Races of Wild

Your Rapid Shot feat and improved catch ability make youvery effective as a ranged sneak attack specialist. Remember,halflings gain a +1 attack bonus with thrown weapons; you’reat your best with a bandolier of daggers and an enemy standing10 feet away. By the time you have a couple of levels inwhisperknife, you can deliver multiple sneak attacks in asingle round.AdvancementSurprise and mobility areyour best weapons onthe battlefield. Lookfor feats, skills, ormagic items thatadd to these capabilities.Dodge andMobility help youto move aroundenemies andavoid attacksof opportunity,as does the Tumbleskill. ImprovedInitiative increasesyour chanceof catching afoe flat-footed atthe beginningof a fight and endingthe battlebefore the otherfellow evenknows it has started.Your Dexterityscore probably exceedsyour Strength score by afair margin, so WeaponFinesse will make you a much bettermelee combatant.If you decide to take levels in classes other than whisperknifeas you advance, you should strongly consider ranger,fighter, or rogue. Ranger and fighter levels add more of thefeats that you will want to master, while rogue levels increaseyour sneak attack damage faster.Find yourself at least one dagger or similar light thrownweapon with the returning special ability, and preferablytwo or more. You’ll never run out of things to throw as longas at least one of them comes back each round.ResourcesEvery halfling settlement or caravan is your haven and yourretreat. Like a partisan or a guerrilla, you can move amongyour neighbors and kin, hidden from the eyes of yourenemies. Even halflings who generally disapprove of yourmethods will shelter you for a short time; they know howimportant it is for halflings to look out for each other.Your closest allies are the other members of yourtriangle (see below). Even if you go for a long timewithout seeing these comrades, you should stay in touchby correspondence or by leaving messages for themat prearranged places. Whenyou need someone in the nexttown over to dig into the truthof a rumor or observe thecomings and goings of aparticular person, theother whisperknivesin your triangle maybe able to help you. Ofcourse, you shouldexpect to do thesame for them whenthey request it.Not all otherwhisperknivesare your friends.While few whisperknivesever raise blades against eachother, some members of theclass are little more than secretivehalfling assassins,willing to kill anyone if theprice is right. You share a simpleprofessional courtesy withwhisperknives whose methods andmotivation differ from yours, butyou certainly do not have to helpthem in their work, nor shouldyou expect them to help you inyours.Gerend Eastwind,a whisperknifeWHISPERKNIVESIN THE WORLDLike the halflings themselves,whisperknives presenta dichotomous face to the world. They are assassins in allbut name, frequently stalking and killing the enemies ofthe halfling race, but they are also courageous defendersof their people. While some whisperknives lose their wayand become simple killers for hire, most save their bladesfor those who have done (or intend to do) injury to otherhalflings. Many whisperknives submerge this hidden causewithin the career of an itinerant adventurer, keeping theireyes open for dangers to the halfling race as they wanderfrom land to land.OrganizationFor generations, whisperknives have used an effective organizationalstructure: the triangle. Whisperknives gather inIllus. by D. CrabappleCHAPTER 5PRESTIGECLASSES137