Illus. by H. Lyon
Scoundrel adventures
CHAPTER 6
The highest spire
athletes are encouraged to make their own precautionary arrangements. The ban against magic is the only rule once climbing begins. Interfering with other climbers is frowned upon, but not prohibited. Recharge: After a character has become the year’s Spire Hawk, no one can benefit from the highest spire’s special ability for 1 year. The next year, a new climber earns the title (this could be the previous year’s champion). No character can gain more than one bonus feat from the highest spire, though a second victory still bestows the other benefits noted below. Special Ability (Ex): The experience of scaling the highest spire grants a character insight into her own athletic talents that she never realized before. She gains her choice
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Agile Athlete
You rely on your agility to perform athletics feats, rather than brute strength. Prerequisite: Climb 1 rank, Jump 1 rank. Benefit: When making a Climb or Jump check, you use your Dexterity modifier for the check. Normal: Without this feat, you use your Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks. This feat first appeared in Races of the Wild.
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148
of Skill Focus (Climb) or Agile Athlete (see the sidebar) as a bonus feat. Additionally, that character earns the title “Spire Hawk” and receives a finely crafted wooden medallion carved with the image of the archon at the tower’s peak. For the next year, that character holds the champion’s title and wears this medallion, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with natives of the city that is home to the highest spire. In addition, the character receives a 10% discount on all goods and services purchased in that city (up to a maximum discount of 1,000 gp on items or services costing 10,000 gp or more). Duration: The bonus feat conferred by this location is permanent. The other benefits remain until the next city festival, a year later. At that time, the character must be the first to climb the highest spire again, or lose these benefits to the new champion. Variation: The highest spire might be any location that involves an annual feat of skill and endurance. Changing this location to suit your campaign is as simple as making the event a lengthy marathon, night-long ball, song competition, scavenger hunt, or any other trial that tests the competitors’ ability and stamina. The frequency of the event might also change, shortening to several times a year or becoming a rare festival that occurs only once a decade. The difficulty might also change, even requiring Constitution checks (perhaps of increasing
