Venturer
Core class — see Classes for the full list.
Venturer Saving Throws and Attack Bonus
| Level | Paralysis | Death | Blast | Implement | Spells | Attack Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 13+ | 13+ | 13+ | 14+ | 15+ | +0 |
| 3-4 | 12+ | 12+ | 12+ | 13+ | 14+ | +1 |
| 5-6 | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 12+ | 13+ | +2 |
| 7-8 | 10+ | 10+ | 10+ | 11+ | 12+ | +3 |
| 9-10 | 9+ | 9+ | 9+ | 10+ | 11+ | +4 |
| 11-12 | 8+ | 8+ | 8+ | 9+ | 10+ | +5 |
| 13-14 | 7+ | 7+ | 7+ | 8+ | 9+ | +6 |
| Prime Requisite: | CHA |
|---|---|
| Requirements: | None |
| Hit Dice: | 1d6 |
| Maximum Level: | 14 |
Commerce is the great wheel upon which the world turns. From the fleshy fingers of slave traders to jewel-clad guild masters, the coin and commodities of the empire are controlled by merchants. But if the stereotypical merchant is a pot-bellied financier profiting from the work of others, the venturer is his opposite: An adventurous world traveler, he personally leads caravans into unknown lands, seeking out exotic goods and new markets. Every venturer is, by definition, an adventurer, and interested in any expedition that promises riches and reward.
Venturer Level Progression
| Experience | Title | Level | Hit Dice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Tinker | 1 | 1d6 |
| 1,500 | Trader | 2 | 2d6 |
| 3,000 | Arbitrager | 3 | 3d6 |
| 6,000 | Commissary | 4 | 4d6 |
| 12,000 | Mercantilist | 5 | 5d6 |
| 24,000 | Enterpriser | 6 | 6d6 |
| 50,000 | Venturer | 7 | 7d6 |
| 100,000 | Merchant Venturer | 8 | 8d6 |
| 200,000 | Merchant Prince | 9 | 9d6 |
| 300,000 | Merchant Prince, 10th level | 10 | 9d6 + 2* |
| 400,000 | Merchant Prince, 11th level | 11 | 9d6 + 4* |
| 500,000 | Merchant Prince, 12th level | 12 | 9d6 + 6* |
| 600,000 | Merchant Prince, 13th level | 13 | 9d6 + 8* |
| 700,000 | Mogul | 14 | 9d6 + 10* |
Combat Characteristics
Venturers are trained combatants, although not as skilled as fighters. They prefer to stay mobile and rely on ranged attacks while their comrades do the close-quarters combat.
Combat Proficiencies: Venturers have weapon proficiency with arbalests, composite bows, crossbows, daggers, long bows, short bows, and short swords. They have armor proficiency with medium, light, and very light armor. They have fighting style proficiency with the weapon and shield style, but not with the two-handed weapon or dual weapon styles.
Combat Progression: Venturers advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every four levels (i.e. the same as thieves). They can cleave after felling a foe a maximum of once per round per every two class levels (rounded down).
Starting Class Powers
Bribery: Not every market obeys the rule of law, so a venturer also becomes exceptionally skilled at the art of bribery. He receives a +1 bonus to reaction rolls if he offers one day’s pay for the target; a +2 bonus for a week’s pay; and a +3 bonus for a month’s pay. His bribery is so subtle that the attempt is politely deniable by both parties. The character is only blatant enough to be charged with the crime of bribery if he rolls an unmodified 2 on 2d6.
Diplomacy: In order to open new markets and establish trade with unknown tribes, venturers study the art of protocol and parley. They receive a +1 bonus on all reaction rolls when they attempt to parley with intelligent creatures. (This class power is equivalent to Diplomacy proficiency.)
Expert Bargaining: Venturers can get the best deals available for goods, services, and information. Any items the venturer purchases cost 10% less than the listed price and any items he sells go for 10% more than the listed price (as per the Bargaining proficiency). If trading with another venturer, or a character with the Bargaining proficiency, the opposed bargainers should make reaction rolls. Whichever character scores the higher result gets the discount. (Special rules apply when using Bargaining for mercantile ventures, see Campaigns.) A venturer can select Bargaining proficiency to improve his skills. Each time the proficiency is selected, the character receives a +2 bonus on his reaction roll when negotiating with other bargainers. (This class power is equivalent to one rank of Bargaining proficiency.)
Expert Traveling: While most merchants consider risk a financial term, venturers lead their own caravans or fleets and do so with considerable skill. Venturers begin play with their choice of either Driving or Seafaring proficiency.
