BisectedBrioche
2007-06-22, 12:48 PM
Just a random idea I had, its probably been done before but here's my interpretation of a courier NPC. Its also my first attempt at a NPC class;
Run, run as fast as you can, I could do with a gingerbread man - Hermes the heavy legged
Messenger (Alt names: postman, courier, runner)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+1|
+2|
+1|Uniform
2nd|
+1|
+1|
+4|
+1|Athletic
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+4|
+2|+10 base land speed
4th|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+3|
5th|
+2|
+2|
+6|
+4|Swimmer
6th|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4|Endurance feat, +10 base land speed
7th|
+3|
+3|
+6|
+4|Gossip
8th|
+4|
+3|
+7|
+5|
9th|
+4|
+3|
+7|
+7|Integrity, +10 base land speed
10th|
+5|
+5|
+10|
+7|
11th|
+5|
+5|
+10|
+8|
12th|
+6/+1|
+7|
+10|
+8|+10 base land speed
13th|
+6/+1|
+7|
+11x|
+9|
14th|
+7/+2|
+9|
+11|
+9|
15th|
+7/+2|
+9|
+11|
+9|Run, +10 base land speed[/table]
Everyone knows that there's easy and honest money to be made in delivery, even a mindless thug can earn a decent wage guarding carts, however delivering letters this way just isn't economical. Even a small horse would cut too deeply into the profit margins. As a result most correspondence is delivered by messengers working either privately, working in a business or for a government (or other ruler) who run on foot equipped with little more than a bag, rations and some gold (always useful if supplies run low) delivering messages as quickly as possible, no questions asked. They tend to be single minded in their work (i.e. survive the journey and deliver letters in that order of importance) and thus have surprisingly good will saves.
Messenger's are notoriously poor combatants, as a result anyone they attempt to strike gets a +1 circumstance bonus to AC. They are otherwise proficient with all simple weapons and no armour or shields as a commoner would be, however they rarely carry weapons because of the weight. If they are attacked they will either flee or fall back and allow someone else to do the fighting.
Uniform All messengers will wear a uniform to identify them as such regardless of how they are employed. The appearance of this varies but it will always include the universal sign for a messenger (An M over the image of a stickman) and a messenger's bag. A messenger's bag has enough space for 10 letters (one letter consists of a single page folded over itself twice and sealed with wax), it is watertight to protect the letters. The bag also has room for a weeks worth of rations. The uniform will also have symbols along the front, these are the crests of various noble families, who will print them on the uniforms of messengers who do a good job as a sort of recommendation.
+10 base land speed At level 3 and every 3 levels thereafter the messenger gains an extra 10 feet to their base land speed
Athletic At level 2 the messenger gains the Athletic feat
Swimmer At level 5 a messenger becomes able to swim at 3/4 their base land speed regardless of encumbrance as long as they remain on the surface of the water (otherwise their swim speed is normal for their stats).
Endurance At level 6 the messenger gains the endurance feat
Gossip Messengers tend to hear all the latest rumours of the last place they visited, and be only to happy to pass them on for a few spare coins.
Integrity Most messengers pride themselves on discretion and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to bluff checks to lie about the details of a job and to resists mind affecting enchantments attempting to discern the same.
Run At level 15 the messenger gains the run feat
Interaction with PCs
A messenger can be paid to deliver a letter (a single page of writing folded and sealed with wax) to someone in any nearby settlements (within about 10 miles). They will charge a base price of 10sp, though this can be haggled up or down. Higher level messengers and dangerous journeys will often increase the cost. The client can choose to pay the full price or pay half the price and have the recipient pay the rest (the recipient will not receive the letter if they do not wish to pay).
There is a chance a messenger will fail to deliver the message, the percentage chance for this is 10% (+ the modifiers below) (-the messenger's level). A successfully delivered message will arrive after 1d2 days.
