Character Classes: Talkers (Family, Agilist Order)

There are two Talker groups:
Performers include Scops, scholars who use poetry and song in the service of history, religion, or propaganda, and Gleemen (or Performer-Profiteers), who use dexterity and magic to entertain and inspire. Scops include the Bard, Griot, Sha’ir, and Skald. The Bard class is described in Player’s Handbook, the only difference being that it now requires any two apprenticeships instead of Fighter and Thief experience. Bards can be independent or retained by a court. Griots are always tied to a court and are called on to act as advisors more often than Bards, military and political knowledge being higher on the Griot’s list of interests. The Sha’ir is a religious bard that can be independent or tied to a sect. They commune directly with elementals and wield more magic than most Scops. The Skald is less likely to be musically inclined, reciting their verse unaccompanied. This leaves their hands free to fight while they chant. Gleemen include the Shamanic Bard and the Minstrel. A Shamanic Bard makes a deal with the Lords of Chaos that grants hir exceptional powers of Charisma and the ability to advance higher in level than other Performers. At maximum level, however, the Lords pose a challenge. If the Bard fails, their soul is taken to Pandemonium for eternity. If they succeed, they undergo a metamorphosis of a nature only revealed to players who reach that stage. The Minstrel combines the abilities of a Bard and a Thief, using their skills to charm and con. A Carnivalist is a Minstrel-Acrobat akin to the Thief-Acrobat.
There is only one Profiteer class: the Merchant. Merchants gain the bulk of their experience from profit rather than combat. They receive persuasion and bartering bonuses and each Merchant has one or two niche markets that they do better in. High level Merchants may wield Illusionist magic.