Rogues that live for chance and ride the currents of Fate sometimes manifest a metaphysical deck of playing cards that lets them observe and capitalize on improbable outcomes. Whether blessed by fortune, cursed by fickle luck, or bonded to a deck that echoes across the multiverse, Wildcards learn to make the most of the hand they're dealt.
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with all gaming sets. You also gain proficiency in the Insight skill, if you don't have it already.
At 3rd level, you know how to roll with the punches and deal with the hand you're dealt: you gain a special deck of cards that exists in an extradimensional space. Only you can see or interact with these cards, as they represent the outcomes of countless improbabilities at a given moment; you don't need to be holding a deck of cards to do this. Use a standard 52-card deck of playing cards, setting aside any jokers. For the purposes of this feature, an ace can come before a 2 or after a king (with a value of 1 or 11, respectively; your choice each time), and a face card (a jack, queen, or king) has a value of 10.
During combat, draw three cards at the start of each of your turns. This is called your hand of fate. Consult the table below to determine if the cards create a set. If they do, you can choose to gain that set's respective benefits and discard the relevant cards. If you're eligible for multiple sets, you choose which one's benefits to gain.
| Set Name | Set Effect |
|---|---|
| Pairs (two matching cards) | The next attack roll that either you or a friendly creature of your choice within 10 feet of you makes before the start of your next turn is made with advantage. |
| Three-of-a-Kind (three matching cards) | The next attack roll that you and up to two friendly creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you each make before the start of your next turn is made with advantage. |
| Flush (three cards of the same suit) | When you deal your Sneak Attack damage this round, you can roll a number of extra d6s equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down) and add it to the total damage dealt. |
| Straight (three cards in increasing and consecutive order) | Until the end of the turn, you have advantage on any Dexterity check you make to Hide, your speed increases by 10 feet, and opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage. |
Discard your hand at the end of each of your turns. After combat, shuffle any discarded cards back into the deck.
Wildcards. You have a pair of jokers available to you at any time. Keep these jokers face up next to you. Jokers are wildcards: when you use a wildcard, it can take the place of any card and suit. For example, if you have a 2, a 3, and a queen in your hand of fate, you could choose to use one of your jokers to make a Straight (using the 2 and 3), or a Pair with any of the other cards. If two of the cards in your hand were of the same suit, you could also choose to use your wildcard to turn them into a Flush.
When you use a joker, flip it over: a flipped over joker can't be used. Flip each joker face up again whenever you finish a short or long rest.
Also at 3rd level, you can use a bonus action to throw a card from your hand of fate or one of your wildcards. Make a ranged spell attack against a target you can see within 30 feet of you; the spell attack bonus is equal to your Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a hit, the card deals force damage equal to its value. Hit or miss, the card then disappears; discard the card from your hand of fate, or flip it over if it was a wildcard.
You can use this feature up to four times, and you regain all of your expended uses of it whenever you finish a short or long rest.
Starting at 9th level, you also flip your wildcards face up again whenever you roll initiative.
By 13th level, you can't be surprised while you're not incapacitated. In addition, whenever you make an ability check that doesn't use a skill with which you are proficient and roll a 1 on the d20, you can draw a card from the deck and use its value instead of the number rolled on the d20. The card is then placed on the bottom of the deck.
Beginning at 17th level, whenever you deal your Sneak Attack damage and roll two or more 1s on the d6s, you can draw a card from the deck and add the value of the card to the Sneak Attack damage. If the card was a jack, queen, king, or ace, the target is also poisoned until the start of your next turn. The card is then placed on the bottom of the deck.
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