Mdthbs

I was given someone else's visa, stamped in my passport

Can a system of three stars exist?

Am I required to correct my opponent's assumptions about my morph creatures?

How to investigate an unknown 1.5GB file named "sudo" in my Linux home directory?

New coworker has strange workplace requirements - how should I deal with them?

Sum and average calculator

Why do presidential pardons exist in a country having a clear separation of powers?

Doesn't the concept of marginal utility speak to a cardinal utility function?

Why haven't the British protested Brexit as ardently as the Hong Kong protesters?

Ideas behind the 8.Bd3 line in the 4.Ng5 Two Knights Defense

What is the practical impact of using System.Random which is not cryptographically random?

How can I portray a character with no fear of death, without them sounding utterly bored?

Large intervals in score in Bach

Do universities maintain secret textbooks?

How were US credit cards verified in-store in the 1980's?

Four day weekend?

Divide Numbers by 0

Does Q ever actually lie?

Quick Tilepaint Puzzles: Corridors and Corners

How do I get my neighbour to stop disturbing with loud music?

When you have to wait for a short time

My colleague treats me like he's my boss, yet we're on the same level

Can the inductive kick be discharged without a freewheeling diode, in this example?

How smart contract transactions work?

Deck of Many Things. What happens if you don't declare any number of cards and just start drawing?

Deck of Many Things vs. Forced DreamWhat does Joker “with TM” mean in the Deck of Many Things?How does it work when the Deck of Many Things activates at once, but you draw Donjon?How can I free someone who is imprisoned after having drawn the Donjon card from the Deck of Many Things?Does the Deck of Many Things “autodraw” after drawing Void or Donjon?Drawing as many cards as possible, what are the odds of drawing a beneficial order of cards from the Deck of Many Things?Which aspects of D&D 5e will be affected by incorporating the Savage Worlds “Card Draw Initiative”?Is there an upper limit on the number of cards a character can declare to draw from the Deck of Many Things?What is the average number of draws it takes before you can not draw any more cards from the Deck of Many Things?

.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}

6

1

$begingroup$

In the Dungeon Master's Guide the description for the Deck of Many Things contains the following.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

It doesn't say what happens if you don't declare anything and just start drawing.
So what happens?

dnd-5e magic-items

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

6

1

$begingroup$

In the Dungeon Master's Guide the description for the Deck of Many Things contains the following.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

It doesn't say what happens if you don't declare anything and just start drawing.
So what happens?

dnd-5e magic-items

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

In the Dungeon Master's Guide the description for the Deck of Many Things contains the following.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

It doesn't say what happens if you don't declare anything and just start drawing.
So what happens?

dnd-5e magic-items

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

asked 9 hours ago

NeutralVaxNeutralVax

4081010 bronze badges

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

12

$begingroup$

You simply can't do that. I understand it may sound odd, but the text of the deck indicates you "must", so if you want to draw from it you have to declare how many cards you want to draw.

I'd contend this question makes as much sense as asking "what happens if I act on someone else's initiative in combat?" You simply can't do that.

You and your table might find that argument strange, though, and make a ruling to allow someone to draw from the deck without declaring a number of cards (e.g., if you draw without a declaration, it is presumed to be 1 so they trigger as you draw, or something else).

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  So what would happen if you found the deck and started to play cards with it. Would you find yourself unable to draw a card?
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @NeutralVax They would know the deck was magic as the rules state: "Whatever a magic item's appearance, handling the item is enough to give a character a sense that something is extraordinary about it." And if they wanted to figure out how to use it (and its possible effects) they could spend a short rest observing it
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

12

$begingroup$

As the deck notes.

Any cards drawn in excess of this number have no effect

If you don't name a number then any cards you draw will be in excess of that and have no effect.

The rules as you note also state.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

So, if you want to trigger the magical effect, you need to declare a number.

Exactly what happens if you try to draw a card before you declare a number isn't stated. Maybe it doesn't work, stopped by powerful magic. Maybe nothing happens. It depends on the whims of the DM and the artifact.

share|improve this answer

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  If you don't name a number then what counts as "this number"?
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Since the deck releases it's cards based off that number, presumably zero or it would automatically activate. >If you fail to draw the chosen number, the remaining number of cards fly from the deck on their own and take effect all at once.> If this number was anything but zero, then it would automatically activate.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  9 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  This doesn't actually answer the question.
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I edited in some more to clarify.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  heh, play a game of 5-cards-draw with it. everybody gets 5 cards, then they declare how much they want to change and BAM, a table all draws one to five cards for their worst, but playing with partial information what they have on hands themselves?
  $endgroup$
  – Trish
  45 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "122"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f154506%2fdeck-of-many-things-what-happens-if-you-dont-declare-any-number-of-cards-and-j%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

12

$begingroup$

You simply can't do that. I understand it may sound odd, but the text of the deck indicates you "must", so if you want to draw from it you have to declare how many cards you want to draw.

