Greetings Adventurers, I need some of your cool ideas for the deck of many things! Any and all ideas both serious or silly are always welcome. Thank you for sharing your ideas!
3.5 Player's Handbook II had a variant DOMT in it that was kinda cool. It focused on the retraining rules, I think.
As for some of my own ideas...
Horrible Black Void: you are sucked into the void along with all of your gear and forever destroyed with no chance of resurrection. Immediately make a new character. That character receives a +2 bonus to any 2 ability scores of his/her choice and has such an ingrained fear of the DOMT that they will never willingly touch any card again, including tarot cards, and even simple playing cards.
Lifebringer: Whenever you score a critical hit in combat, all allies within 30' (not including yourself) instantly receive the benefit of a cure moderate wounds spell as if cast by a cleric of your level. At 11th level, the range increases to 60', and also provides the benefit of a restoration spell.
Deathbringer: Whenever you score a critical hit in combat, all other enemies within 30' instantly receive the effects of an inflict moderate wounds spell as if cast by a cleric of your level. At 11th level, the range increases to 60', and deals inflict serious wounds instead.
Stormbringer: Whenever you are the target of a critical hit or sneak attack in combat, 1d4 random targets within 30' (possibly including yourself) are targeted by a call lightning spell as cast by a sorcerer of your level. At 11th level, the range increases to 60' and the number of targets increases to 2d4.
Time to start the numbering!
5. Nuanced. Your subtle talents are brought to the fore. Gain a bonus trait of your choice. Ignore the restrictions regarding the acquisition of traits from the same grouping.
6. Shattered glass.. Rebuild your character completely. All old classes must be removed. Ability scores must be rearranged. Retain your race, though you may change racial traits. Your equipment is unaffected, but feats, spells known, class abilities, etc. must change.
7. The Statue.. You are immediately petrified, as if affected by a flesh to stone spell. This may be removed normally.
. 8. The contract. A devil appears before you, willing to grant you your heart's desire if you'll just make a deal with him/her/it. The devil that appears is directly in proportion to the desire. The contract is as valid as always when dealing with devils.
9. The Destroyer. An olethrodaemon appears and begins rampaging across the countryside. It ignores the person who drew this card and all allies within 30' unless they make a hostile move against it. The creature remains for 24 hours before returning to Abaddon.
10. The temptress. A succubus is summoned for the drawer of this card. Her appearance will most closely match the drawer's preferences in sexual matters. She will attempt to seduce the drawer, but otherwise will not engage others unless the drawer resists her advances. If no one present succumbs to her wiles, treat as the Enmity card instead.
11. Divine grace. The drawer of this card is healed of all wounds, afflictions, and ailments. Even the effects of other cards in the deck, such as Euryale, are removed, though this only works on the drawer and cannot thus counter Donjon or the Void.
12. The boon. In the next 24 hours, a powerful NPC will grant the drawer one boon. This could be anything to an audience with the king to a personal service granted by an outsider to shelter from a blizzard.
13. The savant. The drawer of this card has tapped unrealized potential within themselves. They gain one class ability granted at 1st level of a class of their choice. Treat them as having gestalt levels, but only for the purposes of this ability. Their caster level if spellcasting is gained is 1st.
14. The entrepreneur. The drawer of this card gains 100 units of each downtime resource, to be used as they please.
Thanks guys! great ideas!
21. The Lion. You have no concept of fear, demonstrated by drawing from this deck. You are hereafter immune to fear in all its forms, unless from an artifact or mythic source.
22. Time. You are immediately aged to the first year of the venerable age category for your race. If you are immortal or undead this card has no effect. On a dragon, well....
23. Trickster: At random uses, equipment or weapons become a different weapon ot item for 1 hour before reverting. Weapons will be of identical quality as the original (enchantments will be of equal level but different type). A +1 Flaming short sword may become a +2 Whip, or a +1 Frost Shortbow.
24. Affinity: All tiny or smaller animals are enthralled with you, they attempt to follow and cuddle. They remain unhostile to you unless you attempt to remove them or make a hostile action.
25. Beast: Animals perceive you as a threat, being within 30' counts as a hostile action, horses will refuse to let your ride them, familiars and companions will always remain 30' away and must handle animal to get them to perform actions at a -5 penalty.
