Courier Mage (3.5e Prestige Class)

Courier Mage

The Couriers are an elite guild who boast that they can get a message or package to anyone, anywhere, in record time – for an appropriate fee. Sometimes powerful magic – such as a teleport spell – is needed to get the job done. For such jobs, the guild calls in a courier mage. That is, assuming the customer can afford it.

Requirements for admission to the guild are rigorous, but any courier mage can expect all reasonable help from any guild outpost, including a fresh mount, supplies, even an armed escort if warranted. In return, for each job the courier tithes 10% of all proceeds to the guild, or cost of guild expenses, whichever is higher. Any non-guild member who works a job with a guild member is also expected to tithe 10%.

Outposts are typically found in towns about a day's ride apart in civilized country, more sparsely in border regions. Outposts are also sources of information regarding potential contracts, available freely to all guild members.

Courier mages remain steadfastly neutral in any conflict. Anyone who knowingly harms a courier mage, other than in self-defense, can expect at the very least a guild boycott, possibly more severe retribution.

Courier mages are occasionally hired for extra sensitive missions, such as spying or assassination. Moonlighters act without guild aid and protection, but they are still expected to tithe 10% of proceeds to the guild.

Bards make excellent courier mages. Other courier mages usually start out multiclassed with a stealthy class (e.g. rogue) and an arcane casting class (e.g. wizard). Other classes are rare.

Prerequisites

• Alignment: Any neutral.
• Skills: Speak Language any 4 languages, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Spot 5 ranks.
• Base Speed: 30 feet in any movement mode.
• Spells: Able to cast either haste or fly. Arcane casters are far more common, but the guild also has a limited need for divine casters, particularly those with the Travel domain.
• Special: 2000 GP one-time referral fee. A character cannot take levels in both courier and courier mage.

Table: The Courier Mage

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Sense of direction, fast movement +10
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Caster level +1
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+3	Caster level +1
4th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Caster level +1
5th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Caster level +1
6th	+4	+2	+2	+5	Caster level +1
7th	+5	+2	+2	+5	Caster level +1
8th	+6	+2	+2	+6	Caster level +1
9th	+6	+3	+3	+6	Caster level +1
10th	+7	+3	+3	+7	Caster level +1

Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level)
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (any) (n/a), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Class Features

All the following are class features of the courier mage:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A courier mage does not gain any proficiency with weapons or armor.

Sense of Direction (Ex): A courier mage has an uncanny knack for determining direction. The character can determine, at will, which way is north, and can infallibly retrace or backtrack any path she has taken before.

Fast Movement (Ex): A courier mage gains a +10 enhancement to base speed in her primary movement mode, when wearing light or no armor and carrying no more than a light load. The bonus stacks with the fast movement ability of any other class.

Caster Level: At each level after 1^st, a courier mage gains a new caster level, spells per day, and spells known (if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class she had before she added the prestige class, in which she was capable of casting 3^rd level spells. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.

If the character had more than one such spellcasting class, the player may decide which class to assign each caster level.

The Epic Courier Mage

Hit Die: d6

Table: The Epic Courier Mage

Level	Special
21st	Fast movement +10
22nd	Caster level +1
23rd	Caster level +1
24th	Caster level +1
25th	Caster level +1
26th	Caster level +1
27th	Caster level +1
28th	Caster level +1
29th	Caster level +1
30th	Caster level +1
Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

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