d20 Expeditious Retreat Press NPC Files Jaycee Cussan Death's Shadow.pdf

Credits

NPC Files

Story by Nicholas Olivo

Mechanics by Joseph Browning and

Suzi Yee

Cover art by Jason Walton, courtesy of

Louis Porter, Jr. Design’s Image Portfolio

Introduction

Welcome to Expeditious Retreat Press’ newest PDF line, NPC Files. Each NPC File

details one character from 1 st through 20 th level, giving game masters ultimate utility.

NPC Files are unique at their very conception. They begin with a story, tracing the

character’s background, personality, and appearance at low level (level 2-5), mid-level

(level 8-12) and high level (level 15-19) with their complementary stat block. Then their

stat blocks are laid out 1 st through 20 th level, followed by familiars, mounts, and animal

companions, as well as new magical items or spells (when appropriate).

The emphasis of NPC Files is mechanically describing a story-driven character. This

means that sometimes they will incur experience penalties, sometimes they will have

more or less than their expected wealth, and sometimes they don’t always take the “most

eficient route” to their destiny. In short, they are like real people. We feel this is the real

strength behind NPC Files.

There are certain skill checks that frequently arise in roleplaying, and we have

included those skills in every stat block, regardless if the character put ranks in those

skills. Such skills are listed in parenthesis after the ranked-skill listing.

We hope you ind NPC Files as entertaining and useful as other XRP products.

Good Gaming,

Suzi and Joe

Expeditious Retreat Press

September 2005

Jaycee Cussan:

Death’s Shadow

Open Content Designation

All text within this product is designated as open game content, with the exception of

Expeditious Retreat Press, NPC Files, and the names of artists and contributors.

Story by Nicholas Olivo

Requires the use of Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition Core Books, published by

Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Jaycee Cussan

Level 4

Background

When an upstanding, respected member of a community commits suicide, many

people read the note that’s been left behind and shake their heads at the waste of life.

What they don’t realize is that the suicide is a murder, the note a letter-perfect forgery,

and both of them are courtesy of an assassin named Jayce Cussan.

Few people know what Jayce really looks like under the cowl of his deep blue cloak

and shadowy clothes. An albino human, his hair and skin are ghostly white, and his eyes

are pink rimmed and dead. His voice is hoarse and crackly and sounds like dry leaves

blowing across loose gravel. He stands ive and a half feet tall, but usually appears one

to two feet taller or shorter, depending on the disguise he’s currently employing.

Jayce has a reputation for stealth, deception, and cunning, and these three traits have

earned him the nickname “Death’s Shadow.” Jayce is patient to a fault and will study

his targets for weeks on end before fulilling his contract. He prefers to perform most of

his observations irst hand, under the guise of someone that his target would normally

interact with. His favorite technique is to disguise himself as a servant and attend to the

target for several weeks. In this manner, he learns the layout of the target’s home, the

target’s daily routine, and speaking style. It also affords him ample opportunity to glean

gossip from other servants, as well as the chance to procure writing samples.

Jayce Cussan (4 th -Level Rogue)

Medium Human- 4 th -Level

Hit Dice: 4d6+4 (23 hp)

Initiative: +7

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 +1 studded leather armor ), touch 13, lat-footed 17

Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+4

Attack: Masterwork dagger +5 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +7 ranged

(1d4+1)

Full Attack: Masterwork dagger +5 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +7

ranged (1d4+1)

Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.

Special Attack: Sneak attack +2d6

Special Qualities: Evasion, trap sense +1, trapinding, uncanny dodge

Saves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +3

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8

Skills: Appraise +3, Balance +7, Bluff +4, Climb +3, Decipher Script +5, Diplomacy

+2, Disable Device +6, Disguise +4 (+6 to act in character), Escape Artist +8, Forgery

+8, Gather Information +3, Hide +10, Intimidate +1, Jump +3, Knowledge (local) +4,

Listen +3, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +7, Search +6, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of

Hand +11, Spot +4, Tumble +8, Use Rope +3, (+5 involving bindings), (Swim +1)

Feats: Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot

Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome

Possessions (Combat): Cure light wounds potion, dagger (masterwork), dart

(masterwork) (4), +1 studded leather armor , smoke stick, tindertwig (4).

