Gamblers are bold, brash, colorful characters who impact the world around themselves with dramatic flair and wildly variable effects—life just wouldn’t be fun if everything was average. With soaring highs and extreme lows, the gambler’s debts and favors shape their life and lead to amazing adventures and what is either a legendary or ignominious death, nine times out of ten… But what a life before it, eh?
Gamblers can largely be described in emotional terms because they’re ultimately emotional people. Logic dictates that you aim for the averages and hedge your bets to secure the best results, but a true dyed in the wool gambler wants to hit that jackpot, to see all the right cards hit the table and their opponents’ face drop. They take the big risks and face the consequences.
Table: Gambler
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features | Aura of Luck |
Maneuvers Known |
Maneuver Degree |
Tricky Lessons |
Risk Dice |
| 1st | +2 | 10 ft. | — | — | — | 1d6 | |
| 2nd | +2 | 10 ft. | 2 | 1st | 1 | 1d6 | |
| 3rd | +2 | 10 ft. | 3 | 1st | 1 | 2d6 | |
| 4th | +2 | 10 ft. | 3 | 2nd | 2 | 2d6 | |
| 5th | +3 | 20 ft. | 4 | 2nd | 2 | 3d6 | |
| 6th | +3 | 20 ft. | 4 | 2nd | 3 | 3d6 | |
| 7th | +3 | 20 ft. | 5 | 3rd | 3 | 4d6 | |
| 8th | +3 | 20 ft. | 5 | 3rd | 4 | 4d6 |
As a gambler you gain the following class features.
Hit Dice: 1d8 per gambler level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per gambler level after 1st
Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Parrying Weapons without the Two Handed quality.
Tools: All Gaming Sets
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose four from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth
You begin the game with 200 gold which you can spend on your character’s starting weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. You can select your own gear or choose an equipment package from the marshal or rogue class. Also consult the Suggested Equipment section of your chosen background.
At 1st level you exude an aura of luck in a 10-foot radius around your person. Attacks within your aura that land critical hits deal an additional 1d6 damage (which is not doubled). This aura increases to 20 feet at 5th level. The damage from this aura increases by 1d6 at levels 5, 10, and 15. In addition, you may use your Charisma modifier to determine your bonus to attack and damage rolls with weapons that don’t have the finesse quality.
As a Gambler you rely on luck even more than most adventurers. You gain a pool of dice that represents the reservoir of your good fortune! Once per round you may try to make a lucky strike on a target that you have advantage or expertise to hit, must be declared after the dice are rolled but before the narrator declares whether the attack was a hit or a miss. On a hit, add your risk dice to the damage dealt. Your risk pool refills at the start of your next turn.
Also at level 1 you gain the ability to stack the deck in favor of your friends. If a creature in your aura of luck makes an attack roll with advantage, or against an enemy that is threatened by other creatures, you may add dice from your risk pool to the damage of your ally’s attack as a reaction after the roll has been made, but before the narrator declares whether the attack was a hit or a miss.
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to use combat maneuvers. You gain proficiency in two combat traditions from the following list: Mist and Shade, Rapid Current, or Sanguine Knot. You learn two maneuvers of your choice from traditions you are proficient with.
You gain an exertion pool equal to twice your proficiency bonus, regaining any spent exertion at the end of a short or long rest. You use your maneuvers by spending points from your exertion pool. The Maneuvers Known column of the Gambler table shows when you learn more maneuvers from a tradition you are proficient with, while the Maneuver Degree column shows the highest degree you can select maneuvers from at a given level.
Additionally, whenever you learn a new maneuver, you can choose one of the maneuvers you know and replace it with another maneuver of the same degree from a tradition you are proficient with.
Also at 2nd level, you gain your first Tricky Lesson. This feature allows you to learn a Skill Trick from the rogue class or a Lesson of War from the marshal Class. You gain additional tricky lessons at 4th, 6th, and 8th level.
At 3rd level your reliance on good fortune opens you up to new encounters and the benefits thereof. Choose from the following options:
Also at 3rd level, your risk taking has taught you that sometimes taking a risk can really hurt. You gain expertise in Parrying and when you take the Parry reaction you can choose to roll one risk die. If the attack still hits you, reduce the damage you take by the amount you rolled on the risk die.
At 5th level you may use Loss Prevention on behalf of an ally in your aura of luck who uses the parry reaction.
At 7th level, your Loss Prevention allows you to roll 2 risk dice.
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th 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.
At 5th level, your reputation grows and gives you an edge in social interactions. Choose from the following options:
Also at 5th level, your aura of luck improves. Any creature who is in your aura may reroll 1s on any damage roll, but must take the new result.
At 6th level, your quick hands and sharp eyes help you take advantage of tells in and out of combat. You may now take 2 reactions between turns, rather than 1.
Also at 6th level, you know how to turn a bad hand into a good one with a little sleight of hand. When rolling initiative you can always choose to use Sleight of Hand.
As you reach 7th level your skill in bluffing reaches its peak. When you attempt to use Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion while engaged in combat and your roll fails, you may immediately move up to half your movement without provoking attacks of opportunity.
As you ramble on, the stories of your exploits grow ever wider. At 8th level, you gain a +2 bonus to your Prestige and your Risk Dice now regenerate at the beginning of every turn, rather than solely at the start of your turns. In addition, choose one of the following options:
To multiclass into the gambler motif class, a character must meet both of the following prerequisites:
Multiclassing into gambler grants the following proficiencies: light armor, simple weapons, one-handed martial weapons with the Parrying quality.
If you multiclass into marshal, you may add together your gambler and marshal levels to determine how many followers you gain, and to the healing of your rallying surge.
If you multiclass into rogue you may immediately gain two Mist and Shade combat maneuvers of your choice.