[d20 Modern] "Alias" and the Field Agent advanced class

[JPL]

So I was watching the season premeire of "Alias" last night and reflecting on the fact that d20 Modern could use a Field Agent advanced class --- a single class that provided a good mix of undercover skills and general action-hero hoo-hah [martial arts, firearms, etc]. Just something to represent general training and experience as a cinematic spy --- Syd, Vaughn, Jack, and Dixon all seem to have similar abilities that could be modeled by a single class.

The infitrator is somewhat on target, and might make a good starting point. The improvised weapon / tool schtick could be replaced by some bonuses to skills like Bluff, Disguise, and Sense Motive [which seems more central to the archetype]. SKill Mastery would be a good class ability...and maybe something like the daredevil's ability to spend two action points at once.

Prereqs...I dunno...Personal Firearms, Combat Martial Arts, maybe a +2 base attack bonus, and six ranks in Bluff and Sense Motive? Not sure...I figure make this fairly easy to qualify for and treat the first few levels as "training" levels, so you might start a campaign of fully-trained Field Agents each with Field Agent 3 or so.

As for the bonus feat list, I'd like to see Perfect Memory [from the Star Wars Hero's Guide], Jack of All Trades, and Heroic Surge, among others --- good stuff for heroes who need a broad range of skills and the ability to improvise. Some kind of Mental Conditioning feat [+4 vs. brainwashing attempts?] would also be appropriate.

A pretty extensive skill list would be appropriate, with all the classic espionage skills represented.


Thoughts?

 

[Christopher Lambert]

There are no base claasses that give you Bluff and Sense Motive.

 

[JPL]

There are no base claasses that give you Bluff and Sense Motive.

That's true, but both seem important to the character concept.

Bluff is available as a bonus skill for several occupations [adventurer, celebrity, creative, and entrepeneur], as is Sense Motive [investigative and religious]. So an aspiring field agent might take Investigative [Sense Motive] and levels of Charismatic, or Adventurer [Bluff] and levels of Dedicated...or multiclass, or use cross-class skills.

Another another option would be to remove Sense Motive as a prereq and keep it as a class skill. Any good field agent will need to be able to spot a con as well as run one.

 

[Peterson]

Prereqs...I dunno...Personal Firearms, Combat Martial Arts, maybe a +2 base attack bonus, and six ranks in Bluff and Sense Motive?
Thoughts?

How about: Personal Firearms Proficiency, Combat Martial Arts, +2 BAB, five ranks in Bluff and Disguise, and 3 ranks in Sense Motive, and an Allegiance - not necessarily to the branch you claim to be working for, but every agent (or double/triple/etc agent) should have at least one underlying allegiance, right?

Still available by 3rd level by most classes, if you correctly plan your character out (multiclassing/specific occupations), and just slightly higher levels for those who aren't quite as good at planning.

Oddly enough, none of the classes - save for Charismatic - get Disguise, unless I missed it in my quick read-through (completely possible). Sense Motive and Bluff aren't common either.

Peterson

 

[JPL]

There should also be a special feat available to Techies called "OpTech Briefing" --- if you explain the technical aspects of a mission ahead of time, other agents gain a bonus to skills like Computer Use, Disable Device, K: Technology, etc. Like the Smart Hero "plan" talent, but limited to tech [and stackable with Plan].

Sloan could be modeled with the Mastermind class [in the UA web enhancement]...I'm not clear on whether he has much field experience, but otherwise, he could be Smart Hero / Charismatic Hero / Mastermind.

 

[jezter6]

In Haven there are classes called Organization Brains and Org. Muscle, each that have a number of talent trees based upon what org they are affiliated with...and there are a few talent trees for law enforcement and special agent types.

I'm not sure that they give the right bonuses you're looking for, but I think that's the way to go, build a generic 'agent' class with saves and BAB all the same, then give talent trees for them to pick abilities from instead of making 4 or 5 different agent classes based on what you want them to be.

 

[takyris]

I guess my initial problem with this idea is that if you make the class based on stuff Syd can do, then it's going to be such a cool class that every player in his right mind is going to want it. I think of Syd as being kickass because she's an extremely high level character who primarily interacts with 2nd-level guards. Mentally, I gave her levels of Fast and Charismatic as the base classes, and then something like Martial Artist and Daredevil as Advanced Classes. Martial Artist is in there because she does do some kickin', but also to get her Base Attack bonus up to a decent level.

