I hope this suits the category well enough! If you have any feedback to give, I would gladly receive it!
Love the flavor of this spell, just a few things
1) I dont think you need to specify that creatures that are immune to being frightened are immune to the effects of the spell, since the spell's only effect is to impart the frightened condition
2) This feels very powerful, maybe enough for it to merit being a higher level. A creature affected by this spell is frightened of every creature it can see and cannot repeat its save unless it has an ally willing to use its action to help it. Otherwise, if the party surrounds the creature, then it is locked down and unable to escape, since it cant willing move closer to a source of its fear. While its locked down this way, its going to have disadvantage on all of its attack rolls and ability checks.
2a) I think that to balance it out, it might be worthwhile to include another criteria by which the target can repeat its save that isnt reliant on another creature helping it or casting a spell on it. Something like if the target manages to get out of sight of everyone else, it can repeat its save.
3) I find it a little odd that this spell is specifically available to the School of Enchantment subclass for Wizards, as that subclass does not offer an expanded spell list as part of its features. Bards and Warlocks, on the other hand, make a ton of sense thematically.
Actually I think it is quite underpowered and in need of some good buffs. Fear, for comparison, is a 3rd level spell that can affect multiple creatures, disarms them and takes their actions away by forcing them to dash or dodge; Wrathful smite is a 1st level spell that frightens one creature, and it is very difficult for an affected creature to break out - and it is just a bonus action to cast; and Raulothim's psychic lance targets a much better saving throw with Intelligence, does not care about immunity to fear, deals a good amount of damage and incapacitates the target for one round, meaning it can't do anything for that duration.
I would suggest adding some damage to your spell that occurs when it is cast and at the end of every turn the target is still frightened. Another idea could be adding an effect similar to Dissonant Whispers where the target has to use its reaction to run away when it succeeds (!) on its saving throw or the spell ends for it, giving it some additional utility and unique mechanics so that it no longer is just a save or suck spell.
I would add the spell to the sorcerer (mainly because of Shadow and Aberrant Mind sorcerers) and to the cleric (works well with the Trickery domain, an eldritch Knowledge cleric, some darkness/twilight cleric flavors...) spell lists too.
I added the Precision Attack feature as the offensive candidate. I didnt want another +1d6/+1d8 damage once per turn type feature, so I instead gave them a limited bonus to their attack rolls to set them apart. Less damage on average, but more reliable attacks.
This is an interesting alternate take, but it feels like too little to me. At the point you get it, you get 2-3 uses all day. Turning 2-3 misses per day into hits would be fine, but this isn't that. You could roll a 1 or you could use it on something that has a much higher AC than you anticipated. Having two daily uses of something and those uses sometimes doing nothing is a huge bummer in play.
I'd either make this more frequent or (preferably) more reliable. Maybe you get +WIS to your attack instead of 1d6. Maybe you get another use if you begin an encounter with no uses. Maybe you get another rider benefit that helps you whether you hit or miss (half damage on a miss?). Just something to shore up the chances that your feature does nothing.
I added the Precision Attack feature as the offensive candidate. I didnt want another +1d6/+1d8 damage once per turn type feature, so I instead gave them a limited bonus to their attack rolls to set them apart. Less damage on average, but more reliable attacks.
This is an interesting alternate take, but it feels like too little to me. At the point you get it, you get 2-3 uses all day. Turning 2-3 misses per day into hits would be fine, but this isn't that. You could roll a 1 or you could use it on something that has a much higher AC than you anticipated. Having two daily uses of something and those uses sometimes doing nothing is a huge bummer in play.
I'd either make this more frequent or more reliable. Maybe you get +WIS to your attack instead of 1d6. Maybe you get another use if you begin an encounter with no uses. Maybe you get another rider benefit that helps you whether you hit or miss. Just something to shore up the chances that your feature does nothing.
Otherwise I think its a really cool subclass!
I like the idea of adding a rider effect to make it a little bit better, so Ill toy around with that, as I agree its a bit underwhelming as it currently is. The main reason I do not want to just make it +WIS to attack is that that is partially similar to the existing Foe Slayer ability all rangers get.
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Here's another player option, this time a subclass for Monk:
Way of a Thousand Eyes
A monk of the way of a thousand eyes knows there are ways of seeing and knowing beyond our limited senses. They seem to react before their opponents have even decided on a course of action, and can fight just as effectively while blindfolded as with their eyes open. By channeling their ki they can see beyond mere flesh to the true spirit of others, and piercing through the most powerful illusions. Masters of the Way of a Thousand Eyes can channel their ki to catch glimpses of distant places, the past, future, and even the thoughts within the minds of others...
Sight of the Unseeing
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain blindsight with a 30 ft radius.
Minor Foresight
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to sense danger the moment before it happens. You cannot be surprised when you are conscious and you add your proficiency bonus to your initiative rolls.
Third Eye
Starting at 6th level, you can see the correct course of action even when others cannot. You learn the Guidance and Resistance cantrips. In addition, you can cast Augury as a ritual. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Spot Weakness
When you reach 6th level, you can spot small weaknesses and vulnerabilities in your enemy's defenses. As a bonus action you can make an Wisdom (Insight) check against a creature's passive Deception (8+Deception check modifier), on a success your attacks deal an additional 1d6 + your wisdom modifier damage to the target and the target has disadvantage on saving throws against your Stunning Strikes until the end of your turn.
A Hundred Eyes
When you reach 11th level, you can spend 1 ki as an action to fully open all of your senses. For the next 10 minutes, you gain Temorsense and Truesight with a range of 120 ft, and can read the surface thoughts of any creature with an intelligence of 4 or higher within 30 ft of you that you can see.
In addition, You can spend 5 ki to cast one of the following spells: Scrying, Legend Lore, Commune, Commune with Nature. You do not need material components to cast these spells, and you use Wisdom as your spellcasting ability.
Future Sight
At 17th level, when complete a long rest, you gain the benefits of the Foresight spell.
Third Eye. I think the addition of Resistance is thematically on point, but I am not sure it lends itself to being very useful mechanically. Monks already get Evasion (for Dex) and Diamond Soul to make their saving throws more potent. I could see it being cast in advance if you (the player) forsee a dangerous situation occurring within the next minute, but otherwise I imagine it would go unused. Maybe there could be some other saving throw bonus, like a limited-use reaction ability to roll your Martial Arts Die and add it to a saving throw.
Spot Weakness. I think it would make more sense if the damage die was tied to your Martial Arts Die rather than being a flat d6. As it stands, making two attacks each with an extra 1d6+Wis damage is arguably worse at higher levels when you could instead be making four attacks that each deal 1d8/1d10+Dex damage. Additionally, I feel that Stunning Strike is already a very strong ability so I am not sure it needs to be applied more easily. Perhaps the rider effect could be something like "if you hit the target with an unarmed strike, it has disadvantage on saving throws for on ability of your choice until the start of your next turn." This could either be used to help set up your allies debilitating effects or you could still use it to weaken con saves for stunning strike if thats the route you wanted to.
A Hundred Eyes. This ability feels stronger than True Seeing and you can activate it for only 1 ki. I would consider raising the ki cost
Future Sight. A free 9th level spell every day feels very potent, especially for a martial character that does not get access to spellcasting. Since they already get immunity to surprise at level 3, maybe you could grant them certain benefits of Foresight a la carte, without giving them all of it.
Overall, great entry. Well done
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Third Eye. I think the addition of Resistance is thematically on point, but I am not sure it lends itself to being very useful mechanically. Monks already get Evasion (for Dex) and Diamond Soul to make their saving throws more potent. I could see it being cast in advance if you (the player) forsee a dangerous situation occurring within the next minute, but otherwise I imagine it would go unused. Maybe there could be some other saving throw bonus, like a limited-use reaction ability to roll your Martial Arts Die and add it to a saving throw.
