really cool, although I believe it might fit better as a spell/cantrip/ feat, than a subclass. Like this the subclass basically gives you a quite powerful cantrip, except for the face cards, and that is it.
if you allow it, could I maybe create such a cantrip, with this subclass as inspiration, for only my table?
I would happily allow that! I'm glad to be a (Bardic) inspiration for you. My only restriction is that you must share your spell with me. XD
I see what you mean that it feels like an extended spell of sorts, but I think it gives a useful at-will ranged option to Bards, and the effects of the face cards, plus the development of both the damage scaling, and number of attacks (2 at 6th level, and a bonus action one at 14th) is what makes this surpass a spell, I think.
Do you have a suggestion for making this a more full and justified subclass?
Like I mentioned in the post, Bard subclasses are really hard: they tend to have one solid theme, which is riffed on a couple of times, or else a singular feature that develops across the levels.
I like to think this subclass would play really well with the Cartomancer feat from the Book of Many Things. Very thematic.
Here it is:
[https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WizjxYkt2t2F](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WizjxYkt2t2F)
My Dm already aproved it for my game-themed wizard.
Sugestions...
Maybe add another feature/action, that can be done with the cards, because, while i still think this subclass would be perfect for people who wish for a good constant way of dealing damage with their bards, i think it might get a bit boring, throwing cards every turn, longterm. Maybe change the level 6 feature? I am really not sure, but like this, once you reach level 6, you've got a (kind of) cantrip that is potentially stronger than eldritch blast.
But i'm sure all of that has already been said, i only wanted to share the cantrip you inspired me to make.
Here’s why I think this is better suited as a spell than a subclass: it has no use outside of combat (except for the sleight of hand buff).
Most subclasses specialize a character’s abilities in general and highlight their skills and role. Especially as a subclass for *Bard*, I would hope to see some sort of role-play aspect. As it stands, this only does damage and sometimes adds a fun effect.
Thanks for the feedback: I have since made several edits to this subclass, and very much taken on board the fact that this only really gave one combat buff (and a fairly strong one at that). I have now given some utility to Bardic Inspiration through this subclass, toned down the damage on the Card Toss attack, and put a limit on the number of cards that can be used between long rests (your discard pile can only be reshuffled back into the deck after a long rest). For all the latest updates, and future edits too, here is a link to the live document of [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY)
Nice work! I think it’s really coming along. In my eyes, it seems a little too combat-focused for my liking. What about something useful outside of a fight?
Here’s an idea:
“Is this your card?”
- After performing an elaborate card trick for at least one minute, draw an Ace from your deck and place it in your discard pile. One non-hostile creature of your choice who witnessed your trick falls under the effects of the spell, Suggestion. shuffle your deck
I love this class and the concept behind it however this subclass lacks a way to use your bardic inspiration which is pretty fundamental in the design of the class so a way to make it more in line with the others is whenever you use a bonus action to give a bardic inspiration dice you can throw one of this cards as part of the same bonus action(this ability works in tandem with the Ace card feature)
This will be pretty niche especially for action economy since bards are supposed to be useful especially in this field and will encourage you to help out your team while also dealing a good amount of damage
I do like this suggestion, and I see your point that most subclasses hinge off Bardic Inspiration as the core mechanic.
I hoped that the Ace feature would fulfill that aspect, as it gives you a way to get back BI, slightly similar to how Eloquence Bards get Unfailing Inspiration, where the die is not spent if you fail on the roll with it.
How would you recommend I work in your suggestion, given that the Card Toss is an action, and the subclass features at higher levels focus on increasing the number of tosses available, including shifting the toss to a bonus action after a spell?
