Chapter 7: Sage - The Book of Many Things

Chapter 7: Sage

The Sage card represents arcane knowledge, foresight, and skill. In that vein, this chapter explores the arcane possibilities held within a deck of cards. It begins with options for arcane characters, including a feat, spells, and background ideas suggested by the deck that add arcane flavor to your character's story.

The chapter concludes with two magic items. The Deck of Many More Things consists of cards created by spellcasters trying to add new cards to the Deck of Many Things. The Deck of Wonder is a less powerful-and less dangerous-version of the more famous deck, appropriate for lower-level characters.

Character Options

This section contains a feat and spells for characters who combine cards and arcane magic, as well as narrative prompts to help you create your character and guide their story.

Feat: Cartomancer

Spells

This section contains spells DMs can make available to characters and creatures in their campaigns. The Spells table lists these spells, ordered by level; it also notes each spell's school of magic, whether it requires concentration, whether it bears the ritual tag, and which classes have access to it.

Spells

Level	Spell	School	Concentration	Ritual	Class
2nd	Spray of Cards	Conjuration	No	No	Bard, sorcerer, warlock, wizard
3rd	Antagonize	Enchantment	No	No	Bard, sorcerer, warlock, wizard
4th	Spirit of Death	Necromancy	Yes	No	Sorcerer, warlock, wizard

Heroes of Destiny

The Sage Destinies table provides narrative ideas inspired by the Deck of Many Things that you can use while developing your character. The entries in this table are geared toward spellcasters, but they can enrich any character's story. When using this table, you can either choose the entries that speak to you or draw cards from the deck.

Sage Destinies

1d22	Heroic Tie
Balance	You were once a member of an order dedicated to keeping magical artifacts out of the hands of those who would abuse their power.
Comet	A seer predicted you're destined for immense power. Do you seek this power or reject it?
Donjon	Your dreams include visions of an imprisoned extraplanar entity.
Euryale	You wish to learn powerful magic to protect your loved ones from harm.
Fates	Your magical studies are driven by a desire to manipulate reality.
Flames	Your magical ability stems from a gamble you made with a Fiend-though you're not sure if you won or lost.
Fool	You use your arcane prowess to con unsuspecting individuals.
Gem	You carry a seemingly ordinary item stolen from a powerful archmage, and it causes inexplicable things to happen around you.
Jester	You come from a long tradition of wild mages, even if your own powers are different.
Key	Your spellbook manifests as a deck of cards.
Knight	Your family of renowned warriors judges you on your martial talents (or lack thereof).
Moon	A loved one is cursed, and you're determined to break that curse.
Puzzle	You live for the pursuit of arcane secrets and lost legends.
Rogue	Someone you trust is actually a monster, such as a dragon or a hag, in disguise.
Ruin	A fortune teller warned that you're destined to cause great destruction, which you're trying to avoid.
Sage	You use a divinatory card spread to decide which spells to prepare each day.
Skull	You seek a way to cheat death.
Star	Your spells and magical abilities take on the appearance of playing cards.
Sun	Agents of the Solar Bastion (see chapter 10) once saved your life.
Talons	You seek to reclaim a stolen magical artifact.
Throne	You began your arcane scholarship as an apprentice to a court magician.
Void	You've glimpsed another plane of existence, but no one believes you. You strive to prove them wrong.

Magic Card Decks

This section presents two decks of magical cards.

Deck of Many More Things
Deck of Wonder