CHAPTER 1: PRESTIGE CLASSES
Keoland monarchs enjoy learning of other lands and cultures, but pressing matters of state often keep them tied to their throne rooms. So for years, they have sponsored crack teams of explorers who travel the length and breadth of the world, then return to deliver reports on faraway wonders. Accordingly, the royal library of Keoland has the best selection of maps in the world, as well as a fascinating series of journals known as the Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society. Because the Minutes are often used in geography
from (if ance). ing, it the sown gains macy, thers or its as and f the Did a to in any be tack save an him
his all 'or y) led an
lessons, many a noble's child lies awake at night, dreaming of climbing mountains along with Alin Balic or hunting albino dire wolves with Istai Sunblessed . However, the entrance examinations for the Royal Explorers Society are rigorous indeed . To be accepted, an applicant must not only demonstrate a thorough knowledge of geography and possess impeccable cartographic skills, but also impress the society's admissions committee with verifiable tales of a particularly noteworthy exploration . Academic geographers tend not to survive explorations in the wild, so most royal explorers are former bards or rogues. Adventurers in the midst of their own explorations sometimes encounter NPC royal explorers, who may either seek advice or offer it . In addition, many of them hire bands of adventurers to deal with the more dangerous denizens of the areas they're exploring. Royal explorers also pay top coin for copies of any maps adventurers may have made of previously unexplored regions . Hit Die: d8 .
Requirements
To become a royal explorer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Skills : Decipher Script S ranks, Intuit Direction 8 ranks, Profession (cartographer) 8 ranks, Wilderness Lore 5 ranks. Feats: Alertness, Endurance. Special : The character must be admitted to the Royal Explorers Society. This requires fulfilling all the require- ments listed above and also submitting a verifiable report of a significant exploration to the
society's review council. Such a report should include, at minimum, a detailed map of the area explored, descriptions of native flora and fauna, a narrative of encounters with the area's inhabitants, and a significant relic (preferably magical) brought back for the society's museum.
Class Skills
The class skills for the royal explorer (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Gather information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), SpeakLanguage (None), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex), and Wilderness Lore (Wis) . See Chapter 4 of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions . Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society
Because they're map-intensive and hand-scribed, copies of the
Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society are rare. Thus, they are
terrific finds for characters seeking adventure (and treasure) . Each bimonthly issue contains at least one lengthy report on a far-off land, typically written as a series of journal entries . Relevant maps are included, as is other data collected during the exploration . Shorter reports on explorations in progress appear in a separate "Correspondence from Afield" section . The most interesting parts of the Minutes, however, are near the back of each issue. The "Annotations" section offers lively debate as explorers query, dispute, or praise reports from previous issues . The "Order of the Cautionary Tale" section always offers a firsthand account of some misadventure, comic or tragic, suffered by a royal explorer. The Order of the Cautionary Tale isn't a real knightly order, of course, but many royal explorers take a curious pride in attaining membership . After all, an explorer has to survive to tell a cautionary tale. . . .
All the following are class features of the royal explorer prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The royal explorer gains proficiency with one exotic weapon of choice . He gains no otherweapon or armor proficiencies. Bonus Language: At 1st level and each odd-numbered royal explorer level thereafter, the character gains one bonus language of choice from Table 4-6 in the Player's Handbook .
Explorer Lore: A royal explorer has a chance to know almost anything, either from his own experience or from the tales of fellow ' explorers . This abil~\ - ity functions exactly like bardic knowledge (see the Bard section in Chapter 3 of the Player's Handbook), except that the check modifier equals the character's
