Pardoner

A Pardoner poses as a priest or prophet to prey on the charity and faith of devout priests and their followers. A Pardoner is, essentially, a snake oil salesman. He/she purports to have items of religious significance and power and sells them at great price to those who don’t know any better. A Pardoner is transient by nature (staying in one place opens one up to eventual discovery) but will sometimes, if the opportunity presents itself, take on a flock of followers as if he was an actual priest.

Role

Outwardly, the Pardoner serves the Church as a reverent collector of alms, charity for the poor. Depending on his background, sophistication, and audience, he may appear a pious citizen, a priest, a monk, or even a member of a Military Order. He can quote scripture and the Canon of the Church of Palanos with the fervor of a prophet, but the Pardoner’s piety is only a clever facade. Through his knowledge of religion, he manipulates the faith of the pious for his own monetary gain. For a suitable donation, this rogue can provide any follower with an indulgence signed by the head of the Church, or a multitude of holy relics, each accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Though he claims that any donations will support the Church (or any of its various orders) - in reality, all contributions go directly into the Pardoner’s velvet-lined pocket.

Distinctive Appearance

None

Special Benefits

The Pardoner may choose non-weapon proficiencies available to priests with no penalty.

His primary skill is the ability to elicit donations. The rogue’s ability is based on his percentage chance to Pick Pockets, modified by his loyalty base (up to +8% for 18 Charisma). Dexterity bonuses that apply to picking pockets never affect the chance to elicit donations. Those seeking to elicit more than a few gold per contributor incur penalties (-10% if eliciting 1-10 gold; -25% if seeking platinum). The Pardoner’s ability can never exceed 95% (including bonuses). As with the picking-pockets ability check, the DM decides the maximum amount a contributor can afford to donate; obviously, a Pardoner cannot extract a 25 gp donation from a peasant, regardless of his eloquence. For each level of ability, the Pardoner can locate and solicit from one likely contributor during each day.

Special Hindrances

The Pardoner is a wanderer, traveling from town to town before the local secular and religious authorities learn of his solicitations. He must approach a true cleric with caution, however, as any ordained priest of 4th level or higher can pierce the Pardoner’s religious facade with a successful Wisdom check.

Class

Thief

Attribute Requirements

Intelligence 13 and Charisma 15

Barred Beliefs

Pardoners are neutral or evil. Those of good alignment would never tolerate the constant hypocrisy required for this profession.

Race Requirement

None

Bonus Weapon Proficiencies

None

Required Weapon Proficiencies

None

Recommended Weapon Proficiencies

The Pardoner may learn any weapon appropriate for his disguise.

Barred Weapon Proficiencies

None

Bonus Non-Weapon Proficiencies

Language (Modern), Reading/Writing, Religion

Recommended Non-Weapon Proficiencies

Etiquette, History (Ancient), Astrology, History (Local), Appraising, Disguise, Forgery, Reading Lips, Ventriloquism

Equipment

As with his weapon proficiencies, the Pardoner’s current role determines his equipment. While posing as a priest, for instance, he would make sure to keep his copied or stolen vestments neat and authentic.

Wealth Options

The Pardoner embarks on his career with the customary 2d6 x 10 gp.

Homeland Terrain

None

Economic System

None