Jongleur

Specialty: Juggler/Acrobat.

Qualifications: Jongleurs must have a Dexterity of 14 or more (other ability scores, standard). Gnomes can advance to the 9th level as Jongleurs. Halflings can attain 12th level.

Introduction: Yes, I am a Jongleur. My stage name is Jonclaur the Jongleur, and that will do for now. I travel across the Flanaess with a small carnival band. I believe you have already met one of my companions, Dark. He's good with knives and swords, but his personality matches his name a little too much for me.

When our troupe puts on a show, I tend to draw the largest and most consistent audience. In particular, families and village thieves enjoy watching my act. Families watch because my juggling, pole vaulting, acrobatics, and tightrope walking amazes them (and occasionally fills them with concern when my act looks particularly hazardous). The thieves come to study my actions. Many thieves can pole vault, walk tightropes, and perform various feats of acrobatics, but none have my skill. In a way, it's a form of research for them.

And it is true, though I hate to admit it, that my talents are occasionally put to less-than-honorable uses. On one of the last few days of our show, a large part of our troupe often stages some complex burglary. My skills are often invaluable. I can vault across moats or into upper story windows that are protected by walls coated with contact poison. If a mansion is guarded by dogs, I use a crossbow to fire a line from a nearby building, then walk across it. Of course, I rarely keep my share of this booty. Instead, I usually donate it to the local orphanage or poorhouse.

Well, nice chatting with you, but I must get back. My second act is about to begin.

Description: Jongleurs are loosely based upon the French entertainers of the same name. They are masters at manipulating small items with their hands. They can catch and juggle almost anything. On top of this they are skilled acrobats, able to traverse tightropes, turn flips, polevault, and perform any number of acrobatic feats. Their agility provides them with great defensive resources.

Role: As entertainers, most Jongleurs are typically found accompanying carnivals or circuses. A troupe of Jongleurs can put on a remarkable show all by themselves. They often perform in taverns or clubs, using their arts to draw in the crowd and captivate them long enough for the barkeeper (as well as the Jongleurs) to drain the crowd's purses. Of course, a few free-lancers work the streets out of greed or need.

Jongleurs are useful adventuring allies; their skills are invaluable when the going gets tough. They are able to squeeze into places where nobody else can go without the aid of magic. Finally, their skill at avoiding certain traps makes them excellent scouts.

Secondary Skills: Any.

Weapon Proficiencies: Jongleurs can use all hurled weapons. A hurled weapon is any weapon that can be thrown (this does not include bows, blowguns, or other missile weapons that are fired or shot). Otherwise, Jongleurs are restricted to the following weapons: polearms, quarterstaff, sling, staff sling, and whip. All of these weapons can be used in their performances. For example, they can juggle daggers, pole vault with polearms, and balance with spears or quarterstaves.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonuses: Juggling, Jumping, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling. Suggested: Direction Sense, Endurance, Poetry, Rope Use, Running.

Armor/Equipment: If a Jongleur wears any type of armor other than leather, studded leather, padded, or elven chain mail, he cannot use any of the following special benefits. All other forms of armor are simply too restrictive or bulky for the Jongleur to properly perform.

Jongleurs tend to dress in rather flashy colors. However, they don't take this to the extremes that Jesters do. They avoid large capes, robes, and other garments that can catch or tangle during movement. Of course, this does not mean that a Jongleur is going to wear a flaming red suit that sparkles in the dimmest of lights when exploring ancient ruins. They prefer flash and fanfare, but they aren't stupid.

Special Benefits:

Extended Proficiencies: Because Jongleurs are extremely skilled at all forms of juggling and acrobatics, they gain certain special benefits to their bonus proficiencies.

Juggling:

· The Jongleur adds his level to the attack roll when trying to catch small items.

· Missile or hurled weapons too large to catch can be deflected by using the juggling proficiency.

Jumping:

· The Jongleur doubles his level for all jumping calculations.

· The character can use poles up to 20 feet longer than himself.

· Vaults can be made with a 15-foot run. The pole need not be dropped if a second proficiency check is successful.

Tightrope Walking:

· All penalties are halved, dropping fractions (i.e., -5 for one-inch surfaces, -2 for two- to six-inch surfaces, and -2 attack roll penalty).

· Use of a balancing rod provides a +4 bonus.

Tumbling:

· The +4 Armor Class bonus applies during any round in which initiative is won, even if the Jongleur opts to attack later that round.

· No proficiency check is required to reduce falling damage. However, a successful proficiency check doubles the falling distances (i.e., no damage up to 20 feet and only half damage up to 120 feet).

Dodge: Jongleurs are amazingly agile and have very quick reflexes. This enables them to jump free of many potentially harmful situations if a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation is rolled. The only bonus allowed to the save is the defensive bonus for high Dexterity.

If the attempted dodge fails, the Jongleur suffers the full effects of the danger. No other saving throw can be rolled to avoid the threat, as the dodge takes the place of all other saving throws. The benefit of dodging is that all harm is completely avoided, whereas many successful saving throws result in half damage. Of course, the Jongleur player can opt to skip the dodge attempt in favor of any normally allowed saving throws.

Dodging does not affect missile weapons or hurled weapons, personal spells (those that affect only one person) directed specifically at the Jongleur, or spells that have no physical effect to dodge (such as hold person ).

Situations that can be avoided include falls (into pits, through illusionary floors, down sliding stairways traps, etc.), being struck from above (by ceiling blocks, rocks, piercers, collapses, etc.), area-effect spells that can be dodged (lightning bolt, web, fireball, etc.), and any other situation that the Dungeon Master feels could be avoided by a sudden agile leap (possibly breath weapons). Of course, if a jump to safety is impossible, the Jongleur cannot attempt a dodge. Note that Jongleurs are also able to climb walls and might avoid certain situations by clinging to a wall.

Entertain Crowd: By juggling, performing flips, or displaying his acrobatic talents, a Jongleur can influence the reactions of an audience. This ability is similar to the True Bard's influence reactions ability.

As with that ability, the crowd cannot be attacking or about to attack. The Jongleur must perform for 1d10 rounds, after which all non-player characters viewing the performance must roll saving throws vs. paralyzation (split large audiences into groups of 10 and roll one saving throw for each group). The saving throw is rolled with a -1 penalty per three levels of the bard (round down). Those failing have their reactions adjusted one level in a more friendly direction, as per Table 59 in the DMG .

Unlike True Bards, Jongleurs cannot attempt to worsen the reactions of a crowd (it is very difficult to juggle or walk a tightrope in an offensive manner). However, if the crowd saves with a natural 1, the onlookers disapprove of the Jongleur and their reactions actually worsen by one level.

Special Hindrances: Jongleurs do not gain the 10th-level ability to use any written magical item.

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