The Academic is the person who reads the dead language on the reactor casing while the squad covers the door. They are booked in the Asset Realisation ledger as "intellectual capital" -- a depreciating asset whose value drops every fiscal quarter they fail to produce a patent, a salvageable Akraan schematic, or a marketable xenobiology dataset. The Kadiss grid tracks them through institutional nodes: university logins, research grant applications, published papers. An Academic who stops publishing is an Academic who stops existing, as far as the Nine's accountants are concerned. They operate on the Fold chassis -- d6 HD, half BAB, Fortitude and Reflex poor, Will good -- because the corp values their mind, not their body. No armour. Their protection is knowing which bulkhead is load-bearing and which one vents to Vacuum. Rek flows to Academics through licensing fees and research bounties; a successful Exploit Weakness call on a xeno-construct is worth more than a month of Legion payroll. Prime requisites: INT.
Rules Reference
Field
Value
Armor Allowance
None
Bab Tier
half
Base Skill Points
4
Hd
d6
Hd Sides
6
Max Level
20
Primary Abilities
INT
Prime Requisites
INT
Save Tiers / Fortitude
poor
Save Tiers / Reflex
poor
Save Tiers / Will
good
Weapon Allowance
Pistol, Knife
Notes
Archetype Niche: The Academic is the party's information weapon. Technical Expertise provides deep, scaling skill bonuses in chosen fields. Research Breakthrough guarantees the Academic can solve knowledge-gated problems given time. Exploit Weakness turns the Academic's knowledge into a party-wide combat buff -- the party hits harder and more accurately because the Academic told them exactly where to shoot. The Academic's niche is transforming information into advantage: they know the enemy's weak spot, the reactor's shutdown sequence, and the ancient Akraan warning that everyone else missed.
Multiclass Notes: Academics can multiclass with Deck Hacker and Sawbones archetypes. Non-human academics use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Level Table
Student
Field
Value
bab
0
fortitude
0
level
1
reflex
0
skillPoints
16
title
Student
will
2
xp
0
Researcher
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
0
level
2
reflex
0
skillPoints
4
title
Researcher
will
3
xp
2500
Scholar
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
1
level
3
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Scholar
will
3
xp
5000
Fellow
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
1
level
4
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Fellow
will
4
xp
10000
Specialist
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
1
level
5
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Specialist
will
4
xp
20000
Doctor
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
2
level
6
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Doctor
will
5
xp
40000
Senior Researcher
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
2
level
7
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Senior Researcher
will
5
xp
60000
Professor
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
2
level
8
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Professor
will
6
xp
90000
Chief Researcher
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
3
level
9
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Chief Researcher
will
6
xp
135000
Dean
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
3
level
10
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Dean
will
7
xp
220000
High Dean
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
3
level
11
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
High Dean
will
7
xp
290000
Grand Academician
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
4
level
12
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Grand Academician
will
8
xp
360000
High Academician
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
4
level
13
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
High Academician
will
8
xp
430000
Chancellor
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
4
level
14
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Chancellor
will
9
xp
500000
High Chancellor
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
5
level
15
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Chancellor
will
9
xp
570000
Arch-Scholar
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
5
level
16
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
Arch-Scholar
will
10
xp
640000
High Arch-Scholar
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
5
level
17
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Arch-Scholar
will
10
xp
710000
Oracle of Knowledge
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
6
level
18
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Oracle of Knowledge
will
11
xp
780000
High Oracle
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
6
level
19
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
High Oracle
will
11
xp
850000
Supreme Academic
Field
Value
bab
10
fortitude
6
level
20
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Supreme Academic
will
12
xp
920000
Special Abilities
Technical Expertise
Field
Value
level
1
name
Technical Expertise
description: The Academic selects two knowledge or technical skills (Astrogation, Computers, Engineering, Xenology, Medicine, Bureaucracy, Repair, Hacking, or any one Science sub-field). These become class skills with a +3 competence bonus -- the Academic's formal training, the thing the corp pays for. At level 5, 10, 15, and 20, the Academic selects one additional skill for expertise. Additionally, the Academic may make untrained skill checks with any knowledge-based skill (normally trained-only). This is the Academic's real weapon: they can read the Akraan schematic, parse the Kadiss traffic log, and tell you the xenomorph's weak point before the medic finishes bandaging the last bite.
Research Breakthrough
Field
Value
level
3
name
Research Breakthrough
description: When the Academic succeeds on a skill check related to research, analysis, or technical investigation by 5 or more, the GM provides additional context or a useful detail that would normally require a separate check -- the kind of connection that only someone who has read the classified Akraan post-mortem reports would catch. Once per session, the Academic can declare a Research Breakthrough: spend 1 hour studying a problem (alien technology, technical fault, scientific anomaly) and automatically succeed on the relevant Lore check with a result of 20 + INT modifier. At level 8, the breakthrough result becomes 25 + INT. At level 13, 30 + INT. This is the ability that makes the Nine's contract managers keep Academics on the payroll: given time, the Academic always finds the answer.
Exploit Weakness
Field
Value
level
5
name
Exploit Weakness
description: As a move action, the Academic can make an appropriate Lore check (Xenology for creatures, Engineering for constructs/vehicles, Computers for automated systems) against DC 15 + target's Threat Rating. On success, the Academic identifies a structural, behavioural, or technical weakness and calls it out. The Academic and all allies who can hear the Academic gain +2 to attack rolls and +1d6 damage against that specific target type for the remainder of the encounter. At level 10, the damage bonus increases to +2d6. At level 15, the attack bonus increases to +3. Usable once per encounter per target type. This is how an Academic earns their keep in a firefight: not by shooting, but by telling the squad exactly where to shoot.