So, a few weeks ago, one of my friends was talking about playing a character with a general jester theme. We were talking about possible builds with bards and suchlike, when I suddenly remembered.
"Wait, isn't there a jester class in the
Dragon Compendium?"
We looked and found that, yes, there was. And, yes, it was bad.
Well, taking my cue from
this thread that uses the factotum chassis for rewrites of several poorly-thought-out classes, I decided to attack the jester. I mixed in things from factotum, hexblade, drunken master, and the divine prankster, and came away with the following. Probably still needs a bunch of work to make sure it doesn't outperform too many things.
The JesterHit Die: d6
| Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Spell Level | Jester's Repertoire | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | -- | 2 | Jester's repertoire, capering fool, improvisation, mockery, improvised weapons, weapon finesse |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | 0 | 3 | Party tricks (1 spell) |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | 1 | 3 | Trickster's might, pratfall |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | 1 | 3 | Party tricks (2 spells), stage combat |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | 2 | 4 | Improved improvised weapons, unlock |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | 2 | 4 | Awkward silence, skipping charge |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | 2 | 4 | Party tricks (3 spells), jeering mockery |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +6 | +6 | 3 | 5 | Comedic timing, improved flanking |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +6 | +6 | 3 | 5 | Party tricks (4 spells) |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +7 | +7 | 4 | 5 | Relentless provocation, greater improvised weapons |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +7 | +7 | 4 | 6 | Forced punchline, improved feint |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +8 | +8 | 4 | 6 | Party tricks (5 spells) |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +8 | +8 | 5 | 6 | Last laugh, master of acrobatics |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +9 | +9 | 5 | 7 | Party tricks (6 spells), living cannonball |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +9 | +9 | 6 | 7 | Superior improvised weapons |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +10 | +10 | 6 | 7 | Improved pratfall |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +10 | +10 | 6 | 8 | Party tricks (7 spells) |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +11 | +11 | 7 | 8 | Killing joke |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +11 | +11 | 7 | 8 | Impersonations, vicious mockery |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +12 | +12 | 7 | 10 | Party tricks (8 spells), improvised weapon mastery |
Class Skills (6 + Int modifier, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Move Silently, Perform, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, Use Magic Device, and Use Rope.
Class FeaturesAll the following are class features of the jester.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As a jester, you are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor, but not with shields. You are also considered to be proficient with all improvised weapons (see the improvised weapons ability, below).
Jester's Repertoire: The jester is a joker and a trickster, a professional humorist who uses jokes and japes to throw enemies off-balance and employs theatrical tricks to defeat them. His livelihood is based on knowing how to work a crowd, so he memorizes slapstick routines, perfects lists of jokes, and practices parodies of well-known figures. But while the jester dabbles in many fields, he masters none of them. Rather than train in a given field, he masters all the basics and manages to pull together something improbably useful when the situation requires it.
To represent this seemingly random body of stage tricks and humor, a jester gains points in his jester's repertoire that he can spend to activate his abilities. At the beginning of each encounter, he gains a number of points in his jester's repertoire determined by his level (see the class table).
Capering Fool (Ex): Your capering movements make it more difficult for foes to strike you in combat. As long as you wear light or no armor, are unencumbered, and do not carry a shield, you add your Charisma bonus (if any) to your AC. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to AC at 5th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every five jester levels thereafter (+2 at 10th, +3 at 15th, and +4 at 20th. These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when you are flat-footed. You lose these bonuses if you are ever immobilized or helpless, when you wear medium or heavy armor, when you carry a shield, or when you carry a medium or heavy load.
Improvisation (Ex): Before making an attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, you can spend 1 point from your jester's repertoire to gain a competence bonus on the roll equal to your Charisma modifier. Improvisation does not require an action, and you can use it as often as you wish during your turn or others' turns--provided that you have the repertoire points to spend. Because this ability provides a competence bonus, it does not stack with itself.
