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If you are a Rogue, you start with one of the 'Tricks of the Trade' at level 1. You can roll randomly or select one. For each 2 Rogue levels after this, you can pick another or roll again on the table. If you roll a result again, you gain a deeper knowledge of the subject. You gain another Trick at 3rd, 5th, 7th level and 9th level.
Tricks of the Trade:
1- Poison Pro. You know all about poisons, where to find them, how to handle them, how to buy and sell them, who will purchase them, which ones are illegal, etc. You also know which creatures are poisonous and how to extract poison from dangerous creatures. You start with 1d6 doses of a random poison. Roll on the Random Potion table to see what you get.
2- Trap Master. You know about traps and how to make them. Given basic materials, such as ropes, wire, heavy objects to act as weights, you can quickly construct traps, assuming you have the time and materials to do so. Roll 1d3 times on the Random Trap table to see what you know how to build.
3- Sneaky Stabber. When you attack someone who was unprepared or not expecting, you do double damage if you are using a Quick Weapon. Additionally, if you attack someone who you could conceivably kill in a single attack from stealth, the Referee may allow you to replace the damage roll with a save vs death.
4- Mad Bomber. You know the secrets of fire. If given access to an Alchemist's lab, various chemicals or a well-stocked city, you can create explosives or incendiary devices sure to leave your enemies in pieces. Roll 1d3 times on the Dangerous Devices table to see what you know how to build.
5- Knife Shark. You are really good at throwing knives. When you hit someone with a thrown Quick Weapon such as throwing knife, shuriken, or something similar, you can immediately make another attack with a thrown Quick Weapon. If you kill someone with a thrown Quick Weapon, regardless of if this is your first or second attack, you may automatically make another thrown Quick Weapon attack.
7- Roguish Diplomacy. When confronted with a foe, you can try to distract an enemy. The tactic can be anything, from throwing sand in their eyes to juggling. The enemy may be granted a check to resist against whatever ability score you are using to try and distract them. Alternatively, if something is distracting enough, the enemy may simply be automatically distracted (Referee's Discretion). If the enemy is distracted, you or an ally of your choice may immediately act against them as a free action.
8- Goon Squad. You start with a free henchmen. This henchman has his (or her) own agenda and is not necessarily your friend. Roll on the Random Henchmen table below to see who you get.
Random Poisons:
1- Widow's Kiss (Injected). A poison collected from thousands of black widow spiders. Causes 3d4 damage, 1d4 per round, until a creature passes a CON save or all damage is dealt. Much feared, but not nearly as dangerous as people think.
2- Rattler's Bite (Injected). Taken from the Rattler Serpent, this poison is dangerous, but if treated, rarely results in fatalities. This poison does 1d6 DEX damage per hour. If reduced to 0 DEX, a creature must save or die. Creatures subtract the amount of DEX damage they have taken from any roll to do an action requiring skill or precision.
3- Dancing Spiral Venom (Injected). This poison is the collected venom from the bite of the Dancing Spiral Spider. Does 1 CON damage per minute or until a creature passes three CON saves. Can make 1 CON save every 1d4 minutes. If reduced to 0 CON, a creature dies.
4- Fire Coral Dust (Absorbed through skin). Created by powdering certain dangerous corals, an incredible unpleasant job done only by slaves. If this dust is touched, any creature exposed to it will feel burning pain and must make a Morale check or immediately take action to try and get this horrible dust off himself.
5- Fiddleback's Fang (Injected). Taken from the fiddleback spider, this venom rots the flesh of anyone exposed to it. Fiddleback Venom does 1d3 STR damage per minute, reducing any damage dealt by the amount of STR damage taken. If reduced to 0 STR, the exposed creature dies. Anyone exposed to this will also feel extreme pain and must make a Morale check or immediately flee and seek an antidote.
6- Lullaby Sand (Eaten/Absorbed through skin). Fine, golden dust, derived from the wings of a particularly gentle butterfly, purified and collected by children and fools. When poured onto someone, the creature will immediately become sleepy and must save or fall asleep. Eating it forces disadvantage on the save. Creatures who know they are in a dangerous situation automatically pass their saves.
Random Traps:
1- Tiger Pit. Dig a pit that is too big to climb out of. If you're feeling really nasty, cut sticks into sharp points and drive them into the ground at the bottom of the pit. Then cover the top of the trap with a layer of woven grass or branches and cover it with ground cover. Any creature that steps on it will fall into the pit and be stuck. The creature will also likely impale itself on the spikes.
2- Springpole Snare. Take a young tree that is springy and tie it back, then rig the rope to a tripwire or trigger. Tie a knife or a sharp object to the end of the tree. When triggered, the young tree will snap back and drive the sharp object into whatever tripped the trap.
3- Twitch-Up Snare. Tie a rope to the branches of a tall tree and tie a loop, then leave it on the ground. When a creature steps on it, it will jerk tight and yank them up, leaving them hanging in the air.
4- Crusher Trap. A trap that leaves a piece of bait under something heavy, such as some cut logs or a heavy rock. When the bait is grabbed or messed with, whatever holding back the heavy weight is removed, causing them to fall down and flatten the creature who took the bait.
5- Bow Trap. A bow, pulled back with an arrow nocked, is tied to a tripwire. When the tripwire is triggered, the bow fires.
6- Swinging Mace Trap. Create a large, heavy ball, occasionally with large spikes poking out of it. Attach it to a tripwire. When triggered, the giant ball will swing down and inflict terrible injuries on anyone foolish enough to get in the way.
