Gambler

It's hard to know how the Gambler Specialization began. Whether it was Artificers attempting to use their favorite games as part of their spellcasting, regular gamblers learning to protect themselves, Bards that found they liked their dice and cards more than musical instruments and so needed to change their spellcasting method, or a combination of those. Regardless, Gamblers are not traditional Artificers, often taught in the casinos rather than schools or workshops. Gamblers take the skills common in games of chance and bluff, and then apply them to combat and spellcasting.

Tool Proficiency

When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with a gaming set of your choice.

Gambler Spells

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Gambler Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

Gambler Spells

Bonus Proficiencies

At 3rd level, your training grants you access to a suite of additional skills. You gain proficiency with two skills or tools of your choice out of Acrobatics, Deception, Performance, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Disguise Kit, or Forgery Kit.

Acrobatics

You gain proficiency with the Acrobatics skill.

Deception

You gain proficiency with the Deception skill.

Disguise Kit

You gain proficiency with the Disguise Kit tool.

Forgery Kit

You gain proficiency with the Forgery Kit tool.

Performance

You gain proficiency with the Performance skill.

Sleight of Hand

You gain Proficiency with the Sleight of Hand skill.

Stealth

You gain proficiency with the Stealth skill.

Tools of the Game

Beginning at 3rd level, you can use gaming sets that you have proficiency with both as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells and a weapon.

When you use your gaming set as a weapon, you use a single piece of that set, a die, card, or chess piece. The piece counts as a simple ranged weapon that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage with the following weapon properties: Finesse, Light, Thrown (Range 20/60), when thrown as part of an attack the game piece returns to the attacker's hand at the end of their turn. This weapon is considered magical for your Gambit feature.

Your gaming set does not gain the benefit of the Tool Expertise feature when used as a weapon, but it still does in all other cases.

Gambit

At 5th level, you know how to set up a winning strategy. When you deal damage to a creature with a magic weapon or wand, you can choose to place an invisible mystic mark, unique to you, on that creature. While the marked creature is within 30 feet of you, you always know exactly where it is and it can't gain advantage against you. If you hit a creature that has your mystic mark with an attack that deals damage, you can activate the mark and deal an extra 2d6 of that damage.

The mystic mark is erased if it is activated, you mark a different creature, or 1 minute has passed since you marked the creature.

The amount of extra damage increases by 1d6 at 9th (3d6) and 15th (4d6).

Eye for Skill

Starting at 5th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with another creature outside of combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:

• Proficiency bonus
• A specific skill's bonus
• Proficiency with a specific tool (Expertise or double proficiency is greater than proficiency, which is greater than Jack of All Trades or half proficiency, which is greater than no proficiency)
• Total class levels (if any)

At the DM’s option, you might also realize you know a piece of the creature’s history or one of its personality traits, if it has any.

Gambler's Bluff

Starting at 9th level, you're a whiz at tricking your opponents, both in combat and in games. When playing a game with a gaming set or making an attack with a weapon, you may first choose to take a bonus action to attempt to surprise or mislead them about your intentions or abilities. You make a Charisma (Deception) check and all opposing creatures within 20 feet make a Wisdom (Insight) check. If you are playing with or using as a weapon, a gaming set that you have proficiency with, you may instead choose to use a Charisma-based tool check.

In combat, you gain advantage on attack rolls against all creatures that fail to beat your check, until the beginning of your next turn.

In a game, you mislead all creatures that fail to beat your check into thinking that you have in your playing hand, or will attempt, something.

Dead Man's Hand

At 15th level, the weapon attacks you make with your gaming pieces critically hit on a 19 in addition to a 20, and the damage it deals is considered magical.

In addition, when you critically hit with a weapon attack you make with your gaming piece, you deal an additional 1d6 Force Damage and regain a 1st-level spell slot. If this critical hit was made against a creature with a CR or Level of less than 1, you instantly kill the creature regardless of the damage.