Published July 14, 2020
As has been discussed in many places, tarot decks are extremely useful tools for tabletop roleplaying games. They can be used in place of random tables to generate ideas and push stories in new directions, and the more that you know about the symbolism and meaning of the cards, the more powerful they become. This is a tarot spread I've used to generate adventures for my Ironsworn campaign, with some good success. I've included a demo of how I used this for a particular adventure below.
https://www.figma.com/embed?embed_host=notion&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.figma.com%2Ffile%2FBnU2tdrTbjKZffeo9SdlS4%2FTarot-Spread-for-Storytelling%3Fnode-id%3D0%253A1
This was done using Casey Zabala's Wanderer's Tarot.
Initiating Event: Five of Stones. Conflict and struggle about wealth.
Allies: Wanderer of Knives. Someone seeking truth and knowledge, but young and reckless. Possibly a young witch, or a skilled trader.
Enemies: Ace of Knives. The law. The heroes are hunted by the peacekeepers of the realm.
Antagonist: The Devil. The witch the party has been opposing for some time seeks to bind her foes and keep them stuck in the trappings of wealth.
Environment: Prophet of Stones, inverted. Caverns, and the dark places of the world.
Perilous Event: The Fool, Reversed. Naïveté — perhaps falling into a trap?
The Final Challenge: Justice. A showdown with the enforcers of the law, in a trial by combat.