Currently, officially in RAW, they are mundane cards and essentially a focus for the magic of the Vistani. However, I'm going to be running Curse of Strahd for my regular group. I'm usually a player and have only DM'd once to give our usual DM a break. This is my first time with a published adventure. Random Properties. The artifact has the following random properties, which you can determine by rolling on the tables in the "Artifacts" section of the Dungeon Master's Guide:

Keep in mind, you can also use an Inverted card to represent a character. An inverted Two of Stars (Diviner) could represent Victor Vallakovich, carrying the idea of pursuit of knowledge, but without wisdom tempering that pursuit. Having studied the book, you have some idea of what each Tarokka result can entail, and you can let this "foreknowledge" inform Madam Eva's reactions to the cards as they appear. If you drawGhost (King of Hearts) Sir Godfrey Gwilym - Frankly, this poor guy deserves a better ending, and he’s a powerful paladin. The presence of a spy or a minion of some greater power; an encounter with a puppet or an underling It's also a notable hook into the adventure, since the characters are given some sense of what they are in Ravenloft to undertake. I'm looking for help from those experienced running the campaign on how to spice up this moment.

Broken One (King of Diamonds) or Innocent (Queen of Hearts) Sergei’s Tomb - I love the narrative resonance of defeating Strahd in his brother’s tomb when his envy for his brother resulted in that brother’s death and, in many ways, Barovia as a Domain of Dread. The Focus card is always the first card laid down and, regardless of the layout used, generally sits at the heart of the layout. If they do not choose a Focus, the reading is generally less clear, but may provide insight into something the Vistana didn't know to look into. Shuffling Fate. If you go 7 days without using the Twist of Fate property, your attunement to Luba's Tarroka of Souls ends, and you can't attune to it again until after another creature uses Twist of Fate on you.As with the Extended Cross, the first 5 cards laid down can have the same meaning as the Basic Cross, but the Tower is only used with the Information Gathering aspect of the Basic Cross. It gathers information for context, then casts far into the past and future. Beyond the first five...

The Tower, sometimes called the Divergent Cross, is used when one is examining multiple possible futures derived from multiple past events. This layout is the easiest one to make seem prophetic, because Tarokka cards are vague anyway, and 3 possible outcomes lets you be even more gleefully vague than a horoscope. The imminent death of one rightly or wrongly convicted of a crime; false accusations and unjust prosecution Of course, the easiest answer to this question is “you’ll find out,” which Madam Eva can tell the characters with the Mists (Queen of Spades) card. This card allows you to put Strahd wherever the characters might feel is most narratively compelling after a campaign of awaiting this final battle, or—alternatively—wherever they’ve run out of resources and Strahd feels he can strike. Isolation and imprisonment; being so conservative in thinking as to be a prisoner of one's own beliefs The Seven of Coins (Thief) could be wholly inverted to represent the acquisition of property, friendship, or reputation.Either an additional important element that took place further in the past than Card 2, or a clarification that provides extra detail about Card 2 Great rage or passion; something bestial or malevolent hiding in plain sight or lurking just below the surface A being of great importance whose life is in danger (who might be helpless or simply unaware of the peril)

Donjon: Can be used to inform the PCs that their thinking is too narrow and that they need to think a little more outside the box (lit. trapped in their own beliefs) Refers to something that is an ally, friend, or boon towards the subject. As with card 3, this can represent anything 'good' that is related to the subject The Five of Coins (Guild Member) could be entirely inverted to represent those with no care for their work, or partially inverted to represent a group of individuals who disagree with each other, but are joined towards a common goal anyway. The Executioner inverted could mean one being acquitted of a crime that should have carried a penalty of death, or perhaps to represent rightful criminal prosecution, or the imminent death of someone not accused of a crime

Four of Glyphs (Shepherd): Can be used to alert players that someone needs urgent help "bearing a burden too big for them." Sample Readings The Six of Stars (Evoker) could be inverted to represent power under control or magic used for constructive ends