Fallen Secrets
Secrets of the Fallen Methods of the Fallen
How does a person live in the shadows of society? How do they hide? How do they survive? They must lurk outside of the light and hide in the shadows of civilisation. Different ability scores and different roles provide the means of survival. This chapter discusses various options and ideas for maximising the potential of any fallen character.
General Options
Pirates, thieves and temptresses are similar animals in many ways, and some of the same options apply to all three classes. This section discusses some advice and options concerning the creation of capable and effective fallen characters, especially regarding ability score, skill and feat choices.
Ability Scores
Thieves, of course, tend to emphasise their Dexterity scores and temptresses their Charisma scores, but there are plenty of options and many points to consider. Just knowing what statistic needs the high score is not the end. Which statistic should receive the lowest score? This section discusses the importance of each ability score as it relates to the fallen classes. Strength: Those who focus on Strength tend to be the least subtle of the fallen classes, and force is their chief modus operandi. Others can make the plans and think their way through a situation; this character will bully and push his way out of a situation with brutal violence and physical power. Usually notorious for their cruelty, they may gain a small amount of leadership by bullying others to follow them, they rarely come to the head of large networks of thieves or become a patriarch of a crime family unless they are willing to listen to more intelligent advice from counsellors and advisors. However, those rare few are fearsome masters because they are more apt to break someone’s legs than waste time with negotiations. For a temptress, her musculature makes her confident, not her personality. Even pirates and thieves who emphasize this attribute tend to dress in a manner that shows off their physiques. Stripped-to-the waist fights are common and strong fallen characters never fight fair. Strength-based temptresses seduce people with feats of strength, challenging people she is attracted to with arm-wrestling contests and the like. Skills that are
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related to their Strength score are usually maximised, such as Climb, Jump and Swim. They take feats such as Athletic, Brawl, Cleave, Great Cleave, Greater Overrun*, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Stunning Attack and any other feat with a Strength prerequisite. Crush Your Enemy is an appropriate feat from Conan: Shadizar – City of Wickedness. Hard Hands from Conan: Pirate Isles is a fantastic feat for the Strength-based thief or pirate. Dexterity: Thieves, pirates and temptresses can all make good use of high Dexterity scores. Certainly a thief who specialises in Dexterity is hardly unusual. These characters have focused on their reflexes, agility, speed and hand-eye coordination. High Initiatives are common for these fallen characters because their Reflex saves are also naturally high for all three fallen classes. These are the first to act or react in a given round and excel at climbing up, down or over obstacles. They usually fight with ranged weapons or finesse weapons. Most of these characters take ranks in Balance, Escape Artist, Jump and Tumble. Remember to take at least five ranks in Tumble to gain an additional +1 dodge bonus to Dodge Defence. Common feats include Acrobatic, Acrobatic Attack*, Agile, Athletic, Dodge, First Strike*, Greater Combat Reflexes*, Greater Initiative*, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Striking Cobra, Weapon Finesse and any feat with a Dexterity prerequisite. Slippery is an appropriate feat from Conan: Shadizar – City of Wickedness. Constitution: The fallen character who emphasises his endurance will have higher than average hit points and a better Fortitude save than most other pirates, thieves and temptresses but he will still lag behind the barbarians and soldiers of the world. Pirates have a naturally strong Fortitude save, and a high Constitution will bolster this. Thieves and temptresses, however, have a naturally weak Fortitude save, so a high Constitution will serve these classes by shoring up a weakness. The characters who keep this attribute high are known to be dogged, unflagging, tough and enduring. Once they have their eye on a goal, they do not let it escape them. They work toward their goals one step at a time, taking pride in seeing a job done. They have high personal standards of health and efficiency, looking with contempt at pirates and thieves who prefer to blow their stolen wealth on health-destroying pleasures such as lotus blossom. Often, these characters talk little and do much, they do not usually
