Realms of Chaos
2013-02-16, 02:00 PM
The Traveler
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/329/c/0/traveler_by_theincredibleandy.jpg
Art by theincredibleandy (http://theincredibleandy.deviantart.com/)
The world is a dangerous place. When raiders, orcs, dragons, and all manner of monstrosity lies beyond the pockets of civilization, any amount of travel becomes a risky endeavor. When most people spend their whole lives within a few miles of where they’ve been born, when most distant travel relies on the safety of numbers to survive, when it takes the siren’s call of treasure or fame to lure even great heroes back onto the road, few in the world can truly say that a journey is its own reward. Among those few individuals are those known as travelers. Often possessed of endless wanderlust and curiosity, travelers move across the world at their own pace. Equal parts practical and scholarly, these travelers collect vital skills, contacts, and gear for survival even as they gather new insights regarding the world around them.
Adventures: Unlike many others, a traveler often requires very little reason to “adventure”. To many, a chance to go out on the road and see new sights is a reward in and of itself. Some see themselves as more professional explorers, seeing any opportunity to discover new lands and cultures as an opportunity to gain prestige. Others are simply thrill-seekers seeking out the next rush of adrenaline. Others still grow attached to their travelling companions over time, seeing it as their duty to help their less experienced friends get through their own journeys while enjoying the experience for themselves. Whatever the case, it is often only a matter of time before a traveler imposes a new “adventure” upon themselves even if the world seems calm.
Characteristics: Having travelled for years or more, a traveler has picked up a good many skills and insights for the road and always seems to have just what is needed on hand. Between these abilities, a traveler is quite adept at helping any journey come together, even if he or she is less than capable in the battlefield.
Alignment: While travelers can be of any alignment, there are a few weak trends. Chaotic travelers are somewhat more prevalent then Lawful ones and many of them tend towards neutrality instead of either good or evil, though both exist in decent number. A chaotic traveler often comes across as a citizen of the world and resident of nowhere, drawn to travel by the same internal forces that keep them from settling down. Lawful travelers, meanwhile, often seem far more scholarly and may act nearly as logisticians at time, seemingly more concerned with ensuring the success of the journey than with the journey itself or even with its aims. The difference between good and evil travelers is relatively small as a whole, ultimately linked to where they search to travel, what fascinates them, and who they associated themselves with.
Religion: Unsurprisingly, a good many travelers choose to worship Fharlanghn (god of travel). Quite a few, however, also choose to worship gods of the wilderness such as Ehlonna or Obad-hai. A few more roguish travelers instead pay tribute to Olidammara.
Background: Rather than being trained, it is the job of each traveler to train him or herself out on the road. Before even taking a single level in traveler, most have spent years upon years traveling from place to place, building up the networks and experience that they will call upon and expand throughout their career. More than a few have actually started their careers as the precocious porters or torchbearers of other adventuring parties, learning many of their tricks from watching such heroes in action. Others come from careers requiring large amounts of travel such as an ambassador. A few who start this path have hardly traveled at all, instead relying upon years of books and stories to fill in the gaps in their knowledge and putting what they’ve learned into practice. There is no sense of community among travelers, though they bid each other no particular ill will either.
Races: Humans, with their penchant to innovate and chase the unknown, produce the greatest number of travelers, followed by the often nomadic Halflings. Half-Orcs and Half-Elves who can’t seem to find some place in society often end up as travelers themselves, as do the rare dwarves who can’t seem to fit into their own culture or who have faced exile. The curious nature of the gnomes also plays well into a traveler’s life. Elven travelers, though existent, remain rare as the unsteady lifestyle they live is often at odds with elven ideals, though wild elves present an interesting exception.
Other Classes: Travelers, by the nature of their abilities, function well alongside most others. Adept at playing off of others and leading others by example, travelers excel in small groups and rarely choose to travel alone unless given no other choice. They work particularly well in combination with other classes capable of lending support, such as the bard, but generally require others to handle combat as that is not their specialty.
Role: A traveler, speaking in general terms, specializes at supporting a party on their travels. As well as being capable of helping allies attain their goals directly, travelers are rich with insights, skills, and gear that others around them might be lacking, filling in potential weaknesses that the group may otherwise be facing.
