Prospector (Character Kit)

Class Information 	Class Information
Class Requirements 	Fighter
Racial Requirements 	Dwarf (gold, shield), gnome (rock, deep), halfling (stout)
Ability Requirements 	Constitution 11, Intelligence 11, Strength 11
Prime Requisite 	Intelligence, Strength
Aligments 	Any
Social Rank 	Middle class
Hit Die Type 	d10
Attack as 	Warrior
Save as 	Warrior
Advance as 	Fighter
Spell Ability? 	No
Exceptional Strength? 	Yes
Exceptional Constitution?	Yes
Starting Cash (x10 gp) 	5d4
Proficiencies 	Proficiencies
Weapon Slots 	4
Initial Weapons 	Footman's pick, warhammer, and any two others
Additional WP Slot 	3
Additional Weapons 	Any
Nonproficiency Penalty 	-2
Nonweapon Slots 	3
Additional NWP Slot 	3
Available Categories 	General, Warrior
Bonus Proficiencies 	Appraising, mining, mountaineering, stonemasonry
Recommended Proficiencies	Alertness, animal handling, blacksmithing, direction sense, endurance, fire-building, gem cutting, local history, rope use, singing, slow respiration (CBDw), smelting (CBDw), survival, weather sense
Secondary Skills 	Jeweler, mason, miner
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==Overview==
Mining is an extremely important occupation anywhere in the Realms, though most miners are not the adventuring type. Prospectors, however, must wander widely and rely heavily on their wits and good luck to find a worthwhile lode for their home strongholds to exploit. This combination makes prospectors reasonably good adventurers, especially if they believe an adventure will make them rich. Some prospectors receive bonuses and fame for discovering huge strikes, but some become heroes in ways they had never imagined when they set out.
Shield dwarf prospectors are found nearly everywhere in rough, hilly, or mountainous terrain; their homes could be any shield dwarf stronghold. Gold dwarves appear only in the Shining South but are similarly widespread there. Gnomes are rare, mostly seen in Tethyr, Amn, and the Sword Coast (having wandered out of Tethyr). Deep gnome prospectors, like all the above races, can be found in the Underdark. Stout halfling prospectors are found on the surface or in shallow Underdark regions, in any region where stouts are normally found.
==Description==
A prospector has likely done mining before but now travels frequently on the surface world, looking for new sources of mineral wealth. He often wears a wide-brimmed hat to prevent sunburn on his face, but his skin is sure to be dark from sun exposure. The prospector also carries an assortment of hammers, chisels, and picks, with some equipment (perhaps even alchemical supplies) to test mined samples, to determine their type, quality, purity, and other characteristics. A prospector is always dirty, has callused hands and a weatherworn look, and wears old, durable clothing, A mule, goat, or other short pack animal is often used to carry tools and samples in its saddlebags. The prospector is also well armed in case he is attacked by thieves or bandits.
==Roleplaying==
The shield dwarf prospector is not looking for marriage like the wandering ironsmith. He is more a solitary type who loves his work and loves wandering wherever his job takes him. This is very much the attitude that any demihuman prospector takes. Because his work is so important to the economics of many nations and races, he is in great demand; a skilled prospector can find numerous offers of employment, temporary and permanent, without trying very hard.
A prospector is most likely to go adventuring in Underdark, hilly, or mountainous regions. He functions very well as a fighter, though the temptation to examine local geology during rest periods is very strong.
==Special Advantages==
The footman's pick and warhammer are often used as digging tools (the hammer used with a chisel). Their constant employment grants the prospector a +1 bonus to attack rolls with these weapons. If he specializes with one of these two weapons, the +1 bonus is added to his specialization bonus.
A prospector knows far more about mining than the average miner. He receives a +2 bonus on all mining proficiency checks, representing an enormous knowledge of mining, geology, and related topics. A successful check should allow the player to receive any information the DM has on the geology in an area studied (evidence of volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, oil or coal reserves, valuable metals or gems, etc.) or on valuable gems and metal ores (adamantite, mithral, special gems of the Realms, etc.). He can also tell who dug out an existing mine (dwarves, orcs, stone giants, humans, etc.), if beings from the Elemental Plane of Earth are or have been present, and which monsters bored tunnels in solid rock (denzelians, horgar, osquips, thoqqua, purple worms, etc.).
In order to help him identify real and fantasy metals, gems, ores, and minerals, the prospector can buy a testing kit from an alchemist or miners' group for about 75 gp. The mining samples testing kit consists of items like pieces of glass and ceramic tile, small vials of acid, several small tools (pliers, hammer, chisel, or hand vice), glass or crystal magnifying lenses, a sharp diamond fragment mounted on a metal rod, candles, flint and tinder, copper wire, etc., forming a fairly complete if primitive geology laboratory. Use of this kit grants another +1 bonus to mining proficiency checks. The kit weighs only 10 lbs. and comes in a leather bag.
Moreover, the prospector has exceptionally acute senses for detecting underground phenomena. All rolls for detecting grade or slope, new construction, sliding walls or rooms, stonework traps and pits, and depth underground are successfully made on rolls of 1-7 on 1d8. The prospector was himself once a miner, with vast knowledge of mines and the stonework in them.
A prospector gains several peculiar abilities from his knowledge. He adds a bonus equal to his level to his saving throw to detect fool's gold. All other modifiers to the saving throw apply as per the spell description in the Player's Handbook. He can also identify small, monstrous creatures that imitate coins or jewels. His base chance equals his Intelligence (5%, plus a bonus equal to his level). A 7th-level prospector with an Intelligence of 13 has a (13 ¥ 5) + 7 = 72% chance to identify creatures like the bloodring, goldbug, or lock lurker, from the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM Annual, Volume One. He need only look at the object one round and make his roll, without handling the object.
==Special Disadvantages==
The knowledge a prospector has about the location of potentially vast strikes of valuable metals, minerals, and gemstones makes him the target of numerous potential foes: brigands, claim jumpers, duergar, orcs, human miners, gem thieves, and more. The Zhentarim, Shadow Thieves, and Red Wizards of Thay think nothing of kidnapping a prospector, torturing him, and questioning him with magic and truth drugs for his secrets. A wise prospector never goes out without a heavily armed escort. If he plans to prospect a dangerous area, he may consider ways to disguise or hide what he is actually doing.
A prospector tends to be very absorbed in his work. Among dwarves and gnomes, this is accepted as normal, and his work is heartily approved of and well rewarded. (Apply a -2 modifier to NPC reaction rolls, toward the friendly end of the scale.) Humans and halflings have a neutral reaction to them, unless greed is involved. Among elves and half-elves, however, the prospector gains a +2 modifier toward more hostile NPC reaction rolls, as he is regarded with grave suspicion: Is he planning to have more dwarves show up and dig a huge mine right in the middle of the forest? Elves often drive off prospectors they find near their beloved realms.