Introducing the Deck of Many Things

[MonsterMash]

I've not used it in 3e and only once in 1e, I find it too destabilising in its effects.

 

[rushlight]

I introduced a deck in a previous campaign. It didn't kill it, but it did cause some hurt feelings.

Basically, the PCs were your standard goodie types, out to save the world. Late one night, while the players were out on the streets alone, a hooded man approached them. He offered a chance at amazing riches with "some risk" to personal life and property. Clearly, this character was shady, and the deal was not intended to be benificial.

I wondered what my valient heroes out to save the world would do. Would they remain noble, and turn down the offer? After all, if they perished, the world would likely be doomed. Would their greed take over? Would they essentially gamble with the fates of millions for a chance at personal reward?

Naturally, they chose the latter. :\

Anyway, first draw nets a player a wish. Next, the paladin's soul gets banished to hell. Followed quickly by someone drawing Death. Under the rules, the character must fight Death - and if any other characters get involved, another Death arrives. Three characters ended up killing three Deaths, so that was a wash. Another character - the wizard - lost his closest friend. Which was his familar. The little froggy jumped out of his pocket and hopped away!

By the end, the party had only gained pain and suffering. They were totally unsatisfied, and questioned why I would introduce such a dangerous object for them to play with. Of course, they learned that day that the world isn't their plaything, and they should watch what they do - for there are concequences. After some lengthy persuasion, the character with the wish agreed to wish for the location of the paladin's soul, so that the party could go and retrive him.

If I ever introduce another deck, I'm sure my players will flee in the other direction!

 

[DM-Rocco]

I have used this a few times in the past. The players seem to love the risk. Usually I have a gypsy do a reading, I have played a group through the house of cards module in an older dragon magazine where the whole adventure is set in a house where the walls are made of the deck of many things.

Recently, I stole the plot from baulders gate, at least I think it was Baulder's gate, may have been planescape, where a group of Tanari hold the key for you to leave the abyss, but rather than fight you, they offer the key as a prize for playing the Deck of many things. Both sides, the Tanari and your PCs have to draw three times from the deck. When I did it in PnP, I had to come up with a way to win, it was kinda fun, one player drew the viod and another got a wish, who wished the vioded character back. Of course I was a little put off about the death card, they don't list stats for death like they did in AD&D so the cleric cast heal on death and then smacked it for the kill. I should have given him SR

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

One of the absolute worst ways to use a Deck, IMO. We'd spent a year slogging through the module. We were ready to get the final payoff by stopping the bad guys. And the designer throws this monstrous monkey wrench into the module????? If we'd drawn, it almost certainly would have derailed the entire campaign. At the very least, it would have forced the GM to try to shoehorn the results into the overall arc in a manner which didn't completely shatter verisimilitude. At the worst, the entire campaign would have come crashing down.

Personally, I think the Deck should have been encountered about half-way through the module, when things really began to bog down. Integrating new characters (if necessary) would have been less disruptive, and some of the card draws could have given the party some interesting side-treks to flesh out the adventure. Putting it at the end makes no sense to me.

I am currently running this mod. It isn't really at the END, but close to it, yes. I agree in that it cause a TPK basically. 2 party members imprisoned, 2 killed by dread wraiths, and I think it caused problems with some other party members as well, though it's been a couple of sessions, so I forget.

Of course, with this mod, this ONE TPK was the least of our concerns, the room after this caused another TPK, and we had one a couple sessions before this as well. The players are getting used to dying.

 

[jasper]

LOL That's funny, losing two players is not wrecking a campaign? Man what is?
I should clarify it was not two players at once. One in 80s and one in 90s.
again don't use this if any of your players are cry babies. or use and know the CB will cry.

 

[BlackMoria]

There was a product done during the 1e/2e era that had three variant Decks of Power (I think the product was called 'Decks of Power'). I have it stored away somewhere so I can't recall the manufacturer.

The main one was called The Great Deck. What was great about this was it had a complete history of the deck and how to integrate the deck into a campaign. From what I can recall, the deck is encountered in four parts and possession of one section of the deck leads one to the other parts of the deck. And those who possess the other parts of the deck are looking for the PCs' part of the deck.

The Great Deck used a 72 card Tarot Deck - and each card could be displayed upright or upside down to determine the results, meaning that there was 144 possible outcomes.

No instant death sort of cards but there was 72 'misfortune' outcomes and 72 'good' outcomes with the orientation of the card indicating if card was 'misfortune' or 'good'.

A very nifty product, as I recall.

This thread has kindled a desire in me to tear apart my boxes of stored gaming material to find that supplement and use it in a campaign again (haven't used it in many, many years)

 

[I'm A Banana]

It will all end in tears.

Have fun!

Awww, man....to sig or not to sig......

 

[Wystan]

I like the deck of many character killers....
Draws like the following ROCK

Gain a keep
Gain a powerful magic item
Lose all Wealth

Awwww.....crap

 

[helium3]

Don't use the deck of many things unless you intend to destroy your game. Seriously. It's bad. Even if the characters draw willingly, it totally distorts the mechanics because you end up with some characters that are exceedingly powerful (the ones that pull the +50,000 XP card) and some that are very weak (the ones that pull the 'destroy all your magic items card). I won't even get into the card that kills characters, steals their souls or imprisons them.

The Deck is designed to do one thing and one thing only . . . destroy any sense of cohesion that your gaming group has.

 

[EricNoah]

I'd love to see someone's take on a toned down deck, one that either provides temporary changes/curses, or permanent ones that aren't too drastic. Maybe tie the removal of curses to a specific quest or something...