#### Deck of Many Things
*Wondrous item, legendary*
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The box is masterfully crafted out of beautiful wood. Adorned on the front is an inlaid coin. Whenever a creature looks at the coin the face has a random visage that might be different from what another creature sees.
| **d6** | **Coin Visage** |
|:---:|:---|
| 1 | a fair woman (Tymora or some goddess of luck)|
|2| a specter of death|
|3| a moon and comet amidst stars|
|4| a flaming sword|
|5| a gem|
|6| a skull|
Upon handling the box a creature with an Intelligence score of 4 or higher inexplicably and immediately understands what it is, what to say to summon the deck, what to say to draw cards, and the rules for playing. A creature participates by willingly speaking the following phrase:
> ***I declare a bold gamble,***
> ***left to chance: fortune or shambles.***
A group of creatures can participate together by speaking the same phrase together using with "we" instead of "I". If a creature is being coerced into participating the box magically knows this and does not work. A creature must be willing, of its own free will, to participate.
After speaking the phrase the box magically and immediately contains 13 or 22 cards (chosen at the DM's discretion or if the creatures express to the box their desire to be bold). The back of the cards are adorned with the same art. Anyone can handle or look at the cards, but the front the cards are incomprehensible (though not blank). The cards cannot be destroyed.
Only creatures that declared participation when the deck was summoned can draw cards. A creature who participates can choose to not draw any cards, but must still declare so. To draw cards the creature must declare the number of cards it wants to draw (not more than the original size of the deck) by speaking the following phrase followed by the number of cards:
> ***Whether woe or weal awaits,***
> ***I draw this count of cards from fate:***
If the creature is not already holding on to the deck it magically reforms in its hands. The creature must then draw the number of cards it declared. If the creature does not draw all of its declared cards, after a few minutes or after the creature hands off the deck the cards draw themselves and magically appear in the creatures hands. If the creature tries to get rid of the cards they simply reappear in the creatures hands or float in front of it and become incorporeal. If the deck runs out of cards the deck magically refills and reshuffles itself so that all declared cards can be drawn.
*When all cards have been drawn by all creatures* the incomprehensible faces of the cards reveal themselves one-by-one in the order drawn. After a card is revealed it takes effect immediately and then fades from existence.
This can be achieved by having players keep drawn cards face down and then revealing them face up one-by-one. If the deck is overdrawn then remember how many more cards players must draw. When all cards are revealed, reform and reshuffle the deck, have the players draw in order until they have drawn their declared number of cards, and then reveal and apply the effects in order one-by-one. Repeat this process as necessary.
After all cards have revealed themselves and taken effect the deck fades from existence and the box is left empty. The magic of the box is lost to all those who participated, *even if they declared to draw no cards*, and the coin no longer becomes visible to them, they see just the box. It is unclear to those creatures if they will ever be able to play again. Whether they can or will is left up to the discretion of the DM. Creatures who have never played will find the box magical, have an inexplicable curiosity for the box when visible, and be able to summon a deck.
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| **Playing Card** | **Card** |
| :--- | :--- |
| Ace of diamonds | Vizier* |
| King of diamonds | Sun |
| Queen of diamonds | Moon |
| Jack of diamonds | Star |
| Two of diamonds | Comet* |
| Ace of hearts | The Fates* |
| King of hearts | Throne |
| Queen of hearts | Key |
| Jack of hearts | Knight |
| Two of hearts | Gem* |
| Ace of clubs | Talons* |
| King of clubs | The Void |
| Queen of clubs | Flames |
| Jack of clubs | Skull |
| Two of clubs | Idiot* |
| Ace of spades | Donjon* |
| King of spades | Ruin |
| Queen of spades | Euryale |
| Jack of spades | Rogue |
| Two of spades | Balance* |
| Joker (with tm) | Fool* |
| Joker (without tm) | Jester |
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\* Found only in a deck with twenty-two cards
***Balance.*** Your mind suffers a wrenching alteration, causing your alignment to change. Lawful becomes chaotic, good becomes evil, and vice versa. If you are true neutral or unaligned, this card has no effect on you.
