A GM’s Tarot Guide:

NPC Generation

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 A GM’s Tarot Guide: NPC Generation

Writing & Layout

Allie Bustion
abustion.mp@gmail.com
@madpierrot
alliebustion.com
patreon.com/madpierrot

This game-mastering resource

is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution,
Non-Commercial, Share-Alike
license (CC-BY-NC-SA).
More information can be found
at http://creativecommons.org.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 There are a lot of different ways that you can create flesh out a campaign and this is
one of my favorite ones. With a Tarot deck and a bit of thought, a GM can churn out a
multitude of facets for sessions and campaigns. From one-off NPCs to the entire
world and scope of the campaign. The only thing that limits you are chutzpah and
some ingenuity.

This covers what is probably one of the spots where I use the Tarot the most. It’s
hard to just think up a full world of meaningful people who can actively drive a story
or at least interest without some of them simply becoming deus machina for getting
information to your players. This will help round them out and give you something to
work with when trying to convey them, as well as making them feel like people
should they come up again. This guide details a few one-, two-, and three-card
spreads with examples to go with each. Feel free to use and remix the NPCs found in
this guide or variations of them in your own campaigns as well!

The deck I use for these examples and interpretations is Timothy Lantz’s Archeon
Tarot, available here. If you like this guide and want more ways you can use tarot
spreads to help with your GM prep, become a patron on Patreon or pay for my
PWYW offerings as I finish work on the full GM’s Tarot Guide. When the full guide is
finished, it will be available at a small cost on DriveThruRPG. Thanks so much for
your support, good luck, and have fun at the table!

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 One Card Spreads
This spread is only a single card and great for characterizing things like shop keepers,
“quest givers”, and people you’ll only talk to a few times: people who need a name,
function, and little else. Just pull a single card to serve as a key personality
component or motivator. This can be expanded on as much or as little as needed to
serve your purposes and can color how you present the character to your players in
many ways.

The Devil inverted

Example: This is for a potions shopkeeper in a high fantasy setting. The Devil inverted
represents overcoming temptation, freedom from addictions, facing your fears, and
living in a more balanced state. This shopkeeper was once deathly afraid of the
potentially volatile elements for alchemy. They’ve mostly overcome this. … Mostly.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 The Six of Swords inverted
Example: This is for an old friend from a player character’s past in a modern setting.
The Six of Swords inverted represents revelation, surprise, cancelled travel, and a
warning of difficulties ahead. This old friend and the PC were once supposed to travel
together on a vital trip but some plans fell through and the PC went alone. It might be a
sore point between them.

The King of Wands inverted

Example: This is for a bureaucratic figure on a space station in a sci-fi setting. The King
of Wands inverted represents severity, controversy, arrogance, insensitivity, and
ruthlessness. This bureaucratic figure has only recently moved up the station’s ladder
and is a stickler for the rules, using them to lord over those around them and hopefully
move even further. They take this job and upward mobility seriously.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 Death inverted
Example: This is for a contact recently made by the party in a low fantasy setting. Death
inverted represents refusal to change, immaturity, clinging to the past, and long drawn
out endings. This contact tends to be incredibly long winded, stubborn, and petty while
holding grudges for any and all slights against them. They even actually take notes on
each and every one, looking for repayment with interest.

The Queen of Cups inverted

Example: This is for a client/mission giver in a cyberpunk setting. The Queen of Cups
inverted represents fickleness, gullibility, dependency, indecisiveness, meddlesome
actions, and an untrustworthy person. While this client almost always have a job, the
jobs tend to be milk runs with frequently changing details and minutiae they always
seem to “forget” to fill anyone in on. Including your fixer. They’re technically a source of
income. … Technically.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 Two Card Spreads
This spread expands on the ideas of the last but with two cards. It takes a “this but
that” approach, two key facets or motivators for an NPC, or a past and future. These
facets can take multiple incarnations. They can compete or work in tandem as
needed. They, of course, can be if that’s what you’re going for. Again, this can be
expanded on as much or as little as needed for your purposes. These spreads can be
great for NPCs who the party takes an interest in but aren’t terribly central to the
plot, enemies a party may face, or those they encounter in their adventures who may
offer some temporary aid.

