The feat allows you to imbue a non-magical item with a spell you may not even know, turning it into a consumable magical item. Without the aid of magical items, you cannot cast a spell you do not know. This feat gives you a hackerman version of the Artificer infusion feature. There are no spell slots used in the imbuing or use of the spell because you are not casting the spell, the magic item is. Similar to how infused items only use your action economy to use.
Once again, can you furnish an example of a magical item that is not a magic item?
Items invested with magic by an artificer's Magical Tinkering
At 1st level, you learn how to invest a spark of magic into mundane objects. To use this ability, you must have thieves’ tools or artisan’s tools in hand. You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice
Genie warlock's Genie's Vessel
Your patron gifts you a magical vessel that grants you a measure of the genie’s power. The vessel is a Tiny object, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.
Scribes wizard's Wizardly Quill
As a bonus action, you can magically create a Tiny quill in your free hand. The magic quill has the following properties
Items created or imbued with magic by any number of spells, such as cordon of arrows
You plant four pieces of nonmagical ammunition – arrows or crossbow bolts – in the ground within range and lay magic upon them to protect an area.
Just to interject but I am not sure what the purpose of this post is ... three of the four items described explicitly describe themselves as magical so I am uncertain how these can be examples of "magical items that are not a magic item".
"You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice" - you give an item magical properties which makes it a magic item.
"Your patron gifts you a magical vessel that grants you a measure of the genie’s power." - it is explicitly described as a magical vessel making it a magic item.
"The magic quill has the following properties" - the quill is explicitly described as magical so it is a magic item.
All of these items would be detectable with Detect Magic - they are magic items.
On the topic of whether the card of the cartomancer feat is a magic item. The answer is yes based on the definition in the Sage Advice Compendium.
Is the card imbued with the spell a "magic item". If you take the Sage Advice Compendium into account then the answer is yes.
One of the criteria for something being considered magical is:
"Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description?"
The card mentions a spell selected from your class list and allows you to create its effects so the card is clearly magical by this definition. So, if folks are arguing the card used in the cartomancer feat is not a magic item then they need a house rule or ignore the SAC to reach that conclusion. The last line of the feat also states that the "card loses its magic (when used)" which also indicates that the card is a magic item.
Finally, in terms of RAW, is a spell slot required or not? The answer is that the rules do not define the word "imbue" in the context of placing a spell in an item. Comparable items, like the ring of spell storing or the artificer spell storing item have much clearer wording. It is a DM decision as to whether a spell slot is required and both interpretations are consistent with RAW in my opinion.
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The cartomancer feat is ambiguous because the meaning of the word "imbue" is not defined.
"Hidden Ace. When you finish a long rest, you can choose one spell from your class’s spell list and imbue that spell into a card. The chosen spell must have a casting time of 1 action, and it must be a level for which you have spell slots. The card remains imbued with this spell for 8 hours. While the card is imbued with the spell, you can use a bonus action to flourish the card and cast the spell within. The card then immediately loses its magic."
A similar item is a ring of spell storing that explicitly requires a spell slot to place the spell into the ring and then uses the following wording to later cast it: "While wearing this ring, you can cast any spell stored in it." while the Cartomancer feat uses the wording "cast the spell within".
Is "cast the spell within" equivalent to "cast spell stored in it"? ... if it is, then this would imply that the spell slot for the spell is not needed when casting it. On the other hand, "cast the spell within" could mean that the item contains the instructions to cast the spell and the slot needs to be used when the spell within is cast. No other magic item works that way but it is a possible interpretation.
On the other hand, the ring of spell storing is very explicit in stating that the spell slot is expended when the spell is stored in the ring. The Cartomancer uses the word "imbue" to describe this entire process without defining whether "imbuing" requires a spell slot or not.
The cartomancer feat could have very easily stated that the spell slot needed to be expended when the spell is imbued which would have eliminated the issue but it does not. Ultimately, it comes down to how the DM decides to interpret the word "imbue" and in my opinion the process could equally well require a spell slot or not require a spell slot. There is nothing in the wording that definitively states whether a spell slot is required or not making this entirely a DM call until WOTC provides clarification.
Once again, can you furnish an example of a magical item that is not a magic item?
Items invested with magic by an artificer's Magical Tinkering
At 1st level, you learn how to invest a spark of magic into mundane objects. To use this ability, you must have thieves’ tools or artisan’s tools in hand. You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice
Genie warlock's Genie's Vessel
Your patron gifts you a magical vessel that grants you a measure of the genie’s power. The vessel is a Tiny object, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.
Scribes wizard's Wizardly Quill
As a bonus action, you can magically create a Tiny quill in your free hand. The magic quill has the following properties
Items created or imbued with magic by any number of spells, such as cordon of arrows
You plant four pieces of nonmagical ammunition – arrows or crossbow bolts – in the ground within range and lay magic upon them to protect an area.
Just to interject but I am not sure what the purpose of this post is ... three of the four items described explicitly describe themselves as magical so I am uncertain how these can be examples of "magical items that are not a magic item".
"You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice" - you give an item magical properties which makes it a magic item.
"Your patron gifts you a magical vessel that grants you a measure of the genie’s power." - it is explicitly described as a magical vessel making it a magic item.
"The magic quill has the following properties" - the quill is explicitly described as magical so it is a magic item.
All of these items would be detectable with Detect Magic - they are magic items.
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They are items that are magical in that they will register as such, but that does not mean that a level 4 feat grants you an additional copy of any one spell slot you have. It's like "melee weapon attack" vs "attack with a melee weapon"; the words are still there and there's significant overlap, but they are still two distinct things that interact with other aspects of the game differently.
Without including the spell slot, I'm not sure the ability to cast a designated spell as a bonus action is really worth a feat.
You don't see the value in casting, say, dimension door as a bonus action and still having your action free that turn? Or, if you want lower-level examples, armor of agathys, bane, faerie fire etc.?
I see a lot of value in that but I don't really think it is equivalent to many other feats or an ASI. It is also a 1/day use so it becomes situational in terms of when it will be best to use it. So, yes it is a nice to have feature, but without including the spell slot for the casting it just doesn't have enough utility and value, in my opinion, to be worthwhile.
The equivalent existing feat would be Metamagic Adept, which can also give you a 1/day Quicken, but with Cartomancer you trade the extra Metamagic options for prestidigitation
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
All of these items would be detectable with Detect Magic - they are magic items.
They are absolutely not "magic items" as defined by the rules. They don't have rarities, don't have the standard magic item damage resistance, etc. Again, contrast artificer's Infuse Item feature -- which explicitly says "The magic items you create with this feature are effectively prototypes of permanent items" -- with Magical Tinkering, which has no such language
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Without including the spell slot, I'm not sure the ability to cast a designated spell as a bonus action is really worth a feat.
You don't see the value in casting, say, dimension door as a bonus action and still having your action free that turn? Or, if you want lower-level examples, armor of agathys, bane, faerie fire etc.?
I see a lot of value in that but I don't really think it is equivalent to many other feats or an ASI. It is also a 1/day use so it becomes situational in terms of when it will be best to use it. So, yes it is a nice to have feature, but without including the spell slot for the casting it just doesn't have enough utility and value, in my opinion, to be worthwhile.
To point out: No feat in the game grants the ability to cast a high-leveled spell for free. Cartomancer, if it did, would be the lone exception. But when looking at the ability of Cartomancer against other feats (none of which grant a free casting of a spell higher than 2nd level) there's no way the RAI was to allow a second 9th-level spell in the day. That's Legendary item or Epic Boon territory.
If you don't find it worthwhile, don't take the feat on your character. That's what that really comes down to. With no free spell slot, this feat is well-balanced against others.
Without including the spell slot, I'm not sure the ability to cast a designated spell as a bonus action is really worth a feat.
You don't see the value in casting, say, dimension door as a bonus action and still having your action free that turn? Or, if you want lower-level examples, armor of agathys, bane, faerie fire etc.?