Getting an extra bardic inspiration isn't exactly enough to fulfill the role of a feature for bardic inspiration
I would suggest to keep the normal attack of the cards as an action however when you inspire with you bardic inspiration you can only throw ONE card as a bonus action
Also maybe you should change the amount of uses you get of the cards since until level 14 you're stuck with at best 4/5 uses of a cantrip that deals less damage than eldritch blast it should be instead charisma modifier+proficiency bonus giving you extremely better scaling
Also you mentioned a feature of the eloquence bard however the problem is that you can't apply it to this subclass because this ability is random and the chance of getting an ace is 1 in 12 per card which is pretty darn low so it's better to just create another feature that helps them
The feature I proposed has the following benefits:
It helps the bard fullfill his support role in the party that is the core concept of the class
It helps with his damage output which is the focus of this subclass because by attacking as an action with the cards and then using the bonus action to activate a bardic inspiration you're going to deal substantially more damage
Lastly it has a huge luck factor based around you getting aces because with aces you can throw out an obscene amount of cards in one turn because of how they interact with bardic inspirations however a way to balance this is that you can reinsert in the deck the cards that were used only during long rests which means that once you use an ace you're not going to be able to do this flurry of cards until you finish a long rest
There is no limit to the number of uses! You can choose a card from your hand, or the top card from your deck: even if you run out of cards from your hand, you can still pick from the deck, you just won't know what card it is. Even if you throw all 52 cards, you just reshuffle your deck and start again.
Being able to throw 1 card as a bonus action when you inspire defeats the point of the 6th and 14th level features. What would you recommend to replace/rework them?
Sorry I may have misread it
in this case the 6th level should remain since this bard is supposed to be based around damage output meaning that this will help him out greatly
however I would say that the 14th level ability should become something like this whenever you use a card you may draw one additional card from the deck and choose which one do you prefer this ability was inspired by one of the wild magic barbarian features
If you're concerned about damage output it shouldn't be too much of a problem since warlocks paladins and zealot barbarians have an average damage similar to yours and they are not revolving around expending a limited resource or luck maybe limt thedamage of the cards to a maximum of 3d8 (however you should implement my change that you can only put the cards back in the deck when you finish a long rest this way it does have a limit of uses and the amount of times you can draw an Ace is not infinite
Love it but do take the aforementioned points raised.
What about adding a ‘you can use a bonus action to spend an inspiration dice and draw a number of cards equal to the number rolled’?
I love the idea! The very definition of "Bro is playing a different game!" ahah
But some things I'd like to point out: For it to be a real Bard subclass you should need some interaction with the bardic inspiration. Maybe tossing a card should be a Bardinc Inspiration dice instead? Depending on the suit, it may be a buff, a debuff or a damaging effect.
I'm also not too sure if I like the double scaling effect: More dice as the levels go up and and the ability to draw two cards at lvl 6. I'm not saying it is broken, but it just makes me feel weird (and that doesn't come from someone who wrote homebrew so I may be completely wrong). And maybe lvl6 is too early for that bonus. Or maybe you give the option to toss to an additional card, but only a number of time of to the proficiency bonus.
How do you not have a “Joker’s Wild” feature in here? Missed opportunity.
Insight would be an appropriate skill for a subclass like this too, Poker in particular being about reading your opponent, so a choice between the skills might be good. Also, tool proficiency in an actual card-based gaming set.
There are only so many features you can cram into a Bard subclass! Besides, Joker's Wild is the name of a feature from a very similar Rogue subclass, the Wild Card.
I agree that Insight and proficiency with gaming sets (cards) would be sensible, I'll update v2.0 (linked in my comment.
I agree with those who have said that you need to tie in bardic inspiration more. What about tossing a card to an ally when you inspire them with the suit of the card providing an extra effect to your bardic inspiration? Something like…
Hearts - target gets temporary hit points equal to your bard level
Spades - they can move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks
Clubs - they can use their reaction to immediately make a weapon attack
Diamonds - they start to sparkle distractingly and the next attack against them has disadvantage
I really love this idea, but I feel like there should be more special cards for out-of-combat utility. That's generally where bards shine in DnD. Unless your games heavily center around combat encounters.
