The Taroc Deck

This particular card game was first played in the courts of the Great Kingdom in the early part of the 4th century. It has spread all through the settled lands of the Flanaess and has proven to be a very popular pastime among the more gentrified castes of society. Some street mystics and fortunetelling charlatans claim they can read portents and omens within the cards, though few would ever actually believe it.

A Taroc deck consists of five suits - Staves, Swords, Coins, Crowns, and Stars - each numbered from 2 to 10 and have a Royal Court that runs Knight, Queen, King, and Knave. The Knave is special as it can beat out the king in High Card, be run beneath the common ranks to fill out a Low Run, or if you have a Set of Knaves you can win both High and Low Pots if playing Split Tricks. Taroc also contains a run of trumps that effectively comprise their own special suit. The trumps are ranked as follows from lowest to highest: Jester, Crone, Judgment, Balance, Fortunes (depicted as wheels), Talons, Prince, Throne, Devil, Hierophant, Death, Magus, Fates. How the Trumps are used depend on the game played but when combined with the base 5 suits, there are many variations and options available.