Problems, Setbacks and Disasters - standard 52-card deck (d54)

These are problems, setbacks or disasters of all sorts. This table (with its subtables War for the Suit of Clubs, Pestilence for the Suit of Hearts, Famine for the Suit of Diamonds, and Death for the Suit of Spades) is meant to be usable with a standard 52-card deck instead of a die or dice. The two Jokers have been accounted for (numbers 1 and 54 on this table). Your deck may vary; you may have one red and one black Joker, one with a color picture and one monochrome, one with a larger picture than the other, etc. If you intend to copy this table for use with a deck of cards, I suggest you find both jokers before you start playing the first game and figure out which one you are going to use for which result.

The citation is to an article which listed the mentioned appearance variations of Jokers.

d54 Result

1

Miraculously, nothing bad happens.

2

The party cannot agree on an issue.

3

A creature, ally or party member becomes aggressive without apparent reason. It is not contagious.

4

A creature, ally or party member becomes aggressive without apparent reason. It is contagious.

5

Hostile persons.

6

Hostile creatures or other wildlife.

7

A reward is offered for the capture or killing of one or more of the party.

8

The area you are in is now at war, or if it already was, the war has acquired a new front.

9

An area you meant to reach is at war, or if it already was, the war has acquired a new front.

10

Something that the party has been legally doing or planning to legally do is now illegal.

11

An enemy previously defeated or escaped (whether in this game, a previous game with shared characters, or someone's backstory) is coming after the party or one of its members.

12

The quest or the reason you were on it is a lie.

13

Someone is unmasked as not being who they said they were.

14

A betrayal (someone turned coat, someone was in league with the enemy all along, someone thought selling out the party was the lesser of two evils, etc.).

15

A party member or creature catches an illness or gets hurt.

16

The road is impassable or blocked off.

17

Severe storms.

18

The mail service is down around here, and has been for weeks (if you have a source of information that doesn't depend on local mail, it won't be affected).

19

The region is starving/under drought.

20

There is plague in this region.

21

The region is being terrorized by dangerous creatures.

22

The region is infested with bandits, pirates, slavers or other crime.

23

The region is being preyed on by corrupt police or military.

24

The region is short of resources or equipment.

25

The people who were supposed to be here, aren't. There's other people here instead.

26

The people who were supposed to be here, aren't. The place is deserted.

27

The region is mysteriously devoid of life.

28

Not enough allies/creatures to proceed as intended.

29

Short of food or water.

30

Short of means to acquire/extract resources present.

31

Short of money.

32

Not enough of the required protective clothing (raincoats, goggles, spacesuits, gas masks - anything that protects from an outside force).

33

Not enough regular clothing (proper uniform, inconspicous clothing, or just any clothing at all - anything that you need to get into/out of an area).

34

Not the right shoes/transport.

35

Short of general information (that is, there are important things about your situation that you don't know).

36

Not enough light (lanterns, torches, natural light).

37

Short of medical supplies.

38

Short of specific information (maps, passcodes, names, etc.).

39

No safe place to stay/work/retreat/hide.

40

Short of gear/equipment.

41

Loss of an ally or creature (death, desertion, or just had to turn back or go home).

42

Loss of a safe place to retreat.

43

Loss of important equipment.

44

Loss of confidence/morale.

45

Loss of supply line or ability to resupply.

46

Loss of information line.

47

Loss of general information (mass amnesia, significant changes since you learned the information, information wrong to begin with, etc.).

48

Loss of specific information (passcodes changed or forgotten, map out of date, etc.).

49

Loss of money.

50

Loss of resources.

51

Loss of food, water, medical supplies, or a combination of these.

52

Loss of transport or shoes.

53

Loss of protective gear or clothing.

54

You must roll twice and take both problems.