Spot Weakness. I think it would make more sense if the damage die was tied to your Martial Arts Die rather than being a flat d6. As it stands, making two attacks each with an extra 1d6+Wis damage is arguably worse at higher levels when you could instead be making four attacks that each deal 1d8/1d10+Dex damage. Additionally, I feel that Stunning Strike is already a very strong ability so I am not sure it needs to be applied more easily. Perhaps the rider effect could be something like "if you hit the target with an unarmed strike, it has disadvantage on saving throws for on ability of your choice until the start of your next turn." This could either be used to help set up your allies debilitating effects or you could still use it to weaken con saves for stunning strike if thats the route you wanted to.
A Hundred Eyes. This ability feels stronger than True Seeing and you can activate it for only 1 ki. I would consider raising the ki cost
Future Sight. A free 9th level spell every day feels very potent, especially for a martial character that does not get access to spellcasting. Since they already get immunity to surprise at level 3, maybe you could grant them certain benefits of Foresight a la carte, without giving them all of it.
Overall, great entry. Well done
Thanks for this. I agree about Spot Weakness, I knew the flavour I wanted for that ability but couldn't decide on the mechanics. First I was just going to give them concentration-free hunter's mark, but that made the whole class just "here's some divinations spells" which felt really bland. MA die + Wis damage boost is definitely better, but not worth sacrificing 2 attacks for, 1 round of saving throw DA could work but TBH I think it's more powerful than DA vs Stunning Strike. Hm... I need to think about it a bit more...
Third Eye also was mainly the Augury but it felt empty as a feature with just that, so I threw in the two flavourful cantrips as well - and hey, maybe in One D&D Resistance will be good!
Re: A Hundred Eyes & Future Sight : True Seeing is 1 hour so would cost 6 ki to replicate with that ability, and TBH martials don't get the breadth of utility casters do, so IMO those they do get should be more powerful than those of casters. And honestly Future Sight is at a level that every caster gets a 9th level spell everyday with the flexibility to pick from many options (and even for Foresight itself the flexibility to cast it on whomever they choose) so why shouldn't a martial get one as well? - though with all the flexibility removed. Monk in that weird not-quite-a-martial but not-a-caster class that really needs more cool stuff to do with their ki-magic at higher levels. I'd be really curious to see how these actually works out in play - how useful / powerful are they really?
Here's another thing that kind of fits under DM Options. I sadly, didn't really write out the mechanics for it when I originally ran it but here's what I can remember:
The House of Good Judgement
The House of Good Judgement is the court house next to the University of Falsehoods and Deception, in the city of Grenpoli, in plane of Maladomini. It is the location any mortal petitioner must go, if they wish to dispute or have voided any Infernal Contract. As one would expect with all things devilish, while the court has rules and follows them, anything not explicitly forbidden by those rules is fair game to tip the ruling in one side's favour or the other.
Rules:
The Judge, jury, and legal representation cannot be harmed, and all weapons must be handed over upon entering the House. And Magic cannot be performed inside the House.
All physical evidence must be presented for inspection by court officials.
All witnesses must be present in the House in order to testify.
Both the prosecutor and defense must verbally communicate their arguments to the jury, and any order by the Judge must be followed.
The Judge must be an independent third party with no relationship to either the prosecutor or defense.
Up to 5 individuals can speak on either side's behalf as part of their legal team.
Contesting a Contract
To contest a contract before the House of Good Judgement, the players must complete a Very Hard to Impossible difficulty skill challenge. There are three phases (rounds) that build on one another:
Researching how the court works, Players can (among others):
Identify and fill out the appropriate paperwork to petition the contract. (required to progress)
Learn identity of their opponent, judge and jury, as well as personal details about them.
Learn the rules above.
Find lawyers or legal scholars to help them prepare arguments.
Preparing their case, Players can (among others):
Collect / fabricate evidence.
Find / coerce witnesses.
Try to influence the Judge or Jury
Formulate arguments.
Arguing the case, involves:
Opening arguments
Questioning witnesses
Preparing counter arguments
Closing statements
I used DCs from 25-28 for each round and required 10/12 successes for them to succeed in having the contract overturned.
Okay, as a quick note I made a few changes to my PC submission
Precision Attack -> Primal Concentration. I realized while thinking about it why "precision attack" felt so familiar. Its a Battlemaster maneuver, lol. My effect was practically the same too. So I wanted to try and come up with something more unique to the Ranger while maintaining the same goal of more precise attacks. One complaint I have heard about rangers is that too many of their spells require concentration. Primal Concentration turns that detriment into a benefit, allowing you to add the level of spell slot to your attack rolls while concentrating on the spell. This synergizes very well with spells like Ensnaring Strike or Flame Arrows which act to enhance your weapon attacks to begin with.
Guiding Marksmanship. Made a few tweaks here to try and set the mark apart from just being Champion Fighter ability at 11th level for you and your friends. As a sort of "feedback" effect, I added that the mark vanishes if another creature scores a critical hit against the targeted and that you can use your reaction to make an additional weapon attack. This is meant to open up the possibility of an extra attack and a way to apply the mark to a new target. Altered the feature so that the mark remains indefinitely and you can mark a creature more than once. The mark(s) only vanish once a critical hit is scored against the target. This will allow the Ranger to have multiple marked targets at once or really hammer down the party's crit chance against a single target while also ensuring that any marked target will only suffer one critical hit due to the mark.
I would appreciate some feedback on these new/altered features
For the PC options, I was going to make a Beholder Warlock, but it sounds like someone else might be doing that, which is fine because I am horrible at making subclasses.
So instead I made this spell, which can either make one hideous to behold, or a beauty beyond compare. I haven't really made many homebrew spells, so I would definitely like feedback on it, also let me know if the link works because I always have trouble with that.
For the PC options, I was going to make a Beholder Warlock, but it sounds like someone else might be doing that, which is fine because I am horrible at making subclasses.
So instead I made this spell, which can either make one hideous to behold, or a beauty beyond compare. I haven't really made many homebrew spells, so I would definitely like feedback on it, also let me know if the link works because I always have trouble with that.
Great! I will look at it later and add it to the list. After I add it to the list, let me know if you make any updates so I can update the link in the original post
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Here is a weird thing, that came to me while thinking about a horror-themed game:
PC-Option
Feat: Extra Eyes
You have been exposed to strange mutagenic Eldritch magic, or perhaps you dabbled with arcane or alchemical experiments that has physically changed you. Whatever the cause, extra eyes have sprouted all over your body. You can control these eyes and can see what they see. You decide whether they are open or closed, if you are in combat you decide this at the start of each of your turns. If the eyes are closed you gain no benefits and experience no risks of this feat. While the eyes are open you gain the following benefits and risks:
Benefits:
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks
You have advantage on Initiative checks.
If you can cast spells, the range of those spells increases by 30 ft if their range is at least 10 ft already.
You learn the following spells: Cause Fear, Catapult, Ice Spike, Charm Person. You can cast each spell once without expending a spellslot and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest, you can also cast these spells with any spellslots you have. You use Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as your spellcasting ability you choose when you select this feat.
Risks:
You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks
You have disadvantage on saving throws against radiant damage or against the blind condition.
For the PC options, I was going to make a Beholder Warlock, but it sounds like someone else might be doing that, which is fine because I am horrible at making subclasses.
So instead I made this spell, which can either make one hideous to behold, or a beauty beyond compare. I haven't really made many homebrew spells, so I would definitely like feedback on it, also let me know if the link works because I always have trouble with that.
Edit: I had to fix a tooltip so this is the new link. I hope this works. Editing published stuff is confusing.
