This character class has been culled from a back issue of Dragon(tm) Magazine and details a character classes for use in a 1st Edition AD&D game.

Jester

Jesters are adventurous non-player characters with an overwhelming sense of the absurd. They roam from place to place, telling tales, pulling practical jokes, insulting the most fearsome of monsters and characters, and generally making nuisances of themselves. Because of their outlook on the world and their special powers, they may prove potentially useful (or annoying) to adventuring parties.

Any human or demi-human race may have jesters, but only humans, half-elves, and gnomes. have unlimited advancement in the class. Halflings may go to 12th level before their jokes get boring, and elves may go to 10th level before their jokes get too exotic. Dwarves are not very humorously inclined and may only reach the 6th level. Since half-orcs and their kin all think things like thumb-screws and iron maidens are marvelously comic (feelings not shared by many other people), they may only attain the 4th level of experience. Half-elves can advance without limit because they are able to draw from human and elven comedy and thus have a richer sense of humor. Gnomes are more adventurous on the whole than halflings are, and are more mischievous as well; thus, they can progress further than the latter.

A jester must be either neutral good, chaotic good, true neutral, or chaotic neutral. The intelligence and wisdom scores of a jester must each be at least 12, charisma must be at least 13, and dexterity must be 9 or better. Jesters with intelligence, wisdom, and dexterity scores all of 16 or higher gain a 10% bonus to earned experience points. Charisma, in the case of a jester, refers primarilyto his/her skill in drawing attention and not to physical appearance, which may vary widely. Jesters tend to be smaller than the average height of their race.

The jester class cannot be combined with any other class at any time by the same character. Any change from the jester's alignment to a lawful or evil alignment immediately makes the jester a thief with only climbing and pickpocketing skills and no others, not even the normal thieving skills. If he or she changes or is changed back to the former alignment or another acceptable one, the character may resume play as a jester after a rest of one month of game time.

Jesters' hit dice are six-sided, and they may have as many as 10 hit dice. Beyond 10th level, the jester gets two additional hit points per level.

1. One new language, over and above those already allowed to the jester NPC because of intelligence, may be learned at each odd-numbered level of experience, including first level. To reflect the jester's naturally strange mind, the new language may (if the DM desires) be rolled randomly from the table on p. 102 of the Dungeon Masters Guide, re-rolling if the resulting language is already known.
2. Due to their outrageous mannerisms and peculiar dress, jesters gain a +1 on initiative die rolls in combat situations with all types of opponents (who are assumed to be too stunned or surprised to react quickly).
3. Jesters save on the thief table, with a +1 on all saving throws to account for their extremely good luck.
4. Jesters can climb walls and other rough vertical surfaces with a base 75% chance of success. This chance improves 2% for each level from second through ninth, and 1% per level thereafter to a maximum chance of 99% Racial and dexterity bonuses for climbing, from p. 16 of the Players Handbook, are applicable to jester NPCs.
5. From the third level onward, jesters may pick pockets as well as a thief of two levels lower. Racial and dexterity bonuses apply to this ability as well.
6. Being the masters of wit and insult that they are, jesters may raise the morale of friends and lower the morale of enemies within a 60-foot radius of the jester. The morale score alteration is either +10% or -10%, depending on whether the listener is an ally or an enemy. There is no saving throw against this ability. A jester who is engaged in altering the local morale conditions can perform other actions at the same time, like fighting, climbing, running, etc. Morale is altered through the skillful use of loud vocal commentary and hand gestures; thus silence, paralysis, hold, and other related spells can prevent morale alteration if used successfully against the offending jester. Morale effects begin immediately after one round of verbal and somatic communication by the jester, and continue for as long as the jester cares to keep it up (to a maximum of 6 turns, when he or she gets hoarse) plus 2-8 turns thereafter. Only those creatures able to understand what the jester is saying will be affected. A jester who insults orcs in the hill giant tongue will have no effect on their morale, but a hill giant behind the orcs, if within 60 feet, will certainly be affected. In the same situation, if another NPC was within 60' of the jester, was allied with the jester and understood the hill giant language, he would have an improved morale score at the same time the hill giant's morale is lowered. If the hill giant fails a morale check, he will leave (ears burning) and not return for at least 20 minutes.
7. Jesters of any level are immune to insanity of any sort (no matter what anyone else thinks). This does not include confusion spells and the like.
8. Jesters are accustomed by trade to juggling small objects and doing tricks with them. This experience has an important side effect; any time a jester is aware that a small grenade-like object, dagger, or dart has been tossed within 10 feet of him or her, there is a base 80% chance, +1% per level of the jester to a maximum of 99%, that the jester can successfully catch the item in question and immediately (in the same segment) toss it back in the direction it came from. The jester cannot do anything else in that round, but may do this up to three times in a round if necessary. Only objects up to 10 gp (one pound) in weight may be so caught in this manner. The category of grenade-like objects could include vials of poison, flaming bottles of oil, acid grenades, or the third form of Otiluke's Freezing Sphere. Even a poisoned dagger may be safely grasped if the jester catches it, provided the hilt itself is not poisoned. The jester will not be struck by the item if he or she misses, unless the caster had made a successful “to hit” score in the first place. If the jester catches a dagger or dart but has no expertise with the weapon, it can be thrown back but will have the non-proficiency penalty on the chance to score a hit. To perform this action, the jester must have at least one hand free and cannot be wearing any sort of glove or hand coverings
9. At the 16th level of ability and above, a High Jester is also known as a Prince of Fools. He or she then gains the power to read and utilize scrolls of a magic-user or illusionist nature, with the same degree of skill as a 10th-level thief. The same chances for causing the spell to be misunderstood or backfire are present; however, if the spell backfires, there is only a 10% chance that it will adversely affect the jester casting it. (Other people nearby may not be so fortunate.)
10. Jesters are so skilled at casting their voices (most commonly when using mannequins) that they function as if they had a permanent ventriloquism spell, though this ability is not magical. The range of this ability is a 1” radius around the jester (10 feet indoors and 30 feet outdoors). As with the spell, the jester may change his or her voice, make different sorts of noises, and so on, so long as the noises are something that could conceivably be made vocally. There is a 10% chance per point of intelligence that each listener has above the intelligence of the jester that the ruse will be discovered; this chance may be rolled once per round when the ventriloquism ability is used.

Weapons and armor

Jesters may only wear leather armor, but they may employ small shields of any sort in combat. They tend to dress in bright colors, but might not necessarily be highly visible at extreme ranges. The only weapons permitted to jesters are clubs, daggers, scimitars, slings, staves, and swords (either short, long, or broad swords). Oil may be used as a weapon, but jesters will almost never use poison under any circumstances but the most extreme. Too frequent use of poison changes a jester's alignment to evil irrevocably. Jesters attack on the thief's combat table, but have none of the thief's benefits on backstabbing opponents. Two weapons may initially be chosen by a jester character at first level. The non-proficiency penalty is -3, and a new weapon is gained for every four levels of experience beyond the first.

Magic items

Magic leather armor, magic small shields, and magic weapons of the permitted types may be employed by jester characters. Only those magic items usable by all character classes and restricted to none may also be used by a jester.

At the Dungeon Master's option, jesters may have several special magical items that can be used only by the jester class. Other character classes attempting to make use of these items may suffer minor damage, a mild form of insanity or confusion, or some other effect of a comic nature. The Dungeon Master is left to his or her own best judgement and creativity in coming up with such items and their potentially useful or debilitating effects. Imagine the uses of the Nose of Bozo, the Arrow of Steve Martin, or the dreaded Tome of Henny Youngman.

Henchmen and hirelings

Jesters may take into service any sort of standard hireling as listed in the Dungeon Masters Guide, with the exception of any lawful or evil characters. Henchmen may be taken at any level and may be any character except paladins, assassins, monks, and any other lawful or evil characters. Jesters do not normally establish castles or citadels, and don't attract any followers even if they do. They can give performances at arenas in any city, as well as spontaneous shows at any street corner; payment by local crowds should be determined by the DM. A jester of ninth level or more may establish a “fun house” or carnival to attract bigger crowds and make more money; details, again, should be worked out by the DM.

