D&D Mine: The Adventurer

Following the Magus, Fighter and Slayer (Zealot / Defender / Champion ... still undecided), last up in the roster of classes for my future D&D campaign is the Adventurer.

As the Adventurer class is so tied to the simple skills system of the game, I've also pasted in the section which explains how skills work. This is, of course, heavily inspired by James Raggi's Weird Fantasy RPG. As in that game, a character of any class with at least a 1 in 6 chance of success with a skill can attempt to use is. Adventurers are, however, the only characters who can actually improve their skills. Note the addition of some bardy, rangery and assassiny skills.

Also note, again, that the class gains a unique (i.e. unavailable to other classes) bonus based on its prime requisite, Dexterity in this case.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

ps. Sorry the formatting below is a bit odd. I just pasted it in from the rules document, and it's not survived the transition that well.

The Adventurer

You are a wanderer and a rogue, following wherever the road leads and the next adventure is found. Whether a dashing duellist or highwayman, a professional thief, or a wilderness ranger, you live by your sword, your wits and your manifold talents. While Fighters may exceed your ability in combat, and other characters wield power over supernatural forces, your forte is in the mastery of the skills essential to a life of adventure.

Table 3: Adventurer Advancement

Level	XP	d6 HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1	+0	14
2	1,250	2	+0	13
3	2,500	3	+1	12
4	5,000	4	+1	11
5	10,000	5	+2	10
6	20,000	6	+2	9
7	40,000	7	+3	8
8	80,000	8	+3	7
9	160,000	9	+4	6
10	320,000	10	+4	5

Adventurer Class Abilities

XP Modified by Dexterity: The Dexterity Modifier applies to XP gained by this class.

Saving Throw: Adventurers get +1 on saving throws vs. traps.

Weapon/Armour Restrictions: Adventurers are able to use any type of armour and weapons. However, they favour light weapons which allow a quick and agile fighting style. Adventurers suffer a -1 penalty to hit when using two-handed melee weapons, heavy crossbows, longbows and muskets.

Agile Fighting: Adventurers tend to favour light weapons and armour, preferring to rely on swiftness of foot and blade to avoid harm in combat. When wearing leather armour or brigandine, they gain an AC bonus based on their Dexterity score.

Dexterity	AC Bonus
13 - 15	+1
16 - 17	+2
18	+3

Adventuring Skills: As specialists in subterfuge, audacity and derringo-do, Adventurers are able to excel at a wide range of abilities which can aid them in their trade. An Adventurer gains four points at 1st level to add to skills of his choice, improving his chance of success. Each point spent adds a 1 in 6 chance to the skill succeeding. Adventurers receive two additional points with every level gained thereafter.

Adventuring Skills

The following skills are areas of expertise which are commonly useful in adventures.

All skills are handled with a simple d6 roll, with lower values indicating success. Some skills can be attempted by any character, and have a base 1 in 6 chance of success. Other skills require training and have a base 0 in 6 chance of success. Many skills are also modified by an ability score. In this case, a -1 penalty (a score of 8 or lower) reduces the chance of success by 1 in 6, and a +1 bonus (a score of 13 or higher) increases its chance by 1 in 6. In order to use a skill, the character must have at least a 1 in 6 chance of success.

Adventurer characters gain points at each level to improve their skills. No skill can be advanced to greater than 5 in 6.

A character's chance of success with all skills should be noted on the character sheet.

Skill	Base Chance	Modifying Attribute
Climbing	1 in 6	Strength
Danger Sense	1 in 6	Wisdom
Disguise	1 in 6	Charisma
Folklore	1 in 6	Intelligence
Hunting	1 in 6	Wisdom
Languages	0 in 6	Intelligence
Mechanisms	0 in 6	None
Poisons	0 in 6	None
Searching	1 in 6	None
Sleight of Hand	1 in 6	Dexterity
Stealth	1 in 6	Dexterity
Surprise Attack	0 in 6	None

Descriptions of how these skills can be used are given in the chapter on game rules.