This is really neat!! It's not so much a balance thing as a flavor thing, but I personally think it would be really neat if the beauty effect had a thing like the Narcissus myth, where if the target catches sight of their reflection, they must succeed on a WIS saving throw or be incapacitated for some amount of time, enthralled as they are with their own reflection.
Here is a weird thing, that came to me while thinking about a horror-themed game:
PC-Option
Feat: Extra Eyes
You have been exposed to strange mutagenic Eldritch magic, or perhaps you dabbled with arcane or alchemical experiments that has physically changed you. Whatever the cause, extra eyes have sprouted all over your body. You can control these eyes and can see what they see. You decide whether they are open or closed, if you are in combat you decide this at the start of each of your turns. If the eyes are closed you gain no benefits and experience no risks of this feat. While the eyes are open you gain the following benefits and risks:
Benefits:
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks
You have advantage on Initiative checks.
If you can cast spells, the range of those spells increases by 30 ft if their range is at least 10 ft already.
You learn the following spells: Cause Fear, Catapult, Ice Spike, Charm Person. You can cast each spell once without expending a spellslot and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest, you can also cast these spells with any spellslots you have. You use Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as your spellcasting ability you choose when you select this feat.
Risks:
You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks
You have disadvantage on saving throws against radiant damage or against the blind condition.
Seems like a unique idea. That being said, you already submitted the Monk Subclass for the PC option. You can only have one entry per category so youd have to choose between this and the subclass
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For the PC options, I was going to make a Beholder Warlock, but it sounds like someone else might be doing that, which is fine because I am horrible at making subclasses.
So instead I made this spell, which can either make one hideous to behold, or a beauty beyond compare. I haven't really made many homebrew spells, so I would definitely like feedback on it, also let me know if the link works because I always have trouble with that.
Edit: I had to fix a tooltip so this is the new link. I hope this works. Editing published stuff is confusing.
This is really neat!! It's not so much a balance thing as a flavor thing, but I personally think it would be really neat if the beauty effect had a thing like the Narcissus myth, where if the target catches sight of their reflection, they must succeed on a WIS saving throw or be incapacitated for some amount of time, enthralled as they are with their own reflection.
Thanks, I really like that Narcissus idea and will probably add that. Would it make it more balanced if the target of the horrific appearance option had to use a reaction when someone looked at them to petrify them, instead of practically copying the medusa's horrific appearance trait? I am not sure if that makes sense, but I would like to try to make it more balanced if possible. I haven't really worked on homebrew spells before so I am expecting this to have a lot of flaws.
I already submitted something for the PC option, but I got some inspiration for a silly eye-based spell during a session I was playing in tonight. If someone wants to run with it and develop it for their own submission, feel free. The idea is that its something like Bigby's Hand thematically, but its main purpose is to try and poke people's eyes. The super magical benefit would be something like it can "poke" out special senses, like Truesight, and truly blind even the most perceptive of creatures
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Here is a weird thing, that came to me while thinking about a horror-themed game:
PC-Option
Feat: Extra Eyes
You have been exposed to strange mutagenic Eldritch magic, or perhaps you dabbled with arcane or alchemical experiments that has physically changed you. Whatever the cause, extra eyes have sprouted all over your body. You can control these eyes and can see what they see. You decide whether they are open or closed, if you are in combat you decide this at the start of each of your turns. If the eyes are closed you gain no benefits and experience no risks of this feat. While the eyes are open you gain the following benefits and risks:
Benefits:
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks
You have advantage on Initiative checks.
If you can cast spells, the range of those spells increases by 30 ft if their range is at least 10 ft already.
You learn the following spells: Cause Fear, Catapult, Ice Spike, Charm Person. You can cast each spell once without expending a spellslot and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest, you can also cast these spells with any spellslots you have. You use Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as your spellcasting ability you choose when you select this feat.
Risks:
You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks
You have disadvantage on saving throws against radiant damage or against the blind condition.
That is an interesting idea, but it seems a little over powered. It gives you four spells, while other feats only give you 2 or three at most, and I don't understand why a creature with a bunch of weird eyes would get spells like ice knife and catapult. Also about the spells, charm person gives you advantage on charisma checks, while having the eyes open gives you disadvantage on those same checks, which cancel each other out. I get that you gave them risks to balance out all the advantages, but I don't think the risks fully do so. There are so many advantages that the risks aren't a big deal. This wouldn't completely solve the problem, but maybe add vulnerability to radiant damage, and/or make it so that when you take radiant damage, you also have to roll a saving throw to see if your blinded.
It is an interesting idea, and these are just suggestions, so I hope they help but I understand if they are not what you had in mind.
We are now almost two weeks into the competition, so Id say its time for an update.
There are currently 3 entries for Letter of the Law, 4 entries for Windows to the Soul, and none for a House of Cards. There is still plenty of time to get your entries in and receive feedback from the community before voting begins.
Also, as a reminder for those of you who have participated before, the Inspiration category has been changed out for the Interactive category which now allows for smaller homebrew projects like puzzles, NPCs, and terrain to be put forward.
I look forward to what everyone comes up with moving forward
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For the interactive option, I would like to submit a homebrew faction/organization. While it does mention a few examples of places that would work, I tried to keep it setting agnostic so that it could be used in a homebrew world.
Ordo Chartae
Ordo Chartae is a secretive order with only fifty-two members, called Card Carriers, who each have different specific skills they use to advance the Ordo's influence. The organization is split into four Suits which each specialize in specific skills. The Suits are:
Hearts- Ordo members in the Hearts Suit specialize in social affairs and are the front of the organization.They often have strong political influence and most of them spend time among rich merchants and wealthy nobles.
Clubs- The Clubs are the masters of combat and are the brute force of the Ordo. When the Ordo needs someone to attack or defend something, or if they need to enforce their orders with violence, then they call in Clubs operatives.
Diamonds- Those of the Diamond suit are much more subtle than those of the Clubs. They are masters of infiltration and thievery, and could be anyone that you meet, from the beggar, to the barmaid, to the cobbler in your village.
Spades- The Spades operatives are researchers and/or keepers of magic. They collect knowledge and are who the Ordo uses when arcane matters are at hand.
Goals. The Ordo's goals are often not clear to those they interact with. They seek power and influence, they want the ability to cause and change things in the world for the better, or at least for their betterment, without always having to step out in the open and be seen influencing the turnout of important events. They want control, but they do not care if those they control know they are in control. They often interact with other criminal organizations, but those they work with are often unaware of their motives or even who they are.
The Ordo wants to decide who wins and who loses. They want to pick which businesses succeed and which ones fail, they want to say who returns victorious after a war, and who goes down in history as hero and villain. They want to choose who lives and who dies.
Because of that nature, some people who have discovered that they exist provide them with bribes and favors in order to be ignored or even helped, but not all Ordo Chartae members are true to their word.
Individual operatives may not have a strong desire for influence and power. Some might just be drawn in because the Ordo has the means to obtain their desires, or because they have separate goals from the rest of the faction but the group is the best and/or only way to achieve those goals. Even though some may not be completely in line with the Ordo's objective, anyone who joins Ordo Chartae can never leave Ordo Chartae alive.
Structure. Ordo Chartae has a sort of hierarchy based around a certain magic item that the Ordo owns called the Master Deck (detailed below). The Ordo is led by a council of Card Carriers that consists of three members from each Suit. There are the Kings and Queens of each Suit who are influential members of the society and serve as both leaders and advisors to the Aces, who are the ultimate heads of the Suits. The Aces run the whole faction and have the most power. Below those three are the Jacks, who are elite operatives who carry out the orders of each Queen, King, and Ace. The Jacks have the ability to order the other operatives around, but for the most part, they carry out the most important missions of their own Suits on their own.
The other Card Carriers carry out the commands of their authorities and each specializes in a certain skill that fits into their suit and is useful for the Ordo Chartae.
