College of Escamotage

The College of Escamotage Bard draws on the power of luck and fate and focuses it through their cards in order to channel their magic. When a player chooses this subclass, they receive a standard deck of 52 cards (no Jokers).

Unless otherwise stated, all cards are returned to your deck and renewed during a long rest. You must use 1 hour of light activity during your long rest to re-imbue the cards with magical power.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Escamotage at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Sleight of Hand skill and one other skill of your choice. You also become proficient with decks of playing cards as a weapon.

Card-ic Inspiration

When you take this subclass at level 3, you replace your standard bardic inspiration with a style more suited to your college. When your bardic inspiration is activated, instead of rolling a die, you draw two cards from your deck. You then subtract the numeric value of the lower card from the numeric value of the higher card. The receiver of the bardic inspiration may then add that number to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

At level 6 and 12, your inspiration improves. When you reach level 6, draw two cards and add the average of the two cards to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. At level 12, when you draw two cards, take the higher of the two numbers and add that to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

 

Damage Dealer

To any other it is a meaningless deck of playing cards, but to you it is so much more. At level three, you become proficient in using your cards as a magical weapon. To make an attack with your deck of cards, you roll a d20 to hit and add your charisma modifier and proficiency bonus. On a successful hit, you draw a card and do damage equal to the number on the card you have drawn plus your charisma modifier. The type of damage is determined by the card's suit.

• Heart - Necrotic
• Diamond - Cold
• Spades - Slashing
• Clubs - Force

Face cards do not contribute to attacks. If you draw a face card, it is considered a "misfire", and you must discard it from your deck until you have finished a long rest.

Once a card has been used in an attack, remove it from your deck until you have finished a long rest.

Luck of the Draw

You put your faith in the cards. You may draw a card from your deck a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and add or subtract that number from the result of an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, depending on the suit. Drawing a number from the diamond or heart suit increases the roll by the number specified, while drawing a card from the spade or club suit subtracts the number from your roll. You must add or subtract whatever number is drawn. You can use this ability after the original roll, but before the outcome is revealed.

You can also use your cards to defend against oncoming attacks. As a reaction, you can draw a card and increase (or decrease) your AC by the number on the card for the duration of that creature's turn. Hearts and diamonds add that number to your DC, while spades and clubs remove that number from your AC.

Your ability refreshes when you finish a long rest.

Is This Your Card?

At 14th level, you may attempt to capture the soul of a creature within your card. If a creature within 30 ft of you has died within the last minute and you still have a face card somewhere in your unused deck, you may draw that card from the deck and roll an Arcana check. The DC is equal to 5 x the number of souls you already have contained + 5. If you succeed, the soul of the creature is kept within the card and the face of the card changes to display a stylized rendition of the creature whose soul is kept inside.

You may perform this ability once per long rest and you can hold a number of souls equal to your number of face cards.

After each long rest, you must reroll your Arcana check to keep the soul contained. The DC is equal to 5 x the number of souls you have contained. If you succeed, all souls are contained. If you fail, the soul of the creature with the highest CR or level is released (or another creature determined by your DM). The soul is then sent to Limbo, where it is unable to enter into any afterlife.