{table=head]Modifier|% Change
Clear road|-5%
Poor Road|+5%
Off Road|+10%
Patrols by law enforcement en route|-10%
Bandit infested road|+10%
Someone attempting steal the message*|See Below[/table]
*or another being carried by the messenger
Should the message fail to arrive roll a d6 to determine the reason and effect
{table=head]d6|Cause|Effect
1-2|Messenger is lost|1d4-1 extra days for delivery
3|Letter is dropped on route|Messenger gives refund 1d4 days later
4|Travel to destination is impossible|Messenger returns letter and deposit
5|Messenger is captured by bandits|Messenger returns in bad shape after 1d10 days
6|Messenger disappears|The PCs may feel/be obliged to search for him after a week[/table]
The messenger's employers (or other messengers) will usually get word of what happened to the messenger after 1d2+1 days and inform the client(s), i.e. the PCs.
Intercepting a message
To intercept a message the messenger must be successfully tracked (standard DC + half the messenger's level rounded down) or ambushed. If a messenger is attacked they will continue to run rather than fight (their high movement rates tend to allow them to escape) Pick pocket attempts on a messenger's bag take a -2 penalty. If the delivery lasts 2 days then the messenger will stop to camp out overnight or stay in a cheap Inn.
On the road
Most messengers the PCs will meet while traveling will be no higher than level 10, most messengers who get higher than that end up founding a company or being promoted within the one they work for and do administrative work. For a bit of change (about 10-15 cp) they will give them the latest gossip or deliver a short spoken message to someone who lives in the settlement they're delivering to (use the same check as above to see if the message arrives).
If the PCs frequently help messengers who are lost or otherwise in danger they may find it easier to negotiate a better deal (messengers talk with each other a lot and word gets around).
Plot Hooks
-A king who recently gave the PCs a quest has heard his messenger was captured by bandits [alt.: gone missing] and asks them to save the messenger and recover his correspondence.
-A local messenger has been losing colleagues to bandits and tasks the PCs with making the roads safer.
-A severely injured messenger returns to town and asks the PCs to recover his charge from the bandits who robbed him/her.
-Recently many fake and rogue messengers have been taking people's money and running (literally) or charging for letters which turn out to be nothing but blank sheets. The PCs are hired as PIs to get to the bottom of the problem.
Run, run as fast as you can, I could do with a gingerbread man - Hermes the heavy legged
Messenger (Alt names: postman, courier, runner)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+1|
+2|
+1|Uniform
2nd|
+1|
+1|
+4|
+1|Athletic
3rd|
+1|
+1|
+4|
+2|+10 base land speed
4th|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+3|
5th|
+2|
+2|
+6|
+4|Swimmer
6th|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4|Endurance feat, +10 base land speed
7th|
+3|
+3|
+6|
+4|Gossip
8th|
+4|
+3|
+7|
+5|
9th|
+4|
+3|
+7|
+7|Integrity, +10 base land speed
10th|
+5|
+5|
+10|
+7|
11th|
+5|
+5|
+10|
+8|
12th|
+6/+1|
+7|
+10|
+8|+10 base land speed
13th|
+6/+1|
+7|
+11x|
+9|
14th|
+7/+2|
+9|
+11|
+9|
15th|
+7/+2|
+9|
+11|
+9|Run, +10 base land speed[/table]
Everyone knows that there's easy and honest money to be made in delivery, even a mindless thug can earn a decent wage guarding carts, however delivering letters this way just isn't economical. Even a small horse would cut too deeply into the profit margins. As a result most correspondence is delivered by messengers working either privately, working in a business or for a government (or other ruler) who run on foot equipped with little more than a bag, rations and some gold (always useful if supplies run low) delivering messages as quickly as possible, no questions asked. They tend to be single minded in their work (i.e. survive the journey and deliver letters in that order of importance) and thus have surprisingly good will saves.
Messenger's are notoriously poor combatants, as a result anyone they attempt to strike gets a +1 circumstance bonus to AC. They are otherwise proficient with all simple weapons and no armour or shields as a commoner would be, however they rarely carry weapons because of the weight. If they are attacked they will either flee or fall back and allow someone else to do the fighting.
