Deck of Many Things: A deck of many things (beneficial and baneful) is usually found in a box or leather pouch. Each deck contains a number of cards, or plaques, made of ivory or vellum. Each is engraved with glyphs, characters, and magical sigils. As soon as one of these cards is drawn from the pack, its magic is bestowed upon the person who drew it, for better or worse.

The character with a deck of many things can announce that he is drawing only one card, or he can draw two, three, four, or more. However, the number must be announced prior to drawing the first card. If a jester is drawn, the possessor of the deck may elect to draw two additional cards.

Each time a card is taken from the deck it is replaced (making it possible to draw the same card twice) unless the draw is a jester or fool, in which case the card is discarded from the pack. A deck of many things contains either 13 cards (75% chance) or 22 cards (25%). Additional cards in a 22-card deck are indicated below by an asterisk (*) before their names. To simulate the magical cards you may want to use the normal playing card in the suits indicated in the second column. (The notation is face value, then suit).

DECK OF MANY THINGS

Plaque	Playing Card	Effect
Sun	KD	Gain beneficial miscellaneous magical item and 50,000 XP
Moon	QD	You are granted 1d4 wishes
Star	JD	Immediately gain 2 points to prime requisite ability
* Comet	2D	Defeat the next monster you meet to gain one level
Throne	KH	Gain Charisma of 18 plus a small keep
Key	QH	Gain a treasure map plus one magic weapon
Knight	JH	Gain the service of a 4th-level fighter
* Gem	2H	Gain your choice of 20 pieces of jewelry or 50 gems
The Void	KC	Body functions, but soul is trapped elsewhere
Flames	QC	Enmity between you and an outer planar creature
Skull	JC	Defeat Death or be forever destroyed
* Talons	2C	All magical items you possess disappear permanently
Ruin	KS	Immediately lose all wealth and real property
Euryale	QS	-3 penalty to all saving throws vs. petrification
Rogue	JS	One of your henchmen turns against you
* Balance	2S	Change alignment instantly
Jester	Joker	Gain 10,000 XP or two more draws from the deck
*Fool	Joker with Trademark	Lose 10,000 experience points and draw again
* Vizier	AD	Know the answer to your next dilemma
* Idiot	AC	Lose 1d4 points of Intelligence; you may draw again
* Fates	AH	Avoid any situation you choose . . . once
* Donjon	AS	You are imprisoned (see below)

Upon drawing the last card possible, or immediately upon drawing the cards in bold face (The Void and Donjon), the deck disappears. The cards are explained in greater detail below:

Sun: Roll for a miscellaneous magical item (Table 88 ) until a useful item is indicated.

Moon: This is best represented by a moonstone gem with the appropriate number of wishes shown as gleams therein. These wishes are the same as the 9th-level wizard spell and must be used in a number of turns equal to the number received.

Star: If the two points would place the character's score at 19, use one or both in any of the other abilities in this order: Constitution, Charisma, Wisdom, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength.

Comet: The player must single-handedly defeat the next hostile monster(s) encountered or the benefit is lost. If successful, the character moves to the mid-point of the next experience level.

Throne: If Charisma is 18 already, the individual still gains five on encounter and loyalty reactions. He becomes a real leader in people's eyes. The castle gained will be near a stronghold already possessed (if any).

Key: DM must prepare a treasure map. The weapon must be one usable by the character, so use the Magical Weapons Table until a useful item is awarded.

Knight: The fighter will join as the character's henchman and loyally serve until death. He has +1 per die (18 maximum) on each ability roll.

Gem: This indicates wealth. The jewelry will all be gold set with gems, the gems all of 1,000 gp base value. With this wealth should come experience points equal in value, but never more than needed to increase one level of experience.

The Void: This black card spells instant disaster. The character's body continues to function, though he or she speaks like an automaton, but the psyche is trapped in a prison somewhere—in an object on a far planet or plane, possibly in the possession of an outer planar creature. A wish will not bring the character back, but the plane of entrapment might be revealed. Draw no more cards.

Flames: Hot anger, jealousy, and envy are but a few of the possible motivational forces for the enmity. The enmity of the outer planar creature can't be ended until one of the parties has been slain.

Skull: A minor Death appears (AC -4; 33 hit points; strikes with a scythe for 2d8 points, never missing, always striking first in a round). The character must fight it alone—if others help, they get minor Deaths to fight as well. If the character is slain, he is slain forever. Treat the Death as undead with respect to spells. Cold, fire, and electrical energy do not harm it.

Talons: When this card is drawn, every magical item owned or possessed by the character is instantly and irrevocably gone.

Ruin: As implied, when this card is drawn every bit of money (including all gems, jewelry, treasure, and art objects) is lost. All land and buildings currently owned are lost forever as well.

Euryale: The medusalike visage of this card brings a curse only the Fates card or godlike beings can remove. The -3 penalty to all saving throws is otherwise permanent.

Rogue: When this card is drawn, one of the character's henchmen will be totally alienated and forever-after hostile. If the character has no henchmen, the enmity of some powerful personage—community or religious—can be substituted. The hatred will be secret until the time is ripe for devastating effect.

Balance: As in "weighed in the balance and found wanting," the character must change to a radically different alignment. Failure to act according to the new alignment may bring penalties (as described in Chapter 4, "Effects of Changing Alignment "). Discard the cards.

Jester: This card actually makes a pack more beneficial if the experience point award is taken. It is always discarded when drawn, unlike all others except the Fool.

Fool: The payment and draw are mandatory!

Vizier: This card empowers the character drawing it with the ability to call upon supernatural wisdom to solve any single problem or answer fully any question whenever he so requests. Whether the information gained can be successfully acted upon is another question entirely.

Idiot: This card causes the loss of 1d4 points of Intelligence immediately. The additional draw is optional.

Fates: This card enables the character to avoid even an instantaneous occurrence if so desired, for the fabric of reality is unraveled and respun. Note that it does not enable something to happen—it can only stop something from happening. The reversal is only for the character who drew the card, and other party members may have to endure the confrontation.

Donjon: This signifies imprisonment—either by spell or by some creature/being, at the DM's option. All gear and spells are stripped from the victim in any case. Whether these items are recoverable is, likewise, up to the DM. Draw no more cards.

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