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Stealth and DaggerClasses for the Revised Rogue
Issue 310
2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Published electronically by
Paizo Publishing, LLC., under license.Permission granted to print
one copy for personal use only.
No other reproductions permitted without the express
authorization of the copyright holder.paizo.com #558984, Vincent
Anthony Sutera Jr. , Apr 11, 2005
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In D&D 3.5, the character classesreceived revisions and
updates. Afew classes changed significantly,while others, such as
the rogue,received only minor changes. Althoughthe rogue didnt
undergo a completeoverhaul, there are still a number ofnew tricks
for the class that evenexperienced players might have over-looked.
This article provides options,advice, and new prestige classes
forbuilding interesting rogue characters.
THE BASICSBefore you can build a cool roguecharacter, it is
important to considerhow the rogue class works, itsstrengths, and
its weaknesses.
A Rogues RoleOn adventures, the rogue is perhapsthe most
versatile of all characterclasses. With her copious skill
ranks,extensive list of class skills, profi-ciency with a variety
of weapons andarmor, and sneak attack ability, thereare few
situations in which a roguecannot play a role. The key lies in
fig-uring out how much of a role a roguecan play. The rogue can
wear armor,but she is restricted to leather andother light
protection. She can usemany weapons, but most of them are
one-handed or deal relatively lightdamage. Her hit points are
mediocreat best, making her a poor choice toface off against tough
monsters alone.Despite these drawbacks, the rogue isa valued member
of any adventuringparty. Her ability to defeat traps
isunparalleled, and her sneak attackdamage combined with her
stealthallows her to defeat even mighty foeswith a single
strike.
The rogue is at her best when sheuses an indirect approach to
over-come an obstacle. To defeat a squadof soldiers guarding a
tower, a fightermight charge into battle, while a sor-cerer might
unleash a fireball. In con-trast, a rogue could sneak past them,use
her glib tongue to bribe them,assume a disguise to trick them,
orread their lips (using Spot) whileemploying the Hide skill to
learn theirpassword and walk right by them.
StrengthsThe rogues primary strength is herwide selection of
skills. Not only doesthis provide you with a lot of optionswhen
designing your character, it givesher much more versatility during
anadventure. Wizards and sorcerersmight run out of spells, but a
roguecan use her skills again and again. Her
secondary strengths include her abilityto defeat traps, a key
talent in dungeonadventures, and her ability to play acritical,
supporting role in combat. Withher light armor, sneak attack
damage,and Tumble skill, the rogue can wreakhavoc on enemies who
are alreadyengaged in battle with the partysmelee fighters. While
in combat, try tofind a safe way to flank an opponent.Remember,
with her low AC and poorhit points, your rogue cannot afford togo
it alone in battle. Team up with yourallies to defeat an opponent
before itcan do much damage. Finally, althoughplayers often
overlook the Use MagicDevice skill, it can be quite useful oncethe
rogue reaches 7th level, allowingyou to use wands reliably. Until
youreach 11th level, focus on magic itemsthat play a role outside
of combat suchas a wand of cure light wounds. Youcan repeatedly use
such items to helpthe party without worrying about anymajor
complications if your Use MagicDevice check fails. If you rely on
awand of fireballs at early levels, youmight find your skill
failing you at criti-cal moments.
WeaknessesSince the rogue relies on light armor,her low hit
points can quickly become
Options, Combinations, and PrestigeClasses for the Revised
Rogueby Michael Mearls and Jeff Quick illustrated by James Ryman
cartography by Mike May
STEALTHDAGGERAND
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a pressing issue in battle. One lucky hit froman orc can drop
even a 3rd- or 4th-level rogueto zero or fewer hit points. Even
with a highDexterity score, leather armor or a chain shirtprovides
little protection against giants, trolls,and other creatures that
specialize in meleecombat. To overcome these weaknesses,
roguesshould stay away from tough monsters and letthe fighters deal
with them. Unless you canflank an opponent or the situation is
truly dire,avoid melee. Try to find magic items thatincrease your
AC. Amulets of natural armorare great for rogues since they dont
carryan armor check penalty and can stack withmagical armor.
ROGUES AND RACEPerhaps the most important choice in moldinghow
your character operates, race can dictate ifyour rogue is best
suited for social situations,ranged combat, sneaking, or melee.
HumanThe bonus feat humans gain comes in veryhandy for low-level
rogues who favor rangedweapons, as it allows you to combine
PointBlank Shot with Rapid Shot or Precise Shot.With this
combination of feats, even a 1st-levelrogue can ably perform as an
archer. A humanrogue is perhaps the most versatile
charactercombination possible, as the bonus feat and skillpoints
expand the rogues already wide rangeof talents.
DwarfThe dwarfs Constitution bonus helps balance outthe rogues
low hit points, but the penalty toCharisma makes class skills like
Bluff andDiplomacy poor choices. Even worse, thedwarfs low speed
makes it more difficult to getinto position for a sneak attack or
to escape apowerful creature. However, a multiclasseddwarf
fighter/rogue excels if you avoid skillsthat suffer armor check
penalties. Instead, takeranks in Search, Disable Device, Open Lock,
andsimilar skills to defeat traps and overcome socialobstacles
while wearing the heaviest plate armoryou can find.
