Specialty
Riddler/lntellect
Qualifications
Riddlemasters must have an
Intelligence of 15 or more. Their other ability
scores are standard. Gnomes can rise to become 8th-level Riddlemasters. Halflings can
advance up to 9th level. (Level limits are not enforced in this campaign)
Introduction
Yes, I am Retean, the Riddlemaster, mastermind of enigmas and games. I
can solve any riddle and complete any puzzle.
Pay the price and watch me twice.
As a Riddlemaster, my mind is constantly in
motion. I'm wiser than most clerics, and
smarter than most sages. Always thinking, always plotting, always alert.
When I encounter someone, I analyze him,
evaluate his value to myself, and act accordingly. When I enter a tavern I don't just grab
the nearest chair. Instead, I scan the room, select the most advantageous seat, and then
evaluate the fare as I decide what to have.
None of my decisions are made without deliberate, conscious thought.
Yet, I can be entertaining as well. I love to
pose questions and riddles. For example:
If the world were round,
And you stood on the ground,
How many places could you stand,
Walk south 20 leagues, east 20 leagues,
north 20 leagues and end up hand in hand.
The answer is not the north pole, but "One."
True, the North Pole is the only place where
you can do this, but I asked, "how many places," not which places.
And now, as I have summed up your worth
to me, I must be off to a new challenge.
Description
Riddles, rhymes, and puzzles
are the medium of the Riddlemaster. These
characters look upon life as an intricate and
challenging puzzle to be solved. Their seemingly strange ways cause many a commoner
to label them crazy (much like the Jester).
However, Riddlemasters are exceptionally intelligent, and their minds work on a level
above that of the common man.
Riddlemasters devote their entire intellect to
maximizing favorable outcomes for themselves
and their friends. Some believe that Riddlemasters are just extraordinarily lucky, but this
is not the case. Riddlemasters are always considering the environment around them, being
sure to stand in the most favorable places, socializing with the most advantageous people,
asking the best questions, and so on. They seek
to develop the supreme mind.
To flaunt their skills, Riddlemasters often
speak in riddles or rhymes, causing others to
stop and think in order to understand them.
Riddlemasters love to pose questions, in the
form of riddles, to everyday people. These
riddles are carefully constructed and often
conceal lessons or observations that apply to
the Riddlemasters' audience.
Role
Each Riddlemaster applies his intellect
in a different way. Evil Riddlemasters seek to
demean and put down others in order to rise
above them. Good Riddlemasters make their
way through society attempting to educate
the "less fortunate." Others simply travel
around, enjoying the sport of poking fun at
others while advancing their own intellectual
understanding.
Traveling Riddlemasters are most common,
as their unique ways often irritate others,
forcing them to maintain a mobile lifestyle.
Adventuring Riddlemasters enjoy the supreme tests of judgment and intelligence that
must be passed in order to survive perilous
quests. Besides this, their input on decisions is
nearly invaluable. Of course, some party
members may find their manner difficult to
put up with.
Weapon Proficiencies
Riddlemasters enjoy
finesse weapons over those that require simple
brawn. They can become proficient in the
blowgun, bow, crossbow, dagger, dart, hand
axe, javelin, knife, quarterstaff, sling, spear,
staff sling, short sword, or whip.
Nonweapon Proficiencies
Bonuses
Artistic Ability (riddles), Languages (modern),
Poetry, Reading/ Writing.
Suggested
Appraising, Blind-fighting, Direction Sense,
Gaming, Heraldry, Musical Instrument, Navigation, Reading Lips, Singing, Weather Sense,
Ventriloquism.
Armor/Equipment
Standard.
Special Benefits
Probable Path
Riddlemasters can use their
great intellects to make analytical decisions.
When a decision must be made concerning
multiple options (e.g., which hallway to proceed down, which door to open first, which
opponent to attack first in order to achieve
some goal, etc.), the Riddlemaster can use his
intellect to help make the decision. In such
cases, the DM secretly rolls an Intelligence
check for the Riddlemaster, with a penalty
equal to the number of previous probable path
decisions made that day (representing mental
fatigue). If the roll succeeds, the DM tells the
player all significant clues that the Riddlemaster might know or observe. If there are no
clues, no information is gained — Riddlemasters aren't lucky, they're just very intelligent.
If the roll is a natural 20, the information
gained is misleading.
Unless a given situation changes somehow,
using this ability multiple times in the same
situation gives identical results.
Riddles/Puzzles
If any adventure includes
an actual riddle or puzzle that the players
must solve, the player of the Riddlemaster can
make twice as many attempts to solve the riddle or puzzle as is normally allowed. For example, an adventure might include an
encounter in which the party runs into a
sphinx. The sphinx may demand the answer
to a riddle in exchange for safe passage. In this
situation, if the Riddlemaster gives the answer, the player can actually make two guesses, and if either is correct, the sphinx is
satisfied.
The same thing applies if the party comes
across a room with a tiled floor that must be
crossed in a specific sequence. The Riddlemaster is allowed to make one free mistake. Only
on his second mistake does the character suffer any hazardous consequences.
If a problem has a time limit, the Riddlemaster has twice the allotted time to solve it.
A special use of solving riddles and puzzles
occurs when a Riddlemaster attempts to understand a newly discovered spell. The
Riddlemaster has a +10% bonus to his roll to
learn spells (to a maximum of 95%).
Furthermore, the Riddlemaster gains the
ability to use any written magical item at 8th
level, instead of 10th level.
Common Sense
To signify the common
sense a Riddlemaster has at his disposal,
Riddlemasters gain certain benefits. Although
these benefits are similar to those of the
Jester
kit, they are not luck, but rather a result of
intellectual calculations made by the Riddlemaster.
The Riddlemaster has a +1 adjustment
to his Armor Class.
A Riddlemaster receives a +1 (or 5%)
bonus to many die rolls, including saving
throws, individual initiative, attacks rolls,
damage rolls, proficiency checks, thief skill
checks, ability checks, and all ability-based
rolls (bend bards, system shock, etc.), except
for resurrection survival.
The only die rolls that common sense
doesn't affect are surprise, initial character
generation rolls, hit die rolls, resurrection survival, and monster damage rolls.
Riddling and Rhyming
By chanting certain
riddles and rhymes, a Riddlemaster can influence an audience's reactions. This ability functions in all ways as the
True Bard's influence
reactions ability.
Special Hindrances
None
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