We thank Lunch Break Heroes for having sent a copy of The Deck of Many Quests in order to write this review. It’s a system-agnostic tool for master and players made of a 200 cards deck created to support inspiration with fantasy quests and stories. There are over 200,000 possible combinations!
The Deck of Many Quests is available on Lunch Break Heroes store both in physical version at $25, and in digital versione at $7 or together at $27.
Let’s Start With The Cards
Inside a beautiful and sturdy box are the 200 cards. The box is made of quality cardboard and closes perfectly thanks to a magnet. The papers are in color in 180gsm paper.
Thanks to the image on the back it is possible to divide them into three groups. The back depicting the sword indicates the quest cards. The potion is the symbol on the back of the item cards, and a skull dominates that of the creature cards.
On the front of the cards there are three main elements. A title, a text that expands the title and provides more explanations and finally some stars, in numbers ranging from one to five,that we will explain shortly.
The digital version includes a printable PDF in US letter and A4 format, the images of all the separate cards and a synoptic table with all the contents in detail.
How to Use This Tool
Explaining how The Deck of Many Quests works is the simplest part of this review. You draw a quest card and read the text. It is basically the core of an adventure. The text indicates one or more generic tags [object] or [creature]. By extracting the cards corresponding to the label from the respective decks, the quest text is completed. If randomness generates an unlikely or hardly manageable result, the problematic card is replaced with the next one from the corresponding deck.
Each card, as seen above, has a one to five star rating. They are used to indicate the probable difficulty of a mission, the danger of a creature or the rarity of an object. It is therefore possible to use this evaluation system for two purposes. The first is to immediately realize what kind of quest would be created with the union of the different cards. The second is to be able to divide the decks in advance, based on the number of stars, in order to choose from which level draw.
Once you have extracted the cards, it is time to create a story, an adventure or whatever you want to create thanks to the inspiration provided by them. There are no references to any system, but simply ideas to be exploited, therefore this deck is useful for any fantasy game. Once the idea is given, however, it is up to the user to transform it into something more concrete.
Review of the Content of the Cards of The Deck of Many Quests
By peeking at some images of this review of The Deck of Many Quests you can have small previews of the contents of the cards. It seems easy to make such a deck but I think it takes a lot of effort to create ideas that are original enough not to seem trivial but also flexible enough to be used with ease.
In addition, the wide variability of games,and players, each with unique styles and personal preferences, must be considered. What for some is a brilliant idea for others can be trivial.
There are very imaginative ideas. Others less. In principle, I found interesting and useful contents. After that, the touch of those who take these sparks and transform them into something concrete is essential. Furthermore, the fact that they are system agnostic allows you to focus more on some particular characteristics of objects and especially of creatures. All creature hints, not being part of precise statblock, help create non-trivial antagonists, which is no small feat in an RPG.
Final Consideration on the Review of The Deck of Many Quests
The Deck of Many Quests is a product with a specific target that must be taken into consideration. It can certainly be said that it is a quality product. It can be said without a shadow of a doubt that the materials are more than good and the price in line with the product. But keep in mind what it can add to your sessions.
If you want an easy-to-use tool to quickly get good ideas to turn into something concrete then we are talking about a highly recommended product. The fact that it is system agnostic extends its usefulness to any setting compatible with the contents of the cards. On the other hand, for those who already have a hypertrophic fantasy, for those who rely almost exclusively on published adventures or for those who do not play a fantasy setting, The Deck of Many Quests rightly presents little appeal.
If you are in doubt about the purchase, considering the shipping costs, even the digital version alone, which has a very affordable price, can be a good investment.