***Comet.*** If you single-handedly defeat the next hostile monster or group of monsters you encounter, you gain experience points enough to gain one level. Otherwise, this card has no effect.
***Donjon.*** You disappear and become entombed in a state of suspended animation in an extradimensional sphere. Everything you were wearing and carrying stays behind in the space you occupied when you disappeared. You remain imprisoned until you are found and removed from the sphere. You can't be located by any divination magic, but a *wish* spell can reveal the location of your prison. The rest of your drawn cards fade from existence.
***Euryale.*** The card's medusa-like visage curses you. You take a -2 penalty on saving throws while cursed in this way. Only a god or the magic of The Fates card can end this curse.
***The Fates.*** Reality's fabric unravels and spins anew, allowing you to avoid or erase one event as if it never happened. You can use the card's magic as soon as you draw the card or at any other time before you die.
***Flames.*** A powerful devil becomes your enemy. The devil seeks your ruin and plagues your life, savoring your suffering before attempting to slay you. This enmity lasts until either you or the devil dies.
***Fool.*** You lose 10,000 XP, discard this card, and draw from the deck again, counting both draws as one of your declared draws. If losing that much XP would cause you to lose a level, you instead lose an amount that leaves you with just enough XP to keep your level.
***Gem.*** Twenty-five pieces of jewelry worth 2,000 gp each or fifty gems worth 1,000 gp each appear at your feet.
***Idiot.*** Permanently reduce your Intelligence by 1d4+1 (to a minimum score of 1). You can draw one additional card beyond your declared draws.
***Jester.*** You gain 10,000 XP, or you can draw two additional cards beyond your declared draws.
***Key.*** A rare or rarer magic weapon with which you are proficient appears in your hands. The DM chooses the weapon.
***Knight.*** You gain the service of a 4th-level fighter who appears in a space you choose within 30 feet of you. The fighter is of the same race as you and serves you loyally until death, believing the fates have drawn him or her to you. You control this character.
***Moon.*** You are granted the ability to cast the *wish* spell 1d3 times.
***Rogue.*** A nonplayer character of the DM's choice becomes hostile toward you. The identity of your new enemy isn't known until the NPC or someone else reveals it. Nothing less than a *wish* spell or divine intervention can end the NPC's hostility toward you.
***Ruin.*** All forms of wealth that you carry or own, other than magic items, are lost to you. Portable property vanishes. Businesses, buildings, and land you own are lost in a way that alters reality the least. Any documentation that proves you should own something lost to this card also disappears.
***Skull.*** You summon an avatar of death-a ghostly humanoid skeleton clad in a tattered black robe and carrying a spectral scythe. It appears in a space of the DM's choice within 10 feet of you and attacks you, warning all others that you must win the battle alone. The avatar fights until you die or it drops to 0 hit points, whereupon it disappears. If anyone tries to help you, the helper summons its own avatar of death. A creature slain by an avatar of death can't be restored to life.
***Star.*** Increase one of your ability scores by 2. The score can exceed 20 but can't exceed 24.
***Sun.*** You gain 50,000 XP, and a wondrous item (which the DM determines randomly) appears in your hands.
> ##### A Question of Enmity
> Two of the cards in a deck of many things can earn a character the enmity of another being. With the Flames card, the enmity is overt. The character should experience the devil's malevolent efforts on multiple occasions. Seeking out the fiend shouldn't be a simple task, and the adventurer should clash with the devil's allies and followers a few times before being able to confront the devil itself.
>
> In the case of the Rogue card, the enmity is secret and should come from someone thought to be a friend or an ally. As Dungeon Master, you should wait for a dramatically appropriate moment to reveal this enmity, leaving the adventurer guessing who is likely to become a betrayer.
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