Jason Anarchy’s Ridiculous Loot Deck

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned this, but I’m not a great GM. It never has been my passion and recent real world challenges have made it nearly impossible for me. As a result, I try to avoid a lot of the more open world games, in favour of prewritten adventures that might be derogatorily referred to as railroad adventures. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love throwing a curveball at players. Enter Jason Anachy’s recent Ridiculous Loot Deck.

Even the most hardcore rule system has plenty of room for comedy. To this day, one of my favourite reviews was for the Starfinder Compatible Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity. It took the then-new Starfinder rules into… well… absurdity. Jason Anarchy’s Ridiculous Loot Deck allows any GM to throw in a bit of random weirdness into their adventures. It works exceptionally well if it’s a homegrown adventure, but why not toss it into any adventure?

I think the best part about the deck — aside from the obvious ridiculousness — is that you can easily break it down into more specific decks for specific encounters. Searching a kitchen? “You find a ROAST CHICKEN or maybe a WHISPERING TEAPOT and a JAR OF INFINITE PEANUT BUTTER. What goes better with all that peanut butter? ABUNCH OF BANANAS of course! But watch out, one of them might be a BANANA OF TELEPORTATION (although everyone knows those are purple, not yellow) and you wouldn’t want to step on an INVISIBLE BANANA PEEL.

Are you lurking around a castle at night, ransacking a potion master’s stash? I hope you can tell the difference between a POTION OF JAZZ HANDS, a POTION OF INSTANT BREAKDANCING, and a ONE-MINUTE POLYMORPH POTION. 

If the party is lucky, they might stumble across a POP UP SHOPKEEPER and buy a GARDEN GNOME or POCKET BARD. At a 50% markup for the convenience, of course.

That barely scratches the surface of the Ridiculous Loot Deck.  

Most of the items are just curio but some could be used to drastically impact your story! A KAZOO OF ELF SUMMONING might seem like a good idea in a clinch. But maybe that aforementioned POP UP SHOPKEEPER is an elf and you have an UNPAID BILL causing the elves to side against you. Maybe the elves kidnap you and send you on a quest to clear your debt. Maybe your PUBLIC DOMAIN COMPANION (a certain mouse) goes through the POCKET PORTAL TO THE PUPPY DIMENSION and causes chaos with the puppies, the portal malfunctions and you are stuck there. Absolute chaos! Something like this makes for a great one-off adventure, with a distinct shift in tone for a night or two. 

Of course, I’m giving examples with the assumption that your game is serious or at least reasonable. There are plenty of games that are already ridiculous. Kobolds Ate My Baby is the first one that comes to mind, although with some science-fictioning you could easily fit a lot of these in a game like Planet Mercenary. It might be hard to use in a “cozy” game like Teatime Adventures, but that’s a challenge for you to deal with, dear reader.

Jason Anarchy’s Ridiculous Loot Deck probably isn’t something you’ll pull out for every game. But it’s worth it to pull out for a change of pace. Who knows, maybe an INSCRIBED BOWLING BALL or NINE PICKLES is exactly what your party need to complete your adventure.

YOu can find Jason Anarchy Games online at drinkingquest.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/JasonAnarchy.