Most Card Carriers have lives outside of the faction, though the Ordo must come first, and many are well known figures in the world or are seemingly normal citizens.
Each Card Carrier carries a single card from the Master Deck and that card defines who they are in the Ordo. The cards are their identification, badge, and tool that they keep on themselves at all times. For example, the Queen of Spades could be a powerful magician in Candlekeep who always carries a queen of spades card on her and when speaking with another Ordo Chartae member, she is referred to by them as the Queen of Spades, and if she is meeting with a smuggler who also happens to be a Ordo Chartae Card Carrier who has a Six of Diamonds, she will refer to him as Six of Diamonds. All Ordo members know of the other Ordo members, speak thieve's cant, and they all have proficiency in a deck of cards. Some Ordo members might carry a normal deck of cards and they hide their Ordo Chartae card inside it to conceal their identity.
The Master Deck.
Wondrous Item, Legendary, (requires attunement from a Creature with Proficiency in a Deck of Cards, up to 52 people can be attuned to this item at a time and they must have a card from the deck on them to stay attuned)
The Master Deck gives you expertise in sleight of hand, insight, and deception checks to all who are attuned to it.
If a creature attuned to the Master Deck has a card from the deck on their person, they gain the following benefits depending on which cards they have:
- Hearts, those of the Hearts Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Charisma checks and saving throws.
- Clubs, those of the Clubs Suit gain a +1 bonus to all attack and damage rolls they make.
- Diamonds, those of the Diamonds Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Dexterity ability checks and saving throws.
- Spades, those of the Spades Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Spell attack rolls and saving throws.
If someone holds the full master deck, they gain all the benefits of each suit and the bonuses become +3 instead of plus one.
If someone is attuned to the deck and is holding an Ace, they can use an action to open a rift that allows them to see and communicate verbally with one other Card Carrier or the other three Ace holders. This lasts for up to an hour or until an Ace holder ends it without using an action. This can be done three times a day and the Deck regains all uses at dawn.
The Ace holders can also use an action to summon another Card Carrier who then appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the Ace holder. This teleportation automatically fails if either of the Card Carriers involved in the summoning is on a different plane of existence from the other Card Carrier.
Example Card Carriers. There are many Card Carriers who are a part of the Ordo Chartae. The following is a list of example Card Carriers that could be used, the dungeon master can fill in the rest with their own operatives and/or swap out the samples with their own.
The Aces:
The Ace of Hearts- The Ace of Hearts is a traveling tiefling racaraide, a renowned and feared bard who journeys across the lands and can give a man great renown and honor with a ballad of their glory, or tear down their reputation with a song of their vile nature. This Racaraide is known as Aulaud the Praiser, though he is known as the Ruiner by others. Men and women of high status and importance dread and respect him for he has caused the downfall of nations by ridiculing the rulers and causing their people to lose faith in them. He has also elevated Lords to such renown that they have gained eternal respect and honor by his praise. Wherever he travels, he is offered free room to sleep in for as long as he likes, and is given as much food and drink as he wants, in an attempt to please him and gain his favor.
The Ace of Clubs- On the outskirts of a small town the Ace of Clubs dwells. He is a man named Hreimer, he lives in a tiny hut by a small stream and he appears to have aged beyond reckoning. He was once a mighty warrior of great strength who waded into war and bloodshed eagerly, slaughtering any foes who dared to oppose him. All the death he caused took a toll on him and a fear of death gripped his being. He couldn't sleep for fear of what would be waiting for him after his death. He learned of a magical ring that could grant you everlasting life and three chances to wish for anything his heart desired. After a long and arduous quest, he discovered the ring. He read the inscription and found that the ring could grant him anything he wanted three times, and as long as he wore the ring he would never die, but once he used up the last wish, the ring would lose its life sustaining powers. As he lived on, he found his strength begin to diminish as he aged. So he wished to never lose the strength of his youth as he aged. He went on to fall in love, but the woman he loved was killed by his enemies. In his rage he wished them dead, and they were. This left him alone with either one wish and the chance to return his love to him, or to live on for eternity. Thousands of years have passed and they reveal his choice. He is now an unimaginably old man with the strength of a mighty warrior and one wish. Over this long time, his fear of death has dwindled, and he may now use his wish up at the right opportunity to aid the Ordo Chartae.
The Ace of Diamonds- Kendrick Quickflick is a halfling gambler and also happens to be the Ace of Diamonds. Kendrick haunts the dark streets of any major city that has folk who are ready to put their luck to the test. He has earned major amounts of money through gambling and seems to have a supernatural level of luck. Kendrick once met a devil who challenged him to a gambling game for his soul. He won, and now carries a pack of fiend-possessed cards that he uses to escape sticky situations. Not much is known about his history, and the tales he tells are often taller than he is (though that isn't hard). Quickflick has grown bored with most high stakes gambling games, and so he looks for ways to spice them up. He will often study those that he will play against long before they even know he exists, and then he will come up and make them a bet they cannot refuse. From those days of studying his opponents Kendrick knows exactly what they desire most in the world, and he will offer to play them, but for very high stakes. Sometimes it's to the death, sometimes he uses his Ordo Chartae connections to destroy them in other ways, but his gambling always benefits Ordo Chartae.
The Ace of Spades- The Ace of Spades goes by that name and is a powerful practitioner of the arcane arts. She has immersed herself in eldritch studies for so long that most people cannot even understand her speech because it is a scrambled mixture of words from every language ever spoken. She dwells in a tower on the edge of reality that shifts to different planes of existence randomly and can only reliably be found at daybreak. She is constantly monitoring the other Ordo Chartae members through scrying devices, and all Card Carriers know that she might be watching them at any minute.
The Jacks:
Jack of Hearts- The Jack of Hearts is a nobleman who appears in royal courts unannounced to influence and observe events of importance. He owes a debt to the Ace of Hearts, but only him and the Ace know what it is. Because of that debt, he is honor bound to obey the Ace's every command, and his appearance in a court heralds a major event in history, though not many notice his arrival. He is always dressed in fine garments embroidered in spade, heart, diamond and club symbols. He also wears a black eye patch bearing the heart symbol and he is skilled in the use of a rapier.
Jack of Clubs- The Jack of Clubs is a bounty hunter of great skill and precision. He would be hired for any important mission, if it wasn't for the fact that he would abandon any task immediately if he was ever needed by the Ordo Chartae. His weapon of choice is a mace with a Clubs symbol as the head.
Jack of Diamonds- The Jack of Diamonds is a master thief and assassin who often gathers the information that the Ace of diamonds needs. He wears almost all black except eleven red diamonds are placed around his costume. He leaves his calling card, a jack of diamonds card, whenever he pulls off a mission and he is considered to be a legend by most people who blame any misplaced or unexplainable stolen object on him. They are not often wrong.
Jack of Spades- The Jack of Spades is a powerful magician who travels through halls of learning, researching lore that may aid the Ordo's plans, and when needed, altering the records to better Ordo Chartae's designs. Whenever the faction faces an otherworldly threat, the Jack of Spades is the first to arrive and he often imprisons creatures of magic in a tome of darkness in order to control them. He can then call on them and force them to serve him for a short period before granting them their freedom. He his constant contact with otherworldly forces have driven him insane and he is a dangerous foe who might summon a horde of fiends to terrorize someone who angers him.
Other Card Carriers:
Threster Vanderbert- There is an inn and tavern called The Four of Hearts Inn run by a Ordo Chartae Card Carrier named Threster Vanderbert whose card is the Four of Hearts. He carefully collects and spreads rumors and gossip, influencing what others think about other businesses and people, and he is a master at collecting real information from rumors and stories told by those that come to his establishment. He provides free room and board for any Card Carrier that arrives at his inn.