Uniform All messengers will wear a uniform to identify them as such regardless of how they are employed. The appearance of this varies but it will always include the universal sign for a messenger (An M over the image of a stickman) and a messenger's bag. A messenger's bag has enough space for 10 letters (one letter consists of a single page folded over itself twice and sealed with wax), it is watertight to protect the letters. The bag also has room for a weeks worth of rations. The uniform will also have symbols along the front, these are the crests of various noble families, who will print them on the uniforms of messengers who do a good job as a sort of recommendation.
+10 base land speed At level 3 and every 3 levels thereafter the messenger gains an extra 10 feet to their base land speed
Athletic At level 2 the messenger gains the Athletic feat
Swimmer At level 5 a messenger becomes able to swim at 3/4 their base land speed regardless of encumbrance as long as they remain on the surface of the water (otherwise their swim speed is normal for their stats).
Endurance At level 6 the messenger gains the endurance feat
Gossip Messengers tend to hear all the latest rumours of the last place they visited, and be only to happy to pass them on for a few spare coins.
Integrity Most messengers pride themselves on discretion and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to bluff checks to lie about the details of a job and to resists mind affecting enchantments attempting to discern the same.
Run At level 15 the messenger gains the run feat
Interaction with PCs
A messenger can be paid to deliver a letter (a single page of writing folded and sealed with wax) to someone in any nearby settlements (within about 10 miles). They will charge a base price of 10sp, though this can be haggled up or down. Higher level messengers and dangerous journeys will often increase the cost. The client can choose to pay the full price or pay half the price and have the recipient pay the rest (the recipient will not receive the letter if they do not wish to pay).
There is a chance a messenger will fail to deliver the message, the percentage chance for this is 10% (+ the modifiers below) (-the messenger's level). A successfully delivered message will arrive after 1d2 days.
{table=head]Modifier|% Change
Clear road|-5%
Poor Road|+5%
Off Road|+10%
Patrols by law enforcement en route|-10%
Bandit infested road|+10%
Someone attempting steal the message*|See Below[/table]
*or another being carried by the messenger
Should the message fail to arrive roll a d6 to determine the reason and effect
{table=head]d6|Cause|Effect
1-2|Messenger is lost|1d4-1 extra days for delivery
3|Letter is dropped on route|Messenger gives refund 1d4 days later
4|Travel to destination is impossible|Messenger returns letter and deposit
5|Messenger is captured by bandits|Messenger returns in bad shape after 1d10 days
6|Messenger disappears|The PCs may feel/be obliged to search for him after a week[/table]
The messenger's employers (or other messengers) will usually get word of what happened to the messenger after 1d2+1 days and inform the client(s), i.e. the PCs.
Intercepting a message
To intercept a message the messenger must be successfully tracked (standard DC + half the messenger's level rounded down) or ambushed. If a messenger is attacked they will continue to run rather than fight (their high movement rates tend to allow them to escape) Pick pocket attempts on a messenger's bag take a -2 penalty. If the delivery lasts 2 days then the messenger will stop to camp out overnight or stay in a cheap Inn.
On the road
Most messengers the PCs will meet while traveling will be no higher than level 10, most messengers who get higher than that end up founding a company or being promoted within the one they work for and do administrative work. For a bit of change (about 10-15 cp) they will give them the latest gossip or deliver a short spoken message to someone who lives in the settlement they're delivering to (use the same check as above to see if the message arrives).
If the PCs frequently help messengers who are lost or otherwise in danger they may find it easier to negotiate a better deal (messengers talk with each other a lot and word gets around).
Plot Hooks
-A king who recently gave the PCs a quest has heard his messenger was captured by bandits [alt.: gone missing] and asks them to save the messenger and recover his correspondence.
-A local messenger has been losing colleagues to bandits and tasks the PCs with making the roads safer.
-A severely injured messenger returns to town and asks the PCs to recover his charge from the bandits who robbed him/her.
-Recently many fake and rogue messengers have been taking people's money and running (literally) or charging for letters which turn out to be nothing but blank sheets. The PCs are hired as PIs to get to the bottom of the problem.