Chapter 8: Fates - The Book of Many Things

Chapter 8: Fates. A character who draws the Fates card from a Deck of Many Things gains the chance to rewrite the events of their life. This card is an example in miniature of the deck, which transforms the lives of everyone who dares to draw from it. But fate and destiny are powerful concepts; when a character tries to change their destiny, they're meddling with powers usually reserved for deities. This chapter is filled with character options, treasure, and other ideas linked to the concepts of fate and destiny. It's primarily aimed at clerics, druids, and paladins who have a connection to the gods, especially gods of fate and destiny, such as the Greyhawk deity Istus, who created the original Deck of Many Things; Savras in the Forgotten Realms; the Dragonlance deity Gilean; and the elven deity Labelas Enorath. The chapter begins with two backgrounds representing adventurers whose lives have gone through sudden reversals of fortune-falling from a great height or rising from tragedy. Following them is a selection of personality traits and life events inspired by the Deck of Many Things. These traits and events reflect the influence of fate and destiny on your character. Finally, this chapter presents a collection of magic items and supernatural gifts: charms bestowed by the gods or other great powers, inspired by the Deck of Many Things and the concept of fate. Backgrounds This section presents the rewarded and the ruined backgrounds for characters whose lives have been upended by an event of great significance-whether by drawing from a Deck of Many Things or in some other transformative way. Heroes of Destiny The Fated Destinies table provides narrative ideas inspired by the Deck of Many Things that you can use as prompts while developing your character. The entries are geared toward characters who rely on faith, conviction, or fate-particularly clerics, druids, and paladins-but any character's story can benefit from them. When using this table, you can choose...