Deck Of Many Things 5e - Ultimate Guide for Dungeons and Dragons

[@slashb7836]

I think the harm of Balance is massively overstated. As someone who has played multiple characters who underwent alignment shifts, both forced and not, sure, it changes how I play them, but it doesn't necessarily have to make you abandon your core values or turn on the party. I had a Feral Tiefling EK Fighter/Div Wizard gish named Hero, whose core virtue was about becoming a hero like the heroes of legend he grew up learning about. So much so that he chose Hero as his virtue name when he came of age. He was Neutral Good. However, after awhile, he ended up in possession of the Eye of Vecna, which changed him to Neutral Evil. His drive to become a hero didn't change, nor did his care for his friends, but the way he approached it and the motivations drifted. Being a hero became more of a dream of vanity and reknown than helping others. His friends were his friends no matter his alignment. He ended up even paying the ultimate price for them, and it was not out of character or alignment. Remember, a good guy will sacrifice you for the world. A bad guy will drive the whole world to ruin just to keep you safe.

[@NCcody811]

Our last session introduced a deck, and of course we all drew until two of our characters were dead (one being mine), and many cool things were gained. Now my loyal knight that I pulled before death is going on a quest to save the dead characters. I freaking love this item.

[@MegaAniLinkFan]

I love to hear everyone's opinions on this item. I never play to use this or draw from the deck. A home-brew with less drastic consequences would be better.

[@Janitor_Dragon]

I once gave my players the deck of many in long campaign. Aswell as two homebrew items, Mina’s bag of chaos which is like the deck but can also produce spells, weapons, effects, friends, foes and so on and the cursed book of the iron lord. Which has a special effect for each page. These 3 items are important to the campaign, and as the players said “this has been the most chaotic dumpster fire ever” followed by “can we play it again?”

[@divergentlife493]

Thumbs up! My only reason for going on YT is to find out where this item came from. Multiple vids about it, with no info. And this one explains right away it was from the original Greyhawk supplement.

[@ProtomanButCallMeBlues]

I think they're best used when they're the focus of a campaign. If they're thrown in mid campaign they'll basically break your game and the only thing worse than a deck of many things is a DM having to pull things out of their rear to try and get some semblance of a campaign back together

[@SkullSplitter]

Yea, this is largely the reason they tend to be frowned upon.

[@cheetah219]

I think this is one of those items that can be massaged with home brewing. I like the idea that cards give riches, grant a wish, bring loyal servants but also transporting a character to an unknown dimension that the party need to now find (doing a force pull for a one shot campaign to your point for a short campaign, and just need to get right into a shorter one shot campaign without a lot of world building) . I also think it could be an interesting way of putting a PC on hold if the player themselves are not able to make it to a few sessions in a row so the party goes on a side quest to rescue a PC or a core NPC. Obviously lots of ways of this occurring but kind of gives an illusion of no rails if a new GM doesn't quite have storytelling down pat but needs an excuse to say " we need to save a king or save my father". Also, in a session 0 with the players, new cards could be written to make it or other home brew items more useful or story driven (i.e the fight with death could be a key storyline and I would agree that the vizier card would need to go away...power levels, experience, money are all things I think a GM can figure out how to solve but an opportunity to just learn a part of the campaign for free without effort seems too farfetched and campaign ruining. Especially if the whole point of the campaign is to figure out mystery,etc. Obviously the solution is to just not use the cards but I think the cards can still add a good element of storytelling with some home brewing and give PCs some interesting control over thr campaign especially if a GM is a bit stuck on where to go next if the players do something crazy. In general, I agree with most posts here that the more someone thinks about this deck, it's better served to be a primary driver for the story or just not used at all

[@nicolasgondran124]

I just throw it in my campain, it's absolutely delightfull to see them hesitate to withdraw one or not xD

[@fairytalesandfables3641]

Solid review my good man

[@gedu7653]

As a GM you can do anything with the source material you are given. Flames; a devil hunts you? Why not make it a small devil, the size of a squirrel, indestructable, hates that one player, but can't do any harm except being annoying. That can be a fun running joke like thing on the table. Just for comedic effect. Void; your soul contained in an object? Why should that be a problem as long as the player has the object with them? Maybe the soul goes into the weapon of a friend and as long as the one drawing the card holds the weapon, there will be no problem! I don't see why you should use the deck at face value. Make it your own. I think it's amazing for inspiration!

[@justjoe7678]

THIS this this this this this 100% I LOOOOVE my new cards and I would be so sad for my players to be so scared of them they never make use of them.

[@ironfae]

The DoMT only “breaks” a character or campaign if the DM lets it. Nothing in the rules say that it has to be used or that any of the card effects are permanent. A good DM should make efforts to balance out card effects and provide options to help their players. The deck is just a gameplay option and shouldn’t be taken so seriously.

[@SkullSplitter]

EHHHH; not making the effects permanent seem to cheapen the effects. If players know the consequences are real it adds tension; after a good pull release (aka, all the elements for drama)

[@ironfae]

@@SkullSplitter True, but there’s no reason why a card effect has to completely ruin a player’s experience. Even the bad ones can lead to optional solutions. A player who successfully survives and overcomes them can come out wiser AND rewarded for their efforts. The effects aren’t really cheapened by an equally challenging outcome. I’ve run the DoMT about three times in campaigns. Yes, some of my players got bad cards. However, I made sure to offer solutions through side quests and kept those players from getting totally discouraged by their draws. Playing the DoMT strictly by the book doesn’t help anybody’s game.

