Inspired by one of my players' expressed interest in playing a bard in an upcoming OSE campaign, I wrote a remixed Thief that shies away from the "wizard rockstar" stereotype of bards popularized by later editions and tries to emulate a skáld or Orpheus-like figure, wielding discreet magic and vibrant folklore. This class uses my alternate Thief rules - go check it out if it sounds interesting!

The Bard (Alternate Thief)

Requirements: None
Prime requisite: WIS
Hit Dice: 1d4
Maximum level: 14
Armour: Leather, no shields
Weapons: Any
Languages: Alignment, Common, Any (Player's Choice)

Silver Tongue

Before hostilities break out, bards receive a +1 bonus to Reaction Rolls of other creatures¹, and hirelings employed by a bard get +1 bonus to Morale rolls as long as they remain by her side.

Combat

Light on their feet and always on the road, bards can only wear leather armor and cannot use shields. They can use any weapons.

The Fool

A bard of 4th level or higher may choose, at the start of each day, to be considered Chaotic, Neutral or Lawful, regardless of her true Alignment, for the rest of this day. A bard can freely speak the language of her chosen Aligment, and is subject to all other alignment rules.

Alternative 4th Level Feat - A bard of 4th level or higher may use her Wisdom modifier instead of her Intelligence modifier to determine how many languages she may speak, and can learn double the amount of languages determined by her attribute score modifier.

Oral Tradition

A bard of 10th level or higher can memorize a spell that she witness or is targeted by, and cast it as a Magic User of the same level. A bard can only have one spell memorized in this way at any time, but, if she casts her spell, she frees the space in her mind to memorize another one.

If not cast, the spell disappears from the bard's mind after a night's rest. A bard may not memorize a spell cast by another bard in this way.

Bard Skills

Bards can use the following skills:

• Mimicry (MM): A bard may attempt to mimic the voice of another person, or the sound of a monster or creature.
• Read Languages (RL): A roll is required to read non-magical text in any language (including dead languages and basic codes). If the roll fails, the bard may not try to read the same text again before gaining an experience level.
• Hear Noise (HN): In a quiet environment (e.g. not in combat), a bard may attempt to listen at a door or to hear the sounds of something (e.g. a wandering monster) approaching.
• Blend In (BL): A roll is required to become inconspicuous. Requires the bard to be amongst a crowd of at least four other humans.
• Appraisal (AP): A roll is required to determine the value of a piece of treasure, gemstone or other valuable commodity. A bard of 4th level or higher can also determine if an item is magical (but not it's effects) with a successful Appraisal roll.
• Lore (LR): A bard may attempt to remember and produce one useful piece of information about a monster, creature, non-player character or location from her knowledge of lore and folklore. If the roll fails, the bard may not invoke Lore on the same subject again before gaining an experience level.
• Use Magic Scroll (UM): A bard can cast arcane spells from scrolls with a successful Use Magic Scroll roll. A roll of more than twice the value required for success means that the casting backfires unexpectedly.

A bard's skills start at 1, and a 1st level bard receives five points to improve her skills as she pleases, as long as no more than two points are invested in a single skill. At every new level, a bard receives five more points to distribute amongst her skills.

No skill may be raised above the value of 18.

Rolling Skill Checks

A bard is allowed a regular D6 skill check as any other class, with a standard 1-in-6 chance of success.

If she fails, the bard may try again by attempting to roll equal to or under her relevant skill score on a D20. If this second skill check succeeds, the task is accomplished, and only if both attempts fail is the Bard unable to achieve her task.

Tasks considered impossible for other characters can be attempted by the bard as long as they are covered by her skills, at the Referee's discretion. To do so, the bard attempts to roll under her relevant skill directly.

After Reaching 9th Level

A bard may estabilish a troupe and attrack 2d6 1^st level apprentices, half of which are bards and another half belonging to any other class. The bard's apprentices may gather rumours and secrets from the surrounding area in the bard's abscence.

Bard Level Progression

Bards share the same level progression and Saving Throw scores with Thiefs of the same level.

Level	XP	HD	THAC0
1	0	1d4	19 [0]
2	1,200	2d4	19 [0]
3	2,400	3d4	19 [0]
4	4,800	4d4	19 [0]
5	9,600	5d4	17 [+2]
6	20,000	6d4	17 [+2]
7	40,000	7d4	17 [+2]
8	80,000	8d4	17 [+2]
9	160,000	9d4	14 [+5]
10	280,000	9d4+2*	14 [+5]
11	400,000	9d4+4*	14 [+5]
12	520,000	9d4+6*	14 [+5]
13	640,000	9d4+8*	12 [+7]
14	760,000	9d4+10*	12 [+7]

* Modifiers from CON no longer apply.

Level	Death & Poison	Wands	Paralysis & Petrification	Breath Attack	Spells, Rods & Staves
1	13	14	13	16	15
2	13	14	13	16	15
3	13	14	13	16	15
4	13	14	13	16	15
5	12	13	11	14	13
6	12	13	11	14	13
7	12	13	11	14	13
8	12	13	11	14	13
9	10	11	9	12	10
10	10	11	9	12	10
11	10	11	9	12	10
12	10	11	9	12	10
13	8	9	7	10	8
14	8	9	7	10	8

1. Taken from Skerples' Merchant↩

#OSE #class #homebrew #thief

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