Café de Nuit

How do the two compare? I found a place selling a 2e Tarokka deck and being that the 3E version is very hard to come by, I seriously considering buying it in the next couple of days.

Similar. Very different art. There's a mistake on two of the cards in the Red Box set, but the Black Box is fine. That said, the 3e one is fantastic with lovely art and presentation. However, the coating on the cards is a little iffy so if the cards are going to see alot of use the 2e set is decent.

Well, both decks of cards are great and should allow you to implement a more "involved" Tarokka reading. Personally, I prefer the 3e version of the deck, because of the higher production values (thicker card stock, blood stains on the High Arcana deck, and other details), and I feel that Talon, inspired by the original deck, managed to improve upon it with a more integrated look, if you will (there are common elements that can be noticed throughout the whole deck). Also, the faded yellow parchment-like design and the nondescript rear side of the cards provide a more "authentic" appearance (the original Tarokka has the Ravenloft logo on the back of each card which, depending on your "nitpicky-ness", could affect immersion).
However, the original deck has art by Stephen Fabian, which was the original Ravenloft illustrator, and whose art is very evocative.

Get both!

Fabian and Dunning.

I only have the 2nd Edition deck, and never really used them in a game. I think the concept is nice, but I'd rather buy a cheap deck of actual tarot cards, and use them as a prop. As DM, you already have a strong knowledge of what the characters face, and with a bit of good role-playing you can incorporate that into your Tarokka reading. Having read some of the responses in this thread, I may have to take a look at the 3rd Edition ones, and see if I would benefit from purchasing them.

3e all the way. I always loved the concept of the Tarrokka but the 2e execution was subpar. The cards are small and thin. They have the RL logo on the back. Overall, the 2e ones are just a gaming accessory. The 3e ones are a real prop. They feel like they actually came from Ravenloft. The Fabian art is nice, but I prefer Talon's.

Fabian had some amazing concepts, but I found his artwork for undead and monsters to be blotchy and waxy. His human artwork is amazing, though - check out his delicious art in the Guide to Vampires.

Talon's artwork is starker, but a few of the cards he acknowledges that Fabian's vision cannot be improved, and he merely does an "updated" version of the scene already established by Fabian, with a respectful attribution in the sigline. The Temptress card has an example of this.

Cardwise, both will fulfill your needs if you're running a campaign (although the 8 and 9 of the Stars - the Necromancer and the Conjurer) are switched around on the Red Box version, which is completely unforgivable and largely ruins the value of that deck for me). The 3rd ed deck is much more immersive - the High Deck even has ominous looking bloodstains on the cards! But if you just need a visual prop, the 2nd ed deck is fine.

Had the interesting experience recently of including the 3e tarokka deck in the 3.5 WOTC Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (which had been laid dead in the middle of a S&S 3.5 Ravenloft campaign in which the Saxonia party had headed to the mainland).

The 3e deck is significantly prettier, which counts for a lot considering their function.

THERE'S A 3rd EDITION TAROKKA DECK!?!?!?!?!?
Which product did it came with, or was it a stand alone? And more importantly where can I buy one and have it shipped to south america?

Baron Zamedi wrote:THERE'S A 3rd EDITION TAROKKA DECK!?!?!?!?!?
Which product did it came with, or was it a stand alone? And more importantly where can I buy one and have it shipped to south america?

Yes, but don't get too excited. It was a stand alone, and it seems to be increasingly rare. It's not unusual to see it selling on ebay for close to $100.

Here's a pic of the box cover:

Yes, but don't get too excited. It was a stand alone, and it seems to be increasingly rare. It's not unusual to see it selling on ebay for close to $100.

Don't I know it. I was searching online for this product earlier today, and everywhere I looked, it was either sold out, or ungodly priced. Hmmm... I may have to pass on this one.

Well it is a work of art and a rare collectable. To think that you could buy them for around $ 20 in the FLGs...

I sold my spare some time ago for $100, which i think is an accurate price considering supply and demand. When I'm home i can post the auction pictures i used...

In the mean time this store has one for sale at a hefty $225, and it also has a pic of 6 of the gorgeous cards on the site. Here's the pic

Those are pretty amazing looking. I'd love to have a set just to have for my collection, but I'm just not willing to put that much money out for a product that I would rarely use, if at all. Still, they are quite eye catching!

Yes, but don't get too excited. It was a stand alone, and it seems to be increasingly rare. It's not unusual to see it selling on ebay for close to $100.

Oh, thats a pitty, the art is really gorgeous and I would love to have a look at all the cards.
But it is to much money just for a deck of cards even for one as cool as that one, but maybe someone who owns it could post a couple of pictures like Giamarga is doing? Pretty please with sugar on top

Well if you ever find one lying around in a brick and mortar store gathering dust, now you know to pick it up for anything under $ 50