Ruin Explorer (D&D class)

Unofficial rules compendium

A ruin explorer is a man or woman of learning, an adventurous scholar who dreams of retrieving priceless artifacts from lost vaults, restoring pieces of our common history to the light of day. Such priceless treasures are to be found, studied and understood. Their critics see them as glorified burglars, who work trapped tombs and vaults and seek to rob people of their most valuable and well-protected property.

As a ruin explorer, your deal with ancient traps and magical legacies. Curses and traps are your bread and butter. Your main abilities are in dealing with the dangers found in ruins; traps, curses, cave-ins and eternally vigilant guardians. Your specialty is traps; both magical, man-made, and in the form of natural hazards. You continue to practice some of the abilities you used before becoming a ruin explorer, and can easily pass as a member of your earlier class.

Most ruin explorers are former rogues; clerics, bards, monks, scouts, and rangers practice the profession as well. Many are intelligent and would have done well as wizards, but either had no opportunity or calling to study high magic, choosing a middle way between practical skills, magic and scholarship. True wizards who fancy this class usually end up as loremasters instead. Many are attracted to the class by a desire to explore, a liking for the challenge of traps and puzzles and a fascination with all things ancient. This is not to say all ruin explorers are good; some raid tombs for selfish purposes or acquire items to be used for evil. Others are merely out to strike it rich. But the best in the profession see it as their duty to explore the past and bring back lost treasures into the light of day, for all to enjoy.

The ruin explorers of the world form a loose fraternity, keeping tabs on each other's exploits through the rumor mill. Ruin explorers tend to take an important role in any guilds or fraternities they become a part of, since they are studious and more organized than most other adventurers. Sometimes, they can completely change the goal of such an organization, from simple looting to the collection and categorization of knowledge. Such a guild can then train new generations of ruin explorers.

Requirements

To qualify as a ruin explorer, you must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills

• Climb 4 ranks
• Disable Device 4 ranks
• Jump 4 ranks
• Knowledge (history) 4 ranks
• Search 8 ranks

Feats

• Skill Focus (Search)

Table: The Ruin explorer

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Will Save	Ref Save	Special
1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Bardic knowledge, continuing training, trapfinding, trap dodge
2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Trap exploration
3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Trap sense +2
4	+3	+1	+1	+4	Trick exploration
5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Explorer +2
6	+4	+2	+2	+5	General exploration
7	+5	+2	+2	+5	Trap sense +4
8	+6	+2	+2	+6	Outsmart traps
9	+6	+3	+3	+6	Explorer +4
10	+7	+3	+3	+7	Master Explorer

Class Features

Hit dice: d6

Class Skills

Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Ruin explorers are proficient with all simple weapons and with the light pick, heavy pick, hand crossbow, and whip. The ruin explorer gains no proficiency with armor or shields.

Bardic Knowledge

Like a bard, a ruin explorer may make a special knowledge check with a bonus equal to your ruin explorer level + your Intelligence modifier to see whether you know some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), you gain a +2 bonus on this check.) A successful bardic knowledge check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. You may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.

This ability stacks with similar abilities from other classes.

DC	Type of Knowledge
10	Common, known by at least a substantial minority of the local population.
20	Uncommon but available, known by only a few people legends.
25	Obscure, known by few, hard to come by.
30	Extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, possibly known only by those who don’t understand the significance of the knowledge.

Continuing Training

Depending on their previous class, the Ruin explorer continues to develop certain class abilities. If you had more than one class before becoming a ruin explorer, you must pick one class whose abilities continues to progress; you cannot gain continuing training in more than one class, but you can get several abilities from any one class. This essentially means that you add the level of ruin explorer to the level of some other class you already have, then determine spellcasting, favored enemies, sneak attack, skirmish, and sudden strike abilities accordingly.

Skirmish is described under the scout class and sudden strike under the ninja class, both from the Complete Adventurer book.

Spellcasting: A ruin explorer continues training in divine or bardic magic as well as your new class abilities. Thus, when a new ruin explorer level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level as a bard or in a divine spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, bardic music, and so on).

Favored Enemy, Sneak Attack, Skirmish, Sudden Strike: A ruin explorer with favored enemy, sneak attack, skirmish, or sudden strike abilities continues to gain such abilities as well as your new class abilities. Thus, when a new ruin explorer level is gained, you advance these abilities as if you had also gained a level in class you belonged to before you added the prestige class. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (extra speed, evasion, and so on).

Martial Arts: A ruin explorer with monk levels can continue to develop monk armor class bonus and unarmed damage as well as your new class abilities. Thus, when a new ruin explorer level is gained, you advance these abilities as if you had also gained a level as a monk. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (extra speed, evasion, improved flurry of blows and so on).

Trapfinding

Like rogues, ruin explorers can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20. Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. Ruin explorers can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A ruin explorers who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it.

Trap Dodge

When attacked by a trap, you always have your dexterity adjustment to armor class, as long as you are not immobilized. This is a limited version of the rogue's uncanny dodge ability.

Trap Exploration

As a standard action, you can search for traps in each square just as you are about to move into it. This allows you to make a standard move and still search for traps in a 5 ft. wide path.

Trap Sense

A ruin explorer gains an intuitive sense that alerts her to danger from traps, giving you a bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses increase with level and stack with similar abilities gained from other classes.

Trick Exploration

As Trap Exploration, but you can now sense mechanical and magical phenomena that are not strictly traps, such as hidden compartments, teleport portals, magic wells, rotating chambers, secret doors, sliding walls and so on. If no search roll would normally be allowed for subtle effects, the difficulty of this roll is 25 + spell level or 25 + half the challenge level. If there is no challenge level given, the DC is 25.

Explorer

You get an increasing bonus on the Disable device, Open Locks, and Search checks as you advance in level.

General Exploration

As Trap Exploration, but applies to all uses of the Search skill.

Outsmart Traps

When successfully disabling a trap, you can always opt to bypass it (with your party) and leave it in place, just as if you had beaten the DC by ten.

Master Explorer

As a free action before each square you enter, you can use Search along the path that you are moving. This allows you to take other actions or to take double moves, and still search for traps in a 5 ft. wide path.