Specialty
Actor/Mime
Qualifications
Standard ability scores.
Introduction
I am Glateela the Thespian. I
would like to invite you to the performance of
the "Green Dragon and Golden Knight," given
this weeks' end in the Old King's Theater. I
will be playing Maiden Zephnia.
I have played various roles on the Old
King's stage for the past four years. Acting is a
wonderful occupation. I'm always busy learning parts, performing, and teaching the young
children. When I'm not performing, some
courtly gentleman or other has me over for
blackroot tea. I'm on a first-name basis with
the city mayor, all of the ranking constables,
and even the Duke knows me.
What few people realize is that I'm sister to
the infamous wanderer Hanalacious, and we
often adventure together. Hanalacious is actually a warrior. Her reputation as a bard is a
result of my dressing up as her double and acting the part. In this way, the legend of Hanalacious grows with a speed that would be
impossible for any single human.
Unknown even to Hana is the fact that I occasionally play other off-stage roles. This is
the real thrill of being a Thespian. You can be
anyone you want if you are good enough.
Hope to see you this weekend. And if you
whisper a word of my secret to anyone, you'd
best beware of everyone you meet, for one of
them will be me in disguise and I will silence
your loose tongue forever.
Description
Of all the various types of
bards, Thespians put the most time and energy into performances. Thespians are actors.
They display their talents in plays, skits, and
dramatic productions. Some even perform in
streets or village squares. When a Thespian
isn't acting, he is likely writing scripts or reading for upcoming parts.
Thespians are somewhat like, yet unlike,
Charlatans. Where Charlatans act to deceive,
Thespians act to make others believe. Because
of their similar methods, Thespians have
some skills in common with Charlatans.
Role
Thespians rarely travel from town to
town unless they are on an acting tour. Even if
they are on tour, they often return to their established home. Most Thespians belong to the
local actor's guild and take part in regularly
scheduled performances.
Occasionally, Thespians are secretly hired
to serve as spies, or temporarily fill in for a
missing person. The great Thespian Hanalacious once filled in as the Lord Mayor of the
Free City of Greyhawk for over a month while
the real mayor was away on secret errands.
The adventuring Thespian is a rare person
(player characters represent almost all of
them). Such Thespians are often out for "field
research." After all, if you want to play the
part of a mighty warrior, what better practice
than to go dungeoneering? Other Thespians
adventure for the thrill of it all. They look
upon such activity as taking a part in the
"Grand Play of Life." Such Thespians often go
to any length to mold the adventure into a
dramatic production with themselves as the
stars — often to the chagrin of their fellow party members.
Weapon Proficiencies
Since they are actors, Thespians spend a lot of time practicing
with all types of weapons, in order to make
their plays more realistic. This produces a
unique situation. Thespians understand the
showy stage methods for using most weapons, but they rarely practice with any one
weapon long enough to become truly proficient at it.
As a result, 1st-level Thespians are proficient only with the dagger. At 2nd level they
become proficient with the knife, and at 5th
level Thespians gain their final weapon proficiency — the short sword.
This restriction is partially offset by the fact
that a Thespian suffers only a -2 nonproficiency penalty (equal to that of warriors) on
all other weapons because of practicing with
these weapons during rehearsals.
Nonweapon Proficiencies
Bonuses
Acting, Disguise, Languages (modern), Reading/Writing
Suggested
Artistic Ability, Crowd
Working, Dancing, Etiquette, Jumping, Languages (ancient), Musical Instrument, Poetry,
Reading Lips, Seamstress/Tailor, Singing,
Tumbling, Ventriloquism, Weaving.
Armor/Equipment
Again, Thespians are
actors and don all forms of armor for their
various roles. This sets them apart from the
norm. As a result, they can wear any form of
armor and even carry shields. However, they
incur a +1 Armor Class penalty when wearing armor that is not standard for the bard
character class (their understanding of these
armor types is imperfect). Thespians have no
real understanding of shields; though they can
carry shields, they gain no Armor Class bonus
for the effort.
Special Benefits
General Acting
Thespians are masterful actors. Using this ability, they can act as if a light
blow was fatal, pretend to faint, or exaggerate
their abilities. These skills are required on
stage, but are also very useful during adventures.
Once, Hanalacious's band came upon a
camp of six ogres. Realizing that they were
outmatched, Hana leapt forward to meet the
charging ogres. She acted as if the first strike
against her was a fatal blow. The ogres believed this and charged on to attack the rest of
the band. With the time that Hana had bought
herself, she managed to unpack her fireball
scroll and succeeded in roasting the ogres and
saving the day.
Hana's finest performance occurred in the
famous dungeons of the Greyhawk ruins.
Here, she came upon Farcluun, a great red
dragon. During the next four hours, Hanalacious was involved in the most dangerous role
she ever played. When she saw the great
wyrm, she quickly disguised herself as Zagig
Yragerne, the original founder of Greyhawk
Castle. Entering the cavern of Farcluun, Hana
played up her knowledge, wisdom, and magical prowess. In the end, she cowed Farcluun
and actually had the dragon huddled in a corner with threats of turning its life's treasure
trove into an ant hill.
Acting functions in much the same way as
illusion spells. If the audience believes the act,
then it works without question. If the audience is skeptical, they are allowed to roll a
saving throw vs. spell with a -1 penalty for
every three levels of the Thespian. If the saving throw succeeds, they realize that the Thespian is acting; otherwise, they accept the act.
Of course, acts can go only so far. It is impossible to act as if you are lifting a 700-pound
boulder over your head unless you have the
aid of magic (or a Strength of 20 or more).
Spell Acting
Any Thespian who has taken
the
Spellcraft proficiency can act as if he can
cast powerful spells. To put on such a performance, the Thespian must be easily viewed
by all who will be affected. The Thespian then
stands up, chants arcane words, gestures, and
tosses "magical" powder about. During the
spell acting, the Thespian directs his attention
and gestures toward the intended targets of
the spell. After one round, the targets must
roll a successful morale check or flee in terror.
If the Thespian actually casts a flashy spell
during the act (e.g.,
burning hands), the morale check is made with a penalty equal to the
spell's level. Imagine what you would think if
a wizard's hands sprouted flame while he
chanted and made gestures of doom in your
direction.
Influence Reactions
Thespians can influence
the reactions of those they meet by trying to
act in an appealing manner. After 1d10 rounds
of such a performance, those associating with
the Thespian roll a saving throw vs. paralyzation with a -1 penalty per three levels of the
Thespian. If they fail the saving throw, their
initial reactions are altered one level in the direction that the Thespian desires. If the saving
throw succeeds, the audience realizes that the
Thespian is acting and their reactions are adjusted one level in the opposite direction.
Observe Motions
As actors, Thespians are
trained to observe the motions of others. Usually they use this skill to see cues from fellow
actors during a performance. This ability also
enables them to predict the movements of opponents during combat.
In any round that a Thespian wins initiative, he gains a +2 bonus to his Armor Class
and saving throws and a +1 bonus to attack
rolls.
Special Hindrances
None
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