Waargh!
2010-12-05, 01:48 PM
Tarot Master
http://www.coolstuffinc.com/images/Products/Misc%20Art/Bezier%20Games/fre_rapscallion.jpg
”You will pay for your ignorance you fool! How dare you say that my wife will leave me? Your cards are lying! Guards! Seize him!”. “Sorry my King... I didn't mean to insult you with my petty predictions. Allow me to draw one more card and try to change your fate...oh, I see... the glorious black knight, the master of fate...the Black Reaper...sigh...I am afraid this is not your lucky day my King”
The secrets of a Tarot Master rely on their technique and knowledge on how to use a Tarot Deck, a magical deck of cards. This art requires an inborn talent that is not found on everyone. Unlike a Wizard they don't rely only on their own powers but learn to trust the cards. The Tarot Master believe is one thing and one thing only. Fate. He believes that luck cannot be controlled. It is blind and unpredictable. You should trust it rather try to control it or avoid it.
Alignment: Any chaotic
HD: d4
Skill Points:6 + Int Modifier Skill Points
Class Skills The Tarot's Master class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hands (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Perform (any) (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis) and Spellcraft (Int)
Starting gold: 2d12 x 10 (130) gp
The Tarot Master
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Draw|Cards|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|1|2|Tarot Deck, Fortune Telling
2nd|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+3|1|2|Ace in the Sleeve
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|1|2|Dice of Fate
4th|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+4|1|3|
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|1|3|
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|1|3|
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|1|4|
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|2|4|
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|2|4|
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|2|5|
11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|2|5|
12th|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|2|5|
13th|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|2|5|
14th|
+7|
+4|
+4|
+9|3|6|
15th|
+7|
+5|
+5|
+9|3|6|
16th|
+8|
+5|
+5|
+10|3|7|
17th|
+8|
+5|
+5|
+10|3|7|
18th|
+9|
+5|
+5|
+11|4|8|
19th|
+9|
+6|
+6|
+11|4|8|
20th|
+10|
+6|
+6|
+12|4|9|
[/table]
Tarot Deck: The Tarot's Master main tool is his deck of cards. It is similar to the wizards spellbook where each card hold a spell. This magical deck has its own set of rules which the Tarot Master has to respect in order to use its secrets. Each deck is tied only to one Master and cannot be used from anybody else.
At each level the Tarot Master gains the ability to add more cards to his deck. The cards can be normal cards specially prepared by the Tarot Master to hold a specific spell. This process requires one hour of undisturbed preparation and once it is done the card changes both in appearance and essence and now can function normally in the Tarot Deck. The card has now a figurine and it is detected with Detect Magic or similar methods. He can also acquire Tarot Card buy copying a spell from a spellbook or a scroll to a card. Doing so requires the same ritual and time. He can also buy or exchange cards directly, but doing so requires the previous Master to perform the same ritual to release a card.
At each level the Tarot Master gains the ability to add two cards in his deck choosing any spell from the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list. He gains the ability to have as many cards as the Wizard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm) can cast per day.He does not gain the 0-level spells (see Ace in Sleeve further below).
No matter how many cards the Tarot Master owns, in his deck any given time can only be a combination of cards as if he was a Wizard of the given level. The rest of the cards are held in a side-deck. He can trade cards from his deck and side-deck at any time as long as in the end his deck contains cards that match the spells of his path chosen exactly (no less no more). If the Tarot Master for whatever reason loses a card he has to use a dummy non-magical card in its place (wasting a card slot) or make a new one which has to be with the exact same spell (requiring the same ritual).
The Tarot Master's ability are unique and the secrets are a combination of knowledge and natural talent. He uses his Charisma to cast spell the same way a Sorcerer does, gaining bonus spells for high Charisma, using his Charisma modifier on spells DC, requiring a certain Charisma modifier to cast a spell etc.
The Tarot Master can use metamagic feats or items that alter spells for his spells casted from his card normally.
In order to cast a spell from a card the Tarot Master follows these rules
-He needs to draw a card from his deck. He always draws the top card and cannot change their order (except by shuffling see further on). He can do so with a move action drawing cards as noted in the table. At each level he gains the ability to draw more card with a move action.
