Riddlemaster

Specialty: Riddler/Intellect.

Qualifications: Riddlemasters must have an Intelligence of 15 or more. Their other ability scores are standard. Gnomes can rise to become 8th-level Riddlemasters. Halflings can advance up to 9th level.

Introduction: Yes, I am Retean, the Riddlemaster, mastermind of enigmas and games. I can solve any riddle and complete any puzzle. Pay the price and watch me twice.

As a Riddlemaster, my mind is constantly in motion. I'm wiser than most clerics, and smarter than most sages. Always thinking, always plotting, always alert.

When I encounter someone, I analyze him, evaluate his value to myself, and act accordingly. When I enter a tavern I don't just grab the nearest chair. Instead, I scan the room, select the most advantageous seat, and then evaluate the fare as I decide what to have. None of my decisions are made without deliberate, conscious thought.

Yet, I can be entertaining as well. I love to pose questions and riddles. For example:

If the world were round,

And you stood on the ground,

How many places could you stand . . .

Walk south 20 leagues, east 20 leagues, north 20 leagues

and end up hand in hand.

The answer is not the north pole, but "One." True, the North Pole is the only place where you can do this, but I asked, "how many places," not which places.

And now, as I have summed up your worth to me, I must be off to a new challenge.

Description: Riddles, rhymes, and puzzles are the medium of the Riddlemaster. These characters look upon life as an intricate and challenging puzzle to be solved. Their seemingly strange ways cause many a commoner to label them crazy (much like the Jester). However, Riddlemasters are exceptionally intelligent, and their minds work on a level above that of the common man.

Riddlemasters devote their entire intellect to maximizing favorable outcomes for themselves and their friends. Some believe that Riddlemasters are just extraordinarily lucky, but this is not the case. Riddlemasters are always considering the environment around them, being sure to stand in the most favorable places, socializing with the most advantageous people, asking the best questions, and so on. They seek to develop the supreme mind.

To flaunt their skills, Riddlemasters often speak in riddles or rhymes, causing others to stop and think in order to understand them. Riddlemasters love to pose questions, in the form of riddles, to everyday people. These riddles are carefully constructed and often conceal lessons or observations that apply to the Riddlemasters' audience.

Role: Each Riddlemaster applies his intellect in a different way. Evil Riddlemasters seek to demean and put down others in order to rise above them. Good Riddlemasters make their way through society attempting to educate the "less fortunate." Others simply travel around, enjoying the sport of poking fun at others while advancing their own intellectual understanding.

Traveling Riddlemasters are most common, as their unique ways often irritate others, forcing them to maintain a mobile lifestyle. Adventuring Riddlemasters enjoy the supreme tests of judgment and intelligence that must be passed in order to survive perilous quests. Besides this, their input on decisions is nearly invaluable. Of course, some party members may find their manner difficult to put up with.

Secondary Skills: Few Riddlemasters have a secondary skill, as they have spent their time in intellectual pursuits. Those who do are most likely Gamblers, Jewelers, or Trader/Barterers.

Weapon Proficiencies: Riddlemasters enjoy finesse weapons over those that require simple brawn. They can become proficient in the blowgun, bow, crossbow, dagger, dart, hand axe, javelin, knife, quarterstaff, sling, spear, staff sling, short sword, or whip.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonuses: Artistic Ability (riddles), Languages (modern), Poetry, Reading/Writing. Suggested: Appraising, Blind-fighting, Direction Sense, Gaming, Heraldry, Musical Instrument, Navigation, Reading Lips, Singing, Weather Sense, Ventriloquism.

Armor/Equipment: Standard.

Special Benefits:

Probable Path: Riddlemasters can use their great intellects to make analytical decisions. When a decision must be made concerning multiple options (e.g., which hallway to proceed down, which door to open first, which opponent to attack first in order to achieve some goal, etc.), the Riddlemaster can use his intellect to help make the decision. In such cases, the DM secretly rolls an Intelligence check for the Riddlemaster, with a penalty equal to the number of previous probable path decisions made that day (representing mental fatigue). If the roll succeeds, the DM tells the player all significant clues that the Riddlemaster might know or observe. If there are no clues, no information is gained-- Riddlemasters aren't lucky, they're just very intelligent.

If the roll is a natural 20, the information gained is misleading.

Unless a given situation changes somehow, using this ability multiple times in the same situation gives identical results.

Riddles/Puzzles: If any adventure includes an actual riddle or puzzle that the players must solve, the player of the Riddlemaster can make twice as many attempts to solve the riddle or puzzle as is normally allowed. For example, an adventure might include an encounter in which the party runs into a sphinx. The sphinx may demand the answer to a riddle in exchange for safe passage. In this situation, if the Riddlemaster gives the answer, the player can actually make two guesses, and if either is correct, the sphinx is satisfied.

The same thing applies if the party comes across a room with a tiled floor that must be crossed in a specific sequence. The Riddlemaster is allowed to make one free mistake. Only on his second mistake does the character suffer any hazardous consequences.

If a problem has a time limit, the Riddlemaster has twice the allotted time to solve it.

A special use of solving riddles and puzzles occurs when a Riddlemaster attempts to understand a newly discovered spell. The Riddlemaster has a +10% bonus to his roll to learn spells (to a maximum of 95%).

Furthermore, the Riddlemaster gains the ability to use any written magical item at 8th level, instead of 10th level.

Common Sense: To signify the common sense a Riddlemaster has at his disposal, Riddlemasters gain certain benefits. Although these benefits are similar to those of the Jester kit, they are not luck, but rather a result of intellectual calculations made by the Riddlemaster.

· The Riddlemaster has a +1 adjustment to his Armor Class.

· A Riddlemaster receives a +1 (or 5%) bonus to many die rolls, including saving throws, individual initiative, attacks rolls, damage rolls, proficiency checks, thief skill checks, ability checks, and all ability-based rolls (bend bards, system shock, etc. ), except for resurrection survival.

The only die rolls that common sense doesn't affect are surprise, initial character generation rolls, hit die rolls, resurrection survival, and monster damage rolls.

Riddling and Rhyming: By chanting certain riddles and rhymes, a Riddlemaster can influence an audience's reactions. This ability functions in all ways as the True Bard's influence reactions ability.

Special Hindrances: None.

Table of Contents