26. The Spook. A phantom appears before you of your greatest fear and spooks you (Fear 1 hour, no save), each night a spook has a 50% chance to appear again disrupting sleeps. Those immune to fear are merely distracted and confused instead.
27. Valkyrie: A Valkyrie (bestiary 3) is summoned and you must fight it in a duel to the death. If you win, you gain full experience points and treasure for the encounter; but if you lose, the Valkyrie triggers her Choose the Slain ability and it works even if you are not willing.
28. Display of Mythic Attributes: You immediately gain one of the Display of ??? universal mythic path abilities (mythic adventures pp. 50) at random usable once per day without spending mythic power and even if you are not a mythic character. At the start of each day, roll 1d6 to determine which display of ??? ability you gain that day (1: strength; 2: dexterity; 3: constitution; 4: intelligence; 5: wisdom; 6: charisma).
29. Aggressor: You gain a +4 inherent bonus to initiative and CMB. If you have a chaotic alignment, you also count as one size larger when performing combat maneuvers.
30. Discipline: You gain a +4 inherent bonus to CMD and concentration checks. If you have a lawful alignment, you also gain a +2 inherent bonus to your touch AC and flatfooted AC (neither of which can exceed your normal AC).
31. A powerful outsider of the opposite alignment from you appears and challenges you to a children's card game - you cannot refuse. If you win you are granted one wish as the spell, should you lose you are subjected to soul trap with no saving throw. Your soul becomes one of your opponent's cards and your body is disintegrated.
32. Purge
The Tarrasque awakens somewhere in the world. Roll 1d10 and apply that many Advanced Simple Templates to this Tarrasque.
Similar topic.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2tldu?Deck-of-SO-many-things#1
I have always used tarot decks, I-Ching, and whatever, and just use the imagery and accepted meanings to determine the actual effect. It is a lot easier to maintain balance and story that way.
Harrow deck is useful of course.
33: Determination
The next time you drop to 0 or less hitpoints, you are immediately affected by a Heal spell at a caster level equal to your character level. this only occurs once
34: The Sidhe
so long as the character never tell an outright lie or breaks their freely given word, they gain a +4 inherent bonus on one ability score of their choice. should they ever tell an outright lie or break their freely given work, the bonus permanently becomes a penalty. one can still lie by omission, and they only need adhere to the literal meaning of their word.
35: The Hunter
Any special enemy, the card drawer now gets tripple experience and treasure from defeating. This applies even if they just included it in their backstory.
36: The Cavalry
They now posses a horn that can be blown on 3 times to summon 5 mounted level 5 cavaliers for the current combat. Each has 1 flintlock pistol they can fire once during the current combat. Once used up the horn becomes a mundane powder horn.
37: Mirror mirror
Next confrontation, combat or social, they polymorph into a duplicate of their foe, for the encounter.
38: Imbalance
If the party has no rogue or bard, everywhere they go, there are woopie cushions, click plates, doors with stinking cloud vials built into the woodwork, ect. This stops only when someone takes at least one level of Rogue.
If the party has no healers, everything within a mile does +2 damage. This continues till they get a healer or cleric.
If the party has no frontline fighter, all random encounters are automatic positives. All groups get a new member.(4 orcs becomes 5) This continues till they get a dedicated fighter, even a Monk.
If the party has no spellcasters, add a pearl of power, pages from the mages, or a scroll to every treasure. This continues till the party has at least one arcane caster.
If it's a well balanced party, give each 10,000 XPs.
39: Pot of Greed
Everyone must punch the player or character who drew the most cards. This card remains on the table till everyone stops drawing cards.
40: The Tower
A randomly determined room or building appears. Within is a random monster, protecting a random treasure with a random trap on it. Add a random plot hook and any other random thing you can lay your hands on.
41: Nature Cat
The GM, in the voice of Nature Cat poses a quest to each player, outside. They must go, pick up litter, find an interesting rock, collect 2 kinor more types of fallen leaves, follow the stream to the edge of town, ect. They really only have to be outside for a half an hour to win a wish for their character. If they succeed at their quest they get an unlimited wish instead. An unlimited wish lets you true res a character irretrievably dead or send a truly vile NPC to Battor alive and carrying any items. The wish can be held onto but cannot be transferred.