Hullo.

I have this idea for some sort of adventure map. You lay out playing cards on the table, face down. They can be arranged in any pattern, as long as each card is touching at least one other card. (This is kinda similar to Sexy Deadly, or Gnostica.)

Players start with a token on one of these cards. Every scene, they move to a new card. If they split up, there's one token for each group. To meet up again, they need to be on the same card again. Each new scene, you move your token to an adjacent or touching card.

When you put your token on a card, flip it face up, and consult some oracle. The card's suit and number will give you a character, location, event or thing that will be included in the new scene. If a card is already face up, then you know what element will show up again in your next scene if you move onto that card.

So certain elements tend to be recurring. If you want to skip them, you can move off the cards to an adjacent empty space, just like the wasteland in Gnostica, but it is very dangerous. Still, might be worth it to skip that pesky villain or whatever.

Players might have an objective to uncover, or maybe something will be discovered when all the cards are face up, possibly linked to the suit of another card not part of the map.

This idea is stuck in my head. I can't shake it. But I don't really know where I can go with it. Any ideas?

Don't know anything about the two games you mentioned, but the idea sounds neat. I have a few questions that might give this idea some direction:

1) When you say Oracle, do you mean GM? Is there a card interpreter role here, or do the players consult a table and agree on the most appropriate interpretation?

2) Are the cards picked randomly? I assume they are.

3) Do you have a specific genre in mind for this?

4) What do you use for task/drama resolution? Dice? More cards?

5) What has to happen to move to the next card?

My first thoughts here are that who ever is in charge of interpreting the cards has to be on their toes to keep up the action and pacing. Sometimes GMing can be tough enough, without using some other time of mechanic to push it along.

Sounds cool, though; hope this goes somewhere.

I did something like this for my game The Perilous Realm; you dealt from a tarot deck to create an 8 x 8 map of the Kingdom of Prester John. It's been playtested a few times, but more could be done to tie the cards to the fiction, maybe.

The link is actually http://www.personal.psu.edu/wjw11/perilous_realm/Perilous%20Realm%204.pdf

Hi there,

Several card games have experimented with ways to do this. One was Arcadia (link = Boardgamegeek entry), which I didn't play much but always thought had some meat in there to investigate further. Another which I have played a lot, and love, is Dungeoneer. It isn't an RPG, as there's no role-playing, but it has lots to offer in terms of food for thought. There is an associated RPG, but I haven't played it and don't know whether the card-construction of dungeons is involved in its rules.

Best, Ron

Bill, Ron, thanks for the links. I was thinking my map would be composed of plot points, not an actual landscape, but I'll check those games out in any case. Looks interesting!

Ken:

1) Sorry, by oracle I meant a chart. There could be just one chart, designed for the adventure, or multiple charts, and you decide which element you want to be random. Once the card is face-up, it always means the same element.

2) Yeah, shuffle the deck, lay cards face-down.

3) Right now? Fantasy thieves running around a fantasy city. Subject to change based on what I finally realize this idea is actually good for.

4) Resolution is totally separate. This would be for adding random elements into scenes.

5) Next scene is all. New scene? Move to a new card.

I like your idea of fantasy thieves, the random layout each time really fits that sort of theme. You never know what lies around the next corner. I'm not sure if this is how you planned it, but I would have the players draw a card everytime they leave their current card, so they don't know what the landscape or what-have-you will look like until they get there.

I've actually been thinking about your thread, I love the concept of cards as a randomly mapped out plot.
I'm probably going to incorporate something like this into Monsters We Are just on a much smaller scale, like a 3 card spread.

Maybe build your Oracle from Tarot inspired meanings of the cards?
http://www.serenapowers.com/playingcards2.html

Instead of making the cards mean something very static, it would drive more choices at least IMHO.
ie...an Ace of Diamands = 1000 gold pieces of diamonds.  It is a piece of jewlery, news about money or a letter.