The Deck of Many Things: The Campaign Killer
The Deck of Many Things. I would argue that there is no other magic item in any edition of D&D that is more notorious, awe-inspiring, and underestimated, than this one. If you’ve never heard of it, then you’re either new to the game or you’re just lucky enough to have never been harmed by it. It is known as a “campaign killer”, and for good reason. To summarize, this is a deck of tarot cards that a character may draw from. You are only ever allowed to draw from the deck once, and after that it will not function for you. You must declare how many cards you want to draw beforehand, and then take them one by one. Each card has wildly different effects, from losing all wealth and property you own (The Tower), to gaining a beneficial magical item and 50 000 xp (The Sun), to having your soul trapped somewhere while your body continues to function (Eight of Swords). You can read about all the possible effects here.
I had a DM talk to me recently about wanting to include this artifact in his campaign, and I had to admit, I understood the desire. It’s an item that will automatically surprise and delight players who enjoy getting to experience something so legendary. However, I had to admit I honestly think that putting a deck in front of any group that isn’t comprised of long-time players is not fair; they’re going to draw from the deck, and give no thought to just leaving it be. Newer players, or those who haven’t experienced it, can’t really look at the deck and make an informed decision about whether or not they actually want to affect their campaign the way that is possible by using it. They are excited, and may not be aware that, coming out the other end of that encounter, one player may be 2 levels higher than the others, one might be locked in some distant prison, one could be 100 000 gp richer, and one could be broke.
I recommended two alternatives. First, limit the interaction with the deck to a single draw for one character. Have it be that they are given the chance to draw one card, because usually one of two things will happen. Either they will get a great boon, something they can share with the party or that can drive the story forward, or something terrible will happen that the party can all face/deal with together. This way the infamous deck is not going to ruin the campaign by scattering where the party members are to all corners of the game.
The second alternative was to find another magical item that is awe-inspiring but much easier to control, namely, anything that grants wishes, like an Efreeti bottle. Wishes inspire so much excitement because players want to maximize the opportunity and not squander it. They may discuss the plans, or save it and do something dramatic. The best part is that a wish is actually clearly defined as a 9th level spell, and will not break any game. You get the same level of excitement, but will find it much easier to keep the consequences under control.
