Summary
When drawing cards from the Deck of Many Things inDungeons & Dragons, the results can be as outstanding as they can be catastrophic. With the amount of chaos, players preferring heavy role play on their campaigns might want to avoid the item. Yet, when used correctly, it can be a lot of roleplaying fun.
There are quite a few cards in the Deck that let you interact with all kinds of characters, from cryptic allies to fearsome foes. It doesn’t always need to end in combat, letting you talk your way around plenty of situations and bargain for better results.
10Euryale
The medusa that started it all
The effect of the Euryale card itself isn’t open for a lot of roleplay since it curses the character with a -2 to saving throws. Attempts to heal it could be an interesting hook themselves since it requires divine intervention or the use of the Fates card.
What’s actually special about the card isEuryale’s relationship with the inception of the Deck. Players seeking information about the Deck for any reason can be easily pushed in Euryale’s direction since she’s the only depicted individual in the Deck. She’ll be happy to help almost anybody since, contrary to what her card implies, she’s of Neutral Good alignment.
9Moon
An unexpected solution
Moon gives players the ability to cast the powerful Wish spell 1d3 times. While it might seem anti-roleplay (since Wish can solve many problems instantly), the path to get to their Wish can motivate an entire campaign. During most player’s campaigns, the Deck might be the only way to use the spell.
What’s more, once they have the card, there can be many looking for the party, wanting to get a wish for themselves. The Moonstalkers Guild is a great example; a thieves guild presented in The Book of Many Things has one of the leaders hunt down the card as a desperate measure to get rid of a curse.
8Sage
Guidance when needed
Also known as Vizier, this card allows the player to ask any question and receive a truthful answer. This can be used to solve plenty of quests, device strategies, or to know the true nature of an element of the multiverse. While the characters don’t interact with a literal Sage, the roleplaying potential of the answer is worth it.
You should be prepared to answer the unanswerable. Many mysteries of the universe are supposed to be that, but since the Sage is bound to speak the truth, you’ll have to come up with something that’ll work in your setting. So if your players askwho’s the Lady of Pain, you’ll need to comply.
7Fates
A past wrong done right
The Fates card lets players avoid or erase an event as if it had never happened. This can be a tempting item for many roleplayers, as their characters could be looking for a way to undo their tragic backstories. The Fates can grant such a power, but consider at what cost.
You don’t want to cheat a happy ending out of thin air, after all. If a given player is looking for the Fates card to undo their parents' death, you could have it happen, but then they died just a short time after; Fate has a way to stay on track.
6Knight
A loyal companion
The Knight card gives the player the service of a 4th level Fighter, sworn to protect their new liege at all costs.Balancing combat encounters aside, this new ally can lead to all sorts of roleplay opportunities, depending on how you use it.
This Knight shouldn’t be summoned out of thin air; for roleplayers, it’s best if there’s a reason why the Knight is with them, and where they hail from. You could have the Knight be from a Kingdom they already saved and wanting to serve the saviors, making the Knight card predict an event rather than force it into existence.
5Balance
A roleplaying challenge
Balance can be a fun challenge for any player that’s up to it. The card changes how the character is on a fundamental level, swapping their alignment: Lawful becomes chaotic, good becomes evil, and vice versa. Keep in mind that this change can rub some players the wrong way, and that a true neutral character would be unaffected.
If you want to keep the card but not alter alignments, you could have it summon a doppelganger with the opposite alignment that looks to replace the original. This keeps the card interesting without invalidating what made the player character tick.
4Rogue
An unexpected betrayal
When drawing the Rogue card, an NPC becomes hostile toward the players, at the DM’s discretion. While this can easily be a new enemy, for roleplayers, it’s best if the antagonist is someone they know whom they consider an ally.
If you’re planning to surprise your players with an epic betrayal, remember not to let too much time pass. It only works if players remember the actions they have consequences for, so if too many sessions pass since they drew the Rogue card, they might not feel the betrayal warranted.
3Ruin
Falling from grace
Drawing Ruin makes it so any monetary gain the character had is gone. That means wealth, properties, and any proof of ownership are gone. While they don’t lose any magical items on their person, it does mean that they’re effectively broke.
The roleplaying opportunities are vast with Ruin, since the character losing all that they own can have unexpected repercussions. If they had family, maybe those who lived with them lost it all as well, giving the character a sudden quest to put a new roof over their family’s heads.
2Flames
A cunning adversary approaches
Drawing the Flames card makes the character (and the whole party, most likely) draw the ire of a powerful Fiend. The Book of Many Things gives a few examples of monsters that you can use as foes and the ways they can fight the player characters. But it doesn’t need to end in a fight.
The best creature for roleplayers in the book is Hulgaz the Tempter, a powerful and cunning Devil. She won’t be looking to destroy but to corrupt and deceive the players with charming words and corrupt blessings. Even without the Deck, she’s a great antagonist for many campaigns.
1Throne
A place to call home
Drawing the Throne card gives players ownership of a small keep somewhere in the world. They know where the keep is and that they must clear it from monsters. No matter how you approach this effect, it always leads to a side quest that rewards players with a base of operations.
What’s more, you now don’t even need to come up with the quest. The Book of Many Things introduced Harrowhall, a haunted and detailed keep ready for your players to claim. Even if you don’t use the exact same monsters, the detailed map will certainly be of use as the future home of your party.
NEXT:Dungeons & Dragons: Best Cards In The Deck Of Many Things
