Legacy of the Doomed Kingdom
Centuries ago, a prosperous kingdom ruled over much of the known world. This kingdom was as prosperous as it was brutal, swiftly eradicating any form of resistance to its rule. The kingdom ruled every part of its citizens' lives, dictating how they should live, where they should work, and how they should spend their free time. In the eyes of the ruling monarchy, the people were nothing more than resources to be carefully managed, and it was this approach that allowed the kingdom to grow to such great heights.
The only form of resistance that existed were the scant few territories that weren’t controlled by the kingdom. Even this resistance dwindled as the kingdom continued to encroach on its territories. It seemed that the kingdom was destined to rule over the whole planet. Such was the kingdom’s confidence in total rule that it began to draw up plans to begin invading the multiverse itself.
In secret, a prodigious mage of great power and knowledge was being raised by the free territories, nurtured for the sole purpose of taking down the tyrannical planet kingdom. Whether such an auspicious birth was the whims of fate, the interference of a god, or a breakthrough attempt by the free territories, this information was lost to time.
What wasn’t disputed was that the mage had created a powerful weapon capable of taking down the kingdom without sending a single soldier. The weapon, a set of seemingly mundane playing cards, played with the strings of fate, subtly altering them to achieve a desired outcome under the guise of divination. Each card was inscribed with the names of the ruling monarch.
When the cards were drawn, it spelled the end of the kingdom. It destroyed the kingdom from the inside, inflicting it with a chain of even more implausible events that saw the kingdom collapse in on itself. Civil wars raged and riots exploded all across the realm. In time, the remaining territories declared war and turned on each other in a mad scramble to take as much of the kingdom’s wealth and land as possible.
In the chaos, the cards were lost, scattered between the warring territories. When the dust settled and the territories became full countries in their own right, no one was able to find the cards or the mage that created them.
Where is the Doomed Kingdom?
All the content in this short supplement are setting agnostic. The scale of the Doomed Kingdom's realm can be changed to fit your setting's campaign. The Doomed Kingdom may instead be a sprawling barbarian tribe or a Wildspace-spanning empire. Whatever the realm's size, the Doomed Kingdom is unquestionably defunct.
Traces of the Doomed Kingdom may remain and may be used to help your players to seek out the Cards and its maker: the Card Mage (shown later in this supplement). In all likelihood, remnants of the realm will persist by virtue of its sheer scale.
Finally, its tyrannical nature and the desire by other nations to see it fall are also key factors you should strive to uphold if you are porting this realm into your world.
About the Cards of
the Doomed Kingdom
These magical items consist of three separate cards, each representing one of the pivotal figures that once governed the vast, tyrannical kingdom.
- Card of the King
- Card of the Queen
- Card of the Jester
These cards look like ordinary playing cards and only appear in a playing card set, replacing the card that was already in the deck. Only one of these cards can be inside an otherwise normal deck at a time.
The cards are always under the effect of the False Aura option of Nystul's magic aura. It is also immune to any spells and effects that would try to determine its location (such as the locate object and scrying spells). The only spell that would indicate its nature as a magic item is the identify spell.
Card of the King
Wondrous Item, Legendary
This card represents the king of a once vast empire, of which none of its traces remain. As an action, you can draw the card and speak its command word to activate the magic item. When you do, you become perceived as a great ruler from a faraway kingdom. People will not question this knowledge, nor call into question the legitimacy of your rule or the existence of the fictional kingdom. A person will always attempt to reconcile inconsistencies and gaps in your claims. Spells and effects that attempt to validate your claims will always show them to be true (as such the zone of truth or legend lore spells).
The legend surrounding your rule and kingdom changes over the coming days, as shown in the King’s Lore table.
The card itself becomes an ordinary, nonmagical playing card after its activation. A new king card in a normal playing card set will transform into a Card of the King after the effects of the previous card end.
