Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
So, next summer or early fall (there's actually two version of the publication timeline graphic WotC put out a few weeks ago), WotC will be publishing the Deck of Many Things-themed Book of Many Things.
Although I intend to pick up the Golden Vault and Phandelver books, the Book of Many Things is, by far, the item on the 2023 publication schedule that I'm most excited about.
According to WotC, the book will include "creatures, locations, and other player-facing goodies related to that most famous D&D magic item, the Deck of Many Things," most likely including the feat and spells from a recent UA.
A number of posters have expressed confusion about how that description can carry a whole book. Here's how I'm guessing it'll work:
Is anyone else excited about this book?
Although I intend to pick up the Golden Vault and Phandelver books, the Book of Many Things is, by far, the item on the 2023 publication schedule that I'm most excited about.
According to WotC, the book will include "creatures, locations, and other player-facing goodies related to that most famous D&D magic item, the Deck of Many Things," most likely including the feat and spells from a recent UA.
A number of posters have expressed confusion about how that description can carry a whole book. Here's how I'm guessing it'll work:
- The book will be supported by a Deck of Many Things product, similar to (but hopefully more deluxe than) the Ravenloft Tarokka deck. (Beadle & Grimm will likely have an even fancier version as well.) Myself, I'm going with a fancy one off of Etsy, which has a bumper crop of decks, many of which are gorgeous.
- Almost nothing is known about the Deck of Many Things and, to my knowledge, that's been true throughout all editions of D&D. A Neverwinter Nights videogame said they were created by the Netherese, because of course they did, but this is the kind of classic and mysterious item that seems to cry out for something more mythic, tied to the First World. Maybe it's a creation of an ancient god of chaos, trying to stop the new multiverse from becoming a rigid, boring place?
- In addition to the spells and feat from the UA, I suspect we'll get some more player-facing content, like additional lesser decks, other card-related magic and, depending on how wacky the designers are feeling, maybe some stage magic inspired items. (The hat of vermin is all well and good, but where's our hat of conjuration that summons rabbits and doves?)
- A number of the cards either include or suggest monsters (Comet, Flames, Skull) and I would guess we'd see monsters for each of those and variant avatars of death for the Skull card. But even though the deck isn't a Tarot, I think Tarot-style figures could be created for many of the Deck's cards, as either creatures related to the card (what sort of entities guard the prisons of the Donjon and the Void?) or are creatures who may worship, seek to destroy or seek to (re)claim the cards themselves. Surely the deck has made a lot of waves across the history of the multiverse, and it seems entirely likely there would be entities devoted to harnessing the power or preventing it from causing more chaos. One or more sample knights for the Knight card seems like an easy thing to do.
- Likewise, there are a number of locations alluded to in the cards, including the Donjon and Void, but also the Throne. Sample castles for the Throne card also seem like an easy thing to include. And some or all of these could be either lightly or fully fleshed out adventure locations, so that a DM can immediately have his group rescue a friend trapped in the Void or claim the castle granted by the Throne.
- Other adventures also seem possible, although maybe just in the realm of DMs Guild. If we have adventures built around the Apparatus of Kwalish, surely there can be an adventure or two about past recipients who've previously used the card either trying to prevent anyone else from using it, perhaps out of fear that they'd lose their castle or wanting a chance to fix what the deck previously did to them. I could also see stretching the way the deck works a bit by having adventure locations where a single known card is being kept as a treasure. The Fates would be worth a king's ransom, or more, to the right people, for instance.
- And finally, it's an Everything book right at the end of 5E as we know it. It's time to get weird! How about rules for using cards -- either the deck, a standard 52-card deck or a Tarot deck) -- instead of dice? Plenty of games already use those mechanics, in whole or in part, as a central mechanic. Let's make characters using cards! Create adventure settings using cards! Run solo adventures with cards!
Is anyone else excited about this book?
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