The King of Wands inverted and The World inverted

Example: This is for an emissary to a foreign land encountered in a low fantasy setting. The King
of Wands inverted represents severity, controversy, arrogance, insensitivity, and ruthlessness
while The World inverted represents ill reward, recompense, lack of closure, stagnation, and
unfinished business. The emissary has attained their position through nepotism and often
flaunt the power, privilege, and leniency of those who could punish them. None of this has been
fully resolved however and the people left angered by their actions and consequences. These
things are highly likely to come back to them soon and the party might be the perfect ones to
dole out justice.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 The Queen of Swords and The Eight of Cups
Example: This is for an occasional fixer and point of contact in a cyberpunk setting. The Queen
of Swords represents sarcasm, ambition, widowhood, loss, keen insight, and determination
while the Eight of Cups represents moving on, leaving, breaking up, disappointment, confusion,
and disorientation. The fixer is fairly well know in shadowrunner circles, widowed on a run and
blinded back when they were a runner. Their cutting tongue has sometimes distanced them
from others but they have decided to work with you. At least for now. The last few groups
haven’t lasted long at all.

Judgement inverted and The Five of Wands inverted

Example: This is for a frequently encountered townsguard in a high fantasy setting. Judgement
inverted represents indecision, delay, procrastination, remorse, and regrets while the Five of
Wands inverted represents triumph, relief, achievement, and ascendancy. When the party first
encounters this lowly guard, they waffled often and it frequently got the party what they wanted
at first. The party leaves town for a long while and it becomes obvious to this guard that they
have a great destiny beyond their station. Fate has determined that they will be more than this
soon. How that works out, maybe the party will change it.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 The Five of Words and The Queen of Cups
Example: This is for a often-used point of contact in a sci-fi setting. The Five of Swords
represents defeat, misfortune, hollow victory, betrayal, sabotage, and a sneak attack while the
Queen of Cups represents imaginative thinking, kindness, flirtation, intellectuality, culture,
refinement, wisdom, and virtue. The point of contact is a disgraced second in command for a
dismantled military force within the sector. Their final defeat has been declared the beginning
of the fall of their empire. The true source of this defeat was their former captain and they
reveal themselves to be kind, understanding, and a bit cheeky with some time. They’re a great
resource of knowledge due to their travels and may prove invaluable in the long run.

The Six of Swords and The Ace of Wands

Example: This is for a mid-level enemy mob boss in a modern setting. The Six of Swords
represents an envoya messenger, travel, calm waters, smooth sailing, and relaxation while the
Ace of Wands represents origin, source, beginnings, optimism, inventiveness, enthusiasm, drive,
and a new venture. This mid-level boss has been the one to grease the wheels and smooth over
whatever the gang has needed to clear the way for assorted ventures. However, their ambitions
have grown and they look beyond the gang’s narrow scope to what they can do with the
resources and knowledge they’ve gained in their tenure. Their intentions are, however,
incredibly grey. Perhaps they can be convinced to leave their extralegal ways behind?

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 Three Card Spreads
This is for NPCs you need to understand a little better, like recurring figures in an
area or frequent contacts: NPCs you’ll need something more to work with for
advancing story. Typically, a three card spread is done to read into the past, present,
and future of a situation or person and it works well for NPCs. Here’s a few other
potential variations: core personality trait, motivation, obstacles; private, true, and
public faces; strength, weakness, presentation; three different faces shown to
particular groups. More variations exist beyond this or you may find that reading and
interpreting in a certain order works better for you and your campaign.

The Wheel of Fortune, The Four of Pentacles, and The Devil inverted
Example: This is for a political figure often encountered in a modern setting. The Wheel of
Fortune represents good fortune, unexpected rewards, success, destiny, and karma; the Four of
Pentacles represents pleasure, enjoyment, satisfaction, guarding one’s possessions, and
security; and the Devil inverted represents overcoming temptation, freedom from addictions,
facing your fears, and living in a more balanced state. Previously, this political figure has been
met with great success in their endeavors to the point that some say their eventual ascent to the
top is preordained considering their more humble beginnings as lower middle class. Most
recently, they’ve become almost drunk on their own success and the rewards it’s given. They’ve
fallen easy prey to the many and myriad indulgences that come with privilege and power. If
they are not influenced by the party, this will grow exponentially until others finally question
their intentions (as well as who has influenced them and turned them down this seemingly
out-of-character path). Eventually they should humble themselves and begin to deal with the
aftermath of their decisions. With the party’s intervention, it just becomes a matter of what
version of this political figure is best for business.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 The Three of Pentacles inverted, The Ten of Cups inverted, and The Two of Pentacles
Example: This is for a rival ship captain and sometimes ally in a sci-fi setting. The Three of
Pentacles inverted represents lack of ambition, half-hearted effort, and negative assessment of
performance; the Ten of Cups inverted represents lack of respect, sorrow, strife, disputes,
combat, opposition, and differences; and the Two of Pentacles represents ups and downs,
turmoil, loss of balance, being pulled apart, and juggling finances. The rival captain tends to
present an easy and lazy face to colleagues, showing little ambition and often being judged
harshly for it behind their back. To those in authority, they are seen as a disrespectful nuisance
that brings nothing to the sectors that have the misfortune of drawing their attention constant
conflict that only ends in tears. On their home planet, however, they have made extensive
efforts to drag it out of its debts after a series of civil wars left it nearly decimated. All of this has
been at their own detriment from the spoils of their misadventures. Few know that they’ve
made these sacrifices and even fewer truly believe it. When the party calls them for aid, there is
almost always something far more foolhardy and dangerous that must be done in return.
Someone could piece together why this captain always seems to take on suicide missions if they
truly wanted to but the lazy and reckless fool is just too easy to buy in to for most.