[@phillipallen3259]

I just bought a Deck of Many Things made by Deck of Many. I tried it as a player, many years ago (3e) and had a wonderful experience. As a DM I'm excited and apprehensive about using it, however my game style is compatible with it's use.

[@TheArchangel129]

I introduced the deck into my campaign last session. It didn't derail my campaign but now I have to create a devil that wants to kill the bard and a castle that the celric has to clear out to claim, but he also pulled Donjon so now the rest of the party has to go to said castle to free him. Alot of extra work but I'm happy with the results lol

[@bbd121]

I humbly prefer the deck of many things in AD&D(2e). It's more wild, but it's the very first Deck of Many things I ever got and a lot more fun than the tamer 5e version. The 'Harrowed Deck of many things' in Pathfinder 1e is a lot of fun too. And if you have the Year 2010 "Classic Treasures Revisited", you'd have the rules to swap out Ruins with Amnesiac, Skull with Bones, Balance with Girdle (we had lots of laughter when our bard drew Girdle), Knight with Lover, Rogue with Madness, and Star with Mastery. I wish there was a video going through the growth and evolution of the deck of many things from D&D 1e to today, comparing all the delightful offshoots in D&D supplements like frog god, and other systems like GURPs (I think it's called the deck of fate or the deck of chaos, or something, but I can't be sure), or Pathfinder.

[@minxyayala]

This card, in my opinion, is a one way ticket to ruin a long going campaign. I know balancing it will "ruin the rick from pulling of it", but I counted at least 8 cards that will ruin or flat out kill a players character. It like going with the logic of "oh, the random encounter dice lauded on the green dragon number. Now fight" This card need to be nerfed in so many ways

[@Chaosmage42]

personally i would make the effects a lot less dramatic -for example instead of a curse only a god can remove make it a penalty for the next 3 days or till you cast greater restoration, the knights a good idea but instead make them 4 or if you are lower than 4 -1 your current level unless you are 1 then its just 1, but who gives this to a level one character. either way the point im saying is we just make a deck thats a lot less dangerous and more random effects like a pack of low level goblin are created and attack you, or you get a +1 dagger something useful but not game breaking

[@secretsmith813]

It feels like the house always wins with the deck. The bad effects are terrible, and the good effects are mild.

[@shenshockd7468]

I never thought of making my own deck. I’ll definitely do that!

[@jackfelder2560]

I'm sorry. Are you saying a campaign is gonna be completely derailed by 1 ASI from the Star card? Like, if the fighter had +6 str instead of +5? I'm not saying it isn't a strong ability, but your words were "it would completely derail the campaign because suddenly one character is so much more powerful than everyone else."

[@fritzhoffmann9746]

I ran a Ravenloft game where the npc, matriarch Vistani, on a river boat played the cards for the PC's. One character pulled dunjon. Instantly, she was pulled down & gone. In order to get her back, they needed a wish spell, to be cast at the same spot on the steam boat, at the same spot the steam boat was on the river. Needless to say, that character, was gone.

[@KyuubiReaper122]

Fun fact: Cleric of Kelemvor works his ass off, got a +1 Int over the campaigns transition periods...long behold, some 'deck' appears as a running horror show in our group with an Emissary as I've dubbed him. I remember we had endings where some figure shows up, after a great hurdle or boss is vanquished. Anyway, after we manage to get through whatever challenge and all of a sudden ominous music plays. We all go pale and see a pair of blackened dice meant for card selection. Here's what happens... Rogue/Arcane Caster: Goes to Dimensional prison. DM: One of you needs a new sheet when we come back for next season. Wizard: Draws 'adversary' as a demonic figure will stalk and haunt your ass until one dies. DM: Good Luck. Bard: I don't draw anything. DM: Smart choice. Paladin: Draws the alignment shift, goes from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil. DM: You're an actual asshole pal, so now you'll be natural. Me: I draw the idiot card, lose 1d4+1 Int...I roll a 1, so I'm less smarter and I draw another card. Party: Oh fuck... Me: Resigned and ready to die! DM: Let's see your next pick... Me: I draw the Sun Card and gain +3 Levels as a level 9, now (Lv 12), gain a wondrous/legendary weapon that was a Scythe blessed by the God of Death more, or less and is considered 'good' for anything less will be harmed, if they attempt to wield it. DM with a smug grin: About time someone drew something 'good' for once, I was almost depressed since that never happens often.

[@mikapog-p2j]

If a player was to pull two cards and donjon was first, do the effects of the second card take place

[@GenuineMattyC]

No. You declare the number of cards you are going to draw, but you resolve each card when drawn, meaning the resolution of certain cards negates drawing additional cards even if declared.

[@dannyleo5787]

Question and I do not know if this has been done before? Should these cards be in the hands of a bbeg, how screwed would the party be if he uses the skull on all of us while he makes easy work on his own? Cause our current campained homebrew, six cards have been drawn now and um... barbarian got goated into drawing one from this twisted tabaxi jester nutcase and got a demon huntress hunting him. Wizard drew the idoit card and has become a vegetative state now worth being a meat shield. And lastly our bard drew the ruin card to his already debt now multiplied by hundreds. Also we got captured because bbeg drew the knight who killed our ranger in a ambush..

[@mrmeeseeks1917]

I got the void as my first card a level 3 rogue 😢

[@benward4585]

I don't know why people have problems DMing with powerful items.

[@shadowshibe5962]

Ok but how do you cheat the deck

[@SkullSplitter]

You dont!

[@nathanpfirman625]

Wish