Contents
- 1Chapter 1: Fool
- 2Chapter 2: Key
- 3Chapter 3: Balance
- 4Chapter 4: Puzzle
- 5Chapter 5: Gem
- 6Chapter 6: Rogue
- 7Chapter 7: Sage
- 8Chapter 8: Fates
- 9Chapter 9: Knight
- 10Chapter 10: Sun
- 11Chapter 11: Moon
- 12Chapter 12: Comet
- 13Chapter 13: Star
- 14Chapter 14: Jester
- 15Chapter 15: Throne
- 16Chapter 16: Ruin
- 17Chapter 17: Donjon
- 18Chapter 18: Void
- 19Chapter 19: Skull
- 20Chapter 20: Flames
- 21Chapter 21: Talons
- 22Chapter 22: Euryale
- 23Credits
Chapter 18: Void
The Void card is perhaps the most dreaded draw from a Deck of Many Things. The individual who draws this card is consigned to a terrible fate: their body collapses while their soul is imprisoned in a far-off object. This poses challenges for the DM, the party, and the imprisoned character's player. Where has the soul been taken? How does the party recover it? And what is the character's player to do while their character is inactive?
This chapter presents the House of Cards, a dungeon in a remote demiplane created when the Void card is drawn. This is where the character's soul is used as bait to lure the rest of the characters to the lair of a predatory monster. This chapter begins with advice for DMs and players facing the challenges posed when a single character is separated from everyone else. This situation can be handled in many ways, and DMs can choose an approach that suits their players and their campaign.
Drawing the Void Card
When a character draws the Void card, the House of Cards is called into existence in its own demiplane. The character's soul is transported there, trapped inside a porcelain mask in the lair of a breath drinker, a monster presented in this chapter. If the characters can obtain the mask, they can reunite the soul of their fellow adventurer with that character's body.
You don't have to use the House of Cards if you want the soul of the Void's victim to be trapped in a location that's part of your ongoing campaign. Regardless of where the soul is trapped, you should keep the character's player engaged until their character is rescued—which could take several sessions.
One approach is for the player to play a temporary character. Many players are eager to try out new character ideas; if your player has a backup character in mind, the problem is solved. But some players are reluctant to swap characters. If they joined the game to play a particular character, they might not have fun playing a different one. Even if the player has no reservations, making a new character and gracefully integrating that character into the party can take time.
Another approach, which avoids those challenges, is for the player to continue playing their original character on a desperate quest to rescue their own soul.
Playing a Temporary Character
Playing a new character for a brief period can be fun and liberating, giving the player a chance to experiment with new class features in a low-stakes environment. For example, a player who has avoided spellcasting so far might want to give a cleric or wizard a try.
The player should determine who their character is and why the character suddenly appears when the party interacts with a Deck of Many Things. Consider linking the character to one of the factions below to connect them to the party's adventures:
- Established Ally or Organization. The temporary character is someone the adventurers know. If the characters have powerful contacts, this is the perfect opportunity for one of those contacts to repay a favor to the adventurers by lending their support. Perhaps a beloved ally has expressed a desire to come on adventures before. Temples, governments, guilds, and other societies the party has previously dealt with can all provide allies to help the adventurers in their hour of need.
- Herald of the Comet. The temporary character is an agent of the Heralds of the Comet (see chapter 12), a group that seeks the original Deck of Many Things for its own purposes. While the leaders of this apocalyptic cult are nihilists intent on the destruction of the multiverse, many lower-ranking members believe the organization has altruistic intentions and works for the greater good. This particular herald seeks insight that might be found within the House of Cards.
- Solar Bastion Agent. The temporary character is an agent of the Solar Bastion (see chapter 10) who has been tracking the party's Deck of Many Things. This character is eager to help recover the lost soul; after all, the Solar Bastion was founded in response to a mortal being imprisoned by the Void. The character understands some of the Void's workings and can assist in opening the way to the House of Cards.
