Gambler

Gambler
Homebrew Class – No Expansion

A halfling man steps onto the table, pipe in his mouth and cards in hand. He laughs along, passing and placing down cards until he throws down his hand and smiles gleefully. He walks away that night a victor, bag of coins in hand with none the wiser on his cheats and schemes.

An half-orcish woman lunges into battle, her cards slicing through wave after wave of goblins. They flicker back and forth, seemingly dancing through the air until finally, all of her foes lay dead. She laughs and walks off – lady luck was on her side in this fight.

To put your life in the hands of chance, to place everything on the roll of a dice or the flip of a coin, this is the life of a gambler.

Fortune Favours the Bold
To gamble is not only to bet money or items of worth, to gamble is to place it all on the line. Some risk mere pennies, others may go as far as risking their own lives on the battlefield if the reward is great enough. Through the use of their wits and resolve, gamblers test their luck and skill in their craft, either leading to absolute victories or devastating defeats.

A Contest of Luck and Skill
Although gamblers rely on luck or chance for a great portion of their winnings, their skill in their craft is not to be underestimated. For many a gambler, the cards they play with are not only tools, but their weapons as well, whether mentally or even physically. Though some gamblers may choose to use conventional weapons, others may use their tools of the trade to cut through those who have opposed them.

Creating a Gambler
As you create your gambler, keep in mind why they enjoy gambling, or if they even enjoy it at all. Is it a hobby? Is it an addiction? Perhaps a coping method? What brought your character to a life of risk in the first place? Is the risk they're taking worth the reward?

Quick Build
You can make a Gambler quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Charisma. Make your next highest ability score Constitution. Second, choose the Charlatan background.

Hit Points

 * Hit Dice: 1d6 per Gambler level
 * Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
 * Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per Gambler level after 1st

Proficiencies

 * Armour: Light armour
 * Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
 * Tools: Any three gaming sets
 * Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
 * Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand and Stealth

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
 * (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
 * two daggers, leather armour, and a set of playing cards

Card Thrower
Your skills with your craft have turned the cards you use into a weapon in your hands. A set of cards counts as a simple weapon for you with the following properties:
 * You use your Dexterity modifier when calculating the attack bonus and damage bonus of your weapon when using cards.
 * Cards do 1d4 slashing damage at 1st level and have a range of 20/60 feet. This die changes as you gain gambler levels, as shown in the Card Thrower column of the Gambler table.
 * You can store the cards within your clothes and taking the card from your pocket, coat, sleeve or any other immediate area to attack is part of the attack action.
 * You have advantage on sleight of hand checks to hide the cards on your person, and cards don't make you look openly armed.

Fortune's Favour
You've always been luckier than others, and everything seems to fall into place around you. When a creature within 60 feet of you makes an ability check, saving throw or attack roll, you can use your reaction to roll a die and add to or subtract it from the target creature's roll.

This die is equal to your Card Thrower die. You can use this feature after the creature makes the roll, but before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

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.

Font of Luck
Some believe that they are naturally lucky, while others make it their own. In either case, you have learnt to take advantage of such a resource.

At 2nd level, your luck is represented by Luck Points, as shown in the luck points column of the Gambler table. You can never have more Luck Points than shown on the table for your level. These Luck Points are used to fuel class features, and you recover all of them on a long rest.

Additionally, you can also spend hit die to recover luck points instead of hit points, adding your Charisma modifier to the roll instead of your Constitution modifier. You cannot exceed your Luck Point maximum.

Luck or Skill
Starting at 2nd level, you can spend a number of luck points up to a maximum of your Charisma modifier (minimum of one) and add the amount spent to an ability check, saving throw or attack roll.

Gambler Archetype
When you reach 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate in your playing and fighting. Your archetype grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th level.
 * Card Shark
 * Hustler

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Common Courtesy
Beginning when you reach 5th level, you regain all of your expended uses of Fortune's Favour when you finish a short or long rest.

Gambler's Intuition
The best gamblers know when to quit while they're ahead or when to stand their ground and continue playing.

