-adorned trees next to a small stream. A raven sits on his shoulder and a snake watches from a tree as he preaches to a wolf and a rat.

6: The Anarchist

Standard: Growth, improvement, anyone who rebels against a static situation.

Reversed: Entropy, decay, destruction.

Imagery: A figure stands within a twisted wire framework decorated with six glyphs. Lightning crackles across the cage, fueling the figure's transformation into something yet unseen.

7: The Charlatan

Standard: Unexpected malevolence, spies, unbelievers, tricksters, the need to watch carefully and understand the motives of others.

Reversed: Meeting a long-forgotten friend, finding an ally among enemies.

Imagery: An androgynous figure stares outward, eyes closed, wearing a mask adorned with seven glyphs - three small ones around each eyehole, and a larger one on its forehead.

8: The Bishop

Standard: A schemer, somebody who devises intricate plots or plans to manipulate others.

Reversed: Somebody who follows a strict moral code.

Imagery: A regal priest sits upon a throne, flanked by a black wolf and a white wolf, reading from a scroll and issuing a command. A banner with eight glyphs hangs behind him.

9: The Heretic/Traitor

Standard: An imminent betrayal (spiritual or secular), anyone deliberately turning against those believe in or depend on them.

Reversed: As Standard, but the reading's focus will benefit from this betrayal in some way.

Imagery: An elderly cleric pours water from a jeweled ewer into a bowl, oblivious to a skulking figure stealing a holy statue from the table behind him. Nine glyphs adorn the statue, the cleric's robes and the dark figure's cloak.

10: Master of Glyphs:

Standard: Religious servants or devotees of Good or Neutral gods.

Reversed: Religious servants or devotees of Evil gods.

Imagery: A young man, naked from the waist up, kneels in supplication to a huge wolf beneath the light of a full moon as eight more wolves watch. Each bears a necklace with a glyph around their neck.

Note: This card is associated with the Darklord Alfred Timothy.

The Fortuna Magna

The Dark Master

Standard: A powerful evil being is in a position of strength.

Reversed: A powerful evil being is in a position of weakness.

Imagery: A cruel, imperious man wearing a spiky iron circlet sits in a tall throne, clutching a scepter with one hand and petting a wolf with the other. A raven perches on the throne's back, a snake coils his wrist, and a rat sits in his lap.

The Artifact

Standard: Something vitally important or necessary.

Reversed: A falsely important object, something is being given or will be given unneeded significance.

Imagery: A golden and bejeweled crown decorated with the symbols of glyph, star, sword and coin sitting on a velvet pillow.

The Horseman

Standard: Death, irredeemable loss.

Reversed: A terrible fate, a crippling accident, a major defeat.

Imagery: A scythe-wielding skull-faced rider sits astride a rearing skeletal steed that spews fire from its nostrils, illuminating the decapitated corpse at its feet and the field of tombstones behind them.

The Hangman

Standard: Exposure of a guilty person.

Reversed: Someone is being punished of a crime they didn't commit or were falsely accused of.

Imagery: A muscular, hooded figure in black leather stands on the gallows beside a dangling hangman's noose.

The Spirit

Standard: A negative influence from the past, a literal ghost.

Reversed: A positive influence from the past.

Imagery: An old man kneels in a mausoleum before a bier bearing a young knight, clad in armor. The youth's ghost rises from the corpse and reaches a hand down towards the old man, either to help or harm.

The Broken One

Standard: Something vital either has been destroyed or will be destroyed, evil supernatural beings, someone broken by failure or lost in despair.

Reversed: Healing of something or someone broken, curing a deformity, cleansing madness.

Imagery: A distraught, malformed humanoid sits alone amongst swirling mists.

The Raven

Standard: Beneficial forces (source of information, trusted ally, magical assistance, holy blessing, etc).

Reversed: Betrayal by a trusted source, an unexpected weakness.

Imagery: A raven-headed man in the garb of a Vistani spreads his arms wide, as if in a welcoming embrace.

The Innocent

Standard: A pure or defenseless person of great importance.

Reversed: A person with hidden strengths that may be important or necessary to the cause or quest.

Imagery: A gentle young blonde woman dressed in white sits in a beautiful garden, studying the butterfly that has alit on her finger, ignorant to the cobra lurking in the grass at her feet.

The Marionette

Standard: A minion or pawn, divided loyalties amongst allies or friends, mental domination or possession (especially by outsiders/incorporeal undead).

Reversed: As above, but the minion is unaware of who is controlling them.

Imagery: A simple marionette wearing a paper crown dangles from taut strings.

The Prison/Donjon

Standard: Imprisonment, banishment, isolation, confinement, seclusion, a closed mind, a prisoner, a darkling.

Reversed: Freedom, breaking out of closed thought patterns, return to family, literal jail break.

Imagery: A silhouetted man looks out of a high tower's barred window at a night-time sky, denoted by the stars and crescent moon.

The Temptress

Standard: Physical temptations, someone whose values are compromised by desire or seduction, someone subconsciously drawn by temptation.

Reversed: A deliberate surrender to temptation.

Imagery: A voluptuous Vistani woman clad in nothing more than silky scarves and a single golden earring strikes a seductive pose, one hand forward and beckoning the viewer.

The Mists

Standard: Mystery, the unexpected.

Reversed: An unexpected journey or heretofore hidden path leading to success.

Imagery: A Vistani wagon trundles along a dark, mist-choked path, its lanterns barely piercing the gloom.

The Beast

Standard: Animal impulses and passions, rash acts or decisions, instinct ruling over reason, werebeasts, shapeshifters.

Reversed: A steadying influence, somebody or something that is table and dependable.

Imagery: A bloody-muzzled wolf stands over the corpse of a deer with a torn-out throat, snarling at some unseen interloper.

The Hero

Standard: A powerful and unexpected ally, influential ally, loyal friend, the blessings of fate, certain victory.

Reversed: Ill luck is certain.

Imagery: A handsome, confident knight clad in fullplate, bearing a sword held at the ready and a shield, quartered with the wolf, raven, snake and rat.