The Deck of Many Things

[STARP_Social_Officer]

In my old campaign, the Mages Guild had a labrynthine dungeon underneath it which was used for securely storing all the really dangerous magical items. The head of the Guild sent the party down there to retrieve one particular item (I forget which one). He was also very specific in saying the following:
"Touch nothing. While you are down there, open no other doors, touch no other items, make no attempt to 'loot'. I cannot be more clear about this - you are to touch nothing..."
First out of the gate, they found a Deck of Many Things (after opening a door they knew they weren't supposed to open). Guess what they did?
Actually, they did OK out of it. The mage lost all his items, but gained a fighter's service, while the monk fought Death and won. Meantime, the cleric got a free keep, which passed to the mage when the cleric died later on (trampled by an elephant, but that's another story).
The phrase "Touch nothing" to a group of adventurers is as bad as "Do not press this button."

 

[STARP_Social_Officer]

Oh, I forgot the part where the mage ended up back in the Guildmaster's office totally naked (he lost all his items). There was a brief moment of silence before he walked out, proudly, as if to say "what?".