Sellsword (Character Kit)

==Sellsword (Warrior Kit)==
Sellswords are the professional warriors of the humanoid races. They do not fight out of loyalty, or duty, or even to defend their tribe. They fight for money, pure and simple. And the more money involved, the harder they fight. For most of these humanoids, it isn't might that makes right — it's the weight of their employer's purse.
Sellsword player characters lose little of their mercenary tendencies. They still look for monetary compensation for their skills, and some even consider themselves hired warriors attached to an adventuring party, as opposed to a full-share member of the group.
Requirements: All races and either gender (except fremlins) may become sellswords. The character must have a minimum Constitution of 12. A sellsword must have at least a partially neutral alignment.
Role: Humanoid sellswords leave their lairs to fight for others in exchange for money or other compensation. Some may have originally taken up the rflte to escape former lives, others because their tribes have turned to less violent pursuits and the call of battle still rings in their blood. Now they fight for cash. Many tribes consider sellswords to be traitors to their own kind, for they have decided to use their abilities not in service to the tribe but to fill their own purses.
Some sellswords hire into mercenary forces and are assigned to defend specific areas or wage war in the name of their employers. Others take on more personal jobs as bodyguards, enforcers, or extra muscle. In all cases, sellswords consider themselves as professional soldiers — not as assassins or hired killers.
Sellswords might be hired by villages to clear out marauding monsters, or by towns and cities to guard trade routes, but they are never really accepted in these places. Instead, they are feared, avoided, and relegated to specific areas as part of the terms of their employment. Most people consider humanoid sellswords to be a necessary evil. They may buy their loyalty, but they never trust them completely, keeping one eye on them and one hand on their own swords. Wizards hire sell-swords for a variety of functions, and many evil groups will employ them as low level leaders, thugs, and added muscle.
However, every sellsword has his or her own scruples, with set lines they will not cross no matter how much money is involved. Some will only fight for just causes or against equals, others will not attack innocents, and a few will not battle members of their own race. While some sages claim every sellsword has a price, most of these humanoids in fact display specific compunctions (though they may seem strange and alien to non-humanoid minds).
Player character sellswords may just be coming off a job that turned out well but produced no cash, or one that went terribly and in the end all fees were held back. Maybe they even decided not to finish a job because it went against their own particular code of honor, and are now looking for other work. (Of course, the employer they left high and dry may come after them at some point for recompense.) A humanoid sellsword might join an adventuring party for any number of reasons, but the bottom line (at least at first) will be "what's s in it for the sellsword."
Weapon Proficiencies: All sellswords must start with the short sword or spear, as these weapons are common and easy to acquire even in the worst of times. A third slot is taken up by a character's weapon of choice (from those listed in the race's initial proficiencies). The fourth slot can be any generally available weapon (it is assumed the humanoid has learned to use the weapon in the service of others after leaving its tribe).
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Bonus Proficiencies: Survival (same as humanoid's homeland).
* Recommended, General: Animal handling, cooking, fire-building, riding (land-based), weather sense.
* Recommended, Warrior: Bowyer/fletcher, hunting, gaming, looting, running.
* Recommended, Priest: Reading/writing.
* Forbidden: Etiquette, fortune telling, heraldry (other than their own). Sellswords may acquire these proficiencies at a later time.
Equipment: When first starting, sellswords may purchase only one of these armor types: hide, padded, or scale. After their first adventure, they may buy any available armor type.
Special Benefits: Sellswords have the ability to earn money by selling their services. In any situation in which fighters are being hired, the reaction roll of the potential employer is adjusted by +2 in the sellsword's favor. Naturally, employment will not be available all the time, and some jobs will conflict with the current goals of the sellsword's party.
Special Hindrances: Sellswords suffer a reaction penalty of -2 whenever common people encounter them; few trust them and most fear them. Any party with a sellsword as a member has a penalty of -1.
Wealth Options: Sellswords begin with 5d4 x 5 gp. This sum represents what remains of the sellsword's last pay.
Category:Character Kit
Category:Character Kit CBOH