Mockery (Ex): By spending 1 point from your jester's repertoire, you can unleash a stream of mockery upon a foe as a free action. The target must be visible to you and within 60 feet. The target of your mockery must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Charisma modifier) or take a -2 penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for the duration of the encounter. Even on a successful save, a subject of your mockery takes a -1 penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for 1 round.
Multiple mockery effects don't stack, and you must wait 1d4 rounds before targeting the same creature with your mockery (though you can continue to target other creatures with it normally). Furthermore, any creature that successfully resists your mockery gains a cumulative +2 bonus on saves made to resist your mockery for the remainder of the encounter.
Mockery is a mind-affecting ability.
Improvised Weapons (Ex): As a jester, you can see the opportunities for both humor and violence inherent in everyday objects. You are considered to be proficient with any improvised weapon that you wield and do not take the usual penalty to attack rolls with it. You can choose improvised weapons as the designated weapon for combat-enhancing feats that would normally apply only to a single weapon (such as Weapon Focus), and your improvised weapons can benefit from the Weapon Finesse feat as though they were light weapons (regardless of their actual size).
Your attacks with improvised weapons deal as much damage as your unarmed strike plus an extra 1d6 points of damage. Any increase to the damage you deal with your unarmed strike (such as from monk levels or the Superior Unarmed Strike feat) also increases your improvised weapon damage, but you cannot use an improvised weapon in place of an unarmed attack for abilities like Stunning Fist or Flurry of Blows. Most improvised weapons deal bludgeoning damage, although some (a broken glass bottle, for example) would deal piercing or slashing damage.
Weapon Finesse (Ex): You gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if you do not qualify for the feat.
Party Tricks (Sp): At 2nd level, you learn how to apply your mastery of stagecraft to minor arcane tricks. You know that, with the right silly words and strange materials, you can conjure up something that looks enough like a spell to impress your audiences. By spending 1 point from your jester's repertoire, you can mimic a spell as a spell-like ability.
At the start of each day, choose a number of spells from the beguiler and bard spell lists based on your jester level. You can choose one spell at 2nd level, and you gain additional spells as shown on the table. The maximum level of spell you can use, according to your class level, is also shown on the table. You can select any beguiler or bard spell up to that level, but you can prepare only one spell of your maximum level. Your caster level equals your jester level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against one of your spells is 10 + the spell level + your Charisma modifier. A spell that you cast using this ability has a duration of 1 round per two caster levels (maximum 5 rounds) or its normal duration, whichever is shorter.
You may cast each spell that you prepare with this ability once per encounter. You cannot prepare the same spell multiple times to use it more than once during the same encounter. After resting for 8 hours, you choose new spells and lose any unused spells from the previous day, though you can select the same spell on consecutive days.
You cannot use spells that require an XP cost. You must otherwise provide the necessary material components as normal. If you wish to enhance a spell with a metamagic feat, you must apply the feat when you prepare the spell. In addition, you must be capable of using a spell of the modified spell's level.
Trickster's Might (Ex): At 3rd level, you gain your Charisma modifier as a bonus on Strength checks, Dexterity checks, and checks involving skills based on Strength or Dexterity, such as Hide, Climb, and Jump.
Pratfall (Ex): By falling down, slipping on a banana peel, or otherwise changing position suddenly, you can avoid even the most well-aimed attack. Starting at 3rd level, you may spend 1 point from your jester's repertoire to impose a 20% miss chance on all attacks made against you by a chosen opponent for 1 round. Using this ability is a free action. You can use this ability multiple times to impose a miss chance on different opponents, but you cannot use it more than once during your turn against a single foe.
Stage Combat (Ex): At 4th level, you learn to use your mastery of the theatrical to lend additional force to your attacks. You apply your Charisma modifier as a bonus on damage rolls (in addition to any Strength bonus you may have) with any improvised weapon. You cannot use this ability when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.