Game Rule Information
Travelers have the following game statistics
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As wizard
Class Skills:
All skills are treated as class skills for the traveler.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier
The Traveler
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
Always Prepared
1st|+0|+2|+0|+2|Always Prepared, Traveler’s Insight (Lore, Awareness)|
10 gp
2nd|+1|+3|+0|+3|Cooperative Tactics (One Ally, +1), Traveler’s Insight (Communication)|
20 gp
3rd|+2|+3|+1|+3|Skills of the Road, Traveler’s Connections|
30 gp
4th|+3|+4|+1|+4|Extra Supplies (2)|
40 gp
5th|+3|+4|+1|+4|Cooperative Tactics (Two Allies, +2)|
50 gp
6th|+4|+5|+2|+5|Traveler’s Insight (Intuition)|
70 gp
7th|+5|+5|+2|+5|Self-Sufficient (Hit Points)|
90 gp
8th|+6/+1|+6|+2|+6|Extra Supplies (3)|
110 gp
9th|+6/+1|+6|+3|+6|Cooperative Tactics (Three Allies, +3)|
130 gp
10th|+7/+2|+7|+3|+7|Traveler’s Insight (Recognition)|
150 gp
11th|+8/+3|+7|+3|+7|Skills of the Road|
180 gp
12th|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8|Extra Supplies (4)|
210 gp
13th|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8|Cooperative Tactics (Four Allies, +4)|
240 gp
14th|+10/+5|+9|+4|+9|Traveler’s Insight (Revelation)|
270 gp
15th|+11/+6/+1|+9|+5|+9|Self-Sufficient (Conditions)|
300 gp
16th|+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+10|Extra Supplies (5)|
340 gp
17th|+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+10|Cooperative Tactics (Five Allies, +5)|
380 gp
18th|+13/+8/+3|+11|+6|+11|Traveler’s Insight (Perfection)|
420 gp
19th|+14/+9/+4|+11|+6|+11|Skills of the Road|
460 gp
20th|+15/+10/+5|+12|+6|+12|Superb Preparations|
500 gp
[/table]
Class Features:
Armor and Weapon Proficiency: Travelers are proficient with simple weapons and four martial weapons of your choice, selected at first level. You also possess proficiency with light and medium armor and shields (except heavy shields).
Always Prepared (Ex): A traveler knows fully well that it is almost impossible to predict what one will need out on the road. As a matter of course, nearly all travelers start collecting items almost obsessively, ensuring they will never be left wanting. At any time, you may draw forth an item with a maximum value as given on the table above, having just so “happened” to be carrying that weapon at the time. These items need not be paid for but are often of dubious quality and design, selling for nothing and only remaining usable or effective for 24 hours after being taken out in this way. Living creatures and living items can’t be “stored” in this way.
You may not draw out more than a single copy of any single type of item (once you have drawn a dagger, for example, you cannot draw another dagger). For magic items, you may not draw out more than one item utilizing a given spell in its creation (you may not draw out both a scroll of cure light wounds and a potion of cure light wounds, for example). Similarly, you may not draw out items you have no containers capable of holding and the maximum size and weight of items taken out may not exceed the maximum that containers on your person can hold. Finally, the total weight of all items you draw out (after applying weight reduction for extra-dimensional spaces and similar effects) may not raise your encumbrance above a heavy load. The new items may increase your load up to a heavy load, however, as clever packing originally allows you to move without difficulty. If you are stripped of your possessions or your possessions are thoroughly searched, you cannot produce more items in this way.
With 1 hour of scrounging in a community at least the size of a thorp, you may effectively reset this ability, renewing your ability to draw forth items and even letting you take out items you have gained in the past with this ability. You may scrounge in an area with less resources but if you do so, you cannot gain magic items, alchemic items, or any other items with a Craft DC over 10 until you next scrounge. Regardless of where you scrounge, you may only do so once per day.
