Deck of Many Things - Idiot card. Reversible?


Rules Questions


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Looking for clarification on whether the Idiot Card's 1d4+1 intelligence drain is reversible with a restoration spell. Thank you.


I don't see anything in the deck or card's description (d20pfsrd) that indicates the ability drain requires something specific to heal/remove it. My reading is that a spell like restoration will affect it as it would any other ability drain.


That's what I'm seeing, as well. For example, the void card specifically mentions that a miracle or wish spell doesn't reverse the card's effect - they merely reveal where the soul is imprisoned. All it says for the Idiot card is that the card causes 1d4+1 points of intelligence drain immediately.


Fractured Elf wrote:
That's what I'm seeing, as well. For example, the void card specifically mentions that a miracle or wish spell doesn't reverse the card's effect - they merely reveal where the soul is imprisoned. All it says for the Idiot card is that the card causes 1d4+1 points of intelligence drain immediately.

I think your GM must have drawn this card a couple times IRL. Stupidest magic item ever.


Toblakai wrote wrote:
I think your GM must have drawn this card a couple times IRL. Stupidest magic item ever.

. That may be, but it doesn't help answer the question.


Toblakai wrote:
Fractured Elf wrote:
That's what I'm seeing, as well. For example, the void card specifically mentions that a miracle or wish spell doesn't reverse the card's effect - they merely reveal where the soul is imprisoned. All it says for the Idiot card is that the card causes 1d4+1 points of intelligence drain immediately.

I think your GM must have drawn this card a couple times IRL. Stupidest magic item ever.

Ummm....most players should know better. This isn't the instance of a stupid GM necessarily, but maybe an instance of one who likes tempting his players.

The group I play with knows better than to ever draw a single card from the deck of many things.

No matter how many times it shows up.


Toblakai said wrote:

Ummm....most players should know better. This isn't the instance of a stupid GM necessarily, but maybe an instance of one who likes tempting his players.

The group I play with knows better than to ever draw a single card from the deck of many things.
No matter how many times it shows up.

That is an issues of player knowledge vs character knowledge. Completely unrelated to my question - which is, can restoration reverse the effect of the Idiot card?


Sorry, Toblakai. The above should've been attributed to Claxon. Didn't realize someone else had joined the discussion.

Grand Lodge

The Deck of Many Things, a GM's way of saying "I want this campaign to end, but I want it to be because of player actions."


Okay, so that's 4 responses, and only 1 actually addressed the question?!? I understand the Deck is not a well-recieved item, but opinions of that nature do nothing to address the question! If this is all I've got to go on, then I wonder how any question not put directly to the devs ever gets answered. Thank you Pizza Lord for actually trying to help!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

"Restoration cures all temporary ability damage, and it restores all points permanently drained from a single ability score (your choice if more than one is drained). "

Pretty clear cut.

What makes you think it would not work?


Thank you Bondoid for responding the the question instead of offering an opinion about the Deck itself. I appreciate it. As to why I'm looking for clarification - well, minor artifact. Usually their effects aren't casually magicked away...


Fractured Elf wrote:
As to why I'm looking for clarification - well, minor artifact. Usually their effects aren't casually magicked away...

Understandable, but you have to look at it as a whole. The deck is incredibly powerful and most of its effects can't necessarily be 'magicked' away. Most offer no saving throws, including the Idiot card. One just takes your soul and lock it away, one turns your cohort into an intractable enemy, no save.

In this particular case, a restoration spell can reverse the effect of the card; one random possibility out of 22 cards. How easy or accessible such a remedy is is subjective.


Thank you, Pizza Lord, for a directly related to the previous comment response. The consensus I'm getting, from you and Bondoid, is that the effect is reversible, since nothing in the Deck's or Card's description explicitly says it is not. That was my interpretation as well, but I had doubts (probably derived from previous edition interpretations) because - artifact. So it looks like a trip to a temple is in order for my character, and probably a quest is in order for the party.


Naw, just have another party member draw 10 or so cards, one is bound to be able to reverse the Idiot card's affect. And by one... I mean one specifically. I am sure if he gets the Moon he'll use (at least one) or his only wish to help you.

This is clearly the intelligent thing to try. At least... it's clearly the intelligent thing for your character to suggest currently.


Good one. Actually, the hit wasn't too bad - 2 points of Int lost - leaving my fairy (as in Tiny, impulsive Fey) summoner with a 12 Int. (Homebrew game, with GM-approved custom races as long as their was significant story elements to them.) Still, with only 2+Int mod skill points/level, going from a +2 to a +1 Int mod hurts.


Fractured Elf wrote:
Thank you, Pizza Lord, for a directly related to the previous comment response. The consensus I'm getting, from you and Bondoid, is that the effect is reversible, since nothing in the Deck's or Card's description explicitly says it is not. That was my interpretation as well, but I had doubts (probably derived from previous edition interpretations) because - artifact. So it looks like a trip to a temple is in order for my character, and probably a quest is in order for the party.

You got it, it's reversible.

When in doubt, do what it says. Some people add extra effects to things (because-artifact), but they really shouldn't.

For the record, I love finding those decks, and always always try them, of course, our group usually uses hero points or some variation that allows us to have an 'undo' on stuff like this, so, it usually turns out very well. :D


Fractured Elf wrote:
Okay, so that's 4 responses, and only 1 actually addressed the question?!? I understand the Deck is not a well-recieved item, but opinions of that nature do nothing to address the question! If this is all I've got to go on, then I wonder how any question not put directly to the devs ever gets answered. Thank you Pizza Lord for actually trying to help!

The question was answered correctly by Pizza lord in the first response. No cause to get upset.

Also, for what it's worth "question directed at the devs" almost never get answered because if the devs tried to stop and answer every request for answer from the devs they wouldn't get anything else done.

As well, I was responding to Toblakai as he was leveling insults at your GM, which were unfounded in my opinion.


Thanks to all who've responded to the question. My apologies if I sounded upset earlier - I was just a bit flabbergasted by the 'this is my opinion of the Deck' responses that offered nothing to answer the question. I know the Deck's a big risk, and am leery of it - most players who've been playing some incarnation of the game do. My character, however, knew nothing about the Deck, and being an impulsive Chaotic Neutral Fey, chose to draw three cards, & and got Flames, Idiot, and Sun. Flames = side adventures, unless the GM ties it completely into his campaign, but losing half of my Int mod on a summoner hurt, so I wanted clarification as to whether my reading of the Idiot card's effect was correct. It seems to have been, so thanks for the clarification.


No problem. No hard feelings and sorry for any miscommunication.


Three cards, that's pretty daring. I usually just pull one or two.


alexd1976 wrote:
Three cards, that's pretty daring. I usually just pull one or two.

Well - CN Fey, no character knowledge of the Deck. Player knowledge - yes. Character - why not? What's the worse that can happen?


Claxon wrote:
No problem. No hard feelings and sorry for any miscommunication.

Thank you. No hard feelings here, either, and miscommunication can be a pain.

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