Deck of Many Things (Minor Artifact)

Slot none; Aura strong (all schools); CL 20th; Weight

DESCRIPTION

A deck of many things 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 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 who wishes to draw a card must announce how many cards she will draw before she begins. Cards must be drawn within 1 hour of each other, and a character can never draw from this deck any more cards than she has announced. If the character does not willingly draw her allotted number (or if she is somehow prevented from doing so), the cards flip out of the deck on their own. If the Idiot or Jester is drawn, the possessor of the deck may elect to draw 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 the Jester or the Fool, in which case the card is discarded from the pack. A deck of many things contains 22 cards. To simulate the magic cards, you may want to use tarot cards, as indicated in the second column of the accompanying table. If no tarot deck is available, substitute ordinary playing cards instead, as indicated in the third column. The effects of each card, summarized on the table, are clarified below.

Plaque Tarot Card Playing Card Summary of Effect
Balance XI. Justice Two of spades Change alignment instantly.
Comet Two of swords Two of diamonds Defeat the next monster you meet to gain one level.
Donjon Four of swords Ace of spades You are imprisoned.
Eurayle Ten of swords Queen of spades –1 penalty on all saving throws henceforth.
The Fates Three of Cups Ace of hearts Avoid any situation you choose, once.
Flames XV. The Devil Queen of clubs Enmity between you and an outsider.
Fool O. The Fool Joker (with trademark) Lose 10,000 experience points and you must draw again.
Gem Seven of Cups Two of hearts Gain your choice of 25 pieces of jewelry or 50 gems.
Idiot Two of pentacles Two of clubs Lose 1d4+1 Intelligence. You may draw again.
Jester XII. The Hanged Man Joker (without trademark) Gain 10,000 XP or two more draws from the deck.
Key V. The Hierophant Queen of hearts Gain a major magic weapon.
Knight Page of swords Jack of hearts Gain the service of a 4th-level fighter.
Moon XVIII. The Moon Queen of diamonds You are granted 1d4 wishes.
Rogue Five of swords Jack of spades One of your friends turns against you.
Ruin XVI. The Tower King of spades Immediately lose all wealth and property.
Skull XIII. Death Jack of clubs Defeat dread wraith or be forever destroyed.
Star XVII. The Star Jack of diamonds Immediately gain a +2 inherent bonus to one ability score.
Sun XIX. The Sun King of diamonds Gain beneficial medium wondrous item and 50,000 XP.
Talons Queen of pentacles Ace of clubs All magic items you possess disappear permanently.
Throne Four of wands King of hearts Gain a +6 bonus on Diplomacy checks plus a small castle.
Vizier IX. The Hermit Ace of diamonds Know the answer to your next dilemma.
The Void Eight of swords King of clubs Body functions, but soul is trapped elsewhere.

Balance: The character must change to a radically different alignment. If the character fails to act according to the new alignment, she gains a negative level.

Comet: The character must single-handedly defeat the next hostile monster or monsters encountered, or the benefit is lost. If successful, the character gains enough XP to attain the next experience level.

Donjon: This card signifies imprisonment—either by the imprisonment spell or by some powerful being. All gear and spells are stripped from the victim in any case. Draw no more cards.

Euryale: The medusa-like visage of this card brings a curse that only the Fates card or a deity can remove. The —1 penalty on all saving throws is otherwise permanent.

The 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 or reverse a past occurrence. The reversal is only for the character who drew the card; other party members may have to endure the situation.

Flames: Hot anger, jealousy, and envy are but a few of the possible motivational forces for the enmity. The enmity of the outsider can’t be ended until one of the parties has been slain. Determine the outsider randomly, and assume that it attacks the character (or plagues her life in some way) within 1d20 days.

Fool: The payment of XP and the redraw are mandatory. This card is always discarded when drawn, unlike all others except the Jester.

Gem: This card indicates wealth. The jewelry is all gold set with gems, each piece worth 2,000 gp, and the gems are worth 1,000 gp each.

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

Jester: This card is always discarded when drawn, unlike all others except the Fool. The redraws are optional.

Key: The magic weapon granted must be one usable by the character. It suddenly appears out of nowhere in the character’s hand.

Knight: The fighter appears out of nowhere and serves loyally until death. He or she is of the same race (or kind) and gender as the character. This fighter can be taken as a cohort by a character with the Leadership feat.

Moon: This card bears the image of a moonstone gem with the appropriate number of wishes shown as gleams therein; sometimes it depicts a moon with its phase indicating the number of wishes (full = four; gibbous = three; half = two; quarter = one). These wishes are the same as those granted by the 9th-level wizard spell and must be used within a number of minutes equal to the number received.

Rogue: When this card is drawn, one of the character’s NPC friends (preferably a cohort) is totally alienated and made forever hostile. If the character has no cohorts, the enmity of some powerful personage (or community, or religious order) can be substituted. The hatred is secret until the time is ripe for it to be revealed with devastating effect.

Ruin: As implied by its name, when this card is drawn, all non-magical possessions of the drawer are lost.

Skull: A dread wraith appears. The character must fight it alone—if others help, dread wraiths appear to fight them as well. If the character is slain, she is slain forever and cannot be revived, even with a wish or a miracle.

Star: The 2 points are added to any ability the character chooses. They cannot be divided among two abilities .

Sun: Roll for a medium wondrous item until a useful item is indicated.

Talons: When this card is drawn, every magic item owned or possessed by the character is instantly and irrevocably lost, except for the deck.

Throne: The character becomes a true leader in people’s eyes. The castle gained appears in any open area she wishes (but the decision where to place it must be made within 1 hour).

Vizier: This card empowers the character drawing it with the one-time ability to call upon a source of wisdom to solve any single problem or answer fully any question upon her request. The query or request must be made within 1 year. Whether the information gained can be successfully acted upon is another matter entirely.

The Void: This black card spells instant disaster. The character’s body continues to function, as though comatose, but her psyche is trapped in a prison somewhere—in an object on a far plane or planet, possibly in the possession of an outsider. A wish or a miracle does not bring the character back, instead merely revealing the plane of entrapment. Draw no more cards.

DESTRUCTION

A deck of many things can be destroyed by losing it in a wager with a deity of law. The deity must be unaware of the nature of the deck.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Equipment (OGL) © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Ross Byers, Brian J. Cortijo, Ryan Costello, Mike Ferguson, Matt Goetz, Jim Groves, Tracy Hurley, Matt James, Jonathan H. Keith, Michael Kenway, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Tork Shaw, Owen KC Stephens, Russ Taylor, and numerous RPG Superstar contributors

scroll to top