Building an 11th-level NPC non-combat-oriented spy

[Jay R]

I’m looking for advice for building an 11th-level NPC non-combat-oriented spy. She is to be a shaky ally and sometime rival for the PCs. She is already established to be human.

She was introduced in an earlier session, but I didn’t need stats because she was mostly a conduit for information. But she’s about to re-appear with a mission that is not the same as the party’s mission (although they will eventually realize that they have the same enemy).

She is supposed to be very good at what she does, but not much help for the party at what they do.

She is not a caster. That’s a very different kind of character. Besides, magic was mostly dead in this world until about five years ago, and she’s been a spy longer than that. Also, the enemy boss is a spy who is a Beguiler, and I want them to be different.

She avoids combat, and is not any good at it. When the battle with the bad guys starts, that’s the PCs’ task, not hers.

She is very much a skill monkey. So unless somebody knows some obscure class that would be better for it, she will be a Rogue. That gives the high level of skill points that she needs. But I actively don’t want her to have a sneak attack. If she had it, she would enter the big fight that is supposed to belong to the PCs. I’ve looked at a Feat Rogue, but Fighter bonus feats have the same problem as sneak attack.

I’ve considered a variant of the Feat Rogue where the character can take spy-related bonus feats instead of Fighter bonus feats. But I’d prefer to work within the rules.

Also, no flaws. The PCs didn't get them, so she won't either. [The players are all long-term role-players in their first game of 3.5e. At tenth level, only one has a Prestige Class, and that's because I told the Thief player about Swashbuckler and Daring Outlaw.]

She's a very skill-heavy character, and will probably max out Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Sense Motive, Hide, Move Silently, Search, and Sleight of Hand.

She’ll probably have some points in Decipher Script, Escape Artist, Forgery, Intimidate, Listen, Open Lock, and/or Spot.

1. What feats do you recommend?

I was thinking mostly the skill improvement ones – Deft Hands, Negotiator, Persuasive, Skill Focus (disguise), etc. Also, Nymph’s Kiss would be perfect. But there are a lot of feats I just don’t know about.

2. Are there any useful Prestige Classes? Spymaster looks good; anything else I should consider? For various reasons she doesn’t qualify for mind spy, shadow spy, or Zhentarim spy.

3. What else am I missing?

I’m the DM, so I could do anything. But I’m less inclined to make exceptions for NPCs than I am for PCs.

Any ideas? Go wild.

[And be free to tell me my ideas are wrong, and to suggest something else. Whether I take your suggestions or not, I will still learn more about 3.5]

[Unoriginal]

I’m looking for advice for building an 11th-level NPC non-combat-oriented spy. She is to be a shaky ally and sometime rival for the PCs. She is already established to be human.

She was introduced in an earlier session, but I didn’t need stats because she was mostly a conduit for information. But she’s about to re-appear with a mission that is not the same as the party’s mission (although they will eventually realize that they have the same enemy).

She is supposed to be very good at what she does, but not much help for the party at what they do.

She is not a caster. That’s a very different kind of character. Besides, magic was mostly dead in this world until about five years ago, and she’s been a spy longer than that. Also, the enemy boss is a spy who is a Beguiler, and I want them to be different.

She avoids combat, and is not any good at it. When the battle with the bad guys starts, that’s the PCs’ task, not hers.

She is very much a skill monkey. So unless somebody knows some obscure class that would be better for it, she will be a Rogue. That gives the high level of skill points that she needs. But I actively don’t want her to have a sneak attack. If she had it, she would enter the big fight that is supposed to belong to the PCs.

Since she's a non-combat spy, you can just go for the Expert NPC class.

Alternatively, you could go for Factotum (and say that the little bit of magic the class gets come from what she figured out since magic came back).

[MultitudeMan]

The Iron Chef round LXXI was for Silver Key, and was won by Ina. No magic, low combat ability, but lots and lots of skills.

