Originally Published June 9th 2020
While I have always been enamored by the idea of a deck of many things from the second I heard about it, but unfortunately, it isn't incredibly usable. It remains a magic item drenched in the traditions of older D&D with, a design ethos that has been abandoned by current editions.
I wanted to have the first adventure of my party be centered around finding a deck of many things but I didn't want there to be a chance of a total party kill. I made my own custom deck to fit well within my setting and provide more of a sense of weirdness and wonder when drawing from the deck.
The way I run it is a character declares how many cards they intend to draw, and must draw that amount
2♠: The Ocean, Character now has a voice in the back of their head urging them to go into the ocean
2♥: The Unkindness, Black birds now follow the character
2♦: The Jockey, The Character know has horse hooves
2♣: The Miner, D4 precious gemstones appear in front of the character, worth 100 GP per gem
J♠: The Observer, An extra eye takes shape on the character’s forehead after d8 days, it has dark vision up to 30 ft
J♥: The Forge, A weapon made of a heavy iron materializes at the character’s feet
J♦: The Hare, Next check the character passes automatically
J♣: The Moonlit, Character gains an additional plus one to perception during the night
Q♠: The Companion, A dog begins to follow the party, if you stare at it long enough you can see the stars in its fur
Q♥: The Traveler, A doppelganger of the character appears somewhere
Q♦: The Serpent, The character becomes immune to poisons
Q♣: The Starlight, A wand holding 5 changes for fireball materialize in front of the character
K♠: The Tempter, A warlock style patron promises the character powers
K♥: The Fog Riden, Character becomes practically invisible in the fog
K♦: The Rotten, Any wooden items the character has is turned into a rich soil
K♣: The Fortune, The character can draw two more cards
A♠: The Mighty, The character is a foot shorter now
A♥: The Fae, The next person who promises this character something cannot break the promise
A♦: The Voyager, The Character Takes one level of exhaustion
A♣: The Chained, The Character’s soul gets bound to an object on their person
Black Joker: The Artifact, A cursed weapon appears
Red Joker: The Ruins, Draw no more cards. If this would have been the last card drawn the deck disappears