ROGUES GUILD HEADQUARTERSThis map presents a dwelling with
multiple bedrooms,meeting spaces, and storage rooms, and a large
dininghall. The building could be the permanent headquartersand
living residence for a local rogues guild, with thehigher ranking
members enjoying the bigger bedrooms.Alternately, the building
could be used as an inn, provid-ing weary travelers with a place to
rest and rogues aplace to pick a few pockets and practice their
trade.
For more inspiration on how to use this map, see theother maps
presented in this issue.
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ElfThe elfs Dexterity bonus makes it anattractive choice for a
rogue charac-ter, but his penalty to Constitutionaggravates the
classs weaknesses. Anelf rogue works best when he empha-sizes
stealth and archery, two areasthat benefit from this races
Dexteritybonus. Avoid melee combat, but if youhave a 14 or higher
ability score, con-sider assigning it to Constitution.Doing so
allows you to build a veryeffective elf character.
GnomeDue to her Small size, a gnome rogueshould make the most of
her +4 sizebonus to Hide checks and focus onstealth. While the
gnome suffers apenalty to Strength, her sneak attackdamage and size
bonus to hit morethan compensate. Best of all, her sizebonus to AC
helps overcome therogues reliance on light armor.Furthermore, her
innate spells are ide-ally suited to creating tricks to confuseand
neutralize opponents. A well-timedghost sound can distract a guard
longenough to let you loot an evil templestreasury. The gnome
rogues primarydrawback is her low speed.
Half-OrcWith his penalty to Intelligence andCharisma, the
half-orc seems like a poorchoice to be a clever, dashing
rogue.However, this races bonus to Strengthand affinity for the
barbarian classmakes a multiclassed barbarian/rogue apowerful
combination. While half-orcsgenerally perform poorly as scouts
andspokesmen, they can balance out therogues weaknesses and turn
this classinto a potent melee warrior.
Half-ElfWhile the half-elf lacks the humansversatility, her
racial bonuses toDiplomacy and Gather Informationskills make her an
excellent choice ifyou want to play a silver-tonguedrogue who
charms her victims whilerobbing them blind. Although theraces +1
bonus to Listen, Spot, andSearch checks isnt as strong as anelves
skill bonuses, they still help half-elven rogues become good
scouts.
HalflingPerhaps the best-suited race to therogue class, the
halflings small size and
skill bonuses make him a scout andsneak without equal. As with
thegnome, his poor Strength is offset byhis size bonus to attack
rolls, armorclass, Hide checks, and sneak attackdamage. The
halflings skill with thrownweapons makes Quick Draw a goodfeat
choice, as it allows you to usedaggers and throwing axes
withoutwasting actions to ready a second shot.
ROGUES AND MULTICLASSINGThe rogues primary strengths,
goodskills, and sneak attack damage blendwell with almost any other
characterclass. Neither of these abilities suffersmuch if it lags
behind due to multi-classing. Wizards and clerics lose criti-cal
spellcasting levels if they take asecond class, but the rogue can
gainmore than she loses with a well-cho-sen additional class.
BarbarianThe barbarian classs reliance on lightarmor is a
perfect match with therogues abilities. In addition, the bar-barian
gains damage reduction anduses a d12 hit die, the perfect
remediesto the rogues poor hit points. Focuson Dodge, Mobility, and
Spring Attackfor feats to make the most of thisclasss improved
speed. With thesethree feats you can easily movearound a monster
and attack on youraction, allowing you to regularly gainyour sneak
attack damage.
FighterWhile the fighters reliance on heavyarmor seems to make
her a poorpartner for the stealthy rogue, thisbelief assumes that
rogues must bestealthy. Many of the rogues mostuseful class skills,
such as DisableDevice, do not suffer armor checkpenalties. Thus, a
fighter/rogue canwear the heaviest armor available andstill take
advantage of many of therogues class skills. The fighters
maindrawback is that she contributespitiably few skills to the
equation, buther many feats more than compensatefor this. Focus on
improving yourcombat abilities with Weapon Focus,Weapon
Specialization, and Cleave tomake the most of your sneak attacks.In
battle, you can rely on your heavyarmor to wade into the thick of
thingsand flank your enemies.
RangerIn some ways, the D&D 3.5 rangerduplicates many of the
rogues abili-ties. Many players found that in D&D3.0, taking a
single level of rangerwas a great option to gain access tobonus
feats, but that option is nolonger available. Still, the
rangersreliance on light armor and her abili-ties that help her
avoid detection(camouflage and hide in plain sight)make her a good
choice for a roguewho wants to multiclass. The archerycombat option
is probably the supe-rior choice for a ranger/rogue, astwo-weapon
fighting causes penaltiesthat aggravate the rogues alreadymediocre
base attack bonus.Furthermore, the rangers d8 Hit Diedoes little to
compensate for therogues mediocre hit points, givingeven more
reason for the multiclassedranger/rogue to stay out of closecombat.
