Plunderer (3.5e Prestige Class)
Plunderer
| “ | There is no more glory to be achieved than stealing from a god! | ” |
| —Brailé, Elf Ranger5/Plunderer2, Teachings of Ollidammara, p.44 l.2 | ||
In this day and age many call themselves thieves. But what are thieves and what are their role in a fight? Well simply put thieves lend without asking and don't ever return it. For their position in battle it is the same, they lend everything from their opponents. You can't simply call a Wizard pickpocketing some books or scrolls a thief. He is no more than a wizard with a knack for knowledge. You can't call a Paladin taking the treasure of an evil dragon a thief because he is regarded a hero. In fact a real thief utilizes the most cunning way to fight of all. Instead of smashing against a shield or enduring magical effects, a real thief relieves their enemies of heavy equipment or complex writings. And only than he attacks them! Isn't that nice of him? Well Plunderers are the embodiment of true theft. They don't simply steal: They disarm, relocate and exchange what their enemy possess. A Wizard suddenly missing his staff, a Ranger holding a snake in his hand instead of an arrow or a Fighter suddenly holding the blade of his sword instead of the grip are the few examples of how a plunderer acts in a battle. Hindering the opponent from doing what they are best at and hurting them when they are vulnerable.
Becoming a Plunderer
Most classes that pursue this class are followers of Ollidammara and therefore have a special view on things. From rogues to clerics anything can become a plunderer. But mostly agile and experienced followers take up this class to improve their cunning in battle. The most important stats to a Plunderer are Dex and Int.
| Alignment: | A plunderer isn't necessarily chaotic. They may posses the ability to steal better than a simple street thug or rogue but some of them still abide the laws(sometimes) and mainly use their skills for controlling the battlefield. However it is unheard of plunderers ever being strictly lawful. |
|---|---|
| Race: | All races may become Plunderers but only if they are of medium size. Humans are the most common plunderers simply because of their adaptability. |
| Skills: | A Plunderer needs Tumble(3) and Sleight of Hand(2). |
| Feats: | Deft Hands. |
| Patron: | Either Ollidammara or none. |
| Base Attack Bonus: | +3. |
| Special: | The to-be Plunderer has to craft a mask with a tearing white face half and grinning dark face half. He can attempt this either with his own craft skill(if appropriate) and pray to Ollidamara sacrificing 100g or finding someone with the "Craft Wondrous Item" feat(CL 5, Minor Image, 100g). This mask uses the face equipment slot and gives a bonus to bluff +2. Every person that sees a Plunderer wearing this mask sees a different fake face and can't relate to his original face. A Plunderer can put on/off this mask once per round as a swift action. |
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Plunderer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Plunderers are proficient with Daggers and Light Armor.
Spells: A Plunderer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the Plunderer spell list given below. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time the way a cleric or wizard must. When a Plunderer gains access to a new level of spells, he automatically knows all the spells for that level listed on the Plunderer's spell list. Essentially, his spell list is the same as his spells known list. Similar to other casters the Plunderer gets additional spells per day with a high Int score. To cast a spell, a Plunderer must have an Intelligence score of 10 + the spell's level (Int 10 for 0-level spells, Int 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Plunderer's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the Plunderer's Intelligence modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Plunderer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table 1—1: The Plunderer. In addition, he receives bonus spells for a high Intelligence score (see Table 1—1, page 8 of the Player's Handbook). Unlike a cleric or a wizard, a Plunderer need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. Normally, armor of any type interferes with an arcane spellcaster's gestures, which can cause his spells to fail (if those spells have somatic components). A Plunderer's experience and specialized spell range, however, allows him to avoid arcane spell failure as long as he sticks to no or light armor. This training does neither extend to medium, heavy armor or shields nor does this ability apply to spells gained from a different spellcasting class. Furthermore a Plunderer can't cast spells at all in medium or heavy armor as well as with shields of any sort. A Plunderer is banned from using metamagic feats on his own spelllist but is free to do so with any other spells. A Plunderer knows all spells of the given level if he has at least 1 Spell per day of the same level. All spells are cast spontaneously and don't have to be prepared. Table: Plunderer Spells Known, below, details which spells you know at each level.
Plunderers Spell List
Plunderers choose their spells from the following list:
1st Level: animate rope, color spray, create water, disguise self, detect secret doors, entangle, expeditious retreat, feather fall, ghost sound, grease, identify, jump, longstrider, mage hand, obscuring mist, silent image, sleep.
2nd Level: alter self, arcane lock, cat’s grace, continual flame, darkness, fox’s cunning, enthrall, flash-freeze, illusory script, invisibility, glitterdust, pass without trace, see invisibility, silence, spider climb, undetectable alignment, web.
3rd Level: blacklight, blink, deep slumber, deeper darkness, displacement, false life, heroism, minor image, misdirection, nondetection, shrink item, snare.
4th Level:clairaudience/clairvoyance, confusion, detect scrying, dimensional anchor, dimension door, freedom of movement, glibness, greater invisibility, illusory wall, locate creature, major image, modify memory.
