Note: This class is my reworking of a class originally written by Wayne Shaw and modified by Tim Barth, Dave Fair and others. It is meant to be an alternative to the rogue class, one sacrificing the rogue's specific special abilities for a wider selection of feat-like bonuses to skills, saves, and non-combat abilities.

Adventurers are the quintessential adventuring class. When a frontier opens, adventurers are the first to light out for new territories. When an artifact is lost, adventurers are the first to seek it. For adventurers, getting there is much more than half the fun, and indeed the successful end of an adventure is a melancholy achievement for an adventurer. At such moments, while others might say, “What a relief!” or “Well done,” the adventurer asks, “What next?” The adventurer lives for excitement, for the chance to journey into the unknown, and for the thrill of the chase.

Adventures: Adventuring is the raison d’etre of the adventurer. If an adventurer was not in the midst of an adventure, she would find one to undertake.

Characteristics: Adventurers can be wizened sages, daring explorers, daunt woodsman, heroic sailors, or any number of other character archetypes that do not easily fit into another class.

Alignment: Adventurers may be of any alignment, although they are more likely to be chaotic than lawful.

Background: Some adventurers find respectable occupations that satisfy their thirst for action. Spies, archaeologists, and exotic-goods merchants are often adventurers. Most adventurers, however, do not find such stable employment, and instead make out what life they can by joining adventuring parties and seeking danger in the company of like-minded companions.

Races: All races produce individuals who seek lives of exploration. Adventurers tend to be young, in part because passions cool with age and in part because adventurers often venture where angels fear to tread.

Other Classes: Adventurers get along well with individuals from all classes who share their love of action and their thirst for discovery. Rogues and bards usually make good allies, while clerics tend toward a more conservative outlook. Adventurers are willing to share the road with anyone who shares their spirit of curiosity.

Fighters have the following game statistics:

Abilities: Intelligence is an adventurer's most important ability.

Alignment: Any..

Hit Die: d6

The adventurer may select 8 class skills in addition to Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Int), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier.

All of the following are class features of the adventurer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The adventurer is proficient with all simple weapons and armor and any one martial weapon. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.

Save Emphasis: At 1^st level, the adventurer chooses one saving throw (Fortitude, Reflex, or Will) to emphasize. That saving throw becomes his primary save and increases more quickly than his other, secondary saves.

Special Abilities: At 1^st level, 4^th level, and every four levels thereafter, the adventurer gets a special ability of her choice from among the following:

Skill Compliment: The adventurer selects two related skills in consultation with her DM and gains a +2 bonus to each. The adventurer can gain this special ability multiple times. Its effects stack, but it may not be used to improve the same pair of skills together more than once.

Improved Save: The adventurer can add a +2 bonus to all saving throws of any one type (Fortitude, Reflex, or Will). The adventurer can gain this special ability multiple times. Its effects stack.

Bonus Feat: Alternately, the adventurer may choose to take a feat as her special ability. Bonus feats must be drawn from the following list:

Dash
Endurance
Improved Initiative
Leadership
Run
Toughness
Track

An adventurer must still meet all prerequisites for a feat.

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Released under the OGL and d20. Free to distribute.