Outlaw - Dragon (Character Kit)

Outlaw
Specialty:  Thievery, musical instruments, storytelling, and song.
Qualifications:  To survive in the cut- throat criminal underworld, outlaw bards must be physically fitter than other bards; they must therefore have a minimum Strength and Dexterity of 12 and 14 respectively. Outlaws are criminals, and therefore are not suited to lawful alignments. Humans, elves, half-elves, and gnomes may be outlaws. Halflings may become outlaws, but are able to advance to twelfth level only. As with all halflings, they cannot cast magical spells, but do get special resistance to spells they know
(see the CBH page 53 for rules on halflings resisting magic).
Introduction: Well met. I am Melendrian, although more know me as The Red Cape. I operate in Suzail, Cormyr Some call me a thief, but I prefer to think of myself as a redistributor of wealth, and corrector of social unfairness. I also get a tremendous thrill when I pull off a major haul! I relieve the wealthy of their valuables, and donate much of my income to charities and churches. Although many realize where this portion of their income is coming from, they do not worry them selves over how it is obtained. Why should some suffer in poverty when others have so much, and do nothing useful for it? That is why I steal.
In this respect, I think of myself as doing good for the community, but unfor- tunately, others do not share my view. I blame those rogues who keep all their earnings for themselvespirates and bandits especially. They abuse their talents
for greed, and give me a bad name. I can do nothing to prevent them, however, for they outnumber me fifty to one.
Anyway, I cant stop here. That fellow across the street is looking at me suspi- ciously. Ive got another job to pull before dawn, and Im in no mood to be followed tonight. Fare you well.
Description: The outlaw bard (also called the brigand bard) is more inclined toward thieving than other bard charac- ters. While most bards enjoy performance and artistry for their own sakes, outlaw bards need to feel the rush of excitement when burgling houses, and to perform for themselves. Some outlaws will even go so far as to leave cryptic clues as to their identity, playing a cat-and-mouse game with the law. Such games gain the outlaw infamy, but also place him at great risk but risk and thrills are the things most desired by outlaws.
The outlaw bards make full use of all their skills to earn money, while avoiding the law at the same time. They have more highly developed thieving skills than other bards, for they practice and use the dex- terous arts more often, and the morsels of magical knowledge that they pick up can mean the difference between a successful heist and capture. These abilities, plus their support from the commoners (who have the most to gain from the generous exploits of some outlaws), can often give these bards an edge over their thief counterparts.
Role: Outlaws are sometimes burglars who work with thieves guilds for personal profit, or occasionally, are members in wilderness-based bandit gangs. Many more, however, are freelance thieves; they show loyalty to no one but themselves.
Good aligned outlaws are most likely to be from this group; like Melendrian in the example above, they rob the rich to give to the poor, whereas the evil outlaws rob the rich and poor alike, and keep all the money for themselves!
Outlaws are usually tolerated by thieves guilds, even those that generally dislike bards, although they tend to treat outlaw bards as second-rate. Most powerful guilds are anxious to make a successful outlaw bard join their ranks, just to recceive a cut of the profits. Outlaws, with the bards wanderlust, rarely feel comfortable in something as rigid and inflexible as a thieves guild, and the powerful guilds dislike the outlaws love of unnecessary risks and thrills.
Secondary Skills: Gambler, or other appropriate to the characters background.
Weapon Proficiencies: Outlaws may use any weapon.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Bonus: Disguise, Fast-talking*, Information gath- ering*.
* Recommended: Appraising, Begging*, Forgery, Jumping, Local history, Looting*, Observation*, Rope use, Set snares, Tightrope walking, Trailing*.
Equipment: Many outlaws carry a set of thiefs picks, and other gear usually only possessed by thieves. Because their activi- ties require agility and fast movements, outlaws dislike wearing bulky armor, as do thieves. Studded leather armor is the heaviest an outlaw may wear.
Special Benefits:
Roguish repertoire: Outlaw bards rely more heavily upon their thieving talents to earn a living than typical bards. It is there- fore in their best interest to concentrate as much as possible on learning new thief skills. When first created, the outlaw must choose which one of the thief skills that bards do not normally possess (from
Open locks, Find/remove traps, Hide in shadows or Move silently) he will choose as a bonus (it begins with 10 points assigned to it). Once picked, this skill can not be changed.
Increased practice: Outlaws get much more of an opportunity to practice their rogue talents than ordinary bards, and therefore advance more quickly in expertise. At first level, the outlaw receives 35 points (instead of 20) to distribute between his thief skills, and gains an extra 20 (instead of 15) every time he advances a level. All other rules regarding advance ment apply normally.
Underworld contacts: Being more criminally aware than other bards, the outlaw is an expert at finding contacts among local thieves. Given an hour in a seedy tavern, and four or five gold pieces for drinks and bribes, an outlaw can find a contact typically a thief of levels 1-4. This contact can lead the bard to other rogues, take him to the local thieves guild, exchange information about possible jobs, or even buy stolen goods to fence at a later date.
Entertaining: Using a combination of singing, instrument playing, storytelling, and bawdy jokes, the outlaw can entertain and influence the reactions of others. This ability functions as the Influence reactions of the true bard (CBH page 16).
Special Hindrances: Outlaw bards may only keep as much treasure and equipment as they can carry.
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