I see a lot of value in that but I don't really think it is equivalent to many other feats or an ASI. It is also a 1/day use so it becomes situational in terms of when it will be best to use it. So, yes it is a nice to have feature, but without including the spell slot for the casting it just doesn't have enough utility and value, in my opinion, to be worthwhile.
To point out: No feat in the game grants the ability to cast a high-leveled spell for free. Cartomancer, if it did, would be the lone exception. But when looking at the ability of Cartomancer against other feats (none of which grant a free casting of a spell higher than 2nd level) there's no way the RAI was to allow a second 9th-level spell in the day. That's Legendary item or Epic Boon territory.
If you don't find it worthwhile, don't take the feat on your character. That's what that really comes down to. With no free spell slot, this feat is well-balanced against others.
This feat comes from The Book of Many Things, a supplement book entirely devoted to creating adventures linked to and expanding upon the Deck of Many Things. Do you think balance was the aim for this book? Any DM using this book will be having players pulling from that infamous deck. An additional 9th level spell is hardly going to be shifting balance in any alarming way when the Deck of Many Things is in play. Besides, by the time 9th level spells appear, balance is already long gone.
Without including the spell slot, I'm not sure the ability to cast a designated spell as a bonus action is really worth a feat.
You don't see the value in casting, say, dimension door as a bonus action and still having your action free that turn? Or, if you want lower-level examples, armor of agathys, bane, faerie fire etc.?
I see a lot of value in that but I don't really think it is equivalent to many other feats or an ASI. It is also a 1/day use so it becomes situational in terms of when it will be best to use it. So, yes it is a nice to have feature, but without including the spell slot for the casting it just doesn't have enough utility and value, in my opinion, to be worthwhile.
To point out: No feat in the game grants the ability to cast a high-leveled spell for free. Cartomancer, if it did, would be the lone exception. But when looking at the ability of Cartomancer against other feats (none of which grant a free casting of a spell higher than 2nd level) there's no way the RAI was to allow a second 9th-level spell in the day. That's Legendary item or Epic Boon territory.
If you don't find it worthwhile, don't take the feat on your character. That's what that really comes down to. With no free spell slot, this feat is well-balanced against others.
This feat comes from The Book of Many Things, a supplement book entirely devoted to creating adventures linked to and expanding upon the Deck of Many Things. Do you think balance was the aim for this book? Any DM using this book will be having players pulling from that infamous deck. An additional 9th level spell is hardly going to be shifting balance in any alarming way when the Deck of Many Things is in play. Besides, by the time 9th level spells appear, balance is already long gone.
"A powerful legendary item in the same book means a low-level feature doesn't need to be balanced" is a take, that's for sure.
Let's take a look at other levels. At 9th level, under your interpretation, that's an extra 5th-level spell per day that's also Quickened and doesn't have to be one you know. 9th is easy to balance for, but the extra spell slot is a major resource to account for. And that's daily. 13th level is an extra 7th-level spell.
You're also making the assumption that every campaign that allows player features will also feature the most powerful item of the book. But the book shows other ways to utilize the Deck that aren't as an item the players get access to, plus it shows how to retune the deck (using only a portion of the 66 cards) to get the desired power level.
"A powerful legendary item in the same book means a low-level feature doesn't need to be balanced" is a take, that's for sure.
Let's take a look at other levels. At 9th level, under your interpretation, that's an extra 5th-level spell per day that's also Quickened and doesn't have to be one you know. 9th is easy to balance for, but the extra spell slot is a major resource to account for. And that's daily. 13th level is an extra 7th-level spell.
You're also making the assumption that every campaign that allows player features will also feature the most powerful item of the book. But the book shows other ways to utilize the Deck that aren't as an item the players get access to, plus it shows how to retune the deck (using only a portion of the 66 cards) to get the desired power level.