Magic spells

By dint of studious application, and a lot of luck, jesters may manage to commit to memory a small number of magic spells normally usable by magic-users, druids, or illusionists. All the jester's spells are of the Enchantment/Charm variety, and there is a 1% chance per level of the spell that it will misfire each time it is used and have no effect, since jesters' minds weren't made for storing spells well. Jesters must research the spells they wish to know (and may invent new ones if they desire); upon learning each new spell, a jester is able to record it in a special spell book that cannot be used by anyone but another jester, so he or she call relearn the spell after it is cast. This is very much like the way in which rangers learn and use their magic-user spells. Jesters can cast their spells while wearing leather armor. A complete list of spells (if the DM desires, include other Enchantment/Charm spells) as follows:

The Last Jest gives them a +3 on their saving throw, and the most extreme effect (death by mirth) cannot be achieved. (See list of saving-throw modifiers hereafter.) Needless to say, a joke can be intrinsically funny, but if told without skill it can still fall flat. This is why only bards (who are professionals in this sort of thing) can tell the Jest with effect. Indeed, only bards know the best lines, although similar jokes and stories of this nature are common. The Jest is guaranteed to get a laugh almost anywhere it is told, but for it to have special effect, the bard must roll his charm percentage or less, just as if he were attempting to charm his hearers. Saving throws vs. the Jest are made as saves vs. magic. A hearer's magic resistance does not apply in any way, however, for the Jest is neither charm nor any other form of magic. It isjust screamingly funny, especially when told by a trained bard. Note also that immunity to charm spells, which some beings and characters possess, also does not count vs. the Jest—not even as a bonus on thesaving throw.

When the bard rolls his charm percentage or lower and the hearer fails his saving throw, the hearer is helpless with laughter and will die within 7-10 (d4+6) rounds.

If the hearer makes his saving throw, the hearer is helpless with laughter for 7-16 (d10+6) rounds, and weak (-2 “to hit”) for 2-8 (2d4) rounds thereafter.

When the bard rolls more than his charm percentage and the hearer fails his saving throw, the hearer laughs for 1-6 rounds. Reaction dice are at +25%, during this time, and the hearer is able to react fully to any situation, but is susceptible to automatic surprise during the first 1-3 rounds of laughing.

If the hearer makes his saving throw, the hearer is angered and/or scornful, his reaction rolls are modified downward 25%, and the hearer is wary and cautious (no automatic surprise possible).

Modifiers to the hearers' saving throws are as follows:

• Bard fails charm percentage roll: +2
• Hearer's intelligence Low: +1
• Hearer's intelligence High or better: -2 (More intelligent hearers can pick up on more subtleties than a comparatively simple hearer can.)
• Jest told in tongue understood by, but not native to, hearers: +3 on save, maximum effect not possible.
• At the DM's option, large groups (e.g., a bunch of orcs, roaring drunk, and looking for entertainment at their captive's expense) may be given a mass saving throw.

Bards are immune to the effects of the Jest, as are leprechauns, whose reaction to the teller will rise 50% upon hearing the Jest properly told. All other joke-telling beings are liable to it, with the following exceptions and special cases: Sphinxes save at -2.

Certain intelligent undead might be subject to the Jest (DM's option), but get a +5 on their saving throw. Some common-speaking dragons may be terribly amused by the Jest, but they will not be helpless with laughter (though they may be surprised). Non-intelligent animals, and beings from the outer planes, are not affected - not that they don't have a sense of humor, but it doesn't dance to the same tune.

The Jest is an oral tradition; it will never be found written down.

A bard gets one chance to learn (and subsequently use) the Jest upon attaining each new level of experience beyond the first level. It can only be used once while the bard occupies a particular experience level, except for 23rd-level bards, who can learn and use the Jest once per month. To learn the Jest, the bard must roll his legend lore percentage. He can also learn it from another bard who knows it, but the price for sharing such a professional secret would be very stiff - a major magical item plus cash, plus a favor or three, to say the least. The Jest is very intricate and full of nuances, and cannot just be rattled off. If the bard attempts it more than once before going up a level, he must roll for his charm percentage five times (once per round of telling), or he blows the joke, and in any event the hearers get an extra +2 on their saving throws in addition to any other modifiers that may apply. Interrupting the Jest while it is being told blows the whole deal, whether the bard or someone else is the interrupter. Under most conditions, a bard can get even a rowdy crowd under control, so the DM should not be too finicky about hecklers, noise, or acoustics interfering with hearing the entire Jest. A good bard can take these conditions and turn them to his advantage. Besides, laughter is infectious - so what if you missed a line here or there? But someone who cannot hear at least a part of the bard's performance will not be affected by the Jest. Remember the motto of Fergus, pupil of the grand old Diarmuid himself: He who laughs last, laughs longest.

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