Traveler’s Insight (Ex): Always curious, constantly aware, and prone to seeking out new experiences, a traveler acquires a good deal of stories, anecdotes, observations, and smidgeons of skill that they can call upon when required. This insight can be called upon a number of times each day equal to half of your class level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1/day). Traveler’s insight can’t be used while unconscious or otherwise rendered incapable of taking mental actions. So long as you possess at least one use of Traveler’s Insight remaining, you treat all skills as being trained.
Lore: At 1st level, you possess a good well of stories and lore to call upon from your travels. By spending a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may make a knowledge check with any knowledge skill as if you possessed ranks in that skill equal to your class level + 5. If using the skill check to identify or learn the weaknesses and strengths of a creature, you gain an additional bonus to the check equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Awareness: At 1st level, you can use your insights to find what others have tried to conceal. As a swift action, you may spend a use of Traveler’s Insight to make a search check within any 10-foot cube you possess a line of sight with and add half of your class level as a bonus to the check. For the purpose of this check, you possess the trapfinding class feature as a rogue.
Communication: At 2nd level, you can enough experience with different languages and cultures that you can muddle your way through any diplomatic situations. You may spend a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action to effectively “learn” any language for 1d4 hours. You don’t possess the ability to detect or reproduce this language if you normally lack the means to do so. Otherwise, you can communicate basic concepts and pick out important words spoken by others. Alternatively, you may use this ability to take 10 on any single Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, Handle Animal, or Sense motive check you would make or start making within the next round.
Intuition: At 6th level, your experiences have left you with a bit of a knack for reading people and predicting outcomes. By spending a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you gain one of the two following abilities. Either you learn whether a single creature you possess a line of sight with deliberately and knowingly speaks a lie within the next 10 minutes or you predict whether taking a specific course of action will result in good outcomes, bad outcomes, good and bad outcomes, or neither within the next 30 minutes. Either way, this ability only functions properly 70% of the time + 1%/class level (maximum 90%), otherwise revealing no lies or neither good nor bad outcomes.
Recognition: At 10th level, your memory of geography and your collection of legends allows you to recall pertinent legends or recognize where you are with little difficulty, no matter where you may find yourself. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may either imitate a Commune with Nature effect (recognizing your surroundings and recalling facts about them) or a Legend Lore effect (suddenly recalling legends about a person, place, or thing). Both effects function as if with a caster level equal to your class level.
Revelation: At 14th level, you can put your disparate and varied experienced to work on almost any problem, finding answers just when you least expect them. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may gain an answer to a single question as if through a commune effect.
Perfection: At 18th level, you can put your knowledge to practical use, finding some way to maximize your effectiveness at just about any task. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as an immediate action, you may take 20 on any attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. A natural 20 gained on an attack roll or saving throw in this way does not count as an automatic success.
Cooperative Tactics (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, you know how to play off of your companions and lead your companions to success. Whenever you make an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw, if at least one ally you can see or hear has made the same dice roll to accomplish the same task/resist the same spell or effect/attack the same creature within the past round, you gain a +1 insight bonus to your roll. You even gain this bonus if you and your ally are forced to make these rolls simultaneously (such as a reflex save against a breath weapon). At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1.
Furthermore, whenever you make an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw, you may grant a single ally who can see or hear you a +1 insight bonus when it next makes the same dice roll within the next round to accomplish the same task/resist the same spell or effect/attack the same creature. This bonus is even applied if you and that ally are forced to make that roll simultaneously. At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1 and you may lend it to an additional ally.
Finally, whenever you use the aid another action, its bonus increases by +1 and may apply to an additional creature, though all allied must be aided in the same way. At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1 and you may lend it to an additional ally.
Skills of the Road (Ex):At 3rd level, your time spent on the road allows you to adjust your travels to just about any environment. You always know which way is north, can find enough food to sustain you and a number of creatures up to your Intelligence modifier with 10 minutes of work and without needing to make a roll, and may take 10 on Survival checks even when rushed or under pressure.
At 11th level, the overland movement rate for you and your allies is doubled and you can see twice as far in any form of natural environment (this does not let you overcome limitations of lighting). So long as you are conscious and mobile, you and your allies who can see and hear you or that you can reach gain immunity to altitude sickness, sunburn, heatstroke, sea sickness, pressure sickness, snow glare, and hypothermia and gain a bonus to all rolls made to recognize, resist, overcome, and/or escape the effects of inclement weather and other natural hazards such as quicksand equal to your Intelligence modifier.