That said, a single class that combines some stealth, some social stuff, and a little bit of combat (but not much -- she shouldn't have a Strong BAB) could be fun. I'd just make sure as you designed it that you didn't out-stealth the Infiltrator and out-talk the Negotiator.

Sample class abilities I'd love:

Quick Change: You may make a Disguise Check after 1d4 minutes of preparation, instead of the standard 1d4 x10 minutes, although you suffer a -2 on the check. In an emergency, you may make a Disguise Check after just 1d4 rounds of preparation, although you suffer a -4 on the check.

Nobody Here: You may attempt to Hide without the benefit of cover or concealment, using luck and correct positioning to put yourself somewhere that passing people are simply unlikely to look -- behind the door they just opened, over their heads while clinging to pipes, and so on. The Agent spends an Action Point to use this ability, which is then in effect until the encounter is over -- or until combat begins. Anyone who might see the Agent must make a Will save (DC 10 + Agent Level + Agent's Charisma Bonus) or fail to notice that the Agent is there. Attacking or other obvious activity immediately negates this ability. If many people are in the area, the GM may simply roll one Will save for each group.

And one final note: I'd rule against including Sense Motive. The one great thing about Alias is that there are maybe two people on the show who have ever put ranks into Sense Motive -- Jack and Sloane. They read people and are one step ahead. Syd, for all her magnificent bluffing, gets these surprises every episode. Sure, she reads people every now and then, but no more so than anybody else -- which would seem to suggest that she's doing it untrained. At most, she's got a few Dedicated Levels to make her Bluffs benefit from Empathy, and she randomly gets a few Sense Motive pings from that.

 

[JPL]

I guess my initial problem with this idea is that if you make the class based on stuff Syd can do, then it's going to be such a cool class that every player in his right mind is going to want it. I think of Syd as being kickass because she's an extremely high level character who primarily interacts with 2nd-level guards. Mentally, I gave her levels of Fast and Charismatic as the base classes, and then something like Martial Artist and Daredevil as Advanced Classes. Martial Artist is in there because she does do some kickin', but also to get her Base Attack bonus up to a decent level.
.

Well, she did do the "Nip Up" when she fought EvilFrancie...that's Daredevil...

Good points all around. No, this shouldn't be an uberclass --- it just looks that way because Syd and Dixon have 8 or 10 levels of it. And Syd should have some levels of Martial Artist, I agree.

Interesting point about Sense Motive...most people on this show who decide to keep a secret manage to keep it, for years or decades. But is that because no one has ranks in Sense Motive, or because everyone is maxed out in Bluff?

You could always throw in a Bonus Class Skill as a class ability somewhere, to keep the class flexible without bloating the list of class skills.

 

[takyris]

The thing I like about Daredevil is that if you're a complete minmaxer, you can combine it with Negotiator and tweak your Action Points to high holy heaven. Daredevil to spend two at once, Negotiator to add another d6 for the purpose of extra rolls -- and of course, enough Dedicated levels to get the Faith ability that lets you add your Wisdom modifier to Action Point totals.

I ended up with a Charismatic/Dedicated/Negotiator/Daredevil/Martial Artist character once who could get an average of +15 by spending 2 action points on a single action. Man, he was awesome. Silly beyond belief, but awesome.

And yeah, I like Daredevil for Syd. Works with her general acrobaticness and driving ability. Probably a level or two of Tough based on her ability to survive and keep moving despite horrific bad stuff happening -- and because it lets her get Concentration without going cross-class.

 

[JPL]

The thing I like about Daredevil is that if you're a complete minmaxer, you can combine it with Negotiator and tweak your Action Points to high holy heaven. Daredevil to spend two at once, Negotiator to add another d6 for the purpose of extra rolls -- and of course, enough Dedicated levels to get the Faith ability that lets you add your Wisdom modifier to Action Point totals.

I ended up with a Charismatic/Dedicated/Negotiator/Daredevil/Martial Artist character once who could get an average of +15 by spending 2 action points on a single action. Man, he was awesome. Silly beyond belief, but awesome.

And yeah, I like Daredevil for Syd. Works with her general acrobaticness and driving ability. Probably a level or two of Tough based on her ability to survive and keep moving despite horrific bad stuff happening -- and because it lets her get Concentration without going cross-class.

I bet if you took fifty Alias fans who played d20 Modern and had them stat Syd, you'd get 50 different versions. Like most pulpy serial heroes, she ends up displaying a wide range of traits over the years.

Using just the core book, I'd go something like Fast / Charismatic / Infiltrator / Martial Artist..."close enough for jazz," as I use to say in my days as a musician...