Ruin Explorer (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

This has passed one round of pathfinder-ism and revision form 3.5.

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

• Acrobatics 2 ranks
• Climb 2 ranks
• Disable Device 5 ranks
• Knowledge (history) 5 ranks
• Linguistics 2 ranks
• Perception 5 ranks

Feats

• Skill Focus (Perception)

Table: The Ruin explorer

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Will Save	Ref Save	Special
1	+0	+0	+0	+1	Bardic knowledge, continuing training, decipher script, trapfinding
2	+1	+0	+0	+2	Trap exploration, outsmart traps
3	+2	+1	+1	+2	Trap sense +2, uncanny dodge
4	+3	+1	+1	+3	Trick exploration
5	+3	+1	+1	+3	Evasion
6	+4	+2	+2	+4	General exploration
7	+5	+2	+2	+4	Trap sense +4
8	+6	+2	+2	+5	Master finder
9	+6	+3	+3	+5	Ponder problem
10	+7	+3	+3	+6	Master explorer

Class Features

Hit dice: d8

Class Skills

Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Knowledge (any) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), 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 adds half his class level (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.

This ability stacks with similar abilities from other classes.

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 get all the listed 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, monk combat abilities, and sneak attack accordingly.

• Spellcasting: A ruin explorer continues training in divine or bardic magic as well as your new class abilities. An alchemist ruin explorer can develop the alchemy class ability in the same way. 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).
• Damage Training: A ruin explorer with favored enemy (ranger), sneak attack (rogue), or weapon training (fighter) 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, bonus feats, 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).

Decipher Script

When using the Linguistics skill to understand archaic or foreign writing, add your level as a ruin explorer to the check.

Trapfinding

Like rogues, ruin explorers adds 1/2 her level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). A ruin explorer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps. A ruin explorer 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. This stacks with similar abilities from other classes.

Outsmart Traps

When successfully disabling a trap, you can opt to bypass it (with your party) and leave it in place.

Trap Exploration

As a standard action, you can search for traps in each square you enter and each adjacent 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 15 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.

Uncanny Dodge

A ruin explorer can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does she lose her Dex bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A ruin explorer with this ability can still lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action (see Combat) against her.

If a ruin explorer already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead. He can no longer be flanked. This defense denies another rogue the ability to sneak attack the character by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target does. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.

Trick Exploration (Ex)

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. The ruin explorer also applies his trapfinding bonus to skill rolls to discern tricks. If no Perception 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.

Evasion (Ex)

A ruin explorer can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the ruin explorer is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless rogue does not gain the benefit of evasion.

If the ruin explorer already has the evasion ability from another source, he instead gains Improved Evasion. This works like evasion, except that while the ruin explorer still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, he now takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless ruin explorer does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

General Exploration (Ex)

As Trap Exploration, but applies to all kinds of hidden things, such as secret compartments, hidden treasure, clues, and tracks.

Master Finder

As Trapfinding, but applies to all uses of the Perception skill.

Ponder Problem

When you fail a Knowledge or Linguistics check, you can try again as a standard action.

Master Explorer

You can now use trap exploration and trick exploration as free actions. This allows you to take other actions or to take double moves, and still search for traps and tricks in a 15 ft. wide path.