These two classes are a goodcombination, as they have
similarstrengths and weaknesses, butremember that although the
classesplay on one anothers strengths, theranger class does little
to balance therogue classs weaknesses.
ROGUE FEATSThe new feats presented here aredesigned to enhance
the roguesstrengths. For example, Mercurial Strikeemphasizes the
rogues speed and roleas a supporting fighter, while Tutorplays into
his wealth of skill ranks.
Mercurial Strike [General]With a single motion, you draw
yourweapon and slash at an opponent.
Prerequisite: Quick Draw, baseattack bonus +5.
Benefit: Any time an opponent pro-vokes an attack of opportunity
fromyou, but you are unarmed, you maydraw a melee weapon and make
yourattack of opportunity with it. The tar-get of your attack of
opportunity iscaught flat footed for that attack.
Precise Strike [General]You are skilled in finding your
oppo-nents weakness and striking where ithurts most.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, ability tosneak attack.
Benefit: When making an attack thatwould qualify as a sneak
attack, youmay take away any number of dice
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from your sneak attack damage andadd a +2 circumstance bonus to
yourattack roll for each die reduction youmake. You may convert as
many ofyour dice from your sneak attackdamage as you wish in this
manner.However, if you make more than onesneak attack during a
round and areusing this feat, you must convert thesame number of
dice for each one.
Tutor [General]You have a talent for instructing oth-ers in the
areas of your expertise,allowing them to temporarily improvetheir
performance.
Prerequisite: Int 13.Benefit: You can grant an ally a +2
competence bonus to any skill that youhave trained in, including
cross-classskills. Instructing an ally requires fourdays of work,
and the ally loses thisbonus if you do not spend one houreach day
refreshing her training. Youmay tutor a total number of alliesequal
to your Intelligence bonus, andeach ally may only receive the
bonusto one skill.
ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITIESStarting at 10th level, the rogue
gainsthe option to choose from a list of
special abilities. Presented here are acouple new options you
can choose.
Knockout Blow: When a rogue wouldmake a sneak attack that deals
subdualdamage, she may instead attempt tostun her opponent before
rolling herattack. If she hits, her opponent mustsucceed at a
Fortitude save (DC 15 + 1per die of sneak attack damage) or
bestunned for 1d3 rounds.
Painful Strike: The rogues knowledgeof anatomy allows her to
inflict tremen-dous pain. The rogue must make asneak attack attempt
with an unarmedstrike. If she hits, her target must makea Fortitude
save (DC 10 + 1 per die ofsneak attack damage +
Intelligencemodifier). If the target fails this save,
he must make a Concentration check(DC 15 + 1 per die of sneak
attack dam-age + spell level) to cast a spell or usea spell-like
ability for the next 1d6rounds. The target suffers only
normaldamage for the unarmed strike, notsneak attack damage, when a
rogueuses this ability.
ROGUE PRESTIGE CLASSESThe prestige classes presented
belowprovide rogue characters with moredirection. They are intended
to helpfocus your rogue while still leaving youroom to pick up the
classs best features.
Branch DancerElves, fey creatures, and others whospend a great
deal of time in the ver-dant depths of ancient forests developa
kinship with the forests main resi-dents: trees. They learn to
listen totrees, befriend them, and fight along-side them in their
defense. These sup-ple arboreal warriors are known asbranch
dancers, and they fight alliedwith trees as much as they fight
todefend them.
Elves pioneered this discipline, butthey are not stingy with its
secrets.Anyone who qualifies for the class andacts in a forests
defense can learn to
be a branch dancer. Rangers com-monly become branch dancers,
androgues make excellent branch dancerswith appropriate
multiclassing, as dodruids and bards. Monks sometimeswalk this
path, as the solitude in theforest suits their discipline.
Otherclasses do not fare as well.
Branch dancers dress for stealthand comfort, adorning their
clotheswith bark and twigs from their homeforests. NPC branch
dancers are usu-ally committed to the protection of aparticular
forest or grove. They livetheir lives in the canopy layer, andsome
have not touched the ground inyears. Given their ability to
duckbehind trees and even disappearwithin them, branch dancers are
oftenmistaken for fey creatures.
Those who serve under leaders aresometimes sent to serve as
tokens ofesteem or honor guards to otherforests throughout the
world. Theirservice is gifted for a period of time;elven branch
dancers are usually sentwith a seed, and remain until the
treereaches maturity. Races with shorterlife spans are typically
given shorterservice periods. Branch dancers arealso occasionally
sent to counter spe-cific threats to a forest, and theyremain until
the threat is removed.
Branch Dancer Class FeaturesAll the following are class features
ofthe branch dancer prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:Branch dancers gain proficiency
withsimple weapons and all bows. Theygain proficiency with light
armor, butnot shields.
Skill Mastery (Ex): After months ofintense training among the
trees, thebranch dancer becomes so assured inthe use of certain
skills that she canuse them reliably even under adverseconditions.
