Some people adventure for fame, excitement, or a pocket full of gold. The explorer seeks out knowledge of the world around him, endeavoring to push back the veil of mystery that cloaks the lands that lie off the edge of maps and charts. Explorers do not always have purely altruistic motivations behind their drive to uncover mysteries of the land. Some seek to profit from their work, while others desire the fame and renown that come with great discoveries and legendary deeds. Explorers are adept at making their way through foreign cultures and surviving tough environments. While their motives are sometimes questionable, their talents are not.
Adventuring
Explorers approach adventures with a calculating, careful eye. Their vocation takes them into strange, unknown lands where thoughtful planning always trumps rash, impulsive deeds. An explorer may research a dungeon before entering it, hoping to gain some advantage from his knowledge of its history, past occupants, and the legends surrounding it. More than a few expeditions have uncovered a great treasure or dodged a gruesome fate because of the explorers scholarly diligence.
Role-Playing
Explorers tend to break down into two different types. Those who adventure in the name of learning are often serious, strident scholars who wish to expand their understanding of the world and contribute to the existing body of knowledge. These explorers are are often serious, dedicated, and brave. In their eyes, the quest for knowledge is as important as any crusade for justice or freedom. While they may be trained as academics, they have the same toughness, resourcefulness, and wit of any more traditional, rough and ready adventurer.
Other explorers are opportunistic, greedy pillagers. They use their knowledge to uncover wealth and track down forgotten artifacts. While their more altruistic minded fellows seek to uncover knowledge for the good of all, these explorers are concerned only with their own well being. Struggles between explorers are often rooted in this division, with one camp working to study an ancient site and another seeking only to uncover its treasures and sell them to the highest bidder.
Bonuses
Explorers are much more academically minded than the typical adventure, and as such gain all Knowledge skills as class skills. Furthermore, explorers gain two additional languages as their studies of foreign cultures and ancient ruins require them to pick up many tongues, near or far. The explorer may select any racial and national tongue, or ancient magical languages such as draconic, infernal, or celestial
Penalties
The explorer is obsessive once they've stumbled upon a good find or legend. When a explorer reads or hears of a local legend that pertains to a nearby ruin or other explorable site of old they must make a Will save DC:15 or that legend becomes their Focus. The explorer must actively prepare to explore the site of their Focus. They will not stop actively trying to delve into the site until they've either spent several days at the site exploring to their satisfaction or they can be convinced that the site is a hoax. An explorer is only subject to a Focus once a month.