At 19th level, you automatically recognize natural planar portals and can deduce what plane any planar portal would lead to just by looking at it. With 10 minutes of preparation per person (drawing out essentially weightless items using always prepared), you can ready yourself and your allies to ignore any dangers of another specific plane for 1 hour. Furthermore, so long as you are conscious and mobile, you and allies who can see and hear you or that you can reach gain a bonus to all skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws required by planar traits equal to your intelligence modifier (such as orienting your gravity on a plane with subjective gravity, shaping raw limbo, or resisting the entrapment effect of Elysium or Hades).
Traveler’s Connections (Ex): By 3rd level, you have established a wide network of contacts across the world, knowing a good many people in person and knowing a good many others as friends of friends. While this by no means ensures that you’d know your executioner or the wife of a cloud giant holding you hostage, this network does grant certain benefits. Within any community at least the size of a small town, gather information checks only require 1d4+1 x 10 minutes to perform. Furthermore, within each such community, you may select a single service other than spellcasting and acquire it for 50% of its normal cost 1/week. Once selected, the service available is set for that community.
Extra Supplies: At 4th level, you have learned to carry extra supplies just in case they become necessary. Using your always prepared class feature, you may now produce up to 2 of any single item (even for magic items requiring a spell in their creation). At 8th, 12th, and 16th levels, the number of items of a single type you may produce is increased by +1 (to a maximum of 5 at level 16).
Self-Sufficient (Ex): At 7th level, you can patch up yourself and others in relatively little time even without magical aid. With each hour spent patching up the wounds of a creature, you may heal it a number of hit points up to your class level. You may only tend to one creature at a time in this way.
Alternatively, as a standard action, you may have a single ally who can hear and understand you gain temporary hit points equal to your class level until the end of the encounter. Only allies with under half of their maximum hit points can be affected in this way.
Starting at 15th level, you can treat targets for other ongoing conditions as you work. Each hour you spend tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 point of ability damage, fatigued, or sickened. For every two consecutive hours you spend tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 point of ability drain, exhausted, nauseated, or paralyzed. For every four consecutive hours spent tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 negative level, blinded, deafened, or diseased.
Alternatively, as a standard action, you may have a single ally who can hear and understand you suppress one of the following conditions until the end of the encounter: fatigue, sickened, nauseated, exhausted, paralyzed, shaken, frightened, or panicked. If the duration ends before the end of the encounter, the effect simply ends. If the target is also at half of their maximum hit points or less, it gains temporary hit points as well as described above.
Superb Preparations (Ex): At level 20, you have learned how to scrounge, barter for, and jury-rig superior gear. Using your always prepared class feature, you may produce items worth up to twice the limit listed on the table above. Items above that given on the table only remain functional or usable for 1d4 hours, however, and do not gain the benefit of your extra supplies class feature.
Closing Thoughts:Well, this class is hopefully what it says on the can, a small and humble little support class. I know that some of the abilities "come too late" and that always prepared is a lot more discontinuous than it appears on first glance (getting big power jumps at levels 3, 5, 10, 15, and 17, I believe). Also, I am aware that the power of always prepared is largely dependent on what DMs allow you to use (A Traveler in a campaign with aboleth mucus, eggshell grenades, and lots of splat books to give you more scroll/potion selection is much stronger than a core-only traveler).
As for why I made this thing, I guess that I made it as my own attempt at a generalist class like a factotum or bard, except somewhat focused on travel and made mundane. It's not tier 3 unless lots of stuff is allowed but I personally believe that it allows players to pretty consistently play a character who almost always has something to do and can contribute in helping with most problems.
Partially inspired by the idea behind threads like Shax's Indispensable Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101), I wanted to make a class that allows a player to feel like they're ready for just about anything without using spells and without breaking the game. I think that I've just about accomplished that but feel free to let me know what you think. :smallsmile:
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/329/c/0/traveler_by_theincredibleandy.jpg
Art by theincredibleandy (http://theincredibleandy.deviantart.com/)
The world is a dangerous place. When raiders, orcs, dragons, and all manner of monstrosity lies beyond the pockets of civilization, any amount of travel becomes a risky endeavor. When most people spend their whole lives within a few miles of where they’ve been born, when most distant travel relies on the safety of numbers to survive, when it takes the siren’s call of treasure or fame to lure even great heroes back onto the road, few in the world can truly say that a journey is its own reward. Among those few individuals are those known as travelers. Often possessed of endless wanderlust and curiosity, travelers move across the world at their own pace. Equal parts practical and scholarly, these travelers collect vital skills, contacts, and gear for survival even as they gather new insights regarding the world around them.
Adventures: Unlike many others, a traveler often requires very little reason to “adventure”. To many, a chance to go out on the road and see new sights is a reward in and of itself. Some see themselves as more professional explorers, seeing any opportunity to discover new lands and cultures as an opportunity to gain prestige. Others are simply thrill-seekers seeking out the next rush of adrenaline. Others still grow attached to their travelling companions over time, seeing it as their duty to help their less experienced friends get through their own journeys while enjoying the experience for themselves. Whatever the case, it is often only a matter of time before a traveler imposes a new “adventure” upon themselves even if the world seems calm.
Characteristics: Having travelled for years or more, a traveler has picked up a good many skills and insights for the road and always seems to have just what is needed on hand. Between these abilities, a traveler is quite adept at helping any journey come together, even if he or she is less than capable in the battlefield.
Alignment: While travelers can be of any alignment, there are a few weak trends. Chaotic travelers are somewhat more prevalent then Lawful ones and many of them tend towards neutrality instead of either good or evil, though both exist in decent number. A chaotic traveler often comes across as a citizen of the world and resident of nowhere, drawn to travel by the same internal forces that keep them from settling down. Lawful travelers, meanwhile, often seem far more scholarly and may act nearly as logisticians at time, seemingly more concerned with ensuring the success of the journey than with the journey itself or even with its aims. The difference between good and evil travelers is relatively small as a whole, ultimately linked to where they search to travel, what fascinates them, and who they associated themselves with.
Religion: Unsurprisingly, a good many travelers choose to worship Fharlanghn (god of travel). Quite a few, however, also choose to worship gods of the wilderness such as Ehlonna or Obad-hai. A few more roguish travelers instead pay tribute to Olidammara.
Background: Rather than being trained, it is the job of each traveler to train him or herself out on the road. Before even taking a single level in traveler, most have spent years upon years traveling from place to place, building up the networks and experience that they will call upon and expand throughout their career. More than a few have actually started their careers as the precocious porters or torchbearers of other adventuring parties, learning many of their tricks from watching such heroes in action. Others come from careers requiring large amounts of travel such as an ambassador. A few who start this path have hardly traveled at all, instead relying upon years of books and stories to fill in the gaps in their knowledge and putting what they’ve learned into practice. There is no sense of community among travelers, though they bid each other no particular ill will either.
Races: Humans, with their penchant to innovate and chase the unknown, produce the greatest number of travelers, followed by the often nomadic Halflings. Half-Orcs and Half-Elves who can’t seem to find some place in society often end up as travelers themselves, as do the rare dwarves who can’t seem to fit into their own culture or who have faced exile. The curious nature of the gnomes also plays well into a traveler’s life. Elven travelers, though existent, remain rare as the unsteady lifestyle they live is often at odds with elven ideals, though wild elves present an interesting exception.
Other Classes: Travelers, by the nature of their abilities, function well alongside most others. Adept at playing off of others and leading others by example, travelers excel in small groups and rarely choose to travel alone unless given no other choice. They work particularly well in combination with other classes capable of lending support, such as the bard, but generally require others to handle combat as that is not their specialty.
Role: A traveler, speaking in general terms, specializes at supporting a party on their travels. As well as being capable of helping allies attain their goals directly, travelers are rich with insights, skills, and gear that others around them might be lacking, filling in potential weaknesses that the group may otherwise be facing.
