Sidebar: The Deck of Many (Other) Things

 During my group's last session, I wanted to reward some exceptional playing with something special, but not game-breakingly good. On the fly, I came up with the idea of a "Deck of Many Other Things", much like the legendary Deck of Many Things but mostly loaded up with plot fuel. It follows the same model as the standard deck, but the cards are more phenomenon based than mechanical. 

But how, you ask, did you generate a list of novel cards like this on the fly? This is where the dreaded, all-consuming behemoth that is AI comes into play. I simply a prompt (much like what I wrote above) into ChatGPT, and out came this card list. Well, mostly. I changed a few things. I don't know where the seed material was sourced from, but whomever it may be, if not the bot itself, I thank you. 

If you like it, feel free to use it. 

The Deck of Many Other Things

(Draw at your own risk. Or delight.)

1. The Fool (Upright Only)

You immediately gain an unexpected opportunity. It’s real, but you won’t recognize it until you almost miss it.

2. The Magician

One mundane object you own becomes slightly magical for a week. It works… just not how you expect.

3. The High Priestess

You learn a secret. Unfortunately, you don’t yet know what it’s useful for.

4. The Empress

Something you’ve been nurturing (a project, idea, friendship) grows faster than planned.

5. The Emperor

You are placed in charge of a situation you did not ask for. Authority is real; respect is negotiable.

6. The Hierophant

An old rule suddenly applies to you again. Breaking it has consequences you forgot existed.

7. The Lovers

You must make a choice between two equally appealing options. The unchosen path becomes… weird.

8. The Chariot

For the next day, momentum favors you. If you hesitate, the effect ends immediately.

9. Strength

You succeed at something through patience instead of force, even if force would’ve been easier.

10. The Hermit

You disappear from everyone’s notice for a short time. You still exist. Mostly.

11. Justice

A past action—good or bad—comes back balanced. Not punished. Not rewarded. Balanced.

12. The Hanged One

You must do something the hard way to gain a shortcut later.

13. Death

A chapter ends cleanly. No tragedy—just finality. You cannot go back.

14. Temperance

Two opposing things in your life suddenly work together. You don’t know how long it’ll last.

15. The Devil

You gain exactly what you want… but also exactly what comes with it.

16. The Tower

A false belief collapses dramatically. You’re safer afterward, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

17. The Star

Hope becomes tangible. Once, you may reroll, retry, or reconsider a failed outcome.

18. The Moon

Things are confusing, but your instincts are sharper than usual. Trust vibes over facts.

19. The Sun

Something hidden is revealed in the best possible light. Confidence becomes contagious.

20. Judgement

You are called to account for who you’ve become—not who you were.

21. The World

A long arc completes. You gain closure and a new beginning at the same time.

22. The Other Thing

The deck refuses to explain itself. Something strange happens later. The card vanishes.

Now the fun part of this is that none of these things are as mundane as "+2 to a stat" or "you get sucked into a black hole and die." Each draw provides an interesting tag to the player's story (or backstory if they bothered to create one) in media res, and when they draw multiple cards it's even better. 

Case in point: the party's Archfey Warlock, let's call him Archie, who was starting to feel the constraints of his class at level 7 (2 spells per encounter is pretty restrictive) and asked if we might convert it over to D&D '24. Now I'd rather not shift the whole game over from '14 to '24 because I'm lazy and concerned about balance. Plus, a few players are brand new to the hobby, so there's heavy lifting on both sides of the screen. 

But Archie declared he was going to draw 3 cards, and got the The World, Death, and Justice. 

A long arc completes. You gain closure and a new beginning at the same time.

A chapter ends cleanly. No tragedy—just finality. You cannot go back.

A past action—good or bad—comes back balanced. Not punished. Not rewarded. Balanced.

When you put all these together, it kind of looks a bit like a career change, dunnit? Maybe Archie is a hot ticket in the lands of the Fey now that he's leveled up a bit and other members of the Summer Court desire him? Or maybe even members of the Unseelie Court? or the Nag Lord himself, Atanuwe? 

I could imagine a fairy conclave of some sort, with various members of the Courts rubbing elbows and (predictably) gambling with the lives of mortals. I can imagine a card game in which Archie's patron wagers their contract. That's exciting! In fact, I'm thinking of having the players act out a card game of some sort, with several different factions present, and to the victor belongs the spoils! 

In any event Archie may come away with a new patron and new powers, bestowed by a patron now glowing with joy over their victory. Of course, the fey are notorious for losing interest quickly... 