I merely said that balance does not appear to be the aim. I don't believe that this feature of the feat strongly impacts balance at low or medium levels. [REDACTED]
It offers one additional casting for only part of a day of adventuring. Since you have clearly not permitted my interpretation of the feature in your game and I have, I can say with full confidence that you are speaking from astounding levels of ignorance. In short, big deal. One extra casting of a spell on standby for the first 8 hours of the day is nothing at literally any level. By the time Wish is brought into the game, an extra 9th level spell is the least of a DM's worries. When you consider magical items that can give spell slots back, allow swapping of spells, and even to cast spells you do not have prepared, which are littered all over 5e, and that these do not have time limits placed upon them, I cannot see how this actually matters at all, but then again, I do not spend an inordinate amount of my time thinking of ways to limit my player's fun. To benefit from it fully, you need to predict what you will need. I have seen this feature go unused more times than it has been used. By the time you can benefit from high level spells, again, the balance of the game is already long gone for any number of reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with Cartomancer in any interpretation of the feat. Taking the least charitable interpretation of the feature only gives lip-service to balance and really is, at the end of the day, just an anti-player position.
While it is true that the book offers ways to utilize the deck without using the item, Deck of Many Things, I don't really think that helps your argument. The item itself is wildly unbalanced and it is available for use. If you are worried about balance, don't offer the deck or the feat, or use the supplementary information to retune the deck as you described. However, as a DM using all 5e content available, this feat, using my Sage Advice supported interpretation of the feat, is not unbalanced enough to matter. I guess the solution to have a balanced game is to be player-centered. It seems to work for my tables at least.
I think I am going to bow out here but some parting words for future readers: keep the player fun at the center of any rule that is open to interpretation. A DM gains nothing good from going out of their way to limit player fun. There will always be DMs who are afraid of changing meta and new content that empowers players. Silvery Barbs is a wonderful example of this and I suspect those who would limit the power of Cartomancer are also afraid to permit SB in their games. This feat does have some ambiguity to it, but if DMs have a player-centered bent, I strongly encourage you to read David42's analysis in this thread. You will almost certainly arrive at a fair and enjoyable conclusion about this feat.
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
In short, big deal. One extra casting of a spell on standby for the first 8 hours of the day is nothing at literally any level.
An extra casting of fireball at 5th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
An extra casting of greater invisibility, as a bonus action no less, at 7th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
Just for reference :) ... neither of these would be a big deal in a game I was DMing. A necklace of fireballs can provide quite a few more fireballs. Letting a character have an action to cast a cantrip on the same turn they become invisible isn't a big deal either especially with the 1/day within the first 8 hours limitation.
In addition, the bonus action spell casting rule is still in effect when the card is used so it doesn't allow for multiple leveled spells in a turn, it only allows the character to cast one spell/day (only in the first 8 hours of the day) as a bonus action and so avoid losing their action on one turn - assuming that the fight occurs before late afternoon/evening .. if they are fighting at night, the odds are good the card already expired.
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Anyway, since the wording of the feat is somewhat ambiguous, it is a DM call on how they want to run it and there is no wrong answer.
In short, big deal. One extra casting of a spell on standby for the first 8 hours of the day is nothing at literally any level.
An extra casting of fireball at 5th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
An extra casting of greater invisibility, as a bonus action no less, at 7th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
Just for reference :) ... neither of these would be a big deal in a game I was DMing. A necklace of fireballs can provide quite a few more fireballs. Letting a character have an action to cast a cantrip on the same turn they become invisible isn't a big deal either especially with the 1/day within the first 8 hours limitation.
I mean sure, if you're giving 5th-level parties necklaces of fireballs, their actual spell slots are pretty irrelevant, yeah
Also, greater invisibility is the one that doesn't get broken by attacking or casting a spell. Being able to do that twice in a day at 7th level rather than once is, in fact, a big deal
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I think I am going to bow out here but some parting words for future readers: keep the player fun at the center of any rule that is open to interpretation. A DM gains nothing good from going out of their way to limit player fun. There will always be DMs who are afraid of changing meta and new content that empowers players. Silvery Barbs is a wonderful example of this and I suspect those who would limit the power of Cartomancer are also afraid to permit SB in their games. This feat does have some ambiguity to it, but if DMs have a player-centered bent, I strongly encourage you to read David42's analysis in this thread. You will almost certainly arrive at a fair and enjoyable conclusion about this feat.