Game Rule Information
Travelers have the following game statistics
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As wizard
Class Skills:
All skills are treated as class skills for the traveler.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier
The Traveler
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
Always Prepared
1st|+0|+2|+0|+2|Always Prepared, Traveler’s Insight (Lore, Awareness)|
10 gp
2nd|+1|+3|+0|+3|Cooperative Tactics (One Ally, +1), Traveler’s Insight (Communication)|
20 gp
3rd|+2|+3|+1|+3|Skills of the Road, Traveler’s Connections|
30 gp
4th|+3|+4|+1|+4|Extra Supplies (2)|
40 gp
5th|+3|+4|+1|+4|Cooperative Tactics (Two Allies, +2)|
50 gp
6th|+4|+5|+2|+5|Traveler’s Insight (Intuition)|
70 gp
7th|+5|+5|+2|+5|Self-Sufficient (Hit Points)|
90 gp
8th|+6/+1|+6|+2|+6|Extra Supplies (3)|
110 gp
9th|+6/+1|+6|+3|+6|Cooperative Tactics (Three Allies, +3)|
130 gp
10th|+7/+2|+7|+3|+7|Traveler’s Insight (Recognition)|
150 gp
11th|+8/+3|+7|+3|+7|Skills of the Road|
180 gp
12th|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8|Extra Supplies (4)|
210 gp
13th|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8|Cooperative Tactics (Four Allies, +4)|
240 gp
14th|+10/+5|+9|+4|+9|Traveler’s Insight (Revelation)|
270 gp
15th|+11/+6/+1|+9|+5|+9|Self-Sufficient (Conditions)|
300 gp
16th|+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+10|Extra Supplies (5)|
340 gp
17th|+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+10|Cooperative Tactics (Five Allies, +5)|
380 gp
18th|+13/+8/+3|+11|+6|+11|Traveler’s Insight (Perfection)|
420 gp
19th|+14/+9/+4|+11|+6|+11|Skills of the Road|
460 gp
20th|+15/+10/+5|+12|+6|+12|Superb Preparations|
500 gp
[/table]
Class Features:
Armor and Weapon Proficiency: Travelers are proficient with simple weapons and four martial weapons of your choice, selected at first level. You also possess proficiency with light and medium armor and shields (except heavy shields).
Always Prepared (Ex): A traveler knows fully well that it is almost impossible to predict what one will need out on the road. As a matter of course, nearly all travelers start collecting items almost obsessively, ensuring they will never be left wanting. At any time, you may draw forth an item with a maximum value as given on the table above, having just so “happened” to be carrying that weapon at the time. These items need not be paid for but are often of dubious quality and design, selling for nothing and only remaining usable or effective for 24 hours after being taken out in this way. Living creatures and living items can’t be “stored” in this way.
You may not draw out more than a single copy of any single type of item (once you have drawn a dagger, for example, you cannot draw another dagger). For magic items, you may not draw out more than one item utilizing a given spell in its creation (you may not draw out both a scroll of cure light wounds and a potion of cure light wounds, for example). Similarly, you may not draw out items you have no containers capable of holding and the maximum size and weight of items taken out may not exceed the maximum that containers on your person can hold. Finally, the total weight of all items you draw out (after applying weight reduction for extra-dimensional spaces and similar effects) may not raise your encumbrance above a heavy load. The new items may increase your load up to a heavy load, however, as clever packing originally allows you to move without difficulty. If you are stripped of your possessions or your possessions are thoroughly searched, you cannot produce more items in this way.
With 1 hour of scrounging in a community at least the size of a thorp, you may effectively reset this ability, renewing your ability to draw forth items and even letting you take out items you have gained in the past with this ability. You may scrounge in an area with less resources but if you do so, you cannot gain magic items, alchemic items, or any other items with a Craft DC over 10 until you next scrounge. Regardless of where you scrounge, you may only do so once per day.
Traveler’s Insight (Ex): Always curious, constantly aware, and prone to seeking out new experiences, a traveler acquires a good deal of stories, anecdotes, observations, and smidgeons of skill that they can call upon when required. This insight can be called upon a number of times each day equal to half of your class level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1/day). Traveler’s insight can’t be used while unconscious or otherwise rendered incapable of taking mental actions. So long as you possess at least one use of Traveler’s Insight remaining, you treat all skills as being trained.
