It is wise for any rogue to know his territory well. For those who truly live in time to the heartbeat of the city, though, it is possible to become a roofrunner - a member of a rare breed who knows a single city so well that his abilities seem almost superhuman. A roofrunner, it is said, can vanish down a dead end, or appear inside a locked room or cross a vast urban sprawl in a handful of moments.

The roofrunner is an interesting class with some unique abilities, but the degree to which he is bound to a single city makes him an unusual choice for a PC, unless the campaign is centered almost entirely on his home city. The DM should carefully consider whether or not to permit a roofrunner PC - doing so means constraining the campaign or annoying a player.

Role: Utility

Characteristics: Really constraining. All around utility that uses knowledge of the city to travel and benefit their parties

Source: Traps and Treachery I

Game Rule Information

The Roofrunner has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Dexterity is needed for being stealthy and finding their way around the city. Wisdom is needed to make sure you can safely travel around the city

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Roofrunner's class skills are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artists (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Innuendo (Wis), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Roofrunner.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Roofrunner is proficient with Crossbow (hand or light), dagger, dart, light mace, sap, shortsword, club, heavy mace, morningstar, quarterstaff, and rapier. They are also proficient in Light armor and with bucklers.

Roofrunning Ex: It is this ability that gives a roofrunner his name. He can move at full movement speed across the roofs of a city, leaping over allets, and crossing streets as if he could fly. He knows what will and will not hold his weight, where the streets narrow to allow an easy jump across, which tiles will be slick after a rainfall, and which will not. This is an extraordinary ability. He cannot cross any gap of more than ten feet without making a jump check. However his ability to move at full speed among the gables spires and slanting roofs of a city makes such checks easier.

Neverlost Ex: An Intuit Direction check (DC 10) while inside the home city will tell a roofrunner exactly where he is, even if he is knocked unconscious and carried through a maze of streets. As long as he can hear or smell the outside world the roofrunner knows his exact location. This is an extraordinary ability.

Find the Way Ex: Cities can be likened to a living thing, which grows and changes over time. The roofrunner knows the city not just as it is now, but as it was. He knows where the old doorway was plastered over and where the cellar of a long-gone inn still exists beneath the street. Once per day he can make a Knowledge (Local) check (DC 25), adding his levels of roofrunner to his Knowledge ranks. If it succeeds, he immediately finds a door, passage or tunnel nearby within 20 feet. This ability is used either to evade pursuit or to find a way into a well-guarded location. Of course, anyone who watches the roofrunner will know where he went and this ability cannot create a magic portal into a bank vault at a whim.

In the case of PC roofrunners, the DM should moderate use of this ability with common sense. For example, a roofrunner needs to get in to see a high ranking official in the palace but lacks the credentials and doesn't feel like fighting or sneaking his way past the entire Royal Guard. He uses Find the Way, and the DM informs him he knows of a long-abandoned tunnel built during the siege a century ago that leads into the palace but one floor below the suite belonging to the official he needs to see. The DM never placed this tunnel on any map prior to rh roofrunner using Find the Way - it was "lost" but now has been "found". At higher levels the roofrunner can use this power more times each day. This is an extraordinary ability.

Home Turf Ex: The roofrunner knows his ground - every loose cobblestone, every wall, every well-balanced brick. This translates to a circumstance bonus to Armor Class so long as the roofrunner is his home city. He simply knows how to take advantage of the area around him to provide incidental defense. This ability cannot be used if the roofrunner has more than light encumbrance. This is an extraordinary ability.

Sense the City's Soul Ex: This ability reflects the roofrunner's affinity with the city. He can "listen" to it- absorb snatches of conversation, note odd changes in routine, see that things are different from the norm, and thus, clue into major events that are not public knowledge. Once a week, the roofrunner with this ability may make an Knowledge (Local) check (DC 25), adding his roofrunner levels. If he succeeds, the DM will inform him of any significant events occurring in the city, even those that the roofrunner could not have learned of directly - the arrival of an envoy from a distant kingdom, the local baron covertly mobilizing for war, a major territorial fight brewing among the local thieves' guilds, and so forth. The main advantage of this is that the roofrunner doesn't call attention to himself by asking questions: He intuits the events from watching the city. Doing so gives him a +2 synergy bonus to any Gather Information checks he might want to perform to get more details. This is an extraordinary ability.

As another aspect of this ability, the roofrunner can predict the following day's weather with 100% accuracy unless there is supernatural power involved. This accuracy drops 10% per additional day of the forecast.

Safehouse Ex: The character has found a forgotten room, formerly sealed alcove, or other secure area where he can rest in perfect safety. The character cannot be found (except by magic or another roofrunner) while he is there, and can sleep, prepare spells, store treasure, or recover from wounds without needing to keep a watch. The safehouse is usually a fairly small area, less than 100 square feet. If the roofrunner is a PC, the player and the DM should work together to decide on its exact location in the city.

Turn the Tables Ex: If the roofrunner is being pursued while in the streets and can get out of sight of his pursuers for one round (ducking around a corner into an alley, running into a crowded inn, leaping over a wall while his pursuers need to use the gate, etc.), he can use his almost-supernatural knowledge of the city to find some way to sneak around behind them, surprising them. A surprise round ensues, and since the roofrunner will be behind his foes, he has ample opportunity to use sneak attacks if he has any. This is an extraordinary ability.

Important: While a roofrunner can lead another person through the back-alleys and lost doorways that only he knows, he cannot make maps or give directions. The roofrunner's knowledge of the city is based on intuition and continual reevaluation of his surroundings; it cannot be shared easily with others.