Herald

Specialty: Linguist/Orator.

Qualifications: Standard ability scores. Demihumans can become Heralds of up to 6th level.

Introduction: Hello, my name is Bard, James Bard, and I'm a Herald working for His Majesty, the king.

My duties are of the utmost importance to the king and to the continued vitality of the kingdom, for I am secretly in charge of the King's private men-at-arms and personal bodyguards. If the king's life is in danger, I am responsible for ensuring his safety.

My public image is one of party-goer, ladies' man, and general royal busybody. I frequent all the best parties in town. The king often ensures that I am invited. At these functions, I meet important people and use my fantastic communication skills and intellect to uncover potential plots against the throne.

When I'm not partying, the public finds me at the castle gate. When a party comes to the castle, I use my knowledge to identify their Herald or banner and call out their name, such as: "Duke Amenga and entourage from Castle Peledge." This is a useful service, but my real purpose is to identify these visitors, assess their potential threat to the king, and act accordingly.

Enough talk, I must be off to chat with that strange-looking man entering the gates over there.

Description: Heralds make their living by uncovering hidden truths. If a royal family has a closely guarded secret, a Herald will undoubtedly discover it. In the struggle for land and power among kingdoms, the Herald is a key force. A good Herald knows who is plotting against his king and why.

Heralds are confident and well-versed in matters of social etiquette. They often gather their information at royal events, such as balls and other celebrations. They are often mistaken for nobility; thus, they can easily make their way past guards. Heralds dress in the latest and most expensive fashions of the day. They prefer silk and bright colors. Members of the opposite sex are often attracted to Heralds by their self-confident manner and slight arrogance.

One thing is certain, Heralds are some of the most competent communicators around. They can speak dozens of languages, understand sophisticated words, locate a person's home village by his dialect, and can read almost everything they get their hands on.

Role: There are two types of Heralds. One travels from place to place, relating current events across the land. They sell their tales of travel and the news they learn to those who will listen. Most medieval commoners cannot read or write, so it is up to such Heralds to relate local events.

The other type of Herald secretly serves a king. It is the royal Herald's duty to uncover plots against the king and royal family. The royal Herald is quick witted and fast talking. Heralds of this stature often have a reputation that precedes them. They are recognized and feared by their foes. Thus, they must occasionally deal with assassination attempts at inconvenient times (for instance, a delayed blast fireball under the bed). Royal courts often employ them to preside over jousting tournaments, announce the arrival of important foreign envoys, and for personal counsel.

Heralds turn to the adventuring life for several reasons. Primary among them are the fantastic stories that can be related from such ventures. "News" has a very broad meaning in the campaign world, and tales of a daring band of heroes braving unknown horrors not only qualifies, but often draws a larger crowd than local gossip.

The royal Herald might be sent by his king on an undercover fact-finding mission-for instance, to investigate a rumor that Zhentil Keep is secretly funding an orc uprising in the south. Often, a Herald's communication skills will prove invaluable on such quests.

Secondary Skills: Groom, Hunter, Jeweler, Limner/Painter, Scribe.

Weapon Proficiencies: Heralds are not restricted in this area.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonuses: Etiquette, Heraldry, Local History, Reading/Writing. Suggested: Languages (ancient or modern), Musical Instrument (horn family). At least half of a Herald's nonweapon proficiencies must be spent in learning languages.

Armor/Equipment: Standard.

Special Benefits:

Identify Rumors: Heralds are always aware of their surroundings and have picked up the skills necessary to stay atop local events. Any time rumors are generated for player characters, Heralds learn twice as many as a normal character. Heralds are also able to determine the validity of a rumor. A Charisma check is rolled; if it succeeds, the Herald knows whether the rumor is true or false. Even if a rumor table isn't included in a given adventure, the Dungeon Master should make up at least one rumor per three levels of the Herald and inform him of the rumors at the adventure's onset.

Local Lore: After snooping about an inhabited area, a Herald is able to learn who the important people are, what most of the buildings are used for, the quality of certain establishments, etc. It takes a Herald one day per 1,000 inhabitants to gain a good information base. Of course, a Herald could concentrate on a specific quarter of town or neighborhood and accomplish the task much faster.

Once a Herald is done scouting, he can recall the name of an important official if he rolls a successful Intelligence check. If the check is successful with a -2 penalty, he can identify the person on sight. This roll can also be used if the Herald player wants to know other local lore, such as where to go for the best food in town, what neighborhoods are dangerous at night, what time the city watch rotates, or which local sage is said to be most reliable. If the check is a 20, the Herald believes he knows the desired information, but the Dungeon Master actually makes up some false tale for the player.

This ability must be carefully judged by the Dungeon Master. Penalties should be applied based upon the information's local significance. It is unlikely that a Herald will know the name of a typical citizen in a large city (a -10 penalty might be appropriate). However, the name of the king's horse is likely a well-known fact (no penalty).

Basal Communication: As stated above, Heralds are master linguists. In fact, they can often communicate with races that are of low Intelligence or better and have a spoken language, even if the Herald does not speak that language. The Herald incorporates bits and pieces of fundamental root languages, certain universal gestures, and common expressions to get his meaning across. For the Herald to perform such difficult communication, the "listener" must be within ten feet, clearly visible, and there must be no distractions (including combat).

Success is determined by succeeding with a read languages roll (even though the communication is rarely in written form). A separate roll is needed to send or receive ideas. Thus, it is possible for a Herald to understand a being, but be unable to communicate his own ideas (or vice versa).

Persuade Crowd: A Herald can affect the mood of a crowd by telling them true (or slightly altered) local rumors and news. The Herald must be able to speak the crowd's language to use this ability. To determine a crowd's mood or opinion on a given topic, use Table 59 in the DMG .

After 1d10 minutes, those listening to the Herald's words are allowed a saving throw vs. paralyzation, with a -1 penalty per three levels of the Herald. Those who fail have their reactions adjusted one level in favor of the Herald's opinion. Those who succeed have their reactions adjusted one level in the opposite direction.

A Herald could attempt to persuade a crowd not to eat at the Skinned Dog Tavern until dragon eggs are back on the menu, to cast stones at the cruel teamster Tornack, or to go and plunder the local granaries. Of course, reactions can be altered only one level by this method. For example, if everyone is indifferent to the fact that Tornack whips his horses cruelly, the Herald will at most persuade them to be cautious about using the teamster's wagons to haul their goods.

Special Hindrances: None.

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