THE TRICKSTER
This profession is based on the Bloodsword gamebook series written by Dave Morris & Oliver Johnson, and is offered for the sake of completeness. The Trickster’s expertise in archery (superceding the level of a Warrior in the gamebooks) is only regarded to be at the same level as that of a Warrior or Knight here, but he may gain an affinity for throwing knifes at higher ranks.
The Trickster is basically a rogue who lives by his wits. If he can win a fight by trickery or shooting someone in the back, he will. Cunning is his main weapon. But when he has to face someone in a straight fight, he is no pushover either.
Statistics
ATTACK: 12
DEFENCE: 8
MAGICAL DEFENCE: 3
EVASION: 5
HP: 1d6+6
Marksmanship: 13
+1 to ATTACK & DEFENCE each time the character increases his rank.
+1 to MAGICAL DEFENCE each rank.
+1 to EVASION on reaching 5th rank and +1 on reaching 9th
rank.
+1 to Initial HP each rank.
+1 to Marksmanship on 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th
rank etc.
He is able to wear up to Chainmail (AF:4) with no penalty. He takes a penalty of –2 ATTACK & DEFENCE if he wears Plate.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Primary abilities
All Tricksters master these abilities at 1st rank.
Dodging technique
He is very adept at evading melee attacks by other people. This is
reflected in his high Defence score.
Jilting
This is also a form of dodging technique, but is employed when he knows
that someone is attempting to hit him with an indirect spell attack or
missile. He needs to be at least 10m away, and is able to run like heck
while changing direction suddenly to mislead an archer or mage targeting
him. He obtains a +1 to Evasion versus spell attacks, or +2 to his enemy’s
Marksmanship roll. Whilst jilting, he is unable to perform any other action
that CR.
Reverse Strike
If he detects someone behind him, he is able to turn his weapon in
his hand and hit his would-be attacker with surprise by stabbing backwards.
His normal Attack is used and is matched against the enemy’s normal Defence
score. However, the person behind cannot do anything for the rest of the
round due to the surprising nature of the strike.
Disguise
He is able to disguise his looks. Match his opponent’s Perception versus
his Stealth to determine his success rate.
Sleight of hand/Pickpocketing
He is able to move or hide small objects in his vicinity without other
people noticing, by using deceptive and dexterous movements. A Stealth
vs Perception roll can be used.
Pick locks
Roll equal/under his rank on d12 for each attempt, up to a maximum
of 3 tries for each lock. Locks are considered to have a difficulty rating
of 0 (easiest) to 6 (hardest). Add the difficulty rating to the dice roll.
Each attempt will require as many minutes as the lock’s difficulty rating
(except for a ‘0’ rating lock which takes 30 seconds.) Normal locks should
have ratings of 0 to 3. A cunning GM will not tell the player exactly how
hard it is for good locks: – Tasha the 5th rank Trickster may
take several minutes to try to pick a lock, not knowing that she is picking
a top quality Imperial Selentium lock (rating 5), which means she would
never succeed (since she would have to roll below 1).
Acrobatics/Catfall
The Trickster is able to perform somersaults, cartwheels and flips.
With the aid of a strong ally to boost him (who will cradle the Trickster
in his arms), he is able to leap further than a running jump or twice the
distance of a standing jump. In a combat situation, he may use acrobatics
to unexpectedly change his position. If his opponent scores a 20 on a hit
roll, the Trickster can rolls under his Reflexes on a d20 to successfully
vault/leapfrog over his opponent. Success means the opponent will be surprised,
and unable to do anything for the rest of the CR (assuming this is the
first time the Trickster tried this). The Trickster may use the opportunity
to flee, or attack the opponent (normal Defence.) Alternatively, he may
use back flips when fleeing from combat. Unlike a normal PC who has a zero
Defence when doing a rout (ie. turning his back and run), he is considered
to have half his Defence. Catfall enables him to fall from a height
and only suffer half the normal falling damage.
Secondary abilities
The Trickster may select one of the following at 2nd rank, and another for each rank upwards.
Play instrument
The Trickster is adept at playing either the lute, lyre, harp or flute.
He is able to get some money while performing in a town/city. (2d6 florins
per hour, max 4 hrs).
Storytelling
Spinning tales is his specialty. Also able to do this on a street or
tavern for d10 florins per hour (max 4 hrs).
Begging
By looking decrepit and miserable, he is able to get d12 florins in
a town, and d20 florins in a city every 2 hours (max 10 hrs)
Juggling
He can juggle as many items as his rank (up to 8). Each ball (above
2 of course) he keeps in the air will earn him d6 florins per hour on busy
streets (max 2 hrs).
