The Book of Many Things

Chapter 5: Gem

The Gem card bequeaths immense wealth to whoever draws it. This chapter provides advice for DMs on how to integrate this sudden wealth into your game. It also presents new magic items associated with and inspired by the Deck of Many Things.

Magic Items in This Book

The Magic Item by Name table presents all magic items in this book.

Magic Items by Name

Magic Item	Rarity	Chapter
Antimagic Armor	Very rare	9
Armor of Fungal Spores	Uncommon	9
Armor of the Fallen	Uncommon	9
Armor of Weightlessness	Uncommon	9
Baleful Talon	Very rare	5
Blasted Goggles	Uncommon	20
Bloodrage Greataxe	Uncommon	9
Bloodseeker Ammunition	Very rare	9
Boomerang Shield	Uncommon	9
Bow of Conflagration	Rare	9
Bow of Melodies	Very rare	9
Breastplate of Balance	Rare	5
Card Sharp's Deck	Uncommon	6
Clockwork Armor	Very rare	9
Crown of Whirling Comets	Very rare	5
Deck of Dimensions	Very rare	6
Deck of Many More Things	Legendary	7
Deck of Miscellany	Uncommon	6
Deck of Oracles	Rare	8
Deck of Wild Cards	Very rare	6
Deck of Wonder	Uncommon	7
Donjon's Sundering Sphere	Rare	5
Dried Leech	Uncommon	9
Euryale's Aegis	Legendary	5
Fabulist Gem	Uncommon	5
Fate Cutter Shears	Very rare	8
Fate Dealer's Deck	Varies	8
Feywrought Armor	Rare	9
Fool's Blade	Very rare	5
Forcebreaker Weapon	Very rare	9
Glimmering Moonbow	Rare	5
Gloomwrought Armor	Rare	9
Grasping Whip	Rare	9
Hammer of Runic Focus	Very rare	9
House of Cards	Uncommon	8
Jester's Mask	Legendary	5
Plate of Knight's Fellowship	Uncommon	5
Ring of Puzzler's Wit	Uncommon	5
Rod of Hellish Flames	Very rare	5
Rogue's Mantle	Rare	5
Ruinous Flail	Rare	5
Sage's Signet	Varies	5
Shield of the Tortoise	Uncommon	9
Shrieking Greaves	Rare	20
Skull Helm	Very rare	5
Sling of Giant Felling	Uncommon	9
Spindle of Fate	Legendary	5
Starshot Crossbow	Rare	5
Stonemaker War Pick	Very rare	9
Sun Staff	Rare	5
Sword of the Planes	Legendary	9
Telescopic Transporter	Legendary	13
Tidecaller Trident	Very rare	9
Voidwalker Armor	Rare	5
Warrior's Passkey	Rare	5
Weapon of Throne's Command	Very rare	5
Winged Ammunition	Uncommon	9
Wraps of Unarmed Prowess	Varies	9

[image: The Gem card leads Asteria to fabulous wealth]

Sudden Riches

The wealth promised by the Gem card need not appear spontaneously at the characters' feet. Instead, the card might be an omen foretelling a future event. The Gem Stories table provides suggestions for incorporating the Gem card's effects into your campaign's storyline.

Gem Stories

d6	Moment
1	One of the party's patrons dies, and the patron's will bequeaths all their wealth to the characters.
2	The party is hired by a disguised dragon who offers them part of its hoard as payment.
3	A character falls through a crevice and discovers a massive deposit of glittering ore.
4	The party finds a map in an old bottle that leads to a buried treasure chest filled with ancient coins.
5	The local merchants' guild, enamored with the party's exploits, offers to sponsor the characters.
6	The characters are invited to participate in a grand talent competition. Despite the odds, one of the characters wins.

Dealing with Wealth

Characters accumulate wealth over the course of their adventures—sometimes, a lot of wealth! These riches might come slowly over a long adventuring career or in a sudden stroke of good fortune, such as when a character draws the Gem card from a Deck of Many Things. Regardless, wealth poses special challenges to your campaign.

Avoid the Profit Motive

If your characters are motivated primarily by money, wealth can threaten the entire campaign. After all, when mercenaries have all the money they'd ever need, why should they risk life and limb any more? Avoid this problem by ensuring your characters develop strong personal reasons to continue to adventure, even if they begin their adventuring careers in the pursuit of wealth. Perhaps they want revenge on a despicable villain, they enjoy exploring, or they crave the respect of their peers. Money won't provide any of these things, though it might make it easier to overcome obstacles along the way.

Power Can't Be Bought

Characters who come into a lot of wealth might try to buy magic items that make them more powerful. Remember, you decide what magic items, if any, can be bought and sold in a settlement. You don't have to provide access to magic items too powerful for the characters. Expendable magic items, like scrolls and potions, are a good compromise; they're useful but have fewer long-term effects on your campaign. If an item still proves to be too powerful, you don't have to provide access to it again.

Spread the Wealth

Wealth can transform people's lives; you just have to give the characters good reasons for spending their gold. Friends and loved ones, for example, can benefit from their largess, especially if these allies are experiencing hard times. If characters are attached to a settlement and its inhabitants, improving a neighborhood or the whole settlement can quickly expend their new wealth.

But an ally shouldn't simply approach characters and ask for money; instead, make the ally's financial needs part of a story. For example, if a dragon destroys the castle of a just ruler and devours the ruler's family, characters might be expected to hunt down the dragon, but wealthy ones can pay for the castle to be rebuilt and buy enough diamonds to cast Resurrection for the ruler and their entire family.

Magic Items

This section contains twenty-two magic items, each inspired by a different card from the Deck of Many Things. Some items emulate a card's effects, while others draw inspiration from a card's iconography or name.

Magic Item Descriptions

The following magic items are presented in alphabetical order.

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