Spiv (PWH)

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: "I do what I need to do to get by."
Sometimes people associate the cant term "spiv"—which means someone who lives by his wits, rather than by any regular employment—with thieves. This may be the case much of the time, but it doesn't have to be. Spivs can be jacks-of-all-trades, adventurers, mercenaries, or just berks down on their luck. But such bashers, when in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time), tend to become heroes.
BACKGROUND: Spivs end up living by their wits for a variety of reasons. Some don't want to be tied to one profession or defined by a single occupation. Some don't like to stay in one place very long. Others are just plain lazy and would rather not work for a living. Some races, like the aasimar or modrons, are probably too industrious to be spivs. Likewise, most githzerai are too focused.
CHARACTER: It's difficult to have strict ethical standards as a spiv. Unless a body's got the wherewithal to hold out for only honest jobs, occasionally a spiv's got to steal and peel to put bread on his table. A planewalking spiv is usually a hardened soul with the atti_tude that he's seen and done everything. Despite that, his life's certainly full of variety: One minute a spiv's cleaning stables, the next he's fighting for some realm's freedom against an evil despot. Anything for some jink.
MOTIVATIONS: While a spiv says he'll do anything if the pay is right, wealth is rarely his prime motivator. A sod can find better ways to get rich. Usually, a spiv wanders, avoiding the ties that other people establish in their lives. Or he just may want to get by with the least amount of work and hassle.
ROLE-PLAYING: A spiv is always looking for his next "job." Many determine a set of standards important to them and take any job or opportunity that falls within those standards. Examples include a certain amount of money for each day on the job, the amount of danger or personal risk involved, what laws (if any) need to be broken, whether the spiv has to kill someone to get the job done, and so on.
Spivs don't always wait around for employers, either. Not all spivs look for someone to offer them work, instead making their own work. Usually, though, this involves shady enterprises—but not everyone has a problem with that.