Con Artist Class Set Up

[firruna]

Hello Playgrounders!

So, I'm getting ready to run a 15th level game for some friends.

One of them wanted to be an assassin, so they all went evil, working as assassins. Although only one of them is taking levels in the prestige class.

I'm thinking for their first assignment they will be hired by a king to take to out a commoner girl that the prince has fallen for, because the King believes she just wants the prince for the power and money.

I plan on throwing two things at the PCs.

1: They can't make it look like it was a hit. They Prince can't have any real reason to think someone killed her.

2: The King is right. She is just interested in being queen, and cares nothing for the prince. In fact, she is a con artist/black widow, whatever you want to call her. The Prince just being her latest victim.

My question to you all, is how would you write up a Con Artist NCP, knowing that it might have to Con the PCs, and be able to convince a Prince, and everyone else at the castle that she is who she says she is?

I'm not looking for someone who can fight the PCs in combat. Infact, I wouldn't be at all disappointed if they could kill her in only a round or two. I want any encounter they have with her to be non combat if she has any say. That said, if they can't fight, I wont be disappointed either.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Naez]

A Changeling Rogue with the racial Substitution levels makes a hella awesome social interaction character and provides a reason why no one recognizes her and she can change identities between cons.

[Zaq]

A Changeling Rogue with the racial Substitution levels makes a hella awesome social interaction character and provides a reason why no one recognizes her and she can change identities between cons.

Seconded. Absolutely this. Changelings are the natural choice for con artists anyway (the ability to disguise yourself easily is so important, after all), and the Changeling Rogue Substitution Level (Races of Eberron) gives you Skill Mastery for a lot of critical social skills with next to no investment. Never underestimate the ability to take 10.

Depending on how many levels you want to throw on this character, a dip in Warlock (Complete Arcane), DFA (Dragon Magic), or both can get you access to the Beguiling Influence invocation, which gives you a typeless +6 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate, all day every day. It's ambiguous if you can get it twice from both classes—they're different sources, kind of, but they have the same name, so it's a judgment call whether it works.

After that, a one-level dip in Marshal gets you Skill Focus: Diplomacy for free, and it lets you basically double your CHA for the purposes of CHA-based skills.

Spymaster (Complete Adventurer) gets "cover identities," which are basically fixed people you can disguise yourself as really really well. This is cool because they eventually get the ability to fool magical divinations with these cover identities, totally nonmagically. Which is awesome.

[Telonius]

If you want something a bit different, a Changeling Psion (Telepath) would fit the bill nicely. If you activate the powers without their displays, it could create just enough ambiguity to confuse the players.

[firruna]

A Changeling Rogue with the racial Substitution levels makes a hella awesome social interaction character and provides a reason why no one recognizes her and she can change identities between cons.

Alright, thanks. I'm going to use this for sure.



Depending on how many levels you want to throw on this character, a dip in Warlock (Complete Arcane), DFA (Dragon Magic), or both can get you access to the Beguiling Influence invocation, which gives you a typeless +6 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate, all day every day. It's ambiguous if you can get it twice from both classes—they're different sources, kind of, but they have the same name, so it's a judgment call whether it works.

After that, a one-level dip in Marshal gets you Skill Focus: Diplomacy for free, and it lets you basically double your CHA for the purposes of CHA-based skills.

Spymaster (Complete Adventurer) gets "cover identities," which are basically fixed people you can disguise yourself as really really well. This is cool because they eventually get the ability to fool magical divinations with these cover identities, totally nonmagically. Which is awesome.

Thanks, I'm not familiar with the DFA, Marshal, or the Spymaster, and don't have much experience with the Warlock, but I will definitely look into them. Got my Complete Adventurer open already. If I might ask, where can I find the Marshal? I've never heard of it before.

[Zaq]

The Marshal is from the Miniatures Handbook. It used to also be available as a free excerpt on the WotC website, but I can't seem to find the link.

[firruna]

The Marshal is from the Miniatures Handbook. It used to also be available as a free excerpt on the WotC website, but I can't seem to find the link.

Thanks. I've got a friend who owns the Miniatures Handbook. Will borrow it from him and take a look at the Marshal.

[Glimbur]

Factotum might also be worth looking at. Base class from Dungeonscape, pretty darn good at skills.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Changeling rogue 1/marshal 1/warlock 1 with 18 charisma gets 6 ranks, +4 charisma, +4 motivate charisma, +6 beguiling influence, +3 skill focus, +2 racial, +2 mwk tool (makeup or something), +2 synergy from bluff, k(royalty) and sense motive each = +33 diplomacy, with the ability to take 10. Bluff gets +24, intimidate gets +26. Disguise to act in character is at +18.

How strong did you want to make the con artist? Because at this point, it's easy to switch to combat prowess for when they do try to kill her. Adding 12 more levels in whatever, and the corresponding 12 more ranks in the relevant skills (and +2 charisma from increases), gives you final checks (so including take 10) of 57 diplomacy, 48 bluff, 50 intimidate and 42 disguise to act in character. Add some magic items (+5 or +10 competence, insight and enhancement for some/all social skills, +6 charisma, for a total of +21 or +36) and you're basically unbeatable unless the court is equally high-level and optimized.

[firruna]

Changeling rogue 1/marshal 1/warlock 1 with 18 charisma gets 6 ranks, +4 charisma, +4 motivate charisma, +6 beguiling influence, +3 skill focus, +2 racial, +2 mwk tool (makeup or something), +2 synergy from bluff, k(royalty) and sense motive each = +33 diplomacy, with the ability to take 10. Bluff gets +24, intimidate gets +26. Disguise to act in character is at +18.

How strong did you want to make the con artist? Because at this point, it's easy to switch to combat prowess for when they do try to kill her. Adding 12 more levels in whatever, and the corresponding 12 more ranks in the relevant skills (and +2 charisma from increases), gives you final checks (so including take 10) of 57 diplomacy, 48 bluff, 50 intimidate and 42 disguise to act in character. Add some magic items (+5 or +10 competence, insight and enhancement for some/all social skills, +6 charisma, for a total of +21 or +36) and you're basically unbeatable unless the court is equally high-level and optimized.

I think I'm going to use that to start, then take rouge to get the missing requirements for Spymaster.

[Crake]

I feel like in any decent magical society, a changeling trying to con a member of a royal family would almost unanimously fail horribly, because it just takes 1 true seeing from a guard with a scout's headband, or a summoned celestial with true seeing constantly up, and bam, the game is over. And in any decently magical society, royalty can afford that stuff easily enough. Either that, or they would have been taken out eons ago

[FocusWolf413]

I feel like in any decent magical society, a changeling trying to con a member of a royal family would almost unanimously fail horribly, because it just takes 1 true seeing from a guard with a scout's headband, or a summoned celestial with true seeing constantly up, and bam, the game is over. And in any decently magical society, royalty can afford that stuff easily enough. Either that, or they would have been taken out eons ago

Not necessarily. Only some of those bonuses came from magic. True seeing doesn't bypass mundane disguises.

[Doctor Awkward]

My question to you all, is how would you write up a Con Artist NCP, knowing that it might have to Con the PCs, and be able to convince a Prince, and everyone else at the castle that she is who she says she is?

I'm not looking for someone who can fight the PCs in combat. Infact, I wouldn't be at all disappointed if they could kill her in only a round or two. I want any encounter they have with her to be non combat if she has any say. That said, if they can't fight, I wont be disappointed either.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

You're welcome. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=8763.0)

Here's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394194-Breaking-the-world-with-quot-bluff-quot&p=18701404#post18701404) a quick rundown on how I played it.