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13:43, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

The Darkest Deck.

Posted by The Elder DarkestFor group 0
The Elder Darkest
GM, 12 posts
Ruin has come to
our family.
Tue 15 Dec 2020
at 01:19
  • msg #1

The Darkest Deck

This sentient collection of cards likes the Darkest bloodline at the moment, but honestly, it will consider the Heir anyone it blasted well pleases.

So, what does it want? To say it is unknowable and inscrutable isn't just lazy writing. It's a refusal to pay attention to what it is actually doing.

The first and biggest thing is that it is loyal to whoever reassembles the deck. The Darkest Deck will periodically scatter and hide in dozens of other decks around the world, but every now and then some adventurous soul reassembles it. In this case, it's taken a liking to the Darkest family.

The next thing is that it is fond of seeing rulers or the powerful cast down. You don't think it is coincidence that the Darkest estate has seen better days, do you? Realigning social order periodically is enjoyable to the entity.

It also likes to have its power shared. Performing a reading - that is, having someone who doesn't own the deck draw a certain number of cards from it of their own free will - is its intended function, and one it enjoys. Unlike your average Tarot deck, this one puts a bit of pressure on the scale when it comes to its visions coming true.

It has embraced the concept of balance on a personal level, and as a result it likes its owner to be lacking in moral extremes. It likes the old days when things like Good and Evil were not cosmic forces in the same way Law and Chaos were - it fondly recalls the oldest editions of D&D. As a result, it favors beings that are neither Good nor Evil.

It is primal, old, and allies with chaos, and it seems to have an odd affinity either for the Fair Folk, or those who most keenly remind it of those people. Put simply, the weapon translates as Chaotic Neutral, although it has no disdain for the dogmatic. As long as they are playing along, it could care less.

It is also fond of extreme risk taking. Those who push themselves to the razor's edge of death earn the Deck's respect for being willing to gamble their brief and transient lives in exchange for whatever it is they want. On the same note, it really likes those who can defeat powerful foes well above their punching weight.

So, what does it actually hate or dislike? It's pretty easygoing, and one can generally disagree with it on most of the above points. One could be an authoritarian, cowardly, and dogmatic knight templar with a desire to exterminate the fey, and if they were in possession of the Darkest Deck, it would shrug if they were willing to use it - the Deck isn't judgemental about that sort of thing.

One of the things it doesn't like is other magical items. It believes it is the last magic item you should need, and if you get another one, it's opinion of you sours. Even if it gave it to you in the first place, and even if you promptly cast it aside, it still holds it against you, and becomes more of a pain to work with.

Lastly, it believes that a spell a day keeps the doctor at bay, and also that wizards are the best. As a result, if one doesn't constantly find a way to cast an arcane spell at least once a day, it thinks you are boring, lame, and built suboptimally, and will eventually seek out a new master.
The Elder Darkest
GM, 13 posts
Ruin has come to
our family.
Tue 15 Dec 2020
at 04:26
  • msg #2

The Darkest Deck

Oh, you want to perform a reading on yourself with it? It is designed for this, after all.

One generally draws one card per day from it, unlike a normal Deck of Many Things, and until your current business is resolved, you cannot pull another one. However, it can be influenced based on how much is likes or dislikes you.

Helpful = Draw three, pick one you like.
Friendly = Draw two, pick one you like.
Neutral = Draw one.
Unfriendly = Draw two, pick one you like, but you are forced to pick a Ruinous card if one comes up (your choice if both are bad).
DIE = Draw three, pick one you like, but you are forced to pick a Ruinous card if one comes up (your choice if multiple are bad), and you must prioritize The Donjon or The Void if they are drawn (your choice if you somehow draw both, you unlucky person you).

The cards work... slightly differently here, but not by much.

If you do a reading for another, they get one card. It doesn't really care for them most of the time, or at least not enough for them to tilt its opinion.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:27, Tue 15 Dec 2020.
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