Rogues of the Moonsea (Character Kit)

Class Information 	Class Information
Racial Requirements 	Human
Ability Requirements 	Dexterity 9
Prime Requisite 	Dexterity
Hit Die Type 	d6
Attack as 	Rogue
Save as 	Rogue
Advance as 	Rogue
Spell Ability? 	No
Exceptional Strength? 	No
Exceptional Constitution?	No
Starting Cash (x10 gp) 	2d6
Proficiencies 	Proficiencies
Weapon Slots 	2
Additional Slot 	4
Nonproficiency Penalty 	-3
Nonweapon Slots 	3
Additional Slot 	4
Available Categories 	General, Rogue
Bonus Proficiencies 	Varies
Recommended Proficiencies	Blind-fighting
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==Overview==
The lands surrounding Moonsea are a collection of harsh kingdoms ruled by despots, madmen, and inhuman creatures of the most evil nature. It is no wonder that the people who live in these places are grim, paranoid, and secretive. With this being the case for the average man, one can imagine that rogues (who tend to be grim, paranoid, and secretive anyway) from that region are as dark and sinister a lot as one is likely to find anywhere on Faerûn. Because of their generally evil alignments, Moonsea rogues should always be nonplayer characters.
==Description==
The typical rogue or assassin, dressed in a black cloak and moving through the shadows with a dagger in hand, is almost laughably stereotypical. However, it is also exactly
what those who stalk Moonsea nights tend to look like. Such a character would seem to vanish if placed in a room full of his peers from the harsh shores of the frigid Moonsea.
==Role-playing==
Moonsea rogues are very much the typical thief in the night. They tend to come and go with no warning or trace, strike without mercy, and care little for the harm they cause their victims. While it would be an overstatement to say that all Moonsea rogues are murderers and cutthroats, it wouldn't be a great one.
==Special Abilities==
===Hillsfar===
The rogues of Hillsfar have learned their craft well, for failure to do so results in death. The city in which they live is one of constant repression and strife. Xenophobia runs rampant and criminals, except for those who have paid their protection money to the constabulary, are hunted down ruthlessly and thrown into the Hillsfar Arena to amuse the public.
The ability to instantly see an enemy for what he is and strike quickly makes rogues from Hillsfar among the most dangerous assassins in the world. So skilled are these brigands that they can turn any encounter in which they attain surprise into a gory bloodbath from which their enemies are unlikely to emerge alive.
Whenever one of these characters makes a successful backstab attack, he adds 1 to his damage multiplier. Thus, a 1st-level Hillsfarian rogue would have a backstab multiplier of x3, and a 13th-level Hillsfarian rogue would have one of x6.
===Melvaunt===
The endless smoke of Melvaunt's countless forges darkens even the brightest summer sky, making shadows deeper and nights as black as pitch. When the sun sets on this industrious city, dark figures flit among the bottomless shadows looking for purses to cut, secrets to sell, and enemies to murder.
Of all the rogues on Toril, it is doubtful there are any more skilled at the art of blackmail than those who make their home in Melvaunt. To these oft-cursed folk, there is no treasure more valuable than information, especially that of a compromising nature.
All rogues designed with this kit begin play with a small pool of individuals who pay them money to keep some secret hushed up. This results in a monthly income equal to 25 gp per level of the character. For example, a 3rd-level Melvauntian rogue receives 75 gp at the start of each month. The player running the rogue is free to seek out other sources of income, including other "customers," but this base is always available without any role-playing on the player's part.
Another benefit of the character's ability to find information quickly is that all Melvauntian rogues begin play with the local history skill. This is a bonus proficiency and no slots need be expended to purchase it. Additional slots can be allocated to increase the character's chance of success when using the skill.
===Mulmaster===
Mulmaster is a city of spies, treachery, and intrigue. Blackmail is so common as to be more of a pastime than a crime. Hardly a week goes by without the assassination of one petty official or another, which has shaped the rogues of Mulmaster, turning them into assassins of the highest expertise.
The assassination method of choice in Mulmaster is poison. Whether injected, ingested, or inhaled, any rogue who claims a place among the ranks of Mulmasters' most infamous must be a master at the fashioning of poisons. If he happens to know a little about antidotes as well, so much the better.
The DUNGEON MASTER Guide lists the poison types in the Special Damage section of the Combat chapter. As rogues from Mulmaster advance in levels, they are able to create these toxins for themselves if they have the herbalism proficiency. When a character gains a level, the DM rolls percentile dice and refers to the following table to determine the exact type of poison he is now capable of creating.
1d100Roll	PoisonType	1d100Roll	PoisonType
01-06 	A 	55-60 	J
07-12 	B 	61-66 	K
08-18 	C 	67-72 	L
19-24 	D 	73-78 	M
25-30 	E 	79-84 	N
31-36 	F 	85-90 	O
37-42 	G 	91-96 	P
43-48 	H 	97-99 	*
49-54 	I 	00 	**
Unusually high results (* or** on the table) indicate the character has stumbled upon an unusually potent type of poison. The DM should roll again to determine the exact type of poison indicated (ignoring further special rolls). Anyone making a saving throw to resist one of these toxins suffers a -2 penalty (a "*" result) or a -4 penalty (a "**" result).
