Jack of Spades (3.5e Class)

Jack of Spades

Jacks of Spades are skill- and feat-ponies, made to be the skillful, generally able class of a party, and they improve in this farther than any class through abilities that allow them to excel farther than any other class in its skills.

Making a Jack of Spades

Jacks of Spades are ineffective as adventurers on their own, but their skills and abilities make them indispensable in dungeon-crawling and similar adventures that require long journeys without means for acquiring supplies.

Abilities: The primary ability of a jack of spades is Intelligence, due to its affect on skill points. However, this can be changed to Wisdom through the jack of spades' unique first-level class feature. Secondary abilities include any that pertain to the skills a particular jack of spades specializes in.

Races: Any.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 5d4×10 gp (125 gp).

Starting Age: Simple.

Table: The Jack of Spades

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Wise Learner, Sneak Attack +1d6
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Trapfinding, Trap Sense +1
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Evasion, Skill Specialty
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Improved Tool Use +1, Sneak Attack +2d6
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5	Fast Learner
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	Skill Specialty
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6	Special Ability
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	Sneak Attack +3d6, Trap Sense +2
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+7	Improved Tool Use +2
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	Special Ability, Skill Specialty
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+9
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+9	Sneak Attack +4d6, Special Ability
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Skill Specialty
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Trap Sense +3
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11	Special Ability
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	Sneak Attack +5d6, Skill Specialty
10 + Int or Wis modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level All Skills, taken individually.

Class Features

Jacks of spades are skill, feat, and tool specilists, and as such have abilities that expand the powers from tools and skills. All of the following are class features of the jack of spades.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Jacks of Spades are proficient with all simple weapons and any shovel or similar spade. Jack of Spades are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

Wise Learner: The jack of spades focuses solely and primarily on his training in skills and feats, which are usually attained through intelligence, or a natural penchant for learning. However, because of this a jack of spades' singular devotion to study and learning, he can choose to use either his Intelligence or his Wisdom modifier for gaining skill points, beginning with the original starting points of a new character of this class.

This means that, at first level, a beginning jack of spades may gain either 10 + his Int modifier ×4 or 10 + his Wis modifier ×4, whichever he chooses. After the decision to apply Wisdom rather than Intelligence modifiers to skill point gains or to forfeit this class feature is made at first level it cannot be changed later.

Sneak Attack: This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 at 1st level and every fourth level beginning with 4th level (1st, 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th). If an jack of clubs gets a sneak attack bonus from another source the bonuses on damage stack.

Trapfinding: Jacks of spades can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20.

Finding a nonmagical traps has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic traps has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.

Jacks of spades can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A magic traps generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it.

A jack of spades who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.

Trap Sense: At 3rd level, a jack of spades gains an intuitive sense that alerts him to danger from traps, giving him a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise to +2 when the jack of spades reaches 10th level and to +3 when he reaches 17th level.

Trap sense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack.

Evasion: At 4th level and higher, a jack of spades can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the jack of spades is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless jack of spades does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Skill Specialty: Choose a skill. You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving that skill.

Appraise:

Autohypnosis:

Balance:

Bluff:

Climb:

Concentration:

Control Shape:

Craft:

Decipher Script:

Diplomacy:

Disable Device:

Disguise:

Escape Artist:

Forgery:

Gather Information:

Handle Animal:

Heal:

Hide:

Intimidate:

Jump:

Knowledge:

Listen:

Move Silently:

Open Lock:

Perform:

Psicraft:

Profession:

Ride:

Search:

Sense Motive:

Sleight of Hand:

Speak Language:

Spellcraft:

Spot:

Survival:

Swim:

Tumble:

Use Magic Device:

Use Psionic Device:

Use Rope:

Improved Tool Use: Whenever a jack of spades uses a tool or instrument to assist in a skill check (in other words, provide some sort of bonus to his modifier for the skill; this excludes using tools or instruments required to perform the check such as with a certain workshop or tool for craft check or a specific instrument for a perform check), the bonus that is provided increases by 1 because all jacks of spades have an intuitive understanding of how to operate and apply tools and instruments to maximum effect. This increase in bonus improves to 2 at level 11.

Fast Learner: At 6th level, a jack of spades has studied enough to see the methods of learning that allow him to learn most effectively and quickly.

He may select a number of skills equal to his intelligence modifier (or his wisdom modifier if he took the Wise Learner ability at 1st level) for which the limit of ranks able to be trained in those skills is 1 higher than usual (in effect making their rank limit ECL+4 rather than +3).

This ability comes into effect before skill points are allocated.

Special Ability: On attaining 9th level, and at every three levels thereafter (12th, 15th, and 18th), a jack of spades gains a special ability of his choice from among the following options.

Improved Evasion (Ex): This ability works like evasion, except that while the rogue still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks henceforth she henceforth takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless rogue does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Skill Mastery: The rogue becomes so certain in the use of certain skills that she can use them reliably even under adverse conditions.

Upon gaining this ability, she selects a number of skills equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier. When making a skill check with one of these skills, she may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so. A rogue may gain this special ability multiple times, selecting additional skills for it to apply to each time.

Slippery Mind (Ex): This ability represents the jack of spades’ ability to wriggle free from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel him. If a jack of spades with slippery mind is affected by an enchantment spell or effect and fails his saving throw, he can attempt it again 1 round later at the same DC. He gets only this one extra chance to succeed on his saving throw.

Poison Use: A jack of spades is trained in the use of poison and never risks accidentally poisoning himself when applying poison to a blade.

Track: A jack of spades gains Track as a bonus feat.

Tinker: This ability represents a study of the mechanics of constructs, which allows a jack of spades to deal the extra damage from his sneak attack to creatures with the construct subtype, unless the construct is immune to sneak attacks or critical hits for a reason other than being of the construct type.

Cripple Undead: This ability represents a study of the anatomy, composition, and magic of undead, which allows a jack of spades to deal the extra damage from his sneak attack to creatures with the undead subtype, unless the undead is immune to sneak attacks or critical hits for a reason other than being of the undead type.

Botany: This ability represents a study of the chemistry and biology of plants, which allows a jack of spades to deal the extra damage from his sneak attack to creatures with the plant subtype, unless the plant is immune to sneak attacks or critical hits for a reason other than being of the plant type.

Gifted Learner (Ex): This ability represents an extraordinary ability for learning that the jack of spades has honed to perfection. All skills affected by the Fast Learner class ability may now exceed the usual maximum skill ranks of a skill by 2 instead of 1. In addition, a jack of spades may choose one additional skill to be affected by the Fast Learner ability (and through it, this ability).

Feat: A jack of spades may gain a bonus feat in place of a special ability.

Epic Jack of Spades

Table: The Epic Jack of Spades

Hit Die: d6

Level	Special
21st
22nd
23rd	Bonus Feat
24th
25th
26th	Bonus Feat
27th	Trap Sense +4
28th
29th	Bonus Feat
30th
10 + Int or Wis modifier skill points per level.

Trap Sense:

A jack of spades' Trap Sense continues to increase at 27th level and every 7 levels thereafter.

Bonus Feats: The epic jack of spades gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic jack of spades bonus feats) every 3 levels after 20th.

Epic Jack of Clubs Bonus Feat List: .

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