Just wanted to follow up a bit. I would have no problem with Cartomancer giving a spell slot ... personally, I don't think it is really much of a balance issue. However, I also don't allow Silvery Barbs in play - mostly because I think it detracts overall from the player fun at the table. The character with Silvery Barbs will think it is cool but the side effect is to mitigate those exciting moments when the bad guys score a crit or make that critical save. Keeping the bad guys alive adds tension to the scene and when the players have too many tools to mitigate it, the players overall tend to have less fun even if the one guy with Silvery Barbs enjoys it.
Compare Silvery Barbs to the rune knight Cloud rune ability that allows you to redirect an attack once/short rest. This allows the rune knight to take a crit by the bad guys or an attack that would take down one of their party members and redirect it against the opponents but it is limited to 1/rest (until high level when there are also typically more attacks in a round). This ability provides fun and excitement - the ability for the character to use a feature and make a significant difference adding narrative fun for everyone ... but imagine if they could do that every round of combat (for a typical combat that might run 3-5 rounds) ... it loses its special feeling ... which is where I think Silvery Barbs falls. Silvery Barbs mitigates some of the fun for everyone by preventing some of the cool/less probable events from happening without providing some narrative fun to replace it.
As a result, I have no problem with either interpretation of the Cartomancer feat but I won't allow Silvery Barbs in a game I am running. :)
I think I am going to bow out here but some parting words for future readers: keep the player fun at the center of any rule that is open to interpretation. A DM gains nothing good from going out of their way to limit player fun. There will always be DMs who are afraid of changing meta and new content that empowers players. Silvery Barbs is a wonderful example of this and I suspect those who would limit the power of Cartomancer are also afraid to permit SB in their games. This feat does have some ambiguity to it, but if DMs have a player-centered bent, I strongly encourage you to read David42's analysis in this thread. You will almost certainly arrive at a fair and enjoyable conclusion about this feat.
Just wanted to follow up a bit. I would have no problem with Cartomancer giving a spell slot ... personally, I don't think it is really much of a balance issue. However, I also don't allow Silvery Barbs in play - mostly because I think it detracts overall from the player fun at the table. The character with Silvery Barbs will think it is cool but the side effect is to mitigate those exciting moments when the bad guys score a crit or make that critical save. Keeping the bad guys alive adds tension to the scene and when the players have too many tools to mitigate it, the players overall tend to have less fun even if the one guy with Silvery Barbs enjoys it.
Compare Silvery Barbs to the rune knight Cloud rune ability that allows you to redirect an attack once/short rest. This allows the rune knight to take a crit by the bad guys or an attack that would take down one of their party members and redirect it against the opponents but it is limited to 1/rest (until high level when there are also typically more attacks in a round). This ability provides fun and excitement - the ability for the character to use a feature and make a significant difference adding narrative fun for everyone ... but imagine if they could do that every round of combat (for a typical combat that might run 3-5 rounds) ... it loses its special feeling ... which is where I think Silvery Barbs falls. Silvery Barbs mitigates some of the fun for everyone by preventing some of the cool/less probable events from happening without providing some narrative fun to replace it.
As a result, I have no problem with either interpretation of the Cartomancer feat but I won't allow Silvery Barbs in a game I am running. :)
I hadn't considered that if I am being honest, but you are right. In almost every debate I have had on the spell, the argument has centered around balance issues, which I definitely disagree with, having had at one point two casters in my last campaign that had the spell at the same time (the sorcadin eventually found the ROI for them to be too low and switched to Shield). Even with two running the spell at the same time, it did not negatively impact the balancing of the game in any meaningful way. However, once the players learned how to use it more selectively, it was often held in reserve for its crit-cancelling ability. In retrospect that did reduce a lot of those tension-building moments. My players are a pretty tight-knit bunch and if any took issue with it, they would have spoken up. Though not all tables are that comfortable with each other so I can see it being a problem at some tables where players do not feel they can speak up.
