You and the other members of your party are intelligencers employed by a kingdom, major organization, or private concern. You could be members of the a Reconnaissance Service, agents of a noble house, or simply freelancers in the employ of the highest bidder. In any case, all of you are professionals practiced in the art of espionage and surveillance.
Downtime: New Identity
If the cover identity of any member of your company becomes compromised, or if your company’s members need cover identities for a specific task, you can spend 7 days establishing new cover identities. You and the other members of your company spend this time purchasing forged documents, developing cover stories, researching details significant to your unique stories, and seeding the local region with rumors about your new identities in order to establish a sense of validity. When your company creates new cover identities, each member receives a plausible cover,
along with appropriate documentation. The cost of these new identities is 25 gp per member.
Company Accomplishments
Your company’s prestige increases whenever you undermine the security of your rivals through acts such as the following:
- Blackmailing someone beholden to a rival power
- Forging documents to misdirect your opponents
- Uncovering a valuable secret known only to your foes
- Infiltrating the inner circle of your target’s trust
- Rescuing a captured ally
- Sabotaging enemy assets worth at least 1,000 gp
Prerequisites
Each member of a Spy Ring company must have the Charlatan, Vagabond, Courtier, or Envoy profession or proficiency in Deception or Stealth.
Tier 1 : Infiltrators
At this tier, your company is a small group of infiltrators newly established in a target location. You occasionally receive coded messages from your employer directing you to a specific location or individual to uncover information the employer requires.
Benefits
Cover Story. Your employer has set up your company with a credible cover designed to help you pursue your employer’s goals. This includes all documentation required for travel. Any papers you carry are forgeries whose quality is sufficient to pass any cursory inspection.
Expense Account. You have access to a company account set up by your employer. You can use this account to purchase mission-critical equipment, secure services and hirelings, or do anything else you need to do while executing your duties. The account contains 50 gp per member of the company, which is replenished at the start of each month. Any money not spent by the end of the month is reclaimed by the employer and lost.
Tier 2 : Operatives
Your company has proved its capability and value to its employer, who will begin diverting additional resources to help you pursue your missions.
Benefits
Safe Houses. Your employer sets up a network of safe houses where you can lie low, plan, or recover after a mission. Many of these accommodations are cramped and tucked away in an unsavory part of the world, but each is secured with strong locks and stout doors and has at least one back entrance to facilitate a quick escape.
Contact Network. Having proved your capability to your employer, you learn the identity of multiple contacts in your region. These contacts do not typically join you on your missions but can provide other assistance, such as presenting intelligence about a target location or individual, acting as getaway drivers, and helping you find alternative routes into a location. If the GM requires stats for a contact, these contacts can be any NPC with a challenge rating
of 2 or lower.
Tier 3 : Espionage Experts
At this tier, your company is a reliable and valuable asset to its employer, which diverts greater funds to your use and puts you in touch with contacts who possess greater intelligence related to your missions.
Benefits
Advanced Intel. When you gain intelligence from your contact network, you can request specific information about a target. Your contacts might not have all the information you request, but they will often be able to provide valuable information such as the number and strength of guard patrols, the location of trapped or secret passages, the identity of significant figures at a target location, and so on. Depending on the quality of the information, you gain a +1 or +2 bonus on ability checks and saving throws related to the subject of inquiry, at the GM’s discretion.
Increased Expenses. The value of your company’s expense account increases by 50 gp per member per month.
Tier 4 : Spymasters
At this tier, your company is among the most skilled—and least known—covert groups in operation. Although your identities remain unknown, the secret work you perform in the shadows directs the fate of nations.
Benefits
Black Market. Your company finds a supplier of black market goods. This vendor sells illegal or difficult-to-obtain items and military gear. You receive a 10 percent discount on the market price of any items purchased from the black market, and the vendor purchases stolen goods from you at three-quarters of their value rather than half.
Everyone’s Secrets. Your company has gathered scraps of rumor and information about everyone you might come into contact with. If you spend at least 8 hours surveilling a location, speaking with contacts, or shadowing a target, you learn of a single piece of information your target would prefer to keep undisclosed. For example, a nobleman might have a secret mistress whose exposure would destroy his reputation, a notable scholar could be plagiarizing the works of her students, or a soldier could be stealing supplies from a garrison in order to sell them to criminals. The GM determines the nature of any secret information you gather in this way. You can use this information to gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Intimidation) contests against a surveilled target.