Talebearer (Character Kit)

Talebearer
Description: Like human bards, a few dwarves travel the land seeking adventure, telling stories to their kin folk of past glories and current tales. These are the talebearers, and they serve their fellow dwarves not only by
47amusing the common folk but also by preserving their culture and heritage through the spoken word and often through their own heroic deeds.
Needless to say, a talebearer must have an Intelligence and Charisma of at least 12, in addition to the required Dexterity of 9 as a rogue.
Role: Talebearers are among the most beloved fellows to their kin. They are not treated as rogues by most dwarves; some might consider them troublesome rascals, but none deny they can tell an engaging story. To most other dwarves though, a tale- bearer represents the mouth of the past, someone who can bring back the old days as if they happened only yesterday.
Talebearers are constantly wandering the land. This not only allows them to see as many of their kin as possible, but also keeps their ears open for happenings among the dwarvish people. Some talebearers join adventurers who explore ancient ruins not far from dwarven lands, in hopes that the band might uncover more of their history.
A talented talebearer rarely ends up paying coin for his room and board. Even members of other races
find themselves enthralled by a tale bearer’s stories, for dwarven history is rich. One might hear of the deeds of brave humans, of the quarrels with the fey folk, and even a humorous bit on how the Stout halflings truly received their names.
Talebearers are by nature kind- hearted. They are almost always neutral good in alignment, though they may choose any alignment available to rogues.
Weapon Proficiencies: Talebearers are not renowned for their martial prowess. Many will not even wear armor, as it tends to present an vio- lent image in other folks minds.
* Required: None.
* Recommended: Any allowed by the rogue class.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Required: Ancient history, storytelling (new proficiency).
* Recommended: Ancient languages, etiquette, local history, modern languages, persuasion, reading/writing, singing, survival (hills, mountains).
Skill Progression: Talebearers tend to focus their talents on the skills of Read Languages and Pick Pockets. The latter is especially useful for enter- tainment purposes as tricks of legerdemain and sleights of hand fall under that skill.
Special Benefits: Much as a human bard, a talebearer has a talent for history and identifying objects of importance. However, the talebearer’s area of expertise involves dwarvish history and culture. Thus, while examining anything of dwarven make and origin, the talebearer has a 5% chance per level of experience of identifying the item’s past. The tale- bearer will know the artisan/maker of the item as well as much of its history. Magical items with a known history can be identified as enchanted, but exact abilities remain unknown unless they are prominent in the item’s known history.
As rogues, talebearers can read magical scrolls. They gain this ability at 6th level. Because of the dwarven innate resistance to magic, there is still an additional 20% chance that the magic will not be released even if the scroll is properly read.
At 8th level, a talebearer can try to influence his audience through his words. With a successful storytelling proficiency roll and a full evenings time, up to a dozen listeners may be affected as per an enthrall spell. Note that this is not truly a magical effect, but listeners are entitled to a saving throw vs. spells to resist the effect. Talebearers should be careful when trying to influence others with this talent; misuse adversely affects dealings with those who resist the effect, and they might consider the talebearer manipulative and untrustworthy.
Finally, because of their interaction with the common dwarves, sharing the tales of their ancestors, a talebearer receives a -2 reaction modifier bonus when dealing with any dwarf of middle or lower class. He is also welcome, among dwarves, to reimburse any expense of less than 1 gp through the use of his storytelling proficiency.
Special Hindrances: As mentioned earlier, talebearers are not great warriors. They are not cowardly, however, but they know they are much more likely to diffuse a hostile situation through words rather than arms. They begin their career with only a single weapon proficiency; thereafter they learn new skill at arms at the same rate as the wizard class.
Because of their focus on dwarven history and culture, applying their proficiencies to other races is less effective, suffering a +1 penalty on all such rolls.
Wealth Options: 2d6 x 10gp
Category:Character Kit
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