looking for a deck-type-thing

[swan_tower]

Every so often I get stuck on a story, in a way that involves my brain going around and around in the same rut without exploring different possibilities. Sometimes when this happens, I turn to external tools to help me brainstorm new options — most often cards of one kind or another. Which kind depends on the story in question: I have at my disposal tarot (two different decks), Brian Froud’s Faerie Oracle, Edward Gorey’s Fantod Pack, that Once Upon a Time storytelling game, another thing of that type for B-movie horror tropes that I’ve never actually used because I don’t generally write that kind of story . . . .

But it works best if the cards I’m using have at least some aesthetic/conceptual connection to the kind of story I’m working on. Which brings me to my question:

Does anybody know of something like that which is East Asian in flavor?

Doesn’t have to be some kind of traditional thing (I have a hanafuda deck, but it ain’t much use for story ideas, unless I really need to brainstorm flowers). Could be a game — though please, something where I can buy the entire deck in one go; I do not want to wander down the primrose path of a collectible card game like Yu-Gi-Oh! or whatever. Doesn’t even technically have to be cards, though I like cards, so that’s what I’d most like to get.

Any suggestions?

Originally published at Swan Tower. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[purplecat]

Legend of the Five Rings springs to mind. I've never played it myself but I had friends who enjoyed it a lot. There's a collectible card game and a roleplaying game but, if memory serves, my friends said the collectible card game didn't require you to buy lots of expansion packs but that you could play quite happily with one of the standard decks you could buy off the shelf.

(http://www.l5r.com/ccgproducts/ - looks to be the place for more information)

[purplecat]

Ooh! And apparently they have PDFs so you can print up your own cards: http://www.l5r.com/2014/01/13/ivory-edition-print-and-play-pdf/

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Heh. I probably should have said that the current #1 reason I want something like this . . . is because I'm running an L5R game. <g> I really would prefer to avoid investing in a CCG, though. This kind of thing works better if I'm being presented with archetypes or a symbol that has a broad range of interpretations; the L5R cards would, I imagine, be quite specific. (And possibly distracting, depending on whether I know the personality on the card via game history, etc.) Plus I know myself: I'd want to buy expansions to have a broader range of options, yadda yadda yadda, next thing I know I have waaaaaaaaay too many cards.

[purplecat]

Does sound like it wouldn't really work. I don't have other ideas though (I am trying to resist the temptation to get sucked into googling Chinese playing cards).

[siduri1959]

I don't know if this would help but here is a link to Eastern themed tarot decks:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/eastern.shtml

There are usually examples of the cards and the reviews usually describe the decks fairly well so perhaps you can find something helpful.

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I actually do use L5R, but I started with a hefty collection of cards that I supplement with singles (you can get some singles with gorgeous art for cheap if you're willing to do the legwork, but it's a cat-waxing wormhole for sure), and I've been in the game a lot longer.

For Tarot options, maybe Manga Tarot (http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Tarot-English-Spanish-Scarabeo/dp/0738710059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428429989&sr=8-1&keywords=manga+tarot) [Amazon.com link], which I'm told gender-flips all the portrayals (I haven't actually gone in and checked everything!), or Chinese Tarot Deck by Jui Guoliang--the latter is out of print, but I got mine for about $20 off eBay.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Nothing to do with this, but at Wiscon last year, Cecilia Tan and I listened to a woman explain her particular deck of cards, which were very simple, two colors only, and had a variety of archetypes and symbols on them-- the factory was the one I remembered. I wish I knew the name of either the woman or the deck. It was interesting and reminded me of the cartomancy in your magic college novel.

[emgrasso.livejournal.com]

I have a set of MahJong cards with little pictures, not just pips, that were intended, among other things, for divination. I have no idea whether they are still in print.
Also a set of I Ching cards with nice pictures... no idea if those are in print either. (I went through a phase of collecting odd divination tools about 20 years ago.)