Cantrips with Cards

Richard Scott (rscott@mail.coin.missouri.edu)
"Oh the Flame Trees will find a weary Driver
Ain't Nothin' else can set Fire to this Town"

Or, in other words, a way to save money or get them more easily, or not have flimsy photocopies all over the place.

You will need four decks of regular playing cards. Very cheap, and often they will be lying around the house as 500 packs, bridge sets, canasta packs, or whatever. No frustrating collecting or wodges of cash.

Preferably, you will have two sets of two packs. With the two sets being of different same sized cards. i.e. Say a Queen's Slipper red deck and a

Queen's Slipper blue deck, and perhaps an Ace red deck and an ace blue deck. (You could also use four decks completely the same, if you wanted to write on them.) The second set should have four jokers (at least two in each deck, more doesn't matter) Or if you had four identical style decks, with a 2-2 split of different colors and each only had one joker, that would work, too.

The first two deck pair will be used for art and realm cards, the second two deck pair for bunk cards. (Something else that would work was four completely identical decks, and writing on the cards. Rubber bands will be a good idea after you separate out or make your decks, too.)

ART and REALM CARDS

Take your first pair of decks.
We will call whatever two same sized different decks you have here deck one and deck two. (Same sized so that they can be shuffled together)
Take out all the court cards (J/Q/K) and jokers from both decks. Also, take out the A-5 of clubs in each deck.
Take out the 6-10 of hearts in each deck.
Take out the 6-10 of spades in the _second_ deck. (Discard these, and put them all back in one of the boxes, or something)

ART CARDS

Separate out all the A-5 cards you have left in these decks, these will be the cards. You should have the A-5 of diamonds, hearts and spades in each deck remaining.

ART         DECK  CARD
Chicanery   1     1A Diamonds 
Chicanery   2     12 Diamonds 
Chicanery   3     13 Diamonds 
Chicanery   4     14 Diamonds 
Chicanery   5     15 Diamonds 
Primal      1     1A Hearts 
Primal      2     12 Hearts 
Primal      3     13 Hearts 
Primal      4     14 Hearts 
Primal      5     15 Hearts 
Sovereign   1     1A Spades 
Sovereign   2     12 Spades 
Sovereign   3     13 Spades 
Sovereign   4     14 Spades 
Sovereign   5     15 Spades 
Legerdemain 1     2A Diamonds 
Legerdemain 2     22 Diamonds 
Legerdemain 3     23 Diamonds 
Legerdemain 4     24 Diamonds 
Legerdemain 5     25 Diamonds 
Soothsay    1     2A Hearts 
Soothsay    2     22 Hearts 
Soothsay    3     23 Hearts 
Soothsay    4     24 Hearts 
Soothsay    5     25 Hearts 
Wayfare     1     2A Spades 
Wayfare     2     22 Spades 
Wayfare     3     23 Spades 
Wayfare     4     24 Spades 
Wayfare     5     25 Spades

So, for example if you had two decks, deck one was red, deck two was blue. The red 5 of Spades would be Sovereign 5, and the blue 5 of Spades would be Wayfare 5. These cards form all the Art cards you will need.

REALM CARDS

You should now have left the 6-10 of Clubs from both decks, the 6-10 of Diamonds from both decks, and the 6-10 of Spades from the first deck.

REALM DECK CARD

Actor 1 1 6 Clubs
Actor 2 1 7 Clubs
Actor 3 1 8 Clubs
Actor 4 1 9 Clubs
Actor 5 110 Clubs
Nature 1 1 6 Diamonds
Nature 2 1 7 Diamonds
Nature 3 1 8 Diamonds
Nature 4 1 9 Diamonds
Nature 5 110 Diamonds
Fae1 1 6 Spades
Fae2 1 7 Spades
Fae3 1 8 Spades
Fae4 1 9 Spades
Fae5 110 Spades
Prop 1 2 6 Clubs
Prop 2 2 7 Clubs
Prop 3 2 8 Clubs
Prop 4 2 9 Clubs
Prop 5 210 Clubs
Scene 1 2 6 Diamonds
Scene 2 2 7 Diamonds
Scene 3 2 8 Diamonds
Scene 4 2 9 Diamonds
Scene 5 210 Diamonds

So, again if your first deck is red and your second is blue, a red 10 of Diamonds is Nature 5, and a blue 10 of Diamonds is Scene 5, as an example. These are all the Realm cards you will need.