Making a new character takes time. Place an encounter with a Deck of Many Things at the end of a session so the player whose character has been imprisoned can make a temporary character between sessions. A player who is happy with an iconic combination of background and class might be able to put together a character during a short break with the help of online tools. If you need the new character immediately, you can turn to stat blocks; the bandit captain, berserker, cult fanatic, knight, priest, and spy are great places to start. In this book, consider the initiate of the comet (see chapter 12) or Solar Bastion knight (see chapter 10).
Playing the Same Character
A character who falls victim to the Void card doesn't have to collapse into a coma; instead, they could have one chance to save themselves, with time running out.
This approach revises the effect of the Void card; the character loses their soul but not their capacity to think and act. At first, the effects of the card might seem minor, and it might not be clear exactly what has happened. The character might grow lightheaded or briefly fall unconscious, for example. But upon awakening, the character feels a profound emptiness and sense of loss. Everything feels distant and muted, as if their thoughts and feelings were trapped behind glass. Soon, the seriousness of the problem becomes clear.
Soul Loss
The soulless character has disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks. Any effects that perceive, affect, or manipulate a creature's soul that are used on the character fail automatically.
Deteriorating Vessel
Whenever the soulless character finishes a long rest, the character gains 1 level of exhaustion that can't be removed until the soul is restored. The character grows more listless and withdrawn as the exhaustion builds.
Instinctive Draw
The soulless character feels a pull toward what they've lost. If you're using the House of Cards, the character senses that a Deck of Many Things can bring them where they need to be.
House of Cards
The Deck of Many Things creates the House of Cards—this demiplane dungeon doesn't exist until the Void card is drawn. The soul of the character who draws the card is trapped in a porcelain mask that resembles that character's face. The mask waits in a bound void within the House of Cards (area 23), where an entity from the Far Realm known as a breath drinker preys on any who come to rescue the trapped soul.
Entering and Leaving the House
While the House of Cards exists, spells such as Plane Shift can access it if the caster knows where they're trying to go. But the Deck of Many Things can also provide access to the dungeon. A creature touching the deck from which the Void card was drawn knows the House of Cards can be accessed in the following ways:
- Life Force. As an action, a creature touching the deck can command the House of Cards to open. The deck absorbs life energy, giving the creature 5 levels of exhaustion. These levels can be distributed among up to five willing creatures touching the deck. Then each creature touching the deck is transported to area 1 of the House of Cards.
- Spell Energy. If a creature touching the deck casts a spell that teleports one or more targets, instead of the spell's usual effect, each creature touching the deck is transported to area 1 of the House of Cards.
[image: The Entrance of the House of Cards]
House of Cards Features
The House of Cards has the following features:
- Construction. The surfaces are composed of cards of various sizes from the Deck of Many Things. Unless otherwise noted, the cards don't sit flush; the walls, floor, and ceiling are irregular but not difficult terrain. All the cards except for the Void card are visible throughout the House of Cards. Damaging the cards causes more copies to shuffle out and replace the damaged cards, making it impossible to tunnel through surfaces. Unless otherwise noted, ceilings are 20 feet high in rooms and 10 feet high in corridors.
- Doors. Visible doors are single large cards; they are as strong as reinforced iron, with AC 19, 50 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. The card face displayed on each door corresponds to the room the door opens to.
- Lighting. Unless a location specifies otherwise, rooms and corridors are lit by ambient dim light.
- Secret Doors. Secret doors are made of many small cards that shuffle out of the way when the door is opened. Creatures can locate a secret door by examining or physically searching the door's space and succeeding on a Wisdom (Perception) check. The DC is 15 unless otherwise specified. In corridors accessed only by secret doors, the backs of those doors are obvious.
House of Cards Locations
The following locations are keyed to map 18.1.
1: Entrance
Characters who enter the House of Cards appear in this room, standing on the glowing Key card in the floor.