He can also use a swift action to draw half the cards he can draw with a move action. There is no limit on how many cards he can draw per round (thus he can use his standard action as a move action for this purpose). But he can hold a maximum of cards indicated in the table. At the end of his turn any excess of cards are discarded (Tarot Master's choice).
The Tarot Master can in no case put a card in his deck directly. If he attempts to do so, the card is automatically discarded. The only way a card can be inserted in his deck is through shuffling (see further on).
Drawing a card follows the same rules as drawing a small weapon in case of the Tarot Master being grappled. He also requires one free hand to do so and he has to be able to hold his deck or attach it in a proper case on his belt or so.
-He has to spend the amount of time as if he was casting a spell to cast a spell from his deck (typically a standard action). He doesn't have to use materials as if he had the Eschew Materials feat, but he has to pay all other costs. Casting a spell this way follows all normal rules as if he had casted a spell from a scroll. After that the card fades away and can only be used after the Rejoin (see further on).
Discarded cards and Shuffling: A card discarded cannot be used unless it is shuffled. A discarded card is a card that has temporarily lost its magic. When a card is discarded it appears on the bottom of the deck and stays there until he shuffle the deck.
In order to include discarded cards in his deck and for them to regain their magic the Tarot Master has to shuffle his deck. This requires a full-round action and two free hands as he has to shuffle all the cards in his deck. This action provokes attacks of opportunity.
When outside an encounter or a distressful situation, the cards will shuffle by themselves.
Rejoin: Every 12 hours the deck is rejoined. This means that cards that have been faded away, or discarded or held by the Tarot Master all appear in the deck and are shuffled. This doesn't require the Tarot Master to be rested and it is done automatically. The Tarot Master can choose to postpone the rejoin for an hour and another hour after that and so on.
Foretelling(Su): A Tarot Master learns to trust his deck to read the near future of a fact that involves a single participant. The participant has to be involve in this action and be conscious. Oncer every five levels the Tarot Master can perform a specific ritual which involves drawing some cards from his deck while he asks questions or chats with the participant. He then choose to ask a single question with “Yes” or “No” as an answer. The participant has to be able to understand the question. The question has to involve a fact where the participant is present. Usually the Tarot Master will either provide this as a paid service or use it in order to trick the participant in reading his future or he might have a common interest on the answering being asked with the participant.
He makes a Foretelling check in order to determine if he understands the answer as true or not. If he fails then he knows that the cards chose not to reveal anything.
If he gets 11 or higher he succeeds. He applies the following modifiers:
- Gain +1/2 his character level as a bonus to the check
- Gain -2 if the participant is unhappy with the question asked or in general unwillingly or forced to participate
- Gain -10 if the participant objects clearly on the question.
- Gains -5 on the check if the answer is somehow of great importance to the Tarot Master or he will benefit significantly from the answer. Typically this applies to questions the Tarot Master will make in order to achieve a goal or let him out of danger
- Gain -10 on the check every time he asks the same question. This is cumulative and the penalty never expires.
- The DM can choose to flag the question as something that it to vague to be revealed in which case this ability fails but it is not expired. The future is just clouded.
Ace in Sleeve: The Tarot Master has a smaller separate deck of cards, that he calls “aces”. Unlike his Tarot Deck, these cards can function independently. A Tarot Master will typically have this cards in his sleeve or any other place where he can use them easily. He gains a number of aces as a Sorcerer or a Wizard has 0-level spells, depending on the path he chose. The time needed to draw this spells is included in the casting type of these cards. These cards are not discarded or shuffled but they fade away after each use. The rejoin when the main deck is rejoined and 6 hours again after that.
Dice of fate (Su): The Tarot Master acquires the ability to turn to normal six sided dice to a pair of magical dices. Once he does so the dice disappear. Every time his deck rejoins the dice are casted. He can now use the sum of the dice in order to boost his cards magical abilities.
