Quick Look: The Deck of Many Quests
Designer: Steve Miller
Publisher: Lunch Break Heroes
Year Published: 2021
No. of Players: (How many go on your quests?)
Ages: 10+ (?)
Playing Time: XX minutes.
Find more info HERE.
From the Publisher:
Battle fearsome beasts. Parlay with pirates. Solve mysteries. Push back the apocalypse.
The Deck of Many Quests is a tool for TTRPG Game Masters and Adventurers alike. Think Cards Against Humanity meets Dungeons & Dragons, minus the bathroom humor. We’ve created this deck to provide you nearly limitless inspiration for quickly and easily building your own adventures. Inside this box are over 200,000 unique quests.
The Deck of Many Quests is designed to be system-agnostic. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Dungeon World, or any other fantasy tabletop roleplaying game—we’re here to inspire you. There are no additional systems or rules to learn, so you can start creating your own adventures in no time.
So how does it work? Read on to find out!
Review:
Overview:
Have you ever thought of making up your own Fantasy RPG quest? Or, have you ever had some people not show up to your regular RPG meeting? Do you like Mad Libs? If you answered “Yes” to any of these, then The Deck of Many Quests is for you!
Rules & Setup:
There are no rules! That is the beauty of being a Dungeon Master. You set the rules!
As for set up, separate the deck into the three decks: Quests, Item, Creature. They all
have different backs for quick sorting and recognition.
Theme and Mechanics:
The Deck of Many Quests is fantasy themed. However, I think that any creative
person, say a DM, could modify the ideas to fit any RPG ruleset.
Gameplay:
The Deck of Many Quests can be used as a game itself, or to create a campaign or
quest for your friends. First, draw a Quest card. It will give you a jumping off point.
Then, it is up to you how to proceed. For instance, the quest “The Show Must Go On”
starts with “A magical carnival has come to town, but they require [Item] before the
next show. The ringmaster has asked you to discretely acquire it.” For the [Item], you
can either think of one yourself, or you can draw from the Item deck. So, let’s draw an
item card: Jester’s Hat. “It looks funny, but that’s the point. Anyone wearing this hat
has a better chance of giving an entertaining performance.” Now, you have a quest!
Some have a Creature blank. The quest “Just Out of Reach” requires you to go down
the road and retrieve a merchant’s wares that are being guarded by [Creature]. Let’s
take a look at what we will be battling. An Undead that reads: “A pesky poltergeist
with a penchant for pranks.”
As the DM, you can then look at the monster guide, or handbook, or whatever rules
govern your RPG to assign strengths, spells, hit points, etc to the creature. Then, you
are ready to go.
Artwork and Components:
I worked off a print and play PDF. I did not go through and read all the cards, nor did
I print them all out. The artwork is beautifully simple and enhances the fantasy theme.
The graphic design aids you as well with the missing pieces being in red, and each
deck type having a different icon. The final product will come in a two piece
telescoping box for easy storage.
The Good:
My lunch time group has been playing D&D for about a year now and having this
deck would have been a great addition to our campaign. There are just days where not
everyone can make it. So, having this 200-card deck would have given our DM
something to work with for the rest of us. It is fast and easy to set up, and it can get to
be quite hilarious as you venture through the deck.
Another great aspect of The Deck of Many Quests is that it is rules agnostic. Meaning,
it will work with any fantasy theme RPG you are running/playing.
The Other:
If you are an experienced DM, you might not need this. But, why not have it anyway?
Final Thoughts:
For $20 plus shipping and handling ($5 for PNP), this deck of cards seems like a no-
brainer addition to any DM or RPG enthusiasts. Especially any wanna-be DM’s. We
will be adding this deck to our shelf of games in our office for sure, and I encourage
you to do the same.
Players Who Like: RPG’s, being a DM/GM, Mad Libs
The Deck of Many Quests will be live on KICKSTARTER until Fri, April 2 2021 10:08 AM PDT, and has a funding goal of $20,000.
Adam Collins – Reviewer
Adam Collins plays many games. Too many games if you ask his wife. Not enough games if you ask his kids. Adam also designs games for his publishing company Bearded Board Games. He also runs a podcast, Eat Lunch and Board Game, where he reviews games on their merits include their ability to be played over a lunch hour. He also interviews other people involved in various facets of the board gaming community: designers, podcasters, authors, cross stitch designers. He grew up playing games, revived the passion ten years ago, and hasn’t turned back.
See Adam’s reviews HERE.
This looks awesome! I’m an aspiring dm, and this looks like a great resource….