 |
| A tomb robber by Zhu Bajie |
Tomb Robber
Prime Abilities: DEX and INT
Hit Points: 1d6 per level
Starting Possessions: Leather breastplate, dagger, one-handed weapon, tool bag, 3d6 × 5ul
An almost universal custom among the myriad peoples and cultures of sha-Arthan is the burial of grave goods to aid the deceased in his journey to the afterlife. A tomb robber is someone who makes his living by stealing these goods, despite the strong taboos against it. The skills he acquires in these illicit endeavors make the tomb robber a valuable addition to expeditions into the Vaults.
Alertness
Thanks to his keen awareness of imminent danger, a tomb robber reduces the chance of his party being surprised to 1-in-6.
Skills
A tomb robber begins with four +1 bonuses that may be applied to any of them following skills: Architecture, Climb, Lore, Luck, Search, Stealth, Survival, and Tinker. Each bonus must be applied to a different skill. Every level thereafter, he gains two additional +1 bonuses that can be applied to any of the aforementioned skills.
- Dead Languages: Because of his familiarity with inscriptions in ancient ruins, the tomb robber does not suffer the usual –3 penalty for attempting to read dead languages.
- Improvisation: If specific equipment is normally required to use a skill he possesses, a tomb robber does not require it. If he does possess the equipment, he gets a +1 bonus to his roll.
Trap Avoidance
To succeed in his chosen professional, a tomb robber develops a knack for avoiding traps. This knack grants him a +2 bonus to saving throws to avoid the effects of traps.
Nice take on the Thief class
ReplyDeleteMinor typo, you've left out the word "robber" after "tomb" here:
ReplyDeleteDead Languages: Because of his familiarity with inscriptions in ancient ruins, the tomb does not suffer the usual –3 penalty for attempting to know dead languages.
Thanks!
DeleteNo problem. I'm assuming you'd like any editing assistance you can get. :)
DeleteI'd offer to proofread but I'm not confident my time is my own these days. Family health woes are getting in the way.
Also, I suppose "read dead languages" or "understand dead languages" would feel more natural than "know" unless all they can do is identify a dead language without understanding it.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Thanks again.
DeleteWhat are the social implications of being identified as a Tomb Robber? Do they hide their professional identities? If successful they would be quite wealthy but possibly socially untouchable. I would suppose that the major religions would actively deter the profession and deal harshly with any active practitioners. How would this play out in game terms?
ReplyDeleteStephen Vossler
All excellent questions, some of which are discussed in a separate section I didn't post with this entry. I may do a follow-up post later in the week.
DeletePossible explanation: In a setting with opposed religions that still co-exist in the same societies in a kind of Cold War situation due to social constraints (kind of like Tekumel, if you don't look too closely) Tomb Robbers might serve a role akin to privateers. They go out and steal from the Enemy (whose identity might change from week to week) with the tacit approval of one or more temple backers, making opposed religious orders look bad and bringing in loot for their employers. Most likely you'd have licenses and paperwork to deal with, and the temples would handle turning looted tomb goods into spendable funds (or favors) rather than dealing with fences. Robbers might still want to keep a low profile to retain more freedom of action - including being able to jump ship to other patrons if the wind starts blowing the wrong way - but some might become famous in spite of themselves and wind up permanently tied to a given temple.
DeleteAnd of course anywhere there are privateers there will also be pirates, and telling the two apart is largely a matter of perspective.
I don’t want to put words into your mouth, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to recall reading previous posts you’ve made expressing your dislike of Thief/Skill-oriented classes being present in D&D, as well as a general distaste for grafting skill systems onto D&D at all. I wonder then, what your reasoning was for including both here? Tomb robbing might be more thematically appropriate for this setting, but they seem to fulfill a Thief/Rogue role, which is definitely as useful in a dungeon as this would be in a tomb. I guess I just wonder if your feelings have shifted on these subjects?
ReplyDeleteMy feelings have, in fact, shifted on this question. For a while, I've been toying with the idea of a series of posts about changes to my thinking over the years. This is one of those areas and probably deserves some elucidation.
DeleteSuch a post would be very interesting.
DeleteJust wondering, if the image is of a female tomb-robber, you may wish to change all he/him/his to they/them/their?
ReplyDeleteUsing they/them/their throughout is generally beneficial with minimal drawback.
Delete