Gronador Gutripper- The Eight of Clubs was once a bloodthirsty orc who desired to control and
conquer all he looked upon. He became the chieftain of several clans and in order to gain more power, he slew a dragon and completed a ritual that would transform him into a Half-dragon warrior. Gronador lacked the ability to hold his kingdom together and maintain his power, so all that he had accomplished fell apart. The Ordo Chartae heard of his combat prowess however and having an opening, they came to him with the offer of control and power. He accepted and serves the Ordo as one of its mighty warriors who they call upon when brute force is necessary. When not wading through war to turn the tides in the Ordo's favor, Gutripper dwells in a secluded mountain cave where he guards his treasures and hones his strength and might so that he may be ready when the need for battle may arise.
Toliver Safekeep- The Three of Diamonds is a tiny yet well respected gnome locksmith. He runs a shop that is known for its masterfully crafted locks and bolts perfectly suited for keeping treasures safe. What most people don't know is that this gnome has crafted each lock he makes in a special way so that any Card Carrier that has spoken with him can pick the lock with ease.
Arhentut- The Ten of Spades is a powerful mummified mage who has awakened from death. The magic that sustains his mummified form will be lost if he ever leaves his pyramid, so he creates magical constructs and summons spirits to leave his life sustaining prison and perform tasks for him in the outside world. He took over a nearby desert kingdom, claiming to be its ancient and rightful king who has returned from the dead, and the people there now serve him as slaves and bring him all he desires. The Ordo Chartae contacted him and through them he has now been able to expand his reach much further but in more subtle ways. He provides the Ordo with many long forgotten secrets and spells and he also keeps a prison in the bottom of the pyramid where he imprisons those who have angered the Ordo Chartae.
Victorina Lovacastron, the Queen of Hearts- The Queen of Hearts is a real world queen whose kingdom rests on a fey crossing. The proximity to the strange magic has driven her slightly mad, but that actually helps when negotiating with the fey. She has made many pacts and deals with fey beings, using them to aid the Ordo Chartae's goals.
Vigilon Tonkson- The Nine of Clubs is a captain of the city guard in a major city. Using his influence, he can hunt down criminals much more easily, and when an Ordo Chartae member needs to go outside the law, he is willing to look the other way. He has joined the Ordo Chartae in an attempt to use the power he gains there to better protect the city he guards, and he tries to stay unaware of the Ordo’s less legal actions.
The Creachers- The Eight of Diamonds card is held by a "family" of robbers, murderers, and thieves known as the Creachers. They are not all related by blood and consider anyone who joins their group as a part of the Creacher family. They live mostly out in the wilds near well traveled roads and often steal from travelers. The Card Carrier that holds the Eight of Diamonds is the leader of the group and the only real member of Ordo Chartae. Any Creacher can become the Eight of Diamonds if they manage to steal the card from the current Eight of Diamonds without being caught. They then have the right to command the other Creachers, but they also have to protect the card or have their position stolen from them. Any Creacher who fails in an attempt to steal the card is horribly punished, sometimes to the point of death. The current Creacher is a thug named Snarlclaw who is a dangerous and deadly brute who rules the Creachers with an iron fist. The Creachers are all loyal to the Ordo Chartae, and often commit crimes on their behalf.
The Executioner- The Ten of Spades is known as the Executioner. He can magically shift his appearance into any form he desires, usually taking on the appearance of a hangman or other executioner. Sometimes, an Ordo Chartae member gets caught doing something illegal, and it is often simplest for the Ordo to allow them to be put to death. The caught Card Carrier does not fear however, for they know that the Executioner will be there. The Ten of Spades has many magical tricks to cause all onlookers to believe they just saw a man’s death, but in reality that man has just walked away and out the door, or might be in a magical, death-like coma and will be awakened by the Executioner later on. They might go as far as to bury the Ordo Chartae member, but the Executioner will faithfully dig them out of their grave and return them to life. He can rescue an Ordo member who has died recently, by temporarily crossing over into the Domain of the Dead and chasing after the lost soul, but if they have been gone for too long, the Executioner has no ability to return them to life. However, he is practiced in the arts of necromancy and can bring many creatures to a state of undeath and use them as his servants.
Ordo Chartae and the Players-
If the Dungeon Master is willing to have the characters play Ordo Chartae characters, the following list shows where most classes fit into the structure.
Tasha’s Cauldron’s rules on Group Patrons can also be used for the Ordo Chartae. Suggested Patrons include the Academy, Aristocrat, Crime Syndicate, Military Force, or the Monarch.
The following is a list of story ideas involving the Ordo Chartae:
-The party finds that wherever they go, they are treated poorly and looked down upon. Then, an Ordo Chartae member contacts them, claiming to be the source of their ruined reputations and will restore their name if they obey them.
-The Ace of Diamonds challenges the players to a high stakes gambling match. If they win, they receive the one thing they can’t turn down, if they fail, their lives are forfeit.
-The party attempts to do something, (start a business, find or buy an item, aid someone) and they discover that the Ordo is hampering their every attempt, having decided that they will fail, and the Ordo must either be confronted head on, or appeased in order to succeed.
-The party hears of the Ordo’s plans to overthrow a political figure that they support and they must work against the Ordo to save the kingdom from the horrible ruler the Ordo would appoint.
- The Ordo offers the party a position in their ranks, but first they must prove themselves by completing an important challenge or task.
- An NPC has angered the Ordo and finds that a mysterious force is subtly attacking them, ruining every attempt at success, and they try to hire the party to figure out what is happening and put a stop to it.
You raise good points. I’ll consider this.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
This is an interesting alternate take, but it feels like too little to me. At the point you get it, you get 2-3 uses all day. Turning 2-3 misses per day into hits would be fine, but this isn't that. You could roll a 1 or you could use it on something that has a much higher AC than you anticipated. Having two daily uses of something and those uses sometimes doing nothing is a huge bummer in play.
I'd either make this more frequent or (preferably) more reliable. Maybe you get +WIS to your attack instead of 1d6. Maybe you get another use if you begin an encounter with no uses. Maybe you get another rider benefit that helps you whether you hit or miss (half damage on a miss?). Just something to shore up the chances that your feature does nothing.
Otherwise I think its a really cool subclass!
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I like the idea of adding a rider effect to make it a little bit better, so Ill toy around with that, as I agree its a bit underwhelming as it currently is. The main reason I do not want to just make it +WIS to attack is that that is partially similar to the existing Foe Slayer ability all rangers get.
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Here's another player option, this time a subclass for Monk:
Great subclass, here is my feedback
Third Eye. I think the addition of Resistance is thematically on point, but I am not sure it lends itself to being very useful mechanically. Monks already get Evasion (for Dex) and Diamond Soul to make their saving throws more potent. I could see it being cast in advance if you (the player) forsee a dangerous situation occurring within the next minute, but otherwise I imagine it would go unused. Maybe there could be some other saving throw bonus, like a limited-use reaction ability to roll your Martial Arts Die and add it to a saving throw.
Spot Weakness. I think it would make more sense if the damage die was tied to your Martial Arts Die rather than being a flat d6. As it stands, making two attacks each with an extra 1d6+Wis damage is arguably worse at higher levels when you could instead be making four attacks that each deal 1d8/1d10+Dex damage. Additionally, I feel that Stunning Strike is already a very strong ability so I am not sure it needs to be applied more easily. Perhaps the rider effect could be something like "if you hit the target with an unarmed strike, it has disadvantage on saving throws for on ability of your choice until the start of your next turn." This could either be used to help set up your allies debilitating effects or you could still use it to weaken con saves for stunning strike if thats the route you wanted to.
A Hundred Eyes. This ability feels stronger than True Seeing and you can activate it for only 1 ki. I would consider raising the ki cost
Future Sight. A free 9th level spell every day feels very potent, especially for a martial character that does not get access to spellcasting. Since they already get immunity to surprise at level 3, maybe you could grant them certain benefits of Foresight a la carte, without giving them all of it.