Improved Improvised Weapons (Ex): When you reach 5th level, you become more competent with your improvised weapons. While wielding an improvised weapon, you gain an insight bonus equal to your Charisma modifier on rolls made to confirm critical hits. In addition, the extra damage you deal with improvised weapons increases to 1d8 points of damage, and your improvised weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Unlock (Su): At 5th level, you gain the ability to spring any cage and open any door. As a standard action, you can unlock a single lock that you can touch, provided that its Open Lock DC is less than or equal to twice your jester level. For example, a 10th-level jester can use this ability to open any lock with a DC of 20 or lower, and a 15th-level jester could open a lock with a DC of 30 or lower. This ability grants you no protection from any traps that might be associated with the lock.
In addition, as a full-round action, you can work on a single lock that proves more difficult for you to open. Such a use of this ability opens doors and locks as by the
knock spell. Once you have opened a lock in this way, you cannot use either form of your unlock ability for 5 rounds.
Awkward Silence (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, you can spend 1 point from your jester's repertoire as a move action to cause an uncomfortable silence to descend upon a creature that is subject to your mockery. That creature and any of its allies that are adjacent to it take a -2 penalty on saves and to Armor Class for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier. Multiple applications of this ability do not stack, and a creature can be affected by only one awkward silence at a time.
Skipping Charge (Ex): At 6th level and higher, by skipping and leaping around, you can make a charge attack that surprises your opponents This ability has two beneficial aspects: First, the charge need not be in a straight line, even though you can still move up to twice your speed. Second, if you make a DC 15 Tumble check before beginning a charge, your movement through threatened squares provokes no attacks of opportunity.
Jeering Mockery (Ex): When you reach 7th level, the penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls incurred by a target of your mockery becomes -4 instead of -2. In addition, the penalty incurred by a creature that succeeds on its save against your mockery becomes -2 instead of -1.
Moreover, you learn to provoke even the most stoic of foes with your insults. Your mockery ability functions normally against creatures with immunity to mind-affecting abilities, though creatures without Intelligence scores remain immune to its effect.
Comedic Timing (Ex): When you reach 8th level, you learn to take advantage of timing to perfect your delivery. By spending 3 points from your jester's repertoire, you can take an extra standard action during your turn.
Improved Flanking (Ex): At 8th level, you learn to take greater advantage of the distractions provided by your allies. When flanking an opponent, you gain a +4 bonus on attacks instead of a +2 bonus on attacks. (Other characters flanking with you don't gain this increased bonus.)
Relentless Provocation (Ex): At 10th level, you learn how to change up your material to avoid becoming stale, allowing you to recycle jokes that don't have the intended effect the first time around. Whenever a creature successfully makes its Will save against your mockery ability, you regain 1 point in your jester's repertoire at the beginning of your next turn.
Greater Improvised Weapons (Ex): Starting at 10th level, you can use long improvised weapons (such as ladders) as reach weapons according to their length, and improvised weapons with many protrusions (such as chairs) provide you with a +2 bonus on disarm attempts. In addition, the extra damage you deal with improvised weapons increases to 2d6 points of damage.
Forced Punchline (Ex): Starting at 11th level, you can use your wit and force of personality to breach the defenses of one of your opponents. By spending 2 points from your jester's repertoire as a free action, you can ignore a single target's spell resistance and damage reduction for 1 round.
Improved Feint (Ex): At 11th level, you gain Improved Feint as a bonus feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites.
Last Laugh (Ex): When you reach 13th level, your ability to laugh in the face of danger allows you to avoid an attack or spell that would otherwise defeat you. If you take damage that would reduce you to 0 or fewer hit points, you can spend 4 points from your jester's repertoire as an immediate action to ignore the damage. You look the other way, happen to be bending over, or otherwise escape.
Master of Acrobatics (Ex): At 13th level, you become so certain in the use of your acrobatic skills that you can use them reliably, even under adverse conditions. When making a Jump or Tumble check, you may take 10, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent you from doing so.
