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Garner Rockfjord
Male human expert 4/ranger 1: CR 4; Medium humanoid (human); Hit Dice 1d8+4d6+5; hp 26; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 11 (+1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 10; BAB/Grapple +4/+4; Atk +4 melee (1d3 non-lethal, unarmed strike); Full atk +4 melee (1d3 non-lethal, unarmed strike); SQ favored enemy (humans), wild empathy; AL N; SV Fort +4, Reflex +4, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +14, Diplomacy +17, Disguise +9 (+19 with hat of disguise), Forgery +11, Gather Information +15, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Profession (investigator) +5, Search +11, Sense Motive +4; Deceitful, Investigator, Skill Focus (Bluff), Track.
Favored Enemy (Ex)*: Garner Rockfjord gains a +2 bonus on his Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against humans. He gets the same bonus on weapon damage rolls against humans.
*Garner Rockfjord has a slight deviation from a standard ranger--he has favored enemy (humans), due to his time spent as a con man, though he has reformed and is no longer an evil alignment.

Wild Empathy (Ex): Garner Rockfjord can improve the attitude of an animal in the same way a Diplomacy check can improve the attitude of a sentient being. He rolls 1d20+4, or 1d20 if attempting to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2.

Languages:  Common, Elven, Undercommon
Possessions: Artisan’s Outfit, Chime of opening, hat of disguise, disguise kit.

Background
Garner Rockfjord was a man of humble beginnings. His father was a soldier, his mother died in childbirth. As an adolescent, he was on his own and made a living as a small-time con-man. He was handsome and persuasive, and extremely likable. He was tall with hair, brown eyes, and a strong jaw line. Even as a youth he was handsome and popular with women. Garner also had a knack for bluffing which made him a highly successful con. His developing career as a grifter was interrupted when he was conscripted into the military at the age of 19. He talked himself into a desk job, coordinating supplies for the regiment.

With the tacit approval of his immediate superior, Garner operated a black market operation, secretly selling requisitioned supplies at lower than market price and using the capital to expand his operations. He organized a vast network of "merchants" and other delivery folks. The main buyers of his black-market contraband were the opposition forces, which didn't bother Garner's superior at all. The war dragged on and the opposition came to rely on the black market goods rather than their own supply chains. Eventually, some of the tragedy of war started to sink in, as some of Garner's friends lost their lives in the conflict. Garner arranged to cut supplies at a crucial moment, crushing the opponent's morale and bringing victory to his countrymen. Of course, the entire operation had to remain secret, and Garner's superior was not happy with the loss of his cash cow.

Garner was ordered imprisoned by his superior, and was on a track to be executed (to insure his silence). A just day before the execution, the corruption of Garner's superior was exposed and Garner was released.
Garner's alignment had been slowly shifting as he matured, and he decided to "go clean." He maintained a vast network of contacts between both rogues and among soldiers, and he even picked up several friends among the judicial system during his brief imprisonment.

Garner decided to become a professional investigator... at first doing odd jobs for old acquaintances, and eventually starting a business. He was very successful at solving cases, but not as successful at making a living, since many of his clients were deadbeats or failed to pay him. These minor setbacks didn't bother Garner, he viewed it as just a normal part of human nature. Garner reconciled with his father, who was by this time retired. Garner and his father have a close relationship, although Garner's father would rather see him in a more respectable line of business.

Garner squirreled away two very useful magical items that came across his desk during his days in the military: a chime of opening and a hat of disguise. He uses both of these items routinely in his business. His standard procedure for sneaking into an establishment is to come up with a decent disguise that will allow him the opportunity to poke around and case the joint. In some cases, he leaves a site in the middle of an investigation and comes back later with another disguise. If he absolutely must get past a locked door, he'll use his chime of opening.

Garner limits his business to the city. He doesn't go poking around in long abandoned crypts, but he will check out who's been staying at the no-tell motel. Abandoned crypts are likely to have non-discriminating traps... you can't really talk your way past a trap. The urban landscape, however, is filled with opportunities to exploit people's confidence or expectations.

As an investigator, Garner is often poking around where he doesn't belong. His feeling is that the best way to hide is not to hide at all. If a person attempts to sneak invisibly or whatnot, they are bound to be caught... eventually, someone will notice, whether it is a guard dog sniffing out an intruder, a magical alarm or someone who is simply paying attention to their job. If you really want to sneak past someone, just walk boldly past him or her as if you are going about your normal business. A good disguise is better than invisibility. A forged document is better than silence. A positive and assured demeanor is better than becoming ethereal. A delivery person, garbage collector or carpenter can often boldly walk past guards that would stop anyone that appears to be sneaking around.

As a safety measure, Garner never carries weapons. An ordinary unarmed person is less likely to arouse suspicion. The longer you can keep a guard's hand off his sword, the more likely you are to talk yourself past him. When asked by his father why he never carries a weapon, considering his line of work, Garner replied, “If I carried a weapon, I might be tempted to use it.” Most people really do not want violence; they do not want to rock the boat.

Garner's immediate goals are to make a decent living for himself and his father. He is often bailing his friends out of jail or helping people in need, which assures that he is always on the verge of going broke. He enjoys his job and gets a thrill out of pulling the wool over people's eyes. It never gets old for him. He has little regard for bureaucracies, but he has a decent idea of what is right and wrong. He keeps his word among friends (when he isn't on a job), but he'll spin a web of lies in order to accomplish a mission. When Garner first began learning how to con from an experienced mentor, his mentor once pointed at a sign that said “No Trespassing.” His mentor explained that the sign didn't say “This Means You,” so it was therefore acceptable to trespass.

Combat
ROUND-BY-ROUND TACTICS: (in case of unexpected combat)
Round 1: Talk your way out of trouble
Round 2: Talk your way out of trouble
Round 3: Talk your way out of trouble

ROUND-BY-ROUND TACTICS: (If combat is anticipated)
Round 1: RUN
Round 2: RUN
Round 3: RUN