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Resources<br />
If you absolutely must have something to accomplish a mission,<br />
such as a map or a description of a target, your cabal<br />
provides it. Beyond that, you are expected to take care of<br />
your own needs. In major cities, the cabal can arrange for you<br />
to buy illegal materials (such as thieves’ tools and poisons)<br />
safely, but at your own expense. The group is not insensitive<br />
to your financial needs, however, and might give you leads on<br />
legitimate opportunities for jobs or treasure, thus ensuring<br />
that you acquire the funds you will need to pull off future<br />
secret missions.<br />
HANDS OF THE WINGED MASTERS<br />
IN THE WORLD<br />
“Myrmith is a great trapfinder—witty, clever, and dependable. I<br />
just wish he wouldn’t wander off so often. Sometimes it takes two<br />
or three days to find him for a new mission.”<br />
—Regdar, fighter<br />
A hand of the winged masters needs a cabal from which to<br />
take orders, and one or more worthwhile <strong>dragon</strong> rulers to<br />
work for. These need not be particularly complicated (the DM<br />
can use the First Scroll or the Shadow’s Fangs; see Chapter<br />
5), but they should match the character’s interests. A chaotic<br />
good scout should be approached by a group working toward<br />
the common good, while a lawful evil ninja is more likely<br />
to serve a <strong>dragon</strong> that believes the world must be conquered<br />
and remade in a more orderly manner.<br />
A cabal presents an easy way to interest the character in an<br />
adventure. A note from the organization requesting information<br />
about a particular dungeon or ordering the assassination<br />
of a certain evil wizard pushes the hand, and his companions,<br />
into adventure as easily as do commands from a paladin’s or<br />
cleric’s superiors.<br />
Organization<br />
A <strong>dragon</strong>-led cabal can organize itself in numerous secret<br />
ways. Typically, a hand of the winged masters knows only<br />
a few other agents and leaders, ensuring that he can’t leak<br />
much to the group’s enemies if he is captured. The hand is<br />
taught passwords and secret signs to identify other members<br />
of the cabal, but if group leaders suspect that the information<br />
has been compromised, they quickly change these codes<br />
and signals. Normally, a hand works without direct aid<br />
from the cabal, receiving orders through a secret method of<br />
communication (perhaps from a barmaid at a favored tavern)<br />
and reporting his results to a different agent. Again, if these<br />
arrangements are compromised, a new cabal member makes<br />
herself known to the hand and institutes a new set of contact<br />
procedures.<br />
NPC Reactions<br />
As long as a hand keeps his cover story intact, others treat him<br />
as if he is exactly what he claims to be. Most hands pose as<br />
adventurers who happen to be expert locksmiths, which gives<br />
them a veneer of legitimacy but often provokes suspicion<br />
from guards and nobles. However, if a hand’s role as a spy<br />
for <strong>dragon</strong>s is discovered, practically everyone immediately<br />
considers him a threat, and thereafter he receives an indifferent<br />
reaction at best.<br />
HANDS OF THE WINGED MASTERS<br />
LORE<br />
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (history) can research<br />
hands of the winged masters to learn more about them. When<br />
a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following,<br />
including the information from lower DCs.<br />
DC 10: Hands of the winged masters are agents for secretive<br />
<strong>dragon</strong>s.<br />
DC 15: Each hand receives orders from a secret cabal and<br />
rarely knows more than one or two other members.<br />
DC 20: Hands are alert, they benefit from arcane spells<br />
more than most, and they act as spies, assassins, or couriers<br />
for their <strong>dragon</strong> overlords.<br />
Finding a hand of the winged masters is difficult at best. A<br />
DC 20 Gather Information check reveals where to drop off a<br />
request for a meeting. After that, the player characters must<br />
wait to see if a hand shows up or makes contact. Only if the<br />
PCs have some urgent business will the cabal expose even a<br />
junior member of its organization.<br />
HANDS OF THE WINGED MASTERS<br />
IN THE GAME<br />
Before introducing hands of the winged masters into a<br />
campaign world, the DM should decide why one or more<br />
<strong>dragon</strong>s would need a cabal of spies, and then consider the<br />
nature of the group. The Shadow’s Fangs (see page 144) are<br />
one example of a cabal, but it’s possible for a group to serve<br />
a council of <strong>dragon</strong>s, or even drakes of good alignment<br />
that want to keep their involvement in humanoid affairs as<br />
clandestine as possible. Once you have a simple idea for the<br />
cabal, introduce it to the players and see if they’re interested<br />
in working more closely with the secretive group.<br />
A hand of the winged masters appeals most to players who<br />
like rogues, secrets, and ongoing plots. The class is built to<br />
let a PC carry out covert missions and serve hidden agendas<br />
while still having reasons to go on adventures with the rest<br />
of the party. Players who enjoy the idea of medieval spies in<br />
a fantasy setting should find the class intriguing.<br />
Adaptation<br />
Hands of the winged masters are less closely tied to <strong>dragon</strong>s<br />
than most of the other prestige classes in this chapter. They<br />
could easily be transformed into bodyguards for arcane spellcasters,<br />
couriers serving a deity of travel, or simply advanced<br />
spies. Their class features would remain the same, but the DM<br />
would need to restructure the group they work for.<br />
CHAPTER 2<br />
DRAGON<br />
ASPIRANTS<br />
45