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Some monarchs sponser crack teams of explorers.

Requirements

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The royal explorer gains proficiency with one exotic weapon of choice. He gains no other weapon or armor proficiencies.

Bonus Language: At 1st level and each odd-numbered royal explorer level thereafter, the character gains one bonus language of choice from Table 4-6 in the Player's Handbook.

Explorer Lore: A royal explorer has a chance to know almost anything, either from his own experience or from the tales of fellow explorers. This ability functions exactly like bardic knowledge (see the Bard section in Chapter 3 of the Player's Handbook), except that the check modifier equals the character's royal explorer level + his Intelligence modifier. Bard levels stack with royal explorer levels for the purpose of determining this modifier.

Explorer Check: The royal explorer makes a Knowledge (geography) check (DC 15) once per month or whenever he travels to a new culture. Success means he can use his knowledge of the culture he is visiting to his advantage, gaining a +4 circumstance bonus on certain skill checks. At 2nd level, this bonus applies only to Diplomacy checks. For every two royal explorer levels thereafter, the bonus also applies to one additional skill, as shown on Table 1—5. He retains these circumstance bonuses until his next Knowledge (geography) check. For particularly isolated or far-off cultures, the DM can raise the DC of the Knowledge (geography) check to 20 or higher.

Track: At 2nd level, the royal explorer gains Track as a bonus feat.

Brave: A royal explorer of 3rd level or higher gains a +4 morale bonus on Will saves against fear effects.

Search Bonus: At 5th level, a royal explorer gains a +2 competence bonus on Search and Wilderness lore checks made to find a path, including checks for secret doors and for following tracks.

Never Lost: A royal explorer of 6th level or higher automatically succeeds at Wilderness lore and Intuit Direction checks made to avoid being lost, and maze spells don't affect him.

Skill Mastery: At 7th level and higher, a royal explorer can use his skills reliably even under adverse conditions. When he first qualifies for this ability, select a number of skills equal to 3 + his Intelligence modifier for mastery. When making a check with one of these skills, the character may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so.

Fearless (Ex): A royal explorer of 9th level or higher is immune to fear effects.

The Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society

Because they're map-intensive and hand-scribed, copies of the Minutes of the Royal Explorers Society are rare. Thus, they are terrific finds for characters seeking adventure (and treasure). Each bimonthly issue contains at least one lengthy report on a far-off land, typically written as a series of journal entries. Relevant maps are included, as is other data collected during the exploration. Shorter reports on explorations in progress appear in a separate "Correspondence from Afield" section.

The most interesting parts of the Minutes, however, are near the back of each issue. The "Annotations" section offers lively debate as explorers query, dispute, or praise reports from previous issues. The "Order of the Cautionary Tale" section always offers a firsthand account of some misadventure, comic or tragic, suffered by a royal explorer. The Order of the Cautionary Tale isn't a real knightly order, of course, but many royal explorers take a curious pride in attaining membership. After all, an explorer has to survive to tell a cautionary tale. ?