Terr-Oh!

”The Deck of Death! How Many Ways Will You Die?” *98.99% margin of error

Terr-Oh! is a variation of a tarot deck that specifically divines the misfortune and calamity looming over the subject of a read. Sold in Knockturn, the decks are mostly meant for entertainment for anyone with a morbid sense of humor although some diviners swear by them to the chagrin of those that prefer the original tarot deck. Terr-Oh is also rebuked because of its secondary function as a card game (rather ironic since the modern day tarot was originally devised in Europe as a card game).

The events predicted by Terr-Oh aren't always horrific, rather a macabre twist on any readings you would get from a standard tarot deck. The spreads are assumed to be similar.

The Basics

Each card has a graphical depiction of some calamity and a matching title. The cards are rather suggestive on their own but can take different meanings when paired with other cards. There are no concrete answers, interpretation is left up to the dealer and participants of a spread.

The Game

Terr-Oh can also be played as a card game among two people. Each player has 25 people, or "souls", for a total of 50. Players are dealt hands of seven, drawing from the deck after their turn is over to refill their hand to seven, and discarding spent cards in a pile. If the draw deck would run out of cards the discards are reshuffled into a new draw deck. Players always start their turn with seven cards.

Each card has a number rating, ranging from 1 to 8. The number refers to the "souls" of the opponent. The turn player plays one card, which can kill off the opponent's souls or collect them for the card player's group. Killed off souls are gone for the remainder of the game. If there are no objections the soul count is changed by the effects of the card, then it is the next players turn. Certain cards may negate or redirect specific cards, and can be played by any player should the circumstances come available and the associated cards are in their hands. The last card played determines the change in the number of souls.

There are two win conditions. Collect all the souls in the game, or kill off all of your opponent's souls. A blank card included in the deck keeps track of the soul count for both players.

Cards Mentioned

• Murderous Ex-Lover: You broke your sweetheart's heart, now they'll break yours with an axe. A young maiden is pursued by an axe wielding, AK-firing lover. Someone intimate to you is in your future.

Kills 1 soul. Can be negated by trading 2 souls to the card player.

• Stranded at Sea: You might have fared better going down with the ship, for there is nothing but deep water in every direction. A stormy tempest beats upon flotsam from a wreckage. Something will be lost, or something lost will be found.

Collects 4 souls OR can be played to kill off any souls under threat of collection.

• Lethifold for a Cloak: You should pay closer attention to your purchases at the thrift shop. A man is consumed by an inky black shadow. The future prospect is immediate, maybe already creeping up behind you.

Kills 1 soul and steals 1 soul.

• Double Whammy: You are about to get a double dose of it, hopefully this isn't your only card or you can generally expect worse of the same. What artist can truly capture the essence of chaos, except for the weighty scales of the law before the vortex. Intensifies the effects of the reading.

No number. Rather doubles the number of souls affected by the card it is played with.

• Pestilent Plague: You have caught the deathly sickness. The green death hazes over the blotted ill. The suggested reading will be widespread.

Kills 8.

• Harped by a Harpy: You know, Hell hath no fury like a Veela scorned. An enraged veela slashes her claws at a man. A current infatuation will get you in over your head.

Steals 2 souls OR kills 1 soul. Can be played to negate Murderous Ex-Lover.

• Cantankerous Cutthroat Pirate: You can try and make a deal but you'll end up stabbed in the back. An ugly, one eyed, peg legged, hook handed, brutal sea-dog leers at you with sword and flintlock. A current deal or business might go sour.

Kills 3 OR discard three cards from your hand to add a card your opponent played to your hand. The card in question is nulled and cannot be replayed this turn.

• Leaky Boorish Bin: You, like so many before, will end up trashed and derelict in the end. The foulest, most disgusting and oozing rubbish bin is full of unmentionables. Things will get very dirty and nasty.

Steals 3 souls OR discard three cards from the opponent's hand.

• Insidious Librarian: You should remember that knowledge is power, so the caretaker of the knowledge is the most dangerous. The artwork has been updated so the librarian appears very Slytherin standing in front of endless bookshelves that fade into the darkness. The person you're least likely to notice has a hand in your future.

Steals 1 soul OR can be played at any time to replay the top card in the discards.

• The Disapproving Dragon: You will find that while the dragon has a high level of hubris, it can still kill you. A cross looking Welsh Green sits atop a treasure horde of gold and bones. It's staring you right in the face but you've been blinded to the disappointment you've wrought.

Kills 5 souls. If you fail to kill any souls of your opponent during the turn this card is played, loose 5 souls.

• Hypothermic Frostbite: The elements will chill you to the bone, completely exposed. A blackened corpse glazed over by piercing icicles. You are frozen in life, perhaps literally or metaphorically, or doom is on the horizon as the temperature plunges.

Kills 1 soul; if played after a chain of 2 or more counter plays, kills all contested souls penalized to your opponent. This play cannot be blocked once triggered.

• Razor Sharp: Sometimes it comes sudden, like a piercing knife thru the ribs. The murderer's blade drips blood on the upswing from a stab. Danger, turmoil, or pain will occur soon, sneaking past your defenses.

Kills 2 souls; if used in counter it halves the number of souls under threat of stealing, rounding down. (The edges of this card are also razor sharp)

At Absit Omen

A favorite of Ligeia Canterbury, who donated her original set to the Hogwarts Gaming Club.

First site appearance: What Misfortune Has Foretold

Proved an effective ghost channeling medium when Prof Ananke Cosmos tasked Divination students to identify the castle ghosts possessing school desks. Ding Dong Desk