Deckmaster- Children's card games

[ScrapyardDragon]

Homebrew Class - Deckmaster
Characteristics: Fellowship, Intelligence, Willpower
Skills: Academic Lore, Arcana, Charm, Common Lore, Deceive, Drive, Larceny, Perception, Persuasion, Scrutiny
Level Completion: Gain the Booster Pack feat.

Level: 1
Title: Filthy Casual
Prerequisites: Scrutiny 2, Perception 2
Feats:
CCG Player
Monster Card
Spell Card
Trap Card
Field Spell

Level: 2
Title: Magic Gatherer
Prerequisites: Scrutiny 3, Perception 3, CCG Player
Feats:
Eidetic Memory
Foresight
Luck
Spot on
*Skill Focus (Any)

Level: 3
Title: Card Vanguard
Prerequisites: Scrutiny 4, Perception 3, Spot On, 5 cards
Feats:
Counter Trap
Extra Deck
*Skill Focus (Any)
Spell Penetration
Strong Minded

Level: 4
Title: Duel Master
Prerequisites: Scrutiny 4, Perception 4, Extra Deck, 10 cards
Feats:
Combat Insight
Daggerspell Stance
Just as Planned
Nerves of Steel
*Archetypal

Level: 5
Title: King of Games
Prerequisites: Scrutiny 5, Perception 5, Just as Planned, 15 cards
Feats
Defensive Mobility
Expanded Knowledge
Greater Spell Penetration
*Skill Focus (Any)
Super Ultra Mega Rare Card


New Feats:

CCG Player
You've unlocked the power of children's card games. At the start of combat, select up to 5 cards from your deck and put them in your hand. You must Ready a card on your turn before playing it, and can have up to 5 cards readied or in play at any time. Playing a card costs resource points equal to the card's level and a half action. This counts as spellcasting, and provokes as usual. You can Reload your card hand as a full action, forming a new hand of up to 5 cards from your deck that are not currently readied or in play. When a spell or trap card is played using your resource points, the spell counts as having the same amount of resource points spent for it's effects (you may also spend more resource points if the effect allows, as usual), and if it references caster or school level it uses the lower of your level or willpower.

Monster Card
You gain a level 1 monster card, and can spend 100 XP multiplied by a monster's level to buy more. Monster cards summon controlled allies (made using the Monster Creation rules) that act immediately after your turn. Instead of tracking Hit Points, these allies are destroyed when they take more wounds than their Resistance in a round. A monster card is in play until the ally is dismissed or destroyed. Monsters summoned this way cannot have this feat.

Spell Card
You gain a level 1 spell card, and can spend 100 XP multiplied by a spell’s level to buy more. Spell cards copy the effects of a chosen spell that can be cast as a half action, automatically passing the magic roll with the exact TN and no raises. A spell card is in play until the spell is dispelled or its Duration expires.

Trap Card
You gain a level 1 trap card, and can spend 100 XP multiplied by a spell’s level to buy more. Trap cards copy the effects of chosen spell that can be cast as a reaction, automatically passing the magic roll with the exact TN and no raises. Unlike other card types, trap cards can only be played as a reaction. A trap card is in play until the spell is dispelled or its Duration expires.

Field Spell
You can power your cards with the magic of the land. You gain a Field Spell Card, and may spend 100 exp each to buy more. Playing a field spell is a half action, and you may have a number in play at a time up to your willpower. When you would spend resource points to play a card, you may instead 'tap' the same amount of in-play, untapped field spells you control. This still counts towards the amount of resource points you may spend per round, but does not increment your tell. All Field Spells you control un-tap at the start of your turn. If you would be hit by a spell that deals damage, the caster may instead choose to destroy one of your in-play Field spells (if the spell hit you with a blast, it does both).

Booster Pack
You gain a free trading card with a level equal to half your level (rounded up) or lower. Add it to your card deck.

Counter-Trap
Your trap cards count as having 2 raises when played, and you may spend resource points to grant them additional raises at a 1:1 ratio.

Extra Deck
At the start of every session you may declare a number of monster cards you own up to your willpower as being in your extra deck. Monster cards in your extra deck count as always being in your hand without taking up space, and may also be summoned as a Full Action by automatically destroying summoned monsters you control with a total level equal to or greater than the level of the monster being summoned. Summoning a monster this way does not cost resource points.

Archetypal
Pick a monster type (Animal, Construct, Daemonic, Race, Undead). Monsters of that type cost 1 less resource point to summon (to a minimum of 1), but monsters not of that type cost 1 more resource point to summon. This also affects the total levels needed to summon a monster in your extra deck.

Super Ultra Mega Rare Card
You gain a free trading card with a level of 5. Add it to your card deck.

Spot on
You can use scrutiny in place of your Ballistics skill when making Ranged Touch attacks with spells.

[ScrapyardDragon]

Originally made by WereDrago2, and ported over with his permission.

Ya kill things with the power of trading cards. Whats not to love?

A very tentative changelong that will rarely be used.
10/27/18
Replaced Zen Shooting with the new feat "Spot on" (name will probably be changed if anyone suggests a better one). The reason for this is simple, zen shooting does nothing for this class, as like GT mentions, it only works with weapons, not spells. if anyone objects to the change I'll change it back though.
10/28/18
Monsters summoned with monster card have abilities that allow them to summon more monsters disabled. Just RP it that a new banlist came out that shut down a bunch of infinite loops or something.
*On GT's suggestion/request, I've dialed it back a bit to just prevent them from having the monster card feat. It still patches the most obvious loop but allows monsters that want their own mini-troops to still function.

[GuardianTempest]

Well, it's resource heavy so don't expect a Promethean Deckmaster any time soon.

Weredrago2's intent with adding Zen Shooting was to aim your Ranged Touch spells without Ballistics, unfortunately the feat only works with weapons, not spells.



Also, an image, I couldn't find a good one of Yugi in time.

[j3puffin]

This is the smoothest way to simulate YuGiOh mechanics in a tabletop game I've ever seen...man, now I wished I'd gotten my friends into this rather than start a 5e campaign. Always next time, I guess.

Also, Zen Shooting issue is simple, idn't it? "Spot On: You can use Perception in place of your Ballistics skill when making Ranged Touch attacks with spells." Or, even better, one that uses your Scrutiny to do it...

[ScrapyardDragon]

Alright, made the change following j2puffin's suggestion. If there is an objection I'll undo it.

*also added the link to the monster creation rules because I forgot to do that earlier.

[ScrapyardDragon]

Addendum; Added a new line to monster card that should have been there for long before I moved it over, that being a blanket prevention of using it to make monsters who's only job is to summon more monsters. Yeah, in actual card games monsters summoning monsters happens all the time, but you have to make SOME concessions in order to maintain balance in cases like this.

[GuardianTempest]

I think an easier way of handling it would be "Monsters summoned this way cannot have this feat." It'd still allow minion mooks but it has to do it the hard way, instead of spending resource points to summon itself.

[ScrapyardDragon]

You're right, and that was my original plan, but shaman also exists so I just wanted to be sure. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to your suggestion either.

[GuardianTempest]

Well that would be up to the Shaman then, since its summon system is different. A Lvl 1 Shaman can summon a Lvl 5 monster and do whatever it wants but it'll be up to the summoner to not get screwed over by what he summons.

[ScrapyardDragon]

Fair enough. Give me a moment to make the change then.

[username]

Well, a Shaman summoning or binding a spirit requires expenditure of resource equal to the level of the summon, so a level 1 shaman could only summon a level 1 monster, unless they were a Kobold or had some other way of boosting resource expenditure. I suppose that you could argue that since it is not structured time the Power Stat resource expenditure limit doesn't apply but I think that limit is intended, especially since the summoning requires a Full Action.

[Nightwalker]

Idle question - when playing a Spell Card, I see that no Focus Power roll is attempted. Does this mean that no psychic phenomena occurs, since none of the usual triggering factors apply?
Second question - If playing a Spell Card of a spell which would normally require the expenditure of resource points, I presume the resource cost of playing the card would be in addition to whatever points the character wishes to pour into the spell, respecting normal point spend limits?

[ScrapyardDragon]

the focus power test is automatically passed, therefor no phenomena occur.
as for the resource point bit, I'm gonna tentatively say that the casting cost is included in the effect cost.

[GuardianTempest]

Yo Scrap, what happens if my Spell Card has the Material keyword? Would I still need to cough up the dough?

[ScrapyardDragon]

Well, i cant think of any [core] spells where the material is anything more than flavor so probably not.

that aside i decided to look over the prereqs for this class again and wow. Its an expensive one (just like real TCGs). The skill mandates are par for the course but characteristic mandates are pretty rare (even if willpower is one of the better ones anyways), but its those, the feats, and the card-count mandates that really make this a slow class to get through, not to mention any card past level 1 will require higher power stat to use at all. level 1->3 go smoothly even if you only buy required feats and skills (the three card feats and boosters from finishing 1&2 get you to five cards for L3), but then getting into levels 4 and five are way pricier just off card costs alone. Therefore Im considering removing the willpower requirement for ease of progression.