Once you were old enough to order an ale, you soon had a favorite stool in every tavern within ten miles of where you were born. As you traveled the circuit from public house to watering hole, you learned to prey on unfortunates who were in the market for a comforting lie or two—perhaps a sham potion or forged ancestry records.
- Ability Scores: Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma
- Feat: Choose between Alert, Skilled, Lucky or Crafter
- Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Sleight of Hand
- Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit
- Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Disguise Kit, Costume, Fine Clothes, 15 GP; or (B) 50 GP
Choose the Tools of the Con of your choice: A Gaming Set, A Forgery Kit, A Poisoner's Kit, A Musical Instrument or an Artisan's Tool.
Every charlatan has an angle he or she uses in preference to other schemes. Choose a favorite scam or roll on the table below. You may also choose a tool proficiency related to your con of choice and add that toolkit to your equipment if you don't already have it.
| d6 | Favorite Schemes |
|---|---|
| 1 | I cheat at games of chance: Choose a Gaming Set. |
| 2 | I shave coins or forge documents: Choose the Forgery Kit |
| 3 | I insinuate myself into people’s lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes: Choose the Poisoner's Kit. |
| 4 | I put on new identities like clothes: Choose the Disguise Kit. |
| 5 | I run sleight-of-hand cons on street corners: Choose a Musical Instrument. |
| 6 | I convince people that worthless junk is worth their hard-earned money: Choose an Artian's Tool. |
You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. Additionally, you can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy.
Suggested Characteristics
Charlatans are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind the masks they construct. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe, and how they see the world. But their true selves are sometimes plagued by an uneasy conscience, an old enemy, or deep-seated trust issues.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone. |
| 2 | I have a joke for every occasion, especially occasions where humor is inappropriate. |
| 3 | Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want. |
| 4 | I'm a born gambler who can't resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. |
| 5 | I lie about almost everything, even when there's no good reason to. |
| 6 | Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice. |
| 7 | I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment. |
| 8 | I pocket anything I see that might have some value. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Independence. I am a free spirit – no one tells me what to do. |
| 2 | Fairness. I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins. |
| 3 | Charity. I distribute the money I acquire to the people who really need it. |
| 4 | Creativity. I never run the same con twice. |
| 5 | Friendship. Material goods come and go. Bonds of friendship last forever. |
| 6 | Aspiration. I'm determined to make something of myself. |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I fleeced the wrong person and must work to ensure that this individual never crosses paths with me or those I care about. |
| 2 | I owe everything to my mentor – a horrible person who's probably rotting in jail somewhere. |
| 3 | Somewhere out there, I have a child who doesn't know me. I'm making the world better for him or her. |
| 4 | I come from a noble family, and one day I'll reclaim my lands and title from those who stole them from me. |
| 5 | A powerful person killed someone I love. Some day soon, I'll have my revenge. |
| 6 | I swindled and ruined a person who didn't deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can't resist a pretty face. |
| 2 | I'm always in debt. I spend my ill-gotten gains on decadent luxuries faster than I bring them in. |
| 3 | I'm convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. |
| 4 | I'm too greedy for my own good. I can't resist taking a risk if there's money involved. |
| 5 | I can't resist swindling people who are more powerful than me. |
| 6 | I hate to admit it and will hate myself for it, but I'll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets tough. |
Contacts
Charlatans don't offer their friendship freely and tend to make poor allies as a result. As a charlatan your contacts are most likely people that you have some influence over. You might keep a few assistants on your payroll to handle the less important parts of your work (and take the fall for you if necessary), send bribes to government officials or compile blackmail material on friends and rivals alike. A clever charlatan will keep a thorough tally of who owes them what and they can get just about anything done by leveraging a favour from a contact. On the flipside, however, a charlatan's contacts will likely have the reasons and means to call on them as well. You may find yourself in debt to a fellow swindler, a former mark or someone on the other side of the law who wants to put your skills to good use.
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