Curse. This card is cursed, and activating it extends the curse to you. The curse can only be removed with a remove curse spell. The spell must be cast at certain levels depending on how far along you are in the King’s Lore table. 1st level for Day 1–7, 3rd level for Day 8–14, and 5th level for Day 15–21.
After Day 21, the effects of the card change as shown in the King’s Fall table. The remove curse spell must be cast at a 7th level if you are currently at Day 22 – 28 of the card’s effects, and at 9th level for Day 29 – 35. At Day 36 and every subsequent day, only a wish spell can undo the card’s effects and lift the curse.
When the curse is removed, the effects from the King’s Lore and King’s Fall table end. However, a creature will know it was magically tricked during this time. If you had introduced yourself prior, it will know that you are the culprit.
King’s Lore
Day |
|
|---|---|
| 1 – 7 | You are a ruler of a small kingdom from a faraway land. This land could be in another continent, plane of existence, or another world in the multiverse. You are not immediately recognised as a monarch, but a person will associate your name with one if you introduce yourself. Everyone you interact with will have heard of the kingdom’s existence and always know one tidbit of information about it. This will not automatically grant you access to an audience with the ruler of the current country you are in, due to the distance of the fictional kingdom and its lack of diplomatic ties with the current country. |
| 8 – 14 | When you bring up the fact that you are a ruler, people will begin to congratulate you on your kingdom’s recent success. The nature of this success will often (but not always) align closely with your own character’s strengths. Some options include (but are not limited to) conquering a rival nation in a war, striking a lucrative trade deal, or making a new magical discovery. Your name carries weight amongst communities relevant to your kingdom’s recent success. |
| 15 – 21 | Your fictional kingdom has grown to the point where important people in your area will begin to seek you out of their own volition. You will be recognisable to the nobility and upper class of the country where you are residing, as well as some scholars. People of importance may curry favour with you and give gifts. You may attempt to request an audience with the ruler of the country you are in (though the request may still be refused). |
King’s Fall
Day |
|
|---|---|
| 22 – 28 | Your kingdom has been embroiled in a scandal. People who you have introduced yourself to previously will immediately know the nature of this scandal and no longer treat you favourably as they attempt to distance themselves from you. If you introduce yourself as a ruler to a new person, they will not know of the scandal though they know your kingdom is going through tough times. The nature of this scandal will be directly related with the original event that rose your kingdom to prominence in the Day 8 – 14 column of the King’s Lore table. |
| 29 – 35 | The scandal that has befallen the kingdom is now directly contributed to you and has become common knowledge. People who you have introduced yourself to as a ruler will now shun you, and the ruler of the country you are residing in will denounce you. People will recognise you on sight as a failing ruler and shun you. People may also be hostile towards you if you approach them, depending on their profession (such as a royal guard). The public will see you as a ruler who has run away and abandoned their kingdom. |
| 36+ | Your fictional kingdom has fallen due to your actions. Furthermore, any misfortunes that are currently affecting the country you are residing in will now be attributed to you, no matter how illogical the claims would be. Groups will actively hunt you down where possible, destroying your personal belongings and perhaps even going after close acquaintances and past associates. The ruler of the country you are in will declare war on you. You become a pariah figure to everyone who knows you. |
Card of the Queen
Wondrous Item, Legendary (Requires Attunement)
This card represents the queen consort of a once vast empire, who was instrumental in suppressing all opposition to the monarch’s rule. Unique among the Cards of the Doomed Kingdom, it is the only one to have contained the spirit of the queen consort herself.
Immediate Suppression. While you are holding this card, you can cast the command spell at will (save DC 18).
Oppressive Word. This card has 12 charges. While holding it, you can use an action and expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells (save DC 18): dominate monster (5 charges), dominate person (4 charges), mass suggestion (6 charges), modify memory (5 charges), suggestion (2 charges). The card regains 1d8 + 4 expended charges daily at dusk.