Overall, great entry. Well done
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Thanks for this. I agree about Spot Weakness, I knew the flavour I wanted for that ability but couldn't decide on the mechanics. First I was just going to give them concentration-free hunter's mark, but that made the whole class just "here's some divinations spells" which felt really bland. MA die + Wis damage boost is definitely better, but not worth sacrificing 2 attacks for, 1 round of saving throw DA could work but TBH I think it's more powerful than DA vs Stunning Strike. Hm... I need to think about it a bit more...
Third Eye also was mainly the Augury but it felt empty as a feature with just that, so I threw in the two flavourful cantrips as well - and hey, maybe in One D&D Resistance will be good!
Re: A Hundred Eyes & Future Sight : True Seeing is 1 hour so would cost 6 ki to replicate with that ability, and TBH martials don't get the breadth of utility casters do, so IMO those they do get should be more powerful than those of casters. And honestly Future Sight is at a level that every caster gets a 9th level spell everyday with the flexibility to pick from many options (and even for Foresight itself the flexibility to cast it on whomever they choose) so why shouldn't a martial get one as well? - though with all the flexibility removed. Monk in that weird not-quite-a-martial but not-a-caster class that really needs more cool stuff to do with their ki-magic at higher levels. I'd be really curious to see how these actually works out in play - how useful / powerful are they really?
Here's another thing that kind of fits under DM Options. I sadly, didn't really write out the mechanics for it when I originally ran it but here's what I can remember:
The House of Good Judgement
The House of Good Judgement is the court house next to the University of Falsehoods and Deception, in the city of Grenpoli, in plane of Maladomini. It is the location any mortal petitioner must go, if they wish to dispute or have voided any Infernal Contract. As one would expect with all things devilish, while the court has rules and follows them, anything not explicitly forbidden by those rules is fair game to tip the ruling in one side's favour or the other.
Rules:
Contesting a Contract
To contest a contract before the House of Good Judgement, the players must complete a Very Hard to Impossible difficulty skill challenge. There are three phases (rounds) that build on one another:
I used DCs from 25-28 for each round and required 10/12 successes for them to succeed in having the contract overturned.
Okay, as a quick note I made a few changes to my PC submission
Precision Attack -> Primal Concentration. I realized while thinking about it why "precision attack" felt so familiar. Its a Battlemaster maneuver, lol. My effect was practically the same too. So I wanted to try and come up with something more unique to the Ranger while maintaining the same goal of more precise attacks. One complaint I have heard about rangers is that too many of their spells require concentration. Primal Concentration turns that detriment into a benefit, allowing you to add the level of spell slot to your attack rolls while concentrating on the spell. This synergizes very well with spells like Ensnaring Strike or Flame Arrows which act to enhance your weapon attacks to begin with.
Guiding Mark
smanship. Made a few tweaks here to try and set the mark apart from just being Champion Fighter ability at 11th level for you and your friends.As a sort of "feedback" effect, I added that the mark vanishes if another creature scores a critical hit against the targeted and that you can use your reaction to make an additional weapon attack. This is meant to open up the possibility of an extra attack and a way to apply the mark to a new target.Altered the feature so that the mark remains indefinitely and you can mark a creature more than once. The mark(s) only vanish once a critical hit is scored against the target. This will allow the Ranger to have multiple marked targets at once or really hammer down the party's crit chance against a single target while also ensuring that any marked target will only suffer one critical hit due to the mark.I would appreciate some feedback on these new/altered features
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For the PC options, I was going to make a Beholder Warlock, but it sounds like someone else might be doing that, which is fine because I am horrible at making subclasses.
So instead I made this spell, which can either make one hideous to behold, or a beauty beyond compare. I haven't really made many homebrew spells, so I would definitely like feedback on it, also let me know if the link works because I always have trouble with that.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/1795958-horrific-glamorous-appearance
Edit: I had to fix a tooltip so this is the new link. I hope this works. Editing published stuff is confusing.
Great! I will look at it later and add it to the list. After I add it to the list, let me know if you make any updates so I can update the link in the original post
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New version of Scopophobia ready for review and submission!
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Here is a weird thing, that came to me while thinking about a horror-themed game:
PC-Option
Feat: Extra Eyes
You have been exposed to strange mutagenic Eldritch magic, or perhaps you dabbled with arcane or alchemical experiments that has physically changed you. Whatever the cause, extra eyes have sprouted all over your body. You can control these eyes and can see what they see. You decide whether they are open or closed, if you are in combat you decide this at the start of each of your turns. If the eyes are closed you gain no benefits and experience no risks of this feat. While the eyes are open you gain the following benefits and risks:
Benefits:
Risks:
This is really neat!! It's not so much a balance thing as a flavor thing, but I personally think it would be really neat if the beauty effect had a thing like the Narcissus myth, where if the target catches sight of their reflection, they must succeed on a WIS saving throw or be incapacitated for some amount of time, enthralled as they are with their own reflection.
Updated the link on the first page
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Seems like a unique idea. That being said, you already submitted the Monk Subclass for the PC option. You can only have one entry per category so youd have to choose between this and the subclass
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Thanks, I really like that Narcissus idea and will probably add that. Would it make it more balanced if the target of the horrific appearance option had to use a reaction when someone looked at them to petrify them, instead of practically copying the medusa's horrific appearance trait? I am not sure if that makes sense, but I would like to try to make it more balanced if possible. I haven't really worked on homebrew spells before so I am expecting this to have a lot of flaws.
I already submitted something for the PC option, but I got some inspiration for a silly eye-based spell during a session I was playing in tonight. If someone wants to run with it and develop it for their own submission, feel free. The idea is that its something like Bigby's Hand thematically, but its main purpose is to try and poke people's eyes. The super magical benefit would be something like it can "poke" out special senses, like Truesight, and truly blind even the most perceptive of creatures
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That is an interesting idea, but it seems a little over powered. It gives you four spells, while other feats only give you 2 or three at most, and I don't understand why a creature with a bunch of weird eyes would get spells like ice knife and catapult. Also about the spells, charm person gives you advantage on charisma checks, while having the eyes open gives you disadvantage on those same checks, which cancel each other out. I get that you gave them risks to balance out all the advantages, but I don't think the risks fully do so. There are so many advantages that the risks aren't a big deal. This wouldn't completely solve the problem, but maybe add vulnerability to radiant damage, and/or make it so that when you take radiant damage, you also have to roll a saving throw to see if your blinded.
It is an interesting idea, and these are just suggestions, so I hope they help but I understand if they are not what you had in mind.
We are now almost two weeks into the competition, so Id say its time for an update.
There are currently 3 entries for Letter of the Law, 4 entries for Windows to the Soul, and none for a House of Cards. There is still plenty of time to get your entries in and receive feedback from the community before voting begins.
Also, as a reminder for those of you who have participated before, the Inspiration category has been changed out for the Interactive category which now allows for smaller homebrew projects like puzzles, NPCs, and terrain to be put forward.
I look forward to what everyone comes up with moving forward
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For the interactive option, I would like to submit a homebrew faction/organization. While it does mention a few examples of places that would work, I tried to keep it setting agnostic so that it could be used in a homebrew world.
Ordo Chartae
Ordo Chartae is a secretive order with only fifty-two members, called Card Carriers, who each have different specific skills they use to advance the Ordo's influence. The organization is split into four Suits which each specialize in specific skills. The Suits are:
Hearts- Ordo members in the Hearts Suit specialize in social affairs and are the front of the organization.They often have strong political influence and most of them spend time among rich merchants and wealthy nobles.
Clubs- The Clubs are the masters of combat and are the brute force of the Ordo. When the Ordo needs someone to attack or defend something, or if they need to enforce their orders with violence, then they call in Clubs operatives.
