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We had to make our own deck. You can use this one in the browser:

https://spacegamer.com/SGTarot.aspx

I have figured out a number of shortcuts, too many, to run games. I have always been a person who sees what something (code) does well and then uses it to extreme.

Start Epic Table bare bones with a Tabletop and background image. This can be a photo off net or map of local area. You use an Inn, google Image Inn and grab one that looks good. Epic Table and roleplay works better as evocative play, not literal. Meaning, do not expect a virtual tabletop to allow the players to open every door, chest and see the fluid drain from a mug of ale. This is never going to be Skyrim nor should it.

You have a tabletop with a map, my start.

Next make a referee character with image icon of a question mark. If you don't have a graphics program (I use Corel from nineties) just use PAINT. Again Google images are your friend. Biggest problem of most art is the size. Load times are sad. You don't need a meg file, so I am always resizing images from 300 dpi to 96 and ensuring they are small if merely icon characters (350 x 350 pixels). Exception is the play surface, that starting background image. If I have a map, like in my DnD House Rulez, I want that map to be at least 20" x 16" to get some room to roam.

Take the map and add some question marks. You're done. The players when they arrive will go see what is at each Question Mark. As Ref, have something interesting, usually a fight. Most rpgs have extensive rules for combat; use them. If rpg has extensive rules for character jump, use that. Most don't; they have combat. Add a riddle or puzzle pointer to a different Question Mark. You get idea. Add more details, different types of Question Marks, like image of castle, as you see this work for you.

Add Fog of War for next twist, after your players learn to explore a map and goto action of your story.

Fog of War paralyzes people. They do not want to go out of the light. It's fun. Open small parts of map as they move. Instead of going right to Question Mark, they need to hunt for the Question Mark. Add bandits and such to discover as they search. Load the thing w/ traps, at least ten times as many as you think is fair. They won't hit (find) but a small portion. The reveal at end, where the players see what they might have hit before finding the goal gives them hope.

The key to Ref is giving hope, taking it away, then restoring that faith.

Here's a complicated example of my group looking for Lost Citadel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9I3EaPtdHo&list=PLUHNrIqM1T1PNpKXcygjp7XBonlH-70Gq&index=5

Note the voice tone as each player must take the hotseat. That map as background image is just me taking a 20" x 16" solid color sheet and adding smaller evocative images on it; connecting those with red lines. All done in Corel Draw then imported into Epic Table as the single background image.

Time is precious, but you can see easy and hard examples of my games, all in Epic Table, under my YouTube name. Cutlass ones remain my favorites as pyrate players in a ship explore for New Worlds.




Yours,