5th Level:false vision, interposing hand, nightmare, secret chest, seeming, teleport.
6th Level:antimagic field, heroism, greater, mislead, permanent image, programmed image, shadow walk, veil.
Abilities: A Plunderer has one of his hands engraved with a symbol in order to use any of his class abilities. He therefore can't wield two-handed weapons, off-hand weapons or shields. Note that he isn't prohibited from using them, he barely looses access to his abilities while doing so.
Knock (Sp): With a snip of his fingers a Plunderer can even open the doors to hell. At 1st level he gains the ability to "Knock". When using this ability he can cast a knock as a Swift Action 1/Level(max 5) per day. When using this ability as an areal effect he automatically unlocks all targets within range. For every trapped lock the Plunderer can roll a Disable Device Check as if he has found the trap and tried to disable it. If the trap is magical he instead gets a free Dispel Magic Check.
Steal (Su): Stealing is what a Plunderer can do best. At 1st level and every two levels thereafter a Plunderer gets 1 more Steal attempt per encounter. All Steal attempts have a Will Save that needs to beat the Sleight of Hand check of the Plunderer. A Steal attempt can be used as a Move or Standard Action.
1: At 1st level steal works like the retrieve Power except for changes noted: Steal can't be augmented(not a power), you can steal items weighing up to 100lb + 10lb for every two levels and the item appears in your free hand.
2: At 3rd level a Steal attempt can be used as a "Shifting Fault" attempt instead. The Shifting Fault works like the retrieve Power except for changes noted: Shifting Fault can't be augmented, you can place items instead of stealing weighing up to 100lb + 10lb per two levels, Shifting Fault is an Immediate Action and these items can be placed in bags, closed chests, behind doors and so on. The place where the item is put has to be of nonsolid material or have space left, or the Shifting Fault attempt fails.
3: At 5th level a Steal attempt can be used as a "Displace" attempt instead. The Displace works like the retrieve Power except for changes noted: Displace can't be augmented, you won't steal the effected item, the item can weigh up to 100lb + 10lb per two levels, Displace is an Immediate Action and you simply change the way the item is placed. A sword that was held by a Figther by its handle can be displaced to be held by its blade which causes damage to wielder and makes him drop his weapon, a wanted Poster that shows the face of the Plunderer can be turned around when a guard walks by or staff turned around to cast spells into the opposite direction if the wielder fails to notice( DC20 Spot Check/only once).
4: At 5th level a Steal attempt can be used as an "Exchange" attempt instead. The Exchange work like the retrieve Power except for changed noted: Displace can't be augmented, you can steal items weighing up to 50lb + 10 lb per two levels, you have to place an item in the same spot weighing up to 50lb + 10lb per two levels, exchange is an Immediate Action and works like a Steal + Shifting attempt. An arrow that was held by a Ranger can be exchanged for a snake that will attack the ranger and hinder his attack, a ring can be exchanged for a fake ring without the possessor noticing or something placed in the bag can be exchanged for a cursed item.
Deep Pockets (Su): At 2nd level any coin or gem a Plunderer puts into his pockets and bags is reduced in its size and weight by 1/10. This works similar as the shrink item spell.
Sudden Leap (Ex): At 2nd level whenever a ranged attack against the Plunderer misses or is blocked he can make a Tumble Check against the previously missed Attack Roll and use leap on a successful roll. He leaps for his current speed modifier in any direction once per round as an Immediate Action. This is usable once per round and doesn't provoke attacks of Opportunity. If a close ranged attack misses or is blocked he can use an Escape Artist Check against the previously made Attack Roll and leap backwards. If he succeeds the check he leaps without provoking an Attack of Opportunity and with his current speed modifier. This also counts as an Immediate Action can be used once per round. If one of the checks fails and he ends his leap in enemy threat range he provokes an Attack of Opportunity. The Plunderer has to designate his leap before the roll and can't use both types of leap in the same round.
Insightful Strike (Su):At 3rd level a Plunderer gets an Insight Bonus equal to his Int Modifier(if any) additionally to any Strength Modifier to his Attack Rolls. The Plunderer is a thief, however even a thief needs to be able to defend himself if ever threatened into a corner. Therefore most Plunderers memorize all possible moves and ways to use a dagger and their bare fists. This insight bonus only applies to daggers and unarmed strikes.
At 8th level a Plunderer becomes even more proficient with his weapons of choice. Experience and Knowledge add to each of their strike. From now on a Plunderer can add his Int Modifier(if any) to all Damage Rolls additionally to the Strength Modifier.
Detect (Sp): At 4th level a Plunderer sharpens his senses to the extreme with magic and enables Detect at will. Clicking with his tongue the Plunderer sends sound waves in his surroundings. Detect works like echolocation and reveals all objects surrounding the Plunderer up to 50 feet with their exact positions. A Plunderer can effectively "see" the defining lines of objects in this radius in an otherwise complete dark room. This works also in magical darkness but not in magical silence or extreme noise. Objects that are alive are surrounded by red outlines however fake life doesn't get revealed (constructs, undead etc). Coins and gems are highlighted in yellow outlines. Anything magical in blue and anything psionic purple. With this ability the Plunderer gets a pretty accurate view on everything surrounding him. He can use 1 round to concentrate on a specific revealed target to get more information out of it. As if using arcane sight or aura sight. By concentrating on coins or gems for 1 round he can use his appraise skill even if they are behind a wall, bag or similar. By concentrating on life force he can determine if the other living being has the same amount of hit dice, less or more.
Improved Spellcasting (Su): At 4th level the Plunderer works spells with a caster level equal his total level. He also automatically casts all spells silent and still as if using silent spell and still spell without increasing the needed spell slot. This works only with the Plunderer's spell list.
Disappear (Ex): At 6th level a Plunderer is able to hide himself effectively in crowds. Whenever a Plunderer is trying to hide or run from enemies he can try to disappear in a crowd. He can effectively use hide while being in a crowd full of people and move with full speed instead of being slowed by obstacles. He gets a +10 bonus on Hide Checks done within crowds. On a successful hiding attempt he leaves no traces and enemies loose him.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): At 6th level, a Plunderer can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a Plunderer can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind.
He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Siphon Strike (Su): At 10th level, a Plunderer unlocks knowledge to a new move. If a Plunderer can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from his attack, he can ram his dagger into his opponent and drain him of his vitality.
The Plunderer’s attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Plunderer flanks his target. This extra damage is 5d6. Should the Plunderer score a critical hit with a Siphon Strike, this extra damage is not multiplied. If a Strike is successful he leaves the enemy fatigued and heals the Plunderer for 1/3 of the siphon damage. Siphon Strikes can only be done with Daggers and has only 1 + Int modifier attempts per day. If the target is a spellcaster or manifester roll a d10. The number rolled indicates the spellslot level that gets drained and therefore blocked.(10 = cantrip or 10PP, 1 = 1st level or 1PP, 2 = 2nd level spell slot or 2PP and so on). If the roll is higher than the highest known spell of the spellcaster the highest available spell gets drained instead. If a manifester has less PP left than the rolled number he is now exhausted. The spellcaster's slot that was drained now frees up 1 slot of the Plunderer 3 levels lower but at least a level 1 spell slot. The manifester's drained PP that were drained now free up 1 slot of the Plunderer's spell slots 4 points lower but at least a level 1 spell slot.
Ex-Plunderers
Plunderers suffer no repercussions.
Campaign Information
Playing a Plunderer
Combat: Medium Spellcasting, Trickery, Melee
Advancement: Best options for a Plunderer are Rogues, Rangers or any class that enhances physical performance and offers Tumble.
Resources: They might not get robbed by other Plunderers. You don't steal from your own flock of birds.
Plunderers in the World
| “ | In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. | ” |
Plunderers can be found almost everywhere. They simply adept their thievery to local needs.
NPC Reactions: At best most NPC can tell that a Plunderer is a pretty good thief. They react rather unfriendly if they know a Plunderer for his crimes.
Plunderer Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (local) (Int) can research Plunderers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | Plunderers utilize magic in addition to their normal tools . |
| 16 | Some Plunderers seem to be magic scholars that failed to enlist in magical schools or find a mentor. |
| 21 | Many Plunderers seem to have connections to Archmages and the like. It is not know if they sell and buy from them or get lessons in magic. |
| 35 | The mask needed to unlock the powers of a Plunderer resembles the mask of Ollidammara but anyone can become a Plunderer. Most Plunderer don't know why Ollidammara is granting Power to these People. In fact these powers are pieces left from the previous thief goddess. Ollidammara wasn't able to fully absorb her powers. What was left still lives within the veins of magic laylines and automatically gets absorbed by anyone wearing a mask of this kind the first time. |
| 70 | Some of the wisest people managed to decipher a hidden code within the scattered pieces of Ollidammara's teachings. They tell about a long forgotten time when a different goddess was in charge of Ollidammara's domains. They tell about a different Ollidammara altogether. While their names are the same she was slain for unknown reasons. The new Ollidammara, now male, was the new god in charge of her domains. The only thing known is that Ollidammara was a far stronger goddess than the current Ollidammara. |
Plunderer in the Game
As a PC the Plunderer contributes a lot by manipulating the battlefield. He is the best at doing underhanded tricks and a skillmonkey for many problems. As an NPC Plunderers normally either are thieves or Local Heroes branded as thieves. Some Plunderer's are travelers in search of Ollidammara's true origins.
Adaptation: A campaign that involves secrets and gods interfering with the world a Plunderer fits in perfectly. There is no more glory to be achieved than stealing from a god afterall.
Sample Encounter: CR 8: Ranger 5/Plunderer 5
EL whatever: El 8, Most Plunderers run away if possible. Only if cornered they fight.
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