Could any of this be relevant? I don't know how tied you are to human (as a changeling, she could have appeared to be human up to now?), and of course it's Eberron material.

Edit: OK, Trapsmith has a bit of magic, but not much!

[ShurikVch]

Important question: where is she supposed to act? (I. e. wilderness or urban? Or both?)

[El Dorado]

Expert NPC class to 7th level and then Prestige Class Master Spy to 11th. You can ignore any sneak attack she gains.

[Jay R]

Thanks, everyone. You're giving me a lot to think about.

Important question: where is she supposed to act? (I. e. wilderness or urban? Or both?)

She's a spy. She will be mostly in urban areas, and usually at the seat of government. The first time she was playing a lady's maid for an ambassador visiting Lord Flanders' keep to negotiate a treaty. [Christine was there to replace Lord Flanders with somebody less difficult.] This time she’s a barmaid (until she sneaks into the mayor’s chateau to either murder or rescue him).

Given the kind of work she does, I am very hesitant to put her in any class that does not have Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and probably Sense Motive as class skills. I need to max them out, because those four skills need to be in play most of the time.

The idea of a changeling is very interesting. It would certainly help her (since disguise is crucial to her approach), but the whole point of the world is that magic creatures don’t exist here except when the magic reappears. What’s a magic creature? That I haven’t defined completely. I’ve established that humans, gnomes, hobbits, goblins, dwarves, and giants live here, but most “magical” races (including elves) don’t. No fey. Animals, yes; magical beasts, no. They are coming in now, but they are intruders.

So I have to decide if changelings even exist, and change her from a purely mundane NPC to an unusual race with an unusual power.

A few sessions ago, the PCs had to deal with a gang of doppelgangers who had taken over all the top people in their home village. This adventure’s foe is a beguiler who has taken over the mayor’s wife, and is posing as her (using disguise self). Adding another shape-changer seems … excessive.

I’ll keep thinking about it.

In the meantime, any other suggestions for Prestige Classes? And what feats do you recommend?

[Maat Mons]

If I were building a Rogue who will never pick up a weapon, I might do it something like this:

Feat Rogue:
1st: Improved Initiative: Get a head start on running away.
2nd: Martial Study (Moment of Perfect Mind): Up to once per 5 minutes, make Concentration check in place of Fortitude Save.
4th: Shadowborn Warrior: +2 on Initiative checks in darkness or shadowy illumination.
6th: Martial Study (Cloak of Deception): Up to once per 5 minutes, turn invisible until the end of your current turn.
8th: Improved Toughness: Gain extra hit points equal to hit dice.
10th: Martial Study (Mind Over Body): Up to once per 5 minutes, make Concentration check in place of Fortitude Save.



You could use Exemplar to gain Skill Mastery. If you take Rogue 10 / Exemplar 1, you could have 4 + 2x Int skills mastered at 11th level.

[ShurikVch]

Classes:
Noble (Dragonlance Campaign Setting) - Favor: By making a favor check, the noble can call upon contacts to gain important information without going through the time and trouble of a Gather Information check
Swashbuckler - Seduction (Ex)

Criminal specialist (Dragon #352) - Lookout: concentrating as a full-round action, you get benefits of a sense until your next turn; senses are Low-Light Vision, Scent, Tremorsense, or Blindsense; prerequisites are Skill Focus (Spot), maxed ranks in Hide/Listen/Move Silently/Spot, and no ranks in Appraise and Disable Device; available from the 3rd level for any class which have those skills on their list

PrC:
Dark Lantern (Five Nations)
Divine Seeker (Player's Guide to Faerûn) - Sacred Stealth: +10 on Hide and MS checks for (Cha mod) minutes per day
Mountebank (Complete Scoundrel) - Tongue of the Devil: Int bonus to your Bluff checks
Nightsong Infiltrator (Complete Adventurer)
Ninja Spy (Oriental Adventures)
Stoneface (Dragon #310) - a trained liar, who gains defenses against magical truth detection
Streetfighter (Complete Adventurer) - Streetwise: +2 competence on Gather Information at the very 1st level
Tattooed Monk (Complete Warrior) - White Mask tattoo: +10 Bluff for a 1-level dip
Watch Detective (Masters of the Wild) - Skill Synergy

