3.1 The Deck

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The Deck

The core engine of the game is driven by a deck of 117 cards (‘the deck’), which is similar to a poker deck. The deck contains nine suits, each with thirteen cards (Ace, 2 through 10, Jack, Queen, King). These suits each correspond to particular skills, knowledges and techniques employed by characters throughout the course of the game (with the exception of the Skulls suit, which instead portends woe): 

 Hearts: diplomacy, empathy, relationships, courage

 Diamonds: haggling, business, gambling, negotiations

 Horns: equestrianism, the natural world, survivalism, animals

 Pistols: gunplay, perception, tracking, investigation

 Clubs: brawling, athleticism, intimidation, military matters

 Spades: industry, labour, endurance, technology and engineering

 Masks: swindling, stealth, subterfuge, evasion 

 Tomes: education, religion and philosophy, medicine, the supernatural

    Skulls: misfortune, dread, hardship, doom

See a sample card back and front below:

Note the card's suit (Hearts) and value (10).

Each card in the deck also lists associated Personality traits for a character (see Characteristics and Flaws), found at the bottom of the card. These are not used throughout the game, and are only used during character creation (see Creating the Posse).

Next: Game pieces and setup

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