To remain on topic, I maintain my final position on the topic of this thread - your posts will give readers the best analysis to reach the conclusion that best fits their individual game needs. I personally choose a player-centered option, as I see it.
Magic initiate is a feat which does not say it doesn't use a spell slot yet it doesn't.
The wording of the two is distinct. Magic Initiate says you cast using the feat. Cartomancer just says you cast.
It actual says "you cast the spell within." A card is an item, and it's imbued with a spell which makes it into a magic item. General rule for magic items is that they don't use a spell slot to cast the spell unless otherwise stated. It says at the end "The card then immediately loses its magic" which means it's a consumable magic item.
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Just to interject but I am not sure what the purpose of this post is ... three of the four items described explicitly describe themselves as magical so I am uncertain how these can be examples of "magical items that are not a magic item".
"You then touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice" - you give an item magical properties which makes it a magic item.
"Your patron gifts you a magical vessel that grants you a measure of the genie’s power." - it is explicitly described as a magical vessel making it a magic item.
"The magic quill has the following properties" - the quill is explicitly described as magical so it is a magic item.
All of these items would be detectable with Detect Magic - they are magic items.
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On the topic of whether the card of the cartomancer feat is a magic item. The answer is yes based on the definition in the Sage Advice Compendium.
Is the card imbued with the spell a "magic item". If you take the Sage Advice Compendium into account then the answer is yes.
One of the criteria for something being considered magical is:
"Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description?"
The card mentions a spell selected from your class list and allows you to create its effects so the card is clearly magical by this definition. So, if folks are arguing the card used in the cartomancer feat is not a magic item then they need a house rule or ignore the SAC to reach that conclusion. The last line of the feat also states that the "card loses its magic (when used)" which also indicates that the card is a magic item.
Finally, in terms of RAW, is a spell slot required or not? The answer is that the rules do not define the word "imbue" in the context of placing a spell in an item. Comparable items, like the ring of spell storing or the artificer spell storing item have much clearer wording. It is a DM decision as to whether a spell slot is required and both interpretations are consistent with RAW in my opinion.
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The cartomancer feat is ambiguous because the meaning of the word "imbue" is not defined.
"Hidden Ace. When you finish a long rest, you can choose one spell from your class’s spell list and imbue that spell into a card. The chosen spell must have a casting time of 1 action, and it must be a level for which you have spell slots. The card remains imbued with this spell for 8 hours. While the card is imbued with the spell, you can use a bonus action to flourish the card and cast the spell within. The card then immediately loses its magic."
A similar item is a ring of spell storing that explicitly requires a spell slot to place the spell into the ring and then uses the following wording to later cast it: "While wearing this ring, you can cast any spell stored in it." while the Cartomancer feat uses the wording "cast the spell within".
Is "cast the spell within" equivalent to "cast spell stored in it"? ... if it is, then this would imply that the spell slot for the spell is not needed when casting it. On the other hand, "cast the spell within" could mean that the item contains the instructions to cast the spell and the slot needs to be used when the spell within is cast. No other magic item works that way but it is a possible interpretation.
On the other hand, the ring of spell storing is very explicit in stating that the spell slot is expended when the spell is stored in the ring. The Cartomancer uses the word "imbue" to describe this entire process without defining whether "imbuing" requires a spell slot or not.
The cartomancer feat could have very easily stated that the spell slot needed to be expended when the spell is imbued which would have eliminated the issue but it does not. Ultimately, it comes down to how the DM decides to interpret the word "imbue" and in my opinion the process could equally well require a spell slot or not require a spell slot. There is nothing in the wording that definitively states whether a spell slot is required or not making this entirely a DM call until WOTC provides clarification.
They are items that are magical in that they will register as such, but that does not mean that a level 4 feat grants you an additional copy of any one spell slot you have. It's like "melee weapon attack" vs "attack with a melee weapon"; the words are still there and there's significant overlap, but they are still two distinct things that interact with other aspects of the game differently.