Gambling
He is good at playing card games, dice games or chess games. He has
a 50% + 3% per rank chance of winning. Depending on the stakes, he may
win or lose d100 florins (or even crowns) per half hour. Of course, if
he wins too much, he may raise the ire of the local scum.
Imitate voice
He is able to imitate a voice he has heard before. This is best used
with Disguise, which increases his success rate of impersonation by 50%.
Ventriloquism
By throwing his voice, he is able to distract an opponent (if roll
equal/under Intelligence on d20 the opponent sees through the ploy) in
combat. He may try this once per creature only (GMs note that only ‘intelligent’
beings will fall for the trick. Most wild animals are either too stupid/aggressive
or may rely more on a sense of smell or sight to be tricked.) A distracted
opponent takes either a –3 DEFENCE penalty or is surprised (no action,
but normal Defence) for one round. In non-combat situations, this skill
can also be quite useful. Used creatively with Imitate Voice, an
opponent will have to make the Intelligence roll with a +4 modifier to
realize that it is a trick (eg. make a horde of goblins attacking the Trickster
"hear" the hobgoblin chief giving confusing orders behind them).
Forgery
The Trickster is able to forge documents with a high level of accuracy,
given that he has the necessary components – the right ink and paper, he
may have to make a fake seal/stamp.
Tertiary abilities
The Trickster may select one of the following at 7th rank, and another for each rank upwards. Tertiary abilities can be mastered concurrently with secondary abilities. Hence a 10th rank Trickster would have mastered all the secondary and tertiary abilities.
Escapology
This skill allows the Trickster to slip out of bonds and chains by
maximizing the suppleness of his body - constricting his limbs or even
by dislocating a joint.
Ambush
He is able to set traps and locate traps. In a forested environment,
a typical trap might be a net concealed by leaves, which will spring up,
and leave the entrapped hanging from a tree-branch. (Treat as SPEED 12,
trapped has a Defence of 0 for at least one CR and will need to roll under
Reflexes minus 3 to cut themselves lose each CR).
Disarm Technique
Like the Knight’s skill.
Throwing Knives
He is able to throw knives accurately. Treated as a missile attack,
the thrown knifes are (d6,3), the higher ABR indicates the ability of the
thrower to single out exposed areas on a target. Taking this skill once,
he is able to throw two knives in one CR, whether at the same person or
at two people near each other. If taken twice, this skill allows him to
throw three knives with one hand or two knives with each hand (ie. 4 in
total), again at either one target or two near each other. If a knife is
used in melee, it is only as good as normal dagger ie. (d4,3). Note that
thrown daggers are not as aerodynamic as a knife made specially for throwing
and therefore have a rating of only (d3,3).
Editor's note: Ideas for several abilities in this section are adapted from Len Henderson's Skills List.
INITIAL EQUIPMENT
The Trickster starts at 1st rank with the following:
Chainmail armor
Sword or Needler (See below)
Bow & 6 arrows, OR 8 throwing knives
2 Daggers (one concealed in boot).
Torch & tinderbox
Backpack
2-20 florins
Grappling Hook*, 15m OR rope 30m.
* A Grappling Hook allows one to climb a wall with +3 to Reflexes, provided the Hook lands over the wall and catches. (eg. roll under Strength on d20 to throw it up 10m or more.)
The Needler
This is a specialised weapon used by some Tricksters. It is a long sliver of steel, resembling a huge sewing needle, having an extremely sharp point. It is one handed, and does (d10,3). It is sometimes concealed within a harmless looking staff or walking stick but can be whipped out suddenly when the Trickster is threatened.
If a player chooses the Needler as his weapon, allow him to choose from two more secondary abilities:-
Extendible Needler, which allows him to make a needler which can collapse into a length that he may hide under his cloak (so that he may appear unarmed).
Shooting Needler, which allows him to make a small hole in the point of his needler and build a mechanism inside it so that he may pump out a jet of acid or poison. Used during combat, this strategy still requires a successful hit roll, but instead of the usual ABR and damage, the target loses 1d6-AF health points from being burnt by acid. (Subtract 10 points from armor durability).
Further note: It is also not possible to inject poison into a creature after a successful armor penetration and damage during combat, since the creature is not motionless. Poisons that stay active after being exposed to air are rare to find, so application of such poisons on the outside of the needler for actual combat is discouraged. The Trickster may however, employ the length of the needler to his advantage and try to drug a merchant's ale or hunter's dog (Sleight of Hand) whilst he distracts him with Storytelling.