The Sneaky Thinker

Character Description: This character lives and loves to outwit other characters. He loves tricking money out of people, outwitting opponents in combat, persuading people to help him against their better sensibilities, and so forth. It's best for a campaign when the Sneaky Thinker is a good friend of the rest of the PCs and so mostly turns his talents on NPCs; the DM needs to make sure that the campaign doesn't turn into an endless succession of incidents of the Sneaky Thinker tricking members of his own party.

Best Suited For: In terms of alignment, Neutral and Chaotic characters are best suited to be Sneaky Thinkers, as Lawful characters often have more respect for the rights of others: but, again, with a good enough rationale provided, the DM may allow himself to be convinced that a Lawful character should be a Sneaky Thinker. Most Warrlor Kits are equally suited to the Sneaky Thinker character; the Berserker, however, is an inappropriate choice and should not be taken.

In Combat Situations: The Sneaky Thinker hates to engage enemies in melee. He doesn't mind being a ranged fighter, but he'd really prefer to be doing something clever or spectacular; Sneaking around the fight to come up on the enemy's unguarded rear, loosening rocks on the hillside above to drop down on the enemy, persuading one of the enemy's allies to turn on the enemy, anything that will demonstrate his mental superiority over the enemy (and maybe over his allies as well). It's up to the player whether the character is actually cowardly or not; Sneaky Thinkers can be as brave as the bravest warrior in a pinch, if that's the playcr's conception of the character.

In Role-Playing Situations: The Sneaky Thinker is often the party's negotiator, as he loves talking with other characters and getting the best possible deal for himself and his friends. In most role-playing situations, the Sneaky Thinker will, chameleon·llke, adapt himself to the personality of the person he's talking to, concealing his true thoughts and emotions behind the mask he thinks is most appealing to the other character, It's very hard to find out what the Sneaky Thinker is actually thinking or feeling. Note that it's a dangerous temptation to trick your friends and allies: in a campaign where the PC's party is founded on trust and alleglance, such a Sneaky Thinker will probably find himselr cast out or killed for betraying his erstwhile friends.