When making a Climb,Balance, Jump, Move Silently, orSurvival check,
she may take 10 even
BRANCH DANCERREQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a branch dancer,
acharacter must fulfill all the followingcriteria.
Alignment: Any non-evil.Balance: 5 ranks.Climb: 5
ranks.Knowledge (nature): 5 ranks.Feats: Track.Special: Must
receive the blessing of a
treant for heroism in defense of a forest;must receive 3 months
training underanother branch dancer.
BRANCH DANCERCLASS SKILLSThe branch dancers class skills (and
thekey abilities for each) are:
Str: Climb, Jump.Dex: Balance, Hide, Move Silently.Con: Int:
Craft, Knowledge (nature).Wis: Listen, Spot, Survival.Cha:
Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier.
BRANCH DANCER CLASS FEATURESBase Fort. Ref. Will
Level Attack Save Save Save Special1st +1 +0 +2 +0 Branch
fighting2nd +2 +0 +3 +0 Speak to trees, instant fletching3rd +3 +1
+3 +1 Moss foot, skill mastery4th +4 +1 +4 +1 Improved branch
fighting, instant fletching (+1 arrows)5th +5 +1 +4 +1 Tree
stride
Hit Die: d8
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if stress and distractions would nor-mally prevent her from
doing so.
Branch Fighting (Ex): At 1st level,the branch dancer can fight
using thebranches and trunk of a tree. The char-acter essentially
gains tree as anexotic weapon proficiency. As long asshe is within
5 feet of some part of aliving tree, she may use its branches asa
bludgeoning weapon that deals 1d8points of damage. The branch
dancermay also use the tree as a doubleweapon that deals 1d8 points
of damagewith both ends. Additionally, the branchdancer may use the
tree as cover.
Speak to Trees (Sp): Twice per day,a branch dancer can use speak
withplants as a spell-like ability to speakwith trees. This ability
has a durationof 1 minute and allows the user tospeak only with
trees, no other plants.
Instant Fletching (Su): At 2nd level,as part of the branch
dancers height-ened affinity for trees, she may drawarrows directly
from a trees surface.The arrows have wooden arrowheads,but they act
as arrows for all pur-poses when used by a branch dancer.Each 20
arrows drawn from a treereduces its age by one year. Treesgenerally
do not mind this, but theability can kill a sapling or weaken
ayoung tree with repeated use, so it isgenerally reserved for
mature trees(usually of Huge size or larger).Drawing an arrow from
a tree is afree action.
At 4th level, any arrows created thisway act as +1 arrows.
Moss Foot (Sp): Twice per day, thebranch dancer may stick to
woodensurfaces as if under the effects of aspider climb spell cast
by a 10th-levelsorcerer. The branch dancer maymove at full speed
when using thisability. No matter how thin or fragilethe wood, the
branch dancer can walkon it safely, and the tree will not shakeor
tremble because of her movement.In addition, a branch dancer gains
a +5
circumstance bonus to Move Silentlychecks when moving on a
tree.
Although this ability is mainly usedto maintain footing on
trees, its powermay be used on any object made fromtrees such as a
ships masts, a ceilingbeam, or the side of wooden buildings.
Improved Branch Fighting (Ex): At4th level, because of her
practiceusing trees as weapons and cover, abranch dancers damage
with a treeincreases to 1d10 points of damagethat may be either
bludgeoning orpiercing damage. In addition, she maystrike with it
as if it were a +1 weapon.
Tree Stride (Sp): Twice per day, abranch dancer can enter trees
andmove from inside one tree to insideanother tree as per the tree
stridespell cast by a druid of 9th level.
MoleIn underground communities wheremembers dig their homes and
liveli-hoods out of the living earth, a fewdiggers occasionally
gain an unusualaffinity for earth and digging. Whencombined with a
warriors spirit, theseunderground dwellers sometimesbecome
moles.
Moles are patient and tenacious, likethe stone from which they
carve theirlivelihoods. As combatants, they livefor the ambush.
They can wait forhours in a cramped space for quarryto come along,
and they launch devas-tating blows from the safety of analcove, or
within solid rock.
As workers and miners, they are sin-gle-minded in their attempts
to wring afew more gems out of the earth.Further, they can excavate
amazingamounts of earth in a fraction of thetime it would take a
normal miner todig out a vein of precious metal. In amining
operation, moles are usuallygiven a passage to themselves and
toldto come back when they get hungry.Sometimes these individuals
arentseen for two or three shifts afterward.
Moles fingernails are usually long,tough, and always dirty.
Their clothesand skin similarly remain covered withdirt, but the
smudges and stains are asymbol of station for moles. Theyclaim a
difference between good dirtand dirty, although the
distinctionseems wasted on non-moles. Althoughthey are
traditionally dwarves, mem-bers of any race who spend time dig-ging
underground have been known tobecome moles, including
humans,gnomes, and drow. In one instance, agrimlock had even
developed moleclass abilities.