Starting at 5th level, you can take the disengage action as a bonus action, and your ranged card attacks don't have disadvantage when attacking a creature within 5 feet of you.

All in the Cards
Starting at 6th level, your attacks with cards count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.

Nimble Fingers
At 6th level, you gain proficiency in the Sleight of Hand skill. If you are already proficient in it, your proficiency bonus is doubled for the skill.

Loaded Dice
Starting at 9th level, when you finish a long rest, roll two d20 and record the numbers rolled. You can replace any attack roll, saving throw, or ability check you make. You must choose to do so before the roll, and you can replace a roll in this way only once per turn.

Each loaded die can only be used once. When you finish a long rest, you keep any unused loaded die. You gain an additional loaded die at 17th level and one more at 20th level.

Lucky Numbers
At 11th level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

Luck's Guidance
At 13th level, you can spend 2 luck points to reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll.

All or Nothing
At 14th level, before you attack you can choose a number of hit points up to a maximum of a quarter of your maximum hit points. If the attack hits, you deal additional damage equal to the amount of hit points chosen, and also take the damage in return. If the attack misses, you still deal this damage to yourself.

Once you use this feature you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.

Clennathine's Blessing
At 20th level, luck smiles upon you. At the cost of half your maximum luck points rounded up, you gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
 * All luck point based abilities (except for this one) cost no luck points.
 * You have advantage on any attack roll, saving throw, or ability check you make.
 * Once you use this feature you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.

Gambler Archetypes
The path of the gambler comes in all shapes and sizes, with some willing to risk it all while others stay along a path of consistent rewards. Every player has their own game to play, and makes their own rules while playing.

Card Shark
Only when one is on the edge with everything standing on a single hand does a card shark truly shine. Being a card shark about more than just luck, it’s about knowing when to bet everything on one move and coming out on top.

Playing the Odds
At 3rd level, before you roll for damage you can spend 2 luck points and call odds or evens. If you guess correctly, the attack deals double damage. If you guess incorrectly, the attack instead deals no damage.

Wild Card
Starting at 7th level, you can spend 2 luck points and spin a card and flick it in a wild arc before hitting a target, dealing 1d8 damage. Additionally, all creatures within 5 feet of the target must make a Dexterity saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus or take 1d8 damage.

After you roll the damage, choose the first d8 if the total amount of damage was odd, and the second if the total damage was even. The number rolled determines damage type.

Brash Favour
At 10th level, you can spend 1 luck point and use your Fortune's Favour feature to add or subtract the result to or from any damage roll.

All In
At 15th level, you can spend 3 luck points whenever you use your All or Nothing feature and choose a number of hit points up to a maximum of a third of your maximum hit points instead of a quarter. At 18th level, this increases to a maximum of half of your maximum hit points.

Hustler
Sometimes luck's not enough to get you over the line and you require a little push. Not ones for betting on a losing hand, hustlers do whatever it takes to win and aren’t above playing dirty to do it either.

A skilled hustler knows how to pick their marks and lure them into a false sense of security – and when the time is right they strike, taking the whole pot and leaving you with nothing.

False Confidence
At 3rd level, your practice has granted you the ability to goad your enemies into thinking that they hold the upper hand.

As a bonus action, you can spend 2 luck points and force a creature within 30 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the target must spend its next action to attack you, doing so with disadvantage.

The target must be able to hear you, or the action fails.

Slippery Escape
Starting at 7th level, when a creature misses you with a melee attack you can use your reaction and spend 2 luck points to force the target to make a Dexterity saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the target swaps places with you, is knocked prone and has their movement reduced to 0 until the start of your next turn.

You may only use this feature against creatures that are the same size class or one size class higher or lower than you.

Sly Favour
At 10th level, you can choose to grant advantage or disadvantage to a roll instead of adding or subtracting from a roll when you use your Fortune's Favour feature.

Misdirection
At 15th level, when you are targeted by an attack, while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.

Fold Out
At 18th level, you can spend 3 luck points whenever you use your All or Nothing feature and make a Charisma saving throw against a DC of 15, taking half of the recoil damage on a success instead of the full damage.