The Tarot Master can choose to combine any number of cards in his hand If he chooses to do so he chooses one main card. The result is that he can use any number of effects from metamagic feats on a the spell from the main card as long as this wouldn't increase the level of the spell more than the sum of the cards he used in combination with the main card. The sum of all the cards has to be exactly equal to the sum of the dice. The main card fades away once its spell its casted where the rest are discarded.
He can combine any effects from metamagic feats but he can use the effect only once (i.e. he cannot maximize twice a spell, but he can empower and maximize it).
If a spell already is modified with a metamagic feat in a normal way, he cannot use the same metamagic feat on it.
This effect is continuous and can be used at will. The Tarot Master is aware of the dice being casted and the number they show.
The dice is given as a gift to the Tarot Master and its magic is foreign to him. Even though his Tarot Deck is empowered by his own magic, the Dice of Fate are not. Thus, he learns to accept as a gift their aid and doesn't “push his luck” by waiting for the right day to face a very difficult task. Thus, if a Tarot Master in purpose delays a serious task due to a bad roll, the same roll will appear on the next rejoin. He can choose though to rush to a difficult task because of a good roll or take a less dangerous path because of a bad roll but he always he cannot cheat his luck by waiting.
Example: he rolls 6 on the dice. He can choose to cast a 3rd level spell and discard three 1st level spell cards. He can empower the 3rd level spell. He could also choose to quicken one first level spell by discarding a 3rd level spell and a 1st level spell.
------------------------------------------
Game-wise The Tarot Master is more balanced than a Wizard as he has a more linear growth. He still has access to the same powerful spells, but he is not constantly able to cast them. Thus as he grows he gains some disadvantages (less chance to draw a powerful spell). He also has to use his action more wisely since he won't typically use his move action to pull back in safety. There is also no game-breaking combination of spells or keeping some safety spells (like Teleport) just in case everything goes wrong. He relies a lot on luck especially from the Dice of Fate, which might be tricky. He relies more on fighter, because of his lack of mobility by using a Move Action to draw cards, the lack of having the right spell to save him (like an invisibility) etc etc. Thus fighters will feel more useful around a Tarot Master than a Wizard.
http://www.coolstuffinc.com/images/Products/Misc%20Art/Bezier%20Games/fre_rapscallion.jpg
”You will pay for your ignorance you fool! How dare you say that my wife will leave me? Your cards are lying! Guards! Seize him!”. “Sorry my King... I didn't mean to insult you with my petty predictions. Allow me to draw one more card and try to change your fate...oh, I see... the glorious black knight, the master of fate...the Black Reaper...sigh...I am afraid this is not your lucky day my King”
The secrets of a Tarot Master rely on their technique and knowledge on how to use a Tarot Deck, a magical deck of cards. This art requires an inborn talent that is not found on everyone. Unlike a Wizard they don't rely only on their own powers but learn to trust the cards. The Tarot Master believe is one thing and one thing only. Fate. He believes that luck cannot be controlled. It is blind and unpredictable. You should trust it rather try to control it or avoid it.
Alignment: Any chaotic
HD: d4
Skill Points:6 + Int Modifier Skill Points
Class Skills The Tarot's Master class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hands (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Perform (any) (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis) and Spellcraft (Int)
Starting gold: 2d12 x 10 (130) gp
The Tarot Master
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Draw|Cards|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|1|2|Tarot Deck, Fortune Telling
2nd|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+3|1|2|Ace in the Sleeve
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|1|2|Dice of Fate
4th|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+4|1|3|
5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|1|3|
6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|1|3|
7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|1|4|
8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|2|4|
9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|2|4|
10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|2|5|
11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|2|5|
12th|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|2|5|
13th|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|2|5|
14th|
+7|
+4|
+4|
+9|3|6|
15th|
+7|
+5|
+5|
+9|3|6|
16th|
+8|
+5|
+5|
+10|3|7|
17th|
+8|
+5|
+5|
+10|3|7|
18th|
+9|
+5|
+5|
+11|4|8|
19th|
+9|
+6|
+6|
+11|4|8|
20th|
+10|
+6|
+6|
+12|4|9|
[/table]
Tarot Deck: The Tarot's Master main tool is his deck of cards. It is similar to the wizards spellbook where each card hold a spell. This magical deck has its own set of rules which the Tarot Master has to respect in order to use its secrets. Each deck is tied only to one Master and cannot be used from anybody else.
At each level the Tarot Master gains the ability to add more cards to his deck. The cards can be normal cards specially prepared by the Tarot Master to hold a specific spell. This process requires one hour of undisturbed preparation and once it is done the card changes both in appearance and essence and now can function normally in the Tarot Deck. The card has now a figurine and it is detected with Detect Magic or similar methods. He can also acquire Tarot Card buy copying a spell from a spellbook or a scroll to a card. Doing so requires the same ritual and time. He can also buy or exchange cards directly, but doing so requires the previous Master to perform the same ritual to release a card.
At each level the Tarot Master gains the ability to add two cards in his deck choosing any spell from the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list. He gains the ability to have as many cards as the Wizard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm) can cast per day.He does not gain the 0-level spells (see Ace in Sleeve further below).
No matter how many cards the Tarot Master owns, in his deck any given time can only be a combination of cards as if he was a Wizard of the given level. The rest of the cards are held in a side-deck. He can trade cards from his deck and side-deck at any time as long as in the end his deck contains cards that match the spells of his path chosen exactly (no less no more). If the Tarot Master for whatever reason loses a card he has to use a dummy non-magical card in its place (wasting a card slot) or make a new one which has to be with the exact same spell (requiring the same ritual).
The Tarot Master's ability are unique and the secrets are a combination of knowledge and natural talent. He uses his Charisma to cast spell the same way a Sorcerer does, gaining bonus spells for high Charisma, using his Charisma modifier on spells DC, requiring a certain Charisma modifier to cast a spell etc.
The Tarot Master can use metamagic feats or items that alter spells for his spells casted from his card normally.
In order to cast a spell from a card the Tarot Master follows these rules
-He needs to draw a card from his deck. He always draws the top card and cannot change their order (except by shuffling see further on). He can do so with a move action drawing cards as noted in the table. At each level he gains the ability to draw more card with a move action.
He can also use a swift action to draw half the cards he can draw with a move action. There is no limit on how many cards he can draw per round (thus he can use his standard action as a move action for this purpose). But he can hold a maximum of cards indicated in the table. At the end of his turn any excess of cards are discarded (Tarot Master's choice).
The Tarot Master can in no case put a card in his deck directly. If he attempts to do so, the card is automatically discarded. The only way a card can be inserted in his deck is through shuffling (see further on).
Drawing a card follows the same rules as drawing a small weapon in case of the Tarot Master being grappled. He also requires one free hand to do so and he has to be able to hold his deck or attach it in a proper case on his belt or so.
-He has to spend the amount of time as if he was casting a spell to cast a spell from his deck (typically a standard action). He doesn't have to use materials as if he had the Eschew Materials feat, but he has to pay all other costs. Casting a spell this way follows all normal rules as if he had casted a spell from a scroll. After that the card fades away and can only be used after the Rejoin (see further on).
Discarded cards and Shuffling: A card discarded cannot be used unless it is shuffled. A discarded card is a card that has temporarily lost its magic. When a card is discarded it appears on the bottom of the deck and stays there until he shuffle the deck.
In order to include discarded cards in his deck and for them to regain their magic the Tarot Master has to shuffle his deck. This requires a full-round action and two free hands as he has to shuffle all the cards in his deck. This action provokes attacks of opportunity.
When outside an encounter or a distressful situation, the cards will shuffle by themselves.
Rejoin: Every 12 hours the deck is rejoined. This means that cards that have been faded away, or discarded or held by the Tarot Master all appear in the deck and are shuffled. This doesn't require the Tarot Master to be rested and it is done automatically. The Tarot Master can choose to postpone the rejoin for an hour and another hour after that and so on.
Foretelling(Su): A Tarot Master learns to trust his deck to read the near future of a fact that involves a single participant. The participant has to be involve in this action and be conscious. Oncer every five levels the Tarot Master can perform a specific ritual which involves drawing some cards from his deck while he asks questions or chats with the participant. He then choose to ask a single question with “Yes” or “No” as an answer. The participant has to be able to understand the question. The question has to involve a fact where the participant is present. Usually the Tarot Master will either provide this as a paid service or use it in order to trick the participant in reading his future or he might have a common interest on the answering being asked with the participant.
He makes a Foretelling check in order to determine if he understands the answer as true or not. If he fails then he knows that the cards chose not to reveal anything.
If he gets 11 or higher he succeeds. He applies the following modifiers:
- Gain +1/2 his character level as a bonus to the check
- Gain -2 if the participant is unhappy with the question asked or in general unwillingly or forced to participate
- Gain -10 if the participant objects clearly on the question.
- Gains -5 on the check if the answer is somehow of great importance to the Tarot Master or he will benefit significantly from the answer. Typically this applies to questions the Tarot Master will make in order to achieve a goal or let him out of danger
- Gain -10 on the check every time he asks the same question. This is cumulative and the penalty never expires.
- The DM can choose to flag the question as something that it to vague to be revealed in which case this ability fails but it is not expired. The future is just clouded.
Ace in Sleeve: The Tarot Master has a smaller separate deck of cards, that he calls “aces”. Unlike his Tarot Deck, these cards can function independently. A Tarot Master will typically have this cards in his sleeve or any other place where he can use them easily. He gains a number of aces as a Sorcerer or a Wizard has 0-level spells, depending on the path he chose. The time needed to draw this spells is included in the casting type of these cards. These cards are not discarded or shuffled but they fade away after each use. The rejoin when the main deck is rejoined and 6 hours again after that.
Dice of fate (Su): The Tarot Master acquires the ability to turn to normal six sided dice to a pair of magical dices. Once he does so the dice disappear. Every time his deck rejoins the dice are casted. He can now use the sum of the dice in order to boost his cards magical abilities.
The Tarot Master can choose to combine any number of cards in his hand If he chooses to do so he chooses one main card. The result is that he can use any number of effects from metamagic feats on a the spell from the main card as long as this wouldn't increase the level of the spell more than the sum of the cards he used in combination with the main card. The sum of all the cards has to be exactly equal to the sum of the dice. The main card fades away once its spell its casted where the rest are discarded.
He can combine any effects from metamagic feats but he can use the effect only once (i.e. he cannot maximize twice a spell, but he can empower and maximize it).
If a spell already is modified with a metamagic feat in a normal way, he cannot use the same metamagic feat on it.
This effect is continuous and can be used at will. The Tarot Master is aware of the dice being casted and the number they show.
The dice is given as a gift to the Tarot Master and its magic is foreign to him. Even though his Tarot Deck is empowered by his own magic, the Dice of Fate are not. Thus, he learns to accept as a gift their aid and doesn't “push his luck” by waiting for the right day to face a very difficult task. Thus, if a Tarot Master in purpose delays a serious task due to a bad roll, the same roll will appear on the next rejoin. He can choose though to rush to a difficult task because of a good roll or take a less dangerous path because of a bad roll but he always he cannot cheat his luck by waiting.
Example: he rolls 6 on the dice. He can choose to cast a 3rd level spell and discard three 1st level spell cards. He can empower the 3rd level spell. He could also choose to quicken one first level spell by discarding a 3rd level spell and a 1st level spell.
------------------------------------------
Game-wise The Tarot Master is more balanced than a Wizard as he has a more linear growth. He still has access to the same powerful spells, but he is not constantly able to cast them. Thus as he grows he gains some disadvantages (less chance to draw a powerful spell). He also has to use his action more wisely since he won't typically use his move action to pull back in safety. There is also no game-breaking combination of spells or keeping some safety spells (like Teleport) just in case everything goes wrong. He relies a lot on luck especially from the Dice of Fate, which might be tricky. He relies more on fighter, because of his lack of mobility by using a Move Action to draw cards, the lack of having the right spell to save him (like an invisibility) etc etc. Thus fighters will feel more useful around a Tarot Master than a Wizard.