Esther Barron

## Biography

Come closer if you dare...

Esther Barron, a clever criminal who possesses a unique talent in the use of throwing knives. Esther grew up in a wealthy family, with a father who took great pleasure in taking his anger out on his wife. When Esther's mother Ava passed away from a terminal illness, her father turned his attention to Esther and she became his new favourite thing to abuse. At the age of 15, Esther and her older brother Adrian who was 17 at the time chose to run away from home in the dead of night with nothing but the clothes on their back's. Esther admits when looking back that running away in the middle of a cold winter when snow was still falling from the sky and ice covered the streets was probably not the best escape plan... With no shelter, no fire, no food, no water and no other options Adrian and Esther began to steal for their meals, living on the streets and thieving what small possessions they could from the general public to pay their way. Over the years the pair became quite troublesome and well-known for their very talented slight of hand, and charming demeanour. After years of getting away with small thefts, Adrian decided it was time to take the plunge - the two of them were going to rob one of the biggest and most profitable houses in the city. After months of planning and walk-by's the night finally came... the night they were going to steal enough to create a better life for themselves. The robbery was all going to plan until an unexpected issue occurred... the gentlemen owning the house suspecting an upcoming robbery from the pair had purchased four ferocious dogs. They whirled around the house chasing Adrian and Esther as vases smashed, chairs broke and chandeliers rattled. Esther using her slim frame to her advantage slipped through a small bathroom window and out into the cold night air. The window closed with a thud. What a relief. But where was Adrian? What she heard next was unbearable, the shrieking cries of her blood brother being torn to pieces by a pack of starving mutts. She clawed at the brick walls of the manor house, repeatedly punching the glass windows to no avail. Her hands bled, and her nails broke as her desperate plea's woke the entire neighbourhood. Adrian's screams eventually stopped and so did the snarling of the dogs... Esther heard a deep and raspy laugh erupting from inside the house... 'Let's see you survive without him you little bitch'. Cold, it was so cold outside. That man, he was cold too. Esther felt tears wetting her cheeks, she closed her eyes and silently promised herself that she will do whatever it took to survive. Stealing, killing, lying, whatever it took to prove them wrong. In that moment the small lost street girl was gone, and Esther Barron the world-class criminal assassin was born. And with that she walked right into the front door of the manor house, and before the dog's could react with their full bellies she threw a throwing knife directly to the top of the stairs, and with a harsh thud the knife implanted itself in the rich man's neck. Esther did not cry, no, she grinned as the man toppled to the bottom of the stairs and his own dogs began to eat his fat half-lifeless body.

Class Features:

Lure of Misconception

The Assassin lures you into her blade. Every time her attack roll fails, her opponent must make a Will saving throw with a DC of 16 to avoid being hit by her basic attack. The DC increases by 1 every 4 Class levels.

Sneak Attack (3)

If an assassin can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Assassin flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 everythree assassin levels thereafter. Should the rogue score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.

Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

Any attack from Attack of Opportunity is also considered a sneak attack.

Extra Attack

You can attack again as a standard action

Evasion Reflexes

If an Assassin makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. She then can hit the attacker once using attack of opportunity (only a basic melee attack) but doesn't have to roll for success vs AC. Evasion can be used only if an Assassin is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless/prone Assassin does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Forced Sneak Attack

On your second or third BAB you can apply 1 more attack treated as a sneak attack so long as it's a successful hit. The attack can not be defended against.

Improved Evasion Reflexes

At 10th level, an Assassin's evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. She then can hit the attacker once using attack of opportunity (only a basic melee attack) but doesn't have to roll for success vs AC. Evasion can be used only if an Assassin is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless/prone Assassin does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Talents:

The Smart hero has a natural aptitude for study and fact-finding. These talents can be selected in any order.

**Savant**: Select one of the skills listed in the following paragraph. The hero must have ranks in the skill if it is Trained Only. The Smart hero gets to add a bonus equal to his or her Smart level when making checks with that skill. A Smart hero can take this talent multiple times; each time it applies to a different skill.

Computer Use, Craft (any single skill), Decipher Script, Demolitions, Disable Device, Forgery, Investigate, Knowledge (any single skill), Navigate, Repair, Research, Search.

**Linguist**: With this talent, the Smart hero becomes a master linguist. Whenever the hero encounters a new language, either spoken or written, that he or she does not know the Smart hero can make an Intelligence check to determine if he or she can understand it. The check is made with a bonus equal to the hero�s Smart level. For a written language, the bonus applies to a Decipher Script check instead.

The DC for the check depends on the situation: DC 15 if the language is in the same group as a language the hero has as a Read/Write Language or Speak Language skill; DC 20 if the language is unrelated to any other languages the hero knows; and DC 25 if the language is ancient or unique. With this special ability, a Smart hero can glean enough meaning from a conversation or document to ascertain the basic message, but this ability in no way simulates actually being able to converse or fluently read and write in a given language.

A single check covers roughly one minute of a spoken language or one page of a written language.

Prerequisite: At least 1 rank in either Read/Write Language or Speak Language for each of three different languages.

The Smart hero has the brainpower to see solutions in most situations. These talents can be selected in any order, but before the hero can select a talent from this tree he or she must have previously selected at least one talent from the Research Talent Tree.

**Exploit Weakness**: After 1 round of combat, the Smart hero can designate one opponent and try to find ways to gain an advantage by using brains over brawn. The Smart hero uses a move action and makes an Intelligence check (DC 15) with a bonus equal to his or her Smart level. If the check succeeds, for the rest of the combat the Smart hero uses his or her Intelligence bonus instead of either Strength or Dexterity bonus on attack rolls as the hero finds ways to outthink his opponent and notices weaknesses in his opponent�s fighting style.

Prerequisite: One talent from the Research Talent Tree.

**Plan**: Prior to an encounter the Smart hero can develop a plan of action to handle the situation. Using this talent requires preparation; a Smart hero can�t use this talent when surprised or otherwise unprepared for a particular situation. Creating a plan requires 1 minute.

After creating the plan the Smart hero makes an Intelligence check (DC 10) with a bonus equal to his or her Smart level. The result of the check provides the Smart hero and allies with a circumstance bonus. A Smart hero can�t take 10 or 20 when making this check.

 10�14
 15�24
 25 or higher

This bonus can be applied to all skill checks and attack rolls made by the Smart hero and his or her allies, but the bonus only lasts for the first 3 rounds after making the plan. After that time, reduce the bonus by 1 point (to a minimum of +0) for every additional round the situation continues, as the vagaries of circumstance begin to unravel even the best-laid plans.

Prerequisite: One talent from the Research Talent Tree.

**Trick**: The Smart hero has the ability to temporarily confuse a target through the use of ploy and deception. The target must have an Intelligence score of 3 or higher to be susceptible to a trick, must be within 30 feet of the hero, and must be able to hear and understand the hero.

To play a trick on a target, the hero must use a full-round action and make an Intelligence check (DC 15), adding his or her Smart level as a bonus. If the Intelligence check succeeds, the target can try to think quickly and ignore the trick.

The target resists the trick by making a Will saving throw (DC 10 + Smart hero�s class level + Smart hero�s Int bonus). If the saving throw fails, the target becomes dazed (unable to act, but can defend normally) for 1 round.

A trick can only be played on a particular target once per encounter. After the first trick in an encounter, whether the attempt succeeds or not, that target becomes wary and immune to such ploys. This is a mind-affecting ability.

Prerequisite: One talent from the Research Talent Tree.