Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Any
• Ability Requirements: Stamina 13, Balance 13, Knowledge 13, Intuition 11
• Alignments: Lawful
• Starting Cash: 3d6 x10gp

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: Pick (any one)
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class, plus Larceny
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Ancient History, Ancient Languages (any one), Arcanology, Literacy, Relic Dating, Disarm Traps
• Required Proficiencies: Excavations
• Recommended Proficiencies: Ancient Languages, Appraising, Artistic Ability, Astrology, Bribery, Direction Sense, Engineering, Etiquette, Find Traps, Heraldry, Land-based Riding, Local History, Lock Smithing, Looting, Mining, Mountaineering, Religion, Rope Use, Somatic Concealment, Stonemasonry, Teaching
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

Overview: Relic seekers are characters who search for ancient items. They travel the world exploring ancient ruins for books, scrolls, tablets, metal tools-anything tied to the past that can increase their knowledge or otherwise help them piece together the mysteries of the ancient world.

They could be loners seeking a personal challenge to discover the past, or they might work with an array of other interested parties. Some choose such a lifestyle for personal profit, others for the pursuit of knowledge or to improve their understanding of their own race or culture. No matter what their ethics, relic seekers brave the dangers of lost civilizations and may encounter anything from unsafe tunnels and excavations to guardian beasts and ingenious traps.

These are not the sort of folk who deal with present threats; a relic seeker is more interested in dealing with the remains of the past. An adventure in which a maiden needs rescuing from the maw of a beast would not entice this character, but mention how the monster blocks the passage to a lost city and the relic seeker is already checking his gear in preparation for the journey. As such these characters must be ready for anything and thus require a keen mind, good reflexes, and a strong arm.

Description: A relic seeker often looks like a miner or prospector, wearing light armor and carrying fair amounts of weapons, rope, and other dungeoneering equipment on his back and belts when on a mission. Under the filth and grime picked up from his exploration of ancient ruins, the relic seeker betrays a lively intelligence by carrying books, papers, writing instruments, and packing material for storing treasures he recovers. His digging tools double as weapons, though he is often to busy copying down inscriptions to be truly alert for attacks.

Role-Playing: Relic seekers are scholars of the highest order, curators who locate, catalog, and carry their museums with them wherever they go. Most relic seekers aren’t interested in power. They’re historians or sages who simply want to learn and preserver that learning for others. Any power that might come their way through this course is simply an added bonus.

Relic seekers are adventurers in the classic sense-they’ll go anywhere, brave any danger, to recover a relic, learn a new bit of information, or discover an ancient secret. Tall mountains, deep caverns, ancient ruins-these are the obstacles the relic seekers learn to circumvent in the pursuit of knowledge. Relic seekers will join adventuring groups to gain assistance in their work, for everyone knows that adventurers spend lots of time in just the sort of places a relic seeker can uncover some piece of the past.

Artifacts, historical accounts, spells and magical items, objects of art, even odd bits of metal-these are the treasures that relic seekers constantly search for. It’s their passion, the driving force that defines their ultimate motivations.

Special Abilities:

• Every relic seeker starts play with a minor magical item of some sort (either rolled randomly or selected by the DM).
• Relic Seekers gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with all weapons from the Picks group from long use of them as both weapons and digging tools.
• A Relic Seeker, at any time during the beginning of his career (no later than 3rd level) may choose to specialize in a specific culture or race. This specialization grants additional insight when dealing with any such remains or ruins the character happens across. He gains a +3 bonus on his roll on applicable proficiencies (ancient history, ancient language, excavations, find traps, relic dating, disarm traps, etc.).

Special Disadvantages:

• As this kit is more one of exploration and discovery than of martial endeavors, Relic Seekers acquire new weapon proficiencies slower than other characters. The number of levels required to gain a new weapon proficiency slot is increased by one (thus warrior relic seekers gain new slots every four levels, instead of every three).
• Relic Seekers that steal and plunder from archeological sites will become known far and wide, and the only ones that will associate with them are greedy merchants and other thieves looking for spoils. They suffer a -2 on reaction rolls with learned folk (such as other archeologists, sages, and scholars). Those Relic Seekers who choose to value and protect such sites as places to further knowledge become disliked by collectors and traders, suffering a -2 on reaction rolls when dealing with such individuals.
• Curiosity killed the cat, and it certainly gets the relic seeker into trouble. Whenever the relic seeker picks up a rumor concerning an artifact or other worthy item, he must make a successful Willpower check to keep from rushing to immediately find it. If the check fails, he’s off at the first opportunity.
• As scholars, relic seekers often have their attention turned toward matters beyond the here and now. The first round of any combat, the relic seeker suffers a +2 penalty to his initiative roll, and in any location other than ruins or while on a relic hunt, the relic seeker is always surprised.

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