Faerûnian Prestige Class : Goldeye
The Merchant's Friend is the patron of trade, money, and wealth. Goldeyes are agents and promulgators of commercial intercourse, seeking to increase the wealth of their communities and realms by promoting the exchange of coins in trade. Some spend their younger years as adventurers, seeking to acquire sizable stakes on which to build a fortune. Others view themselves as "liberators" of unused coins, lying forgotten in dusty crypts or unused in miserly hoards where they do nothing to build ever-increasing wealth. Conversely, others act as defenders of hoards, making sure that wealth (particularly their own and the church's) stays in the proper hands.
Most goldeyes have backgrounds as clerics or cleric/rogues, although other class combinations, particularly those including bard, fighter, sorcerer, or wizard, are not unknown.
Goldeyes are typically found in large cities, heading up merchant consortiums, running trading costers, or working to remove political, religious, and cultural impediments to trade. Many are extremely wealthy members of the merchant nobility, wielding power from behind the scenes through careful application of their coins.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Goldeye, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Appraise 4 ranks, Diplomacy 4 ranks, Bluff 2 ranks, Profession (bookkeeper, innkeeper, scribe, or similar mercantile-related profession) 4 ranks, Speak Language (Must know two human languages, each spoken in a region different from your home region.
- Feats: Alertness, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (nunchaku), Skill Focus (Diplomacy).
- Spells: Ability to cast 3rd-level divine spells.
- Patron: Waukeen.
Class Skills
The goldeye's class skills are Appraise, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Forgery, Gather Information, Intimidate, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Open Lock, Profession, Sense Motive, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The following are class features of the goldeye prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A goldeye gains no weapon or armor proficiencies.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each goldeye level, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). If the character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a goldeye, the player must decide to which class to add each goldeye level for the purpose of determining spells per day.
Bonus Language (Su): All goldeyes can speak Abyssal, a divine legacy of Waukeen's decade-long imprisonment by the demon prince Grax'zt.
Trade Pidgin (Su): goldeyes don't let language barriers get in their way of doing business. By listening to an unfamiliar language for at least 1 minute and making a successful Wisdom check (DC 15), a goldeye can gain a basic (and temporary) understanding of that language. This familiarity with the language is enough to communicate simple concepts such as "attack", "danger", "friendship", "safe", "stop", "trade", and numbers up to 20, which usually suffices to allow the goldeye to bargain with the creature (if appropriate). Familiarity with the language lasts one day. The goldeye gets a +2 bonus to refamiliarize himself with a language he's learned in this manner in the past month.
Sense Thoughts (Su): By engaging a creature in conversation, a goldeye can become aware of its thoughts as if using a detect thoughts spell. The goldeye can use this ability for 1 minute per class level per day. A use of this ability that lasts less than 1 minute counts as 1 minute.
Hoard Defender (Ex): At 3rd level, a goldeye gains a +2 morale bonus on attacks, saves, and checks when he is defending a cache of his valuables (or a building or business he owns) worth at least 5,000 gp. This bonus also applies if the property is owned by the church of Waukeen. Items held or carried by the goldeye or another character do not count, the cache must be an unattended object or objects.
Jack of All Trades (Ex): At 4th level, goldeyes get Jack of All Trades as a bonus feat.
Secret Cache (Su): At 5th level, goldeyes can create a single extradimensional storage space that only they can access.
The cache moves with the goldeye as if it were a belt pouch. Adding to or removing from the secret cache is a move-equivalent action. Like all extradimensional spaces, it cannot be accessed within an antimagic field, and a successful targeted dispel magic against the goldeye's clerical caster level causes it to be unreachable for 1d4 rounds. If the goldeye is killed, the items within the cache appears on his person.
Dragon's Eye (Ex): The goldeye gains a +4 bonus on all Appraise checks at 6th level. Furthermore, by studying a magic item for a full 8 hours and making a Spellcraft cheek (DC 20) he is able to determine its single most basic function as if using an identify spell, although there is no cost to using this ability.
Coinscry (Ex): At 7th level, a goldeye using the scrying spell doesn't need a divine focus for the spell, and can instead use any polished item made of precious metal, including plates, amulets, or even coins. Because it is more difficult to see when using a very small scrying device, using an amulet-sized item gives a -5 penalty on the Scry check and using a coin-sized item gives a -10 penalty on the Scry check.
Splendorous Attire (Su): At 8th level, goldeyes can magically robe themselves in fancy attire once per day. Attire created in this fashion is equivalent to that created by a rod of splendor. Goldeyes can also create a palatial tent once per tenday. Such pavilions are also identical to those created by a rod of splendor. Neither power conveys the charisma bonus of a rod of splendor, however.
Coinshock (Sp): At 9th level, a goldeye may cast a maximized heat metal spell once per day. However, instead of dealing fire damage, the spell deals electricity damage. The goldeye can use this ability once per day and does not need to have the Maximize Spell feat to use it.
Hoardfind (Sp): By concentrating, a goldeyes can locate metals or minerals within 30 feet as if using a rod of metal and mineral detection. She may activate this ability at will as a full-round action.
| Goldeye | Hit Die: d8 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Special Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Bonus language, Trade pidgin | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Sense thoughts | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Hoard defender | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Jack of all trades | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Secret cache | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +5' | +2 | Dragon's eye | +1 level of existing class |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +5' | +2 | Coinscry | +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | +6 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Splendorous attire | +1 level of existing class |
| 9th | +6 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Coinshock | +1 level of existing class |
| 10th | +7 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Hoardfind | +1 level of existing class |
Source: Faiths & Pantheons
Older Prestige class adapted to 3.5