Diamonds- Those of the Diamond suit are much more subtle than those of the Clubs. They are masters of infiltration and thievery, and could be anyone that you meet, from the beggar, to the barmaid, to the cobbler in your village.
Spades- The Spades operatives are researchers and/or keepers of magic. They collect knowledge and are who the Ordo uses when arcane matters are at hand.
Goals. The Ordo's goals are often not clear to those they interact with. They seek power and influence, they want the ability to cause and change things in the world for the better, or at least for their betterment, without always having to step out in the open and be seen influencing the turnout of important events. They want control, but they do not care if those they control know they are in control. They often interact with other criminal organizations, but those they work with are often unaware of their motives or even who they are.
The Ordo wants to decide who wins and who loses. They want to pick which businesses succeed and which ones fail, they want to say who returns victorious after a war, and who goes down in history as hero and villain. They want to choose who lives and who dies.
Because of that nature, some people who have discovered that they exist provide them with bribes and favors in order to be ignored or even helped, but not all Ordo Chartae members are true to their word.
Individual operatives may not have a strong desire for influence and power. Some might just be drawn in because the Ordo has the means to obtain their desires, or because they have separate goals from the rest of the faction but the group is the best and/or only way to achieve those goals. Even though some may not be completely in line with the Ordo's objective, anyone who joins Ordo Chartae can never leave Ordo Chartae alive.
Structure. Ordo Chartae has a sort of hierarchy based around a certain magic item that the Ordo owns called the Master Deck (detailed below). The Ordo is led by a council of Card Carriers that consists of three members from each Suit. There are the Kings and Queens of each Suit who are influential members of the society and serve as both leaders and advisors to the Aces, who are the ultimate heads of the Suits. The Aces run the whole faction and have the most power. Below those three are the Jacks, who are elite operatives who carry out the orders of each Queen, King, and Ace. The Jacks have the ability to order the other operatives around, but for the most part, they carry out the most important missions of their own Suits on their own.
The other Card Carriers carry out the commands of their authorities and each specializes in a certain skill that fits into their suit and is useful for the Ordo Chartae.
Most Card Carriers have lives outside of the faction, though the Ordo must come first, and many are well known figures in the world or are seemingly normal citizens.
Each Card Carrier carries a single card from the Master Deck and that card defines who they are in the Ordo. The cards are their identification, badge, and tool that they keep on themselves at all times. For example, the Queen of Spades could be a powerful magician in Candlekeep who always carries a queen of spades card on her and when speaking with another Ordo Chartae member, she is referred to by them as the Queen of Spades, and if she is meeting with a smuggler who also happens to be a Ordo Chartae Card Carrier who has a Six of Diamonds, she will refer to him as Six of Diamonds. All Ordo members know of the other Ordo members, speak thieve's cant, and they all have proficiency in a deck of cards. Some Ordo members might carry a normal deck of cards and they hide their Ordo Chartae card inside it to conceal their identity.
The Master Deck.
Wondrous Item, Legendary, (requires attunement from a Creature with Proficiency in a Deck of Cards, up to 52 people can be attuned to this item at a time and they must have a card from the deck on them to stay attuned)
The Master Deck gives you expertise in sleight of hand, insight, and deception checks to all who are attuned to it.
If a creature attuned to the Master Deck has a card from the deck on their person, they gain the following benefits depending on which cards they have:
- Hearts, those of the Hearts Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Charisma checks and saving throws.
- Clubs, those of the Clubs Suit gain a +1 bonus to all attack and damage rolls they make.
- Diamonds, those of the Diamonds Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Dexterity ability checks and saving throws.
- Spades, those of the Spades Suit gain a +1 bonus to all Spell attack rolls and saving throws.
If someone holds the full master deck, they gain all the benefits of each suit and the bonuses become +3 instead of plus one.
If someone is attuned to the deck and is holding an Ace, they can use an action to open a rift that allows them to see and communicate verbally with one other Card Carrier or the other three Ace holders. This lasts for up to an hour or until an Ace holder ends it without using an action. This can be done three times a day and the Deck regains all uses at dawn.
The Ace holders can also use an action to summon another Card Carrier who then appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the Ace holder. This teleportation automatically fails if either of the Card Carriers involved in the summoning is on a different plane of existence from the other Card Carrier.
Example Card Carriers. There are many Card Carriers who are a part of the Ordo Chartae. The following is a list of example Card Carriers that could be used, the dungeon master can fill in the rest with their own operatives and/or swap out the samples with their own.
The Aces:
The Ace of Hearts- The Ace of Hearts is a traveling tiefling racaraide, a renowned and feared bard who journeys across the lands and can give a man great renown and honor with a ballad of their glory, or tear down their reputation with a song of their vile nature. This Racaraide is known as Aulaud the Praiser, though he is known as the Ruiner by others. Men and women of high status and importance dread and respect him for he has caused the downfall of nations by ridiculing the rulers and causing their people to lose faith in them. He has also elevated Lords to such renown that they have gained eternal respect and honor by his praise. Wherever he travels, he is offered free room to sleep in for as long as he likes, and is given as much food and drink as he wants, in an attempt to please him and gain his favor.
The Ace of Clubs- On the outskirts of a small town the Ace of Clubs dwells. He is a man named Hreimer, he lives in a tiny hut by a small stream and he appears to have aged beyond reckoning. He was once a mighty warrior of great strength who waded into war and bloodshed eagerly, slaughtering any foes who dared to oppose him. All the death he caused took a toll on him and a fear of death gripped his being. He couldn't sleep for fear of what would be waiting for him after his death. He learned of a magical ring that could grant you everlasting life and three chances to wish for anything his heart desired. After a long and arduous quest, he discovered the ring. He read the inscription and found that the ring could grant him anything he wanted three times, and as long as he wore the ring he would never die, but once he used up the last wish, the ring would lose its life sustaining powers. As he lived on, he found his strength begin to diminish as he aged. So he wished to never lose the strength of his youth as he aged. He went on to fall in love, but the woman he loved was killed by his enemies. In his rage he wished them dead, and they were. This left him alone with either one wish and the chance to return his love to him, or to live on for eternity. Thousands of years have passed and they reveal his choice. He is now an unimaginably old man with the strength of a mighty warrior and one wish. Over this long time, his fear of death has dwindled, and he may now use his wish up at the right opportunity to aid the Ordo Chartae.
The Ace of Diamonds- Kendrick Quickflick is a halfling gambler and also happens to be the Ace of Diamonds. Kendrick haunts the dark streets of any major city that has folk who are ready to put their luck to the test. He has earned major amounts of money through gambling and seems to have a supernatural level of luck. Kendrick once met a devil who challenged him to a gambling game for his soul. He won, and now carries a pack of fiend-possessed cards that he uses to escape sticky situations. Not much is known about his history, and the tales he tells are often taller than he is (though that isn't hard). Quickflick has grown bored with most high stakes gambling games, and so he looks for ways to spice them up. He will often study those that he will play against long before they even know he exists, and then he will come up and make them a bet they cannot refuse. From those days of studying his opponents Kendrick knows exactly what they desire most in the world, and he will offer to play them, but for very high stakes. Sometimes it's to the death, sometimes he uses his Ordo Chartae connections to destroy them in other ways, but his gambling always benefits Ordo Chartae.
The Ace of Spades- The Ace of Spades goes by that name and is a powerful practitioner of the arcane arts. She has immersed herself in eldritch studies for so long that most people cannot even understand her speech because it is a scrambled mixture of words from every language ever spoken. She dwells in a tower on the edge of reality that shifts to different planes of existence randomly and can only reliably be found at daybreak. She is constantly monitoring the other Ordo Chartae members through scrying devices, and all Card Carriers know that she might be watching them at any minute.
