Politician
They make the country go around, and both Aegis and Black Book have
dozens of them on the payroll; the politician's ability to reach into
the heart of the government whirlpool and make things happen makes them
invaluable to the twin conspiracies. While it is rare for a politician
to become a field operative, lower level politicos have joined Aegis
cells to help further their careers, and upper level political figures
have occasionally turned to field work in pursuit of the truth, or of
their favourite cause. Whatever the case, Political figures are a
massive asset in any cell's construction. They can help out an Aegis
investigation in hundreds of ways, and are often a great cover when
things get out of hand. However, their careers are typically followed
by a spot light, and the prudent cell leader will keep upper level
politicians out of the cell's darker operations.
Influence: Special see below
Available Training: Awareness, Communications, Politics,
Savoir Faire, Surveillance
Available Skills: Computer Use, Diplomacy, Humanities,
Language, Research, Shadow, Video
Pulling Strings:
Political Influence Peddling - In the deal-making reality of
American politics, the politician has gained the ability to spread
his influence through many different avenues of power. As a result,
the politician may assist any other character in an Influence task,
lowering the difficulty of that task for the other character by -1Df.
To do this, the politician must make an Influence test against the
level of task the other character would have attempted. There is a
+1Df for any attempt to assist in pulling strings of unofficial or
secret groups. In this way, a high Influence politician can assist
a lower level agent, but a low Influence politician isn't going to
help very many people.
Governmental Access - Doors that were previously locked will
often be opened for the politician who has her powerful friends assist
her. On a Df1, the politician can arrange a fact-finding tour to any
legal or public area for up to six people, within 1d days.Add +1Df for
either faster access (2D hours), or for access to restricted areas.
Access to highly restricted areas, equipment, or files is possable with
a Df3 if the politician and her friends don't mind warning the target
group of their plans; the agency in question will have performed as
much damage control as possible within the hours before the inspection
arrives. A surprise inspection will add +1Df, but will prevent the group
from covering their tracks more than the minimum possable. Finally,
adding +1Df to any of these tasks will allow the group to leave with
'physical evidence', such as photos and small portable objects. Note,
however, that any group that has been 'inspected' in these fasions will
probably be pretty angry.
Untouchable Status - There are very few groups in the United
States who would want to be discovered doing evil to an influential
politician. As a result, any time a politician is in some kind of
physical danger, he may test his Influence to attempt to cause the
Enemy to release him, on a Df3. This is +1Df if the Enemy group is an
illegal group, and +1Df if they have reason to believe that it could not
possably be traced to them. On a success, the Enemy will release the
politician IF they can prevent him from further damaging the group. This
is a highly subjective decision, left up to the Referee, and will
probably still be very painful for the character.
Reelection Funds - With all the money being sent to politicians in
the country, a politician can automatically pass any fund test, recieving
the money within 24 hours. This ability may only be used once a month;
any more might be noticed by campaign officials.
Special Influence Rules - Politicians have access to all influence
types but not at the same time. So depending on where they are focusing
their energy they can influence only those areas. Each month the agent
is allowed to choose one influence icon that he will be able to pull
from. All others are not considered available to the agent till the next
month where the agent can choose a new influence type.
Return to the Recruitment Main Page