Mercantile Network: As they travel, venturers build connections with buyers, fences, and peddlers in each area they visit. Whenever venturers buy or sell equipment, hire retainers, and/or engage in mercantile ventures in a market they have previously entered, they can treat the market as if it were one market class larger than its actual size (Class I markets remain Class I markets) or they can take a +1 bonus to market impact, whichever is more useful. A venturer’s mercantile network does not change market class for purposes of passive investments, however.
Multilingual: As world travelers, venturers become conversant in a wide variety of tongues of their trading partners, thereby gaining three bonus languages. The venturer can select some or all of these languages immediately from among those in common use in the campaign’s starting region or select them later from among those he encounters in play.
Pathfinding: When the venturer guides a party in familiar territory, the party gains a +4 bonus on proficiency throws to avoid getting lost. (At 1st level, a venturer is considered familiar with the settled areas of his starting region as well as all territory within one 24-mile hex radius of settled areas. With each additional level of experience, the radius increases one 24-mile hex further from civilization.) See Wilderness Expeditions for more details on getting lost.
Treachery: Despite the venturer’s agreeable disposition and generous fiscal offerings, sometimes business might get ugly. It is for this reason that every venturer learns the art of treachery. Anytime a venturer uses his Diplomacy or Bribery to gain a Friendly reaction roll, he can force every creature (allied or enemy) within 30’ to make surprise rolls at a -3 penalty by treacherously attacking. Any creature that fails the roll is surprised for the first round of combat. If the venturer has some way of secretly signaling to his party (such as Signaling proficiency) or has planned the treachery to occur in advance, then his party does not have to make the surprise roll. The art of treachery cannot be used if the NPC opposition also has a character with this power handling negotiation, due to professional courtesy and mutual paranoia.
Additional Class Powers
Steady Trade Route (2nd): Through long-term business dealings, the venturer establishes a steady trade route for transactions in any two types of merchandise between any two markets that he has visited. The trade route’s markets, and the specific type of merchandise that is bought and sold at each market, is chosen by the venturer when he establishes the trade route.
Thereafter, anytime the venturer personally enters one of the trade route’s markets, he can add one-half his class level to his market impact when determining the amount of merchandise of that type available for purchase or sale. If that results in his market impact exceeding the market maximum, reduce the market impact by 4 but shift to the next highest market class.
A venturer can also manage an additional passive investment per steady trade route he establishes (see Campaigns).
Rumormongering (4th): The venturer has learned that business empires rise and fall on information. Through his rumormongering, he can automatically learn 1d4 interesting rumors from old contacts and commercial associates any time he re-visits an urban settlement he has previously done business in. Rumormongering requires one day of dedicated activity in an urban settlement. A venturer can rumormonger in any given urban settlement only once per month.
Steady Trade Route (6th): The venturer establishes a second steady trade route for transactions in any two types of merchandise between any two of the markets that he has visited.
| Market Class | Max Capital / Month |
|---|---|
| I | 100,000gp* |
| II | 25,000gp |
| III | 10,000gp |
| IV | 5,000gp |
| V | 2,000gp |
| VI | 1,000gp |
| *Per 20,000 families |
Access to Capital (8th): The venturer’s reputation for money-making aids him in securing financing. He can borrow money from the merchant guild at an interest rate of 3% per month without collateral or at an interest rate of 1% per month with collateral. There is no limit to how much he can borrow in total, but each market only has a limited pool of capital for use each month, shown on the adjoining table. If the venturer fails to pay interest each month, he becomes disreputable in that market. While disreputable, he cannot use his mercantile network or friendly merchant connections. If the venturer allows interest payments to build up such that he owes more in gp than his total XP, then his former business partners will begin to send rival adventurers after him, with wages by level that total the monthly interest payment. A henchman will not use this ability on behalf of an employer, but a player character can do so on behalf of his fellow party members.
Guildhouse (9th): By acquiring a guildhouse worth at least 5,000gp, the venturer can attract followers to his service. 2d6 1st level venturers will arrive to serve him as followers within 1d4 weeks of him acquiring the guildhouse. If the venturer already has a guildhouse, the followers arrive to serve him within 1d4 weeks of him reaching 9th level. If hired, the followers must be paid standard rates for henchmen. These followers will serve the character with some loyalty, though at least one will be an infiltrator working for the venturer’s local rivals, sent to keep an eye on the character.
Some venturers use their guildhouse to start a criminal syndicate, expanding their wealth through illegitimate channels. When a venturer operates a criminal syndicate, his guildhouse counts as a hideout of one-half its value. The venturer otherwise follows all of the rules for hideouts and hijinks detailed in Campaigns.
