The Deck of Altered Fates

Originally used in an age long past to tell the futures of the faithful, the gods and saints decided to bestow a select number of cards with their powers, infusing the cards with magic. The magic each card granted fell into six categories: Positive Effects Negative Effects Mixed Effects Neutral Effects Blessings in Disguise and Trial
The mixture was to ensure that the magic did not throw the world out of balance. For each positive effect, there was a negative counter part. With this mix of magic and the implications that it could have on a person's life, these decks gained the nickname of "The Deck(s) of Altered Fate"
Many generations later, there are not many of these decks left, either kept as curiosities or as treasures or even relics. Many currently do not know about the decks existence, have forgotten about them, or believe them all to have been used/destroyed by now.
If any decks are out there, ready to be used, they are often found in forgotten temples.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Each deck contains 22 different cards, each with a different effect when used. When drawn, the cards are often consumed and destroyed immediately after use. Below is a list of the cards and their effects:

- - The Fool (Sonos, God of Music)

Looking at the decorative hat that adorns the front of the card, you start to see the faint image of it’s owner. A jester appears within the confines of the card. A blindfold covers its eyes, no ears to be seen and its mouth sewn shut. The image of the jester shimmers and you hear a loud ringing in your ears, your throat tightens and you vision starts to blur and grow dark. As the ringing and tightness in your throat fades, you realise that two of your senses are lost to you.
You are immediately rendered permanently Blind, Deaf and Mute. The GM will give you, in secret, an odd, but ultimately simple, action or event that you must bring to pass. (For example; The paladin must kiss the wizard. Jerry must hand you a baked apple, etc) If you succeed, this enchantment breaks. If you attempt to write the required action itself down for others to read, the required action changes. (Spells like Lesser Restoration can also be used to end these three conditions one at a time.)

I - The Magician (St. Malva, Patron Saint of the Arcane)

The image on this card depicts a thin, waifish person of learning intent upon various books and scrolls.
Reduce an ability score by 2. (Alternatively, you may reduce two ability scores by 1.) Choose any other ability score and increase it by 3. (to a maximum of 22)

II - The High Priestess (St. Belgulsia , Patron Saint of Sacrifice)

Half of your monetary wealth (Also including gemstones with a monetary value) both on your person and any money you may have stored away is lost to you. A donation of the same value is donated in your name to the nearest temple of a god of your choosing.

III - The Empress

(Aithris, Goddess of Fate) You gaze upon the card and see the symbol of Aithres, the web of fate. The image of Aithres appears within the card. She plucks a thread from the web and lassos it around your neck. She whispers something onto the thread, which travels up onto your throat, before the thread and the image of Aithres vanishes.
You gain the ability to speak the next language you hear or see which you cannot already speak.

IV - The Emperor (Trastus, God of the Sea)

The sound of ocean waves breaking on the shore surrounds you. Sea spray mists into your face from this card. Suddenly, a hideous, all consuming maw opens upon the card, reaching for you. The maw envelops you covering you in darkness. You feel yourself falling, being pulled under a body of water by an invisible force. You find yourself unable to breathe as you are pulled further under, your breath escapes you as you feel yourself starting to drown. At the last possible moment, you are snapped back to reality, gasping for air that now fills your lungs.
From this moment and forevermore, water scorns you. Whenever you enter a body of water deep enough to swim in, you find that the water refuses to support your weight. No matter how hard you try to swim, you always sink in water at a rate of 20 ft per round (faster if you wear heavy armor.) This card does not affect your ability to swim in liquids that are not water. If you die by drowning and are later resurrected, this effect ends.

V - The Hierophant

The kindly face of the holy figure on the card smiles at you, a gentle warmth and comfort reaching through the card to ease your weariness. A pair of magnificent wings grow from your back, each feather alight with a subtle radiance.
The wings take on a form of the player’s choice. The wings appear translucent and illusory, taking up no actual space and can be hidden at will. As long as you have them you may fly at half of your normal movement speed. The wings have another power, however. If you sacrifice them you may invoke the Revivify spell without a material component. If you still have the wings when you die, the revivify will automatically affect you.

VI - The Lovers (St. Uilliam & St Moira Patron Saints of Forbidden Love)

Gazing upon the card, you see the image of St. Uilliam and St. Moira in a loving embrace. The figures turn to you and usher you to keep quiet before fading back into the card.
A random NPC of the DM’s choice falls in love with the person drawing the card from the deck.