Living Cannonball (Ex): Starting at 14th level, you can leap through the air while charging to attempt to bowl over an opponent. When making a charge attack, in addition to dealing normal damage, you can initiate a bull rush without provoking an attack of opportunity. (Your trickster's might ability applies to the Strength check made during a bull rush attempt.)
If your bull rush attempt succeeds, you slam into your foe with bone-jarring force. In addition to the usual effects of a bull rush, your target is stunned for 1d4+1 rounds unless he makes a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your jester level + your Charisma modifier).
Superior Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 15th level, your ability to fight with whatever comes to hand makes you a deadly and unpredictable force on the battlefield. You no longer automatically fail attack rolls with your improvised weapons on a natural roll of 1; instead, treat the roll as a natural 20. In addition, the extra damage you deal with improvised weapons increases to 2d8 points of damage.
Improved Pratfall (Ex): Well-trained jesters are capable of "accidentally" dodging attacks that come from any direction. Starting at 16th level, all attacks made against you suffer a 20% miss chance. This miss chance is not negated by attacks that ignore concealment or
blink effects, and you do not need to spend points from your jester's repertoire to maintain the effect.
Killing Joke (Su): When you reach 18th level, you learn to deliver a deadly piece of dark humor. By spending 4 points from your jester's repertoire as a standard action, you can tell a deadly joke to one of your foes. You must must be able to see your potential victim in order to deliver a killing joke.
When you tell a killing joke, your target must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your jester level + your Charisma modifier) or be affected as if by
Tasha's hideous laughter for 8 rounds. However, unlike the spell, a creature with a type that is different from yours receives no bonus on this save.
Each round that this effect persists, the subject must make a Will save (same DC) or take 2 points of Wisdom damage. If a creature fails four or more of these saves, it dies instantly.
Any creature that successfully survives your killing joke is immune to its effects for the next 24 hours. Killing joke is a mind-affecting ability.
Impersonations (Ex): At 19th level, you become the ultimate mimic, capable of imitating and parodying anyone. At the start of each day, choose three extraordinary class abilities. Each ability must be available to a standard character class at 15th level or lower, and must appear on the advancement table or in the text description for that class. By spending 4 points from your jester's repertoire as a free action, you gain the benefits and drawbacks of one chosen ability for 1 minute. You use the ability as if your level in the relevant class equaled your jester level. You can use each chosen class ability once per day.
For example, if you use a monk's flurry of blows ability, you gain all the benefits and drawbacks described under Flurry of Blows (
PH 40). You do not gain the benefits of unarmed strike, because that is a separate ability in the monk's class description.
Vicious Mockery (Ex): When you reach 19th level, the penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls incurred by a target of your mockery becomes -6 instead of -4. In addition, the penalty incurred by a creature that succeeds on its save against your mockery becomes -3 instead of -2.
Improvised Weapons Mastery (Ex): At 20th level, your mastery of the laws of comedy allows you to deal devastating blows with everyday items like chairs, books, and fenceposts. The critical threat range of an improvised weapon that you wield doubles (causing it to score a threat on a natural roll of 19 or 20), and your improvised weapons deal quadruple damage on a critical hit. Moreover, in addition to treating a natural roll of 1 as a natural 20, you now treat a natural roll of 2 as a natural 19. Finally, the extra damage you deal with improvised weapons increases to 2d10 points of damage.
Alternative Class FeaturesLaughter is the Best MedicineSome jesters, serving aged kings and withering queens, have noticed that their humorous japes seem to have the ability to distract their ailing monarchs from their pain. Through practice and study, it has been discovered that laughter possesses the capacity to heal creatures by driving pain from their minds. Some jesters, especially those hired by elderly monarchs, choose to study this phenomenon, forgoing more roguish escapades in the course of their studies.
Class: Jester
Level: 5th
Replaces: You do not gain the unlock ability.
Beneft: Starting at 5th level, you can spend 1 point from your jester's repertoire as a standard action in order to drive away one of your allies' pain with humor. At 5th level, you can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. You gain one extra daily use of this ability at 10th, 15th, and 20th level. You cannot use this ability if you have exhausted your daily uses of it, even if you have points in your jester's repertoire left to spend.