Mole is a relatively easy prestigeclass to qualify for, and it
can benefitnearly anyone in a dungeon setting.Rogues, bards, and
rangers qualify forthis class quickly. Other classes canalso learn
to be moles with an appro-priate focus on skill choice. The
great-est impediment to reaching this classis the necessary amount
of time spentunderground. Most mole PCs shouldhave either spent the
time under-ground in their pre-adventuring life ortaken a long
break from adventuringto fulfill this requirement.
Obviously, moles fare best under-ground. Aboveground, especially
inwooded or urban settings, a molesspecial abilities are less
useful.However, moles are still capable of
MOLE ADVANCEMENTBase Fort. Ref. Will
Level Attack Save Save Save Special 1st +0 +2 +0 +0 Burrow (5
ft.), sneak attack +1d62nd +1 +3 +0 +0 Meld into stone, stone
sight3rd +2 +3 +1 +1 Burrow (10 ft.), sneak attack +2d64th +3 +4 +1
+1 Stone shape, meld into stone (3/day)5th +3 +4 +1 +1 Improved
burrow, sneak attack +3d6
Hit Die: d6MOLE REQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a mole, a
charactermust fulfill all the following criteria.Base Attack Bonus:
+3.Appraise: 2 ranks.Hide: 3 ranks.Profession (miner): 1
rank.Search: 3 ranks.Special: Must have worked in a mine forat
least 1 year or lived underground for atleast 5 years.
MOLE CLASS SKILLSThe moles class skills (and the key
abilitiesfor each) are:
Str: Climb, Jump.Dex: Hide, Move Silently.Con:
Concentration.Int: Appraise, Knowledge (architecture
and engineering), Knowledge (dun-geoneering), Search.
Wis: Listen, Profession (any), Survival.Cha:
Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.
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surprising flexibility when in contactwith the earth.
Mole Class FeaturesAll the following are class features ofthe
mole prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:Moles gain proficiency with
simpleweapons and picks. They gain profi-ciency with light and
medium armor,but not shields.
Burrow (Ex): At 1st level, as long asa mole has two hands free,
he canburrow at a speed of 5 feet. He canburrow through dirt, but
not rock. Themole may use this ability to create ahiding place out
in the open, evenaboveground, as long as he can diginto the dirt as
a move action.
At 3rd level, the moles burrowspeed increases to 10 feet.
Sneak Attack: The mole gains thesneak attack ability at 2nd
level if hedoes not already have it. This is exactlylike the rogues
sneak attack abilitydescribed in the Players Handbook. Themole
gains +1d6 damage with this attack
initially, but this rises to +2d6 at 4thlevel. If she already
has the sneakattack ability from a previous class, thedamage
bonuses stack.
If a mole gets a sneak attack bonusfrom another source (such as
roguelevels), the bonuses to damage stack.
Meld Into Stone (Sp): At 2nd level, amole gains the ability to
conceal him-self within a block of stone. Once perday, he may act
as though under theeffect of a meld into stone spell castby a
12th-level cleric.
At 4th level, he may use this ability3 times per day.
Stone Sight (Su): At 2nd level,moles gain the ability to see
throughstone. A mole may see through oneinch of stone for each
level of mole hehas. Among other benefits, stone sightallows a mole
to see outside the rockwhen he is melded into stone.
Stone Shape (Sp): At 4th level,stone becomes a malleable surface
fora mole. Once per day, he can cast thestone shape spell as a
10th-level cleric.
Improved Burrow (Su): By 5th level,the mole is so attuned to
earth that itmoves willingly for him. He can bur-row with a
movement rate of 20 feet,and can burrow through rock or otherhard
minerals at half speed.
JobberMany halfling communities, sometimeshundreds strong, are
nomadic. Thesecommunities move from place to placefollowing the
money, game hunting,mining, or trading.
These traveling halflings are dedi-cated opportunists, but they
know thatwaiting for opportunity is rarely prof-itable. Instead, a
community of anydecent size uses one or more jobbers,a socially
adept ranger who scouts outnew locations that have potentialwealth
and an ability to employ andenrich a halfling community. When
ajobber finds a likely target, she negoti-ates with the holder of
the wealth for
that wealth to be transferred to thehalfling community, usually
(but notalways) in exchange for an agreed-upon amount of work.
Althoughfiercely dedicated to their family andcommunity, jobbers
spend half theirtime on the road ferreting out newplaces for a
caravan of halflings to goand make a living.
Jobbers are excellent thieves, andthey usually have a fair
amount of per-sonal wealth. However, as part of theceremony to
begin training as a jobber,a subject must accept a mark of
justicespell. Thereafter, a jobber may neveract against the best
interests of hercommunity, which includes abandoningher duties or
holding back money forpersonal gain. When the mark activates,any
halfling within 60 feet of the sub-ject feels uneasy. An NPC
halflingsattitude toward the character somarked will never rise
above indiffer-ent as long as the mark remains.
Jobbers dress for the occasion.When on the job they usually
con-sider it a sign of bad faith to be seenwearing weapons or
armor, unlessthey are in a culture that prizes martialprowess and
battle readiness. Like anygood halfling, they take their socialcues
from the people around them.