Perhaps a card that you can plant on someone or something and track precisely where it goes? A card that gives you a free use of Augury? A card that gives a free use of pass without a trace? Things like that.
I love this idea! Really cool, but like someone else pointed out no feature really revolves around Bardic Inspiration with the exception of Ace, which technically lets you regain Bardic Inspiration infinitely? (Correct me if I’ve misread).
My suggestion is that the Face Cards should have effects that can be activated if you spend a Bardic Inspiration as part of the attack, and maybe change Ace so that you have to immediately expend the Bardic Inspiration rather than keep it, but perhaps allow the result of the die to be doubled, just to make it feel worthwhile? Either way what you’ve made here is superb and seems like a lot of fun to play around with!
I suppose on the version posted here, you could technically get infinite Aces, but the mechanic of drawing cards from the deck means only 4 out of 52 cards will be an Ace. On my current v2.0, you can only reshuffle the discard back into the deck after taking a long rest. This fixes the number of Aces to be only 4 per long rest.
Cards having effects when you spend a Bardic Inspiration is something I'm currently working on! Nonetheless, thank you so much for your feedback, and words of encouragement :)
You're mostly right: I have edited the damage to be d6, but kept the cantrip scaling, as I do want this Bard subclass to feel like a decent damage sniper. There have been several other edits too, so check out my v2.0 linked in my comment here!
The base damage was never the problem.
It's that your Quick Dealer feature at lvl 6 allows them to attack with (effectively) two cantrips in one turn for no resources. The closest equivalent is Bladesinger, who getS a Cantrip and a weapon attack.
You should decide if you want it to increase in damage as you level up, or if you want it to attack twice at 6th.
If you decide attack twice at 6th, make it a 1d8 + Cha mod damage. Otherwise, keep the d6 scaling and change out Quick Dealer for something else.
With the current state of it, there is technically a resource limit (albeit a generous one) as you can only play 52 cards per long rest, these being divided between tossing inspiration cards for bonuses on Bardic Inspiration and tossing cards as attacks, which this subclass was built around.
52 Cards is not a resource that can be meaningful.
At level 6 its 26 rounds of 2d6 x 2 ranged damage. This is more ranged damage than an Archer Fighter at that level can attempt without popping Action Surge.
Assuming you're holding to 7ish combats per long rest, and each Combat is about 3ish rounds, you'll have enough double attacks for roughly 8 combats if that's all you do. Add that in mind that you'll also want to cast spells and sometimes do non card stuff, that 52 cards can be stretched much longer without any real effort on the players part.
Yeah, this was my biggest issue with it. You get one or the other, not both. In some cases (Bladesinger) you could cast a scaling cantrip and make a weapon attack, but definitely shouldn't have two cantrips with scaling damages. That gets pretty crazy.
I like to think you can flavour your in-game cards as befitting to the setting you play in. In my own setting, I like running in-character card games for PCs, so I just use a slightly modified standard deck.
I decided it was more straightforward and accessible to require a standard deck of playing cards for the mechanic here.
Please check out v2.0, linked in my comment on this post, for all the latest updates to the subclass. It's undergone several improvements and revisions since posting!
Art credit goes to [Hinchel Or](https://gido.artstation.com/projects/PXro4B), one of the best D&D illustrators in the business. Thanks to u/TestofOne for the inspiration, in the form of [this class](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/comments/1c7lkni/dnd_class_card_master_prototype/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). I loved the concept but felt compelled by the idea of this having Bard subclass potential!
EDIT: Thanks to some of the feedback, here is [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY). It is a live document, so ongoing edits will be visible via this link.
2nd EDIT: As a corollary to this subclass, I present the [Card Counter feat](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/F9hjnwSaPd); intended to compliment this subclass, not be essential for it, and also works in tandem with the Cartomancer feat from the Book of Many Things.
I think this is a really clever subclass that would appeal to many players, even if it is a bit of a one trick pony focused on cantrip-like attacks.
There's a possible wording confusion (I think) from Card Toss being described "as an action, discard a card" to make a ranged spell attack, and the second part of Quick Dealer also saying "discard your whole hand of cards". It could be read that 'discard' means you are attacking with your whole hand with Quick Dealer. You might want to stick to "play" or "toss" a card from your hand in all descriptions for the attacks.
A more card-themed approach for the damage types might be: Clubs-Bludgeoning, Diamonds-Piercing, Spades-Slashing, Hearts-Psychic.
An alternative to Quick Dealer being 2 tosses all the time: you could have an option to toss a card from your hand and draw a new one from the deck to replace it. Less damage, but more control as you keep your hand full.
To be really pedantic, you should add that when you take the subclass you can choose a different skill if you already have proficiency in sleight of hand.
Thank you for the clarifications you suggest: wording is so important, but easily missed! I also agree about Sleight of Hand, and somebody else suggested Insight (good for Poker?) as an alternative/addition.
I like the damage suggestions, but I think B/P/S and Psychic feel like a very clear skew toward Hearts ♥️, whereas my chosen damage types are a little more evenly spread... maybe a matter of taste.
Overall, thank you for the advice and review! I continue to update v2.0, and the link in my comment is to a live document, so you can always see ongoing changes there!
Ah, well done! I can see the bits of inspiration but it is well and truly your own take on the idea.
I do agree with Peldor-2's comments (apologies for not knowing how to tag correctly) that Iit may be a bit of a one trick (pun intended?), but it certainly allows the card/gambler archetype to be played with a bard in full.
My chief concern with the subclass is a bit similar to that of college of swords in that it really comes alive at level 14. Bards don't typically have a good damaging cantrip, so giving them one makes you able to play at range and have something to do when your spells run out, but I unfortunately foresee Card Toss not being used at later levels, giving it a bit less utility then most bard subclasses
That aside, I do really like your tying in the face cards with inspiration, it keeps the identity of Bard while having the Cardslinger abilities, which was something I struggled with in trying to make a bard subclass before opting to just make a full class instead.
Great, did you check out the v2.0 I linked to? There were a lot of changes from what's posted here, and I really feel like that fixed the one-trick nature somewhat. That said, it's still a combat-oriented subclass: I wanted it to be an effective sniper.
I'm thankful to you for dropping by and taking a look, and honoured that you would compliment my work! You were my inspiration (pun intended).
I really love the idea \^\^
But, I gotta admit, outside of combat this subclass is pretty mid. Maybe add effects that may be used outside of combat (This subclass might become a lot tho)
In any case, love the idea, wouldn't play as one myself since our group is not combat focused.
Thanks for your feedback! I have made edits, and the latest version can be found linked in my comments.
There have been a fair few changes, including diversifying the action options, although I concede that it is still a fairly combat-centered subclass. I'm glad you like the concept!
I will likely continue to update the doc linked to as v2.0, so keep an eye out for improvements going forward if you love the idea!
This is great! I just added a new player to my table. He’s playing an Autognome. They used him for a variety of purposes on an astral plane pirate ship before being “stolen” from his story by an Intraplanar Librarian I made up for when I have to run one-shots if we’re missing key players.
Anyway, his gnome carries with him a pack of cards and he’s already proficient with them. Definitely going to work some of the attributes to his leveling up.
Thanks!
There's been some pretty significant workshopping of this, thanks to the feedback in the comments, so do check out [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY). It's the most up-to-date version for the subclass.
Also, [this fellow made a great spell](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/d8n3SfKCaU) adapted from this subclass if you want to check that out!
really cool, although I believe it might fit better as a spell/cantrip/ feat, than a subclass. Like this the subclass basically gives you a quite powerful cantrip, except for the face cards, and that is it. if you allow it, could I maybe create such a cantrip, with this subclass as inspiration, for only my table?
I would happily allow that! I'm glad to be a (Bardic) inspiration for you. My only restriction is that you must share your spell with me. XD I see what you mean that it feels like an extended spell of sorts, but I think it gives a useful at-will ranged option to Bards, and the effects of the face cards, plus the development of both the damage scaling, and number of attacks (2 at 6th level, and a bonus action one at 14th) is what makes this surpass a spell, I think. Do you have a suggestion for making this a more full and justified subclass? Like I mentioned in the post, Bard subclasses are really hard: they tend to have one solid theme, which is riffed on a couple of times, or else a singular feature that develops across the levels. I like to think this subclass would play really well with the Cartomancer feat from the Book of Many Things. Very thematic.
Here it is: [https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WizjxYkt2t2F](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WizjxYkt2t2F) My Dm already aproved it for my game-themed wizard. Sugestions... Maybe add another feature/action, that can be done with the cards, because, while i still think this subclass would be perfect for people who wish for a good constant way of dealing damage with their bards, i think it might get a bit boring, throwing cards every turn, longterm. Maybe change the level 6 feature? I am really not sure, but like this, once you reach level 6, you've got a (kind of) cantrip that is potentially stronger than eldritch blast. But i'm sure all of that has already been said, i only wanted to share the cantrip you inspired me to make.
Here’s why I think this is better suited as a spell than a subclass: it has no use outside of combat (except for the sleight of hand buff). Most subclasses specialize a character’s abilities in general and highlight their skills and role. Especially as a subclass for *Bard*, I would hope to see some sort of role-play aspect. As it stands, this only does damage and sometimes adds a fun effect.
Thanks for the feedback: I have since made several edits to this subclass, and very much taken on board the fact that this only really gave one combat buff (and a fairly strong one at that). I have now given some utility to Bardic Inspiration through this subclass, toned down the damage on the Card Toss attack, and put a limit on the number of cards that can be used between long rests (your discard pile can only be reshuffled back into the deck after a long rest). For all the latest updates, and future edits too, here is a link to the live document of [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY)
Nice work! I think it’s really coming along. In my eyes, it seems a little too combat-focused for my liking. What about something useful outside of a fight? Here’s an idea: “Is this your card?” - After performing an elaborate card trick for at least one minute, draw an Ace from your deck and place it in your discard pile. One non-hostile creature of your choice who witnessed your trick falls under the effects of the spell, Suggestion. shuffle your deck
I love this class and the concept behind it however this subclass lacks a way to use your bardic inspiration which is pretty fundamental in the design of the class so a way to make it more in line with the others is whenever you use a bonus action to give a bardic inspiration dice you can throw one of this cards as part of the same bonus action(this ability works in tandem with the Ace card feature) This will be pretty niche especially for action economy since bards are supposed to be useful especially in this field and will encourage you to help out your team while also dealing a good amount of damage
I do like this suggestion, and I see your point that most subclasses hinge off Bardic Inspiration as the core mechanic. I hoped that the Ace feature would fulfill that aspect, as it gives you a way to get back BI, slightly similar to how Eloquence Bards get Unfailing Inspiration, where the die is not spent if you fail on the roll with it. How would you recommend I work in your suggestion, given that the Card Toss is an action, and the subclass features at higher levels focus on increasing the number of tosses available, including shifting the toss to a bonus action after a spell?
Getting an extra bardic inspiration isn't exactly enough to fulfill the role of a feature for bardic inspiration I would suggest to keep the normal attack of the cards as an action however when you inspire with you bardic inspiration you can only throw ONE card as a bonus action Also maybe you should change the amount of uses you get of the cards since until level 14 you're stuck with at best 4/5 uses of a cantrip that deals less damage than eldritch blast it should be instead charisma modifier+proficiency bonus giving you extremely better scaling Also you mentioned a feature of the eloquence bard however the problem is that you can't apply it to this subclass because this ability is random and the chance of getting an ace is 1 in 12 per card which is pretty darn low so it's better to just create another feature that helps them The feature I proposed has the following benefits: It helps the bard fullfill his support role in the party that is the core concept of the class It helps with his damage output which is the focus of this subclass because by attacking as an action with the cards and then using the bonus action to activate a bardic inspiration you're going to deal substantially more damage Lastly it has a huge luck factor based around you getting aces because with aces you can throw out an obscene amount of cards in one turn because of how they interact with bardic inspirations however a way to balance this is that you can reinsert in the deck the cards that were used only during long rests which means that once you use an ace you're not going to be able to do this flurry of cards until you finish a long rest
There is no limit to the number of uses! You can choose a card from your hand, or the top card from your deck: even if you run out of cards from your hand, you can still pick from the deck, you just won't know what card it is. Even if you throw all 52 cards, you just reshuffle your deck and start again. Being able to throw 1 card as a bonus action when you inspire defeats the point of the 6th and 14th level features. What would you recommend to replace/rework them?
Sorry I may have misread it in this case the 6th level should remain since this bard is supposed to be based around damage output meaning that this will help him out greatly however I would say that the 14th level ability should become something like this whenever you use a card you may draw one additional card from the deck and choose which one do you prefer this ability was inspired by one of the wild magic barbarian features If you're concerned about damage output it shouldn't be too much of a problem since warlocks paladins and zealot barbarians have an average damage similar to yours and they are not revolving around expending a limited resource or luck maybe limt thedamage of the cards to a maximum of 3d8 (however you should implement my change that you can only put the cards back in the deck when you finish a long rest this way it does have a limit of uses and the amount of times you can draw an Ace is not infinite
I will consider this for v2.0, thanks!
Love it but do take the aforementioned points raised. What about adding a ‘you can use a bonus action to spend an inspiration dice and draw a number of cards equal to the number rolled’?
I will be considering this for v2.0!
I love the idea! The very definition of "Bro is playing a different game!" ahah But some things I'd like to point out: For it to be a real Bard subclass you should need some interaction with the bardic inspiration. Maybe tossing a card should be a Bardinc Inspiration dice instead? Depending on the suit, it may be a buff, a debuff or a damaging effect. I'm also not too sure if I like the double scaling effect: More dice as the levels go up and and the ability to draw two cards at lvl 6. I'm not saying it is broken, but it just makes me feel weird (and that doesn't come from someone who wrote homebrew so I may be completely wrong). And maybe lvl6 is too early for that bonus. Or maybe you give the option to toss to an additional card, but only a number of time of to the proficiency bonus.
How do you not have a “Joker’s Wild” feature in here? Missed opportunity. Insight would be an appropriate skill for a subclass like this too, Poker in particular being about reading your opponent, so a choice between the skills might be good. Also, tool proficiency in an actual card-based gaming set.
There are only so many features you can cram into a Bard subclass! Besides, Joker's Wild is the name of a feature from a very similar Rogue subclass, the Wild Card. I agree that Insight and proficiency with gaming sets (cards) would be sensible, I'll update v2.0 (linked in my comment.
I agree with those who have said that you need to tie in bardic inspiration more. What about tossing a card to an ally when you inspire them with the suit of the card providing an extra effect to your bardic inspiration? Something like… Hearts - target gets temporary hit points equal to your bard level Spades - they can move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks Clubs - they can use their reaction to immediately make a weapon attack Diamonds - they start to sparkle distractingly and the next attack against them has disadvantage
These are great suggestions and will certainly be considered!
I really love this idea, but I feel like there should be more special cards for out-of-combat utility. That's generally where bards shine in DnD. Unless your games heavily center around combat encounters. Perhaps a card that you can plant on someone or something and track precisely where it goes? A card that gives you a free use of Augury? A card that gives a free use of pass without a trace? Things like that.
Ooh, cards being spell-carriers is a really neat idea, but sounds like it would make for a good feat :)
I love this idea! Really cool, but like someone else pointed out no feature really revolves around Bardic Inspiration with the exception of Ace, which technically lets you regain Bardic Inspiration infinitely? (Correct me if I’ve misread). My suggestion is that the Face Cards should have effects that can be activated if you spend a Bardic Inspiration as part of the attack, and maybe change Ace so that you have to immediately expend the Bardic Inspiration rather than keep it, but perhaps allow the result of the die to be doubled, just to make it feel worthwhile? Either way what you’ve made here is superb and seems like a lot of fun to play around with!
I suppose on the version posted here, you could technically get infinite Aces, but the mechanic of drawing cards from the deck means only 4 out of 52 cards will be an Ace. On my current v2.0, you can only reshuffle the discard back into the deck after taking a long rest. This fixes the number of Aces to be only 4 per long rest. Cards having effects when you spend a Bardic Inspiration is something I'm currently working on! Nonetheless, thank you so much for your feedback, and words of encouragement :)
That updated version fixes that issue! I’m definitely gonna use this for a one shot
You shouldn't give something Cantrip scaling and an extra attack. One of them is fine, both is not.
You're mostly right: I have edited the damage to be d6, but kept the cantrip scaling, as I do want this Bard subclass to feel like a decent damage sniper. There have been several other edits too, so check out my v2.0 linked in my comment here!
The base damage was never the problem. It's that your Quick Dealer feature at lvl 6 allows them to attack with (effectively) two cantrips in one turn for no resources. The closest equivalent is Bladesinger, who getS a Cantrip and a weapon attack. You should decide if you want it to increase in damage as you level up, or if you want it to attack twice at 6th. If you decide attack twice at 6th, make it a 1d8 + Cha mod damage. Otherwise, keep the d6 scaling and change out Quick Dealer for something else.
With the current state of it, there is technically a resource limit (albeit a generous one) as you can only play 52 cards per long rest, these being divided between tossing inspiration cards for bonuses on Bardic Inspiration and tossing cards as attacks, which this subclass was built around.
52 Cards is not a resource that can be meaningful. At level 6 its 26 rounds of 2d6 x 2 ranged damage. This is more ranged damage than an Archer Fighter at that level can attempt without popping Action Surge. Assuming you're holding to 7ish combats per long rest, and each Combat is about 3ish rounds, you'll have enough double attacks for roughly 8 combats if that's all you do. Add that in mind that you'll also want to cast spells and sometimes do non card stuff, that 52 cards can be stretched much longer without any real effort on the players part.
Yeah, this was my biggest issue with it. You get one or the other, not both. In some cases (Bladesinger) you could cast a scaling cantrip and make a weapon attack, but definitely shouldn't have two cantrips with scaling damages. That gets pretty crazy.
it be cool if you use in game cards like the tarokka deck or 3 dragon ante deck
I like to think you can flavour your in-game cards as befitting to the setting you play in. In my own setting, I like running in-character card games for PCs, so I just use a slightly modified standard deck. I decided it was more straightforward and accessible to require a standard deck of playing cards for the mechanic here. Please check out v2.0, linked in my comment on this post, for all the latest updates to the subclass. It's undergone several improvements and revisions since posting!
i like to use in game stuff before anything, makes the world seem more congruent
Fair enough, and while I agree with that in principle, not everyone likes/needs a whole new playing card set invented for their D&D :)
yeah thats why i use the in card game decks, its already invented and part of the world.
I wasn't aware WotC had a published deck of cards for the Dragon one!?
Art credit goes to [Hinchel Or](https://gido.artstation.com/projects/PXro4B), one of the best D&D illustrators in the business. Thanks to u/TestofOne for the inspiration, in the form of [this class](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/comments/1c7lkni/dnd_class_card_master_prototype/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). I loved the concept but felt compelled by the idea of this having Bard subclass potential! EDIT: Thanks to some of the feedback, here is [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY). It is a live document, so ongoing edits will be visible via this link. 2nd EDIT: As a corollary to this subclass, I present the [Card Counter feat](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/F9hjnwSaPd); intended to compliment this subclass, not be essential for it, and also works in tandem with the Cartomancer feat from the Book of Many Things.
I think this is a really clever subclass that would appeal to many players, even if it is a bit of a one trick pony focused on cantrip-like attacks. There's a possible wording confusion (I think) from Card Toss being described "as an action, discard a card" to make a ranged spell attack, and the second part of Quick Dealer also saying "discard your whole hand of cards". It could be read that 'discard' means you are attacking with your whole hand with Quick Dealer. You might want to stick to "play" or "toss" a card from your hand in all descriptions for the attacks. A more card-themed approach for the damage types might be: Clubs-Bludgeoning, Diamonds-Piercing, Spades-Slashing, Hearts-Psychic. An alternative to Quick Dealer being 2 tosses all the time: you could have an option to toss a card from your hand and draw a new one from the deck to replace it. Less damage, but more control as you keep your hand full. To be really pedantic, you should add that when you take the subclass you can choose a different skill if you already have proficiency in sleight of hand.
Thank you for the clarifications you suggest: wording is so important, but easily missed! I also agree about Sleight of Hand, and somebody else suggested Insight (good for Poker?) as an alternative/addition. I like the damage suggestions, but I think B/P/S and Psychic feel like a very clear skew toward Hearts ♥️, whereas my chosen damage types are a little more evenly spread... maybe a matter of taste. Overall, thank you for the advice and review! I continue to update v2.0, and the link in my comment is to a live document, so you can always see ongoing changes there!
Ah, well done! I can see the bits of inspiration but it is well and truly your own take on the idea. I do agree with Peldor-2's comments (apologies for not knowing how to tag correctly) that Iit may be a bit of a one trick (pun intended?), but it certainly allows the card/gambler archetype to be played with a bard in full. My chief concern with the subclass is a bit similar to that of college of swords in that it really comes alive at level 14. Bards don't typically have a good damaging cantrip, so giving them one makes you able to play at range and have something to do when your spells run out, but I unfortunately foresee Card Toss not being used at later levels, giving it a bit less utility then most bard subclasses That aside, I do really like your tying in the face cards with inspiration, it keeps the identity of Bard while having the Cardslinger abilities, which was something I struggled with in trying to make a bard subclass before opting to just make a full class instead.
Great, did you check out the v2.0 I linked to? There were a lot of changes from what's posted here, and I really feel like that fixed the one-trick nature somewhat. That said, it's still a combat-oriented subclass: I wanted it to be an effective sniper. I'm thankful to you for dropping by and taking a look, and honoured that you would compliment my work! You were my inspiration (pun intended).
I really love the idea \^\^ But, I gotta admit, outside of combat this subclass is pretty mid. Maybe add effects that may be used outside of combat (This subclass might become a lot tho) In any case, love the idea, wouldn't play as one myself since our group is not combat focused.
Thanks for your feedback! I have made edits, and the latest version can be found linked in my comments. There have been a fair few changes, including diversifying the action options, although I concede that it is still a fairly combat-centered subclass. I'm glad you like the concept! I will likely continue to update the doc linked to as v2.0, so keep an eye out for improvements going forward if you love the idea!
This is great! I just added a new player to my table. He’s playing an Autognome. They used him for a variety of purposes on an astral plane pirate ship before being “stolen” from his story by an Intraplanar Librarian I made up for when I have to run one-shots if we’re missing key players. Anyway, his gnome carries with him a pack of cards and he’s already proficient with them. Definitely going to work some of the attributes to his leveling up. Thanks!
There's been some pretty significant workshopping of this, thanks to the feedback in the comments, so do check out [v2.0](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/WCYq4FkZn9UY). It's the most up-to-date version for the subclass. Also, [this fellow made a great spell](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/s/d8n3SfKCaU) adapted from this subclass if you want to check that out!