Feats
As we've seen, the right skills can make you a good, efficient bodylooter. But what separates the good from the great? Their feats, of course! Here are a few choices that should sort Ferdy Fast-Hands from One-Handed Otho The Almost Successful.
Most of the feats here are concerned directly with skill checks, since bodylooters prefer to take treasure from those unable to fight back. It's not a heroic career path. Be warned.
- Alertness
- Remember what I said about keeping your eyes and ears open? This feat gives you +2 to Listen and Spot checks, so be sure to take it soon. If you really want to see trouble before it comes, take Alertness and two Skill Foci; one in Listen and one in Spot. (
Hmm. The guards are a good half-a-mile off. Can't have seen me yet. I'll just help myself to this feller's teeth and head off back down the pub…
) - Deft Hands
- Okay, you might not be in need of the ability to tie knots, but if you really need to be good at palming objects and already have Skill Focus (Sleight of Hand), take this feat. (
What ring, sir? I've never had no rings on me. Honestly, look. Hands are empty. Not in my pockets. Nothing up my sleeve...
) - Diligent
- This feat's useful since it improves the all-important Appraise skill. Mind you, it also gives you a bonus to Decipher Script, which, unless information and coded messages are your stock in trade, isn't a skill for which a looter will have much use. If you want to be good at appraising stuff, you might be better off with Skill Focus (Appraise) if you don't already have it.
- Investigator
- If you want the valuable stuff, you'll have to rummage around, making Search checks, and as we saw before, Gather Information is absolutely necessary if you want to know what's going on. Whose bodies would you rather loot? The dashing cavalry with their flash gear or the grubby conscripts without two coppers to rub together? (
Ah, there's that ring Captain Wibbley was given last week. Just where Dave said it was when I met him in the pub last night -- top-left pocket, hidden in a velvet pouch. Now... (removes the late Captain Wibbley's breeches, puts on rubber glove) where did Dave say he kept that diamond again?
) - Lightning Reflexes
- Sometimes the goods you're after are protected by a trap. Are you unable to disarm it? Or has a wizard caught you looting the body of one of his comrades and heaved a lightning bolt at you? Make sure it's not going to affect you too badly by bumping your Reflex saves as far as they'll go!
- Run
- If things go pear-shaped, leg it. Unless you've got a gammy leg, there is no reason for standing and fighting. If you take this feat, chances are whoever's after you won't catch up unless they're on horseback.
- Skill Focus
- Want to be the best at what you do? Neglect Skill Focus at your peril. Problem is of course that by level 20 you will have less than ten feats, unless you can get some bonus feats, so chances are you won't want to take too many of these.
- Track
- Taking Track might seem a bit of an odd choice, especially since chances are you've not taken Survival, but it can come in handy. If you find the trail of a large armed force on the move, there may be a battle about to break out. Follow at a discreet distance, sit tight until the battle's finished, and go shopping!