Key
The Key card in the floor fills the room with bright light. Anyone touching the card knows it can be used to return home; any character who touches it and uses an action to activate it vanishes, leaving the demiplane and reappearing in the closest unoccupied space to where they were before they appeared in the House of Cards.
Void Entrance
The entrance to the Void chamber (area 23) is hidden in this room, beneath the Key card. A character who examines the glowing Key card and succeeds on a DC 22 Wisdom (Perception) check discovers the card could swivel, but the card doesn't move. The only way to rotate the card and reveal what lies beneath it is to use the Chime of Opening from the Key room (area 18) on it. This reveals the Void card beneath—the only such card in the entire dungeon. A creature that steps onto the Void card is teleported to area 23.
2: Gem
This room is brightly lit by the gem formation's light.
Gem Formation
The crystal formation doesn't just change color; it constantly changes from one type of gemstone into another. As an action, a creature can try to carefully remove pieces of the formation with a Dexterity or Intelligence check (their choice) using jeweler's or mason's tools, or by making an attack with a melee weapon. Compare the creature's ability check or attack roll total to the Gem Shards table.
A gem of the listed value falls to the floor. If the result indicates thunder damage, a terrible shrieking accompanies the cracking crystal. Each creature in the room must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking the indicated damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. After the gem formation yields a total of 3d6 gem fragments, it goes silent, turns dark gray, and can't create any more gems.
Gem Shards
| Attack Roll or Check Total | Thunder Damage | Gemstone Value |
|---|---|---|
| 5 or lower | 33 (6d10) | 10 gp |
| 10–14 | 22 (4d10) | 50 gp |
| 15–19 | 11 (2d10) | 100 gp |
| 20–24 | 5 (1d10) | 500 gp |
| 25–29 | — | 1,000 gp |
| 30 or higher | — | 5,000 gp |
3: Fool
Though they reflect like mirrors, the shimmering fields aren't physical objects and can't be broken.
Reflections
Reflections in this room take on a life of their own, taunting the creatures who cast them. A creature that converses with its own reflection must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or take 5 (2d4) psychic damage.
A demiplane can be a wonderful place to escape the tumult of the multiverse—provided it isn't haunted by a hungry Far Realm aberration, of course.
4: Sun
This room is a version of the Surface of the Sun trap in chapter 4, but it differs from that trap in the following ways:
- Hotter Ceiling. Characters inside the room take 11 (2d10) fire damage each round, instead of 5 (1d10).
- Moon Door. The door from the trap in the final hall depicts the Moon, not a skull.
- Shorter Halls. The three halls in this trap are far shorter than those in the trap in chapter 4.
5: Moon
Like the Sun room (area 4), this chamber is an elaborate trap. It is based on the Test of the Empty Moon trap from chapter 4 with these differences:
- Northern Door. A door stands behind the portcullis to the north; this door leads to area 6. If the characters entered through this door, the portcullis blocks their way.
- Southern Door. The door leading to area 4 is locked, but it can be unlocked from this side. Alternatively, the characters might unlock it from area 4 using the key in that room.
6: Donjon
A chain devil lurks among the chains and cages that fill this room. Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check spot the devil. The devil attacks when a creature approaches it, tries to move past it toward the Talons door, or tries to open the Fates door; the devil uses its Animate Chains ability to attack foes with the chains draping the room.
Cages
As a bonus action on its turn, the chain devil can throw a Small or Medium creature restrained by it or by an animated chain into one of the cages in the room, whereupon the cage's door slams shut and locks. Each cage is made of iron and has AC 19, 50 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. A character can pick the cage's lock with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check bends the cage's bars enough to escape.
Treasure
The chain devil has a set of Dimensional Shackles hanging from its belt and might use them on an incapacitated enemy.
7: Talons
This cavernous chamber smells like an animal's den. Two talon beasts (see chapter 21) lair here. They try to steal the characters' magic before darting away to feed.