The Jacks:
Jack of Hearts- The Jack of Hearts is a nobleman who appears in royal courts unannounced to influence and observe events of importance. He owes a debt to the Ace of Hearts, but only him and the Ace know what it is. Because of that debt, he is honor bound to obey the Ace's every command, and his appearance in a court heralds a major event in history, though not many notice his arrival. He is always dressed in fine garments embroidered in spade, heart, diamond and club symbols. He also wears a black eye patch bearing the heart symbol and he is skilled in the use of a rapier.
Jack of Clubs- The Jack of Clubs is a bounty hunter of great skill and precision. He would be hired for any important mission, if it wasn't for the fact that he would abandon any task immediately if he was ever needed by the Ordo Chartae. His weapon of choice is a mace with a Clubs symbol as the head.
Jack of Diamonds- The Jack of Diamonds is a master thief and assassin who often gathers the information that the Ace of diamonds needs. He wears almost all black except eleven red diamonds are placed around his costume. He leaves his calling card, a jack of diamonds card, whenever he pulls off a mission and he is considered to be a legend by most people who blame any misplaced or unexplainable stolen object on him. They are not often wrong.
Jack of Spades- The Jack of Spades is a powerful magician who travels through halls of learning, researching lore that may aid the Ordo's plans, and when needed, altering the records to better Ordo Chartae's designs. Whenever the faction faces an otherworldly threat, the Jack of Spades is the first to arrive and he often imprisons creatures of magic in a tome of darkness in order to control them. He can then call on them and force them to serve him for a short period before granting them their freedom. He his constant contact with otherworldly forces have driven him insane and he is a dangerous foe who might summon a horde of fiends to terrorize someone who angers him.
Other Card Carriers:
Threster Vanderbert- There is an inn and tavern called The Four of Hearts Inn run by a Ordo Chartae Card Carrier named Threster Vanderbert whose card is the Four of Hearts. He carefully collects and spreads rumors and gossip, influencing what others think about other businesses and people, and he is a master at collecting real information from rumors and stories told by those that come to his establishment. He provides free room and board for any Card Carrier that arrives at his inn.
Gronador Gutripper- The Eight of Clubs was once a bloodthirsty orc who desired to control and
conquer all he looked upon. He became the chieftain of several clans and in order to gain more power, he slew a dragon and completed a ritual that would transform him into a Half-dragon warrior. Gronador lacked the ability to hold his kingdom together and maintain his power, so all that he had accomplished fell apart. The Ordo Chartae heard of his combat prowess however and having an opening, they came to him with the offer of control and power. He accepted and serves the Ordo as one of its mighty warriors who they call upon when brute force is necessary. When not wading through war to turn the tides in the Ordo's favor, Gutripper dwells in a secluded mountain cave where he guards his treasures and hones his strength and might so that he may be ready when the need for battle may arise.
Toliver Safekeep- The Three of Diamonds is a tiny yet well respected gnome locksmith. He runs a shop that is known for its masterfully crafted locks and bolts perfectly suited for keeping treasures safe. What most people don't know is that this gnome has crafted each lock he makes in a special way so that any Card Carrier that has spoken with him can pick the lock with ease.
Arhentut- The Ten of Spades is a powerful mummified mage who has awakened from death. The magic that sustains his mummified form will be lost if he ever leaves his pyramid, so he creates magical constructs and summons spirits to leave his life sustaining prison and perform tasks for him in the outside world. He took over a nearby desert kingdom, claiming to be its ancient and rightful king who has returned from the dead, and the people there now serve him as slaves and bring him all he desires. The Ordo Chartae contacted him and through them he has now been able to expand his reach much further but in more subtle ways. He provides the Ordo with many long forgotten secrets and spells and he also keeps a prison in the bottom of the pyramid where he imprisons those who have angered the Ordo Chartae.
Victorina Lovacastron, the Queen of Hearts- The Queen of Hearts is a real world queen whose kingdom rests on a fey crossing. The proximity to the strange magic has driven her slightly mad, but that actually helps when negotiating with the fey. She has made many pacts and deals with fey beings, using them to aid the Ordo Chartae's goals.
Vigilon Tonkson- The Nine of Clubs is a captain of the city guard in a major city. Using his influence, he can hunt down criminals much more easily, and when an Ordo Chartae member needs to go outside the law, he is willing to look the other way. He has joined the Ordo Chartae in an attempt to use the power he gains there to better protect the city he guards, and he tries to stay unaware of the Ordo’s less legal actions.
The Creachers- The Eight of Diamonds card is held by a "family" of robbers, murderers, and thieves known as the Creachers. They are not all related by blood and consider anyone who joins their group as a part of the Creacher family. They live mostly out in the wilds near well traveled roads and often steal from travelers. The Card Carrier that holds the Eight of Diamonds is the leader of the group and the only real member of Ordo Chartae. Any Creacher can become the Eight of Diamonds if they manage to steal the card from the current Eight of Diamonds without being caught. They then have the right to command the other Creachers, but they also have to protect the card or have their position stolen from them. Any Creacher who fails in an attempt to steal the card is horribly punished, sometimes to the point of death. The current Creacher is a thug named Snarlclaw who is a dangerous and deadly brute who rules the Creachers with an iron fist. The Creachers are all loyal to the Ordo Chartae, and often commit crimes on their behalf.
The Executioner- The Ten of Spades is known as the Executioner. He can magically shift his appearance into any form he desires, usually taking on the appearance of a hangman or other executioner. Sometimes, an Ordo Chartae member gets caught doing something illegal, and it is often simplest for the Ordo to allow them to be put to death. The caught Card Carrier does not fear however, for they know that the Executioner will be there. The Ten of Spades has many magical tricks to cause all onlookers to believe they just saw a man’s death, but in reality that man has just walked away and out the door, or might be in a magical, death-like coma and will be awakened by the Executioner later on. They might go as far as to bury the Ordo Chartae member, but the Executioner will faithfully dig them out of their grave and return them to life. He can rescue an Ordo member who has died recently, by temporarily crossing over into the Domain of the Dead and chasing after the lost soul, but if they have been gone for too long, the Executioner has no ability to return them to life. However, he is practiced in the arts of necromancy and can bring many creatures to a state of undeath and use them as his servants.
Ordo Chartae and the Players-
If the Dungeon Master is willing to have the characters play Ordo Chartae characters, the following list shows where most classes fit into the structure.
Hearts- Bards, Rogues, Clerics, Paladins
Clubs- Fighters, Barbarians, Paladins, Rangers, Monks
Diamonds-Rogues, Bards, Artificers, Rangers
Spades-Wizards, Warlocks, Sorcerers, Artificers, Druids, Clerics,
Tasha’s Cauldron’s rules on Group Patrons can also be used for the Ordo Chartae. Suggested Patrons include the Academy, Aristocrat, Crime Syndicate, Military Force, or the Monarch.
The following is a list of story ideas involving the Ordo Chartae:
-The party finds that wherever they go, they are treated poorly and looked down upon. Then, an Ordo Chartae member contacts them, claiming to be the source of their ruined reputations and will restore their name if they obey them.
-The Ace of Diamonds challenges the players to a high stakes gambling match. If they win, they receive the one thing they can’t turn down, if they fail, their lives are forfeit.
-The party attempts to do something, (start a business, find or buy an item, aid someone) and they discover that the Ordo is hampering their every attempt, having decided that they will fail, and the Ordo must either be confronted head on, or appeased in order to succeed.
-The party hears of the Ordo’s plans to overthrow a political figure that they support and they must work against the Ordo to save the kingdom from the horrible ruler the Ordo would appoint.
- The Ordo offers the party a position in their ranks, but first they must prove themselves by completing an important challenge or task.
- An NPC has angered the Ordo and finds that a mysterious force is subtly attacking them, ruining every attempt at success, and they try to hire the party to figure out what is happening and put a stop to it.