#character generation

The system has two parts: a tarot deck and a structural key. You don't actually need a tarot deck for this; any deck of cards with symbolism for each card will suffice, such as Pathfinder's Harrow deck. Your tarot deck will likely come with a pamphlet explaining the meanings of the cards, and if not, you can easily find it on the net, so I won't bother to summarize it here.

The structural key provides context for the rather abstract imagery on the cards. I got the structure I'm using, along with the method itself, from a thread on Something Awful. It's derived from the Tree of Life, which I'm informed has a long and glorious tradition of being entwined with tarot. (It's on the Rider-Waite-Smith Ten of Pentacles, for instance.)

(I ought to mention that people like to use both the Tree of Life and the tarot for occult purposes. If you believe in that sort of thing, have fun, but I do not. This post is strictly about making imaginary people and gossiping about their poor life choices.)

This diagram has ten numbered circles. Each circle has a particular context for the card which you draw. 1-3 sort of go together, as do 4-6 and 7-9, with 10 being left to sum up the character development. Depending on your use case, there might be an eleventh circle, for your GM to secretly select a card. We'll cover that later.

For each circle on the diagram, draw a card from your tarot deck. Use the imagery on the card (or explanation in your guidebook) to answer the prompt, and then move on.

This is your character's big concept, be it a conflict, defining event, or whatever. In these first three circles we should be thinking about overarching themes, not details.

This is your character's outward expression: how they interact with others, how they get what they want in interpersonal ways, what their reputation is.

This is about passive qualities, conflicts, or weaknesses in your character. What causes trouble for your character?

Put down something that's stable or predictably good in your character's life. This is related to circle 2, but we're starting to get into more details.

In contrast, here's something predictably bad, or which would drive your character to a quest to fix things. (Adventure hooks?) We might find personality flaws, old regrets, unstable relationships. This is related to circle 3, but again, more detailed.

Unify all of the above, particularly including circle 1, to make a concrete idea of your character's inner face and essential nature. This is not the story your character would tell about themself; this is the story an omniscient narrator would tell about them.

This is kind of an elaboration on circles 4 and 2: put down something about your character's emotions and interpersonal relationships, especially if they can serve as plot/adventure hooks. It's definitely time to start getting detailed.

In the same way that 7 elaborates on 4 and 2, this elaborates on 5 and 3. This is about intellect and modes of communication.

Unify all of the above, especially 6,  7 and 8, to sum up the character's outer face. This will be how other people see your character and will tie into how you'll roleplay them.

Finally, conclusion and wrap-up. This is a completion of all the ideas you've developed so far. It might point toward a conclusion or a way forward for this character.