Venturer

rom outside of the cathedral, the barrier seemed impenetrable. And, while the front doors were certainly impassable, Dunn spotted another way. He took a moment to breathe deeply, then began a full run toward the archway. Instead of moving under it, however, he leapt. Hurtling himself onto the wall, his heels caught the smooth marble and he ran up the side of it — right into a window. When he finally stopped to catch his breath, he was standing before the stairway of the central spire. Quickly, he scaled those steps, which led him to a small bridge that spanned the length of the inner courtyard. Below him, archers now trained their bows on the intruder, and as the sound of their bowstrings hit his ears, he smiled. Dunn broke into a full run, deftly ducking and twirling to dodge each arrow, closing the distance between himself and the spire ahead. He did not hesitate for an instant when he saw the guards in front of him. Instead, he drew his rapier and stabbed one, then the other — killing neither, but passing unharmed between them. Dunn passed through the doorway, and then he saw his goal. On a pedestal, in the center of the room, was a bust of a beautiful woman. And, atop that marble bust, was a slender platinum circlet. As he moved to take hold of it, he heard someone behind him. An unnaturally beautiful and flawless young-looking man smiled cruelly at Dunn, lifting himself out of a chair. “Remarkable. I am amazed that you made it this far. It is a pity that you will now perish, so close to your goal.” A smile crept across Dunn’s lips, and, if there was any threat to his well-being, he ignored it completely. “I would love to stay. But, you see, I know of a lovely lady who has been searching for this very circlet... and it would look so much lovelier on her brow than in your vault...” And with that, the mysterious rogue snatched up the circlet and dashed to the window on the opposite side of the room. Dunn flashed a mischievous grin at the dark man, then leapt out of the window. For a moment, the man’s features were filled with rage; but they quickly melted into a cruel satisfaction. He knew that, outside the window, there was nothing but the jagged cliffs behind the cathedral. He would have the circlet back, and the intruder would be dead. With a smug look on his face, he paced to the window in order to look down at the intruder’s corpse on the rocks below. To his horror, however, he watched the man land gracefully on the ground far below. In the distance, Dunn looked back at the man and waved, before disappearing out of sight.

From acrobats and suave renegades, to witty swordsmen and daredevils, there are some whose flair for grace and charm meld perfectly with their martial prowess. These are the venturers, and those who cross paths with them—whether cruel tyrant or damsel in distress—are certain to remember the experience.

Being a venturer is much less a discipline than it is a state of mind. There is no favored weapon, no favored style, yet there remains a few key attributes that are constant. They all have a confidence and a flair for the dramatic. They often place themselves into dangerous situations, assured that their skills and abilities will keep them from harm. And, above all, they have a charismatic presence that they flaunt with abandon.

The venturer prestige class is designed not as a career path in and of itself, but rather as a series of complimentary abilities that weave together with skills and abilities that a character has already established. Warrior classes of all types can benefit from the venturer’s abilities, though its Weapon Finesse requirement will likely rule out those who prefer a more direct approach to combat (barbarians are much less likely to pursue such a route). Bards and rogues mesh extraordinarily well with the venturer motif, and find that many of their own abilities are further accentuated by the class. While spellcasters are less likely to become venturers, they can certainly benefit from the class abilities which, if nothing else, allow them to avoid injury in dangerous situations.

Hit Dice: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a venturer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +5
Balance: 6 ranks.
Jump: 6 ranks.
Tumble: 8 ranks.
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse.

Class Skills

The venturer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The venturer is proficient with all simple and marital weapons, and light armor. The only shield they are proficient with is the buckler.

Acrobatic Defense (Ex): When not wearing armor and carrying no more than a light load, venturers gain a +1 Dodge bonus to their Armor Class for each level of venturer they take. If the venturer is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.

Graceful Descent (Sp): Luck abounds where the venturer is concerned, and he possesses the ability to land safely from nearly any height. He can cast feather fall as a spell-like ability once per day for each level of venturer he has gained.

Tread Gracefully (Ex): A 2nd level venturer gains a +10 competence bonus to Balance and Move Silently checks when not wearing armor (or wearing armor with no Dex penalty) and carrying no more than a light load. In addition, a venturer can always choose to take 10 on Balance or Move Silently checks, even when circumstances would normally prevent him from doing so.

Fleet-footed (Ex): Upon reaching 2nd level, the venturer’s base speed increases by +10 feet when not wearing armor (or wearing armor with no Dex penalty) and carrying no more than a light load. This bonus increases to +20 feet at 5th level.

Savvy (Ex): At 3rd level, the venturer’s natural grace and charm come to the fore, and everything he does is marked with confidence. He gains a +5 competence bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks.

Move Gracefully (Ex): A 4th level venturer gains a +10 competence bonus to Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks when not wearing armor (or wearing armor with no Dex penalty) and carrying no more than a light load. In addition, a venturer can always choose to take 10 on a Climb, Jump, or Tumble check, even when circumstances would normally prevent him from doing so.

Uncanny Step (Ex): A 5th level venturer can take part of one of his move actions on a wall or other vertical surface so long as he begins and ends his movement on a horizontal surface. If he does not end his movement on a horizontal surface, a venturer falls, taking damage appropriate to his height above the ground. Treat the vertical surface as normal floor for the purposes of measuring movement. Passing the boundary from vertical to horizontal is equivalent to 5 feet of movement on a normal floor. Opponents on the floor still get attacks of opportunity if the venturer moves through areas they threaten. The venturer can take other move actions in conjunction with the uncanny step. For example, the venturer could use the Spring Attack feat and the Tumble and Jump skills, but he cannot charge a foe.

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 This page was last updated on January 25, 2006 .