All venturers, of course, use their guildhouse to coordinate their legitimate investments. The venturer can make a number additional passive investment of any type equal to the value of his guildhouse divided by the maximum investment in the market class where his guildhouse is located. Rules for passive investments can be found in Campaigns.
Steady Trade Route (10th): The venturer establishes a third steady trade route for transactions in any two types of merchandise between any two of the markets that he has visited.
Monopoly Power (12th): If the venturer has established a guildhouse in a settlement, he can use it to seize monopoly power in that settlement. Thereafter, he earns 1gp per month in monopoly revenue per urban family in the urban settlement. He does not need to be the domain’s ruler to earn this revenue; if he is the domain’s ruler, the monopoly revenue is in addition to his domain revenue. Only one venturer in each urban settlement can earn monopoly revenue from each urban family. If there is more than one venturer with this class power operating in the settlement, then either the character must eliminate his rival(s) or he must come to a deal to distribute the monopoly revenue between the various venturers.
Class Proficiencies
Proficiency Progression: At 1st level, venturers gain one class proficiency from their class proficiency list and one general proficiency from the general proficiency list (as indicated by the template rolled). They select an additional class proficiency at 4th, 8th, and 12th level. They select an additional general proficiency at 5th, 9th, and 13th level.
Venturer Proficiency List: Alertness, Ambushing, Arcane Dabbling, Bargaining, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, incapacitate), Command, Driving, Eavesdropping, Elven Bloodline, Intimidation, Land Surveying, Leadership, Lip Reading, Magical Engineering, Mapping, Mountaineering, Mounted Combat, Passing Without Trace, Precise Shooting, Prospecting, Riding, Running, Seafaring, Skirmishing, Swashbuckling, Weapon Finesse
Venturer Templates
| 3d6 | Template | Proficiencies | Starting Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 – 4 | Bankrupt | Running Gambling Driving | Slightly notched short sword, dagger, leather armor, shabby linen tunic and pants, once-fancy embossed belt, low boots, 2 belt pouches (one empty!), pair of bone dice, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 4gp (enc. 3 5/6 st) |
| 5 – 6 | Factotum | Arcane Dabbling Bargaining Seafaring | Short bow, quiver with 20 arrows, short sword, dagger, leather armor, wool tunic and pants, hooded cloak, leather belt, low boots, backpack, tinderbox, 12 torches, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 18gp (6 1/6 st) |
| 7 – 8 | Merchant Mariner | Swashbuckling Seafaring 2 Seafaring | Short bow, quiver with 20 arrows, scimitar, leather armor, mariner’s tunic and pants, fancy gold sash, polished high boots, backpack, 50’ rope, grappling hook, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 1gp (enc. 5 st) |
| 9 – 10 | Merchant Traveler | Alertness Navigation Driving | Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, short sword, 2 throwing daggers, sturdy leather armor, tanned brown cloak, thick tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, large treasure sack, 50’ rope, tinderbox, lantern, small hammer, 12 iron spikes, flask of common oil, flask of military oil, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 1gp (enc. 6 3/6 st) |
| 11 – 12 | Antiquary | Magical Engineering Knowledge (history) Driving | Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, short sword, dagger, well-maintained leather armor, traveler’s tunic and pants, leather belt, sturdy low boots, backpack, collector’s journal, quill and ink, collection of ancient coins (26gp value), waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations (enc. 4 3/6 st) |
| 13 – 14 | Caravanner | Precise Shooting Animal Husbandry Driving | Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, short sword, dagger, leather armor under dusty robes, embossed belt, sturdy low boots, backpack, tinderbox, 12 torches, small cart, mule, draft harness and tack, 2 leather saddlebags, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 6gp (enc. 6 1/6 st, or 4 1/6 st with rations and 6 torches on cart) |
| 15 – 16 | Comprador | Lip Reading Language Seafaring | Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, short sword, pair of daggers, leather armor, embroidered cloak, armiger’s tunic and pants, leather gloves, polished high boots, backpack, waterskin, 1 week’s iron rations, 70gp for bribes (enc. 4 2/6 st) |
| 17 – 18 | Magnate | Command Riding Seafaring | Crossbow, case with 20 bolts, short sword, dagger, leather armor, embroidered cloak, armiger’s tunic and pants, gaudy silver rings (20gp value), riding boots, medium riding horse, riding saddle and tack, leather saddlebag, waterskin, 2 weeks’ iron rations, 20gp (enc. 2 5/6 st with rations on horse) |
Notes: The expert travel proficiency that each venturer template begins with is noted in bold in the Proficiencies column. The merchant mariner’s scimitar is a type of short sword.