The rest of the party received similar results, and I've had a blast trying to interpret what their new "dooms" might mean in the current setting. 

NOTE: I'm really on the fence about AI in general, and I try not to rely on AI art at all. If I was to ever publish something, I would only use it as a mock-up to share with any potential illustrator. And it's pants at many things, such as maps. And I've tried using it as a "virtual DM" but it's not so good at that either. So while I may use it as a crutch at the table, I don't intend to go full cyborg. 

1-5 The Glass Dunes

 1-5 The Glass Dunes

An expanse of gently rolling glass dunes. Not much to look at, but this area will have a few hazards and a random encounter table. This area provides access to 1-6, 1-12 and, of course 1-5. 

While not exactly "trackless" this area is dull, inhabited by the meekest fauna of the mirrorverse - the lesser amalgams. Whether this is because they tend to originate here or because viable shards are few and far between, no one  knows. Or cares. Basically a desert here. 

Encounters, while rare, are possible. And given that this is an area where glassfalls tend to occur, you can find some weird stuff. I'll figure out the chance of encounters later. Whatever the average is, it's lower here. When they do occur, roll a d8: 

1. Medusa - miffed at being caught out by her own gaze attack, she is highly defensive and vulnerable. She has already figured out that her gaze doesn't work here. 
2. Wind chimes. Someone assembled a mobile or large set of wind chimes out of a 10 foot pole and some string. Weird but innocuous, might draw monsters. Occurs once then treat as 4
3. 1 medium amalgam
4. d2 lesser amalgams
5. Quickglass - looks just like the glass grit/gravel everywhere else but it's liquified. Slows the party down one way or the other. 
6. 1d3 basilisks - incredibly hungry and not smart enough to realize their gazes don't work here.

Not every area was going to be exciting! 

1-4 Goblin Warrens

I'm busy today, so I'm pre-posting this area. 

    

On Logistics, and Organic Development

    So far, so good. We have a theme, several thematic monsters of the initial area, and even a hook into the end stage of the dungeon itself (the Amalgams fascination with the Eye of Oroboros). 

    The plan is to proceed day by day, room by room, and fill out the first 19 days of January. Day 19 and 20 will be the Temple of Janus so really there are only about 15 more "rooms" to fill out. There are three things I need to keep in mind: 

1. Shard Collection. The mechanic of collecting shards to fill out each character needs to be both urgent and rewarding. Giving away too many shards too fast devalues this first, ultra-weird level of the dungeon. On the flip side, though, there needs to be a pressure for the party to press on, so I'm thinking of imposing a 3-day (3 long rest) time limit. Each time the party takes a LR, they feel a little bit more detached from that urge to reassemble themselves. Balancing urgency vs risk is key to this portion of level one. Given that a party of four will need 24+ shards (undetermined yet but probably 6 to 8), that's a lot of farming! And that doesn't include potential losses from penumbrae or glass goblins.  
2. Room Logistics. Each room-day will be connected to one another sequentially (making it possible to travel through all 365 rooms or regions), but also laterally through the day of the week (Monday to Monday, etc). With a few exceptions (where months connect, and the future "gap rooms"), this means that there should be at least 3 different directions of travel for players to move through (4 for most mid-month days). 
3. Overcomplicating things. I've already introduced multiple groups or factions and it's only day 3. Penumbrae (the undead shadows of the mirror realm), the glass goblins and the Amalgams form the main three threats of the Capricorn section. I plan to include more on the goblins. The Amalgams and penumbrae are non-directed threats, wandering monsters that endanger all. I will probably add a few more random encounters - other beings trapped here, perhaps another party of NPCs. 

    I plan to include more geophysical threats in this section - yawning gulfs, teetering piles of loose glass shards, quickglass, other navigable hazards as they occur to me. I am considering making the environment itself more dangerous as the PCs collect their shards, indicating they have become less the stuff of the mirrorverse and more tactile. I haven't decided on how to manifest that mechanically yet. Difficult terrain everywhere? Spike Stones-like damage for moving at full speed? I do know that they will become more "delicious" to the locals as they grow. 

    In addition, the glass goblin faction needs some develoment. I have an idea of what the Goblin Boss will be like, but will need more time to reflect (chortle) on that. 

