Operative

Shadow operator, licensed infiltrator, the dark counterpart to the Face.

The Operative is the corp's deniable workforce. They are the person hired when the job is a door that does not open from the inside, a system that does not want to be talked into compliance, or a person who needs to disappear before the morning shift notices they are gone. They ride the Kadiss the way a Fixer rides it -- registered, but the registration is what they want seen, not who they are.

The Operative's job is to be where they are not supposed to be, to do what they are not supposed to do, and to leave before the question gets asked. They are the Infiltrator's short-game counterpart: while the Infiltrator takes weeks to build a cover, the Operative takes minutes to pick a lock and minutes more to disappear through the vent. The Operative's signature is the precision: one shot, one lock, one flap of a vent grille, one body on the floor that nobody heard fall.

Sneak Attack is the precision made Mechanical: the body that has been trained to put the blade where the armour is not. Skill Mastery is the Operative's reliability under pressure: the slow take-10 when the alarms are running and the take-20 when there is a minute to spend. Evasion is the body's refusal to be where the explosion is.

Operating on the operative chassis (d6 HD, 3/4 BAB, Ref good, Fort/Will poor). Light armour, pistols, knives, stun-batons, thrown weapons. DEX and INT primes: the body that moves and the mind that knows what to move toward.

Rules Reference

Field	Value
Armor Allowance	Light
Bab Tier	three-quarters
Base Skill Points	8
Hd	d6
Hd Sides	6
Max Level	20
Multiclass Notes	Operatives can multiclass with Face and Scout archetypes. Non-human operatives use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Primary Abilities	DEX, INT
Prime Requisites	DEX, INT
Save Tiers / Fortitude	poor
Save Tiers / Reflex	good
Save Tiers / Will	poor
Weapon Allowance	Pistol, Knife, Stun-baton, All thrown weapons

Notes

Archetype Niche: The Operative is the party's precision instrument. Sneak Attack provides the highest single-target damage scaling in the game (+10d6 at level 19), but only when the Operative can engineer the right conditions (stealth, flanking, surprise). Skill Mastery makes the Operative the most reliable skill user in the game -- no other class can take 10 under pressure or take 20 in half time. Evasion and Improved Evasion make the Operative nearly immune to area-effect damage, compensating for the d6 HD. The Operative's niche is high-risk, high-reward: devastating when they control the engagement, fragile when caught in the open.

Level Table

Shadow

Field	Value
bab	0
fortitude	0
level	1
reflex	2
skillPoints	32
title	Shadow
will	0
xp	0

Infiltrator

Field	Value
bab	1
fortitude	0
level	2
reflex	3
skillPoints	8
title	Infiltrator
will	0
xp	1250

Operative

Field	Value
bab	2
fortitude	1
level	3
reflex	3
skillPoints	8
title	Operative
will	1
xp	2500

Agent

Field	Value
bab	3
fortitude	1
level	4
reflex	4
skillPoints	8
title	Agent
will	1
xp	5000

Deep Agent

Field	Value
bab	3
fortitude	1
level	5
reflex	4
skillPoints	8
title	Deep Agent
will	1
xp	10000

Field Agent

Field	Value
bab	4
fortitude	2
level	6
reflex	5
skillPoints	8
title	Field Agent
will	2
xp	20000

Special Operative

Field	Value
bab	5
fortitude	2
level	7
reflex	5
skillPoints	8
title	Special Operative
will	2
xp	40000

Master Operative

Field	Value
bab	6
fortitude	2
level	8
reflex	6
skillPoints	8
title	Master Operative
will	2
xp	70000

Ghost Operative

Field	Value
bab	6
fortitude	3
level	9
reflex	6
skillPoints	8
title	Ghost Operative
will	3
xp	110000

Shadow Master

Field	Value
bab	7
fortitude	3
level	10
reflex	7
skillPoints	8
title	Shadow Master
will	3
xp	160000

Shadow Lord

Field	Value
bab	8
fortitude	3
level	11
reflex	7
skillPoints	8
title	Shadow Lord
will	3
xp	220000

