Lazarus' Card Dealer (5e Class)

Card Dealer (5e)

Class Features

As a Card Dealer you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Card Dealer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 1d8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Card Dealer level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, shields
Tools: Gambling Set, Thieves Tools
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Deception, Insight, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a simple weapon or (b) a dagger or (c) a short sword
• (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• A Gambling Set
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 4d4 x 10 gp in funds.

Table: The Card Dealer

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Card Damage	Gambit Dice	Gambit Dice Quantity
1st	+2	Casino Combat	1d6	-	-
2nd	+2	Heart of the Cards. The House Always Wins	1d6	1d6	3
3rd	+2	Martial Archetype	1d6	1d6	3
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	1d6	1d6	3
5th	+3	Extra Attack	1d8	1d6	3
6th	+3	Archetype Feature	1d8	1d6	3
7th	+3	Greater Gambit, Card Mechanic	1d8	1d8	4
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	1d10	1d8	4
9th	+4	Remarkable Actor	1d10	1d8	4
10th	+4	Archetype Feature	1d10	1d8	4
11th	+4	Gambit Dice (d10)	1d12	1d10	5
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	1d12	1d10	5
13th	+5	Cold Call	1d12	1d10	5
14th	+5	Archetype Feature	1d12	1d10	5
15th	+5	Gambit Dice (d12)	2d8	1d12	6
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	2d8	1d12	6
17th	+6	Jackpot	2d8	1d12	6
18th	+6	Archetype Feature	2d8	1d12	7
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	2d8	1d12	7
20th	+6	Hand of Fate	2d8	1d12	7

Casino Combat

Few people can fling a playing card at a straight line while maintaining the appropriate velocity for slashing the target. This is one prominent talent you acquired during your life as a gambler. With an appropriate adjustment on the card beforehand, a deck of playing cards is ammunition for you.

You are proficient with combat cards, a deck of cards with sharpened edges for the purpose of combat weaponry. Combat cards are a simple, melee weapon that have the light, finesse, and thrown (20/40) properties, and it deals 1d6 slashing damage on hit. It also requires two hands to use. One hand for throwing, one hand for holding the deck.

You gain extra damage with combat cards as you level, as noted in the features table.

You may make a melee attack with a combat card if a target is within melee range.

You can spend half an hour to prepare a deck of playing cards into combat cards. This process can be performed during a short rest or long rest. One deck of playing cards can be prepared into 52 combat cards this way.

Heart of the Cards

For a Card Dealer, the art of the Gambit is no longer a profession, but a lifestyle.

The sound of cards being riffled is music to your ears, a deck of.cards is as natural as a dagger in the hands of an assassin.

At 2nd level, you gain a number of Gambit dice that represent your wit and card-based ability.

These gambit dice increase in quantity and effect as noted in the Card Dealer features table.

A card dealer may expend these gambit dice to accomplish special feats & abilities. You regain all expended gambit dice upon a long rest.

Select three features to acquire upon gaining this ability. You may exchange any feature you know for a different feature after a long rest.

If a feature requires a saving throw, the DC is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your charisma modifier.

• Dazzling Display: The card dealer flourishes his deck, potentially charming those nearby. Use an action to expend a gambit die to make all nearby creatures of your choice succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be charmed for a duration of rounds equal to your gambit die. A charmed creature may make a saving throw every round until the effect ends. Creatures in combat with the card dealer have advantage on the saving throw.

• Misdirect: When you see a creature make an attack, you can attempt to hinder them. You can use a reaction to expend a gambit die to reduce the attack roll of the target equal to the roll of the gambit die.

• Trick Shot: If you know the location of an creature that you cannot attack due to sight limitation, you can use your action to expend a gambit die to make an attack roll against the creature. A Trick Shot can curve up to 90 degrees to hit a target. Add your gambit die to your attack roll. Trick shots have their range increased by a number of feet equal to 5 + your gambit die.

• Double Down: Whenever you make an attack roll, you can use a reaction expend a gambit die to damage any creature within thirty feet of you with the same attack. The first attack roll must be able to hit the second target. Add your gambit die to the damage of the second attack.

• Vanish: Whenever you disengage, you may expend a gambit die and throw 5 to 26 cards into the air to distract your enemies. Upon throwing these cards, you add your gambit die to your AC until the end of your next turn. If you throw 26 cards, you gain the current maximum roll on your gambit die.

