World Builders,

I did a stupid thing.

I argued on the Internet with nerds about games.

Well, I don't think I argued so much as tried to figure out what the heck these guys were going on about.

What I found was, in fact, silly.

I bet I was arguing with this kid. (Photo from pexels.)

It started when Wizards of the Coast released a new DnD sourcebook called The Book of Many Things. Short of a DnD history lesson, best saved for another date, this book updates the legendary "Deck of Many Things." You simulate the deck by offering your players a random choice from a standard 52-card deck. You look up the result in the handbook, and then your players deal with the fallout.

Since 1974, the Deck of Many things has given both player and DM (aka "Dungeon Master" or "Person who runs a DnD game for his or her friends") a rough run of it.

With one random pull of a card, it can change a whole game instantly. It can kill a character on the spot! You can have a magical hate demon follow you forever! You could become wildly rich and powerful for no reason at all!

It is, in short, a wild ride.

Balanced, it is not. However, these Internet denizens insisted that it should be perfectly tuned for every unique game table! The hubris of that idea can't be overstated.

I trust this DM. Completely. Yes. (Photo: Copyright Wizards of the Coast 2023.)

What was the last thing that happened to you where you thought, "Man, this isn't fair"?

I'll go: both of my family's cars experienced ass-pain level mechanical problems within 3 days of each other. You know how this can feel. Schedules upended, calls made to repair shops, dealing with service headaches, asking friends and family for favors to cover the hassles, unexpected expenses.

In short, it's awful.

Was it fair? That's not a question worth asking. Fair doesn't exist. The entropy of the universe aligned such that the mechanical parts in question failed in rapid succession. Well maintained vehicles still break. Physics over feelings.

A better question is, "How did I handle that puzzle?" Because things will not line up for you in work, business, in projects, at home, on the road. Stuff happens all the time out of our control and none of it is "fair" or "unfair." It just is.

We choose how to respond when life hands us a pull from our own personal Deck of Many Things. And we don't get to complain that it isn't balanced or perfect or fair.

We get to step up and find a way to succeed regardless of the setbacks.

Enjoy the inevitable chaos next time you're staring down a Deck of Many Things.

Choose with confidence. May you pull many Gems.

To future worlds,

Matt Ventre

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