Delver (Character Kit)

Delver
Description: A delver is a dwarven rogue who seeks the secrets of his people’s past. Some explore ancient ruins in the hopes of discovering artifacts that can illuminate mysteries of dwarven history. A broken piece of pottery painted with scenes of some centuries distant battle is priceless to a delver. Some delvers are more sinister, seeking the riches that the ages have buried away.
A delver needs to be not only agile but also hale and hearty to survive the rigors of exploring old tunnels. Such characters must have a minimum Dexterity of 11 and a Strength and Constitution of no less than 13.
Role: These rogues are a driven lot, forsaking the comforts of a tavern, a full mug,
chambers, and cold rations that underground exploration brings. The promise of returning valuable items from the distant past keeps delvers hunting the most treacherous of old tunnels.
Delvers foster a network of like minded merchants and scholars interested in their findings. Dwarven priests and aristocracy tend to be on good terms with delvers; they might not care for the dusty trappings of the delver’s calling, but whatever is brought back may better cement (or refute) the dwarven faith in a deity or a family lineage’s claim to greatness.
Player character delvers might find some solace in the company of the other player characters, but to non dwarves, it seems that the delver often speaks too much of archaic times when his kin first learned to shape stone, telling tales of discovering the shine of gold, and recounting the thrill of battles waged generations gone. At times, no one else can understand the delver’s personal quest.
Delvers may be of any alignment open to Rogues. Their philosophy of archaeology is dependent on this nature and determines whether a delver views history as a legacy to be cherished or as a sort of scholarly treasure map.
Weapon Proficiencies: A delver learns to use weapons that can easily be wielded one-handed sothat in tight situations he may still fight. Required:  None.  
* Recommended:   Dagger, dart, hand axe, hand crossbow, short swords, sling.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Bonus: Excavations*.
* Required: Ancient history, mining.
* Recommended: Ancient languages, appraising, blind-fighting, endurance, local history, mountaineering, relic dating*, rope use.
* The excavations and relic dating proficiencies are described in the article “Great Excavations,” appearing in DRAGON® Magazine issue #241.
Skill Progression: Delvers should consider bettering their skills at Find/Remove Traps, Open Locks and Read Languages. All these skills would come most handy while exploring ancient ruins.
Special Benefits: Due to their experience spent exploring the oldest tunnels and halls, a delver has a better knack for determining the stability of a subterranean passage. On a roll of 1-5 on 1d6, the delver can determine unsafe conditions. He can also detect stonework traps, pits, and deadfalls (all used by dwarven architects in the defense of their homes) on a 1-5 on a 1d6.
Whenever applying their proficiencies toward an archaeological find, a delver adds a +1 bonus to the roll. This bonus can reflect anything from shoring up the support beams in any old tunnel (mining roll) to restoring some broken shards of pottery to reveal important ruins on the glaze. The player can describe whatever reasonable action the PC takes to gain this bonus, but the action must involve dwarven design to earn the bonus.
Delvers cannot read most magical scrolls, as can some rogues. They can employ only those protection scrolls that are scribed in dwarvish script (ancient or modern). Delvers gain this ability at 4th level and use it with no chance of failure.
Special Hindrances: Delvers are utterly uninterested in current affairs. When not exploring ruins, they are either resting from their latest excursion or acquiring supplies for the next task. These rogues rarely settle down; their lives are tied to old maps and rumors of buried strongholds. Their poor social skills mean they suffer a +1 penalty on all reaction rolls with any folk not similarly interested in the past (so sages, archaeologists, and the like would find common ground with delvers).
Wealth Options: 5d4 x 10gp
== New Proficiencies ==
Excavation
The character with this proficiency has learned the techniques for the careful unearthing of a site or ruin. This process involves shoring up crumbling foundations, choosing the proper tools, and protecting exposed finds. Without the proper use of this proficiency, deli- cate finds may be destroyed by crude and reckless digging. Characters with the excavation proficiency can ensure that the structural details of a dig are left intact so that further visits to the excavation site can still yield useful knowledge.
Relic Dating
This proficiency proves useful when ever the character comes upon an object of questionable age. He can use this skill to gain an educated guess as to when the item was made. There is no roll necessary for those objects fashioned in the last 20 years (the age of these will be obvious to the character), unless it has been altered through non- magical means to appear much older; in that case, a successful proficiency check reveals the fraud. This proficiency can be combined with ancient history to give more accurate information as to the past of a relic.
Sacred Legends
A character with this proficiency is well-learned in the myths, stories, and
tales of a single religion. This knowledge is not the same as the theology and practices that are gained with the religion proficiency. The character, when confronted with a question or evidence of the faith’s past, may roll this proficiency to recall a specific event or leg- end that has relevance. For instance, when an ancient idol is discovered, a successful proficiency check might reveal that the statue resembles a long-forgotten paramour of the goddess, and the character could retell some of the important stories about them.
Additional proficiencies can be chosen to gain knowledge of the sacred legends of other religions.
Screed Lore
A rare proficiency, screed lore offers expertise in the care and collection of books, tomes, scrolls, and the like. This proficiency is crucial to librarians, sages, and scribes. A check would be required whenever the character handles a particularly delicate or worn manuscript. This proficiency also allows a collection to be searched and a specific volume found. Failed rolls indicated problems from the annoying (a torn page or lost book) to the disastrous (an entire scroll crumbles to dust at the slightest touch) depending on how badly the check fails.
This proficiency also provides some knowledge of the safeguards used in protecting books. This knowledge covers not only mundane traps, like poison painted along the edges of the pages, but also magical means of safeguarding libraries. The character can attempt a roll at a -5 modifier to notice any evidence of such traps.
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