Doors
The door to the west wall shows the Balance card. The door to the south shows the Donjon card.
8: Balance
Like the Sun and Moon rooms (areas 4 and 5), this chamber is an elaborate trap. See the Balance and Ruin trap in chapter 4 for complete details. This trap differs from the one described there in the following ways:
- Shorter Beam. The room and beam aren't as long.
- East to West. When the party enters, the weight is on the east side of the room. Any weight on the west side of the beam causes it to lower, depressing the pressure plate that activates the metal walls.
9: Star
The starlight glow is a conduit to a living star (see the "Variant: Servants of Living Stars" sidebar in chapter 21 for examples). A creature that spends 10 minutes concentrating on the glow can contact the star and ask it questions as if using the Contact Other Plane spell, including all the risks associated with that spell. A character who examines the starlight glow and succeeds on a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check intuits its purpose and property.
Secret Door
A secret door in the south wall leads to the Fates room (area 10). This door is easily visible if approached from the corridor to area 10.
10: Fates
Each of these three octagonal chambers is home to a fate hag (see chapter 21). The hags all appear to be the same human woman in different stages of life. Each hag offers a boon to one character who answers a question truthfully. The hags are indifferent to the characters and attack only in self-defense.
10a: Future
The future fate hag appears as an older woman. The first time a character tries talking to her, she asks what the character fears most. If the character answers honestly, the hag grants that character the Charm of the Sage (see chapter 8).
10b: Present
The present fate hag appears as an adult woman. The first time a character tries talking to her, she asks what the character desires most. If the character answers honestly, the hag grants that character the Charm of the Fates (see chapter 8).
10c: Past
The past fate hag appears as an adolescent girl. The first time a character tries talking to her, she asks what the character regrets most. If the character answers truthfully, the hag grants them the benefit of either a Greater Restoration spell or a Heal spell (the player's choice).
Doors
A door to the south bears the face of the Jester. The east door shows the Donjon. A secret door in the north wall leads to the Star room (area 9); it is easily visible if approached from the corridor to area 9.
11: Jester
The gregarious little man is Bindle, a riffler (see chapter 21). He introduces himself and offers the party his card: a nonmagical Jester card.
Riddles
Bindle asks the characters a riddle of your creation or one from chapter 4. Alternatively, the characters can ask Bindle a riddle of their own. If the characters answer Bindle's riddle or ask one, Bindle is delighted and allows them to stay in his room. With Bindle's blessing, the characters can rest here whenever and for as long as they wish.
If the characters refuse to participate in Bindle's riddle game, he flees and brings some of the dungeon's other inhabitants (such as the talon beasts in area 7 or the spies in area 15) here to attack them.
Treasure
If the characters continue to trade riddles with Bindle, answering at least one of his own while also asking one or more, the nonmagical Jester card he gave them gains a magical property (see the "Effects of Single Cards" section in chapter 2).
Secret Door
A secret door leads south to area 12.
12: Ruin
The floor of this corridor is difficult terrain.
Secret Door
A secret door in the north wall leads to the Jester room (area 11) and is easily visible from this side.
Traps
The ten Ruin cards in the room's walls are magical traps. Whenever a creature starts its turn in the hallway or uses its movement, action, bonus action, or reaction here, one of the traps in the hallway triggers. When that occurs, one of the Ruin cards flies toward the creature and makes a Ruinous Card attack:
Successfully casting the Dispel Magic spell (DC 15) nullifies all the corridor's traps for 1 minute.
13: Skull
The creature here is an avatar of death as created by the Skull card from a Deck of Many Things (see the Dungeon Master's Guide for the avatar's stat block). The first creature that replies to the avatar, attacks it, or tries to open or damage the Sage door becomes bound to the avatar, and the avatar attacks the bound creature. If any other creature takes hostile action against the avatar or restores hit points to the bound creature, a new avatar appears and is bound to the creature that intervened. All avatars must be defeated before the Sage door can be opened. The avatars fight until destroyed. Once defeated, they don't reappear even if the adventurers pass through this room again.
