The Old Mage Deck
Item 0Legacy Content
Source Secrets of Magic pg. 183 1.1Price 5 sp
Hands 2;
Bulk —
Also known as the Magician's Deck in Taldor or the Deck of Masks in the Shackles, the non-magical deck of cards called the Old Mage Deck exists with minor variances across Golarion. The four suits correspond to the four essences of magic (matter, spirit, mind, life) and each contains 13 numbered cards with characters depicted on them, plus two wildcards. While common decks are inexpensive (costing 5 sp), limited-edition decks with elaborate art and high-quality materials are often highly sought after by collectors. A deck has negligible Bulk, and takes both hands to use. In a classic Old Mage Deck, the 13 cards in each suit are as follows, with Jatembe's Ten Magic Warriors as cards 2 through 11: Initiate (1), Red Hyena (2), Grey Elephant (3), Golden Snake (4), Black Ibex (5), Frog of Shifting Colors (6), Emerald Spider (7), Walnut Hawk (8), White Bull (9), Blue Leopard (10), Black Heron (11), a different creature for each suit representing the given suit's magical essence (12), and Old Mage Jatembe using magic of the suit's essence (13). Wildcards vary from deck to deck, making each Old Mage Deck unique.
Old Mage Deck Substitutions
| Old Mage Deck | Standard Deck | Minor Arcana |
| Suit of Matter | Diamonds | Pentacles |
| Suit of Spirit | Clubs | Wands |
| Suit of Mind | Spades | Swords |
| Suit of Life | Hearts | Cups |
| One | Ace | Ace |
| Eleven | Jack | Knight |
| Twelve | Queen | Queen |
| Thirteen | King | King |
| Wildcards | Jokers | Any two Pages or Major Arcana cards |