Few items inDungeons & Dragonsare as infamous as the Deck of Many Things. Thiscurious deck of cardshas the potential to either ruin your campaign forever or provide massive boons to your players. The Book of Many Things provides dozens of options to customize your deck, but you’re able to find the base item in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
We’ve made a list of the best cards for both DMs and players from the classic Deck of Many Things. And don’t despair if you don’t haveyour own physical copyof the deck. you may still include the item in your games by using a deck of standard playing cards.
8Best For DMs: Jester
Choices, Choices
Jester is a card that gives players two choices. The first is a flat ten thousand experience points. If you’re feeling generous as a DM, you can house rule that the experience points apply to the entire party. This is a great boost for DMs who want to move on to more powerful bosses without encounters being too unbalanced.
Several DMs forgo EXP in favor of milestone-based leveling. If this is you, you’re able to either house rule that drawing this card makes you gain a number of levels or simply have players draw two more cards instead.
The second option presented to players is to draw two more cards from the deck. This is a “high risk, high reward” choice that leaves much in Lady Luck’s hands. It’s exciting to watch your players debate over what option to take. Whatever happens next, it’s sure to be memorable.
7Best For Players: Gem
Loot! Loot! LOOT!
Gem is exactly what it says on the tin. This card awards your players with a hoard of gems worth fifty thousand gold pieces. DMs have some flexibility in how many and what kind of gems they give out. However, the total monetary value is the one constant here. Theorigin of this treasureisn’t stated, but feel free to get creative.
If you’re the DM, making all the jewels diamonds gives your players the material components needed to cast True Resurrection twice.
you’re able to do pretty much anything with this much bling. Selling your gems for money is one obvious choice, as is using them for spell components. But if you’re feeling crafty, you can put those gems to good use in creating a piece of equipment your group will talk about for years.
6Best For DMs: Rogue
Surprisingly Flexible
This one is especially nasty. Rogue makesa random NPCin your campaign setting hostile toward whoever draws the card. This fact isn’t immediately known to your players. It doesn’t even matter if the NPC in question has never met the party: they’ll become hostile upon first introductions.
If you’re not sure which NPC to use for this card, don’t worry. Since you don’t need to make the reveal right away, there’s plenty of time to figure it out. Pretty much everyone in your DM notes is up for grabs. Just try to make your choice narratively interesting, or at least funny.
5Best For Players: Moon
This One Is Just Overpowered
The Moon gives you the opportunity to castthe Wish spell1d3 times. This is similar to winning the favor of a powerful genie, so this is a massive boon for any party. While other cards might promise money or magical items, the Moon lets players be as flexible as they want.
However, as a DM, it’s tempting to make every wish another finger on a metaphorical monkey’s paw. You should probably avoid that when your players draw this card, even if you don’t need to make everything work in their favor. After all, it’s likely they’ll punish themselves by drawing another card.
4Best For DMs: Flames
Give Your Players A Hell Of A Time
Flames makesa powerful devilthe enemy of the character who drew the card. The devil will do everything in its power to ruin the life of its new nemesis before killing the player character themselves. This is a great opportunity to weave a new story arc into your campaign.
The types of devil that you can use for this card are pretty diverse. You can find stats for various archdevils in a number of different books, but there are also plenty of fiends in the Monster Manual up for consideration. If you’re feeling creative, you could even homebrew your own devil.
3Best For Players: The Fates
You’ll Never Have To Feel Regret Again
The Fates is another arguably overpowered card. It allows you to erase one event, altering the timeline so that it never happened. You’d think there would be some limitations in the rules, but there aren’t. This effect lasts until either your character dies or the campaign ends, whichever comes first.
While the benefits to players are obvious, this card can be a headache for DMs. It can be challenging to take into account everything that happened as a consequence of a single past event. A wise idea would be to impose some slight limitations on this card, such as only erasing events that occurred during the campaign itself.
2Best For DMs: Throne
What A Wonderful Opportunity For A Side Quest
Throne is a wonderful card. The first reward it offers your players is immediate: it gives the character that drew it expertise in the Persuasion skill. This might pale in comparison to the rewards offered by some other cards, but it’s still a solid reward with clear benefits for future adventures.
The real kicker, however, is the second reward offered by the Throne card. It offers the party a stronghold full of monsters that can become theirs if they only slay everything within its walls. That sounds like the perfect excuse for you to write your players another side quest.
1Best For Players: Vizier
Use This One Wisely
Vizier is a card that puts DMs on edge whenever it’s drawn. This powerful card allows players to ask the DM one question about the campaign’s plot and world and receive a truthful answer. The question must be asked in character during a moment of contemplation.
It’s difficult to balance the benefits of this card as a DM. You have to verify you phrase your answer in a way that doesn’t solve the campaign too early while still making this information feel like a reward. When drawn near the end of a campaign, Vizier is a card full of narrative possibilities. When drawn early, the potential for sequence breaking is high.
Next:Dungeons & Dragons: Best New Monsters In The Book Of Many Things