BUNK CARDS

Take two more different decks of the same size. Remove all the jokers and the Club court cards. Of course, keep thse two sets of decks separate. A similar suit system will be used. The Art the bunk is associated with will be listed, the deck that the Art comes from, and the card that represents that bunk. i.e. AD = Ace of Diamonds, 2C = 2 of Clubs.

CHICANERY BUNKS - DECK ONE

AD Abracadabra
2D Gnis Gnos
3D The Rooster Screams
4D Yeah, Yeah - That's It
5D Who's On First
6D Moo
7D Just the Facts
8D Low-Tech Karaoke
9D Booger Salute
10D Evening at the Globe
JD Flipper
QD Name That Tune
KD Dateline
AC The Children's Hour
2C Poetry Corner
3C A Million Stories in the Big City

PRIMAL BUNKS - DECK ONE

AH Willowbark
2H Seashell
3H Petal-Rain
4H Heather-wreath
5H Soothing Balm
6H Honeycup
7H Oakstaff
8H Watchful Warder
9H Draw the Line
10H Holly-Whip
JH Self-Scarification
QH Tears of Rage
KH Elder-ring
4C Etch and Sketch
5C Strange Brew
6C Storyteller's Choice

SOVEREIGN BUNKS - DECK ONE

AS White Gloves
2S Ask Nicely
3S Badge of Honor
4S Speak Softly
5S Endearment
6S Ringing Shout
7S Finery
8S Aura
9S Hangers-On
10S Gilded Cross
JS Ashes in the Corner
QS By Signet Sealed
KS Quest-Gift
7C Renaming
8C Honor the Four Winds
9C Storyteller's Choice :)

LEGERDEMAIN BUNKS - DECK TWO

AD Itchy & Scratch
2D The Third Knuckle
3D Dance-a-jig
4D Piggie, Piggie
5D Leap of Faith
6D Moose Salute
7D Vanna's Revenge
8D Director's Cut
9D Om
10D Bloody Barishnikov
JD Marcel's Apprentice
QD A Tree I Be
KD Fred and Ginger
AC Nah, Nah, You Stink
2C Someone Else's Money
3C Storyteller's Choice

SOOTHSAY BUNKS - DECK TWO

AH Lucky Charms
2H Crystal Blue
3H Dragon Bones
4H Snap-bone
5H Photo Shoot
6H Burning Issues
7H Cauldron Scry
8H Tea with the Black Dragon
9H Seven-Year Gaze
10H The Celtic Cross
JH The Oracle Says
QH Mojo-Bag
KH Soul-doll
4C Seven-Day Candle
5C Bloodmark
6C Storyteller's Choice :)

WAYFARE BUNKS - DECK TWO

AS Runemarks
2S Tattoo You
3S Shatterglass
4S Don't Inhale
5S Captain Puff Puff
6S Krispy Kreaming
7S Lose a Key
8S Graffiti
9S Three Stones
10S Birds of a Feather
JS Spinning Top
QS High Jump
KS Mark a Map
7C Sword in the Stone
8C Geode Pair
9C Storyteller's Choice :)

NIGHTMARE CARDS

Number 12 as long as you have four jokers. There should be four jokers, and two sets of 10-K Clubs. Here the abbreviations will mean deck, then card. i.e. 1 10C means deck one, ten of Clubs. 2 QC means deck two, queen of Clubs. J1 Means first joker in that deck, J2 means second joker in that deck.

1 10C Horrid Dreams
2 10C Freezing Wind
1 JC Clumsiness
2 JC Headaches
1 QC Bad Luck
2 QC Temporary Blindness
1 KC Recurring Nightmare
2 KC Widdershins
1 J1 Lose Important Item
2 J1 Wracked with Pain
1 J2 Lose All Glamour
2 J2 Banality

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