The equivalent existing feat would be Metamagic Adept, which can also give you a 1/day Quicken, but with Cartomancer you trade the extra Metamagic options for prestidigitation
They at least seem balanced against each other
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
They are absolutely not "magic items" as defined by the rules. They don't have rarities, don't have the standard magic item damage resistance, etc. Again, contrast artificer's Infuse Item feature -- which explicitly says "The magic items you create with this feature are effectively prototypes of permanent items" -- with Magical Tinkering, which has no such language
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
To point out: No feat in the game grants the ability to cast a high-leveled spell for free. Cartomancer, if it did, would be the lone exception. But when looking at the ability of Cartomancer against other feats (none of which grant a free casting of a spell higher than 2nd level) there's no way the RAI was to allow a second 9th-level spell in the day. That's Legendary item or Epic Boon territory.
If you don't find it worthwhile, don't take the feat on your character. That's what that really comes down to. With no free spell slot, this feat is well-balanced against others.
This feat comes from The Book of Many Things, a supplement book entirely devoted to creating adventures linked to and expanding upon the Deck of Many Things. Do you think balance was the aim for this book? Any DM using this book will be having players pulling from that infamous deck. An additional 9th level spell is hardly going to be shifting balance in any alarming way when the Deck of Many Things is in play. Besides, by the time 9th level spells appear, balance is already long gone.
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"A powerful legendary item in the same book means a low-level feature doesn't need to be balanced" is a take, that's for sure.
Let's take a look at other levels. At 9th level, under your interpretation, that's an extra 5th-level spell per day that's also Quickened and doesn't have to be one you know. 9th is easy to balance for, but the extra spell slot is a major resource to account for. And that's daily. 13th level is an extra 7th-level spell.
You're also making the assumption that every campaign that allows player features will also feature the most powerful item of the book. But the book shows other ways to utilize the Deck that aren't as an item the players get access to, plus it shows how to retune the deck (using only a portion of the 66 cards) to get the desired power level.
I merely said that balance does not appear to be the aim. I don't believe that this feature of the feat strongly impacts balance at low or medium levels. [REDACTED]
It offers one additional casting for only part of a day of adventuring. Since you have clearly not permitted my interpretation of the feature in your game and I have, I can say with full confidence that you are speaking from astounding levels of ignorance. In short, big deal. One extra casting of a spell on standby for the first 8 hours of the day is nothing at literally any level. By the time Wish is brought into the game, an extra 9th level spell is the least of a DM's worries. When you consider magical items that can give spell slots back, allow swapping of spells, and even to cast spells you do not have prepared, which are littered all over 5e, and that these do not have time limits placed upon them, I cannot see how this actually matters at all, but then again, I do not spend an inordinate amount of my time thinking of ways to limit my player's fun. To benefit from it fully, you need to predict what you will need. I have seen this feature go unused more times than it has been used. By the time you can benefit from high level spells, again, the balance of the game is already long gone for any number of reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with Cartomancer in any interpretation of the feat. Taking the least charitable interpretation of the feature only gives lip-service to balance and really is, at the end of the day, just an anti-player position.
While it is true that the book offers ways to utilize the deck without using the item, Deck of Many Things, I don't really think that helps your argument. The item itself is wildly unbalanced and it is available for use. If you are worried about balance, don't offer the deck or the feat, or use the supplementary information to retune the deck as you described. However, as a DM using all 5e content available, this feat, using my Sage Advice supported interpretation of the feat, is not unbalanced enough to matter. I guess the solution to have a balanced game is to be player-centered. It seems to work for my tables at least.
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I think I am going to bow out here but some parting words for future readers: keep the player fun at the center of any rule that is open to interpretation. A DM gains nothing good from going out of their way to limit player fun. There will always be DMs who are afraid of changing meta and new content that empowers players. Silvery Barbs is a wonderful example of this and I suspect those who would limit the power of Cartomancer are also afraid to permit SB in their games. This feat does have some ambiguity to it, but if DMs have a player-centered bent, I strongly encourage you to read David42's analysis in this thread. You will almost certainly arrive at a fair and enjoyable conclusion about this feat.
