Grognard's Grimoire: Beggar

Illustration by Luigi Castellani

Requirements: None
Prime Requisite: CON
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
Armor: Leather, no shields
Weapons: Any
Languages: Alignment, Common

Beggars are adventurers who survive by their wits and fortitude. Though similar to thieves, with whom they are often confused, beggars bring a number of unique skills to a party that make them worthy companions in many circumstances.

Combat

Beggars cannot wear armor heavier than leather and cannot use shields. They can use any weapon.

Back-stab
When attacking an unaware opponent from behind, a beggar receives a +4 bonus to hit and double any damage dealt.

Beggar Skills
Beggars can use the following skills, with the chance of success shown below:

• Disguise (DS): A beggar can disguise himself as a human, humanoid, or demihuman of similar height and build. (same as hide in shadows chance of thief of equal level) 
• Hide in shadows (HS): Requires the beggar to be motionless–attacking or moving while hiding is not possible. 
  
• Pick pockets (PP): If the victim is above 5^th level, the beggar’s roll is penalized by 5% for every level above 5^th. There is always at least 1% chance of failure. A roll of more than twice the percentage required for success means that the attempted theft is unnoticed. The referee should determine the reaction of the victim (possibly using the reaction table under Encounters, in Core Rules). 
• Scrounging (SC): Once a day, a beggar can locate useful mundane items equal in value to 10 gp × level, provided the beggar is in an urban environment.

Trust

A beggar is adept at playing on the sympathies of Lawful and Neutral aligned beings, gaining a +2 bonus to reaction rolls in dealing with them. This bonus is in addition to any bonus from Charisma. The beggar need not share a common language with the being but the being must be intelligent.

After Reaching 9^th Level
A beggar can establish a beggar’s court, attracting 2d6 apprentices of 1^st level. These beggars will serve the character with some reliability; however, should any be arrested or killed, the PC will not be able to attract apprentices to replace them. A beggar might use these followers to challenge the position of the current King/Queen of Beggars.

Beggar Level Progression

Level	XP		HD		THAC0
1	0		1d6		19[0]
2	1,200		2d6		19[0]
3	2,400		3d6		19[0]
4	4,800		4d6		19[0]
5	9,600		5d6		17[+2]
6	20,000		6d6		17[+2]
7	40,000		7d6		17[+2]
8	80,000		8d6		17[+2]
9	160,000		9d6		14[+5]
10	280,000		9d6+2*		14[+5]
11	400,000		9d6+4*		14[+5]
12	520,000		9d6+6*		14[+5]
13	640,000		9d6+8*		12[+7]
14	760,000		9d6+10*		12[+7]

*Modifiers from CON no longer apply

Saving Throws

Level	D	W	P	B	S
1	8	9	10	13	12
2	8	9	10	13	12
3	8	9	10	13	12
4	6	7	8	10	10
5	6	7	8	10	10
6	6	7	8	10	10
7	4	5	6	7	8
8	4	5	6	7	8
9	4	5	6	7	8
10	2	3	4	4	6
11	2	3	4	4	6
12	2	3	4	4	6
13	2	2	2	2	4
14	2	2	2	2	4

Beggar Skills Chance of Success

Level	DS	HS	PP	SC
1	10	10	20	50
2	15	15	25	55
3	20	20	25	60
4	25	25	30	65
5	30	30	35	70
6	35	35	45	75
7	45	45	55	80
8	55	55	65	85
9	65	65	75	90
10	75	75	85	95
11	85	85	95	96
12	90	90	105	97
13	95	95	115	98
14	99	99	125	99