Feats:
Crowd Tactics (Races of Destiny) - One with the Crowd: +4 on Hide
Improved Diversion (Complete Adventurer) - diversion to Hide - as a Move action and with +4 bonus
Inside Connection (Races of Destiny) - +4 on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Knowledge (local), and Sense Motive checks vs particular organization
Favored in Guild (Dungeon Master's Guide II) - Performer: While in a city that has a guildhouse, you can substitute a Perform or Profession check for a Diplomacy or Gather Information check by offering your service for free
Favored in House (Eberron Campaign Setting) - By making a favor check, you can call upon contacts to gain important information without going through the time and trouble of a Gather Information check
Rapscallion (Dragon #315) - add your Int bonus (if any) on top of your Cha bonus for Bluff checks; [regional] feat
Swift and Silent (Player's Guide to Faerûn) - move at full speed without penalties to Hide or MS; [regional] feat
Urban Stealth (Races of Destiny) - +3 on Hide and MS check in a Small City (or larger community)

Traits: Easygoing or Suspicious


Unique NPC Abilities (Dungeon Master's Guide II) - Prodigy: it's CR +0 ability, which allow to get +2 in any one ability score, and extra +4 for checks with this ability

Equipment:
Felsul Flower Oil (Magic of Faerûn) - +1 on Cha-based checks for 10 minutes
Harmonica or Shawm (Song and Silence) - bardic music with any of those grant additional +4 on Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Gather Information checks against your listeners for 1d6 hours

[Jay R]

If I were building a Rogue who will never pick up a weapon, I might do it something like this:

Feat Rogue:
1st: Improved Initiative: Get a head start on running away.
2nd: Martial Study (Moment of Perfect Mind): Up to once per 5 minutes, make Concentration check in place of Fortitude Save.
4th: Shadowborn Warrior: +2 on Initiative checks in darkness or shadowy illumination.
6th: Martial Study (Cloak of Deception): Up to once per 5 minutes, turn invisible until the end of your current turn.
8th: Improved Toughness: Gain extra hit points equal to hit dice.
10th: Martial Study (Mind Over Body): Up to once per 5 minutes, make Concentration check in place of Fortitude Save.

You could use Exemplar to gain Skill Mastery. If you take Rogue 10 / Exemplar 1, you could have 4 + 2x Int skills mastered at 11th level.

Excellent! This saves the non-fighting skills as well as the 8 + INT bonus skill points, while using the Fighter Bonus Feats in a way that helps her as a non-fighter.

The biggest problem with it is turning the saving throws into Concentration checks, since Concentration is cross-class for rogues. She can take Able Learner, so ranks in Concentration only cost 1 skill point, but at tenth level, she still can't have more than 6 ranks.

She can catch up at 11th level, since it's a class skill for Exemplars, but only at the expense of not leveling other skills up.

I still think this is what I'll do. She will probably be a Feat Rogue 6 / Spymaster 4 / Exemplar 1, forfeiting 2 bonus feats, more skill mastery and improved uncanny dodge, in order to gain slippery mind, undetectable alignment, scrying defense, quick change, etc.

Does anybody know a way to get more ranks in Concentration before level 11? [Possibly a useful Prestige Class with 8 + INT bonus skill points and Concentration as a class skill?]

Everybody, thank you for your suggestions. I considered them all, and know more about 3.5 because you took the time to suggest them. Some of them will show up later in other characters.

[Maat Mons]

One of the effects of taking the Martial Study feat is that the key skill for the discipline you select becomes a class skill for all your classes. The key skill for Diamond Mind is Concentration.