Spycraft

Description

Ability Score Used:	Choose One
Usable Untrained?	No (Bailiwick)
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

Only Prowlers and Rogues may learn this bailiwick skill. Bards may learn this bailiwick skill if they choose it instead of Spellcraft at character creation. No other class may place ranks in it unless they have an ability which specifically states they may put ranks into a bailiwick skill not normally offered by their class. A bailiwick skill is a skill that represents the core competency of a style of adventure, and has many useful applications.

The spycraft skill is an expression of your practical knowledge of all things related to the trade of, spying, skulduggery, and intrigue. For each rank a character places in spycraft, the character receives a free rank in Knowledge (Local). Note that no character may ever have more ranks in a skill than her character level. Furthermore, this skill may be used in place of Perception for detecting the location of hidden traps, if desired.

Each character class gains a single bailiwick skill at character creation, and this bailiwick skill is always a natural talent for your character. When you place your first rank in this skill, you must select one of your ability modifiers, and use that ability modifier as the key ability modifier for this skill. Once selected, this ability modifier may not be changed, except through the Character Retraining rules. Natural talent skills never suffer an armor check penalty, even if you associate that skill with your STR or DEX modifier.

If you gain a second bailiwick skill (usually through a racial trait), it is not automatically a natural talent (even though you typically get to choose which of your ability score modifiers is aligned to the second bailiwick skill). Armor check penalties do apply to the second bailiwick skill if you choose to associate it with your STR or DEX modifier, and you do not gain matching ranks in the linked skill for that bailiwick skill (in the case of spycraft, Knowledge (Local)).

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.

Spot Trap

You can use spycraft in place of Perception to spot traps and other hazards, if you wish. Your natural cleverness and wariness of the world around you lends you a cautious eye when it comes to walking blithely into dangerous places. GM's should make this check in secret, due to the possibility of the player gaining incorrect information.
Action Required:	Actively searching for traps is a standard action. There is no passive/automatic check for this unless you have the Trap Spotter rogue talent, or some similar ability.
DC of Check:	the trap's Spot DC
Modifiers to Check	-
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must have ranks in spycraft.
Results of Success	You are able to spot a trap or hazard before it is triggered.
Consequences of Failure	You fail to notice any trap or hazard that is present. You are not aware that you have failed.
Retry Allowed?	No. You have no reason to believe you were wrong.
Provokes AOO?	No

Create Forgery

You can use spycraft to attempt to forge a document or credentials, such that they will fool someone who examines them into believing they are legitimate versions of the document or credentials in question. This can be highly useful for getting into exclusive parties, or gaining access to important people. Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged, and an example of what a legitimate copy of the document looks like. This sample doesn't need to be perfect, and it is assumed that the sample doesn't include the proper information for you to use it yourself (if it did, there would be no need to forge anything; just use the sample!). Depending on the campaign world, most documents are hand-written affairs, so the forgery not only needs to emulate the format and substance of the sample document, but also the handwriting itself. If the document includes a signature, you must also have a sample of that person's signature (though it need not be on the same sample as the document you are copying from). As with Disguise, you don't make a check until someone examines the work. Your spycraft check is opposed by the Linguistics check of the person who examines the document to verify its authenticity. See "Detecting Forgeries" on the Linguistics page for modifiers relevant to this check. GM's should make this check in secret, since the player should not know whether their forgery was good or bad.
Action Required:	Short Informal Handwritten Note: 10 minutes Long Handwritten Letter: 1 hour per page Formal Calligraphic or Typeset Document: 1d4 hours per page Signet in Wax: +1d4 hours Watermarks or Special Materials/Paper: +1d4 hours per page Notarized: +1d4 hours per ribbon, stamp, or mark. Signature: +1 hour per signature
DC of Check:	opposed by viewer's Linguistics check
Modifiers to Check	Foreign Language: If the document you are forging is written in a language you are entirely unable to read, the DC is increased by +10. Pidgin Fluency: If you only have pidgin fluency in the language of the document you are attempting to forge, the DC is increased by +5. Novice Fluency: If you only have novice fluency in the language of the document you are attempting to forge, the DC is increased by +2. Fluent: If you are fluent in the language of the document you are attempting to forge, there is no penalty or bonus to the DC. Native Fluency: If you have native fluency in the language of the document you are attempting to forge, reduce the DC by -2. Signet In Wax: If the document you are attempting to forge has a wax seal with a signet ring impression, this increases the DC by +10. Watermarks: If the document you are attempting to forge has a watermark or some other special paper, this increases the DC by +10. Notarized: If the document you are attempting to forge has other types of notary, such as ribbons, stamps, or marks, this increases the DC by +10. Extra Time: If you spend 1 day for each hour the document should normally take, you can decrease the DC to create the forgery by -10. Slapdash: If you sacrifice quality for speed, you can reduce the time taken to 10 minutes per hour the document should normally take, but this increases the DC by +10.
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10, but you cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must have ranks in spycraft.
Results of Success	If your spycraft check exceeds the Linguistics check of the person scrutinizing your forgery, they believe your document to be legitimate.
Consequences of Failure	If the reviewer's Linguistics check equals or exceeds your spycraft check, they are able to
Retry Allowed?	No. You cannot retry an attempt to create a forgery. Since the forgery check isn't made until someone is examining your work to check its authenticity, there is no opportunity to retry.
Provokes AOO?	You would provoke if attempting to create a forgery in combat. Making the opposed spycraft roll at the time the document is being examined does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Identify Enemy Senses

