D&D 5E Deck of Many Things Preview

[DMZ2112]

"Gaurunteed?" Groan.

I don't mind the recycling. Full disclosure: I'd never seen the Madness at Gardmore Abbey deck; but it is gorgeous and I am all for consistency between editions rather than change for the sake of change. Spend that time and money elsewhere. Same logic behind no new setting books.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I am quite happy they decided to give a reward to those who bought Gardmore Abbey by making those cards 100% useable with 5e

Speaking of, I bought that module but never ran it. For those that did, do you think it could work well in 5th Edition? Or would it require too much updating and tinkering?

 

[I'm A Banana]

I don't think we should be expected to be grateful to a company for previewing its products to us, whether that be a trailer for a movie, a billboard showing off a new phone, or an excerpt from a book. Sure, we have an appetite for news about things we like, and we like to see previews, but that doesn't translate into any requirement for gratitude. Previews are ads, after all - they just happen to be ads we're receptive to, and there is nothing wrong with critiquing a potential purchase based on what we know of it. That's just good sense.

WotC doesn't preview stuff in order to gain gratitude. It previews stuff in order to increase overall awarenesss, excitement, and - ultimately - sales.

"Donate more to charity and we'll give you more of those commercials you love!"

I'm fond of the previews, and I don't think tying it to Extra Life was a bad call. Previews for a book I'm almost certainly going to buy are icing on my cake at this point. I'm happy to see the AWESOME art, and delighted that the game isn't afraid to let you break it if that's what you want. Because sometimes, you TOTALLY want that.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I like that they're going back to the classic format of the Deck of Many Things, 4e (Deck of Many Things) and late 3.5e (Tarokka Deck) I found too jarringly annoying when they tried everything they could to cross promote Three-Dragon Ante when those decks previously had nothing to do with it. So the return to the classic format is very welcomed. And it's back to 22 cards too, so you could use the 22 major arcana of a tarot deck if you want to bother with it too.

 

[bleezy]

I actually really liked this preview. It shows three important things:

1. The deck has the same cards.
2. The cards probably all have the same classic effects from AD&D.
3. Magic items in general may even be more hardcore than in AD&D. Note that you can draw as many cards as you want. And if you don't draw all the required cards, the whole deck flies apart and affects you a at once? Wow!

This definitely make me more excited about the DMG.

 

[TwoSix]

"Donate more to charity and we'll give you more of those commercials you love!"

I'm fond of the previews, and I don't think tying it to Extra Life was a bad call. Previews for a book I'm almost certainly going to buy are icing on my cake at this point. I'm happy to see the AWESOME art, and delighted that the game isn't afraid to let you break it if that's what you want. Because sometimes, you TOTALLY want that.

I'm not going to say I don't appreciate it, because I certainly do. But I think they'd raise even more money if meeting the goals prompted the release of brand-new material that WASN'T going to be included in a release. Say, a 4 page pdf detailing a brand new subclass if they reach the $50,000 goal.

 

[Joe Liker]

Isn't it funny how an item that's supposed to be super-duper rare turns up so darned often, especially in the campaigns of fresh new players?

 

[Paraxis]

Isn't it funny how an item that's supposed to be super-duper rare turns up so darned often, especially in the campaigns of fresh new players?

Well if you are going to unleash this on your campaign the only time is during the early part so that when it destroys characters not much damage is done, that or when you just don't want to run your campaign anymore and just want it to end.

Placing the deck into the middle of a healthy well established campaign is nothing short of insanity and tempting utter chaos.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Pssh, it's a weak-sauce GM who is stymied by the death of the BBEG.

Part of what I like about this preview is that it really implies there's some items out there that they are OK with being "GM opt-in." Like, if you include this deck in your game, it's YOUR choice as a DM. You can run with the consequences. If you don't want the consequences, don't put the item in, and everyone stays happy!

 

[Eric V]

Speaking of, I bought that module but never ran it. For those that did, do you think it could work well in 5th Edition? Or would it require too much updating and tinkering?

Honestly, I think it'd be great. Many of the monsters are already in the MM, but some might need adjusting (there's one in particular that might be too tough). If I hadn't JUST run it, I'd do it.