Chapter 1 - Class - Character Kits - Thief Kits
Troubleshooter
The Troubleshooter, like the investigator, is often aligned against other
thieves. He has all the skills of the thief, but puts them to a different use: He works
chiefly as a security consultant, playing the part of the thief in order to test the worthiness
of his clients' defenses.
Role: The Troubleshooter's professional role is rather narrowly defined, but this is to
the rogues' liking. More than one has been known to moonlight in other, possibly illicit
activities. They may range from legitimate recovery of stolen goods through genuine
burglary.
As a "security consultant," a thief of this sort has a legitimate reason for his thieving
skills and equipment; and the temptation for many is to use them. For this reason,
officials often keep a suspicious eye on well-known Troubleshooters. More sophisticated
governments may even require that they have some sort of license.
Troubleshooters are rarely guild members, naturally enough, unless they have been
bought off in exchange for information on the clients they've served. Of course, few such
Troubleshooters will survive long; if they give a place's security their "seal of approval,"
and then it is broken into with ease, the Troubleshooter's reputation will be shot, and he
can expect to have more than a little suspicion placed on his shoulders.
Secondary Skills: Any. Often has technical or engineering-type skills, however, such
as Armorer, Mason, Miner, Navigator, Weaponsmith, or Woodworker/Carpenter.
Weapon Proficiencies: Troubleshooters are permitted the normal weapons open to
thieves.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: Observation.
Recommended: Player's choice;
among those that may be selected are Alertness, Fast-talking, Gather Intelligence,
Locksmithing, and Trailing.
Skill Progression: Picking pockets and reading languages are not of much value to
the Troubleshooter, but he will probably seek a fairly even distribution among the other
thief skills.
Equipment: Any Troubleshooter worth his wages will augment his thiefly talents with
the best available equipment. Remember, he wants to try his absolute best to break down
his client's defense—as does his client—so he'll use whatever devices will increase his
chances. Also, a wealthy client could even be persuaded to help the Troubleshooter
acquire hard-to-find thief equipment.
Special Benefits and Hindrances: Troubleshooters have an uncanny knack for . . .
well, for troubleshooting. If there's a glitch somewhere in a security system, the
Troubleshooter always seems to run into it.
In a way, the Troubleshooter is a living manifestation of "Murphy's Law": "If
anything can go wrong, it will." The Troubleshooter thief, of course, capitalizes on this
professionally. His job is to find everything that can go wrong, so it can be fixed.
While everything going wrong has its ironic professional advantage, the downside is
of course that the things that go wrong often do so to the Troubleshooter's personal
disadvantage.
This is difficult to quantify, to define as a game mechanic. Instead, the DM is
encouraged to bring it in at his discretion during play, for maximum excitement and roleplaying fun. Fill the character's life with astronomically improbable events and bizarre
coincidences.
The DM is by and large left on his own to "wing it" with this special
benefit/hindrance, but there are two questions for him to ask himself before he brings it
into play: Would this further the plot of the adventure? Would it be fun? At least the
second question should be answered "yes," and it is best if both are.
Furthermore, the rule to follow in deciding the specifics is: Everything should be
balanced. For every freakish mishap that works in the Troubleshooter's favor, there
should be a complementary one that works to his disadvantage.
Races: Dwarves, with their affinity for the mechanical and their lawful tendencies
(and their dour stoicism in the face of all misfortune, however ludicrous), are the demihumans most inclined to take this kit.
Some gnomes also may be found as Troubleshooters; the special benefit/hindrance of
this kit suits the pranksters well—but their employers would best be on guard for
practical jokes perpetrated in the course of the assignment. The goal of any gnome
Troubleshooter should be to turn all his mishaps into assets or amusement, if not both.
