Base
Class Attack Fort Ref Will
Level Bonus Save Save Save Special 1st +1 +0 +2 +0 Bonus feat 2nd +2 +0 +3 +0 Sneak attack +1d6 3rd +3 +1 +3 +1 Special ability 4th +4 +1 +4 +1 Bonus feat 5th +5 +1 +4 +1 Sneak attack +2d6 6th +6 +2 +5 +2 Special ability 7th +7 +2 +5 +2 Bonus feat 8th +8 +2 +6 +2 Sneak attack +3d6 9th +9 +3 +6 +3 Special ability 10th +10 +3 +7 +3 Bonus feat
Leader
Gareth “Four-thorn” Windwallow (LG halfling male Rog5/Pal3/Que10)
Current Activities
Gareth Windwallow spent his young life as a drifter. He wandered from one town to the next living by his wits and luck. Like many of his race, he had the skills and abilities of an excel- lent rogue, but he always took particular plea- sure in stealing the ill-gotten gains of criminals. He made a name for himself, and a tidy sum of money, in this manner. It was his soft heart that first started changing things for him.
While Gareth never had a problem taking care of himself and getting out of the way before trouble came for him, he knew that not every- one was so blessed. He never spent much time thinking about it, as he had never had a solution for the problems of others. But a human street waif named Jon changed that. The boy was hungry and living in an alley when Gareth found him. Appalled by the situation, the inquisitive halfling asked Jon how he’d come to live on the streets if he didn’t know his way around. The human child explained that he lived alone with his father normally, but that his father had disappeared and never came home. Jon went out to look for him but got lost. Believing that the child obviously just needed someone to help him find home, Gareth helped Jon track down his old home using descriptions and the neighbors’ names that the boy remem- bered. Finding the home, however, only com- plicated the situation. There were signs of a struggle and it became obvious to Gareth that Jon’s father was not going to come home on his own. Gareth faced a dilemma. It was clear that Jon’s problem was more complex than he knew, and that Gareth himself would have to become somewhat involved if he decided to help the boy. His only alternatives were to leave the child to his fate or to take him in him- self. Neither sounded like what the free-spirit- ed halfling wanted to do.
Gareth made the choice that set his path for years to come. He tracked down Jon’s father and freed the man from his captors. The idea of a lone child starving on the street haunted him so that he could not rest, and he decided that the Blessed One was calling him. Gareth finally answered his call and swore never to
let such a travesty of justice happen again while he had strength left in him. He began to walk the path of a paladin and to right the wrongs he found in his travels.
Perhaps it was a natural failing in Gareth Windwallow, or maybe he simply did not understand what the gods expected of him. Whatever the case, Gareth did not long walk the wearying path of a paladin. He knew what he needed to do, but he felt that the role of a warrior-protector was too much for him. He turned instead to the guile that had always come easily to him. He found ways to turn it to his advantage. He discovered a knack for turn- ing the tricks of the crafty against them and beating the criminals at their own game. The questioners were the result of Gareth’s wanderings. He found the means of using his native abilities for justice and for the benefit of himself and others. Deciding that he could do more if he was not alone, Gareth taught his ways to others and the questioners were born. Not quite a guild, they are an association of like-minded individuals who share the varied talents of rogues but value the ideals of justice. While they do not always follow the rules themselves, the questioners believe that they’re doing the right thing and that more good comes of their activities than harm.
Campaign Integration
The questioners can serve a number of useful functions in a campaign. They can offer helpful advice or needed assistance in almost any plot in which the characters face criminal oppo- nents. If the PCs show any desire to pursue the ideals of the questioners, one of the characters might be invited to join the organization and be trained in their skills. The questioners can also serve to help rein in PCs who start getting out of hand. Their useful shadowing and tracking abilities allow them to act as a reminder to characters that forget that even they can be punished for their misdeeds.
NPC questioners are most often single-minded in their pursuits. The path of this prestige class requires some focus and dedication. Despite this, not all questioners need to be so pure of heart. Some questioners have been tempted by the lives of the criminals they hunt and may trade sides to work for underworld figures. A corrupted questioner makes for a crafty and flexible villain, as he knows all the tricks. Such
CHAPTER ONE: Prestige Classes
CHAPTER ONE: Prestige Classes
traitors would surely be hunted by the uncor- rupted questioners, who might also be willing to help the PCs work against their fallen com- rade.