Grand Operative

Field	Value
bab	9
fortitude	4
level	12
reflex	8
skillPoints	8
title	Grand Operative
will	4
xp	280000

Grand Shadow

Field	Value
bab	9
fortitude	4
level	13
reflex	8
skillPoints	8
title	Grand Shadow
will	4
xp	340000

Phantom

Field	Value
bab	10
fortitude	4
level	14
reflex	9
skillPoints	8
title	Phantom
will	4
xp	400000

High Phantom

Field	Value
bab	11
fortitude	5
level	15
reflex	9
skillPoints	8
title	High Phantom
will	5
xp	460000

Night Lord

Field	Value
bab	12
fortitude	5
level	16
reflex	10
skillPoints	8
title	Night Lord
will	5
xp	520000

Field Specialist

Field	Value
bab	12
fortitude	5
level	17
reflex	10
skillPoints	8
title	Field Specialist
will	5
xp	580000

Mission Chief

Field	Value
bab	13
fortitude	6
level	18
reflex	11
skillPoints	8
title	Mission Chief
will	6
xp	640000

Operative Paragon

Field	Value
bab	14
fortitude	6
level	19
reflex	11
skillPoints	8
title	Operative Paragon
will	6
xp	700000

Supreme Operative

Field	Value
bab	15
fortitude	6
level	20
reflex	12
skillPoints	8
title	Supreme Operative
will	6
xp	760000

Special Abilities

Sneak Attack

Field	Value
level	1
name	Sneak Attack

description: Attack a target that is flat-footed, denied DEX to AC, or flanked: +1d6 precision damage. Ranged sneak attacks: target within 30 feet. +1d6 at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 (max +10d6 at level 19). Not multiplied on a critical. Creatures immune to criticals (constructs, some reanimate, amorphous) are immune. The precision made mechanical: the body trained to put the blade where the armour is not.

Skill Mastery

Field	Value
level	3
name	Skill Mastery

description: Select 3 + INT modifier class skills. On a check with one of these, take 10 even when threatened or distracted. At level 8, +2 skills. At level 13, take 20 in half the time on mastered skills. At level 18, treat rolls of 1-5 on a mastered skill as a 6. The slow take-10 when the alarms are running; the take-20 when there is a minute to spend.

Evasion

Field	Value
level	5
name	Evasion

description: On a successful Reflex save against an effect that deals half damage on success (explosions, plasma vents, area weapons), take no damage. Failed save: full damage as normal. Requires light or no armour. The body's refusal to be where the explosion is.

Uncanny Dodge

Field	Value
level	7
name	Uncanny Dodge

description: The Operative retains their DEX bonus to AC even when caught flat-footed or attacked by an invisible assailant. The Operative cannot be flanked except by a Rogue (or Rogue-chassis archetype) of 4 or more levels higher.

Improved Evasion

Field	Value
level	11
name	Improved Evasion

description: The upgrade to Evasion: the Operative takes no damage on a successful Reflex save and half damage on a failed one. Explosions, plasma vents, breaching charges -- even a failed save leaves the Operative standing.

Opportunist

Field	Value
level	13
name	Opportunist

description: Once per round, the Operative may make an attack of opportunity against an opponent who has just been struck in melee by an ally. This attack is treated as a Sneak Attack if the conditions are met (the target is flanked, flat-footed, or unaware of the Operative). When someone else creates the distraction, the Operative finishes it.

Hide in Plain Sight

Field	Value
level	15
name	Hide in Plain Sight

description: The Operative can use the Stealth skill even while being observed, as long as there is some form of cover or concealment within 10 feet. Normal Stealth requires breaking line of sight first; Hide in Plain Sight removes that requirement. The Operative simply vanishes.

Master Infiltrator

Field	Value
level	17
name	Master Infiltrator

description: The Operative treats all Security/Locks and Hacking checks as if they had taken 10, even under stress or distraction. This does not allow taking 20 (that still requires unlimited time and no penalty for failure), but the Operative's baseline under pressure holds steady.