Chapter 1 - Class - Character Kits - Thief Kits
Beggar
Note: This kit is taken from the book Complete Thief's Handbook.
Circumstances have reduced some unfortunates to such a level of
poverty and helplessness that the only possible way that they can survive is by imploring
their fellow beings to give them whatever meager scraps can be spared. At least, so the
Beggar would wish it to appear.
For a great many Beggars this is the truth; misfortune or disability have dealt them
sore blows, and they must rely on the charity of individuals and a few institutions, such as
beneficent churches, for subsistence.
But there is another class of Beggar, which is really a particularly insidious variety of
swindler or con artist. This character is usually perfectly able-bodied, but has taken up
begging as a career, supplemented by minor theft (pickpocketing and the like) and the
gathering and selling of information to interested parties. It is with this sort of Beggar that
this kit is chiefly concerned.
The Beggar has no requirements beyond those of the thief class.
Role: Thieves of this kit, professional Beggars, were usually raised into their role.
This of course means a lower (indeed, lowest in many places!) class background, and
meager financial resources at best. The Beggar has other resources, however:
connections, street smarts, a sharp eye, and diverse skills for cajoling passers-by out of
their spare cash.
Effective begging requires consummate skills of acting and disguise, so that the
Beggar can present himself in the manner most likely to garner the sympathy and cash of
the people he accosts.
As a matter of survival, the Beggar needs diverse sources of income. Few can avoid
starvation solely by the charity of strangers in the street. They are also dealers in gossip
and information (such as the movement and activities of wealthy personages), with ears
ever open for any tidbit of knowledge that may help fill their stomachs with food.
Beggars will also gladly hire themselves out as messengers or spies.
Beggars also are known to cooperate with other varieties of thieves, especially
Cutpurses. A favorite ruse is for one or more Beggars to accost a wealthy-looking person.
While they distract him with their pitiful (and more often than not, futile) pleas for
assistance, a slick Cutpurse relieves the victim of his purse. Shares of the score are
divided among Beggars and Cutpurse.
Many Beggars are affiliates of the local thieves' guild, surprisingly enough. The guild
makes use of them as messengers and informants. It also may have a sort of protection
racket going with them: Beggars must share their score with the local guild in exchange
for protection from thieves of the guild itself, as well as "freelancers" and rival
guildsmen. Guild-affiliated Beggars also may gain some measure of protection from the
local constabulary—a useful thing if local law prohibits panhandling.
Secondary Skills: Usually (90%) none; begging itself is assumed to have been the
character's trade or profession. If a Beggar does have any secondary skills, it should be
assumed that for some reason or other he lost his means of employment. He may have
been thrown out of his trade guild, for instance; or could have been maimed so that he
could no longer perform tasks as he did in the past.
Weapon Proficiencies: Beggars begin with familiarity only with simple, inexpensive
weapons. The knife is a favorite, being inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to conceal.
Beginning thieves with the Beggar kit should select their two proficient weapons from among the following: club, dagger, dart, knife, sling, or staff.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: Begging, Disguise, Information Gathering,
Observation.
Recommended: Alertness, Singing, Trailing. As mentioned under Secondary Skills, above, a Beggar with marketable skills (e.g., crafts or trades) should
have some reason in his background why he is no longer able to support himself through
them.
Skill Progression: Beggars become most proficient in picking pockets (to supplement
begging income), and moving silently, hiding in shadows, and detecting noise (useful for
gathering information and tailing people). They tend to be worst at opening locks and
finding or removing traps, since these skills require technical training that is not easily
available.
Equipment: The basic equipment of a Beggar is a wooden bowl or cup in which
passers-by may place alms. More sophisticated Beggars have false crutches, make-up and
the like to make themselves seem as desperate and poverty-stricken as possible.
Some Beggars have children with them (rented from the true parents, or borrowed in
return for a share of the day's income, if they are not the Beggar's own) to arouse still
more sympathy.
A more sophisticated sort of Beggar offers a service of some kind—singing a song, or
playing a simple instrument—in exchange for food, drink, or a few coins.
Few Beggars can afford to purchase armor; and even if they could, they would not
want to wear it, since it would suggest that they are wealthier than they would like to
appear.
Beggars who rise above their circumstances may of course equip themselves as they
see fit, although then they will no longer be accepted by other Beggars as one of their
kind. A Beggar who appears well-off could suffer penalties, at the DM's discretion, at the
following proficiencies: begging (because the character doesn't look impoverished),
information gathering (because other Beggars will distrust him), and even trailing
(because the thief might not blend in as well with the city's masses).
Special Benefits: The most valuable benefits of the Beggar kit are the large number of
bonus nonweapon proficiencies. These should be granted to a character even if the
campaign at large does not make use of nonweapon proficiency rules.
Special Hindrances: Beggars are scorned by most of society. Even characters who
share their wealth with Beggars tend to feel a sort of disgust or condescension, though
they may try to hide it. Other thieves, however, recognize the talents and value of
Beggars. For this reason, Beggars suffer -2 on reaction rolls with NPCs who aren't
thieves.
Furthermore, because of their impoverished background, Beggars start the game with
only 3d4 gold pieces.
Races: Beggars may be of any race. In regions with a lot of bigotry, where
demihumans have difficulty finding legitimate employment, Beggars are commonly
demihuman. Most nonhuman Beggars were forced into their position by unfortunate
circumstances—they were not born into it.
