Dungeons & Dragons’ Deck Of Many Things May Be Tied To Forgotten ‘90s Board Game Everway

The Deck of Many Things is one of my favourite 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons releases in a long time, so it's a shame that it has been 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:delayed into next year. I've already written about 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:how malleable the deck is, allowing it to fold seamlessly into any number of D&D adventures, while other releases often feel like completely separate tales or ideas you'll get to eventually (or, if you're being honest, probably won't). However, the deck's new-found lease of life may have roots in the forgotten '90s tabletop game Everway.

The Deck of Many Things has existed since 1975, and has taken on various forms since then, changing the amount of cards that feature in it and taking influence from oracle and tarot cards. However, while it has had various inspirations and rules, it has always been a magical artefact like any other. There are countless rings, helmets, swords, and even several tiny stone figurines that transform into animals in Dungeons & Dragons' history. And, like the deck, they are confined to the pages and to imagination. The new release of the Deck of Many Things makes it physical, opening up the possibilities.

Dungeons & Dragons Collage showing Istus creating the Deck of Many Things and a goblin drawing from it

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While each card has a prescribed meaning, the fact you can tangibly hold, draw, and shuffle this new iteration of the Deck means there are far more possibilities for storytelling - so many, in fact, that they recall the use of cards in Everway. This connection was suggested to me by a friend of mine and one of Everway's biggest (onlyest) fans, who asked that he be credited under the name Big C Dawg.

He didn't, but when he reads this he likely won't be amused, which in turn amuses me greatly.

To call Everway Dungeons & Dragons with cards would be oversimplifying it, but it wouldn't be inaccurate. It was made by Wizards of the Coast, so there's an obvious link, and way before its time in 1995, it told a multiversal tale using drawn cards. Big C Dawg has tried to get us to play it before. It was way back before I had much appreciation for Dungeons & Dragons and when our playing group was much larger, so we probably weren't in the right frame of mind for it.

Dungeons & Dragons Collage showing cards Rogue, Skull and Flames from The Deck of Many Things

Everway is much simpler than Dungeons & Dragons to both build a character for and run campaigns of, although it's also far vaguer and relies on imagination and players taking initiative more, which can introduce a roadblock for the less-experienced players it would otherwise suit. There's no dice in Everway, only cards.

The game is played with three ideas in mind: Karma (what players are capable of based on their abilities and preparation for any given scene), Drama (events that need to happen for the plot), and Fortune (what cards were drawn). It relies on the gamemaster improvising the plot based on which cards come up, while making a connected story the players can participate in, exactly like one of the encouraged uses of the Deck of Many Things. If the Deck aims to simplify D&D storytelling while introducing random chance to a larger and more imaginative degree than a dice roll, then its aims are exactly the same as Everway's.

The Deck of Many Things is far more tied to D&D than Everway was, of course. Many of the things in The Deck are monsters to slay, or abilities that will help with said slaying. Everway is more narratively driven, with less combat and more room for character expansion. In D&D, as long as you know how hard your character can hit things and what spells they know, you're done. You can add more and get more out of the game if you embrace roleplaying, but if you want them to just be vectors for combat, they can be. Everway asks for more, and faster improv, and requires you to give up some tabletop staples like dice and maths (but like, fun maths). The Deck of Many Things feels like a way to incorporate Everway's ideals while keeping D&D's spirit.

From what I can see looking through the credits in the book, nobody who worked on the Deck of Many Things worked on Everway. And of course, the concept of The Deck of Many Things itself predates Everway by two decades. But this version of the Deck of Many Things feels inspired by Everway's intentions, at least if you take one of the many suggested pathways The Book of Many Things Offers. It's either two games arriving at the same point by chance, or someone on The Deck of Many Things' team played Everway once upon a time and thought it needed a second chance. After reading up on it again, I think they may be right.