#the harrow

[men-of-actual-play]

Tom McKay in The Harrow (2016)

[peachparakeet]

Don't you know how to dance?

The Harrow (2016)

[dailycharacteroption]

Subsystems and You 10: The Harrow

 The history of divination cards in roleplaying games is a somewhat tumultuous one in roleplaying games. While basic uses like using a tarot deck to as a stand-in for a deck of illusions or deck of many things are certainly possibilities, there have been a few fictional instances of similar decks throughout the history of the hobby.

If you’re a fan of the Ravenloft setting of D&D, you may have heard of the Tarokka deck, which has a distinctly similar name to the real-world equivalent that it is based on. This deck is meant to be used in games set in the Ravenloft setting as a way to provide an eerie narrative tool, the GM either stacking the deck to get the perfect spread, or otherwise improvising an interpretation of the spread based on the secret knowledge they have as a GM.

There are of course some problems with the Tarokka, the first being that as a tool of a horror-themed game, it never really saw use outside of Ravenloft, given that almost every card in the deck has some negative horror-themed connotation.

The second is that, until very recently, the people that were heavily associated with the Tarokka, the Vistani, were heavily based on stereotypes of the Rroma people. Thankfully, recent sourcebooks have helped mellow out their image into an actual people rather than a racist caricature, so there is that.

 Today’s subject, the Harrow, is a divination deck that is also associated with a Rroma-inspired people in Pathfinder, the Varisians, and while the road hasn’t always been perfect, Pathfinder has tried it’s best to represent them as a diverse and interesting people, rather than an exotic interest.

In any case, The Harrow may be most popular among Varisians, and be based on their folk stories, but it is used by many other peoples, particularly those with an interest in prophecy and the occult. What’s more, it’s much more balanced in it’s theming, so it can be used in all sorts of campaigns.

Essentially, each card in the Harrow is of one of 6 suits, each of which represents one of the key ability scores, (Hammers for strength, Keys for Dexterity, Shields for Constitution, Tome for Intelligence, Star for Wisdom, and Crown for Charisma). Additionally, each card’s suit symbol is in one of nine places, representing one of the possible moral alignments, with good representing positive outcomes, evil representing negatives, law generally being most applicable in the past, and chaos being most applicable to the unwritten future. While each card generally fits into the theme of its suit and positioning, the cards are also illustrated, and have a nuanced meaning beyond that.

In a typical spread, the nature of the question is first determined and matched up to a suit, such as a question about an upcoming battle being hammers, or a political quandary being crowns, and so on. Once this is done, the dealer sorts out the nine cards of that suit and lets each participant draw one at random. These cards represent something directly significant to that character in the reading.

Afterwards, all cards are returned to the deck and shuffled, and a 3 by 3 spread of nine cards is dealt. Then, one column at a time, from left to right, is revealed and interpreted. Now, the GM has final say on what cards in each column (the left being the past, the middle being the present, and the right being the future) are interpreted, but as a general rule of thumb, at least one in each column must be interpreted, with the priority of any cards that were picked earlier coming first, those in the right position for the card’s alignment second, those in direct opposite alignment third, and those with only partial matches last if no others fit (though again, if a card that doesn’t necessarily follow these criteria would otherwise be important to the story, the GM can wing it).

In this way, the GM can use a harrow deck to simulate a reading of the heroes’ near future that still leaves plenty up to interpretation, as the party will no doubt try to ensure the positive things happen and the negative aspects are avoided.

 There are even two Harrowing spells, a normal and greater one, which can infuse a harrow reading with the magical power of fate, empowering those involved with the destiny to help achieve the positive aspects of the spread, adding even more utility to having the deck involve in your games, though admittedly the power of those spells can vary a lot depending on what spread you get.

 Regardless of what you believe about prognostication in general, the Harrow can be a fun way to spice up your game with the fantastical. Just be sure to avoid old stereotypes when possible.

[sabrerine911]

Remnant:FTAxSolikar crossover sketch- The Harrow vs Beth Ravencoft (WIP)

Been working on my Beth melee focused build on Remnant and I gotta say she really became a beast(expecially when it comes to melee centered bosses). Fought the Harrow 3 times(due to ring/amulet farming runs) and Beth killed him before he could run away 2 times out of 3 .And the one time he did manage to run away he was at like 20% health XD. Good stuff. So I wanted to make a funny meme style template sketch. Will finish it with captions later today

[horror-hotties]

Maggie Geha

Horror Cred: The Harrow

[colored--leaves]

Markus: *exists at any given time*

The Harrow:

[130cats]

the harrow: *is there*