ICRPG

THINK
DECK

RUNEHAMMER GAMES 2020

FOR USE with INDEX CARD RPG CORE or your favorite RPG
Companion PDF to the ICRPG THINK DECK Card Deck
 FOREWORD

Creativity is the combination of knowing your base impulse

but discovering the details. The ICRPG THINK DECK is a tool
to codify that exact practice and guide you to new places you
may not expect. It’s a tool for game masters to do what they do
with a little less strain.

Much like the ancient art of TAROT card reading, using the
THINK DECK is an art, not a science. Breathe a little, let your
mind wander, and see little bits of magic hiding in suggestion.
The hardest reads are often the most imaginative, if you’re
ready to consider new horizons.

The THINK DECK had very humble beginnings. I have used a

deck of poker cards to help me conceive, detail, and run table-
top RPG’s for years. I knew something powerful was hiding in
the almost-random deck. I loved the feeling of the cards in my
hands. There is an ancestral power in the 52 card deck... THINK
DECK accesses this old knowledge, but poses new questions
that every GM needs to answer every week.

You won’t be lifting any star fighters from the swamp, but may-
be you’ll stumble into some innovative ideas for your next ses-
sion.

-HANKERIN FERINALE

1
 THE QUESTION

Shuffle the cards. Once your mind is settled, cut the deck. Now place in your
mind a question about creating material for your upcoming game. Visualize with
absolute certainty. Keep it, clarify it. Ask this question with honest curiosity. If
you’re a game master, it will be a matter of seconds before you have a question
(or a thousand) ready.

Nothing is more important in using the THINK DECK than this question, embla-
zoned in your imagination as you draw and interpret the cards. It is the power
of suggestion, the hidden force that imbues the cards with epiphany. The more
specific your question before you draw, the better your results will be.

“I’m creating a new monster for tomorrow night’s game. What could it be?”

“I need an idea for a room in the castle that really challenges players.”

“I’m writing a new adventure. What are the big themes that make it cool?”

“What major events could give a new campaign mystery and gravity?”

A good way to focus your mind on this creative question is to continually shuf-
fle your THINK DECK as you consider your design challenge. Have your journal
ready to record your draw, more importantly to record your interpretation of
that draw. Believe in the process. In time, practicing the art of THE QUESTION
will not only help you use the THINK DECK, but it will hone your creative abili-
ties as a whole.

Now that you have your QUESTION, it’s time to use the nuts and bolts of the
THINK DECK to get some answers. Read on.

2
 TYPES OF DRAWS

Take your THINK DECK in one hand, and with the other draw and flip one card
at a time, dropping them in a row from left to right. Depending on the nature of
your QUESTION, draw 3, 4, 5 or 6 cards as described below.

CREATE A CHALLENGE: DRAW 3 CARDS

CREATE A ROOM: DRAW 4 CARDS

CREATE AN ADVENTURE: DRAW 5 CARDS

CREATE A CAMPAIGN: DRAW 6 CARDS

A CHALLENGE is one small element of your tabletop game session. It could be a

single monster, NPC, trap or single detail. It can be a discovered thing, exciting
moment, or a single dramatic conversation.

ROOM is a word used to mean one encounter or scene in your game. It could
be a cavern filled with creatures, a collapsing castle dungeon, or climactic battle
atop a jagged cliff.

ADVENTURES take shape when 3 or more ROOMS string together in a story. It

could be a quest to retrieve a treasure, a journey across a dangerous realm, or
a catastrophic flight into a hollow world.

A CAMPAIGN is the largest thing you can imagine in tabletop game design. It’s a
huge, living thing with multiple adventures. When designing a CAMPAIGN, keep
your expectations loose and focus on wider themes. The players in your game
are bound to muck things up.

You’re ready to begin. Now let’s look at how to READ what cards may come...

3
 READING TIMERS AND TARGETS

As you get familiar with the THINK DECK, you’ll see the ‘oddballs’ in the deck
showing large numbers over a 4-sided die symbol and a 20-sided die symbol.
These are TIMERS and TARGETS, respectively. They’re unique, and plug directly
into building mechanics and excitement in your INDEX CARD RPG game play.

READING TIMERS: As many of you may already know, TIMERS are a pivotal ele-
ment of ICRPG game play. They keep things moving, build suspense, and add a
variability to the timing of things in any game. When you draw a TIMER card in
your THINK DECK, consider these interpretations:

• The element in play will APPEAR in this many ROUNDS

• The element in play will CHANGE or ESCALATE in this many ROUNDS
• The element in play will EXPIRE, be lost or out of reach in this many DAYS

READING TARGETS: TARGETS are used in ICRPG to set a difficulty level for a
block of game play. Players will be rolling against this number. When you draw a
TARGET card in your THINK DECK draw, it simply indicates what difficulty the el-
ement you are considering will be. This may seem obvious, but selection of dif-
ficulty is a perennial challenge for game masters. Simply letting the THINK DECK
make this choice washes your hands of guilt, and keeps you being creative. If a
TARGET seems brutally high for your players, don’t fret! Consider subsequent
cards as ways for players to bring that TARGET down with heroic deeds.

As a final note, consider the simple table utility of the TIMER and TARGET cards.
During a session of ICRPG, players are always asking about the current TIMER
and TARGET. These bold, easy-to-see cards can be used as a way to keep those
key numbers on display.

For much more on TIMERS and TARGETS see the INDEX CARD RPG CORE book.

4
 READING TYPES

The first thing you may notice in your THINK DECK is that the card ranks have
names. These are broad indicators for a huge array of possible concepts and
elements in your game. As you read your draw, you can not only interpret what
each card represents, but invest creatively in its rank, meaning the higher the
card’s rank, the more dangerous, powerful, or significant that element is in an-
swering your QUESTION. Use the guide below as a starting point.

• LESSER FOE: Minions, mooks, rat-people, space goblins, and other insignif-
icant enemies are a staple of all good RPG play. This card evokes them. If
LESSER FOE is drawn first, the next card indicates how many appear. If draw-
ing more than one LESSER FOE, they are in an organized group with a leader,
specialist, or giant variation mixed in.
• LESSER OBSTACLE: Smoke clouds, bramble patches, debris, rubble or flimsy
fencing can tangle or slow heroes as they struggle against their enemies or
fight to move ahead. Interpret the obstacle’s location, or appearance in an
encounter, by its location in the draw. Do players blast through to reach the
action, or discover the obstacle when the battle concludes? Also consider
interpreting whatever card follows LESSER OBSTACLE as an indication of its
solution or easiest avoidance.
• DOORWAY: Many times, players are fixated with absolute intent on seeing
what’s behind the next door, be it a dungeon or a starship. If this card ap-
pears, a door or portal is in view. If the DOORWAY is drawn first, subsequent
cards show what lies beyond. If drawn last, it is the goal or end point of a
scene. If drawn in a CAMPAIGN it could signify a dimensional gate, worm-
hole, or path to realms of legend.
• LONG - RANGE: This abstract card suggests a chase, long voyage or battle
with ranged weaponry. Spread everything out, and force heroes to cope.
Distance can take the form of a large battle space, a gaping canyon, or light
years across the stars. This card, following a FOE card, can also be read as a
descriptor of that enemy’s fighting style or attacks.
• GREATER OBSTACLE: Giant walls, steel bulkheads, pillars of fire, poison gas
or impenetrable force fields demand a solution if players wish to proceed.
Interpret this card just like LESSER OBSTACLE, but escalate your difficulty,
danger, or work required to pass.

5
 READING TYPES

• ALLIES: Not every card is some new danger. The ALLIES card brings in a sur-
prise helper, loyal friend, or clutch insurgent to aid the heroic task at hand.
If drawn last, consider it as a friend in need of rescue. If first, it could be a
‘quest-giver’ or character offering reward. If drawing multiple ALLIES, con-
sider a visit to town, reprieve, or rest for heroes.
• DEADLY PERIL: At rank 9, it’s time to bring out the terrors. This card evokes
a bottomless pit, wave of magma, or cataclysmic explosion. Can it be sur-
vived? Does the peril reveal itself at the beginning or end of a scene? Can
it be stopped, canceled or avoided at all, or is it intrinsic to the action? A
DEADLY PERIL of DIAMONDS is truly a terrifying draw. Environmental perils
are always more deadly than simple monsters or enemies.
• REVELATION: Possibly the most unique card of all conjures a newly revealed
secret or shocking twist in your game’s story or lore. When this card is in
your draw, it’s time to lay it all out for players to revel in legendary truths.
The starship is actually a living organism! The dungeon was built by YOU
in an alternate dimension! Your benefactor is actually your jailer! Consider
cards adjacent to REVELATION as clues to how it can be uncovered by curi-
ous players, or elements of its new truth.

