Inspiration Cards: The Deck of Many More Things
The recently-released Book of Many Things includes a variant for rewarding inspiration by handing out cards with different minor effects, themed after the Deck of Many Things.
I've always thought RAW inspiration is a bit flawed-- as a DM I usually have enough going on that I often forget to award it, and as a player I often forget to use it. All in all, getting advantage on a roll is reasonably easy to do through a bunch of other methods, so inspiration sometimes feels a bit redundant.
Anyway, this new variant has 22 cards, based on the number of cards in the original deck. The BoMT also includes a new, 66-card expanded version called the Deck of Many More Things.
I've listed below my attempt at creating similarly-themed inspiration cards for the Deck of Many More Things.
As a home rule, I allow players to call out inspiration-worthy moments enacted by other players at the table. I only allow a player to hold two inspiration cards at once-- one rewarded by the DM, and another rewarded by another player. I mention this only because there's at least one card below that references this card limit restriction (Humanoid).
| CARD | INSPIRATION |
|---|---|
| Aberration | As a bonus action, for 1 minute, you can detect the presence and surface thoughts of thinking creatures you can't see within 30 feet. You can't detect creatures that don't speak a language, or with an Intelligence of 3 or lower. Their presence is blocked by 2 ft of rock, 2 inches of metal, or by a thin sheet of lead. |
| Beast | Take the Dash action as a bonus action. |
| Book | As a bonus action, for 1 minute, you can immediately understand the intent, but not the exact words, of a written or spoken language you aren't proficient in. |
| Bridge | As a bonus action, select one creature as your chosen foe. That creature can't use reactions, and on its turn it can use either an action or bonus action, not both. It also can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn. |
| Campfire | You can immediately end attunement to an item and attune to a different item instead. |
| Cavern | For 1 minute, you gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. You also gain the ability to move up, down, across vertical surfaces, and along ceilings, while leaving your hands free. |
| Celestial | As a bonus action, you can fly up to half your walking speed (rounded up) as extra movement on this turn. |
| Construct | A homunculus appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. It is your faithful companion and treats you as its creator. The homunculus disappears after 1 minute. |
| Corpse | As a bonus action, you touch a living creature that has 0 hit points. The creature becomes stable. This has no effect on undead or constructs. |
| Crossroads | You and one ally gain advantage on an initiative roll. |
| Door | As a bonus action, teleport another willing creature within 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet. |
| Dragon | As a reaction, when an ally you can see takes damage, the creature that dealt the damage has the frightened condition until the end of its next turn. You are the source of its fear. |
| Elemental | As a reaction, when an ally you can see takes acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage, they gain resistance to that damage until the start of their next turn. |
| Expert | Add your proficiency bonus to an ability check for which you don't already have expertise. |
| Fey | As a reaction, you become immune to being charmed until the start of your next turn. |
| Fiend | You gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, magical darkness doesn't impede your darkvision within 10 feet of you. This ability lasts until the start of your next turn. |
| Giant | For 1 minute, you have advantage on Strength checks and saving throws, and count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. |
| Humanoid | Discard this card and immediately draw a random card from the inspiration deck. Your drawn card does not count towards your held inspiration card maximum. |
| Lance | When you make a melee weapon attack, increase your reach for that attack by 5 feet. |
| Mage | As a bonus action, you can telekinetically shove one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. When you do so, the target is moved 5 feet toward or away from you. |
| Map | Mentally name or describe an object or individual that is familiar to you. You immediately know the direction of the object or individual, but you don't learn the distance or any other details. This ability fails if the object or individual is on another plane of existence, and this card is discarded. |
| Maze | Impose disadvantage on the initiative rolls of two creatures. |
| Mine | On a single item purchase, you receive a discount equal to 2d4 percent of the full purchase price. |
| Monstrosity | As a reaction, you become immune to being frightened until the start of your next turn. |
| Ooze | When you deal damage to a creature, that creature takes an extra 1d6 acid damage. |
| Path | Your walking speed increases by 15 feet until the start of your next turn. |
| Pit | Advantage on an ability check made to detect traps, or advantage on a saving throw made to avoid or resist traps. |
| Plant | As a bonus action, a 20-foot square originating from a point within 90 feet of you is turned into difficult terrain. Alternatively, you can turn an area of difficult terrain caused by plant growth into ordinary terrain. This effect lasts 1 minute. |
| Priest | As an action, surround yourself with an aura of divinity. Until the start of your next turn, any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of you takes 1d6 radiant damage. |
| Prisoner | As a reaction, when you take damage from a creature no more than one size larger than you, you cause the creature to become grappled by you. |
| Ring | As a reaction, when an ally you can see is healed, you are also healed for 1d6 hit points. |
| Shield | As a reaction, when an ally you can see takes damage, you can reduce that damage by 1d6. |
| Ship | Gain advantage on a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution ability check or saving throw. |
| Staff | Gain advantage on an Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma ability check or saving throw. |
| Stairway | Until the start of your next turn, your long jump distance increases by 10 feet and your high jump distance increases by 3 feet. |
| Statue | As a reaction, when a creature makes a melee attack that hits you, you gain a +2 bonus to your AC, including against the triggering attack. This lasts until the start of your next turn. |
| Tavern | When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can use a reaction to cause that attack to hit one other creature that you can see within 5 feet of you instead. |
| Temple | When you are reduced to 0 hit points, but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. |
| Tomb | As a reaction, when a creature within 30 feet of you is slain, gain 1d6 temporary hit points. The slain creature must not be undead. |
| Tower | As a bonus action, until the start of your next turn, your allies have advantage on melee attack rolls against any hostile creature within 5 feet of you. |
| Tree | As a reaction, you become unable to be knocked prone or moved along the ground against your will until the start of your next turn. |
| Undead | When you deal damage to a creature, that creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the start of your next turn. |
| Warrior | You can take 1 extra opportunity attack before your next turn. The extra attack can't occur on the same turn as another opportunity attack made by you. |
| Well | When you make an ability check, you can forgo rolling the d20 to get a 10 on the die. |