Lore: At 1st level, you possess a good well of stories and lore to call upon from your travels. By spending a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may make a knowledge check with any knowledge skill as if you possessed ranks in that skill equal to your class level + 5. If using the skill check to identify or learn the weaknesses and strengths of a creature, you gain an additional bonus to the check equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Awareness: At 1st level, you can use your insights to find what others have tried to conceal. As a swift action, you may spend a use of Traveler’s Insight to make a search check within any 10-foot cube you possess a line of sight with and add half of your class level as a bonus to the check. For the purpose of this check, you possess the trapfinding class feature as a rogue.
Communication: At 2nd level, you can enough experience with different languages and cultures that you can muddle your way through any diplomatic situations. You may spend a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action to effectively “learn” any language for 1d4 hours. You don’t possess the ability to detect or reproduce this language if you normally lack the means to do so. Otherwise, you can communicate basic concepts and pick out important words spoken by others. Alternatively, you may use this ability to take 10 on any single Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, Handle Animal, or Sense motive check you would make or start making within the next round.
Intuition: At 6th level, your experiences have left you with a bit of a knack for reading people and predicting outcomes. By spending a use of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you gain one of the two following abilities. Either you learn whether a single creature you possess a line of sight with deliberately and knowingly speaks a lie within the next 10 minutes or you predict whether taking a specific course of action will result in good outcomes, bad outcomes, good and bad outcomes, or neither within the next 30 minutes. Either way, this ability only functions properly 70% of the time + 1%/class level (maximum 90%), otherwise revealing no lies or neither good nor bad outcomes.
Recognition: At 10th level, your memory of geography and your collection of legends allows you to recall pertinent legends or recognize where you are with little difficulty, no matter where you may find yourself. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may either imitate a Commune with Nature effect (recognizing your surroundings and recalling facts about them) or a Legend Lore effect (suddenly recalling legends about a person, place, or thing). Both effects function as if with a caster level equal to your class level.
Revelation: At 14th level, you can put your disparate and varied experienced to work on almost any problem, finding answers just when you least expect them. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as a swift action, you may gain an answer to a single question as if through a commune effect.
Perfection: At 18th level, you can put your knowledge to practical use, finding some way to maximize your effectiveness at just about any task. By spending two uses of Traveler’s Insight as an immediate action, you may take 20 on any attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. A natural 20 gained on an attack roll or saving throw in this way does not count as an automatic success.
Cooperative Tactics (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, you know how to play off of your companions and lead your companions to success. Whenever you make an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw, if at least one ally you can see or hear has made the same dice roll to accomplish the same task/resist the same spell or effect/attack the same creature within the past round, you gain a +1 insight bonus to your roll. You even gain this bonus if you and your ally are forced to make these rolls simultaneously (such as a reflex save against a breath weapon). At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1.
Furthermore, whenever you make an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw, you may grant a single ally who can see or hear you a +1 insight bonus when it next makes the same dice roll within the next round to accomplish the same task/resist the same spell or effect/attack the same creature. This bonus is even applied if you and that ally are forced to make that roll simultaneously. At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1 and you may lend it to an additional ally.
Finally, whenever you use the aid another action, its bonus increases by +1 and may apply to an additional creature, though all allied must be aided in the same way. At 5th level and every 4 levels afterwards, increase the size of this bonus by +1 and you may lend it to an additional ally.
Skills of the Road (Ex):At 3rd level, your time spent on the road allows you to adjust your travels to just about any environment. You always know which way is north, can find enough food to sustain you and a number of creatures up to your Intelligence modifier with 10 minutes of work and without needing to make a roll, and may take 10 on Survival checks even when rushed or under pressure.
At 11th level, the overland movement rate for you and your allies is doubled and you can see twice as far in any form of natural environment (this does not let you overcome limitations of lighting). So long as you are conscious and mobile, you and your allies who can see and hear you or that you can reach gain immunity to altitude sickness, sunburn, heatstroke, sea sickness, pressure sickness, snow glare, and hypothermia and gain a bonus to all rolls made to recognize, resist, overcome, and/or escape the effects of inclement weather and other natural hazards such as quicksand equal to your Intelligence modifier.