6
 READING TYPES

• TRICKSTER FOE: Some enemies are far more dangerous, not by claw and
tooth, but by deception, stealth, or confusion. These enemies can be more
complex to imagine, especially on-the-fly. Interpret nearby cards as descrip-
tors, or clues to who or what this foe may be. TRICKSTER FOES steal player
equipment, lay traps, pose as friends, vanish in puffs of smoke, or use ceil-
ings to move. TRICKSTER FOES always flee before being killed, vanishing to
peck at players again and again.
• ROLE PLAY FOE: At a high level of play, combat and danger are just as excit-
ing as conversation, negotiation, and persuasion. This foe will yield to play-
ers only by role play. It’s important to keep this foe out of reach, safe behind
troops or barriers, during the exchange. Imagine a King who has declared
the heroes fugitives, or a dark lord constricting players with an invisible wall
of force until they divulge their secrets. Dragons can be portrayed as ROLE
PLAY FOES at a high enough level of power, because they cannot be over-
come any other way than trickery and word play.
• SUPREME FOE: No enemy, monster, or titan is more dangerous than this.
A rampaging demon lord, undying king or giant iron colossus threatens to
destroy all the heroes have struggled to achieve. A juggernaut. If drawn in a
CAMPAIGN, consider making the SUPREME FOE an ongoing world-destroyer
or unstoppable demigod. Don’t be afraid to over-challenge players here by
dwarfing their power level. A SUPREME FOE must be terrifying, almost im-
possible to defeat. Consider interpreting a nearby card as its only weakness.
• DOOM: This card evokes a disembodied cataclysm, an apocalypse, a death-
to-all climax... total ruin or inevitable decline. When DOOM is drawn, all
other cards simply describe what form the DOOM will take. It is not a thing
to fight, but to flee. It is not a thing to overcome, but to prepare for. If REV-
ELATION and DOOM are drawn together, you have a terrible prophecy. Feel
completely unrestrained when interpreting DOOM. If drawn during play as
the contents of a ROOM or ENCOUNTER, your players should be trembling
with fear, running for their lives, or preparing for endgame. Never let DOOM
be unfeared. It must have teeth if it is to lend the gravity it deserves to your
draw.

7
 READING SUITS

THINK DECK uses classic card suits. Each comes jam-packed with implied theme.
When you apply the theme of a SUIT to a TYPE, you can see far more specific
results in your draws. By this pairing, you’ll start to see your ideas taking action-
able shape right away.

• CLUBS: This suit represents simplicity, brutishness, animals, natural elements

or blunt force. A LESSER FOE of CLUBS could be a wolf, a rolling boulder, or
carnivorous thistle vine. CLUBS are dangerous by nature, not malice. A SU-
PREME FOE of CLUBS could be a titanic serpent or mindless granite golem.
• SPADES: This suit calls to mind poison, death and undeath, treachery, ha-
tred, rage and chaotic evil. A REVELATION of SPADES could be discovering
a murderous betrayer or finding evil hidden behind world events. A LESSER
OBSTACLE of SPADES could be a cloud of poisonous gas, sadistic blade trap,
or barricade of skeletons.
• HEARTS: This suit is a call to goodness, romance, trust, and life energy. Even
if set against the heroes, HEARTS elements use good as a disguise, love as a
weapon, or temptation. A ROLE PLAY FOE of HEARTS can be a very danger-
ous card, in that it represents a genius of guile and beauty.
• DIAMONDS: This suit represents the elite. If many of a single TYPE are drawn,
and one be DIAMONDS, it is their leader, greater version, or elevated form.
DIAMONDS have the best equipment, the highest standing, royal influence
or tyrannical command. No foe is more dangerous than a SUPREME FOE of
DIAMONDS, in that they would wield ultimate weapons and dominate le-
gions in their service.

8
 REaDING INVERSION

The more comfortable your hands become with your THINK DECK, you’ll begin
to notice more and more ‘accidental details’ of your draws. The most notable
of these is inverted cards. Unlike poker cards, THINK DECK cards can appear up-
side-down, as in TAROT. This is a critical detail, if you choose to read it as such.
If inversions annoy or distract you, just align all cards before drawing.

• PURSUIT: As a general rule in tabletop RPG play, everything interesting lies

ahed of players. The path behin dthem is mere history, but the path ahead
is dangerous, exciting, and ever-unfolding. An inverted card in THINK DECK
flips this, introducing elements that chase, hunt, hound, or close in around
heroes from the rear. This will constrain time, limit options, and press them.
A GREATER OBSTACLE inverted could be a slamming door behind them,
sealed with magic and forcing them deeper into danger.
• OPPOSITE: Inverted cards can imply an OPPOSITE interpretation. ALLIES be-
come enemies, LONG - RANGE become close in, and so on. Read this literally,
or find nuance in the OPPOSITE that toys with player expectations. A ROLE
PLAY FOE drawn inverted could be an automaton, illusion, or reluctant ally.
• MEANWHILE: Inversion can also be read as ‘somewhere else, things are hap-
pening.’ We’ve all read stories where the action jumps from scene to scene
as heroes race against time. An inverted SUPREME FOE, for example, could
mean not just that the foe appears, but that it is making progress on larger
goals elsewhere, reducing the heroes’ odds for victory.