VII - The Chariot (Oros, God of the Sun and Moon)

An image of Oros, god of the sun and moon appears before you. He holds up his symbol, a sun half obscured by a crescent moon. The symbol moves towards you without a sound, entering your chest. You then feel as of Oros has given you a challenge, all or nothing. Night or day. Sun or moon.
If you single handedly defeat the next encounter, you receive double exp. If you call or aid or are defeated in the next encounter, you gain no exp for the next three encounters after that.

VIII - Strength (Milios, God of Prosperity)

Milios, the god of prosperity appears in your mind before you. Saying nothing, you are shown a vision of a field of bloated corpses. The reek of the dead creeps into your nose like an assassin making you want to heave. Suddenly, you break out in cold sweat.
When you draw this card you are afflicted by a random disease drawn from the list associated with the contagion spell, though the DM may choose to use some other disease. Magic lower than 6th level has no effect on the disease. The disease has no incubation period and sets in immediately. If you manage to fight off the disease without magical aid, you are forevermore immune to that specific disease no matter its origin. If a spell or other magic is used to cure the disease, you permanently develop a severe- but nonlethal- allergy of the DMs choice. Heal or Wish can remove this allergy.

IX - The Hermit (St Adamar, Patron saint of Pennance)

A gleaming hearth-fire flickers warmly on the face of this card.
This card invests you with the one-time ability to create a permanent, sturdy, stone cottage. The cottage comes equipped with a hearth and kitchen stocked with dried herbs and dishes, a bedroom with 2-4 beds, and a living room set with table and chairs. When you choose to create the cottage you may decide how to apportion the space within, but the cottage itself is always 12 ft tall and no longer than 30ft on a side. The cottage will only appear on clear, sturdy ground capable of supporting it.

X - The Wheel of Fortune (Qeenar, God of Souls)

As you draw the card a traveler laden crosses your path, regardless where you are standing in the world carrying gold and jewels, the traveler, without saying anything, places in your hands a map that leads the way from your current location to a forgotten trove of treasures before walking away, seemingly vanishing into thin air. All you know of the treasure that the map leads to is that it is valuable and well guarded.

XI - Justice (Ceartas, God of Justice)

As you draw the card you see the scales of justice start to tip to one side. When you look up from the card, you see a handsome, leather clad man. He looks at you and grins. For a brief second, his face becomes yours before he runs off out of sight.
You become wanted for a crime you did not commit. The crime you become wanted for is enough to be a serious inconvenience to you and is appropriate to your renown and reputation. The DM will fill in the details.

XII - The Hanged Man (St Legis, the martyr)

As you look upon the face of the card that depicts the noose of St Legis, after he was hung for slaying the beast of legend. The card’s face shifts and begins to show only a pair of piercing eyes hidden among shadows as a low growl is heard seeming to emanate from the card itself. It is impossible to discern what kind of creature bears the eyes, only that they hunger for your blood. They close, vanishing from the card.
The card has created an adversary for you to face, and somewhere within a mile of you the creature has awoken. It is an appropriate challenge for your level and you will recognize it as your adversary when you see it. You can sense when it is nearby (within 1000 ft or so) but not its exact location. It will hunt you just as you hunt it, and the first to slay the other is victorious. Slay it and it’s corpse will transform into a potent magical weapon suitable for your use. (It is up to the DM what the creature is and when it attacks. The DM can decide if the creature can only hurt (and be hurt by) the player who drew the card, or if the whole party can fight it normally. No matter what creature has been summoned, treat it as having a minimum of 10 intelligence. The creature knows where the player is only vaguely and must rely on it’s own senses and tracking ability once it has closed the distance.)

XIII - Death (Vonir, God of Destruction)

You see the tall, imposing figure bathed in a deep red light, the figure of Vonir, god of destruction. He is dressed as a warrior, ready for battle. Vonir’s face is obscured by a helmet, his face obscured, but you can feel his eyes on you as he skeptically judges you. A deathly chill passes over you and settles in your gut. Your heart skips several beats.
You are immune to necrotic damage, but you only receive half the normal healing from healing magic, including from potions. If you die and are later resurrected, this effect ends.

