Swashbuckler

Your skill, daring, and flamboyant style outshine most others. When battle beckons, you rely on agile swordplay rather than brute force. You’re not afraid to leap onto tables, slide down bannisters, and otherwise gamble on using the environment toyour advantage. That same reckless confidence imbues your dashing grin, your witty banter, and your almost-theatrical charisma,allowing you to charm and beguile as you please. Among those in your company, you’re probably one of the most ostentatious. If a fight is in the offing, foes are likely to focus on you for as long as wish, thereby providing your allies a measure of protection. Of course, your fencingskills are amazing, so that’s no sacrifice on your part. In fact, combat is just another stage on which you can show off your style and wit, aiding in yourefforts to negotiate or woo.

Background Options

• Forsworn and ignored as a child, you are motivated by gaining the admiration and love of others (perhaps many others) through demonstrating your worthiness and skills.
• You wooed a lover with tales of stolen jewels, but last month theymade off with your valuables.
• After fleeing a vast gambling debt lastyear, you took another name and changed your look.
• You picked up your skills while touring as part of a troupe of entertainers and thieves. That troupesplinteredduetoamysteriousmurder,andyoustillseekanswersasyoucan.
• You briefly captained a privateer ship, butonly long enough to gain passage to where you

are now.

• You were part of a spectacular prison escape last week that’s still the talk of the town.
• Wanting to reinvent yourself, you continue to make changes through hard personalwork and constant training.
• You found a treasure map stitched into a coat, though deciphering it still lies beyond your skill.

Swashbuckler Abilities

You gain all of the following benefits: Able to takethree more minor wounds and one more moderate wound Add+3 to Speed Pool Add+1 to Intellect Pool Add+1 Edge in Pool of your choice Freely use light and medium weapons Freely use light armor Gain one weapon of your choice At tier 3and tier 6, choose anability fromthe Fantasy Genre Abilities list

Attack Flourish: When youattack, you add stylish moves, entertaining quips, or a certain something thatentertainsorimpressesothers.Onecreatureyouchoosewithinshortrangewhocanseeyougains an asset to their next task if taken within a round or two. Enabler. Flamboyant Swordplay (1 Speed): You attack in a way that has a greaterrisk of making an error but gains an additionalbenefit. Your GM intrusion rangefor this attack increases by 2 (from 1 on a d20 to 1– 3 on a d20), but if you hit you can choose one of the following additionaleffects:

DaringLunge: The foe takes +2 damage. DisarmingAgility:Theattackinflicts1lessdamage,butyourfoedropssomethingtheyareholdingin one hand (such as a weapon or shield). To retrieve the dropped item, the foe must use an action. Action.

Romantic Flair (2+ Intellect): Your accompanying exuberant charm, bold confidence, perfectly timed bow, or suggestive wink means if your roll to persuade or impress is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don’t get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3. At tier 3, the minimum number rolledfor this ability increases to 12. Action.

[!example]

Swashbuckler Equipment Bundle

Choose the following equipment bundle to quickly outfit your character, or assemble your own starting equipment. A rapier, flamboyant clothing (for example, a ruffled shirt, a feathered hat, a long cape, ornate boots,finegloves,andanelaboratebelt,oftenvibrantincolor),abackpack,abedroll,ahandmirror,a writing set (quill, ink, and parchment paper), gaming dice,five candles, rations and water for three days,

a tinderbox,and enough extra currency to buy a moderately priced item.

Part of Epic Fantasy