As the character advances in level, he eventually rolls and gets a toxin that he already knows how to make. When this happens, it indicates that the character has created an antidote for that type of poison. Antidotes are injected if the percentile die roll is odd; even rolls indicate the antidote is ingested. Antidotes are fast-acting and neutralize the poison they are created for instantly if administered during the onset time of the toxin.
===Phlan===
Phlan is a city that has been hammered by fate for as long as anyone can remember. It is only because the ruling council spends most of its time attempting to recover from the latest in a seemingly endless string of disasters, raids, and catastrophes that allows the thieves of Phlan to prosper. Acting overtly, this group of thieves would be easy to identify, root out, and destroy (something the rulers of Phlan would love to do) if not for the endless distractions that nature and the surrounding lands seem to provide.
There are some who say that many of the disasters that have befallen Phlan were engineered by the thieves to enable them to loot or pillage. While this may be true, it seems a bit beyond the powers of this fairly small assemblage.
The thieves of Phlan are master planners, however. They stress education above all except their thieving talents. To reflect this, characters designed with this kit have ready access to any of the nonweapon proficiency groups in the Player's Handbook. They need not expend an extra slot when selecting a skill from the Warrior, Wizard, or Priest group.
===Zhentil Keep===
A more insidious power than the Zhentarim would be hard to imagine. Like some terrible beast from the depths of the oceans, the masters of the Zhentil Keep spread their tentacles to all corners of the world, seeking to bring everything they touch under their control. There is perhaps no more important element in their diabolical scheming than the legions of rogues they send out into the world to do their bidding.
As deadly as individual rogues can be, they become a true nightmare when organized with the efficiency and skill that marks all Zhentarim operations. The Zhentarim maintain training facilities to help their agents master the skills of rogues. Where most rogues are forced to learn the tricks of their trade through experience or informal training, these academies provide the Black Network with some of the most skilled rogue agents on the planet.
The formal training acquired in these facilities allows Zhentarim rogues to begin play with 75 discretionary points to be divided among their thieving skills. Also, when one of these characters advances in level, he gains
45 points (not the usual 30) with which to increase his thief skills. Further, Zhentarim rogues are not limited in the number of points they can allocate to any single skill. So a starting character could place all 75 of his initial points into his pick pockets skill. (Note that no chance of success can exceed 95%.)
==Special Disadvantages==
===Hillsfar===
The xenophobic nature of Hillsfar's natives is known far and wide. A rogue can earn a fair living simply by dragging demihumans back to the Hillsfar Arena for the weekend matinees. As a result, rogues from Hillsfar suffer a -4 modifier to their Charisma score whenever they must deal with demihumans (or with any nonhumans) who know of Hillsfar and its reputation for bigotry and exploitation.
===Melvaunt===
Although these characters are quite able to survive by putting the touch on their customers, they do not make many friends by doing so. At the start of every month, immediately after he receives his "hush money," a character of this type must make an ability check on his Charisma score. If the character passes the check, there are no harmful side effects of the rogue's "business" of thieving. If the character fails the check, one of the "customers" has decided to do away with the rogue.
There are two ways to resolve this crisis. The first and easiest is simply to have the rogue make a saving throw vs. paralysis. If the save fails, the character is severely wounded by his attacker and suffers 1d6 points of damage per his experience level. So, for example, a 10th-level thief suffers 10d6 points of damage. If this is enough to kill the rogue, the player must create a new character. Otherwise, the character simply begins or continues play wounded.
The other method, which is preferred, is to role-play the encounter. A skillful Dungeon Master could turn the affair into a complete adventure. The important things to remember in setting up such a scenario, however, are that the rogue will be the target of an assassination attempt and that his life must be placed in serious jeopardy during the game. Blackmail is not a very pretty business to be in, but that's one of the risks that those who practice it have to live (or die) with.
===Mulmaster===
As assassins and poisoners, the rogues of Mulmaster are not well-liked around the world. They are quickly hired when an enemy must be eliminated, but they are never trusted nor retained permanently. Even the forces of the Zhentarim and the Red Wizards eschew prolonged contact with these deadly folk.
In mastering the poisons that have given them their infamy, however, the rogues of Mulmaster have allowed their skills in other areas to degenerate. When attempting to employ pick pockets, open locks, or find/remove trap skills, these characters suffer a -15% penalty to their rolls.
===Phlan===
Members of the Thieves of Phlan, the aptly if not imaginatively named thieves' guild of that city, are instantly recognizable. To show their loyalty to the order they are joining, all members of this guild must have one ear cut off. While this mark of loyalty makes spies or moles in the order a rarity, it has its drawbacks too. In addition to hampering the character's ability to detect noise (-25% modifier), it makes the proficiencies of ventriloquism and disguise harder to master (-4 modifier to any checks).
===Zhentil Keep===
The greatest disadvantage thieves designed with this kit suffer is simply that they are not their own bosses. As skilled as they may be, they must do the bidding of the Black Network. Failure to do so results in the issuance of a death warrant that few can escape.
There is a more material restriction placed upon those working for Zhentil Keep as well. Much as a paladin is required to turn over a goodly portion of the treasure that he acquires through his adventures, these characters are forced to funnel 50% of their funds (before expenses) back to Zhentil Keep. To save time during play, players should simply halve the value of any treasure they acquire. Dungeon Masters should make sure that those playing Zhentarim characters pay this fee.