Federation Military Specialist

Overview

The Federation Military Specialist is the FS army's special-forces and intelligence operative — elite training and cybernetic augmentation for espionage, reconnaissance, sabotage, and surgical elimination. Where the Grunt holds the line and the RPA Elite owns the sky, the Specialist works ahead of the line: scouting the enemy, marking targets, and feeding the unit the intelligence that makes the FS war machine so effective.

Built on the Operative chassis (mobility, precision, deep skills) with light cyber-augmentation. It's distinct from the lone-merc Bountyhunter and the underworld Street Rat by being the squad's eyes: its signature Designate Target marks a foe and relays its weaknesses to the whole unit — recon and intel that feed the family's Focus Fire and the Officer's tactics.

Federation Military training

• FS Indoctrination — +1 status to saves vs. magic/psionic, Intimidation + Federation Warfare Lore, ID enemy sorcery.
• Reaper Armor Training and Standard-Issue Arms.
• No magic or psionics, and the federation faction trait.

At a glance

Class features by level

Specialties

Choose one at level 1.

Recon

The unit's eyes — scouting, intel, target designation.

• Forward Observer (L1). Designate Target works at long range and through your squad's shared sensors — you can designate a creature an ally sees even if you can't.
• Pathfinder (L7). You and your squad ignore difficult terrain you scout ahead; you can't be surprised and act in the surprise round when others are flat-footed.
• Eyes Everywhere (L13). Deploy recon drones/sensors that extend Designate Target and Seek across a wide area; the squad shares your awareness.

Saboteur

Demolitions, infiltration, electronic warfare — the Specialist who blows the bridge, walks through the front door in a stolen uniform, and turns the enemy's own machines off.

• Breaching & Demolitions (L1). Craft, plant, and time FS demolition charges; your thrown explosives and charges gain a bonus to damage and Penetrating 2 (shaped charges crack armor and structures); and you can Force Open or disable a lock, hatch, or barrier as a single action.
• Infiltrator (L7). A circumstance bonus to Deception, Thievery, and Stealth for infiltration; pass as FS personnel with forged credentials; Disable a Device or bypass electronic security as a single action; and suppress your cyberware's signature to slip past scanners.
• Sabotage (L13). As a downtime or in-combat activity, sabotage an adjacent vehicle, robot, power armor, or fortification: on a success a key system fails (a vehicle won't move, a robot is slowed and can't use a weapon, a gun jams); on a critical success, a delayed catastrophic failure.

Wetwork

Surgical elimination — the FS's in-house assassin (a spec-ops killer embedded in the unit, not a freelance bounty hunter like the Bountyhunter; the Specialist still feeds the squad even at its most lethal).

• Assassinate (L1). Against a creature unaware of you, off-guard to you, or that you've Designated, your Strike deals extra precision damage and forces a Fortitude save vs. your class DC; on a failure the target is slowed 1 (a critical hit on an unaware target adds bonus damage dice). The opening kill.
• Silent Kill (L7). When you drop a creature to 0 HP while hidden or undetected from other foes, you do so silently — no outcry alerts the rest, and you stay unnoticed. You can Sneak at full Speed, and gain a bonus to avoid detection after a kill.
• Vanish (L13). Hide or Sneak even while observed (a cyber-augmented disappearing act); once hidden this way, your next Strike benefits from Assassinate. The wetwork operative is never where the return fire goes.

Specialist feats

You gain a Specialist feat at every even level (2–20). Most sharpen the operative's three jobs — marking targets for the squad, precision shooting, and recon/infiltration — so your feats compound with your Designate Target and Aim engines.

Level 2

• Quick Designate. The first time each turn you Strike a creature you can see, you may Designate Target against it as a free action.
• Augmented Reflexes. A cyber reflex booster grants +1 circumstance to initiative and Reflex saves.
• Combat Recon. Once per turn, combine Aim and Recall Knowledge into a single action.

Level 4

• Sniper's Patience. If you haven't moved this turn, your Strikes deal extra precision damage (1d6, increasing as your precision scales).
• Infiltrator's Kit. Concealed FS-grade infiltration gear; +1 circumstance to Stealth, Thievery, and Deception.
• Mobile Shooter. After you make a ranged Strike, you can Step as a free action. Once per turn — shoot and reposition.

Level 6

• Precise Debilitation. When your Aim Strike hits, the debilitation lasts until the end of your next turn instead of being momentary, and you may choose "off-guard to your whole squad" as an option.
• Recon Specialist. Your Designate Target also hints at the creature's likely next action (GM's discretion), and you gain +2 circumstance to the Recall Knowledge made as part of Designate.
• Concealed Carry. Draw a weapon or tool as a free action once per turn, and your cyberware and concealed weapons don't register on ordinary scanners.