Rogues and bards make the bestjobbers, but clerics, sorcerers,
monks,and even paladins have been known tohold this position. The
jobbers role isnot inherently dishonest and can beapproached with
forthrightness. Thefact that most jobbers arent terriblyforthright
is more a testament to whothe halfling was before she became
ajobber rather than a requirement ofthe class itself. Most jobbers
will go tonearly any length to find out wherework is and how her
community canget it. Blackmail and larceny are justtwo more tools
in the jobbers toolboxif her considerable powers of persua-sion
dont get the work done.
JOBBER ADVANCEMENTBase Fort. Ref. Will
Level Attack Save Save Save Special1st +0 +0 +2 +2 Favored mark,
friendly smile2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Hide in plain sight, fast friend,
sneak attack +1d63rd +2 +1 +3 +3 2nd favored mark, detect wealth4th
+3 +1 +4 +4 Seal the deal, sneak attack +2d65th +3 +2 +4 +4 3rd
favored mark
JOBBER REQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a jobber, a charac-ter
must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Halfling.Base Attack Bonus: +3.Appraise: 4
ranks.Diplomacy: 6 ranks.Gather Information: 4 ranks.Feats:
Alertness.Special: Must be literate; must be cho-
sen by a community of halflings to serveas a jobber; must
willingly accept a markof justice spell that triggers if the
jobberever acts against the best interests of herhalfling
community.
JOBBER CLASS SKILLSThe jobbers class skills (and the key
abili-ties for each) are:
Str: Climb, Jump.Dex: Disguise, Escape Artist, Hide,
Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight ofHand, Ride, Tumble, Use
Rope.
Con: Int: Appraise, Decipher Script, Forgery,
Search.Wis: Listen, Profession (any), Sense
Motive, Spot.Cha: Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather
Information, Perform.
Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.
Hit Die: d6
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Jobber Class FeaturesAll the following are class features ofthe
jobber prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ajobber is proficient with all
simpleand martial weapons, light armor,medium armor, and shields
(excepttower shields).
Favored Mark (Ex): At 1st level, ajobber may select a humanoid
race(dwarf, elf, goblinoid, human, and soon) as a favored mark. Due
to herextensive study of her chosen raceand training in the proper
techniquesfor persuading such creatures, thejobber gains a +2 bonus
to Appraise,Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information,and Sense Motive
checks when usingthese skills in negotiation with crea-tures of
this type. At 3rd and 5thlevels, the jobber may select an
addi-tional favored mark. In addition, ateach such interval, the
bonus againstany one favored mark (including theone just selected,
if so desired)increases by 2.
Friendly Smile (Ex): When attempt-ing to alter an NPCs attitude,
a jobbergains a +5 competence bonus toDiplomacy checks.
Sneak Attack: The jobber gains thesneak attack ability at 2nd
level. This isexactly like the rogues sneak attackability described
in the PlayersHandbook. The jobber gains +1d6 dam-age with this
attack initially, but thisrises to +2d6 at 4th level. If shealready
has the sneak attack abilityfrom a previous class, the
damagebonuses stack.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): While inany sort of natural terrain, a
jobber of2nd-level or higher can use the Hideskill even while being
observed.
Fast Friend (Ex): At 2nd level, job-bers pick up the lay of the
land veryquickly. A jobber may make a GatherInformation check after
only 1 hour ofsocializing rather than the normal 1d4+1hours. The
jobber may retry a failed
check 3 times in the same eveningwithout drawing attention or
suspicion.
Detect Wealth (Sp): Once per day at3rd level, a jobber can
detect the pres-ence and approximate amount of thegreatest
concentration of wealth in anarea. This is a specific kind of
divina-tion, similar to a locate object spell castby a 5th-level
wizard with the follow-ing exceptions. The abilitys area ofeffect
has a radius of a quarter mile;the abilitys duration is one minute;
andthe ability detects the greatest singlesource of wealth within
the area.
If a source of wealth is diffusedover an area (such as a flock
of sheepor a vein of precious ore), the jobberonly gets a sense of
direction until hereaches the approximate geographicalcenter of the
area.
Note that wealth is measured inmore than coins, and even though
ajobber determines where a valuableobject is, she does not
necessarilyknow why something is valuable orhow to dispose of the
wealth. Forinstance, a lords art collection mightbe the greatest
concentration ofwealth in his fief. How the jobber canget and
liquidate that wealth for thebetterment of her community is left
upto her discretion.
This ability is blocked by even a thinsheet of lead. Polymorph
any objectfools this ability.
Seal the Deal (Sp): At 4th level, ajobber gains the ability to
enforce herdeals. After a jobber negotiates anopportunity and
terms, and theseterms are committed to paper, sheusually ends the
negotiations with ahandshake (or shaking the appropriateappendage
of her new business part-ner). The handshake magically bindsthe
partner to the terms of the deal. Ifthe partner ever breaks the
deal forany reasonwillingly or nothe isaffected as if the jobber
had cast abestow curse spell on him. The jobberchooses what will
befall the deal
breaker when the deal is closed.Revealing the use of this
ability is atthe jobbers discretion.
Magic FilcherThieves like to specialize. For the ego-tistical,
specialization allows their rep-utation to spread more quickly
andsets them apart from the crowd. Forthe business-minded,
expertise meansthey can command higher prices andpercentages. For
the adventurous, itcreates the opportunity for more intri-cate
challenges.
Magic filchers specialize in stealingfrom the most dangerous
targets: wiz-ards. Wizards are famous for havingexpensive and
dangerous baubles lyingaround their towers. Of course,
magicfilchers also steal from sorcerers,clerics, or any available
spellcaster.Wizards are just the most likely peopleto have
collected books, items, andartifacts worth stealing. Wizards alsogo
to the greatest lengths to protecttheir possessions, requiring
moreexpertise to steal them.
Magic filchers adorn themselveswith trophies from their
conquests.Many make it a point of pride to col-lect specific
trinkets from each wizardthey rob. Collections include bits of
MAGIC FILCHERREQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a magic filcher,
acharacter must fulfill all the followingcriteria.
Disable Device: 10 ranks.Knowledge (arcana): 8 ranks.Spellcraft:
5 ranks.Use Magic Device: 5 ranks.Special: Must be able to cast
arcane
spells.
MAGIC FILCHER CLASS SKILLSThe magic filchers class skills (and
thekey abilities for each) are:
Str: Climb, Jump, Swim.Dex: Balance, Escape Artist, Hide,
Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight ofHand, Tumble, Use Rope.
Con: Concentration.Int: Appraise, Craft (alchemy), Disable
Device, Decipher Script, Knowledge(arcana), Search,
Spellcraft.
Wis: Listen, Spot.Cha: Bluff, Use Magic Device.
Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.
MAGIC FILCHER ADVANCEMENTBase Fort. Ref. Will
Level Attack Save Save Save Special Spells/Day1st +0 +0 +2 +2
Detect magic +1 level of existing class2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Wizard
mimic3rd +2 +1 +3 +3 Dispel magic +1 level of existing class4th +3
+1 +4 +4 Magical certainty5th +3 +1 +4 +4 Read aura +1 level of
existing class
Hit Die: d6
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parchment, hair from familiars, oreven something as bold as
rings. Thiscollecting fetish has been the downfallof a few magic
filchers, but the con-sensus among the rest is that only thesloppy
filchers get caught. Those whofall prey to their targets deserve
theirfate for failing to cover their tracks.
Unsurprisingly, rogues make thebest magic filchers, although
therequirements for the class force arogue to take levels of wizard
or sor-cerer to get into the business full time.Bards also step
into this class with rel-ative ease, although a bard must befocused
in his skill selection to qualify.Wizards and sorcerers can choose
thispath, but they almost always requirelevels of rogue or bard in
order tomeet the requirements.
Magic Filcher Class FeaturesAll the following are class features
ofthe magic filcher prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Amagic filcher gains no new weapon
orarmor proficiencies.
Spells Per Day: At 1st, 3rd, and 5thlevels, the magic filcher
gains new spellsper day as if he had also gained a levelin a
spellcasting class he belonged tobefore he added the prestige
class. Hedoes not, however, gain any other ben-efit a character of
that class would havegained (improved chance of turning
undead, for example). This essentiallymeans that he adds the
level of magicfilcher to the level of some other spell-casting
class the character has, thendetermines spells per day and
casterlevel accordingly.
If a character had more than onespellcasting class before
becoming amagic filcher, he must decide to whichclass he adds each
level when he gainsthe magic filcher level.
Detect Magic (Sp): At 1st level, themagic filcher may act as
though underthe effects of a detect magic spell castby a sorcerer
of a level equal to themagic filchers. The magic filcher mayuse
this ability 3 times per day.
Wizard Mimic (Ex): At 2nd level,the magic filcher knows how to
thinklike a wizard. He gains a +5 bonusto Use Magic Device checks
whenattempting to emulate an ability score,emulate a class feature,
or activateblindly when these checks pertain toitems with arcane
spells or wizard-specific class features.
Dispel Magic (Sp): Once per dayat 3rd level, the magic filcher
may
cast the dispel magic spell as a 1oth-level sorcerer.
Magical Certainty (Ex): At 4th level,the magic filcher has a
pretty goodidea of how magic works. He can take10 on Use Magic
Device checks, andhe never suffers damage frommishaps, either with
the Use MagicDevice skill or from attempting to usea scroll of
higher caster level than hepossesses. Note that mishaps mightstill
occur, but the magic filcher isnever harmed by them.
