I’m a sucker for products that help me think of new ideas to add to my homebrew games. There is quite the assortment of decks out there to generate ideas but The Game Master’s deck of Boons and Banes is probably the best I have ever seen.

The deck is not just another imitation of the Deck of Many Things. First off, the quality of the packaging and materials are top notch. The cards themselves are quite sturdy and thick. The book that comes with cards is also beautifully illustrated. Both the cards and the book come in a protective, sturdy folding box for easy carrying. The artwork on the cards and the book is also gorgeous.

The real treasure though is the creativity of the Boons and Banes themselves. Many, if not most, of the ideas are unique, subtle, and fun. The Boons and Banes are not overpowering or too penalizing. Many of them have a element of fun to them that can be incorporated into a player’s role-playing and characters.

But perhaps the truly original aspect of the deck are the side-quests that accompany each Boon or Bane. Each Boon comes with additional side-quests that accompany the gift and each Bane comes with additional side-quests that need to be solved to get rid of the Bane. These side-quests are creative, novel, and ready to be added to your campaign to add additional challenges, depth, and complexity. I have never seen decks like this also provide side-quests that provide consequences and challenges on top of the ‘gift’.

Each Boon and Bane also has a choice of two side-quests so you as a Dungeon Master can choose one to your liking. In reviewing the side-quests, they all are interesting and can be applied to almost any campaign.

I would highly recommend picking it up if you are looking for a source for new ideas, challenges, and quests to flesh out your campaign – at $25.99 CDN it is a bargain for a wealth of new ideas.