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An extra casting of fireball at 5th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
An extra casting of greater invisibility, as a bonus action no less, at 7th level seems like it would be a pretty big deal
Why are you comparing a feat to magic items?
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Magic initiate is a feat which does not say it doesn't use a spell slot yet it doesn't.
The wording of the two is distinct. Magic Initiate says you cast using the feat. Cartomancer just says you cast.
Just for reference :) ... neither of these would be a big deal in a game I was DMing. A necklace of fireballs can provide quite a few more fireballs. Letting a character have an action to cast a cantrip on the same turn they become invisible isn't a big deal either especially with the 1/day within the first 8 hours limitation.
In addition, the bonus action spell casting rule is still in effect when the card is used so it doesn't allow for multiple leveled spells in a turn, it only allows the character to cast one spell/day (only in the first 8 hours of the day) as a bonus action and so avoid losing their action on one turn - assuming that the fight occurs before late afternoon/evening .. if they are fighting at night, the odds are good the card already expired.
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Anyway, since the wording of the feat is somewhat ambiguous, it is a DM call on how they want to run it and there is no wrong answer.
I mean sure, if you're giving 5th-level parties necklaces of fireballs, their actual spell slots are pretty irrelevant, yeah
Also, greater invisibility is the one that doesn't get broken by attacking or casting a spell. Being able to do that twice in a day at 7th level rather than once is, in fact, a big deal
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Just wanted to follow up a bit. I would have no problem with Cartomancer giving a spell slot ... personally, I don't think it is really much of a balance issue. However, I also don't allow Silvery Barbs in play - mostly because I think it detracts overall from the player fun at the table. The character with Silvery Barbs will think it is cool but the side effect is to mitigate those exciting moments when the bad guys score a crit or make that critical save. Keeping the bad guys alive adds tension to the scene and when the players have too many tools to mitigate it, the players overall tend to have less fun even if the one guy with Silvery Barbs enjoys it.
Compare Silvery Barbs to the rune knight Cloud rune ability that allows you to redirect an attack once/short rest. This allows the rune knight to take a crit by the bad guys or an attack that would take down one of their party members and redirect it against the opponents but it is limited to 1/rest (until high level when there are also typically more attacks in a round). This ability provides fun and excitement - the ability for the character to use a feature and make a significant difference adding narrative fun for everyone ... but imagine if they could do that every round of combat (for a typical combat that might run 3-5 rounds) ... it loses its special feeling ... which is where I think Silvery Barbs falls. Silvery Barbs mitigates some of the fun for everyone by preventing some of the cool/less probable events from happening without providing some narrative fun to replace it.
As a result, I have no problem with either interpretation of the Cartomancer feat but I won't allow Silvery Barbs in a game I am running. :)
I hadn't considered that if I am being honest, but you are right. In almost every debate I have had on the spell, the argument has centered around balance issues, which I definitely disagree with, having had at one point two casters in my last campaign that had the spell at the same time (the sorcadin eventually found the ROI for them to be too low and switched to Shield). Even with two running the spell at the same time, it did not negatively impact the balancing of the game in any meaningful way. However, once the players learned how to use it more selectively, it was often held in reserve for its crit-cancelling ability. In retrospect that did reduce a lot of those tension-building moments. My players are a pretty tight-knit bunch and if any took issue with it, they would have spoken up. Though not all tables are that comfortable with each other so I can see it being a problem at some tables where players do not feel they can speak up.
To remain on topic, I maintain my final position on the topic of this thread - your posts will give readers the best analysis to reach the conclusion that best fits their individual game needs. I personally choose a player-centered option, as I see it.
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It actual says "you cast the spell within." A card is an item, and it's imbued with a spell which makes it into a magic item. General rule for magic items is that they don't use a spell slot to cast the spell unless otherwise stated. It says at the end "The card then immediately loses its magic" which means it's a consumable magic item.