9
 DRAW IN PLAY

Another way to use your THINK DECK is during play, rather than a design, plan-
ning, or idea tool. Here are a few ideas of how to use the deck to mix up the
action, bypass time-consuming book use, or simply stir the pot.

• CRITICAL FAILURES: A player rolls a critical fail on a particularly risky or epic

roll. To capture the moment, have that player draw 1 card from your THINK
DECK. Interpret the draw as needed to twist, change, escalate or explode
the scene in some way.
• ROOM CONTENTS: When a door is kicked in, or some cavern discovered,
and you, as GM, have no idea what’s inside. Draw 4 cards and interpret them
right in front of the players. This should have a significant element of sus-
pense for them, and make a great creative challenge for you.
• TARGET OR TIMER: Separate your TIMERS and TARGETS ahead of time. Sub-
stitute these cards, face down, for conventional die rolls or GM’s choice TAR-
GETS. Have players draw for extra yikes.
• ENEMY SPELL: Enemies that sling spells at heroes are never simple to run.
Consider drawing a card each time a villain sorcerer or lich casts magic. In-
terpret the card on the fly, creating simple dice effects to match what is
drawn, using RANK to imply power, SUIT to imply theme, and TYPE to imply
form taken. This is magic at its chaotic, formless best.
• DOOM ROULETTE: Introduce a mechanic into any game where ONLY THE
DOOMS matter. Any other draw is null. When a character witnesses un-
speakable horror, suffers a terrible injury, or is subject to immense strain
on sanity, have them draw. If a DOOM is drawn, there is a complete mental
breakdown, accidental demons summoned, or greater horror unleashed.
For this method to really work, you cannot shuffle the deck. The suspense of
‘A DOOM IS COMING’ is what makes it work!

10
 DECK OPTIONS

THINK DECK is available in its finest form with a tuck box and easy-glide premi-
um cards from DRIVE THRU RPG. If you want to create your own THINK DECK,
the card files are all included with this PDF. It can be a bit of work to do all the
printing, cutting and sleeving, but yields a usable deck with attention to detail.

As an even easier option, you can use a standard poker deck as your THINK
DECK. This, after all, is how the THINK DECK was originally conceived. It takes
a bit of time to memorize/learn the card scheme, but remember that reading
THINK DECK draws is like TAROT: an art, not a science! Let the cards flow, imbue
them with gravity, and you’ll be under way!

The following scheme is how THINK DECK maps directly to a 52 card poker deck.

Aces: Timers. Club=1, Spade=2, Heart=3, Diamond=4

2’s: Targets. Club=10, Spade=12, Heart=15, Diamond=18
3’s: Lesser Foe
4’s: Lesser Obstacle
5’s: Doorway
6’s: Long - Range
7’s: Greater Obstacle
8’s: Allies
9’s: Deadly Peril
10’s: Revelation
Jacks: Trickster Foe
Queens: Role Play Foe
Kings: Supreme Foe
Jokers: Doom

Thanks for reading, far-seer. I hope you have as much fun with THINK DECK as I
do. There is magic in cards, if we let ourselves see it.

11
3 lesser foe 3
4 lesser obstacle 4 5 DOORWAY 5 6 long - range 6

7 greater obstacle 7 8 allies 8 9 DEADLY PERIL 9

10 REVELATION 10 j trickster foe j Q role play foe Q

k supreme foe k 3 lesser foe 3 4 lesser obstacle 4

5 DOORWAY 5 7 greater obstacle 7

6 LONG - RANGE 6

8 allies 8 9 deadly peril 9 10 revelation 10

j trickster foe j q role play foe q k supreme foe k

3 lesser foe 3 4 lesser obstacle 4 5 doorway 5

6 long - range 6 7 greater obstacle 7 8 ALLIES 8

9 DEADLY PERIL 9 10 revelation 10 j trickster foe j

q role play foe q k SUPREME FOE k 3 lesser foe 3

4 lesser obstacle 4 5 doorway 5 6 long - range 6

7 greater obstacle 7 8 allies 8 9 deadly peril 9

10 revelation 10 j trickster foe j q role play foe q

k supreme foe k doom doom