Publication:Unearthed Arcana/Halfling Paragon

Halfling Paragon
Clever and capable, halfling paragons love travel, and they embody the curiosity and easygoing ways of the halfling people. Despite their curiosity and good-natured outlook, halfling paragons are the most capable members of their race. They are survivors, cunning and resourceful enough to survive in a world filled with large, dangerous creatures. When halfling paragons travel through communities and countries populated by other races, they are quick to make friends and often end up at the center of traveling or adventuring groups.


 * Adventures

Filled with the wanderlust of the halfling race, halfling paragons see adventuring as a natural extension of their travels through the world. In fact, it's unlikely that a halfling paragon thinks of herself as being on an adventure at any time, even in the middle of a trapfilled dungeon. For a character with a lust for excitement and discovery, what could be a more natural place to visit than a dungeon or ancient ruin?

Occasionally halfling paragons embody the worst of their race's characteristics, using their stealth abilities and their natural cunning to steal from other races — races they consider dupes and fools.


 * Characteristics

Exasperated adventuring companions claim that halfling paragons invented curiosity. With their small size and uncanny stealth, halfling paragons can go nearly anywhere undetected. Remaining undetected, however, is rarely any fun. Halfling paragons enjoy the benefits of their small size, and many secretly wonder how bigger races can ever do anything quietly.


 * Alignment

Most halfling paragons are chaotic good. They love freedom, and their approach to life is in many ways carefree and unpredictable. While most halflings tend toward neutrality over chaos, a halfling paragon embodies the race's curiosity and love of travel.


 * Religion

Halfling paragons favor a variety of deities. Some flit from religion to religion carelessly; they find new ideas compelling and often investigate the tenets of one religion for a while before moving on to another. In this way, halfling paragons amass a few scattered bits of philosophy culled from several different religions into their own happy amalgam. Halfling paragons who remain dedicated to one deity or philosophy almost always multiclass as clerics devoted to a god of travel.


 * Background

A halfling paragon learns her skills while traveling with her clan. Although she may be born to a nomadic people, even the clan's travel eventually seems too infrequent, the pace too slow. The wanderlust of the halfling race flows through her, and eventually she sets off on her own, outpacing the slow-moving wagons of her people. Many halfling paragons multiclass as rogues or rangers, and their skills develop while sneaking around in large cities or stalking game through deep wilderness.


 * Races

Halfling paragons travel, and they never seem to tire out. Because they spend so much time in the communities of other races, they strive to get along well with everyone. They are adept, as most halflings are, at fitting into the communities of others, although they rarely stay long.

Halfling paragons enjoy a mixed lot of traveling companions — too many members of just one race makes for boring company. Although open-minded in the extreme, halfling paragons can occasionally find dwarves too dour and serious for their tastes. Halfling paragons particularly enjoy the company of gnomes.


 * Other Classes

Halfling paragons regard other classes with a mixture of relief and frustration. They are happy to stand behind fighters and members of other physically powerful classes when monsters charge up to do battle, and they are grateful when a spellcaster's abilities help them sneak past an opponent or heal their wounds. But few classes can match the halfling paragon's capability for stealth, and more often than not it is members of those other classes that get the halfling paragon into a fight in the first place. Halfling paragons get along best with other stealthy characters, particularly rogues and rangers, and many multiclass between the two classes.

Game Rule Information
Halfling paragons have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Dexterity is important to halfling paragons because it helps them avoid the attacks of larger foes and increases their accuracy with thrown weapons and slings, their favorite forms of attack. Because halfling paragons value skill and subtlety, a high Intelligence can help them a great deal. Charisma is important to many of the halfling paragon's class skills.

Race: Halflings.

Alignment: Any, although most favor neutrality.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills
The halfling paragon's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the halfling paragon class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Halfling paragons are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor.

Athletic Prowess (Ex)
At 1st level, a halfling paragon's racial bonus on Climb, Jump, and Move Silently checks improves to +3.

Save Bonus (Ex)
A 1st-level halfling paragon's racial bonus on all saving throws increases by 1.

Thrown Weapon Mastery (Ex)
At 2nd level, a halfling paragon gains a +2 bonus on damage rolls when using a thrown weapon or a sling.

Ability Boost (Ex)
At 3rd level, a halfling paragon's Dexterity score increases by 2 points.