I'd contend this question makes as much sense as asking "what happens if I act on someone else's initiative in combat?" You simply can't do that.

You and your table might find that argument strange, though, and make a ruling to allow someone to draw from the deck without declaring a number of cards (e.g., if you draw without a declaration, it is presumed to be 1 so they trigger as you draw, or something else).

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  So what would happen if you found the deck and started to play cards with it. Would you find yourself unable to draw a card?
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @NeutralVax They would know the deck was magic as the rules state: "Whatever a magic item's appearance, handling the item is enough to give a character a sense that something is extraordinary about it." And if they wanted to figure out how to use it (and its possible effects) they could spend a short rest observing it
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

12

$begingroup$

You simply can't do that. I understand it may sound odd, but the text of the deck indicates you "must", so if you want to draw from it you have to declare how many cards you want to draw.

I'd contend this question makes as much sense as asking "what happens if I act on someone else's initiative in combat?" You simply can't do that.

You and your table might find that argument strange, though, and make a ruling to allow someone to draw from the deck without declaring a number of cards (e.g., if you draw without a declaration, it is presumed to be 1 so they trigger as you draw, or something else).

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  So what would happen if you found the deck and started to play cards with it. Would you find yourself unable to draw a card?
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @NeutralVax They would know the deck was magic as the rules state: "Whatever a magic item's appearance, handling the item is enough to give a character a sense that something is extraordinary about it." And if they wanted to figure out how to use it (and its possible effects) they could spend a short rest observing it
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

You simply can't do that. I understand it may sound odd, but the text of the deck indicates you "must", so if you want to draw from it you have to declare how many cards you want to draw.

I'd contend this question makes as much sense as asking "what happens if I act on someone else's initiative in combat?" You simply can't do that.

You and your table might find that argument strange, though, and make a ruling to allow someone to draw from the deck without declaring a number of cards (e.g., if you draw without a declaration, it is presumed to be 1 so they trigger as you draw, or something else).

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

ZhugeZhuge

2,92222 gold badges1414 silver badges2727 bronze badges

12

$begingroup$

As the deck notes.

Any cards drawn in excess of this number have no effect

If you don't name a number then any cards you draw will be in excess of that and have no effect.

The rules as you note also state.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

So, if you want to trigger the magical effect, you need to declare a number.

Exactly what happens if you try to draw a card before you declare a number isn't stated. Maybe it doesn't work, stopped by powerful magic. Maybe nothing happens. It depends on the whims of the DM and the artifact.

share|improve this answer

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  If you don't name a number then what counts as "this number"?
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Since the deck releases it's cards based off that number, presumably zero or it would automatically activate. >If you fail to draw the chosen number, the remaining number of cards fly from the deck on their own and take effect all at once.> If this number was anything but zero, then it would automatically activate.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  9 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  This doesn't actually answer the question.
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I edited in some more to clarify.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  heh, play a game of 5-cards-draw with it. everybody gets 5 cards, then they declare how much they want to change and BAM, a table all draws one to five cards for their worst, but playing with partial information what they have on hands themselves?
  $endgroup$
  – Trish
  45 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

12

$begingroup$

As the deck notes.

Any cards drawn in excess of this number have no effect

If you don't name a number then any cards you draw will be in excess of that and have no effect.

The rules as you note also state.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

So, if you want to trigger the magical effect, you need to declare a number.

Exactly what happens if you try to draw a card before you declare a number isn't stated. Maybe it doesn't work, stopped by powerful magic. Maybe nothing happens. It depends on the whims of the DM and the artifact.

share|improve this answer

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  If you don't name a number then what counts as "this number"?
  $endgroup$
  – Medix2
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Since the deck releases it's cards based off that number, presumably zero or it would automatically activate. >If you fail to draw the chosen number, the remaining number of cards fly from the deck on their own and take effect all at once.> If this number was anything but zero, then it would automatically activate.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  9 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  This doesn't actually answer the question.
  $endgroup$
  – NeutralVax
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I edited in some more to clarify.
  $endgroup$
  – Nepene Nep
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  heh, play a game of 5-cards-draw with it. everybody gets 5 cards, then they declare how much they want to change and BAM, a table all draws one to five cards for their worst, but playing with partial information what they have on hands themselves?
  $endgroup$
  – Trish
  45 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

As the deck notes.

Any cards drawn in excess of this number have no effect

If you don't name a number then any cards you draw will be in excess of that and have no effect.

The rules as you note also state.

Before you draw a card, you must declare how many cards you intend to draw and then draw them randomly.

So, if you want to trigger the magical effect, you need to declare a number.

Exactly what happens if you try to draw a card before you declare a number isn't stated. Maybe it doesn't work, stopped by powerful magic. Maybe nothing happens. It depends on the whims of the DM and the artifact.

share|improve this answer

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

edited 44 mins ago

Trish

10.9k3535 silver badges8484 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

Nepene NepNepene Nep

5,39111 gold badge1313 silver badges4040 bronze badges