This mage/thief is similar to the bard in that they both have a talent for entertaining crowds. The Prestidigitator, however, not only entertains crowds, but robs them blind as well. A showman and con man, a Prestidigitator exemplifies the trickster.

Requirements:

An Intelligence of 12 or greater, a Dexterity of 11 or higher, and a Charisma of 15 or greater are required of the Prestidigitator. They may not be Lawful Good.

Role:

A Prestidigitator is a half-elf who turned to magic as a means of getting attention, but was always a rogue at heart. Often, mages will earn a living showing off their magical skills to entertainment-starved crowds. A Prestidigitator combines sleight-of-hand with real magic to excel in this career. She also can boost her income by picking a few pockets at the show, and burgling a few houses before moving on to the next village.

Secondary skills:

Required: Gambler.

Weapon proficiencies:

Any available to thieves, but they prefer small, easily concealed weapons such as knives.

Nonweapon proficiencies:

Bonus: Crowd Working (from The Complete Bard's Handbook), Observation (from The Complete Bard's Handbook). Recommended: Animal Training, Etiquette, Modern Languages, Local History, Disguise, Gaming, Ventriloquism, and Fast Talking (from The Complete Thief's Handbook).

Skill progression:

The Prestidigitator makes use of the Pick Pockets skill far more than any others. All other skills are useful to help get the character out of sticky situations when luck runs out.

Special benefits:

The Prestidigitator has two main abilities. The first is sleight-of-hand, or prestidigitation. With a successful Pick Pockets roll, the Prestidigitator can perform simple yet impressive tricks of "stage magic". The DM should modify this roll to fit the situation as is appropriate. For instance, palming a small coin should be done at a +15% bonus, while making a small animal (like a rabbit) disappear should have a -15% penalty. Obviously, making something the size of an elephant disappear would take a lot of preparation or real magic to pull off. Although not a specialist, the Prestidigitator prefers spells from the schools of illusion/phantasm and conjuration/summoning. She gains a +5% bonus to learn spells from these schools.

Special hindrances:

Prestidigitators suffer a -5% penalty to learn spells from any school other than the two listed above. Half of a Prestidigitators initial discretionary thiefly skill points must go to the Pick Pockets skill.