“I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
– Leumas Hardbuckle
The third child, but first son, of Ray and Cat Hardbuckle was born in Elmshire in 552 CY. He’s a little bit taller than most Hardbuckles, owing to the Tallfellow Elisedds on his mother’s side. Leumas spent his youth reading and studying maps, dreaming of going to other places, but was always reluctant to leave the comforts and familiarity of home.
Eventually he grew tired of his life as a carpenter and, as Leumas’ are wont, struck out to see the world. He journeyed first to Greyhawk, then on to Verbobonc, through the Lortmils and into the Ulek States. It was in Haverhill that he met his first call to adventure, and traveled north to Rittersmarche and participated in the towns defense against the armies of Turrosh Mak. There he met his friends Radish Gapjumper, Iveniel the Redhawk, and Ram the Illusionist. They remained in the area and adventured in the Suss Forest, as well as continuing to campaign against the orcs. It didn’t take long for “Redhawk’s Rangers,” as they became known, to carve out a small fief around the ruins of Nol-Daer.
Leumas has spent the last decade away from Nol-Daer, practicing his trade in the larger cities of Dyvers and Greyhawk. He has made a fair amount of coin as a cutpurse and safecracker, as well as an enemy or two among the various crime families. He gained notoriety recently for participating in “The Radigast Job,” when he and 8 other thieves stole the treasury of the Countess Belissica, only to ransom it back for an unknown payment. Currently Leumas is in the Free City of Greyhawk, but has visited the Countess once a season since the heist.
He is a soft-spoken halfling who could best be described as affable. His hair is brown with some gray, and not terribly curly, and he has hazel coloured eyes. He dresses with attention to style, though his tastes are somewhat subdued and refined. He’s rarely seen without food in his hands and a smile on his face. Leumas enjoys being on the sea, a brandy after dinner, cold sweet tea, and cheesecake. People who know Leumas speak well of him, and he is well liked. So much, in fact, that almost everyone he knows has a different nickname for him.
A man skilled in many areas – a seasoned gambler, cat burglar, con man, second-story man, safecracker, pickpocket, and cook – Leumas is connected well enough within the criminal world to know where to recruit talent. He follows his own personal code of treating people with dignity and respect, and typically only steals from people who he feels deserve it.
LEUMAS HARDBUCKLE CR 13
Male halfling rogue 13
LN Small humanoid (halfling)
Init +5; Senses Perception +21 (+27 to locate traps)
DEFENSE
AC 27, touch 18, flat-footed – (+6 armor,+1 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 shield, +1 size); +4 dodge vs. traps
hp 98 (13d8 +26)
Fort +12, Ref +19, Will +13; +2 vs. fear; +4 Dex vs. traps
Defensive Abilities fearless, halfling luck, improved evasion, improved uncanny dodge, trap sense +4
Illustration by Wayne Reynolds. Not quite the smiling thief I would like, but I really love his work.
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee +2 ghost touch short sword +17/+12 (1d4 +3, 19/x2)
Ranged +2 seeking darkwood hand crossbow +18/+13 (1d3 +4, 19/x2)
Special Attacks sneak attack +7d6
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14
Base Atk +9/+4; CMB +9; CMD 24
Feats Dodge, Halfling Lore*, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Reload, Skill Focus (Disable Device), Skill Focus (Sleight of Hand), Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +28, Appraise +11, Bluff +10, Climb +6, Craft (carpenter) +7, Diplomacy +10, Disable Device +37, Disguise +5, Escape Artist +27, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +11, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local, Greyhawk) +13, Linguistics +8, Profession (cook) +12, Profession (gambler) +10, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +27, Stealth +25, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +11; Racial Modifiers +2 Acrobatics, +2 Climb, +2 Perception
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Thieve’s Cant
SQ rogue talents (bleeding attack, fast stealth, improved evasion, ledge walker, quick disable, skill mastery [acrobatics, disable device, escape artist, sleight of hand, stealth]), trapfinding +6
Combat Gear potion of gaseous form, potion of haste, potions of cure moderate wounds (3), ring of protection +1; Other Gear belt of incredible dexterity +4, boots of elvenkind, darkwood buckler +2, heward’s handy haversack (bedroll, bread, caltrops, chalk [10], cheese, flint and steel, glass cutter, glue paper [5 sheets], grappling hook, hooded lantern, iron pot, mess kit, mirror, 3 pints of oil, 5 days of rations, 4 sacks, 50′ silk rope, soap, waterskin, winter blanket), Leumas’ Waistcoat (+5 resistance, vest of escape), masterwork backpack, masterwork thieve’s tools, +2 mithral shirt, pipe and pipeweed, ring of mind shielding, traveler’s outfit
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bleeding Attack (Ex): A rogue with this ability can cause living opponents to bleed by hitting them with a sneak attack. This attack causes the target to take 1 additional point of damage each round for each die of the rogue’s sneak attack (e.g., 7d6 equals 7 points of bleed). Bleeding creatures take that amount of damage every round at the start of each of their turns. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or the application of any effect that heals hit point damage. Bleeding damage from this ability does not stack with itself. Bleeding damage bypasses any damage reduction the creature might possess.
Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level and higher, a rogue can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Ref lex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the rogue is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless rogue does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Stealth (Ex): This ability allows a rogue to move at full speed using the Stealth skill without penalty.
*Halfling Lore: From Dragon Magazine #315. You’ve memorized countless recipes, wives tales, folktales, and legends honored by the halfling people. You get a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (local) and Knowledge (history) checks, and a +4 bonus on all Profession (cook) checks.
Improved Evasion (Ex): This works like evasion, except that while the rogue still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, she henceforth takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless rogue does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): A rogue of 8th level or higher can no longer be flanked. This defense denies another rogue the ability to sneak attack the character by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target does. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to f lank the character.
Ledge Walker (Ex): This ability allows a rogue to move along narrow surfaces at full speed using the Acrobatics skill without penalty. In addition, a rogue with this talent is not flat-footed when using Acrobatics to move along narrow surfaces.
Quick Disable (Ex): It takes a rogue with this ability half the normal amount of time to disable a trap using the Disable Device skill (minimum 1 round).
Skill Mastery: The rogue becomes so confident in the use of certain skills that she can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. Upon gaining this ability, she selects a number of skills equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier. When making a skill check with one of these skills, she may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so. A rogue may gain this special ability multiple times, selecting additional skills for skill mastery to apply to each time.
Trap Sense (Ex): At 3rd level, a rogue gains an intuitive sense that alerts her to danger from traps, giving her a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise to +2 when the rogue reaches 6th level, to +3 when she reaches 9th level, to +4 when she reaches 12th level, to +5 at 15th, and to +6 at 18th level.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a rogue can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She cannot be caught f lat-footed, nor does she lose her Dex bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A rogue with this ability can still lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against her.