Each use of this ability heals one creature that you touch of a number of points of damage equal to your jester level + your Charisma modifier. This healing is not positive or negative energy, so it works equally well on living and undead targets. However, your healing relies on distracting subjects from their pain with humor, and creatures with Intelligence scores below 2 cannot benefit from this effect.
This is a supernatural ability.
VaudevillianWhile many jesters possess skill with parlor tricks and acts of illusion, some prefer to study the performance of staged physical comedy. Such jesters carefully train in the choreography of fighting, trading arcane stunts for physical training. Though the origins of such training lie in theatrics and humor, a cunning jester can employ them against his foes for an edge in combat.
Class: Jester
Level: 2nd
Replaces: You do not gain the
party tricks ability.
Beneft: At 2nd level, you learn how to perform acts of physical comedy that pack quite a wallop. For the purposes of this ability, you are considered to know all martial maneuvers from the Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, and Tiger Claw disciplines, though you do not actually know these maneuvers for the purposes of a normal maneuver progression.
At the start of each day, you may choose a number of maneuvers from the above disciplines to ready. You can choose one maneuver at 2nd level, and you gain an additional readied maneuver at each level that you would normally gain an additional spell with
party tricks. The maximum level of maneuver you can use is equal to the maximum level of spell that you would normally be able to cast with
party tricks, except that you can use 1st level maneuvers at 2nd level, as 0th level maneuvers do not exist.
You can select any maneuver from your available disciplines up to your maximum maneuver level, and you need not meet the maneuvers' prerequisites. Your initiator level for maneuvers gained through this ability equals your jester level, and the DC for a saving throw against one of your maneuvers is 10 + the maneuver's level + your Charisma modifier, even if the maneuver specifies a different ability modifier. Like other martial adepts, you can change your readied maneuvers with five minutes of practice. This also refreshes your maneuvers if they were expended at the time.
Unlike other martial adepts, you cannot easily adopt a new stance. When you choose your readied maneuvers for the day, you may choose a single stance to adopt. You may select any stance from your available disciplines, up to the highest level of maneuver that you can use. You remain in the chosen stance until the next time that you ready maneuvers, at which time you can choose to adopt a new one. If the effect of your stance is somehow ended, you re-enter it 1d6 rounds later. This stance does not count against the maximum number of maneuvers that you can ready.
You must spend 1 point from your jester's repertoire to initiate a maneuver, after which it is expended normally. You have no maneuver recovery mechanic, so each maneuver may be initiated only once per encounter. The Adaptive Style feat cannot be used in conjunction with maneuvers gained through this ability.
FeatsDire MockeryBy drawing upon more of your japes and jokes, you can drive your foes to even greater distraction.
Prerequisite: Jeering mockery ability, must have jester's repertoire as a class feature
Benefit: You can unleash a particularly potent burst of mockery by expending a little bit more of your repertoire. When you use your mockery ability, you can spend additional points from your jester's repertoire to taunt your foe with even more of your scathing wit. For every extra point you spend in this manner, the save DC to resist your mockery increases by 1; for every two extra points you spend in this manner, the penalties that your mockery imposes on a creature that fails its saving throw increase by 1. Penalties imposed on a creature that makes its save remain unchanged.
The number of extra points that you spend to improve your mockery in this way cannot exceed your Charisma modifier.
Expanded RepertoireYou have collected a wide range of material, making you a king among jesters and a jester to kings.
Prerequisite: Charisma 15, must have jester's repertoire as a class feature
Benefit: When you take this feat for the first time, your jester's repertoire expands by 1 point.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Each time you take this feat after the first time, the number of points by which your jester's repertoire expands increases by 1 (for example, your jester's repertoire expands by 2 points if you take this feat a second time). The maximum number of times you can take this feat is equal to your Charisma modifier.
