Using the Decks
Matriarch [Link] now have four "Matriarch Randomness: Drawing from separate
Decks," each with twelve cards in decks insures randomness and allows
Aces count as 1, Jacks as 11, and
shuffled order. duplication. E.g. if a 7♢ is drawn there
Decks Queens count as 12, all other cards
count as numbered. To "Draw a Card"
will not be another 7 in the diamond
deck. Still there is a fair, 1-in-12 chance
means to deal a card from any deck and
by Thomas Davis of drawing a 7 from the clubs deck.
place it face up, producing a random
number from 1-12. A drawn card is kept
For those interested in Role Playing
Games (RPGs) but wanting an
face up until effects are determined, then Case Study: Élan
cut or shuffled back into the same deck
alternative to the sometimes unusual
dice required for those games,
from which it came. VITAL
Matriarch Decks uses one standard deck I first created Matriarch Decks to drive
Often a card is dealt from a specific my own Élan VITAL (ÉV) character
of playing cards and can quickly stand
Matriarch Deck. For instance to "Draw a rules. In ÉV, there are four main
in for many of these dice. Four
Club" means to deal a card specifically abilities, mental abilities default to red,
Matriarch Decks (effectively four
from the Matriarch Deck of Clubs. and physical abilities, to black, thus:
twelve-sided "dice") can be assembled
using the following simple steps:
Drawn cards can act as other dice too: Verve ♡ is drawn from Hearts,
Preparing the Decks # 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-6 Intellect ♢ from Diamonds,
A 1 1 1 1 Matriarch Decks
1 produce numbers
1. Shuffle a standard deck (about seven
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
1 2 from 1-12, so, a
Thew ♠ from Spades; and
riffles is best), then turn it face up. 4 1 1 2 2 division table can
5 1 2 2 3 be used to Alacrity ♣ from Clubs.
2. Sort the cards into separate piles by 6 1 2 2 3 simulate: a coin
7 2 2 3 4 toss (1-2), a three- So, in ÉV, "Draw Intellect and Alacrity"
suit. Remove Jokers and Kings, but 8 2 2 3 4 sided "die" (1-3, means drawing a Diamond and a Club.
leave the rest in their order as shuffled. 9 2 3 3 5 also called 1d3),
10 2 3 4 5 and four sided
3. Discard Jokers and place Kings J 2 3 4 6 (1d4) and six sided Whenever attempting something with an
Q 2 3 4 6 (1d6) dice as well.
sideways, face up on the table. The uncertain outcome, the player draws one
kings will be used only as markers. For example, to make a game roll of "3d6" draw a card for the primary ability being used
♡, ♢, and ♠, read results from the 1-6 column and and adds that ability score to the card. If
4. Order the Kings in "Matriarch order" sum for a total of 3-18. If a game has scores that
the total is high enough (13 is the
left-to-right: ♡♢♠♣ are checked simultaneously, assigning each one a
default suit lets them all be drawn at once. typical difficulty in ÉV) then the attempt
(Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs.) gets a "Hit" (a degree of success). For
example to intimidate a suspect, the
5. Turn each suit pile face down, each Order: Drawing from the same deck
player draws a Heart and adds it to his
beneath the King of the same suit. prevents duplicates. Players can find an
Verve score, a result of 13 or higher is a
order by each drawing a spade, highest
Hit.
goes first, and there will be no ties.
Ability + Card > Difficulty ➠ Depending on the situation, the player Each Ace drawn subtracts a Hit, and
might draw again. If properly equipped, each Queen awards an additional Hit. If Resisting, draw normally, each Hit
Hit
draw a second card for another ability. raises the foe's difficulty by 1.
If proficient, draw a third card for yet < 0 Hits: Fumble and -1 Luck Assisting costs -1 Hit. Add any
another ability. So up to three cards may 0 Hits: The task simply failed remaining Hits to the ally's attempt.
be drawn. E.g. an interrogator who 1 Hit: Task succeeds but with strife
investigated the suspect's house would 2 Hits: Task succeeds as planned Matriarch Decks is released under the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
be equipped with evidence, an Intellect 3 Hits: Task succeeds with avail International License. You are free to share
card could be drawn. If the character > 3 Hits: Critical Success +1 Luck and adapt this material for any purpose,
was a domineering Bailiff or Barbarian, including commercially, as long as you give
a Thew card could apply for proficiency. Having Disadvantage costs -1 Hit attribution. Matriarch Decks uses the free
fonts Liberation Serif and Blackwood Castle.
Having Advantage or sacrificing -1
Luck lets any one card be re-drawn.