Possessions (Non-Combat): Artisan’s outit, 100 gp bejeweled bracelet, crowbar,

disguise kit (5 uses), entertainer’s outit, explorer’s outit, ink (3), inkpen (4), 5 10-gp

gems, 3 50-gp gems, 1 100-gp gem, mirror (small steel), parchment (20), peasant’s

outit, thieves tools (masterwork), traveler’s outit, 20 gp, 25 sp, 50 cp.

Fourth level

Jayce was abandoned shortly after birth on the steps of St. Ledgur’s Orphanage.

Mr. Denna, the orphanage’s headmaster, believed Jayce’s grim visage to be a curse that

could only be atoned for by constant and excruciating castigation. He would beat Jayce

with a hickory switch and force him to write, “I am an unworthy aberration who must

be cleansed in the name of St. Ledgur” in various languages on the chalkboard. Over

time, Jayce not only learned many languages, but also was able to lawlessly duplicate

Mr. Denna’s handwriting. Jayce forged several bank note withdrawal statements and

stole the majority of the orphanage’s savings. He led the orphanage and rented a small

lat, being careful not to spend too much of the orphanage’s money at once.

Jayce got quite a thrill from picking courier’s pockets and pouches, reading their

contents and then practicing the owner’s style of script. He got so good at this that

he only needed a few minutes of time to study the script before he could reproduce

it perfectly. In this manner, he was able to forge bank notes to draw funds from many

wealthy merchants’ bank accounts.

Jaycee Cussan

Level 7

Seventh level

Jayce probably would have been content with just forging bank notes, but one day

he learned that the city was going to honor Mr. Denna with a special award for his work

with children. Gripped with a cold hatred, Jayce broke into the orphanage and strangled

Mr. Denna with a garrote. He then hung Mr. Denna’s body from a rafter in the room and

drafted a lengthy suicide note, saying that he (Mr. Denna) had always been cruel and

heartless to the children, and that he could no longer bear to live with himself. When

Mr. Denna’s body was found the next morning, those who knew him well saw the truth

in the note and did not question its authenticity.

Upon returning to his lat that evening, Jayce realized what an art form assassination

was. He marveled at the challenge and strategy, and he realized he’d found his true

calling. He applied for membership in an assassin’s guild known as the Night Bringers

by killing one of their charter members. He was quickly accepted into the ranks and

became one of the top members of the guild within a year’s time.

Jayce never orchestrated an overly complex assassination – to him, the more

complicated something was, the more that could go wrong. He strove to keep his plans

simple and usually stuck to garroting men and poisoning women. He preferred to use

cheap poisons, as they were more commonly available to people outside of the Night

Bringers. He knew full well that if a noblewoman turned up dead from a dose of Black

Lotus extract, people would instantly assume she had been assassinated. But arsenic,

which was available from virtually all the apothecaries in the city, would be accepted as

suicide without question.

When a faked suicide wasn’t an option, he would place burnt othur fumes in

perfume and cologne bottles, which simultaneously killed their owners and implicated

the person who had prepared the perfume or cologne..

Jayce Cussan (5 th -Level Rogue/2 nd -Level Assassin)

Medium Human- 7 th -Level

Hit Dice: 7d6+7 (39 hp)

Initiative: +7

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 +1 glamered studded leather armor ), touch 13, lat-

footed 17

Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+5

Attack: Masterwork dagger +6 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +8 ranged

(1d4+1)

Full Attack: Masterwork dagger +6 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +8

ranged (1d4+1)

Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.

Special Attack: Death attack, sneak attack +4d6

Special Qualities: Evasion, +1 save vrs. poison, improved uncanny dodge, poison

use, spells, trap sense +1, trapinding

Saves: Fort +2, Ref +10, Will +3

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8

Skills: Appraise +4, Balance +7, Bluff +6, Climb +4, Decipher Script +6, Diplomacy

+2, Disable Device +7, Disguise +9 (+11 to act in character), Escape Artist +8,

Forgery +10, Gather Information +3, Hide +12, Intimidate +1, Jump +3, Knowledge

(local) +5, Listen +5, Move Silently +13, Open Lock +6, Search +7, Sense Motive

+1, Sleight of Hand +11, Spot +4, Tumble +9, Use Rope +3, (+5 involving bindings),

(Swim +1)

Feats: Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot

Alignment: Chaotic evil

Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome

Possessions (Combat): 2 applications of arsenic poison, c ure light wounds potion,

cure moderate wounds potion, dagger (masterwork), dart (masterwork) (4), invisibility

potion, +1 glamered studded leather armor , smoke stick, tindertwig (4).

