College of Trickery

Throughout history, there exists those individuals who seek to disrupt social norms and defy those in power, often in the hopes of invoking positive change. Such individuals came to be known as tricksters, branded as renegades that disrupt the peace and promote mayhem. Many are those who took fondly to the title of trickster, despite the taboo that comes with it, and none more so than the Bards of the world, whose cunning, silver tongues, and penchant for mischievous magics make them perfect for the role. 

Aspiring to use their talents to promote change while having some fun along the way, a few of these gifted Bards decided to band together in order to perfect the art of trickery, forming a coalition that came to be known as the College of Trickery. Well-versed in enchantment and illusion magics and wielding magical decks of cards to trick their foes in battle, a Bard of the College of Trickery is one to be wary of, lest you find yourself in the midst of mayhem as they fulfill their mission.

Tricks of the Trade

When you join the College of Trickery at 3rd level, you gain the skills needed to deceive and trick without the use of magic. You gain proficiency in either the Deception or Sleight of Hand skill. If you already have proficiency in the chosen skill, you instead double your proficiency bonus for any ability check you make that uses the chosen skill.

In addition, you also gain proficiency in one gaming set of your choice, which you can use as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

Deck of Tricks

Starting at 3rd level, you learn the esoteric incantations of your college that are required to create an enchanted deck of cards known as The Deck of Tricks, which serves as your primary instrument of mischief. The deck consists of cards corresponding to an effect on the Deck of Tricks Cards table (as detailed below), as well as a holster for the cards. The number of card effects available to you increases as your Bardic Inspiration die changes and as you gain certain features in this subclass.

You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration as an action to draw a card at random from the holster (you must have a free hand available in order to do this). When you do so, roll on the Deck of Tricks Cards table using your Bardic Inspiration die to determine the card you draw. You can draw a card without being noticed by a creature if you succeed on a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by the creature's Wisdom (Perception) check.

When you draw a card, you choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you (this can be you). The card's magic then takes effect on that creature, after which the card disappears from your hand and returns to the holster. You can only have one of these card effects active at a time, and rolling on the Deck of Tricks Cards table immediately ends the effect of the previous card. If a card's effects require a saving throw, the DC equals your spell save DC.

You determine the appearance of the holster, as well as the number of cards in the deck (minimum equal to your Bardic Inspiration die). Some decks are ornate and contain 12 cards, while others are an inconspicuous leather box that contain the standard set of 52 cards. Most are worn at the hip, though some are designed to be hidden within one's attire. As part of the deck's enchantments, the faces of the cards are ever-changing while inside the holster, and the backs of the cards cannot be marked, thus prevening you from ever knowing which card you will draw next. In addition, the cards can only be drawn or removed from the deck by you, and will disappear and return to the holster if moved more than 5 feet from it. Should the holster ever not be on your person, you can instantly summon it to your hand as an action.

You can create a new Deck of Tricks by performing a 1-hour ceremony that transforms a set of playing cards and a card holster into a new Deck of Tricks. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous deck.

Bardic Insp. Die	Deck of Tricks Cards
1	The Dazzler Card: You create a small burst of bright light in front of the target, who must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take radiant damage equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and be [Tooltip Not Found] until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn't blinded. The damage of this feature increases to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die at 5th level, and four rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die at 11th level.
2	The Escape Artist Card:  You cause a cloud of smoke to erupt from underneath the target, covering the area in a 10-foot radius centered on the target. If the target is an ally, that ally can immediately use its reaction to take the Disengage action. The smoke spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts until the end of your next turn or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it.
3	The Fate Card: You place an enchantment on the target that allows you to briefly influence their luck. For the next minute, whenever the target makes an attack roll, ability check, or a saving throw, you can force the target to reroll. You make this decision after the creature rolls but before any effects of the roll occur. The target must use the result of the second roll, after which the effect ends.
4	The Occult Card: You send a burst of magical force at the target. Make a ranged spell attack using your spell attack modifier against the target. On a hit, the target takes force damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier. The damage of this feature increases to four rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier at 5th level, and six rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier at 11th level.
5	The Tumble Card: You magically disrupt the target's equilibrium, causing it to fall prone unless it succeeds on a Dexterity saving throw. If the target willingly moves before the end of its next turn, it must succeed on another Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.
6	The Diversion Card: You place a defensive boon on the target which lasts for 1 minute. The next time the target is hit by a weapon attack within the duration, an illusory duplicate of the target interposes itself between the attacker and the target, causing the attack to automatically miss. The target is then immediately teleported up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you can see, after which the illusion dissipates and the effect ends.
7	The Raven Card: You wreath the target in a veil of shadow magic until the end of its next turn. Within that duration, attack rolls made against the target are made with disadvantage. In addition, the first time the target hits a creature with an attack while under this effect, the creature it hits takes psychic damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die.
8	The Shapeshifter Card: You cast the Polymorph spell without spell components. When you cast the spell in this way, the target is transformed into a rabbit or a giant ape (your choice), the spell's duration becomes 1 minute for that casting, and the spell doesn't require your concentration.
9	The Shrieking Terror Card:  You send forth a wave of psychic power into the minds of the target and creatures of your choice within 15 feet of the target, who perceive the attack as a ghastly wail that wracks the mind. Each affected creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take psychic damage equal to four rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and be incapacitated until the end of its next turn or until it takes damage. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and isn't incapacitated.
10	The Vanishing Act Card: You cause the target to vanish into thin air by banishing it to a harmless demiplane until the end of its next turn, at which point it reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied.
11	The Fool Card:  You impose a foul stupor upon the target, who must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or have disadvantage on all Intelligence checks and be unable to cast spells for 1 minute.
12	The Evil Twin Card: You create an illusory double of the target in the nearest unoccupied space to it, which immediately makes a melee spell attack against the target using your spell attack modifier. On a hit, the target takes psychic damage equal to five rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and is stunned until the end of its next turn. Whether the attack hits or misses, the illusion then dissipates.
*	The Trickster Card: You assault the target's mind, dealing psychic damage equal to four rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and enfeebling its ability to resist your magics. For the next minute, whenever the target makes a saving throw to resist the mind-altering effects of your spells, or to resist the effects of your Deck of Tricks cards, roll a Bardic Inspiration die, then subtract the number rolled from the saving throw.

Fortuitous Mayhem

By 6th level, your improved proficiency in creating disorder grants you more control when drawing from the Deck of Tricks, as well as a new card. When you roll on the Deck of Tricks table, you can roll the die twice and choose which of the effects to bestow. 

In addition, if you roll the same number on both dice, you draw a special card from your Deck of Tricks: The Trickster. You choose whether to bestow the effects of the number rolled on the table, or the effects of The Trickster card (as detailed in the Deck of Tricks table).

Secrets of Magical Mischief

Also at 6th level, you gain knowledge of new spells that are pivotal to your trade. You learn two spells of your choice from any class. Each of these spells must be an enchantment or illusion spell of your choice, and must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you but don't count against the number of bard spells you know.

Trickster Makes This World

By 14th level, your mastery of the art of trickery has granted you the ability to prepare the casting of a spell as you use your Deck of Tricks. When you use your action to roll on the Deck of Tricks Cards table and bestow a card's effects, you can cast a spell as a bonus action. The spell must be of the enchantment or illusion schools, must be of 1st-level or higher, and must have a casting time of 1 action.