The more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite all the chaos and danger of the Gamma Age, sentient beings still tend more towards war than peace, aggression rather than alliance. Dozens of sentient species now walk the earth, but most treat their neighbours with suspicion rather than friendship. There’s still a need for spies and information gatherer to ferret out the secrets of hostile, possibly hostile, and even friendly powers—and that task becomes all the more difficult when your spy is of a different species than the culture she’s investigating.
An Agent is a strange mix of spy, investigator, and anthropologist, who discovers the secrets of other species while living in their midst. Agents tend to operate under cover identities that explain their presence in a foreign species’ community, such as a trader, mercenary, or adventurer. Some Agents operate more openly, admitting that they have come to gather information (if not secrets) to foster interracial understanding. Agents don’t have to work for their community; some do it simply to assuage their own curiosity or foster their own plans.
REQUIREMENTS
Base Attack Bonus: +2.
Skills:
Diplomacy 1 rank,
Investigate 1 rank,
Perception 1 rank.
Feats:
Decptive.
CLASS INFORMATION
Hit Die: d8.
Action Points: 6 + half character level (rounded down) per level.
Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Computer Use (data and operation systems) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Investigate (Int), Knowledge (gossip, politics, streetwise) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 6 + Intelligence modifier.
Table: The Agent
CLASS FEATURES
Cultural Study: At 1st level, the Agent selects a specific culture, species, or community, and learns all she can about it. She must be able to speak or read that culture’s language in order to select it. She gains a +1 competence bonus on Diplomacy, Linguistics, Research, and Sense Motive checks made against members of that culture or that concern that culture. The bonus rises to +2 at 5th level, and +3 at 8th level.
Inscrutable Foreigner: At 2nd level, the Agent gets a +2 competence bonus on Bluff checks, but only when using the skill against sentient beings of a different species. Though emphasizing differences in culture, worldview, and mindset, the Agent convinces the target that her actions are honest and benign, but that her foreign nature makes her impossible to understand. The bonus increases to +4 at 7th level.
Bonus Feats: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the Agent gets a bonus feat. The bonus feat must be selected from the following list, and the Agent must meet all the prerequisites of the feat to select it.
Alertness,
Attentive,
Cautious,
Combat Expertise,
Confident,
Focused,
Heroic Focus,
Improved Feint,
Iron Will,
Low Profile,
Meticulous,
Nanotech Attunement,
Personal Firearms Proficiency,
Psionic Potential,
Stealthy,
Trustworthy.
Hide Thoughts: At 4th level, as Agent becomes so adept at dissembling and deception that she can even disguise her thoughts, protecting her mind from being telepathically read. The Agent gains power resistance of 10 + her character level, but only against attempts to read her mind. Other psionic powers and abilities are not affected.
Further Study: At 5th level, the Agent becomes familiar with a second species or culture as per the Cultural Study ability. Again, she must be able to speak or read that culture’s language in order to select it. The bonus from Cultural Study applies to both cultures.
Web of Contacts: At 7th level, the Agent has established a network of contacts, informants, and helpers throughout the culture she is infiltrating. Spend 1 action point to make a favour check, with a favour bonus equal to the character’s class level. The check can only be made in the community or species that the agent is operating in. If the character has a favour bonus from another basic or advanced class, that bonus stacks with this ability.
Instinctive Strike: At 8th level, the Agent has developed a sixth sense about species other than her own, a gut feeling which gives her an edge in combat with such aliens. She adds her Wisdom bonus to her total attack bonus for attacks made against a sentient species other than her own. The bonus only applies to appropriate aberrations, humanoids, and mutant humanoids, never to other creature types, and only if the Agent is proficient with the weapon she uses (if any).
Universally Connected: At 10th level, the Agent’s contact network is so extensive that she can probably find a contact or temporary ally anywhere in the world. She can spend 1 action point to make a favour check in any location, and her favour bonus is equal to her total character level. If the character has a favour bonus from another basic or advance class, that bonus stacks with this ability.