Escaping the Room
The Sage door can't be opened or damaged by any means until all avatars of death in the room are destroyed. Spells such as Gaseous Form or Dimension Door can be used to bypass the door, but it won't open from the other side as long as an avatar is in this room.
14: Sage
The apparition is an extension of the Sage card. It answers one question posed to it as if the asker were using the Divination spell with no chance of a random reading. The apparition respects the spirit of the question asked; it doesn't twist its answers or waste an answer on a frivolous question asked without thought.
If asked about how to retrieve a soul from the House of Cards, it answers, "The Rogue guards the Puzzle, beyond which hides the Key. But the lock itself lies beneath your first steps."
15: Rogue
Three of the columns in this room, colored in a lighter blue tone on the map, are illusions. Within them hide a number of creatures equal to the number of characters in the party, each identical in appearance to one character or to an ally accompanying the party. The creatures use the spy stat block with the following changes: they are neutral evil Fey who speak all languages known to the characters in the room. These creatures can see through the illusory columns as if the columns were ghostly images; casting Dispel Magic on an illusory pillar causes it to vanish.
The Fey try to kill the characters and fight to the death. They use hit-and-run tactics to launch attacks, ducking behind and hiding within illusory columns when possible to create the impression that they vanish.
Secret Door
A secret door in the west wall leads to the Throne room (area 16). This door is easily visible when approached from the corridor to area 16.
16: Throne
The first creature that sits on the throne gains the Charm of the Throne supernatural gift (see chapter 8). While the charm lasts, however, the creature has disadvantage on Charisma checks and expects its every command to be quickly obeyed. This charm can be bestowed only once, and it can be removed with the Remove Curse spell.
Secret Doors
There are two secret doors: one behind the throne, which leads to area 15, and one in the south wall, which leads to area 17. The door behind the throne is easily visible when approached from the corridor to area 15.
17: Puzzle
This room has the only path to the Key room (area 18), and it also provides a way to reach the Knight room (area 19) without passing through the Flames room (area 20).
Secret Doors
The secret doors in this room can't be located without a True Seeing spell or similar magic.
Basin
The inscription on the basin reads, "Once for reward, twice for compassion, thrice for salvation." A character cut by the copper knife who bleeds into the basin takes 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, and their hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the character finishes a long rest. This effect is a property of the basin; the knife is nonmagical.
After a character bleeds into the basin, the secret door leading north to the Throne room (area 16) is revealed by a glowing outline. Repeating the bleeding process within 10 minutes, whether by the same creature or a different one, reveals the secret door to area 19. If repeated again, it reveals the secret door to area 18.
18: Key
This is a safe room where the characters can rest.
Treasure
The object above the pedestal is a Chime of Opening. It is inscribed with a small key and the following phrase in Common: "At the beginning, I open the end." When a character carrying the chime moves toward area 1, they hear a faint ringing that grows louder the closer they get to the Key card depicted in that room. Once they're in area 1, anyone in that room can hear the sound.
19: Knight
The figure is a lawful good knight and is a Celestial instead of a Humanoid. It implores the characters to free it, offering to protect and aid them while they explore the House of Cards. The knight is incapable of breaking its own chains.
The chains holding the knight have AC 19, 30 hit points, vulnerability to radiant damage, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. They can be broken as an action with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. They have no locks, but a spell of 3rd level or higher that creates bright light destroys the chains if they are within the bright light's radius.
Secret Door
A secret door to the north leads to the Puzzle room (area 17). This door is easily visible when approached from the corridor to area 17.
20: Flames
The reader is Avalion, a glabrezu in human shape. He greets the characters amiably and offers the hospitality of his study, inquiring about their business. Whether or not they're forthcoming, Avalion knows they're here for a soul, which he offers to help them find.