At 19th level, you automatically recognize natural planar portals and can deduce what plane any planar portal would lead to just by looking at it. With 10 minutes of preparation per person (drawing out essentially weightless items using always prepared), you can ready yourself and your allies to ignore any dangers of another specific plane for 1 hour. Furthermore, so long as you are conscious and mobile, you and allies who can see and hear you or that you can reach gain a bonus to all skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws required by planar traits equal to your intelligence modifier (such as orienting your gravity on a plane with subjective gravity, shaping raw limbo, or resisting the entrapment effect of Elysium or Hades).
Traveler’s Connections (Ex): By 3rd level, you have established a wide network of contacts across the world, knowing a good many people in person and knowing a good many others as friends of friends. While this by no means ensures that you’d know your executioner or the wife of a cloud giant holding you hostage, this network does grant certain benefits. Within any community at least the size of a small town, gather information checks only require 1d4+1 x 10 minutes to perform. Furthermore, within each such community, you may select a single service other than spellcasting and acquire it for 50% of its normal cost 1/week. Once selected, the service available is set for that community.
Extra Supplies: At 4th level, you have learned to carry extra supplies just in case they become necessary. Using your always prepared class feature, you may now produce up to 2 of any single item (even for magic items requiring a spell in their creation). At 8th, 12th, and 16th levels, the number of items of a single type you may produce is increased by +1 (to a maximum of 5 at level 16).
Self-Sufficient (Ex): At 7th level, you can patch up yourself and others in relatively little time even without magical aid. With each hour spent patching up the wounds of a creature, you may heal it a number of hit points up to your class level. You may only tend to one creature at a time in this way.
Alternatively, as a standard action, you may have a single ally who can hear and understand you gain temporary hit points equal to your class level until the end of the encounter. Only allies with under half of their maximum hit points can be affected in this way.
Starting at 15th level, you can treat targets for other ongoing conditions as you work. Each hour you spend tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 point of ability damage, fatigued, or sickened. For every two consecutive hours you spend tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 point of ability drain, exhausted, nauseated, or paralyzed. For every four consecutive hours spent tending to a creature, you may also cure one of the following: 1 negative level, blinded, deafened, or diseased.
Alternatively, as a standard action, you may have a single ally who can hear and understand you suppress one of the following conditions until the end of the encounter: fatigue, sickened, nauseated, exhausted, paralyzed, shaken, frightened, or panicked. If the duration ends before the end of the encounter, the effect simply ends. If the target is also at half of their maximum hit points or less, it gains temporary hit points as well as described above.
Superb Preparations (Ex): At level 20, you have learned how to scrounge, barter for, and jury-rig superior gear. Using your always prepared class feature, you may produce items worth up to twice the limit listed on the table above. Items above that given on the table only remain functional or usable for 1d4 hours, however, and do not gain the benefit of your extra supplies class feature.
Closing Thoughts:Well, this class is hopefully what it says on the can, a small and humble little support class. I know that some of the abilities "come too late" and that always prepared is a lot more discontinuous than it appears on first glance (getting big power jumps at levels 3, 5, 10, 15, and 17, I believe). Also, I am aware that the power of always prepared is largely dependent on what DMs allow you to use (A Traveler in a campaign with aboleth mucus, eggshell grenades, and lots of splat books to give you more scroll/potion selection is much stronger than a core-only traveler).
As for why I made this thing, I guess that I made it as my own attempt at a generalist class like a factotum or bard, except somewhat focused on travel and made mundane. It's not tier 3 unless lots of stuff is allowed but I personally believe that it allows players to pretty consistently play a character who almost always has something to do and can contribute in helping with most problems.
Partially inspired by the idea behind threads like Shax's Indispensable Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101), I wanted to make a class that allows a player to feel like they're ready for just about anything without using spells and without breaking the game. I think that I've just about accomplished that but feel free to let me know what you think. :smallsmile: