A Deck of Many Things

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