Origins – The Deck of Many Things

The Deck of Many Things is one of the most debated magic items within the Dungeons and Dragons universe. The discourse centers on the ability of the deck to disrupt the balance of the game and the lethality of many cards. Rather than debate the deck again, I just wanted to take a look at the item as it was originally depicted along with differences in the next few incarnations.

Greyhawk Supplment I

The Deck of Many Things first appeared in 1975 in Supplement I for the White Box edition by Gygax and Kuntz. The deck is described on pages 59 and 60 in my third printing copy from 1976. It is the final entry of the Miscellaneous Magic section.

This device is a pack of 18 parchment cards, 4 each of four kinds and 2 jokers. Each of the four in each kind is different. One-half bring beneficial things, and one-half cause hurtful things. The person possessing such a deck may select cards from it four times (or more if jokers are drawn), and whatever is revealed by the card selected takes place.

The deck strikes a tone of balance – half good, half bad. The description uses face cards from the four suits of a normal deck of cards along with two jokers. The simplicity allows quick construction of a deck to use in play.

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Origins: Grasslands of Merakai – Towns and Villages

Continuation of my Origins series, as detailed previously. -Mark

Towns and Villages

Lierchmon

This small village has about 35-40 buildings. Most items can be purchased here but everything is 125-150% of the book cost. The trail to Dresan is well used and is usable by wagons and carts. Most of the population is human though other demi-humans are scattered within the population.

Fedell

Fedell is a wild town of 50-60 buildings. It is a very rough city with many thieves and adventurer types. Most of the business charge 175% book cost for supplies and various items. The proximity of Fedell to the barrier mountains makes the area very difficult to civilise.

Arfeld

Arfeld is an outpost of civilisation lying only a few miles within the bounds of the Grasslands of Merakai. Arfeld is a very small town (15-20 buildings); the basis of life here are a few farmers, an inn, a general store, a blacksmith, and few other odd merchants.

Marple

This is a small town of 60-70 buildings. All supplies are 150-175% of the original cost. Rare items will be 200% or more. Marku is a relatively calm town. It sits along a major trade road which ends at Korton 25 mi to the south. The road leads north then west and eventually ends in Dresan.

Korton

Korton has been fairly well covered in the Korton Forest posts (see below). Korton has 50-60 buildings and supplies are 150% normal cost. The scenarios for spawning from Korton should lead the PC’s into Korton Forest for the set encounters (again, see below). Other than that, Korton sits on the forest-plains transition. It is a small town but one that can protect its owns. Most of the populus distrust halflings because two years ago a group of 30 of the little buggers wandered into town and didn’t leave for a week. When they did leave, so did half of the citizens material possessions. Therefore, no halflings are allowed in the bars or most stores for that matter. However, they can get food delivered to them in the street for 300% the normal cost.

The Northeast: Marku, Dadta and Harrilen

Marku, Harillen, and Dadta are in the scrub plains area. There are more bushes and dwarf trees in this area due to its closer proximity to the coast.

As a matter of fact, Harillen is only 2-3 miles from the coast line and lies on a semi-navigable river. Only small boats and river boats can make it upstream from the ocean. However, most of the boats that existed have been destroyed by the hobgoblins.

South of Harillen is Great Cliff (see below). The hobgoblins have not yet travelled this far south and probably will not. Further south of Great Cliff, is the beginning of the Cardas Mountains. The Cardas Mountains follow the eastern coastline of this island continent except for one area of shallow warm sea that creates the Olkivan Swamp.

Obviously I wasn’t focused on most of the smaller towns at the time. Strangely they are all quite small. -Mark

Origins: Grasslands of Merakai – Dresan, the Capital

Continuation of my Origins series, as detailed previously. -Mark

Dresan

Dresan is the capital of the Grasslands of Merakai. It holds the king of this province, the head of the royal church and the school of the mages. It is a very large city with over 500 buildings encompassed within its walls. Most everything can be purchased in Dresan at approximately book price.

Dresan is by far the largest city of the Grasslands and is home to the majority of the people in the area. It is positioned on the East and West Fork of the Thornbrush River where they come together. The city is spread across all three natural divisions and the culture of each section is separated from the others by the size of the river.

The middle sector is the old city. This portion is completely surrounded by 40′ tall wall. Access is permitted only during the day and visitors without night passes from the various organisations are escorted out of Mid-City at dusk. The royal family, the royal church, the high magus: all reside in Mid-City.

The left bank of the western fork is home to the humanoids who are not “civilised” races. Yes, that’s right, you can find everything, from goblins to orcs to hobgoblins to ogres to half-ogres to even a few hill giants in that sector of the city. These chaotic races control the western bank so it is understandable that it is dangerous for humans and demi-humans to visit that sector, especially at night.

The right bank is the home to the civilised races. They try to keep the other races on the western bank. Here is the area where most PC’s will visit and reside when they are not out adventuring.

Mid-City

Dresan is still a very chaotic city where things unknown to civilised races take place commonly. The only region that is under control of the law abiding portion of the population is Mid-City. It is not really in control of the city but is instead a fortress of law within an otherwise chaotic hell. The Mid-city residents believe in protecting themselves in order to advance the laws. They do not allow any non-resident into Mid-city with out a pass. The pass is only obtainable within Mid-city unless it is applied for in writing which can take up to 8 weeks to process. Many lawful mages have made homes within Mid-city and the larger temples all have buildings there also. These “law abiders” are currently trying to impose their beliefs upon the other sectors of Dresan but have not been very successful.

The Western Sector

The western portion of the capital city is by far the roughest area within the city borders. Humanoids of all races are commonplace here with hobgoblins and goblins running rampant in the streets. The only law here is survival of the fittest. Only PC’s with substantial power (or a death wish) go here. The Western Sector is home to corruption and the outright influences of chaos. The area is extremely dangerous during the day but becomes the pits of hell during the night hours. Assassins walk the streets looking for people with a few gold to steal. For every 10 minutes on the street at night, there is a 20% chance that someone is pick pocketed. During the day, this chance is only 10%. Killing and murder is a normality. A murder occurs about once every five minutes in this sector.

The Eastern Sector

The eastern part of Dresan is intermediate between Mid-city and the western third. It is home to the majority of the middle class and to the larger share of the wharfs and shipping industry. People who do not share the beliefs of the Mid-city residents but want to remain fairly secure in their homes tend to settle here. Small temples abound in this section with deities of every origin. If the god has been mentioned in history, there is probably some place of worship within this sector.

Crime is at a much lower rate here. This decline is mostly due to the faction of red-robed mages who have a guild here. They tend to keep things pretty much under control so they can continue their research in relative peace. Irregular patrols are also part of the eastern section with the chance of seeing one at about 25% per hour. However, the patrols have no formal routes and areas of patrol are completely random. The middle class business men abound here also. Most of the supply shops for adventurers lie in this area including armourers, weaponsmiths, alchemist, general goods and almost anything else the average person would need.

In addition, the “head offices” of the Dresan thief’s guild are in the Eastern Sector. Various fronts are actually outlets of the guilds and contacts are fairly easy to obtain. The Eastern Sector is truly the commerce portion of Dresan and is the common place for PC groups to base from. A variety of inns and taverns are available.
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