Master Spy
RP Features require DM oversight and cannot be enforced on NPCs without it.
Class Description
Some adventurers glory in their reputations—the wider their exploits are known, the happier they are. By contrast, the master spy prefers to avoid attention. She does her work quietly and in private, keeping well away from public scrutiny. To allay suspicions, she often maintains a cover identity by pretending to be a member of some other class—typically the one in which she began her career.
Master spies are rarely popular, but so long as nation distrusts nation there will be work for those who can gather information that others wish to keep hidden. Many a ruler who publicly claims to abhor master spies secretly employs a stable of them, if only to protect his own secrets from the master spies of other nations. This set of circumstances, plus the secrecy inherent in the profession of master spy and its high mortality rate, makes it impossible to determine how many master spies are active in a setting at any given time.
Rogues make excellent master spies because of their generous skill allotments and their propensity for sneakiness. Likewise, rangers have an edge when operating as master spies in outdoor surroundings. However, a character of any class can become a master spy—the more unlikely the combination may seem, the better the cover it provides. Some wizards and sorcerers use their spell ability as a cover for subterfuge, and some barbarians are far more subtle than they seem. Master spies can be of any alignment. They range from self-serving information brokers who sell their services to the highest bidder to high-minded moles who penetrate and destroy corrupt organizations.
It’s important for a master spy to keep her personal emotions distinct from her professional attachments. She must be ready to liquidate someone she has come to like without a moment’s thought if so ordered. Betrayal is her business, and her loyalty is always to her mission, not to the people she encounters while carrying it out.
Occasionally, a master spy may find it expedient to infiltrate an adventuring party heading for the area where her real mission lies. In such a case, she behaves in all ways as a loyal party member until her goals and those of her companions diverge.
Requirements
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Bluff 5, Disguise 5, Linguistics 5, Gather Information 5.
Feats: Deceitful
Class Features
Hit Die: d6
Base Attack Bonus: Medium
Weapon Proficiencies: simple
Armor Proficiencies: Light, Medium
Skill Points: 6 + Int modifier
Class Skills: Acrobatics, Appraise, Athletics, Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Linguistics, Listen, Lore: Local, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Use Magic Device
Class Abilities
|
Level |
Features Gained |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cover Identity |
| 2 | Disguise Self (1/day), +1d6 Sneak Attack, Undetectable Alignment |
| 3 | Unlikely Cover, Use Poison |
| 4 | Slippery Mind, +1d6 Sneak Attack |
| 5 | Deep Cover |
Cover Identity (Ex)
A Master Spy is rigorously trained to establish nearly flawless cover identities. While disguised, she gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks and a +1 bonus to Bluff, Disguise, and Gather Information checks for every 5 ranks that the Master Spy possesses in a Craft or Profession skill as she becomes more skilled at living out the life of her assumed identity. At the DM's discretion, these bonuses may be reduced or eliminated in regions where the cover identity would seem out of place (bakers from Shadowdale, for example, would attract suspicion in the ruins of Myth Drannor).
The cover identity ability does not provide any additional skills that might be necessary to make a cover identity believable, such as knowledge of the proper homeland, the ability to speak a foreign language, spellcasting ability, or the like. Thus, Master Spies generally pick cover identities that complement their existing skills.
Disguise Self (Sp)
At 2nd level the Master Spy learns to cast the spell disguise self once per day. The caster decides what to disguise and may at any time remove the disguise. Unlike regular disguises, the disguise self spell creates an illusion which can be detected and dispelled. The detection DC for the spell is the Master Spy's hit dice + 10.
Sneak Attack
This ability functions like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage increases by 1d6 points at 2nd level, and by another 1d6 points at 4th level. If a Master Spy gets a sneak attack bonus from another source (such as rogue levels), the bonuses on damage stack. Furthermore, Master Spy levels stack with any other appropriate class levels (such as rogue or assassin) for the purpose of overcoming improved uncanny dodge.
Undetectable Alignment (Ex)
At 2nd level, the web of different identities and agendas inside a master spy's mind makes it impossible for others to detect her alignment by means of any form of divination. This ability functions like an undetectable alignment spell, except that it is always active.
Unlikely Cover (Ex)
At 3rd level, the DC for Spot checks made to penetrate the Master Spy's disguise increases by 4.
Use Poison
At 3rd level, a Master Spy receives training in the use of poison and never risks accidentally poisoning herself when applying poison to a blade.
Slippery Mind (Ex)
A character with this feature can wriggle free from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel her. If the character is affected by an enchantment and fails her saving throw, she can attempt her saving throw again. She only gets this one extra chance to succeed at her saving throw. If it fails as well, the spell's effects occur normally.
Deep Cover (Ex)
At 5th level, the Master Spy gains an additional +2 circumstance bonus to her Bluff, Disguise, and Gather Information checks while disguised. Furthermore, when the Master Spy is disguised within one of her cover identities, her mind is so thoroughly trained and conditioned to think like the person she pretends to be that any magical scrying or mind reading at a power level short of deific reveals nothing about her true nature. Only the thoughts, alignment, and emotions of the fictitious persona can be detected. While disguised, all scrying attempts made on the Master Spy automatically fail. She additionally gains the benefits of an unbreakable non-detection spell while disguised.