If the adventurers agree to his help, Avalion selects one willing character to receive the Charm of the Flames (see chapter 8), marking that character's skin with an infernal rune. If the character whose soul has been lost is adventuring with the party, Avalion selects that character. So long as the character has the charm, Avalion knows their location and can communicate telepathically with them. He then directs the characters to the Puzzle room (area 17), telling them "the key can be found from there." If the adventurers already have the Chime of Opening from area 18, he laughs and says, "You already have everything you need."
If the characters try to leave without agreeing to his help, he politely informs them he can't allow that and urges them to reconsider. If they continue trying to leave—or if the adventurers penetrate his disguise and take action against him—he assumes his true form and attacks.
21: Euryale
The medusa here answers to the name Euryale, and though she expects to be attacked, she doesn't initiate battle. This isn't the same Euryale described in chapter 22. If the characters refrain from attacking and show her courtesy or at least respect, she lets them pass unharmed.
Dying Curse
If the medusa is killed, any character who targeted the medusa with an attack or spell that deals damage is cursed; the cursed character has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws made with their highest ability score (if the character has their highest ability score in more than one ability, the DM should choose one). The curse can't be broken while the House of Cards exists. Otherwise, a Remove Curse or similar magic ends it.
22: Comet
The creature is an elemental composed of comet ice and dust. It uses the stat block of an air elemental but also has immunity to cold damage. If a single character defeats the elemental unaided, that character immediately gains the benefits of finishing a long rest.
23: Void
The only way to reach this chamber is to teleport here from area 1.
This room is the heart of the House of Cards. The mask contains the soul of the character who drew the Void card. The mask is guarded by a breath drinker (see the accompanying stat block). The breath drinker has the invisible condition when the characters arrive and attacks as soon as they approach the mask. The breath drinker focuses its attacks on anyone trying to claim the mask, grappling and dragging them away as it feasts on their soul.
Gravity
The void has no gravity, and creatures and objects simply hang in space. A creature can hover and move by thought with a flying speed of 30 feet, or by using its own flying speed if it has one.
Misty Boundary
Mist encircles the void, replacing walls, floor, and ceiling. Anyone who moves through the mist vanishes and reappears on the opposite side of the void; for example, a character moving through the south wall appears adjacent to the north wall.
Mask
The mask's features resemble those of the character who drew the Void card from the deck, and it is a perfect fit for that character. A creature that tries to take the mask must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw; this save is made with disadvantage if the breath drinker is alive. On a failed save, the mask slips from the creature's grasp but remains in its space, where another creature can try to take it. When the mask is placed on the face of the soulless character, the character's soul is returned and the House of Cards collapses (see "Conclusion" below).
[image: A porcelain mask floats within the void at the heart of the House of Cards]
Conclusion
The adventure in the House of Cards concludes when the mask is placed on the face of the soulless character or if the soulless character dies before their soul is returned.
When the mask is placed on the face of the soulless character, the House of Cards tumbles down, and the entire demiplane collapses. The adventurers return to where they were before they entered the House of Cards, or in the nearest unoccupied space.
If the soulless creature dies before the mask is placed on their face, the House of Cards collapses as described above, and the soulless character is slain forever. Not even a Wish spell can return them to life.
Breath Drinker
Breath drinkers are Aberrations that invade the multiverse from the Far Realm. They drift through reality like living voids, remaining unseen while searching for souls to consume. When they strike, breath drinkers consume a victim's personality and identity, ultimately drawing out and devouring the unfortunate being's soul. Breath drinkers avoid necrotic energy because it amplifies the void at the core of their existence, rapidly causing the creatures to devour themselves.
Cunning stalkers, breath drinkers are usually solitary. Occasionally they serve powerful Far Realm entities or Elder Evils, consuming life and souls for their masters. The first breath drinker manifested in the multiverse when the Void card was first drawn from the original Deck of Many Things.