The Deck of Many Things
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One horrifying artifact from older editions of D&D was the Deck of Many Things, an object of supreme power that could either shape or destroy campaigns on a whim. For those of you who are new to D&D via 4e, here’s basically what it is:
Basically, a deck of cards which grant you different boons and horrors. One may allow you to gain a level, or gain 1d4 Wishes, while another will imprison you in the realm of some dark god or, as one puts it, “your body remains, but your soul is imprisoned elsewhere.” You can see the rules for it in 3e here.
But what would it look like in 4e? At-Will posted up his idea of it, or, at least, a “minor” version of it, which makes sense for 4e. 4e is less about screwing over players, so minor setbacks and benefits would make more sense here.
Have you ever encountered the Deck? I’d love to hear your horror stories.
We did, the 1st ed. one to be exact. I don’t remember just what happened, as it was more than 20 years ago. The only reason I remember it at all is because I’d made a deck myself. Picture of it HERE.
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Hm. But there is 4E version of it. It’s less screwed, but still. I’m not gonna allow it in my game.
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Yes, I have used it in my games but many years ago in less serious games. If I used it today, it would come with warning klaxons and flashing red lights.
Last time I remembered seeing it used was in a 3e D&D game and it was a scaled down version and even then, it was partly retconned out the session immediately following.
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There was a 1st edition adventure in Dungeon that dealt with them quite well. It was issue 19, House Of Cards. The deck cards were embedded into doors in the dungeons of the Thieves Guild IIRC. Opening the doors counted as drawing the cards. Nice.
Of course, the GM can just remove cards from the deck before play.
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I’m in the process of making a nice cardstock|laminated copy of the 4e DoMT and a nice box to house it in.
My players and I really enjoy the DoMT and the risk/reward dilemma it poses.
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We had a mage that drew a card and had to defeat a minor Death (solo) and gain X. I don’t remember the reward for doing so, other than surviving. He did defeat the Death, by first transforming it’s scythe into a leg of lamb. Quite memorable.
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