College of Cartomancy
Bards of the College of Cartomancy, or Cartomancer, are well practiced fortune tellers that know they are not seers, but see themselves as guides for clients who seek their service. By using a magically enchanted deck of playing cards and a few choice statements, they can influence their clients actions so they fulfill their own goals and wishes themselves. While Cartomancers won't admit that their readings are nothing more than pretty lights and nice words, they frown upon those misuse the practice and peddle themselves as true seers for their own personal gain.
Many a Cartomancer can be found running fortune telling shops in major cities, or in their own tents as a member of a traveling circus, even as travelers on the road offering their services to any who need them.
Features in this College are intended to be used with a standard 54-card deck of playing cards.
Deck of Fortune
3rd-Level College of Cartomancy feature
During a long rest, you can spend an hour to bond to a Playing Card Set. Once bonded, this becomes your Reading Deck, which is represented by a standard 54-card deck with the Jokers removed. This deck can be placed into its own extradimensional space that only you can access as long as you are bonded to your Reading Deck.
You can draw a card from your Reading Deck at anytime as long as you have a free hand, and cards drawn float near you when they not held and are invulnerable. Cards drawn from your Reading Deck can be used as spellcasting focuses for your bard spells.
Once you have used a drawn card for a reading, casted a spell with it, or have draw another card from your Reading Deck, it dissipates into stardust and is placed into a discard pile until the start of your next long rest, where they are reformed and shuffled back into your Reading Deck.
Cold Reading
3rd-Level College of Cartomancy feature
As a bonus action, you can give a short reading of a drawn card to a creature of your choice including yourself within 60ft who can hear you. For up to a minute, the creature can roll a d4 twice then take the higher number and add it to a single ability check determined by the Suit of the card you have read:
| Suit | Ability |
|---|---|
| Hearts(♥) | Strength, Constitution |
| Spades(♠) | Wisdom, Dexterity |
| Diamonds(♦) | Intelligence, Constitution |
| Clubs (♣) | Charisma, Dexterity |
Die Kartenlegerin by Mikhail Vrubel
Hot Reading
3rd-Level College of Cartomancy feature
As a bonus action on your turn, you can spend a bardic inspiration die to give a detailed reading of a drawn card to a creature including yourself within 60ft who can hear you. Once within the next ten minutes, a creature can roll your bardic inspiration die twice then take the highest number and add it to either a single ability check, saving throw, or roll determined by your reading.
The suit and value of the card you have read determines what it is added to. Face cards having unique readings alongside their value, regardless of their suit:
| Value | Check or Throw |
|---|---|
| Even | Saving Throw |
| Odd | Ability Check |
| Face | Roll |
|---|---|
| Jack | Attack Roll |
| Queen | Spell Attack Roll |
| King | Damage Roll |
For example, a queen (12) of hearts would add the highest number rolled to either a single Strength or Constitution saving throw, but since its also a queen the highest rolled number can also be added to a single spell attack roll instead.
Wild Card
6th-Level College of Cartomancy feature
At the start of a long rest, you can draw a single card from your Reading Deck as your Wild Card. The value and suit of the card is only known to you, with observers only able to see the backside of the card. The Wild Card can be used to make a reading of any suit, value, or face until the start of your next long rest, where it is shuffled back into your Reading Deck.
After you make a reading with your Wild Card, any creature who saw and heard your reading can use their reaction to dispute it and reveal the card. If the reading matches the suit, value, or face of the card, or it is an Ace (1) of any suit, it dissipates into stardust. If the reading does not match the suit, value, or face of the card, your entire Reading Deck dissipates into stardust.
Wheel of Fortune
14th-Level College of Cartomancy feature
Once per long rest, you can draw six cards from your Reading Deck into a open hand called the Wheel of Fortune. These cards can be used for readings without them dissipating into stardust until the start of your next long rest, where they are shuffled back into your Reading Deck.
Art sourced from The Yorck Project (2000) by Directmedia under Public Domain
Textures created by /u/flamableconcrete from watercolors.giantsoup.com