The Two of Cups inverted, The King of Pentacles, and The Hanged Man
Example: This is for an allied military officer in a low fantasy setting. The Two of Cups inverted
represents ends of relationships, divorce, conflict, disagreement, infidelity, and mistrust; the
King of Pentacles represents commitment, organization, stability, success, gentleness, and
kindness; and the Hanged Man represents conviction, decision, looking at different alternatives,
reevaluation of goals, and sacrifice. This officer was previously enlisted with an enemy army but,
upon reflecting on what they’ve had to do in their service, defected to become something of a
mercenary and this follows them in certain lands. As with any high ranking officer with possible

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 state secrets, a bounty was immediately placed on their head. Over time, as they carefully chose
who they fought for and quietly worked to aid those in need, some notoriety has been gained
and they have gained the trust of the common people as a vigilante. There’s always a sense of
relief and safety that follows their arrival in a town as word spreads. When alone and with those
they trust wholly and implicitly, the facade drops entirely. They finally allow themselves to show
how broken they’ve become from all the man-made ills they’ve seen. Unable to show their face
to those they aid for fear someone may turn them in for their still active bounty, they’re swiftly
losing sense of self. The party will find them a great ally in battle but may have to deal with
bounty hunters and drama in return.

The King of Wands, The Queen of Wands inverted, and The Six of Wands inverted
Example: This is for the head of a ruling sorcerer’s guild in a high fantasy setting. The King of
Wands represents maturity, ambition, passion, loyalty, professionalism, and education; the
Queen of Wands inverted represents cowardice, jealousy, a demanding person, envy, bitterness,
paranoia, and irritability; and the Six of Wands inverted represents failure, loss, defeat,
subjugation, and submission. The head sorcerer is known as a wise and gracious leader, their
influence pushing and advancing the city to become the most highly educated in the region and
the best place to study the arcane arts. However, they also have been known to be paranoid and
envious, often driving them to use more of the guild and city’s funds to pursue further
knowledge while subtly destabilizing those that could prove a rival now or in the future. They
don’t often go adventuring themselves due to fear of failure, especially outside their expertise,
and will employ adventurers well beyond the skillset needed for a task per say. It never hurts to
be careful. Over time, they may come to rely too heavily on the adventurers they employ and
have built rapport with but this hasn’t happened quite yet.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 The Four of Swords inverted, The Eight of Wands inverted, and The Fool inverted
Example: This is for a corporate ambassador often seen in broadcasts in a cyberpunk setting.
The Four of Swords inverted represents healing, a refreshed spirit, revitalization, and a recovery;
the Eight of Wands inverted represents dysphoria, melancholy, depression, apathy, and
diminishment; and the Fool inverted represents carelessness, cowardice, fear, indulgence,
stagnation, recklessness, and wastefulness. The corporate face is bright, young, and a shining
beacon of hope for the once floundering mega-corp, quickly regaining them favor in the general
populace. They are one of the few associated with mega-corps that almost all agree is working
in their best interests, whatever those might be. They strive to be as perfect as possible at this,
working long and hard to avoid their own problems. Perhaps they think something in some
dealing will push away the ever-encroaching blankness and emptiness they feel in what many
would call a perfect life. However, the way they throw themselves into their work can often be
to their own detriment. The likelihood that they’ll slip up in some dealing or while in public
grows with each passing day they keep up the repetitive charade of always being perfectly
charming and “on”.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)

 A GM’s Tarot Guide: NPC Generation
© Allie Bustion/Mad Pierrot Games, 2016.

Peter Petroff (order #33044946)