The House Always Wins

At 2nd level, Whenever you partake in a game where you can cheat, if you have 1 gambit die available, you can stack the deck to give an amount of players equal to a third of your Card Dealer level (rounded down, minimum 1) advantage or disadvantage as you choose. This ability does not expend a gambit die. IF you are the dealer, you may automatically choose one player to win. At level 17, you can affect an indefinite amount of people with this feature.

Martial Archetype

Your practice in cardistry allows you to hone in on your abilities. At 3rd level, you may choose the Arcane Ace or Wild Card archetypes.

Ability Score Increase

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

At 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn

Greater Gambit

At 7th level, your Gambit dice turn into 1d8s. At 11th level, they turn into 1d10s. At 15th level, they turn into 1d12s.

Card Mechanic

At 7th level, your natural agility is enhanced. Due to prolonged exercise with your hands, you gain proficiency with Sleight of Hand. If you have Proficiency, you double your Proficiency. You also gain Proficiency in your choice of Perception, Performance, Investigation, or Stealth. If you have proficiency in a chosen skill, you gain Expertise instead.

Remarkable Actor

At 9th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded up) to any Intelligence or Charisma check that doesn't already use your proficiency bonus. In addition, you have advantage on any Performance or Sleight of Hand checks involving cards or games.

Cold Call

At 13th level, Whenever you score a critical hit, or drop an enemy to 0 hit points, you gain a Gambit die. Doubling Down on a critical hit does not refund the Gambit die.

Jackpot

At 17th level, whenever you roll a Gambit die, you can roll it twice and choose either roll. Feature recharges after a short or long rest.

Hand of Fate

At 20th level, Istus herself weaves her threads of fate upon the Card Dealer in times of ill luck. The Card Dealer can use a reaction to any skill check, ability check, or attack roll that they can see. Out of combat, this is a free action that requires no condition. Roll a d100 and consult the table below.

1 : The Card Dealer instantly drops to 0 hit points and is unconscious. This effect transcends Death Ward and other similar magical effects.

2-5 : The Card Dealer makes a DC 18 intelligence save or suffers 1d4 levels of exhaustion.

6-9 : The Card Dealer takes damage equal to 10 times their current Gambit die.

10-12 : The Card Dealer has any spell of 3rd level or lower cast on them, At the DM's choice. The DC for these spells if they require a save, is 10 + the spell's level.

13 : The Card Dealer loses all gambit dice they currently have.

14-18 : The Card Dealer must make a DC 16 intelligence save or be paralyzed for a number of rounds equal to their intelligence modifier.

19-20 : All of the Card Dealer's short/long rest features and magic items based on short/long rests are wasted with no effect.

21-24 : For the next 10 rounds, you take 3 necrotic damage every turn.

25 : The Card Dealer takes a -2 penalty to ALL rolls they make for the next hour.

26-30 : The Card Dealer does not add dexterity to their AC for the next 30 seconds. If they're wearing armour that does not let them add dexterity to their AC, they lose -3 AC for the next 30 seconds.

31-32 : The card dealer has their proficiency bonus set to 1 for the next 30 seconds.

33 : The Card Dealer minimizes all damage dice they roll for the next 30 seconds.

34-39 : A single CR 1-4 monster of the DMs choice spawns within an unoccupied space within 60 feet of the card dealer and becomes friendly to them and all of their allies.

40-41 : The Card Dealer gains resistance to all physical damage for the next 30 seconds.

42 : The Card Dealer may choose from any feature within the table.

43-49 : The Card Dealer gains +2 to AC and resistance to physical damage for the next 30 seconds.

50 : Roll again.

51-59 : The Card Dealer heals for 5 times their current gambit die. All excess health is added to the Card Dealer's temporary hit points pool.

60 : The Card Dealer gains resistance to all non-physical damage for the next 30 seconds.

61-65 : The Card Dealer's proficiency bonus is increased to one and a half times their current proficiency, rounded up for a number of rounds equal to their intelligence modifier.

66 : The Card Dealer maximizes all damage dice they roll for the next 30 seconds, and heal for 1/3 of all damage they deal to creatures other than their self, rounding up. The Card Dealer is not healed if the target is resistant or immune to necrotic damage.

