Detective

Trained in the art of investigation and scouring for clues, detectives differ from the police in that they live for the hunt, deducing clues and motives from thorough observation.

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Detectives care for the six important questions; who, what, where, when, why, and how. They ask these constantly, to themselves and regarding their current cases. There are many different types of detectives and many philosophies that go into the work, with some preferring the more indirect and anti-law method (private eyes) while others wish to be by-the-book and work with or alongside the police (typically called 'police detectives'). In some places, especially those of fascist or dictatorial governments, only the latter form is ever allowed with 'private eyes' being frequently arrested for obstruction of justice or other "crimes" with no real backing, but really just an excuse for the police to offer them to work officially - or end their foolish gambit of playing cop on the streets.

Class Prerequisites

Intellect at least 4, Drive at least 3

Class Skills

Detectives receives the following skills: Pistol (Learned), Appraise (Learned), Gambling (Learned), Lore [Choose 3] (Learned), Research (Learned), Symbology (Learned), Tracking (Learned), Drive (Learned), Sneaking (Learned), Trickery (Learned), Sight (Learned), Hearing (Learned), Deception (Learned), Intimidate (Learned), and Persuasion (Learned)

Class Traits

Detectives receive one of the traits from the following list: Private Eye, Tight Leash, Secret Police, and Something Ain't Right


Level Class Abilities
1 Detailed Memory, Investigation
2 Line of Questioning
3 Red Herring
4 The Search +2
5 Tireless Hunt
6 Informants
7 Rapier Wit
8 The Search +4
9 Crisis
10 Keen Analysis

Class Details

Details pertaining to Detective.

Detailed Memory

You've been blessed with a memory which retains detailed knowledge of crime scenes, evidence, and words as they're said during investigations. You can attempt to recall any previous details you witnessed from a crime scene, evidence you've seen or been told of, and conversations which you've already had - consulting the GM for the information to be mentioned once again for you with no check needed. In addition to this, you can attempt an Intellect roll versus a TN of 5 in order to recall new information from something you've already been over in an attempt to find more details. This TN increases by 1 for every week it's been past the time you're trying to recall.

Investigation

As a detective, your job is to find investigations for you to follow. These can be large, small, or anywhere in between the two. You can have a number of active investigations equal to half your Intellect. Active investigations needn't be criminal events, but can also be related to mysteries or events that puzzle you and which you wish to 'get to the bottom of'. For example, an investigation of bandits in the wastelands isn't covered by any legal code, but is most certainly an investigation - from discovering their location, their motive, and so on.

While pursuing an active investigation, you receive a +1 die bonus to all Knowledge skill checks related to the topic. Other abilities you possess also rely on working within an active investigation, and as such a GM should be open to allowing you to open investigations regarding current events in-game regularly, so long as you aren't over your limit.

You cannot have multiple investigations which have the same goal or similar goal, and if a roll your about to make would benefit from multiple of your active investigations, it only receives the bonuses from one.

Line of Questioning

Getting people to open up is important when investigating a crime, and sometimes asking the right questions and probing for the right weaknesses is what's needed. If someone is involved in one of your active investigations (be it a witness, potential culprit, or otherwise) you can roll a Persuasion check against their Grit in order to probe for weaknesses from the individual. On a successful Persuasion check, you receive a weakness you can choose to Use or Exploit. If you choose to Use a weakness, it grants you a +2 die bonus on your next Social skill check against them. If you choose to Exploit the weakness instead, this grants you a +4 die bonus to your next Social skill check against them - however on a failure the person reacts violently or extremely negatively, refusing further questioning and leading you to a dead end.

Red Herring

No matter where you look, there'll always be clues that throw you off-track briefly. These inconveniences need to be noticed before they lead to a chase to a dead end, and potentially END an investigation. You receive a +4 bonus to Grit against Deception checks made by anyone who is involved in one of your active investigations. In addition, if they fail their Deception check against you by 4 or more you can gain a weakness against them instead, as per the Line of Questioning ability, and can choose to Use or Exploit this weakness immediately.

The Search

Everyone has that one case. That one thing that eats away at you, no matter how hard you try it always escapes through your finger tips…everyone's got that case. And so do you. Choose one of your active investigations. You can designate this one as "The Search", and once selected it cannot be changed unless you finish the investigation. If the designated investigation remains unresolved for more than one in-game month (with you actively hunting and questioning), you receive a bonus to all checks made regarding this investigation based upon your level. At 4th level this starts as a +2 die bonus, which increases to a +4 die bonus at 8th level.

However, the longer this goes on the more the toll on your sanity. For every week which passes after the first month of the investigation going unresolved, you take 2 sanity damage which cannot be recovered until the investigation is resolved.

Tireless Hunt

Nagging questions have always kept you up late into the night, and by experiencing this many times over again you've built up an immunity to the ill effects…or perhaps, you're just used to them. You receive a +2 bonus to Resilience versus effects which inflict Illness and Sleep. Once per day you can choose to lose this bonus to recover from an Illness or Sleep effect currently affecting you.

Informants

A long time in the field and in this line of work means informants are more willing to come to you to give you information in exchange for safety, money, or other goods and services. Once per week you can call upon this ability, and once done an informant regarding one of the active investigations of your choice will meet you. This informant will give you valuable information for a trade which must be agreed on beforehand, typically, informants want money - the GM should determine what an informant may want but trivial information costs 20 Serpents, more compromising information costs 90 Serpents, and finally the more juicy and damning information may cost between 150 to 2,000 Serpents. All of this should be determined by a GM and the usefulness of the information being given relates to how useful the information is to you at the current time. Thus, useful information you already know (such as a CEO's daughter being a drug lord) would be of no value.

Rapier Wit

You've honed your wit and ability to command the scenario and the social outcome through your knowledge of how to steer things in a way that's beneficial to you. Choose one Social skill check. You can make that skill rely on Intellect instead of Charm.

Crisis

When the chips are down, and it looks like everything's gone to shit…there's no escape, except the escape from life at the end of a gun barrel. That's when your quick thinking and knowledge of how people act comes into play. You enter a heightened state of panic which makes you make quick decisions rapidly, and where you look calmer than you really are. This can be activated once per day, and can only be done so in a situation where you are likely going to die (especially if it's a situation where you have little control).

Once activated, you can make a single Deception or Persuasion check against the enemy (if there is one), pleading for your life and/or using any sort of bargaining chip or potential coaxing words which would make you seem more valuable alive than dead. On a successful check, they follow your request to a reasonable degree and (if you aren't seen as a threat or they trust you enough) are set free from any bindings you may be in.

If there is no individual to make a Deception or Persuasion check against, you can instead add a +4 die bonus to any skill check you make in an attempt to escape your current predicament for 1 minute. For example, if you were trying to escape rope tying you up you'd gain a +4 die bonus to Contortion whereas if you were trying to escape a locked room you'd receive a +4 die bonus to Lockpicking or any other checks which may be more forceful (such as kicking said door down).

Keen Analysis

Aware of their foes and their potential weaknesses, you're skilled at picking them out and exploiting them at a moment's notice. You can spend a Minor Action in order to activate Keen Analysis, and while active any weapon attack roll you make uses Intellect in place of its normal ability (typically replacing Strength or Agility). If the weapon in question adds a stat to damage (such as melee weapons adding Strength to their damage), you add Intellect instead.

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