Possessions (Non-Combat): Artisan’s outit, 100 gp bejeweled bracelet, crowbar,

disguise kit (8 uses), entertainer’s outit, explorer’s outit, ink (3), inkpen (4), 5 10-gp

gems, 3 50-gp gems, 1 100-gp gem, mirror (small steel), parchment (20), peasant’s

outit, thieves tools (masterwork), traveler’s outit, 20 gp, 25 sp, 50 cp.

Typical Assassin Spells Known (2 base save DC 12 + spell level): 1 st — disguise self,

jump, sleep.

Jaycee Cussan

Level 16

Sixteenth level

As Jayce’s reputation within the Night Bringers grew, his assignments became more

dificult. He was dispatched on several occasions to kill entire parties of adventurers,

sometimes to destroy liches or vampires, and once to deal with a meddlesome black

dragon. When dealing with adventurers, Jayce relied heavily on alter self spells and his

ring of invisibility. He would often study an adventurer while disguised and then make

an unarmed death attack, kill the target, and then dimension door to safety. Many great

heroes fell to Jayce’s hands in this fashion.

After one mage saw his true identity via a true seeing spell, Jayce quickly killed

him and took to wearing disguises underneath the illusion created by alter self. This

greatly reduced the chance of his true identity being discovered. It also confused

every other mage who looked through the alter self spell only to see an old man or a

voluptuous young woman underneath the magical guise of a goblin or kobold.

When dealing with dragons or undead, Jayce relied on arrows of slaying keyed to that

particular creature’s type. He found these missions dull as they lacked the intrigue of his

earlier assassinations, when he would iniltrate a lord’s manor, become a trusted member

of the staff, and then dispatch the lord, all the while making it look like a suicide.

When he told the Night Bringers he would only perform missions meeting the

above criteria from that point forward, they threatened to expose him to the city watch.

The next day, the guild leader’s body was found hanging from rafters in his apartment,

a suicide note at his feet. The note said that the man could no longer go on, knowing

he had caused the deaths of so many. The note outlined the entire Night Bringer

organization, headquarters, and several of their past and upcoming missions. Virtually

all of the Night Bringers were arrested, and the guild was broken.

Without the restrictions of a guild, Jayce became a freelance assassin, taking only

jobs that interested him from those who could pay well. Thanks to an elaborate network

of informants among noble houses, Jayce always knew who would have need of his

services. Thus, clients had no need to contact him - he found them irst. None of Jayce’s

clients ever saw his true visage, and while age had added wrinkles to his pasty skin, it

had done nothing to dull his relexes or strength. He assassinated kings and merchants,

heroes and villains, men and women, and vowed that as long as he could ind suficient

challenge in his chosen profession, he would never retire.

Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+14

Attack: Masterwork dagger +19 melee (1d4+2/19-20) or unarmed strike +18 melee

(1d3+2) or masterwork dart +18 ranged (1d4+2)

Full Attack: Masterwork dagger +19/+14/+9 melee (1d4+2/19-20) or unarmed strike

+18/+13/+8 melee (1d3+2) or masterwork dart +18/+13/+8 ranged (1d4+2)

Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.

Special Attack: Death attack, sneak attack +7d6

Special Qualities: Evasion, +4 save vrs. poison, hide in plain sight, improved

uncanny dodge, poison use, spells, trap sense +2, trapinding

Saves: Fort +11, Ref +19, Will +9

Abilities: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10

Skills: Appraise +6, Balance +7, Bluff +18, Climb +7, Decipher Script +6, Diplomacy

+5, Disable Device +14, Disguise +18 (+20 to act in character), Escape Artist +12,

Forgery +20, Gather Information +7, Hide +14, Intimidate +1, Jump +8, Knowledge

(local) +5, Listen +6, Move Silently +16, Open Lock +7, Ride +7, Search +7, Sense

Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +14, Spot +4, Tumble +11, Use Rope +5 (+7 involving

bindings), (Swim +2)

Feats: Combat Relexes, Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron

Will, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (dagger, dart, unarmed strike)

Alignment: Chaotic evil

Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome

Possessions (Combat): 2 applications of arsenic poison, air elemental gem , dust

of disappearance (x2) , dust of tracelessness (x2) , cloak of resistance +3 , cure

light wounds potion, cure moderate wounds potion, dagger (masterwork), dart

(masterwork) (4), invisibility potion, necklace of ireballs (type VII) , +3 glamered

studded leather armor , smoke stick, tindertwig (4).