You can use spycraft to examine enemy creatures before or during combat, to determine which senses they possess. You do this by measuring how heavily they rely on common senses, such as eyesight and hearing, and whether they seem to react to stimuli that would not normally be noticed by these common senses. This skill use gives you knowledge of all enemy creature present in the encounter, as long as you can perceive them. If you are unable to perceive any of the enemy creatures present in the encounter, they are excluded from your check's results.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	10 + CR of the encounter
Modifiers to Check	Hurried Assessment: You can reduce the action required to identify enemy senses to a move action by adding +5 to the DC. You can reduce it to a swift action by adding +10 to the DC. Partial Cover / Concealment: If any of the enemy creatures has partial cover or partial concealment from you when you attempt the check, you add +5 to the DC. Distance: For every 10 feet beyond the first 10 feet the furthest creature is from you, the DC is increased by +1.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must have ranks in spycraft.
Results of Success	The GM should read, or allow you to read, the "senses" section of the bestiary entries for each enemy creature present in the encounter.
Consequences of Failure	You are unable to glean the senses being used by the enemy creatures.
Retry Allowed?	No. If the check fails, it cannot be used until the next encounter.
Provokes AOO?	No

Identify Magic Item

You can use spycraft to identify the properties and command words (if any) of a magic item you are holding. This is identical to the Naturalism, Reason, Spellcraft, and Divinity ability to identify magic items. It is also very similar to the Barter ability, except that it is faster. Spycraft may also be used to assist another party member's attempt at determining the properties of a magic item, even if the other party member is using a different skill to make the check.
Action Required:	3 rounds per item you are attempting to identify
DC of Check:	10 + double the caster level of the item
Modifiers to Check	-
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies).
Results of Success	Item is identified, including the command words (if any) needed to trigger its magical properties.
Consequences of Failure	Item is not identified
Retry Allowed?	You must wait 24 hours before retrying on the same item. Any attempts in the meantime always fail.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Craft Magic Item

When combined with the Creator feat, spycraft can be used to create magic items. A day of crafting a magic item is 8 uninterrupted hours of work in an appropriate work space. While you can do other things during that day, you must have 8 consecutive hours in your work space for it to count towards the number of days required to make the magic item. Working fewer than 8 hours at a time fails to reduce the number of days required to finish the work – you can't work fractions of days and then add them together to create a day of work. Days of work need not be consecutive. You can take breaks or go adventuring, then come back and keep working, and this does not harm the final product in any way, except to delay its completion date. However, if you begin working on a different magic item before the first one is finished, all work on the first one is lost, and any components used for its creation are destroyed, just as if you had failed the check.
Action Required:	2 days, +1 day per caster level of the item being created. You can never reduce the time to create a magic item below 3 days, no matter how well you roll.
DC of Check:	If your skill check result is at least an Easy DC for your current level, but less than an Average DC the time required to complete the magic item is increased by 1 day OR 10%, whichever is worse. If your skill check result is at least an Average DC for your current level, but less than a Challenging DC, the required time to complete the magic item is unchanged. If you roll grater than or equal to a Challenging DC for your current level, but less than an Impossible DC, the required time to complete the retraining is reduced by 1 day OR 10%, whichever is better. If you roll greater than or equal to an Impossible DC for your current level, the required time to complete the retraining is reduced by 3 days OR 25%, whichever is better.
Modifiers to Check	If you are attempting to create a magic item that has more than one enchantment on it, the caster level of the item is determined by taking the highest caster level of the enchantments you wish to add, and then adding +3 caster levels to that number for each additional enchantment you are adding after the first. The maximum caster level of an item is 35, and if an item's caster level is above 21, you cannot create that item until you have at least 21 ranks in your bailiwick skill.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes, but only if each assisting ally has Cooperative Crafting (Feat). Up to 5 allies with that feat may assist.
Results of Success	You create the magic item after the designated number of days.
Consequences of Failure	If you fail to achieve at least an Easy DC for your current level, or you roll a natural 1 on the die, the attempt fails. The components you intended to use in the item's creation are destroyed, including any monetary expenses for the item. This failure occurs on the final day of the item's creation, meaning you also lose a number of days equal to its unmodified creation time (minimum 3 days).
Retry Allowed?	Yes, though you must procure new components to replace the destroyed ones, and begin the process again. You gain a +5 circumstance bonus on each retry after a failure, as you incorporate your new knowledge of what not to do.
Provokes AOO?	Yes. Don't try this during combat.

Tie Unique Knot (Epic Use)

You can use your advanced knowledge of spycraft to tie a knot that is very difficult to untie, unless you're you. This allows you to tie rope or string in such a way as to significantly delay someone who is unwilling to cut the rope or string. It also allows you to easily detect if someone attempted to until the knot, even if they failed to do so.
Action Required:	1 minute
DC of Check:	Opposed by the Escape Artist skill of the person attempting to untie the knot.
Modifiers to Check	-
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10, but you cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	No. This knot is unique to you, and shouldn't be shared with other sneaky people.
Results of Success	You make your check only when someone is attempting to untie it. If your check exceeds the untying person's check, your knot holds against their attempts. If you exceed the untying person's check by 5 or more, you are also able to detect that they attempted to untie your knot, even though they failed. You probably aren't aware of the identity of this person, however, unless you have some other means of detecting or identifying them.
Consequences of Failure	The person untying your knot is able to do so. However, they will not be able to replicate the knot afterwards, so you will always know that the knot was untied by someone.
Retry Allowed?	No. What's done is done.
Provokes AOO?	Tying the original knot would provoke, but making the opposed check when someone attempts to untie it does not.

Make Unique Mark (Epic Use)

Upon gaining 21 ranks in spycraft, you can permanently alter your signature to make it nearly unforgeable. Doing so takes 7 days of practice, but once complete, anyone attempting to forge a document that includes your new signature must add +10 to the DC of their spycraft forgery check. It costs you no extra time to sign your signature, once you have completed the 7 days of practice — it becomes your normal signature.