Deck of Many Things 5e: Cards, Odds and How to Run It
The Deck of Many Things is a legendary magic deck of 13 or 22 cards. You declare how many cards you will draw, then each one takes effect at once: some grant wishes, treasure or a keep, others summon death, curse you or trap your soul. In the 2024 rules, 44% of draws from the 13-card deck are harmful.
How does the Deck of Many Things work?
The deck is a legendary wondrous item that needs no attunement. When someone wants to draw, the order of events matters:
- Declare how many cards you'll draw. Cards drawn beyond that number do nothing.
- Draw them one at a time. Each card's effect happens the moment it's drawn.
- Draw the next card within 1 hour of the last. Wait too long and every remaining card flies out and takes effect together.
- After a card resolves it vanishes and then returns to the deck, so you can draw the same card twice. The Fool and the Jester are the exceptions: once drawn, they're gone for good.
Three out of four decks hold 13 cards. The rest hold all 22. Nobody at the table should know which one they found until the first card turns.
What does each card do?
Here is every card in plain terms, using the 2024 version. The last column shows which deck it appears in.
| Card | Effect, in short | Good or bad? | Deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance | Optionally raise one ability score by 2 and lower another by 2 | Neutral | 22 only |
| Comet | Pick a foe at your next fight; slay it yourself for a year of advantage on death saves | Good | 22 only |
| Donjon | You're imprisoned in an extradimensional sphere; no more draws | Very bad | 22 only |
| Euryale | Curse: −2 to all saving throws until a god or the Fates card lifts it | Bad | Both |
| Fates | Undo one event as if it never happened, now or later | Very good | 22 only |
| Flames | A powerful devil becomes your lifelong enemy | Bad | Both |
| Fool | Disadvantage on d20 tests for 72 hours, then a free extra draw | Bad | 22 only |
| Gem | 50,000 GP in jewelry or gems at your feet | Good | 22 only |
| Jester | Advantage on d20 tests for 72 hours, or two extra draws | Good | Both |
| Key | A Rare or better magic weapon you can use, chosen by the DM | Good | Both |
| Knight | A loyal knight joins you as a follower | Good | Both |
| Moon | Cast Wish 1d3 times | Very good | Both |
| Puzzle | Lose 1d4 + 1 Intelligence or Wisdom permanently; one extra draw | Bad | 22 only |
| Rogue | A secret NPC enemy turns on you | Bad | Both |
| Ruin | All your nonmagical wealth and property is gone | Bad | Both |
| Sage | Within a year, ask one question and get a true answer | Good | 22 only |
| Skull | An Avatar of Death appears and attacks only you | Very bad | Both |
| Star | +2 to one ability score (maximum 24) | Very good | Both |
| Sun | A magic item plus 10 temporary HP every dawn for life | Good | Both |
| Talons | Every magic item you carry is destroyed | Very bad | 22 only |
| Throne | Expertise in History, Insight, Intimidation or Persuasion, and a keep (full of monsters) | Good | Both |
| Void | Your soul is trapped in a guarded object; no more draws | Worst | Both |
What are the odds of drawing a bad card?
The 2024 rules pick cards with a d100 table instead of a shuffled deck. In the 13-card column, every card covers 8 numbers except the Void, which covers 4. Since cards return to the deck after they're drawn, each draw is close to independent.
| Draws | 13-card deck: at least one bad card | 22-card deck: at least one bad card | 13-card deck: the Void |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44% | 40% | 4% |
| 3 | 82.44% | 78.4% | 11.53% |
| 5 | 94.49% | – | 18.46% |
"Bad" here means Euryale, Flames, Rogue, Ruin, Skull and Void in the small deck, plus Donjon, Fool, Puzzle and Talons in the full one. The 2014 deck, drawn from real cards, is a little harsher: the Void comes up 1 time in 13 (7.69%) instead of 1 in 25.
Want to run it with dice? Roll a d100 and read the 2024 table. Prefer a real deck? The 2014 rules map the 22 cards to the aces, kings, queens, jacks and twos of a standard deck plus both jokers; strip out the twos, aces and one joker for the 13-card version.
What changed in the 2024 Deck of Many Things?
The 2024 version removes experience points and alignment from the cards, since many tables don't use either.
- Balance: 2014 flipped your alignment; 2024 lets you trade 2 points between ability scores.
- Comet: 2014 gave a level for beating the next encounter alone; 2024 rewards slaying a chosen foe with a year of advantage on death saves.
- Fool and Jester: 2014 took or gave 10,000 XP; 2024 gives 72 hours of disadvantage or advantage instead.
- Idiot and Vizier: renamed Puzzle and Sage. Puzzle now hits Intelligence or Wisdom.
- Knight: was a 4th-level fighter you controlled; now a Knight NPC you and your DM build together.
- Sun: dropped its 50,000 XP in favor of 10 temporary hit points every dawn. Star is unchanged: +2 to a score, up to 24.
The SRD 5.2 version is published under the name Mysterious Deck, but it's the same item.
Should a DM put the Deck of Many Things in a campaign?
Only if you're ready for the campaign to change. A Moon draw hands a level 5 party up to three Wish spells; a Void draw removes a player character from the story until the party mounts a rescue. Both are great stories if you plan for them.
- Talk first: tell players the deck is dangerous before anyone draws. A surprise Void ends sessions badly.
- Prepare the fallout: know which devil Flames sends, which NPC Rogue turns, and where the Void hides the soul.
- Make it one scene: let each player decide how many cards to draw, roll them live, and let the table react. That moment is the point of the item.
Like random chaos? The wild magic table runs on the same idea at a smaller scale.
FAQ
How many cards are in the Deck of Many Things?
Most decks (75%) have 13 cards; the rest have the full 22. The 22-card deck adds cards like Donjon, Talons, Fates and Gem, which makes it both more rewarding and more dangerous.
Can you stop drawing from the Deck of Many Things?
No. You must declare how many cards you will draw before the first one, and draw each within an hour of the last. If you stall, the remaining cards fly out of the deck and all take effect at once.
What is the best card in the Deck of Many Things?
Moon, which lets you cast Wish 1d3 times, and Fates, which erases one event from reality, are the strongest. Star (+2 to an ability score) and Throne (a keep plus Expertise) are the safest good results.
What is the worst card in the Deck of Many Things?
The Void pulls your soul out of your body and imprisons it somewhere guarded, and you draw no more cards. Donjon, which entombs you in an extradimensional prison, and Skull, which summons an Avatar of Death that only you can fight, are close behind.
Is the Deck of Many Things in the SRD?
Yes. The 2014 SRD 5.1 includes it as the Deck of Many Things. The 2024 SRD 5.2 includes the updated version under the generic name Mysterious Deck, with a d100 table for picking cards.
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Contains content from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.