Cards to Generate Story

[JohnPaulB]

On the TFT Facebook page, Jeff Vendene was looking for a way to generate random labyrinths:
"Something that allows the solo player to develop a story arc (or even just a sandbox) that provides a structure for the various solo labyrinths that can easily be generated. It seems to me that there ought to be, but I'm not a great game designer, and I seem to constantly fall short. I think cards might possibly be the way to go."

This got me to thinking about using a deck of cards to generate story, though this doesn't quite help him.

Suit

Spade = Central idea = Theme*
Clubs = conflict, struggle =Change
Hearts = lives, people = Characters, Who is involved
Diamonds = reward, wealth, growth =Discovery

2-10 = Intensity of the suit
Jack = Trickster
Queen = Mentor
King = Ruler
Ace = Highest Card – Purity, fidelity, goodness; Lowest Card – Corruption, treachery, evil
Joker = Divine

*Theme
Genre = High Fantasy; Steampunk; Detective, Romance…
The point you are trying to get across: Crime doesn’t pay; Don’t trust your senses; A stitch in time saves nine
Love, war, revenge, betrayal, patriotism, grace, isolation, motherhood, forgiveness, rich versus poor, innocence.

To generate the potential story, Play a poker game. The winning hand is the one you will use for the story.
Example:
8 of hearts, 8 of diamonds, 4 of hearts, King of clubs, 3 of spades.

The cards could translate to:
8 of hearts = There are a lot of people involved OR it heavily involves the health of living things.
8 of diamonds = The monetary rewards will be great OR some involved will be greatly enlightened OR something intense will be discovered.
4 of hearts = A few living beings will be involved OR one person will be affected lightly.
King of clubs = There will be a Big Bad OR a Guild is involved OR a lion is loose OR a PC must fight the urge to go WereWolf.
3 of spades = There will be a tinge of sci-fi in the story OR there is a risk of a small betrayal in the story OR No Pain, No Gain.

Use this to create a rough story involving these concepts.
Either start out the story with this idea and then let it play out as it will OR try to use this as a way to guide the story as it goes.