Read Aura (Su): By 5th level, themagic filcher has spent so much
timestudying magic items that their aurasbecome visible to him. As
long as amagic filcher has his sight, he can, atwill, detect the
presence or absence ofmagical auras within his field of visionand
the location of each aura. If hewants to gain more information,
he
must use the detect magic spell orability. If he uses his
ability, the magicfilcher may begin the study as if hehad already
used the ability for 2rounds, allowing him to begin at the3rd round
of effectiveness. Amongmore obvious benefits, this abilitygrants a
rogue a +5 bonus to DisableDevice checks when attempting to dis-arm
or bypass magical traps.
StonefaceSome start out as actors, some werecon men, and some
claim to do it forthe good cause, but everyone knowsin the end that
a stoneface obscurestruth for her own ends.
The stoneface is a consummate liar.She combines a quick wit with
a sternwill. She knows when to hold on toeven the most ridiculous
fabricationsand when to change her story to bettersoothe her
audience. Through constantpractice, the stoneface learns to
alternot only her voice and body language,but also her aura,
throwing off evendivination spells directed against her.
Rogues and bards make excellentstonefaces. Spellcasters with a
deceit-ful bent also can become good stone-faces in time,
particularly wizards whospecialize in illusion magic or clericswho
take the Trickery domain. Mostother classes can become
stonefaces,but only with great effort. Monksnever follow this path
due to theiralignment conflict.
The best lies contain lots of detailand are built on a solid
foundation oftruth. Given this premise, stonefacesseek and hoard
all kinds of informa-tion and often develop an area ofspecialty,
which allows them to runscams and deceive people moreeffectively. A
stoneface often tries tomake her lies relate to her area
ofexpertise to bolster her credibility.However, any stoneface worth
thename can pull off a spontaneous scamon nearly any topic.
STONEFACE REQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a stoneface, a
char-acter must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: A stoneface may not be oflawful alignment.
Bluff: 8 ranks.Concentration: 3 ranks.Feats: Persuasive, Skill
Focus
(Knowledge [any]).
STONEFACE CLASS SKILLSThe stonefaces class skills (and the
keyabilities for each) are:
Str: Dex: Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock,
Sleight of Hand.Con: Concentration.Int: Forgery, Knowledge,
Search.Wis: Listen, Sense Motive, Spot.Cha: Bluff, Diplomacy,
Disguise, Gather
Information, Perform.
Skill points at each level: 8 + Intmodifier.
STONEFACE ADVANCEMENTBase Fort. Ref. Will
Level Attack Save Save Save Special1st +0 +0 +2 +2 Convicted
mind, Investigator2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Honest countenance, Persuasive3rd
+2 +1 +3 +3 Resolute mind4th +3 +1 +4 +4 Guiltless aura5th +3 +1 +4
+4 Utterly disavow
Hit Die: d8
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Most stonefaces keep a low profileand stay mobile. Lies tend to
catch upwith them if they stay in one place toolong. Stonefaces are
well known tohave a minimum of two escape plansin case a scam is
discovered or thingsbegin to fall apart. Not all stonefacesare
overt scalawags, however. In rarecases, some set up shop as
informa-tion brokers or spies, and althoughstonefaces are rarely
good in align-ment, a few exist deep undercover inevil
organizations, smuggling informa-tion out to their masters while
usingtheir skills to mask their true identities.
Stoneface Class FeaturesAll the following are class features
ofthe stoneface prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Astoneface gains proficiency with
allsimple and martial weapons, all armor,and shields (except tower
shields.Heavy armor and shields are seldomuseful to a stoneface,
but the profi-ciency allows them to pretend to becompetent fighters
if necessary.
Convicted Mind (Ex): At 1st level, astonefaces rigorous mental
traininggrants her a +2 bonus to saving throwsagainst enchantment
spells and effects.
Investigator (Ex): A stoneface gainsthe Investigator feat for
free, gaining a+2 bonus on all Gather Informationand Search
checks.
Honest Countenance (Sp): At 2ndlevel, a stoneface can
redirectattempted detection spells as though shewere acting under
the effects of a mis-direction spell cast by a 5th-level sor-cerer.
The stoneface may use this abilityonce per day per stoneface
level.
Persuasive (Ex): At 2nd level, astoneface gains the Persuasive
feat forfree, gaining a +2 bonus on all Bluffand Intimidate
checks.
Resolute Mind (Ex): At 3rd level, astonefaces training grants
her a +2bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting spells and
effects. This abilitystacks with her convicted mind ability,giving
her a +4 bonus to savingthrows to spells and effects that areboth
enchantment and mind-affecting.
Guiltless Aura (Su): At 4th level, thestoneface is so skilled at
masking herintentions that she acts at all times asif under the
effects of a misdirectionspell cast by a 10th-level sorcerer.
Inaddition, the stoneface instantlyknows when she is the subject of
a
divination attempt (either by spell oritem) and what type of
Divinationeffect it is, although not its origin.When alerted, she
chooses the personor item within range that she wishesthe diviner
to detect.
Utterly Disavow (Sp): At 5th level,the stonefaces training
allows her toevade detection from divinationspells and magic items
that can deter-mine locations, such as crystal balls.Once per day,
the stoneface may actas though under the effects of a non-detection
spell cast by a 12th-levelsorcerer.
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