This Pondering entry of the Pick Up Pile will be a long one as it’s covering the Deck of Many Things set for Dungeons and Dragons 5e, published by Wizards of the Coast . So that’s two books and a deck of 66 cards to go through.
I have the limited Alternate Art cover set of this, however the covers are the only difference in the two versions, the internal contents being identical. The cover is very nice, with spot gloss effects on any raised details and artwork, further enhancing them. This is another winner in the line of Alt art books.
I’ll go chapter section by section and chapter by chapter through the Book of Many Things, giving an overview of contents and commenting on them.
The first section is the Dungeon Master’s Toolbox, each chapter covering ways the deck can be used by the DM to enhance their game, even if not using it as the magic item itself in game.
Fool. As with the tarot card that shares it’s name this section is concerned with beginnings. It details the history of the Deck of Many Things throughout the earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons. From the first appearance in Greyhawk 1975 where it was 18 but nameless cards (the effects of which did have some resemblance to the modern deck) to the set that comes with this book. The more recognisable names and effects starting to be codified in the ’79 DMG. An interesting, if maybe too brief, history of the deck. The rest of this chapter serves as an overview of those that follow.
Key. This chapter has details on how to introduce the deck to your game without breaking it. Several adjusted decks are listed, tailored to different group tastes, such as a relatively low powered deck for lower levelled characters or one with harmful cards suitable for a horror themed game. The there are brief sections on how to introduce the deck in your game’s story and how to introduce the effects of a card draw. Following is a section suggesting magic effects for each card when used a s a separate artefact on its own. Such as the Gem card storing a 6th level spell and being able to cast from it daily, or the Star granting advantage on saving throws for 10 minutes. A really nice alternate use for each that could be worked into a campaign where players are assembling a deck from scattered cards, and want to use them for something before the deck is complete. Finally there is a part dedicated to making new cards, suggesting that any characters attempting this should be at least 17th level and it should take a long time and some exceptionally rare components. Perhaps more suited to NPCs unless you have a very high level open ended campaign.
Continue reading “The Pick Up Pile. Pondering The Deck Of Many Things.”