Expert (Dungeons & Dragons)
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| D&D character class | |
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| Expert | |
| Alignment | Alignment |
| Image | Wizards.com image |
| Stats | OGL stats |
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the expert is one of the non-player character classes. They are more advanced versions of the commoner, possessing some amount of martial knowledge and a wider variety of skills. Experts on a whole are more daring and strong-willed than commoners, though rarely as much so as adventurers. Typical experts (if an expert could be called typical) include skilled smiths, wise sages, experienced barkeeps, dextrous thieves, canny merchants, and brave frontiersmen.
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[edit] 2nd Edition
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, NPCs did not have classes, and were either monsters or hirelings. Hirelings themselves, who are equatable with NPC classes today, were divided into common hirelings, expert hirelings, and soldiers. Expert hirelings were those whose training was more specialized than that of the common hireling, and were rare and much sought after for their skills.
[edit] The Assassin
An assassin is anyone willing to kill another in exchange for money (or a favour). They require no special skills, though fighting, stealth, and even magic are useful. All that is really needed to be an assassin is the desire and the opportunity. There is virtually no way to assure oneself of the reliability and dependability of an assassin, and hiring one is definitely taking a chance. Anyone willing to make a business out of murder is not likely to have a high degree of morals of any type.
While thoroughly discouraged throughout its description, the assassin was available to be hired by a PC, assuming they could find someone willing to perform the deed. The PC formulated the plan necessary to carry out the assassination, using their particular assassin's resources, and the DM, after carefully considering the intended victim's precautions (such as magical defences, barriers, traps, bodyguards, or advanced warning), the assassin's skill, and potential impact on the storyline, determined whether or not the attempt succeeded. Success or failure was usually clear, but the DM was free to determine that the plan failed if the target's death would severely cripple (or even just inconvenience) their campaign. Success meant that the target was dead; failure, that the assassin was dead or captured. Captured assassins had no compuctions about confessing who their employer was, which made the PC's life rather difficult as he would have to avoid the law, assassins, or both.
[edit] The Spy
While less reprehensible than assassins, spies involve many of the same risks and problems. First and foremost, a spy, even more than an assassin, is inherently untrustworthy; spying involves breaking a trust. While some spies may be nobly motivated, these are few and far between. It is a paradox that the better a spy is, the less they can be trusted. Good spies are master liars and deceivers, even less trustworthy than bad spies (who tend to get caught anyways).
In role-playing, spies created many of the same problems as assassins. By allowing PCs to hire spies, rather than making them doing the spying themselves, the DM was throwing away a perfectly good adventure. Also, information revealed could advance the campaign beyond what the DM had prepared, ruining the storyline and all the DM's hard work. Thus, the spy's success or the accuracy of his information would be based wholy on what would make the best adventure for the PCs. Should the DM wish to determine the spy's success (or failure) rationally, they would use a similar method to the assassin, except including how rare or secret the information to be obtained was.
[edit] The Sage
Unlike other expert hirelings, sages are experts in a single field of academic study. They are most useful to player characters in answering specific questions, solving riddles, or deciphering ancient lore. They are normally hired on a one-shot basis, to answer a single question or provide guidance for a specific problem. A sage's knowledge can be in any area that fits within the limits of the campaign.
The list of fields available to a sage was extensive, and included the frequency that they could be found within a city. An expert of Sociology, for example, could be found in a city 40% of the time, whereas an expert on elven architecture would be found only 5% of the time. Some fields gave additional abilities, such as proficiency in Navigation or the ability to brew poisons and acids. What a sage knew was either determined arbitrarily by the DM (based on whether the answer would detrimentally or positively affect gameplay), or the DM gave it ability in a proficiency, either again determined arbitrarily (based on the sage's assumed skill) or equal to 14 plus the roll of a six-sided die (15-20). Questions asked of the sage would be either general ("What type of beasts live in the Valley of Terror?"), specific ("Do medusae live in the Valley of Terror?") or exacting ("Does the medusa Erinxyes live in the Valley of Terror?"). The precision of the question modified the chance of receiving an accurate answer, and unless they rushed him (creating an additional penalty to his check), it also increased the time required to study the question. Also, if the sage had access only to a partial library, or no library at all, his chance at success would be reduced again. Success means that the question is answered; failure, that it is answered incorrectly.
[edit] Other Experts
Other expert hirelings included craftsmen, ambassadors, architects, animal trainers, and the like. They possessed one or more non-weapon proficiencies key to their profession, and skill could be determined the same way as with the sage (either arbitrarily or 14 plus 1d6).
[edit] 3rd Edition and v.3.5
The 3rd Edition of the D&D Dungeon Master's Guide introduced the NPC classes. These were underpowered compared to the classes available to player characters, but gave a solid representation of the NPC's abilities and limitations. While generic hirelings still exist for background characters, the ability to create a defined NPC, typically one that is integral to the storyline or who will be interacting with the PCs on a regular basis, filled a void that was missing in earlier editions.
[edit] Unearthed Arcana
The Unearthed Arcana supplement released in 2004 introduced optional rules for three completely customizable Player Character classes, one of which was also named expert. Such a character is comparable to a rogue, bard, or monk, and is completely unrelated to the NPC expert.
[edit] Combat Training
Experts receive a modest amount of combat training throughout their lives, and their trademark confidence and skill lend well to battle. They are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armour, but not with any shields. Their attack bonus is on par with an aristocrat, but they are less familiar with turning aside blows thrown at them, and as such have a slightly smaller hit dice (d6).
[edit] Skills
Experts can choose any ten skills to be class skills. These are chosen at first level and do not change as the expert gains levels. Experts gain 6 skill points per level, plus their Intelligence modifier. Example skill choices (and associated profession) are presented below.
[edit] Diplomat
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[edit] Guide
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[edit] Infiltrator
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[edit] Jack of All Trades
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[edit] Merchant
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[edit] Minstrel
[edit] Sage
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[edit] Sailor
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[edit] Smithy
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[edit] Thief
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| Dungeons & Dragons character classes | ||
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Base classes from the Player's Handbook: Barbarian • Bard • Cleric • Druid • Fighter • Monk • Paladin • Ranger • Rogue • Sorcerer • Wizard |
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Additional/Alternative base classes: Archivist • Ardent • Artificer • Beguiler • Binder • Crusader • Divine Mind • Dragon Shaman • Dragonfire Adept • Dread Necromancer • Duskblade • Erudite • Factotum • Favored Soul • Healer • Hexblade • Knight • Lurk • Incarnate • Marshal • Mystic • Ninja • Noble • Psion • Psychic Warrior • Samurai • Scout • Shadowcaster • Shaman • Sha' ir • Shugenja • Sohei • Soulborn • Soulknife • Spellthief • Spirit Shaman • Swashbuckler • Swordsage • Totemist • Truenamer • Warblade • Warlock • Warmage • Wilder • Wu Jen |
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NPC Classes: Adept • Aristocrat • Commoner • Expert • Warrior |
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Unearthed Arcana generic classes: Expert • Spellcaster • Warrior |
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