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jordanz
Senior Scribe
556 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 17:04:42
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Have any of your player characters come across a Deck of Many Things? I've always wondered about this enigmatic item. How are were they created? How many decs exist? Who created them and most importantly why? Perhaps agents of balance?
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Deck_of_Many_Things
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 17:35:14
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Artifacts in my games are quite often from worlds other than Toril. I put the artifacts of Gygax's campaigns on Oerth on Toril, but even some of these are from different home worlds. The deck of many things is one of those (in my campaigns at least).
The Deck was created by a wizard in a tower on a material plane of existance not unlike our own (so far nothing new). This wizard had mastered all forms of magic (so was no specialist) as the deck of many things eventually radiated all schools of magic. He was likely a powerful follower of chaos or aided by an entity of chaos or gambling enthousiast, albeit an apprentice wizard with a chaotic streak or a slaadi that had picked up a gambling addiction. Binding a version of all his most powerful spells known to each card, he created a card deck meant to double his spell repertoire each day by allowing him to choose the spells effects on drawing them from this enchanted deck of cards. He might have not foreseen the targeting mishap of his creation as the first card he would draw would be the Skull, and he perished fighting the dreadwraith creature, banishing him from existance forever. The Deck appears to have a means to travel worlds and be found in random locations, perhaps the original entity of chaos that aided its creation still follows the artifact.
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My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12020 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 18:20:33
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| I'd have it be an artifact handed down by Tyche, representing the luck of the draw. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 18:22:23
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| I've always wanted to bring in the Tarot of Many Things, which is the deck's big brother. But I haven't gotten a group that it works yet. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12020 Posts |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 20:40:43
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Well, looking back to prior Editions. Deck had a variable of number of cards in it. Was it made for balance, not by an NPC in my opinion. Balance risk vs. reward clearly a DM option that the best way to explain why an NPC would make one was to improve their skills, pass a test type of thing.
No I have not used one in a game.
Oh there can be, in older Editions thousands or millions.
Oh it also was not an artifact.
I do agree with opinion lose of all magical items should include the Deck itself. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2013 : 23:48:42
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| I've seen special variants used several times, though never a plain vanilla Deck of Many Things. This particular item courts disaster and opens the door to Monty's Hall ... I've seen it handled well and handled poorly yet break parties and friendships and balance and adventures with alarming regularity. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Lord Snowblood
Acolyte
Australia
25 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 16:22:29
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Back when our game was still active we used the deck in many forms.....it had the ability to change shape and function and became a random game changer whenever the plot became stagnent. Such a blst have a chocolate wheel of fate, runes stones of destiny etc....have fun with it, expand it and it can lead to a whole series of unplannned chaos & crunchy lore making mayhem.....not for those who are retentive & hate their pcs going off of the page..... |
[url=http://expensiveautomobile.com/2008-bmw-635d-coupe/]2008 bmw 635d coupe[/url] [url=http://expensiveautomobile.com/2007-bmw-hydrogen-7/]2007 bmw hydrogen 7[/url] |
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Apex
Learned Scribe
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 18:55:29
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These have come up several times over my past 25 years of gaming. What I find is that the Deck is really a test of two things:
1)How much you are "invested" in your current character
and/or
2)Your level of risk taking
Thus, at lower levels you are likely to see more people take more draws, but at higher levels it is likely that no one even takes one (except for that player that gambles all the time). |
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore
1221 Posts |
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vorpalanvil
Seeker
USA
90 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2013 : 05:00:05
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| I was actually thinking of spoony's rant about that. It is quite the tale. |
"I'm a busy man! I got places to go, monsters to kill!" attributed to 1st level bard |
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Diego_Gamling
Acolyte
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2013 : 22:22:46
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My decks origin is a little different to that. The deck was crafted by the fates themselves, tired of their duty to know everything that has, is and will be, and being the only creatures outside of destiny's grasp, they combined magic from the auras of various godly, demonic and otherwise powerful forces, and combined them together to make a legendary object. An object that could disrupt the very flow of fate itself. The Deck of Many Things. To optimize its effect, they normally send these decks to certain places where they will be found by mortal beings whose destiny it is to shape the fate of the world.
Speaking of the deck, there's a new version over on kickstarter. It's easily the best and most beautiful interactive, tabletop, fantasy RPG prop I've ever seen. It also contains some unique, never before seen cards... You guys should check it out, if you're interested, pledge for a deck, and don't forget to spread the word to your gaming groups! The more money we get pledged, the better the deck gets.
Take a look at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1997853065/deck-of-many-things and see for yourself :)
Much obliged,
Michael.. |
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Lothlos
Learned Scribe
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2013 : 13:58:03
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| I love using the deck of many things, but not as a treasure the PC's find. I like the encounter with a mysterious person at a table in a random room in the dungeon that tells the PC's about the deck and asks if they want to draw and how many cards they want to draw. I use it as an encounter so it is not in my players hands. I always have NPC's that are just a little weaker than the average party member handy so that if a pc dies or is locked in a cage the person has a character to play. The NPC is introduced or found after this encounter and subsequent trips to the room find it empty or inhabited by a random monster. As a DM I love treasure and encounters that produce random results like Wands of Wonder, Wishing Wells (where only one possible outcome is a wish and then only if a PP is thrown in), Bags of Beans, Magic Fountains, ect... Usually my wells and fountains only work once per character (ie one coin, one drink) produces the random effect) and the player's never know if a well or a fountain is magical or not until they use it. After the first use the well or fountain functions as normal sometimes even disappearing after the pc's leave the room sometimes providing a place to refill waterskins in a dungeon. |
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
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Lothlos
Learned Scribe
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2013 : 14:11:49
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| http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060614a - I just came across this interesting link. |
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
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Deck of Many Things