Sentience. The Card of the Queen is a sentient lawful evil object with an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 16, and a Charisma of 12. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet, and it communicates by transmitting emotion to the creature attuned to it. Emotions related to subjugation and suppression of one’s enemies are strongly felt.
Personality. In life, the queen consort was in charge of an elite squad of soldiers within the tyrannical kingdom whose sole purpose was to eliminate any dissent towards her husband’s rule. The card will not tolerate any form of oppression toward itself or its wielder and will vehemently push the wielder to exact brutal retribution if it had been denied a desire.
If the creature continues to resist the card’s calls, the DM can force the creature to make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature can no longer gain the benefits of a short or long rest until it kills or otherwise subjugates the target of its oppression.
Curse. This card is cursed, and becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. When you expend all of the card’s charges, you must make a DC 22 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, you die and the queen consort’s spirit takes over your body.
The curse can only be removed with a remove curse spell. If you cast this spell, you make the above Charisma saving throw, suffering the adverse effects stated on a failed save. If another creature casts this spell, you must make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the spell fails and you suffer the effects stated in the card’s “Personality” trait, with the creature that cast the spell becoming the target of oppression you must kill.
Card of the Jester
Wondrous Item, Legendary (Requires Attunement)
This card represents the jester of a once vast empire, who was known for being a soothsayer. As an action, you can speak its command word to activate the card. You utter a phrase of ten words or less structured in the style of a prophecy towards one creature other than yourself (ie. that something will happen to the creature). This prophecy acts similarly to the parameters of a wish spell. 24 hours after the prophecy is made, it will come true. You can be as vague or as specific as you like. The phrase itself must make grammatical sense; words cannot be skimped out in order to fit in more clauses or the prophecy will not take effect.
You can make three prophecies in this way, and you may only make one prophecy at a time. While you still have prophecies to make with the card, you can never lose it and it will always be on your person.
Curse. This card is cursed, and becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. When you make the third prophecy, it will occur immediately instead of after 24 hours. In addition, the opposite of what you have claimed will come true and will be as detrimental as possible to the subject of your prophecy. Such occurrences may include (but are not limited to) instant death, a coup of their kingdom, or banishment to another plane of existence. In addition, the subjects of the previous two prophecies will suffer similar detrimental events in opposition to the prophecy you made for them.
The curse can only be removed with a remove curse spell. The spell must be cast at certain levels depending on how many prophecies you have made so far: 5th level for one prophecy and 7th level for two prophecies. When the curse is removed, the previous prophecies are reversed. However, when you make the third prophecy, you immediately lose attunement to the card and are no longer cursed, but the effects of the detrimental prophecies persist.
In both cases, the card becomes an ordinary, nonmagical playing card and a new jester card in a normal playing card set will transform into a Card of the Jester.
The Card Mage
The original prodigal mage from the myth of the Doomed Kingdom and creator of the Cards. After seeing firsthand the series of events that had befallen as a result of her invention, the Card Mage resolved to never again interfere with the whims of countries again. Certainly, the Card Mage holds resentment toward those who had raised her to simply be a tool for the sake of conquest, but she can’t deny the circumstances that led to such a deed becoming necessary. It is a fact of her existence that she may spend her whole life trying to reconcile.
Though she can easily travel to another plane of existence, she can’t bring herself to leave the world that has been so utterly changed by her. Whatever answers she would have sought out have been destroyed in the war; her birth remains a mystery even to her. Any chance of closure, whether through forgiveness or retribution toward those who raised her, has been forever taken from her as those responsible have perished.
As a form of atonement, she travels as a nomad to help small communities wherever she can. The Card Mage never stays in one place for long. Whilst large cities are easier to lose oneself in, it contains more people that would be able to recognise her by her peculiar spellcasting method alone. She has been able to lose herself to the annals of history and is content to leave herself a myth that can no longer be found.