67-68 : All of the Card Dealer's short/long rest features and magic items based on short/long rests are recharged. If they were already at maximum, they gain +1 extra charge. These extra charges, if not used within the next 24 hours, are lost.

69 : The Card Dealer forces a creature within 120 feet that they can see to make a DC 20 Wisdom Save. On a failure, the Card Dealer and the target are transported to an extra dimensional plane for 7 minutes.

70-74 : If the Card Dealer is a Wild Card, all attacks are Smoking Aces and your critical threat range is increased by 1d4 for the next 30 seconds. If the Card Dealer is an Arcane Ace, your cards deal an extra 1d6 damage of your current Enchanted Deck damage type and you can use one free Gambit feature per turn as a reaction for the next 30 seconds.

75 : The Card Dealer has a +2 bonus to ALL rolls they make for the next hour.

76-79 : All of the Card Dealer's stats are treated as 20 for 2 minutes (unless the stat is over 20)

80-83 : For the next 10 rounds, you regenerate 4 hit points every turn.

84-86 : The Card Dealer doubles the dexterity bonus added to their AC, and adds their proficiency bonus to their AC for the next 30 seconds.

87 : All of your attacks become critical hits for a number of turns equal to your intelligence modifier. You must still roll to hit.

88-92 : The Card dealer can cast any spell of 5th level or lower once, as a free action, in the next 30 seconds, provided the spell has a casting time of 30 seconds or less, using either their intelligence or dexterity as their spellcasting ability.

93-94 : The Card Dealer adds their current gambit die + 1 to all their stats for the next hour.

95-99 : The Card Dealer heals for 10 times their current gambit die and are cured of all current levels of exhaustion. All excess health is added to the Card Dealer's temporary hit points .

100 : The card dealer is healed for an amount equal to their maximum health. All excess health is added to the Card Dealer's temporary hit points pool. All proficient checks are made with expertise, and, if they're in combat, they have 2 reactions and take 2 turns on their initiative step for an amount of rounds equal to their intelligence modifier.

The Card Dealer can use this feature once every 3 days.

Arcane Ace

Golden Gambit

you have learned how to enchant your cards to get just the right effect. Your combat cards count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical damage.

Cardistry

Honing your card technique with magic allows you to accomplish gambit features with greater and more varied effects. You may take an extra feature from the Heart of the Cards list. You may upgrade two features when you take the Arcane Ace subclass. You may upgrade a third feature at level 6, and a fourth and final feature at level 11. These upgrades are permanent, and do not change even if you select different features during a rest.

• Dazzling Display no longer warrants a save at the end of the creatures turn.

• Misdirect now imposes the Gambit penalty for every attack the creature takes until the end of their next turn.

• Trick shot can now travel through walls to meet its target.

• Vanish now turns you invisible until the start of your next turn.

• The House Always Wins now affects a number of people equal to half your Card Dealer level and does not require a gambit die.

Enchanted Deck

at 6th level, you can magically enchant a deck of combat cards for extra effects. Choose one feature from the list below. You may exchange any feature for another on the list after a short or long rest.

Any feature that requires a save has a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your charisma modifier.

All features have a duration that lasts for a number of rounds equal to your gambit die + your charisma modifier, unless otherwise specified. These features last for a maximum number of rounds equal to half of your card dealer level, rounded down. At level 13, they have a duration of 1 hour.

Any creature that saves against or is subjected to a feature is immune to the status ailment from that feature for 10 rounds.

Icy: Your cards, sharp and glassy like ice, deal an extra 1d4 cold damage. Targets must succeed on a Strength saving throw or have their movement speed reduced by 10 feet.

Flaming: Your cards, edged with white flame, deal an extra 1d4 fire damage. Targets must succeed on a dexterity saving throw or be set on fire. While on fire, they suffer fire damage equal to your gambit die, at the start of their turn. While they are on fire, they can use a bonus action to repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn, ending the effect on a success.

Poisoned: Your cards, dripping with vile essence, deal an extra 1d4 poison damage. Targets must succeed on a constitution saving throw or be poisoned.

