EXPERT

Experts range from diplomats and nobles to traveling bards and storytellers, from merchants with an eye for profit to cunning thieves with an eye for an easy mark. Some experts choose to focus on the ability to handle any social situation, while others emphasize physical skills allowing them to avoid unwanted entanglements, including with the law.

Adventuring experts tend to combine a measure of physical and social skill. They have to be able to endure long journeys yet be ready to negotiate with various parties when they reach the journey's end. Experts essentially handle everything adepts and warriors do not.

Expert Traits

Experts have the following traits:

Abilities: Agility is the name of the game for experts, both physical agility (represented by Dexterity) and social agility (represented by Charisma), with a bit of mental agility (represented by Intelligence) thrown in for good measure. Nimble experts are often trained in skills like Acrobatics and Ride, while the personable and charming ones focus on interaction skills like Bluff and Diplomacy. Wisdom is useful to experts in avoiding danger, from traps to deception, and keen Intelligence can help an expert go far (and pick up a few extra useful skills).

Expertise (Core Ability): An expert can spend a point of Conviction to gain 4 temporary skill points.

Skills: At character creation, choose any 8 + Intelligence score starting skills (minimum 1 -- all starting skills come at 4 ranks). Experts gain 8+ Int skill ranks per additional level (minimum 1). Virtually all skills are important to one sort of expert or another. Experts tend to pick certain areas where they specialize, such as athletic or outdoor skills (Acrobatics, Climb, Jump, and Survival, for example), interaction skills (Bluff, Diplomacy, Perform and Sense Motive), or scholarly skills (such as Craft, Knowledge, and Notice).

Feats: At character creation, choose any 4 from Expert or General. Experts get another feat from those lists each level.

Saving Throws: Experts vary in their Fortitude, Reflex, and Will save bonuses. Choose one of these three to be a good save and two to be normal, consulting the appropriate column on the table. At character creation, an expert gains a +2 bonus on their good save. If you chose a good save previously as either an expert or a generalist, you must keep that same good save.

Combat Bonus: Experts gain a combat bonus equal to three-quarters their level, rounded down.

Powers: Experts do not acquire supernatural powers.