Spell Card Rumours
There is an unusual story that circles around some academic communities and artisans guilds of a wizard or artificer that uses cards alone to cast spells instead of a traditional spellbook or set of artisans tools. Some stories even insist the cards themselves were used as material components for certain spells. Could a wizard fit the lengthy inscriptions needed for their spells inside something as small as a playing card?
Such tales are currently far and few between, making it hard to ascertain their validity. The rumours (supposedly) don’t have much support within the academic magical circles. Many (claim to) dismiss the stories, stating that the caster was simply a tricksy bard or rogue. Indeed, such fanciful displays of magic are usually the work of entertainers and charlatans. The fact that the stories appear in several realms would support the case that the caster was part of a travelling troupe.
Card Mage
Medium Humanoid (Elf, Wizard), Neutral Good
- Armor Class 13 (16 with mage armour)
- Hit Points 173 (20d8 + 83)
- Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 21 (+5) 17 (+3) 18 (+4)
- Saving Throws Con +7, Int +10, Wis +9, Cha +9
- Skills Arcana +10, History +10, Perception +8, Persuasion +9
- Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 18
- Languages Common, Elvish, any other four languages
- Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +5
Card Guardian. The Card Mage deals double damage to any creature that has used the Cards of the Doomed Kingdom.
Fey Ancestry. The Card Mage has advantage on saving throws she makes to avoid or end the charmed condition on herself, and magic can't put her to sleep.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the Card Mage fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack. The Card Mage makes three Deadly Deal attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Reshuffle Deck or Spellcasting.
Deadly Deal. Melee or Ranged Spell Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 5) slashing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or have the card be stuck onto itself. Only one card can be stuck on at a time. The target can use an action on its turn to remove the card.
Reshuffle Deck. The Card Mage chooses any number of creatures she can see within 120 feet of herself (including herself) and has them swap places in any arrangement she chooses. An unwilling target must succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw to avoid the effect, rolling with disadvantage if there is a card stuck to it from the Deadly Deal attack.
Spellcasting. The Card Mage casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18):
- At will: detect magic, mage hand (the hand is formed out of a deck of cards)
- 2/day each: dispel magic, ice storm (the hailstones are frozen playing cards), mage armour (self only; created out of magical playing cards)
- 1/day each: legend lore (as an action), plane shift (self only), summon construct (6th-level version; its parts are shaped like playing cards)
Legendary Actions
The Card Mage can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Card Mage regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Attack. The Card Mage makes one Deadly Deal attack.
- Card Trigger (Costs 2 Actions). The Card Mage detonates any cards that are stuck onto a target as a result of her Deadly Deal attack. Each target must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) fire damage.
- Spellcasting (Costs 2 Actions). The Card Mage uses Spellcasting.
Tips for using the Card Mage hook
The Card Mage is always trying to keep a low profile. Their unique card casting means they are always mistaken for someone else. At best, a travelling bard and at worst, a swindler or cheat.
You can arrange it so the party has encountered the Card Mage on their travels without them even knowing, mistaking her for someone else that doesn't quite seem to fit in. A dealer that wasn't itching for a quick game, a bard that refused to entertain a crowd, or a wizard with no spellbook.
If your party has already stumbled on one of the Cards of the Doomed Kingdom, the Card Mage may seek out your party herself.
Variant: Alternate Spellcasting
If you have The Book of Many Things compendium, you can have the Card Mage use the spray of cards spell at will, replacing detect magic. You then replace ice storm with detect magic, with the Card Mage able to cast detect magic twice per day.
Art Credits
- Made by /u/Stuffies_12 (discord stuffies12) for discord user claytheworld for the DoMTmas discord event.
- Ravnica by Richard Wright.
- The Weeping King - Tator card by Everton Zomer.
- Passione - Italian Design Playing Cards by Sofia Bolognesi.
- Istus by Hinchel Or for The Book of Many Things by WoTC.
- /r/unearthedarcana stat block theme by Eiti3.
- Stat block bg by rawpixel.com on Freepik.