XIV - Temperance (Dreara, Goddess of Weather)

This card depicts a sea with storm clouds looming over the water. Light beams shine through the clouds, which soon fade as a ferocious thunderstorm brews in the clouds. Thunder echoes ominously from this card. As you hold the card, the clouds produce a bolt of lightning jumps from the card, shocking you, before the images on the card return to their original state.
You gain resistance to electricity and thunder. Forevermore, if you are outside in a thunderstorm, you are treated as a lightning rod. Additionally, any spell or effect that deals electricity or thunder damage which occurs within 100 ft of you will alter its target or area of effect such that it includes you. If the effect is single target, then it effects you instead of its original target. When altering the area of such effects, move them as little as possible such that the area includes the one who drew this card.

XV - The Devil (Chrom Cruach, god of Lies, deception & Trickery)

A smiling fiend winks at you as you draw this card. None other than the gnome-like trickster god, Chrom Cruach. He gives a menacing chuckle as he blesses you, but at a price. You feel yourself overflowing with natural charisma.
You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill if you do not have it already. Additionally, double your proficiency bonus whenever you use the Persuasion skill. But just as silver girds your tongue, it also binds it. Never again may you lie.If you die and are later resurrected, this effect ends.

XVI - The Tower (Munir, God of Redemption)

Looking upon the card and staring upon the cold spiraling tower, you see the the symbol of Munir, the god of redemption. You feel the kind smile of Munir upon you as he gives you a blessing.
Whenever you roll a natural 1 you may roll again. You must take the new result. If ever you roll two natural 1s in a row, this blessing ends.

XVII - The Star (Paver, goddess of Courage)

This card bears a glittering star scape. Thirty thousand mighty suns stare through the card’s face in a soul-searing splendor more frighteningly cold in its awful indifference than the bitter wind that shivers across your spine.
Whenever you roll a natural twenty, treat it as a natural one. If ever you roll two natural 20s in a row, this curse ends.

XVIII - The Moon (Brigedda, Goddess of Madness and Secrets)

The glorious visage of the full moon gleams upon this card. Moonlight seems to briefly shine directly from the card. The player can hear the twisted giggling of the mad goddess as she bestows her boon on them.
Tell the player that they feel as though the night has welcomed them and that they have gained Darkvision out to 30 ft. If they already have darkvision add 30 ft to it. Do not tell them that they have just contracted Lycanthropy. If the Lycanthropy is ever cured, the added Darkvision fades as well.

XIX - The Sun (Ailynn, goddess of Beauty)

The golden radiance of sunlight flows from this card, painful to look at. The one who drew this card is marked as a true creature of the sun.
Whenever you stand beneath the open sky with the sun clearly visible, you are unaffected by extremes in ambient temperature and may spend four hours under direct sunlight in place of eating for the day. Additionally, you may cast Daylight once per day but the light appears to come from your eyes. You cannot produce Daylight again until you have spent a few hours beneath the light of the sun.

XX - Judgment (Ùine – the God of Time)

The god of time has trusted that you will know the right time to use this card, Blessing you with his boon. When you look at the card, you feel time slow around you, soon coming to a stop before everything that happened over the last several seconds happens in reverse before starting to replay.
You may rewind reality by 13 seconds. As this card may be kept until needed, a player may read it as an action, undoing the previous 2 turns. (They restart reality at the beginning of their turn, allowing movement and action)

XXI - The World (Noarae, goddess of Creation)

You see the image of the world on the card. There is a slight glimmer of light coming from a specific location. The location flashes in your mind and it feels familiar, even if you have never been there before. The goddess of creation has given you the opportunity to create something for yourself.
You gain a small empty plot of land somewhere that is currently occupied with monsters that must be defeated to lay claim the land and use it.

Significance

In a previous age when the faith of the High Seven was just forming, these cards were created as a way to help predict a person's future. A special batch of cards was created using magic from each of the gods and saints at the time to be given to those deemed worthy by the faith. Today, the cards that still exist can be used by whoever finds them.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic

Current Holder

Zorus "Quest" Azmerus

Subtype / Model

The Deck of Altered Fates

Used by

• The Deck of Altered Fates

Manufacturer

The Faith of the High Seven

Rarity

Once a lot more common in olden times, cards have either been consumed or destroyed over time so very few decks remain.