Special Directorate Officer (Dragonstar)
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Credit to Neo for some inspiration for this class.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Menacing Presence |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Eye of Eight Implant |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Inscrutable Facade |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Doppelganger Implant |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Dark Credibility |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Misdirection Implant |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Never Out of Uniform |
| 8th | +6 | +2 | +6 | +6 | Telepathy Implant |
| 9th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | The Directorate is Your Friend |
| 10th | +7 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Sending Implant |
The ISPD is the secret arm of the emperor, enforcing his orders and transmitting his instructions to all parts of the Dragon Empire, and it is lead by an officer corps as ruthless and twisted as Emperor Mezzenbone himself. The best of these officers becomeSpecial Directorate Officers.
Most ISPD operatives take great pleasure in the status gained from this position, but only a few of them go so far as to actually become full career officers with the ISPD and develop this prestige class. Most remain rogues, clerics or sorcerers, with some choosing the Spy Master and Covert Spellcaster prestige classes.
Under the aegis of the emperor's orders, individual ISPD operatives have a surprising amount of autonomy, and can do almost anything they want as long as they don't have any specific orders. But they also stand alone if caught - the emperor will not protect an incompetent minion whose personal ambitions got them in trouble. So Special Directorate Officers try to keep any personal business strictly private.
Prerequisites:
Skills: Gather Information (4 ranks), Intimidate (10 ranks), and Sense Motive (4 ranks).
Special: Operative in good standing with the ISPD
Alignment: Any nongood
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int, restricted skill), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Innuendo (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Wis), Open Lock (Dex), Pick Pocket (Dex), Profession (Wis), Read Lips (Int, restricted skill), Scry (Int, restricted skill), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language, Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha, restricted skill), Use Rope (Dex)
Dragonstar Class Skills: Cryptography (Int), Demolitions (Int), Freefall (Dex), Navigate (Int), Pilot (Dex), Repair (Int), Research (Wis), Urban Lore (Wis), Use Device (Int).
Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Special Directorate Officer class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Special Directorate Officer is proficient with all simple weapons as well as light armor but not with shields.
Menacing Presence: When people see an operative in their silver trimmed black uniforms marked by the symbol of the spider goddess they tend to hang their heads and make themselves scarce. A Special Directorate Officer gains a +5 circumstance bonus on Intimidation checks while in uniform.
Eye of Eight Implant: This is a free Spellware implant provided to ISPD agents and no one else. The eye of eight implant gives the operative the ability to sense the four major alignments (not true neutral) - similar to the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells, but with only a single target, without giving any power level, and unable to work outside line-of sight. It also gives very basic empathy, enough for a +5 circumstance bonus on Gather Information and Sense Motive skills. This device is usable at will, and costs the Special Directorate Officer nothing - the directorate founds it. Just as with any form of alignment detection, it is technically illegal for ISPD operatives to act solely on this information.
'Inscrutable Façade: It can be hard to se the woman beneath the uniform, and a Special Directorate Officer knows how to utilize this fully. The Special Directorate Officer can use the Disguise skill in an opposed roll to try and counter Sense Motive attempts to get a hunch about them, and gets a +10 bonus on Disguise checks when in uniform. This bonus never stacks with the bonus gained from the doppleganger inplants change self ability.
Doppelganger Implant: The Special Directorate Officer receives the doppelganger spellware Implant from the Directorate in order to aid their under cover missions and ability to blend into the urban landscape. The operative does not pay any experience or credit costs for this implant as the directorate provides it.
Dark Credibility: Over time, the Special Directorate Officer develops a form of credibility. They might be cruel, but they really do have the power to help those who work for them. This earns them a +5 bonus to the Bluff skill when in uniform.
Misdirection Implant: The Special Directorate Officer receives the aura mask spellware implant from the directorate in order to aid their under cover missions. The operative does not pay any experience or credits for this implant as the directorate provides it. Additionally, these special implants have been modified - they can cause a misdirection effect, making the user's aura seem to be something it isn't.
Never Out of Uniform: Over time, the uniform becomes a mental state. A Special Directorate Officer of sufficient level need not actually wear the uniform in order to receive the bonuses associated with it.
Telepathy Implant: The Special Directorate Officer receives the telepath spellware implant. This is given in order to aid investigations and communication between under cover operatives, as well as to maintain the"Thought Police" side of the ISPD's objectives. This implant also allows for the selective programming of witnesses, as the directorate requires.
The Directorate is Your Friend: It is almost uncanny, the way certain torturers can win the trust, faith and even love of their victims. At this level, the Special Directorate Officer gets a +5 bonus to the Diplomacy skill.
Sending Implant: Another special ISPD implant, that allows the agent to use sending as a spell-like ability at will. Special Directorate Officers with this implant are often used for long-distance missions of critical importance, where the ability to report quickly and regularly is paramount, and by ISPD directors who need to be able to contact field agents at their leisure.
Ex-Special Directorate Officers
Special Directorate Officers don't retire. Possibly, they can go on "detached durty" and operate outside the aegis of the ISPD, but even that is rare. Once you are this deep in, you are in for the duration. An ex-Special Directorate Officer is either a pretence or very soon to be dead. But Emperor Mezzenbone is highly chaotic, and it may amuse him to let a former Special Directorate Officer survive for a time to wreak further havok.
An ex-Special Directorate Officer does not have the right to wear the ISPD uniform or use the ISPD badge, and this will certainly limit his abilities. Nor can he progress any further in the prestige class.
If the ISPD itself were to be dismantled or greatly reduced in statue, all uniform-dependent abilities of the Special Directorate Officer prestige class would cease to function.
(...)