Possessions (Non-Combat): Artisan’s outit, bag of holding (type I) , 100 gp

bejeweled bracelet, crowbar, disguise kit (8 uses), entertainer’s outit, explorer’s outit,

ink (3), +4 gloves of dexterity , inkpen (4), 5 10-gp gems, 3 50-gp gems, 1 100-gp

gem, mirror (small steel), K’s restorative ointment (ive applications) , parchment (20),

ring of mind shielding , peasant’s outit, thieves tools (masterwork), traveler’s outit,

100 pp, 20 gp, 25 sp, 50 cp.

Typical Assassin Spells Known (4/4/3/1 base save DC 12 + spell level): 1 st — disguise

self, jump, obscuring mist, sleep; 2 nd —invisibility, spider climb, undetectable

alignment; 3 rd — false life, magic circle against good, misdirection; 4 th — dimension

door, greater invisibility

Jayce Cussan (6 th -Level Rogue/8 th -Level Assassin/2 nd -Level Fighter)

Medium Human- 16 th -Level

Hit Dice: 14d6+14 plus 2d10+2 (94 hp)

Initiative: +9

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 21 (+5 Dex, +6 +3 glamered studded leather armor ), touch 15, lat-

footed 21

Jaycee Cussan~Levels 1-2

Jayce Cussan (1 st -Level Rogue)

Medium Human- 1 st -Level

Hit Dice: 1d6+1 (7 hp)

Initiative: +2

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 leather armor), touch 12, lat-footed 12

Base Attack/Grapple: +0/+1

Attack: Masterwork dagger +2 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or dart +2 ranged (1d4+1)

Full Attack: Masterwork dagger +2 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or dart +2 ranged (1d4+1)

Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.

Special Attack: Sneak attack +1d6

Special Qualities: Trapinding

Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +2

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8

Skills: Appraise +3, Balance +4, Bluff +3, Climb +3, Decipher Script +3, Disable

Device +3, Disguise +1, Escape Artist +5, Forgery +6, Gather Information +1, Hide

+4, Listen +2, Move Silently +4, Open Lock +4, Search +4, Sense Motive +1, Sleight

of Hand +6, Spot +3, Tumble +6, (Diplomacy -1, Swim +1)

Feats: Iron Will, Point Blank Shot

Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome

Possessions (Combat): Cure light wounds potion, dagger (masterwork), dart (5),

leather armor, smoke stick (2), tindertwig (5).

Possessions (Non-Combat): Disguise kit (10 uses), ink (2), inkpen (3), 5 10-gp gems,

3 50-gp gems, 1 100-gp gem, mirror (small steel), parchment (15), peasant’s outit,

thieves tools, 20 gp, 50 sp, 100 cp.

Jayce Cussan (2 nd -Level Rogue)

Medium Human- 2 nd -Level

Hit Dice: 2d6+2 (13 hp)

Initiative: +2

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 15 (+2 Dex, +3 masterwork studded leather armor), touch 12, lat-

footed 13

Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+2

Attack: Masterwork dagger +3 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +4 ranged

(1d4+1)

Full Attack: Masterwork dagger +3 melee (1d4+1/19-20) or masterwork dart +4

ranged (1d4+1)

Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.

Special Attack: Sneak attack +1d6

Special Qualities: Evasion, trapinding

Saves: Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8

Skills: Appraise +3, Balance +4, Bluff +4, Climb +3, Decipher Script +3, Disable

Device +5, Disguise +2 (+4 to act in character), Escape Artist +6, Forgery +7, Gather

Information +2, Hide +5, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (local) +3, Listen +3, Move

Silently +5, Open Lock +6, Search +5, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +9, Spot +3,

Tumble +6, (Diplomacy +1, Swim +1)

Feats: Iron Will, Point Blank Shot

Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome

Possessions (Combat): Cure light wounds potion (2), dagger (masterwork), dart

(masterwork) (2), dart (5), studded leather armor (masterwork), smoke stick (2),

tindertwig (5).

Possessions (Non-Combat): Artisan’s outit, 100 gp bejeweled bracelet, crowbar,

disguise kit (8 uses), entertainer’s outit, explorer’s outit, ink (3), inkpen (4), 5 10-gp

gems, 3 50-gp gems, 1 100-gp gem, mirror (small steel), parchment (20), 100 gp pearl

necklace, peasant’s outit, thieves tools (masterwork), traveler’s outit, 50 gp, 75 sp,

100 cp.

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