    Eventually I will introduce the Janussaries. While they are not interested in collecting shards, they actively recruit (aka kidnap) new members for their master - another existential threat. However, once a character has a full set of shards, the Janussaries lose interest. At that point they may pass freely through the Gate at the Janus temple. 

    As far as the characters themselves go, they will enter the game as bland ciphers - a 10 in each ability score, a +2 proficiency bonus but no race or class (thus no skill modifiers), an average amount of hit points for their level but with monster rather than class hit points (I'm thinking 3rd level so ~14hp). This can be a mini-game in its own right; picking and choosing which elements of your character to fill out with your precious shards. Maybe I'll wait to fill out my low scores last? 

    More anon, but I'm pretty happy with how things are developing! 

1-3 The Goblin Hunting Warrens and Wolf Supermoon

    The tunnels from 1-2 (and 1-4 and 1-10) lead into a tangle of glass goblin hunting warrens. Here the goblins wait and hunt the minor amalgams, watch for new shardfalls, and otherwise pass the time in relative safety. Two rooms serve as storage and dormitory. When the goblins decide they have enough material, they set out for their lair to make offerings to the Goblin Boss. 

    The goblins have learned the trick of extracting a gum-like substance from living amalgams and using it to craft wicked traps. The floors and walls of the tunnels are unusually smooth compared to the terrain outside. Some sections of the tunnels have pits covered by a thin layer of glass, which the oblivious may blunder into. Some have cunningly inlaid glass covers to "sneek toobs" or small rooms the goblins may flee into. Collapsing ceilings and walls are also common, but require a lot more work. 

    Within the tunnels, there are 2d6 glass goblins. If less than 4 are present, the rest (1d8) are away on a hunting/scavenging patrol and will return within an hour, as they dislike wandering out of sight of the warren entrances. 

    At any given time, The goblins will have collected 1d6 shards (to be returned to the Boss). 

    The warren has 3 exits leading to 1-4 and 1-10. 

1-2 The Sinkhole and Glass Warrens

 A wide, shallow depression in the floor, around and across which scuttle smaller Amalgams, hunting for shards, chasing off competitors and milling about. Beyond, you see the slope of what appears to be a high  ridge or mesa of piled glass gravel. Several openings pierce the bank and appear to recede deeper into the mountain. 

The Sinkhole

The shallow depression is a semi-stable formation covering a sinkhole. The smaller amalgams may walk across it with  impunity, but the larger amalgams, such as those from 1-1, would trigger an avalanche of glass. The small amalgams know this and so tend to linger in the area, as they can run across the sinkhole and hopefully lead the larger Amalgams to their doom. 

Each lesser Amalgam yields 1 shard if harvested correctly. 

The glass bluff extends into 1-3. It is a warren carefully dug by the glass goblins as a camp. The entrances are arched; meticulously balanced shards of glass braced against one another to stay open. The interior of the tunnels are similarly shored up. These entrances are fragile, susceptible to physical shocks, causing a landslide if significantly disturbed. 

There will be 1 or 2 goblins within the recesses of the entrances, watching out for large Amalgams and waiting for the smaller ones to let their guard down. The rest of the goblins are in 1-3, resting and preparing for the next raid. Then the goblin raiding party will attempt to capture as many of the small Amalgams as possible for harvesting. It's not an easy job. 

Each goblin will yield 1 shard. This goblin raiding party has collected 1d6 shards. 

Ascending the glass bluff will yield a long-distance view of 1-1, 1-8, 1-9, and the surface expanse of 1-3, though it increases the likelihood of drawing attention from the penumbrae...

1-1 The Eye of Oroboros

 Orologium of the Ormenians. 

1-1. The Eye. 

An enormous lens with a dark, slitted iris like that of a predator stares blankly from the slope of a hill of broken glass. It stands unnaturally erect, not fully supported by the heaps of glass shards which surround it. Beyond this lens and this hill, there is a gulf, loose shards of broken glass sliding and tumbling toward the edge, falling off into nothing. The eerie half-light of this level reveals nothing in the empty air beyond this point. 

The largest of the Amalgams on this level linger here, gibbering, moaning and digging among the glass scraps. There are 1d3 here at all times. They will attack anyone they see, though they are cautious of their kinfolk. 

The Amalgams know the Eye is a gate, but they must be of sufficient power to pass through it. Thus they scour the floor for any shard-bearing creatures and gobble them up, returning to the Eye to attempt entry. 

The Eye is a one way gate to 12-31, but it only allows passage to sufficiently powerful creatures, say CR12 at least.