Rake

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Overview & Creation

Some rakes live for the thrill of skirting the edges of the law, others make their day to day living via smuggling, buying and selling information or collecting bounties posted across the lands, bringing such labelled fugitives to justice among other such shadow arts. Others still study the arts of undermining and sabotage able to bring high born down to their level. The rake is often a ruffian even if they put on the airs of a lord. Whatever their motives, for many the ends justify the means a rake isn't above subterfuge and playing dirty to get what they want.

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Class Features

Lv.1 Opportunist

Three times a long rest the rake may re-roll a failed ability check or impose disadvantage on another creatures ability check within 30ft by using their surroundings to their advantage, or their foes disadvantage. After rolling the rake describes how they used their surroundings.  

Lv.2 Shadow Arts

At this level, 5th, 8th and 11th the Rake gains a shadow art of their choice, selecting from the list of;  

• Picklock – The Rake gains a +2 bonus on lockpicking attempts, or to detect if a lock is trapped
• Pickpocket – The Rake gains a +2 bonus action on pickpocket attempts, and may make a pickpocket attempt as an action (allowing potentially two pickpockets in the same turn).
• Forgery – The rake gains a +2 bonus on attempts to create forgeries, or to detect one
• Poisoncraft – The rake gains a +2 bonus on any check related to poisons or their uses and may apply poison to a weapon as an action.
• Codemaster – The rake gains a +2 bonus on any check related to decypher a cypher, codeword or otherwise access secret information hidden in text or speech. In additional, the rake gains +1 lore proficiency to spend on learning new languages.
• Vox Artist – The rake has a +2 bonus on performance checks to imitate the voice or sounds of another person or creature. In addition, as an action they can throw their voice to make it sound like it comes from a nearby location within 30ft.
• Smuggler – The rake has a +2 bonus on deception checks to remain calm when being questioned by authorities, or on sleight of hand checks to conceal an object from view. In additional, the rake gains +1 lore proficiency to spend on learning new languages.
• Tavern Brawler – The rake increases their unarmed damage to 1d4 and may use either DEX or STR as their attacking attribute. In addition they may use their proficiency bonus when attacking with improvised weapons.
• Knife-fighter – The rake may increase the damage die from any small bladed weapon from a d4 to a d6. In addition whenever the rake takes the attack action they may as a free action make a single extra-attack with a small bladed weapon. This attack may be a thrown ranged attack.
• Sharpshooter - When you take the attack action with a ranged weapon, you may choose to take a -2 penalty on the attack roll to add +4 damage to the ranged attack
• Extorter – The rake gains a +2 bonus on intimidation checks, which they may increase to a +5 bonus if they have the target grappled, or they make a violent action against the target immediately before making their intimidation.
• Dabbling Alchemist – The rate gains the ability to memorise +2 lore proficiencies that they must spend on acquiring a new potion or wyrmsmoke craft. These may be of any rarity, but must be acquired in game.
• Dabbling Occultist – The rake gains the ability to memorise +2 lore proficiencies that they must spend on acquiring a ritual. These may be of any rarity, but must be acquired in game.

 

Lv.3 Rake Archetype

You select a Rake archetype gaining an archetype.

• Rake, Bounty Hunter
• Rake, Rogue
• Rake, Sapper

 

Lv.4 Underworld Style

You always know the name of a local crimelord, and how they may contact them knowing the crimelords speciality (fencing, forgery, robbery, extortion, smuggling, prostitution, confidence trickster) and how the party may make introductions.
  At 4th level the rake chooses their prefered style of nightwork;
  Ambush Expert The rake prefers to lay ambushes for their foes, gaining an additional +4 bonus on attacks;

• Against targets they are ahead of in initiative order on first turn of combat
• Whenever they attack from a concealed position where the target was previously unaware of their location
• When they make an unarmed or improvised weapon attack to start a fight

  Schemer Rogues are always looking for an edge, able to puppet others into leaving an opening or building towards a long term haul or powerplay. As part of a long rest in a settlement they may trade in 1 favour with a local NPC to;

• Procure and deliver a specific item or items up to 100gp in value to a specific location at a given time.
• Plant a rumour that matures in 1d4 days becoming widely known across the settlement.
• Have a device, temporary structure, or process sabotaged to fail at a given point in time or signal.
• Have a named NPC conduct some minor action, performance or deception at a specific place and time
• Have a riot, fight or violent distraction break out at a specific place and time.
• Have a location left unguarded at a given time.

  This scheme should be clearly expressed in 25 words or less and reasonably achievable within the limits of the settlement. The GM has the final discretion on how the scheme matures.   A rogue can have up to 3 concurrent plans on the go. Once a plan has been initiated it runs to completion unless the rogue can expend a second favour to arrange to cancel their plan. A rogue can choose to have no plan in progress if they choose.   The Charlatan You have specailised in one of the more gentle of the underworld professions be it making counterfit goods, rigging games of chance or selling snakeoils.

• You can create fake objects, scrolls or potions at a 10th of their original cost, these scrolls and potions do not work, and you do not need to know the lore to craft them.
• You are an excellent swindler at games of chance and havea a +4 bonus when making contested slight of hand checks to win by cheating.
• When you take time to appraise your mark for 10 minutes and they would not be hostile to you, they always have at least an indifferent disposition towards you.
• You may select one of the Troubadour, Diplomat honeyed words abilities.

  The Perfectionist You do not do things by half-measures and take a personal pride on perfecting your skills and arts to the point of perfection and whose talents are reliable to a fault. At this level, and every three levels thereafter (7th, 10th, 13th, 15th and 18th) you may select a skill from the following list as a reliable tallent where you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.  

1. Persuastion
2. intimidation
3. Deception
4. Insight
5. Performance
6. Slight-of-hand

 

Lv.7 One Step Ahead

Sometimes the best way to get out of danger is to be aware of ones surroundings and know when to run. The Rake adds their intelligence bonus to their initiative in addition to any other bonuses. In addition the Rake may move double their run speed the first time they use the move action on their turn.  

Lv.9 Freerunner

Being an explorer of the world the Rake becomes accustomed to traversing heights and unstable scaffolds, learning to roll with the fall and control their inertia, even when at speed.

• The Rake may now ignore the first 20ft of fall damage.
• The Rake gains a climb speed equal to their base speed, they still need to perform a climb check if they cannot clear the climb in a single round.

 

Lv.11 Infamous Charm

By 11th level your reputation has spread into street rumour. A mear whisper of your name, or allusions to events you have been part of being enough to give NPCs pause for thought. As part of an intimidation or persuasion check the rake may invoke their reputation, to carry weight granting a +4 to their check result. In addition successfully persusaded or intimidated NPCs shall attempt to keep their contacts with you secret from local authorities.