Flavouring a spellbook as a deck of cards

[Vox Silentii]

How would one do such a thing?

Thinking about creating an Illusionist Wizard but using a deck of cards as his spellbook.

Maybe he lays them out in the air in front of him?

For added sillyness, he could draw a card at random and cast that spell.

I'm just looking for suggestions.

[Unoriginal]

Just say that the cards have different mystic symbols on them and that the wizard prepare a spell by putting several cards together in the correct sequence.

You could also say the cards are your focus, rather than your spellbook, and flavor it as you pulling out the right card for each spell a la YuGiOh

[Naanomi]

As long as everything else is intact... you can lose it, it costs money and time to add spells to it, you can ritually cast from it, it weighs the same, is equally vulnerable to damage, and other people recognize it for what it is... it can look like whatever you want as far as I am concerned as a GM

[Sigreid]

As long as everything else is intact... you can lose it, it costs money and time to add spells to it, you can ritually cast from it, it weighs the same, is equally vulnerable to damage, and other people recognize it for what it is... it can look like whatever you want as far as I am concerned as a GM

Word.

Though I agree that what the op describes sounds more like using the deck as a focus.

[jjadned]

I see you like magic, *Pulls out a deck of cards* Lets play!

[Tiadoppler]

One of my favorite characters from a (several year old) game was an elderly wizard professor (High INT, dump WIS) whose spellbook was a loose pile of index cards that had gotten mixed up with lecture notes on various introductory subjects. The player would cast spells, and occasionally include random tidbits of Evocation 101 lectures before harrumphing and flipping to the next index card.

By RAW, your spellbook can look like pretty much any collection of information (scroll, loose leaf notes, fancy book, I think I even saw a carved staff with runes as an option somewhere). Did you want a mechanical change to your character's spellcasting?

[xroads]

Sounds like a fun idea. And I think having the cards float in air works just fine.

For additional fun, you can use cards as a trapping for several of your spells. For example "Cloud of Cards" instead of "Cloud of Daggers."

[Sigreid]

One of my favorite characters from a (several year old) game was an elderly wizard professor (High INT, dump WIS) whose spellbook was a loose pile of index cards that had gotten mixed up with lecture notes on various introductory subjects. The player would cast spells, and occasionally include random tidbits of Evocation 101 lectures before harrumphing and flipping to the next index card.

By RAW, your spellbook can look like pretty much any collection of information (scroll, loose leaf notes, fancy book, I think I even saw a carved staff with runes as an option somewhere). Did you want a mechanical change to your character's spellcasting?

I had a goblin wizard NPC whose spellbook was his wives and daughters that were taught traditional dances and songs that they didn't know contained the information for the spells. It seemed to me a good way to have an aboriginal tech level wizard.

[PeteNutButter]

The randomness works with that last UA wizard, school of invention. Have 10 cast (or multiples of 10 so you can more easily shuffle) instead of a d10 and literally draw a card when casting a spell.

I feel like that’d be a lot more fun than just rolling a die. “And I cast,” *shuffle shuffle shuffle*, “Firebolt!” You could put some nice art on them or just use magic cards.

I guess you’d need 10 cards per spell level, but that sounds like fun. I want to do it now.

Doesn’t really mean your character is using it... you just gave me the idea.

[RazDelacroix]

Perhaps your wizard has an ornate wooden box with a hinged cover. Opening the box you find to one side ten slots that could comfortably hold cards (helpfully labeled from Cantrips to 9), and to the other side you find a modified calligrapher's set fit for making new cards.

Perhaps a foldout section could hold spellscrolls that have been converted to 'flash card' format. Another foldout section may contain cards detailing arcane notes regarding rules of magic, mystical items, and wyrd locales.

Every morning, the wizard would select from his card collection a suitable number for his daily deck and fit those cards into a special pouch that acts as his focus.

[Dr. Cliché]

The most important thing is that whenever you use Shield, Counterspell, Absorb Elements or such, you have to say "You activated my trap card!"

[HandofBlades]

It is just your magic the gathering deck and you draw a hand at the beginning of combat.

[Sigreid]

A tarot deck where you assign a few spells to each card and have to work with one of the spells associated to the card you drew could be interesting and fun.

[Zalabim]

Since the spellbook is normally used for preparing spells and casting rituals, the morning preparation could look like a game of solitaire, calculated deckbuilding, or some solo test runs. Ritual casting would be the sideboard.