Cartomancer
The Cartomancer is a role that appears in SpliceHack. Cartomancers are spellcasters with a focus on using scrolls and summoning temporary minions to do their bidding. Many parts of the role are inspired by or pay homage to various trading card games.
Starting inventory
Each Cartomancer starts with the following:
- A Hawaiian shirt
- A +1 dagger
- 60 shuriken
- 4 random blessed scrolls
- 3 scrolls of create monster
Intrinsics
Cartomancers gain intrinsics at these experience levels:
Rank titles
- XL 1-2 Learner
- XL 3-5 Shuffler
- XL 6-9 Player
- XL 10-13 Reader
- XL 14-17 Strategist
- XL 18-21 Deck Stacker
- XL 22-25 Card Collector
- XL 26-29 Deck Stacker
- XL 30 King/Queen of Games
Gods
- Lawful: Johnny
- Neutral: Spike
- Chaotic: Timmy
Skills
| Max | Skill |
|---|---|
| Basic | |
| Skilled |
|
| Expert |
Techniques
Cartomancers can make use of the following techniques:
- Level 1: Soul of the cards: This technique polymorphs the first scroll in the player's inventory and immediately reads it. If the player is in trouble, then the scroll will be a type that can help them, otherwise the type of scroll is random.
- Level 5: Card combo: This technique lets the player immediately read several scrolls in the same turn.
- Level 15: Card capture: This technique transforms a targeted monster into a scroll of create monster, keyed to that monster.
Special rules
Cartomancer names for items
Since Cartomancers are a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh and other trading card games, several of their items have been renamed accordingly.
| Item name | Cartomancer item name |
|---|---|
| large box | deck box |
| lock pick | worthless card |
| shuriken | razor card |
| Hawaiian shirt | graphic tee |
| expensive camera | holographic card |
| credit card | banned card |
| gold piece | victory token |
| sack | card bag |
Scroll rarity
When playing a Cartomancer, all scrolls are referred to with a rarity. This rarity does not refer to how often the item is generated, but instead to the base price of the item. This system functions as a limited form of price identification.
| Cost | Rarity |
|---|---|
| 0–59 | common |
| 60–99 | uncommon |
| 100–199 | rare |
| 200–299 | super rare |
| ≥ 300 | legendary |
Create specific monster
When playing a Cartomancer, every time a creature leaves a corpse, there is a 1⁄2 chance that a scroll of create monster is dropped instead. Such scrolls are keyed to the type of the monster that was killed. Reading the scroll will create a tame version of that monster, which will serve the Cartomancer for between 15 and (4 × XL) turns. When these turns have elapsed, the creature vanishes in a puff of smoke.
Other roles can obtain these special scrolls via bones, although the creature will only remain for 5 to 10 turns, and reading a cursed scroll will always create a hostile version of the monster instead of a tame one.
Writing scrolls
Writing scrolls as a Cartomancer is considered forgery, and as such carries a hefty penalty to alignment record.
Strategy
Conducts
Due to encountering corpses less often and starting with no food, Cartomancers might as well attempt the foodless or related conducts. Illiterate, on the other hand, would take away everything that the role normally provides.
Early game
Cartomancers are arguably the hardest role in SpliceHack, in large part due to the difficulty of living past the early game. Like Tourists, they start with little to no combat ability and no spellbooks. Unlike Tourists, however, Cartomancers lack a reliable source of food. Many of the monsters that can be tamed are not very useful, and as such survival is a struggle. Players should prioritize finding a reliable food source, a decent weapon, and some spellbooks.
Late game
Cartomancers excel in the late game. There is ample access to scrolls of create monster, and the player can take advantage of the Cartomancer's powerful spellcasting skills.
Quest
The Cartomancer quest sees the player fighting Dal Zethire in an attempt to obtain the Holographic Void Lily.