Dazzling: Your cards, glowing with a brilliant sheen, deal an extra 1d4 psychic damage. Targets must succeed on an intelligence saving throw or be stunned for 1 round.

Forceful: Your cards, gleaming with arcane energy, deal an extra 1d4 force damage. Targets must succeed on a strength saving throw or be pushed for a number of feet equal to 1dX, where X is your current gambit die multiplied by two (minimum of 5 feet). This feature can only be applied once a round and only has a cooldown of 2 rounds, as opposed to the regular cooldown. If you can force the target back 10 feet or more, you can instead choose to trip the target.

Miss Fortune

At 10th level, whenever you successfully attack a creature, you may use your reaction to expend a gambit die and summon a spectre above your head that multiplies your attacks. whenever you damage a creature, you can choose to damage any other creature within 30 feet of you, provided that the initial attack roll is able to hit the second target. The damage dealt is half of the initial damage of the attack. Lady Luck applies your current Enchanted Deck effect normally. Lady Luck lasts for a number of rounds equal to your charisma modifier (minimum of 1).

Lady Luck's Kiss

At 14th level, once per short or long rest, whenever you hit a creature with a combat card, you can use your reaction to force that creature, if you can see them, to make a charisma save. If they fail, they are subjected to one of the following effects at your choice. If the target has resistance/advantage against the status effect that you chose, they have advantage on their save. If the target is immune to the status condition that you chose, they are not affected by Lady Luck's Kiss and the charge is wasted. (These all count as magical effects):

They become restrained for two rounds, and you steal an amount of dexterity from them equal to your gambit die, which you add to your dexterity for a number of rounds equal to your charisma modifier.

They become charmed by you for two rounds, and you steal an amount of charisma from them equal to your gambit die, which you add to your charisma for a number of rounds equal to your charisma modifier. (Before you added to your charisma modifier)

They become frightened by you for two rounds, and you steal an amount of strength from them equal to your gambit die, which you add to your strength for a number of rounds equal to your charisma modifier.

Wild Card

Card Shark

By honing in on your technique, you can throw cards with increased velocity and proficiency. Your combat cards turn into a one-handed weapon with a range of 30/60 feet. You may split a deck of cards equally and dual wield two decks. You follow the normal rules for dual wielding.

Smoking Aces

When making an attack with a combat card, you may find a Smoking Ace within your deck. On an attack, roll a d20. On a natural 1 or 20, you have drawn a Smoking Ace. If the attack hits, add a gambit die to your attacks damage. This attack stacks with any other Gambit dice you have used on the attack and does not expend a Gambit die. If the attack misses, the card is bent and can no longer be used as ammunition.

Luck of the Draw

At 6th level, Once per long rest you can have your critical threat range improved by 1 until your next long rest.

At 9th level, you can improve your critical threat range by 1d2. At 13th level, you can improve an ally's critical threat range as well as your own. At 18th level, you can improve an ally's critical threat range as well as your own by 1d4.

Improving your critical threat range also improves the range at which you pull Smoking Aces. This feature extends to all increases, not only the increase provided by Luck of the Draw.

E.G. rolling a 2 on your Luck of the Draw feature would increase your critical threat range from 20, to 18-20, and the range at which you pull Smoking Aces from 1 and 20, to 1-3 and 18-20.

Burn

at 10th level, Once every minute, you can choose to burn your current turn. Expend a full turn (Move, Bonus and Standard actions, but not reactions) and a gambit die.

Next turn, you subtract the gambit die from your Armour Class. During a burn, you may make 2 extra attacks with your combat cards if you take the attack action. All attacks during a Burn have expertise.

Forced Hand

At 14th level, you can force your hand, increasing the range at which you pull Smoking Aces. once per short rest, you may use a bonus action to increase the range at which you pull Smoking Aces by an amount equal to your intelligence modifier. (Minimum of +1) Smoking Aces during Forced Hand deal extra damage equal to your charisma modifier.

E.G. using this feature with an intelligence modifier of +1 would increase the range of Smoking aces pulled from 1 and 20, to 1-2 and 19-20.

This feature lasts for a number of rounds equal to your gambit die + your charisma modifier (Minimum of +1 modifier).

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Card Dealer class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 Dexterity, proficiency with a Gambling Set

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Card Dealer class, you gain the following proficiencies: Simple Weapons.

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