7- Snake Trap. Create a box that will spring open when triggered. Put a venomous (and easily irritable) animal in there. When the trap is triggered, hopefully the venomous animal will fall onto and bite the creature who opened the box.
8- Guillotine Wire Trap. Take a strong piece of cord or wire and tie it across a path between two immovable objects. When enemies come, pull it tight so it rests at about neck level. If a creature hits the wire going fast enough, it will do damage to the throat and stop them cold. Best if wire is used, because it is much thinner and harder to see. Also, better if used at night.
Dangerous Devices:
1- Grenado. Your classic homemade explosives. You failed to become an Artificer, but you remember this one. Does 3d6 damage in a 30' radius, save for half.
2- Firebomb. One step up from a Molotov cocktail. Does 2d6 damage, save for half. On a failed save, a creature is also set on fire and takes 1d6 fire damage per round until they can get the burning fuel off himself. Leaves a pool of burning liquid behind and sets flammable objects on fire.
3- God's Palm. An explosive, modified to do less damage, intended to stun or disrupt. Does 2d6 damage, save for half. On a failed save, a creature is also stunned for 1 minute or until he can pass a save on his turn. Stunned creatures can take an action or move, but not both.
4- Gasbomb. An explosive that floods a 30' cube with some sort of gas. You know how to manufacture 1d4 [1= Tear Gas- no damage, but gives disadvantage on any check or save made to do anything complex, extremely painful; 2= Mustard Gas, 2d6 acid damage per round spent in the cloud; 3= Laughing gas- creatures must save or burst into gales of laughter. Talking and spell-casting is impossible unless you don't need to talk to cast and anything precise is done at -2 as you're shaking from the laughter; 4= Euphoria Gas- creatures must save or fall into a languid state. They feel great. Creatures that fail their save will need to succeed on a save to do anything but laze around in the smoke. Creatures who passed their initial save must save each round they are within the cloud.]
5- Coldsnap. Like a firebomb, except the exact opposite. Does 2d6 cold damage, save for half. Creatures that fail their save are also frozen in place and need to succeed on a STR check to break out of the ice. If thrown into water, creates a piece of ice 8' long and 5' wide.
6- Slayer. As per a normal Grenado, but designed to maim and kill. Does 3d6 damage, save for half. Creatures that fail their saves also suffer from bleed and take 1d4 damage a round until they take an action to treat their wound, either with magic or a medicine check.
Random Henchmen:
1d6
1- Babysitter/Bodyguard. He'll protect you, but his primary job is to keep an eye on you. This is because you 1d4 [1= Owe the local crime boss/loan shark an enormous sum; 2= You aren't trusted, having betrayed some former allies (but not your bodyguard's boss); 3= He's evaluating you. If you pass, you can join the Boss' crew; 4= The Boss has a parallel objective to whatever you're doing. Your protector is here to make sure the boss' interested are looked after.]
2- A sexy femme fatale. She's beautiful, dangerous and untrustworthy. She definitely has a hidden agenda. Secretly, she 1d6 [1= Has a heart of gold; 2= Actually loves you; 3= Feels nothing for you; 4= Is planning to betray you; 5= Working for you is part of an elaborate scheme that has a 50% of blowing up in her face; 6= Is being black-mailed/strong-armed/manipulated into doing this at the behest of another party.]
3- Former partner. You used to work together until 1d6 [1= Your methods disgusted him, so he left; 2= His methods disgusted you, so you left; 3= He cheated you; 4= He abandoned you when you needed him most; 5= He took the fall for you. There is a chance he is plotting his revenge or maybe he's just bitter; 6= You had different priorities, so you parted ways amicably.]
4- Estranged family member. This person is a 1d3 [1= Younger brother or cousin who idolized the criminal lifestyle. "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."; 2= Older man who initiated you into the criminal underworld such as a father, uncle, older brother, etc; 3= A wife, you got into this racket because you married her, but you and her are separated because of 1d4 (1= Money, you argued over it; 2= Her loyalty to her family over you; 3= Your father-in-law never liked you; 4= She got involved in her own business and disappeared one day without a word)].
5- Old Hand. An old rogue who can't get out of the game. He's an addict, chasing the high of getting away with it. Not as fast or strong as he used to be, but he has a wealth of knowledge about everything criminal. Back in the day he was a famous 1d6 [1= Thief; 2= Robber; 3= Pirate; 4= Safe-cracker; 5= Smuggler; 6= Warlock or an unsanctioned Magus practicing magic illegally. May know black magic or have a contract with a Demon.]
6- A weirdo. He is 1d6 [1= A junkie, only after his next fix; 2= A secret serial killer; 3= A half-ghoul; 4= A yandere-esque stalker- he or she is obsessed with you. His feelings may be romantic, but he may just idolize you and want to do anything to earn your affections or "help" you; 5= A social outcast, someone who doesn't fit in around here, someone belonging to a different race, class, religion than the norm; 6= As "5", but is actually a shapeshifter pretending to be an outcast so people don't investigate too closely.]
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I LOVE this. But one quibble: perhaps the Trap Master gets to mono how to make all the traps? “Only a Thief with the Trap Master feat knows how to dig a pit” is a very anti-OSR outcome.
ReplyDeleteThis is only for a specific type of player, specifically the type that are both combat-oriented and not super creative. The rest of the party is more than capable of using traps, poisons, etc.
DeleteThis is mostly meant to provide a basic boost to the Rogue's combat efficacy as well as inform my murderhobo players about what they can do when they decide not to be a Fighter for once.