ROGUE - ADVENTURER Buccaneer Kit Description: Buccaneers are roguish raiders of the lakes, rivers, and seas, accustomed to swift moves and running battles over open water. They exist on the borders of society, travelling between the great seaports with no single place to call home, continually preying on those unable to defend themselves. Not all Buccaneers are pirates, though most are. Some are privateers in the employ of nations, traders, or even explorers. Many heard the call of the sea when the law of the land had just about caught up with them. Whether sailing the ocean in a mighty galleon or riding a river's currents in a handmade raft, the Buccaneer finds the world's waters an endless source of wonder. A sailor and adventurer, the Buccaneer has an extensive understanding of weather patterns at sea and the behavior or marine animals, specializing in combat both on and under the water. Though they prefer to remain at or near the sea, Mariners will occasionally find themselves drawn inland for extended period. It is in aquatic settings, however, that Mariners are most at home. Description: As a standard Adventurer, but Buccaneers must be of non-lawful alignment and they must have at least a 13 in Constitution and Dexterity. Buccaneers must be humans, elves (moon elves only), half-elves, half-orcs, aasimar, or tieflings. Weapon Proficiencies: All Buccaneers must take proficiency in the cutlass at first level, and at least half of the Buccaneer's weapon proficiency slots must be spent on the following weapons: chain, club (belaying pin), crossbow (any), dart, firearms (any), gaff/hook, knife (any), net, spear (any). Other weapon proficiencies may be gained, but at least half of the Buccaneer's weapon proficiency slots must be spent on these weapons. Thief Abilities and Modifiers: Appraisal, Climb Walls (+20 if a rope used, -20 if a rope not used), Detect Noise, Escape Bonds, Move Silently, Pick Pockets Buccaneers gradually learn how to apply the written word to their advantage in the sea trade, gaining both the Forge Document and Read Languages thieving abilities at 5th level, gaining the usual amount of discretionary points for Adventurers. Special Benefits: Buccaneers are nimble and sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of sea travel and smart enough to keep track of the infinite variables of sea travel, and this grants them the following abilities: Aquatic Combat: Buccaneers can fight with a weapon in each hand without penalty (as a Ranger), though their primary weapon must be a cutlass and their secondary weapon must be a belaying pin, gaff/hook, or knife (any). Buccaneers have a fine sense of balance, developed from years of working on pitching decks and shimmying up masts and yardarms. Under normal circumstances, the Buccaneer will never slip or fall when negotiating narrow, unsteady, or precarious footing. If forced to make a Dexterity check or saving throw to maintain his or her balance, the Buccaneer gains a +2 bonus. This allows them to keep their bearings even on the wildly pitching deck of a ship in stormy seas. In fact, Buccaneers never suffer a penalty to initiative when fighting in aquatic or waterborne settings, though this does not allow them to use non- thrusting weapons effectively underwater. When fighting creatures on board ship or in aquatic settings who are not themselves aquatic creatures or skilled aquatic combatants, they gain a -2 initiative bonus and a +1 bonus to hit and on AC. Archaeology: As a standard Adventurer, but their knowledge includes only ruins in aquatic settings (including underwater, seacoast, swamp, islands, and the like). Danger Sense: As a standard Adventurer, but a Buccaneer suffers a -5 penalty to his or her saving throw if not in an aquatic setting of some sort (DM's discretion). Evasion: As a standard Adventurer. Legends & Lore: As a standard Adventurer, but their area of knowledge extends only to people, places, and things related to the sea or other bodies of water (including rivers, lakes, and swamps). Likewise, they gain the reaction bonus for Legends & Lore only with respect to aquatic or seagoing creatures. They have the same chance as a standard Adventurer to find treasure maps and clues, but those found by a Buccaneer will always relate to the sea or other bodies of water (e.g., buried pirate treasure on a remote tropical island, ruined temple in a sunken city). Water Skill: Buccaneers are exceptionally skilled at virtually all seaborne tasks. Their Seamanship and Swimming NWPs improve by +1 for every three levels of experience (rounding up). In addition, due to their rigorous training and a natural affinity for the water, Buccaneers are able to swim 50% faster than normal for a character with the Swimming proficiency, and they can also hold their breath 50% longer than normal. A Buccaneer who falls into the water while heavily encumbered can always (unless unconscious, held, or otherwise restrained) get free of such encumbrance without danger of drowning. Buccaneers can also swim (or paddle small craft) in almost perfect silence (treat as a Move Silently skill roll at double the normal chance of success), applying a -2 penalty to surprise rolls versus other creatures in such waterborne situations. Because of their knowledge of and intuition about prevailing winds, currents, and other general aquatic conditions, Buccaneers can sense the presence of land (including islands and reefs that break the surface of the water), including direction and distance, within 10 miles per level of experience. If the Buccaneer has ever been to that land before, he or she has a 10% chance per level of identifying the land mass precisely. Special Hindrances: A Buccaneer must come from a Maritime background, though they may be of any social class. Buccaneers are restricted to wearing leather armor only, and they prefer to go unarmored whenever possible. With regard to shield use, Buccaneers can use bucklers if they wish, though more often they choose to fight with a secondary weapon. Many of a Buccaneer's class abilities function at full effect only when on, in, or near water. Though they can operate effectively on land, they are much more comfortable in aquatic settings and do not study land-based ruins and potential treasure holes or learn any of the Dungeoneering skills of a standard Adventurer. Besides this preference in study and skills, Buccaneers have a very strong emotional attachment to the sea. If he or she must remain away from large bodies of water for more days than he or she has points of Wisdom, he or she will suffer a -2 penalty to morale (if an NPC), saves vs. mind-affecting attacks, and ability checks and will suffer a -1 penalty to all attack rolls. In addition to the above, land-dwelling NPCs tend to regard all sailors as rather unsavory characters, and the Buccaneer will suffer a -2 reaction penalty when dealing with such NPCs, who can easily spot the Buccaneer as a man of the sea unless he or she is magically disguised. Buccaneers who engage in acts of piracy (not an uncommon calling for characters of this class) gain a certain reputation or degree of infamy especially among their peers among seamen. As a result, seafaring NPCs who are not also Buccaneers or engaged in piratical activities have double the normal reaction penalty if they are aware of a Buccaneer's reputation. BONUS PROFICIENCIES: Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Seamanship, Swimming PREFERRED PROFICIENCIES: Artillerist (naval), Boat Building, Boating, Carpentry, Cartography, Drinking, Endurance, Engineer-Shipwright, Excellent Vision, Fishing, Gaming, Haggling, Jumping, Mercantilism, Navigation, Riding (Sea-based), Rope Use, Seamstress/Tailor, Signaling, Survival (ocean surface), Tattooing, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling, Weather Sense FORBIDDEN PROFICIENCIES: any General Rural, Subterranean, or Wilderness proficiencies ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >