Wizards who specialize in the School of Cartomancy weave powerful magic into intricately designed cards. These mages are as much artisans as they are scholars, combining arcane theory with artistic expression to craft enchanted decks that hold power over reality itself. Masters of magical jeweled paints, these Wizards leave legendary cards in their wake, capable of both miracles and destruction.

Cartomancy

At 3rd level when you adopt this tradition, you gain proficiency with Painter's Tools and the Sleight of Hand skill, reflecting your expertise in the delicate art of card creation and manipulation. You can recognize and appraise premium parchment as well as jeweled paints and inks by making an Investigation (Intelligence) check, and understand how to create the necessary magical paints needed to produce cartomancy cards.

Also at 3rd level, you learn to weave incantations into cards through a meticulous artistic process, creating magical cards that can be summoned or stored for later use.

Creating Cards. You can spend 30 minutes and 25 gp worth of parchment and jeweled paints per level of the spell to infuse a spell from your spellbook into a card. This process requires expending a spell slot of the appropriate level. The materials are consumed, and the spell becomes stored in the card, which you can summon or dismiss as a bonus action. While dismissed, the cards exist in a harmless demiplane that only you can access. If you die, the cards appear in your space, falling to the ground.

Finding Cards. You may discover cartomancy cards during your travels as rare treasures left behind by other cartomancers, as loot taken from other mages, or by direct trade with other cartomancers or purveyors of magic items. When you collect cards that you did not create, you must spend at least 1 hour as part of a long rest studying each card before you are able to summon or dismiss it with your bonus action.

Casting from Cards. While a card is summoned, you can cast the stored spell as if it were in your spellbook, using the normal action for the spell. Casting a spell this way does not consume a spell slot. Once used, the card becomes dormant until recharged. If the spell can be cast at a higher level but only has a lesser spell slot inscribed, you may spend the additional spell slots from your available spell slots when casting the spell to make up the difference between its level and the desired level. You cannot upcast an Arcane Phantasm using this feature.

Card Recovery. When you complete a long rest you may choose any 2 cartomancy cards in your collection whose individual levels do not exceed your Intelligence modifier. The magic within them recharges. To recharge other cards, you must expend a spell slot of the same level required to cast the spell or phantasm at the beginning or end of your long rest.

Arcane Phantasm

Starting at 6th level, you may summon or dismiss up to 2 cards from your collection instead of 1 when using your bonus action.

In addition, you can imbue cards with phantasmal entities created from pure arcane energy. When creating a card using your Cartomancy feature, you may expend a slot of 1st-level or higher to infuse it with the phantasm of a creature instead of a spell. Creating a card this way requires an additional 25gp worth of parchment and jeweled paints for each slot level.

Summoning the Phantasm. As an action, you can activate the card to summon the phantasm, which appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. The phantasm is a magical construct that lasts for 10 minutes, until it drops to 0 hit points, until you drop to 0 hit points, or until you dismiss it. You may only have 1 phantasm active at a time. The phantasm can spend its movement and take 1 action on your turn.

Phantasm Stats:

- Hit Points: 10 plus 10 for each slot level above 1st.
- Armor Class: Your spell save DC, plus 1 for every 2 slot levels above 1st.
- Size: Small, optionally increasing by one size category for every 2 slot levels above 1st.
- Speed: Walk, 30 ft.
- Damage Resistances: acid, poison, psychic, nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
- Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained

Actions:

- Forceful Strike. Melee Spell Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, range 5 ft., one target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier force damage, plus 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.

Abilities:

- Arcane Focus. The phantasm can act as a medium for your Wizard spells. When you cast a spell while the phantasm is within 30 ft. of you, you may have that spell originate from the phantasm instead.

Polymerization

At 10th level, the duration of your Arcane Phantasm increases from 10 minutes to 1 hour. You may summon or dismiss up to 3 cards from your collection instead of 1 when using your bonus action.

In addition, your mastery over phantasms allows you to combine their power. When you summon an Arcane Phantasm, you may combine it with another Arcane Phantasm that is currently active, or a charged Arcane Phantasm card in your hand. The combined phantasm uses the cumulative spell slot levels of the cards to determine its enhanced power.

Polymerized Phantasm Stats:

- Hit Points: Gains an additional number of maximum hit points equal to 5 + your Wizard level.
- Actions: Gains Multiattack 1, plus 1 at specific levels. (1st-3rd, 2 attacks total. 4th-6th, 3 attacks total. 7th-9th, 4 attacks total.)
- Damage Type: If the combined total slot level of the polymerized phantasm is 3rd level or higher, choose one from among acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, magical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage for every 2 slot levels above 1st. When the polymerized phantasm deals damage, you can change the damage type of any of its damage die from force to one of the damage types you chose when you polymerized it. You must declare the damage type change before rolling the dice.

The combined phantasm cannot exceed the highest-level spell slot you can cast. Once combined, both cards become dormant after the phantasm vanishes and must be recharged.

Heart of the Cartomancer

At 14th level, the duration of your Arcane Phantasm increases from 1 hour to 8 hours.

In addition, your expertise in cartomancy allows you to create a signature masterpiece card.

Master Card. Choose one of your Cartomancy cards to become your Master Card. This card always recharges on a long rest and does not count against the number of cards you can recharge using your Card Recovery feature. At the beginning of a long rest you may declare a new card as your master card, transferring this benefit from your old master card to a new one.

Signature Phantasm. If your Master Card is an Arcane Phantasm, it gains all the benefits of being polymerized and can't be combined with another card.