The Knave
Class Features
A Knave is a tomb-raiding, adventure seeking ne’er-do-well who wields a spell book just as easily as a blade. Inspired by Ben Milton's "Knave" rpg
The Knave
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Spell Reader, Tool Aficianado, |
| 2nd | +2 | |
| 3rd | +2 | |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | |
| 6th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 7th | +3 | |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | |
| 10th | +4 |
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per knave level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + CON bonus
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + CON bonus per Knave level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: All
- Weapons: All
- Tools: All, these days everything comes with instructions
- Saving Throws: Any 2, or roll 2x on the ability table below
- Skills: Any 3, or roll 3x on the skill table below
Spellcasting
- Spellcasting Ability: INT
- Spell Save DC: 8 + INT + proficiency bonus
- Spell Attack: d20 + INT + proficiency bonus
Equipment
- Starting Wealth: 5d4 x10 gold pieces
- see equipment section in "Creating a Knave"
Spell Reader
Knaves can read spells found in spellbooks, scrolls, grimoires, etc (see Magic for more details)
Tool Aficianado
A Knave gains proficiency with any tools they carry after practicing for 24 hours, most of these tool kits come with instructions anyways (Knaves actually read them)
Ability Score Improvement
Increase one ability scores by 2 or two ability scores by 1, up to a maximum of 20
Item Slots
- PCs have a number of item slots equal to their Constitution Score
- Most items, including spell books, potions, a day’s rations, light weapons, tools and so on take up 1 slot.
- Particularly heavy or bulky items like armor or medium to heavy weapons may take up more slots.
- Groups of small, identical items may be bundled into the same slot. 100 coins can fit into 1 slot.
- 1 slot can hold around 5 pounds.
Magic
A knave can learn spells from any spell list, but cannot memorize them like a typical spellcaster
Casting spells:
- Knaves may only cast a spell of a spell level equal to their Intelligence modifier or less
- Spells are cast out of spell books, which must be held in both hands and read aloud.
- Each non-cantrip spell book can only be used once per day.
- Each spell book only holds a single spell
- Each spell book takes up an item slot
Gaining spells:
- Knaves are unable to create, copy or transcribe spell books.
- Knaves can only get spells by recovering them from dungeons or looting them from other magicians.
- The higher the level of the spell book, the rarer and more valuable it is.
- Knaves openly carrying high level spell books are likely to be hounded by bandits and wizards looking to “acquire” them.
- Spells typically cost 50 x spell level gp, Cantrips cost 25gp
Creating a Knave
Ability Scores
For each ability roll 4d6 and drop the lowest d6, then assign a bonus based on the below table:
| Ability Score | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | −5 |
| 2–3 | −4 |
| 4–5 | −3 |
| 6–7 | −2 |
| 8–9 | −1 |
| 10–11 | +0 |
| 12–13 | +1 |
| 14–15 | +2 |
| 16–17 | +3 |
| 18–19 | +4 |
| 20 | +5 |
Races
| d20 | |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | Human |
| 11-12 | Dwarf |
| 13-14 | Elf |
| 15-16 | Halfling |
| 17-18 | Half-Orc or Half-Elf |
| 19-20 | Dragonborn, Gnome, or Tiefling |
Backgrounds
| d20 | d20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acolyte | 11 | Noble |
| 2 | Charlatan | 12 | Outlander |
| 3 | Criminal | 13 | Pirate |
| 4 | Entertainer | 14 | Sage |
| 5 | Folk Hero | 15 | Sailor |
| 6 | Gladiator | 16 | Soldier |
| 7 | Guild Artisan | 17 | Spy |
| 8 | Guild Merchant | 18 | Urchin |
| 9 | Hermit | 19+ | choose any |
| 10 | Knight |
Saving Throws Proficiencies (x2)
| d6 | d6 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strength | 4 | Intelligence |
| 2 | Dexterity | 5 | Wisdom |
| 3 | Constitution | 6 | Charisma |
Skill Proficiencies (x3)
| d20 | d20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acrobatics | 11 | Nature |
| 2 | Animal Handling | 12 | Perception |
| 3 | Arcana | 13 | Performance |
| 4 | Athletics | 14 | Persuasion |
| 5 | Deception | 15 | Religion |
| 6 | Insight | 16 | Sleight of Hand |
| 7 | Intimidation | 17 | Stealth |
| 8 | Investigation | 18 | Survival |
| 9 | History | 19+ | choose any |
| 10 | Medicine | - | - |
Random Starting Equipment
Roll once on each of the tables below.
Weapons
| d20 | |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | 1 Simple |
| 4-14 | 2 Simple or 1 Simple + Shield |
| 15-19 | 1 Martial |
| 20 | 2 Martial or 1 Martial + Shield |
Armor
| d20 | d20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | None | 15-19 | Medium Armor |
| 4-14 | Light Armor | 20 | Heavy Armor |
Tools
| d20 | d20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Artisan’s Tools | 11-12 | Musical Instrument |
| 3-4 | Disguise Kit | 13-14 | Navigator’s Tools |
| 5-6 | Forgery Kit | 15-16 | Poisoner’s Kit |
| 7-8 | Gaming Set | 17-18 | Thieves’ Tools |
| 9-10 | Herbalism Kit | 19-20 | choose any |
Gear
| d6 | d6 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burglar's Pack | 4 | Entertainer's Pack |
| 2 | Diplomat's Pack | 5 | Explorer's Pack |
| 3 | Dungeoneer's Pack | 6 | Scholar's Pack |
Bonus Item
| d20 | |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | Tool |
| 11-17 | Armor or Weapon |
| 18-20 | Cantrip or Common Magic Item |
Notes
Why Play as a Knave
It's multiclassing without multiclassing and in a lot of ways it's much more freeing to be able to say "I'm basically a Wizard because I only carry spellbooks" or "I'm a Fighter because I have armor, weapons, and some more weapons". It also allows that "Wizard" to quickly become a "Fighter" just by selling their spells and carrying weapons and vice versa.
Thematically it explains why Wizards don't wear armor and generally falter in combat compared to a Fighter.
One more note, I've noticed when playing with my kids, they always have these crazy ideas for character concepts that never fit nicely into existing classes, using Knave I could just tweak their items and BOOM! we have a fighting elf that can turn invisible under the full moon and wields a magic bow that shoots lightning.
Max Level 10?
Yep, keep going if you want to though
No Class Abilities or Feats
Feel free to "imbue" a class abilities into an item or just allow a player to take a feat instead of the Minor Ability Score Improvement, problem solved!
The imbued item works great if the ability it grants becomes OP, because then it can always be stolen by some bad guy
Party Composition
Generally a party is full of Knaves, because mechanically a knave would be outshined by other classes, but also thematically no Wizard or Fighter would waste their time with a Knave. Mix the party at your own risk
Resources and Inspirations
- Knave by Ben Milton...obviously
Might be nice to add a picture here or something :\