Level 8

• Mark for Death. Your Designate Target circumstance bonus increases to +2 for the whole squad.
• Cyber-Reflexes. A second reaction each round, usable only for an Evasion-type reaction or a reactive Strike.
• Target Lock. Your Designate Target persists until the creature dies or leaves your perception (it no longer expires at the start of your next turn), as long as you can perceive it.

Level 10

• Devastating Aim. Your Aim precision damage increases by one die, and against a Designated target your Aim Strike also ignores the target's cover.
• Ghost Step. Trigger: an enemy ends its turn adjacent to you. Step away; if you end with cover or concealment, you become hidden. Once per round.
• Squad Scout. Your Sensor Suite detection extends to all squad allies within 30 ft, and your Designate Target also grants squad allies +1 status to Perception against the marked creature.

Level 12

• Coordinated Intel. When you Designate Target, one squad ally may immediately Recall Knowledge about that creature as a free action (the Officer's Combat Assessment benefit, shared through you).
• Counter-Recon. Detect and disrupt enemy scouts, scrying, and surveillance: a bonus to notice hidden observers, and you can negate an enemy's Designate/mark-style effect against your squad.
• Kill Box. When a squad ally reduces your Designated target to 0 HP, you may Designate Target against a new creature within range as a free reaction. Once per round.

Level 14

• Master Marksman. The first Strike you make each turn against an off-guard or Designated creature deals your precision damage without spending Aim, and your ranged Strikes ignore lesser and standard cover against Designated targets.
• Infiltration Mastery. Hold a disguise or infiltration cover indefinitely and gain a bonus to saves and DCs against divination, scanners, and lie detection; bring one ally through a security bypass with you.
• Evasive Operative. Your Evasion improves so that even on a failed Reflex save against an area effect you take half damage, and you can spend Cyber-Reflexes' extra reaction on any Specialist reaction.

Level 16

• Master Infiltrator. Move through a fortified or guarded position undetected — a single Infiltration activity that bypasses ordinary security.
• One Shot. Against a creature unaware of you, a single Strike that deals massively increased precision damage — the sniper's kill shot.
• Battlefield Dominance. Maintain Designate Target on up to three creatures at once, and your personal attack/skill bonus and precision damage against Designated targets each increase by 1.

Level 18

• Perfect Intel. Your Designate Target reveals all of a creature's resistances, immunities, weaknesses, and lowest save to the whole squad at once, and a Designated creature can't benefit from concealment or cover against your squad.
• Phantom. After you Strike from hiding, you may immediately attempt to Hide as a free action (cyber-cloak and reposition). Once per round.
• Lethal Precision. Your precision damage dice increase by one step (d6 → d8), and on a critical hit against a Designated or unaware target it takes persistent bleed equal to your precision dice.

Level 20

• Ghost in the Machine. Hack, Disable, or seize control of enemy machines, drones, and security you can touch or reach by uplink as a single action, and you're effectively invisible to electronic detection.
• Decapitation Strike. Against a Designated creature, make a Strike that deals maximum precision damage; if the target is unaware of you or off-guard, it must save (Fortitude vs. your class DC) or take a burst of bonus precision dice and be slowed 2 until your next turn.
• The Unit's Blade. Your capstone's free-reaction re-Designate loses its once-per-round limit, and the first time each round a squad ally hits one of your Designated targets, that hit deals your full precision damage.

Shared Coordinated Tactics. In place of a Specialist feat you can take the family's Coordinated Tactics feats (the Tac-Net pool, L2–L10) — headlined by Lase the Target (L4) and Focus Volley (L6); see Federation Military. Note that Designate Target supersedes Lase the Target — it already grants the squad an attack bonus and precision (and squad-wide off-guard at L13 via Total Intel), so don't spend a feat on Lase. Take Focus Volley instead: a volley against your Designated target adds your precision damage, so the Specialist both sets up the kill and cashes in on it.

Where the class fits the scene

• Where it shines: reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage, precision elimination — and feeding the squad intel that multiplies everyone's damage (Designate Target + an Officer's Focus Fire is the family's "delete one priority target" combo). The party's scout and surgical striker.
• Where it's reduced: stand-up attrition with nothing to scout and no weak point to exploit — it's fragile (8 HP, light armor) and wants to pick its moments. Against a horde it would rather mark a target and let the Grunt and RPA Elite do the killing.