The Emperor's Tarot - The Tarot Deck - Part of an Epic 40,000 Game Deck Narrative

Oct 7, 2026

Upload by Eliana

The Emperor's Tarot is described as a 78-card fate deck used in an Epic 40,000 setting to reflect the unpredictability of battle and to help characters make significant decisions. The narrative details the elaborate card construction, ritual preparation, and the cosmological meanings attributed to each card, including major and frightening archetypes. It also outlines how readings are performed with specific layouts, how interpretations vary by position and context, and how theological disputes surround the deck’s divine authority.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

THE TAROT DECK

THE EMPEROR'S TAROT

THE EMPEROR'S WISDOM

# THE EMPEROR'S TAROT The deck of Fate cards which comes with the Epic 40,000 game is an entertaining way of including the unpredictability ofbattle in your games.However,we thought we could add even more character if we did a deck specifically tailored to anindividual army.Enter the Emperor's Tarot... ## THE TAROT DECK In the darkened chamber,its ancient walls shrouded by old tapestries,the wizened old seer sat behind a large stone table,awaiting hisaudience.Glow-candles illuminated the yellow smoke of incenseburners.The cloying vapours of sacred herbs lay heavily across thechamber as his patrons arrived,a silent procession of five men,alldressed in the long ornate robes of the Ministorum.Pontifex-UrbaJudah spoke first. The full Emperor'sTarot is a deck of 78 cards,used by hisloyal followers to divine his will and aid in makingimportant decisions.The cards themselves are elaborateworks of art,each is a thin wafer of liquid crystal,lovinglyhand-crafted by specialist scribe-artists of theAdministratum.Each scribe labours his entire lifetimelavishly illuminating a single precious card.When laid outin their entirety the cards form a picture of the entireImperium,its heroes and its foes.There is a card foreach:the Warrior,the Space Marine,the Inquisitor,thePreacher,the Assassin,the Chaplain,the Astropath andthe Judge,to name but a few.The most potent card is thatof the Emperor himself.Conversely there are suchhorrors as the Daemon,the Traitor,the Warlock,theMutant,the Heretic,the Hulk and the wild card of thepack,a card which is notoriously difficult to interpret,theHarlequin. "The cards are prepared,anointed with oils,thrice blessed before theimage of Him on Earth,as you required.Make your reading."He passeda deck of cards,wrapped in silken cloth,to the old man who carefullyshuffled them.Each card was a beautifully worked wafer-thin sliver ofcrystal.The Pontifex and his aides took their seats around the stonetable. First the seer took the card of the High Priest.The image was one of arobed figure carrying a hammer and a book,the picture's face changedto that of the Pontifex himself.The seer placed it face up.“Your talismanI presume."It was common practice for high-ranking members of theEcclesiarchy to take this card as their signifier,the talisman card forwhom the reading was to be made. The picture on each card is never constant.The cards arepsychically attuned to the strengthening and weakeningof influences within the warp,but although the imageshifts,perhaps due to the reader's state of mind at thetime,the basic meaning remains the same.Interpretingthe mutable images is part of the art of understanding thecards. The seer's laboured breathing became rhythmic as he attuned hissenses,then with careful precision the old man laid seven cards facedown on the table.Two inside a circle of five.The reading proper hadbegun. In a trance he addressed the onlookers."We stand alone facing theuniverse and seek the path of wisdom.Each card has its cosmicmeaning,for humanity,for this world and for each individual present.”The old seer began the reading with a prayer. No reading of the Tarot is ever undertaken lightly.Areading is a sacred ritual with strict codes of conduct thatmust be followed.The placing of the cards is highlysignificant,a circle of five arrayed about two central cardsis the most basic reading.If more cards are used thenfurther into the future can be seen,however,theinformation gleaned will become more vague and harderto interpret correctly.Cards mean different thingsdepending on their position upon the table,theirorientation and their relationship to other cards.Theramifications of a large reading can be thousand-fold andevery reader might reach a different conclusion.Forespecially important events or dangerous threats to theImperium,the High Lords of Terra themselves will look tothe cards.The senate will convene to debate the card'smeaning and each High Lord is advised by his owncouncil of psykers and seer

FAQs

What is the Emperor's Tarot described as, and how many cards does it include?

It is a fate deck of 78 cards used by the Emperor’s loyal followers for divination and decision-making in the Imperium.

How is a Tarot reading performed in the deck’s story?

A reading follows strict conduct, using significant card placement. A basic reading uses a circle of five cards around two central cards, and larger spreads look further ahead but become harder to interpret.

Why do characters disagree about the Tarot’s nature?

Some view it as a divine channel to the Emperor’s will that predicts threats and avert disasters, while others dismiss it as superstitious nonsense and a distraction from real governance.

Oct 7, 2026

Upload by Eliana