Tarot - The Harp

THE HARP

DESCRIPTION

A musician is tuning their harp, preparing to play to an unseen audience. They are clad in many– coloured garb and a jaunty hat sits at an angle on their head. Half of their face is masked. They have not noticed that one of the harpstrings is broken. An hourglass lies at their feet.

DIVINITORY MEANING

Associated with swords, and sometimes the god Siém, the harp may indicate an artistic person, or simply demand artistry and skill for a particular challenge. Effectiveness demands preparation; this seems well in hand, timing is everything.

REVERSED

The harp reversed warns against lack of preparation or of becoming too immersed in technique at the expense of objective. The musician’s preparations may be inadequate, they may be so busy trying to tune the harp, that the performance never begins. This may or may not be a good thing. The end may or may not justify the means.  

Game Play

Gain an artistic Bondsman to your settlement
  Bid Type: Open Auction

Reversed Play

  Suffer disadvantage on all production unil you have a 'Festival' . This festival will cost 500 pennies, and 3 days per settlement population.
  Bid Type: Closed Auction Negative

Comments

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May 30, 2023 21:23

Reversed - Clan can do no Actions, or all Actions are at Disadvantage.

May 31, 2023 00:00

"All actions are at disadvantage" is currently being discussed for the Nolomar card. If that sticks on that card, might need to think about something else for this one.

May 31, 2023 02:25

no actions or all at disadvantage is almost the same to me.   How 'bout reversed all actions/missions double penny cost and double destiny cost.

May 31, 2023 02:57

I agree we do not need a card that does the same thing as another.

Smoke and Mirrors
May 31, 2023 13:39

"the harp may indicate an artistic person, or simply demand artistry and skill for a particular challenge. "   Maybe this means that you get to recruit a specialist or Guildsman in a particular field to your settlement. Not sure what the Reverse would be.

May 31, 2023 13:54

Could it be around talents? A specialist comes to your settlement who can train your people in a handful of talents (you still have to spend training to get the talents) Negative could be forgetting talents?

May 31, 2023 14:29

Maybe that trainer is one of the specialists I mentioned. We've had elite trainers before. If you want a different specialist, maybe it's negotiable.

May 31, 2023 15:53

probably need to lock down how you train talents though....i couldn't find anything on the old board locking it down..just suggestions....and unlike skills/stats talents take time based on whats happened so far

Jun 1, 2023 14:06

If we agree on the nature of the card, then the details of training aren't totally necessary, just that we know that the upright Harp gives you a training specialist.   Maybe the Reversed is that all training rolls are at disadvantage for a specified time. It wouldn't affect experience rolls.

Jun 1, 2023 14:54

Normally I'd agree with you, but you leave potential of a destiny card that cant be resolved until its decided...and sometimes that can take a while.

Jun 1, 2023 15:28

I like disadvantage on training rolls for the Reversed card, but maybe it should be longer than just 1 turn? Seems a little weak for just 1 turn

Jun 1, 2023 16:18

I was thinking a year.

Jun 1, 2023 18:43

Yea, a year is good. Or some chart between 2-4 turns.

Jun 1, 2023 19:03

There could be other cards that might temporarily or individually cancel the disadvantage.

Jun 1, 2023 19:08

I think this is kinda moving away from the original description. I think there could be another named card that dealt specifically with bonuses and penalties to training. I think the Harp should be more of a specialist recruitment thing.

Jun 2, 2023 02:04

This is a tough one.   I like the idea of the positive being an artistic person joins your settlement. If it was a potter it would not be a potter that made daily ware but created artistic pieces. Timador's knife maker comes to mind. The person could come to your settlement for a number of reasons such as natural resources or a more artistic reason based on your setting or history.   The reversed card is the difficult one, to me the card suggest grinding at your work verses enjoying what you are doing. This could be an impact to populace morale (we are working hard but not enjoying it). This could be evident in minuses to actions or production or maybe just a general decrease in morale (or both). The counter to this could be a great festival that brings morale up. So maybe we say you have to do a festival type event (money and time) or suffer a blow to populace morale. ???

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 2, 2023 12:36

So maybe -1 on all production rolls for turn?

Jun 4, 2023 02:22

"The counter to this could be a great festival that brings morale up. So maybe we say you have to do a festival type event (money and time) or suffer a blow to populace morale. ???"   That comes back to the Ceremony that was originally in the card description. The cure for the threat of losing Morale could be having the Festival you mentioned, manifesting itself in turn terms by taking some days off of every member of the settlement (3? 5?). They get a few days off while the festival is going on, and they get some extra down time.   On the positive side, do you get any concrete benefits from having the artisan come to your settlement (Morale, Fame, Traffic?), or is it a role-play benefit, or both? Or is it ref-negotiated for each clan?

Jun 4, 2023 15:46

I think you just stumbled on a great idea....certain people you bring to your settlement, give bonuses to settlement ratings that arent permanent, just while they are present.   Like my ship sailors Axl, Slash and company could provide +1 to morale for their musical scores, and +1 to fame for their infamy, but -1 to cosmopolitan....well they are GNR and all.   but in seriousness, maybe one of the special qualities going forward for bondsman and liegeman are settlement bonuses...making them more desirable, paid more and poachable.

Jun 4, 2023 02:35

I like your ideas for reversed.   on the positive side, I think you would get a bondsman and possibly some other settlement bonuses. There would have to be some ref negotiation

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 4, 2023 15:43

which ones? several offered, but you didnt reply to a specific one.

Jun 4, 2023 22:34

We must have hit the send button at the same time? I was referring to Gordo’s remark. I had not seen yours.

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 4, 2023 23:02

you can still reply to the specific message, so it keeps them in "folders" so to speak.

Jun 4, 2023 23:38

Yes, Like I did in this one.   I did not want it to be a direct reply, but looking back I should have added more text and summarized where we were.

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 6, 2023 16:08

I like the positive of someone coming to town and inspiring people. The negative could be people that come and disrupt your community and cause some type of unrest.

Jun 6, 2023 16:21

Another way to do the negative. Is One action chosen by the Ref has to be done this turn. It takes 25 day and you dont get advantage on the roll.

Jun 6, 2023 17:17

I like your negative, however, some of our settlements arent even towns yet...just a couple of buildings and tent...i hardly think we'd voluntarily allow strangers in through the gate.

Jun 6, 2023 17:18

your second negative suggestion works better i think.

Jun 14, 2023 14:29

So...am i reading this right? i dont remember....40 people = 20000d and 120 days? or is this missing a comma

Jun 15, 2023 02:17

It's missing a comma, 500 pennies total

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 15, 2023 11:52

thanks for clarification

Jun 16, 2023 15:01

I think a neat benefit for having the Artistic Bondsman could be that you get a free .05 to SOL.

Jun 16, 2023 16:11

good idea, but i'd go .1

Jun 16, 2023 18:25

I could see that, but if he provided that much, then I think his other benefits should be less.

Jun 16, 2023 23:31

I think it would depend on who the artistic person is. One artist my prefer a backwater quiet town another may not. I think in this card it would be good for me to provide 1 to 3 artists premade so you know what you are getting.

Smoke and Mirrors
Jun 27, 2023 17:27

If I don't get this reversed card but do the Festival anyway, spending the 500d and 3days/person, would it give me advantage on all of my production rolls?

Jul 2, 2023 18:02

No. This is a situational card.

Smoke and Mirrors