Agent Options

This is the list of Options for Agents as presented in Blueprints, the setting and Agent creation rulebook for Karbon.

Concepts

Attractive+

Your agent is simply more beautiful than your average person. When they are interacting with others they may burn fortune to add bonus dice to applicable conflicts. In addition, add a level to Charm.

Attribute+

For each attribute you take, you create an defining characteristic for them. This is an undeniable part of their nature. When it motivates an agent, it gives them a bonus die to roll. However when it challenges your agent, dice that come up 4 or less are considered a bad roll.

Body Overhaul

Your agent has had a total body replacement, and now lives in a new synthetic (though still seeming quite human) shell. Take one to three gear for your agent that adds to less than 60 kcred and is of types: lace, diamond steel, or lightwire. Your agent need not meet skill requisites for these items. Raise all your immunities one step. At the end of any scene where you have seven or more fortune, you have a 4+ chance of losing one.

Brotherhood

Your agent has joined one of several brotherhoods inside the program. These are groups of agents that watch each other’s backs, and generally assist each other. Mostly this helps when your chips are down. When your agent is suspected of being a karbon, you may pay 30 kcred from your bank to remove one doubt.

Career Criminal+

Your agent earns on rank of infamy each time you take this option. This gives the agent deep, hidden, pockets. You can burn fortune after you spend kcred from your card and roll those dice. Keep the highest result and put that much kcred back onto your card.

Committed Agent+

Your agent earns on rank of agency each time you take this option. You may burn fortune for bonus dice on agency interaction, maximum of three per roll. You may also try to move one doubt per scene to another player’s agent when its earned, unless that agent’s player burns one fortune to stop you.

Confirmed Loyalties+

Each time you take this option, raise any one rank of your choice one. In addition, remove one doubt. If an agent has three of these options, they are never subject to the risk of becoming a karbon. At that point they no longer suffer from minimum doubt. They also never gain doubt and if anything would cause them to do so, they sacrifice fortune instead. An agent may not take this option during agent creation.

Cyberbrain

Your agent has had a full brain replacement, and now has a cyberbrain in their skull. This is just a rooted omni with a lot of protection on it. Your agent gets training in Savvy for free. In addition, you may burn fortune for bonus dice when making any Hack or Savvy rolls, up to three per roll.

Deep Instruction+

Your agent has gotten specialized deep instruction from agent operatives. This gives them an additional three levels in one core ability, and an additional two levels in a supplemental ability. How did the agent get this special instruction?

Excellence+

Your agent has gained some measure of truly impressive capacity in one ability. Pick one ability and you may now burn fortune for bonus dice when rolling that ability, up to three per roll. Your agent may only have one Excellence option for each Expertise option they have taken.

Experience+

Your agent has gained real world experience, making them better at their abilities. Pick one ability and earn training in that ability. Add one level to any one ability.

Expertise+

Your agent had developed some expertise in their abilities. When assisting other agents they may burn fortune to put one step on the stack at the start of it, once for each time they have taken this option. In addition, pick one ability and increase it one level. Your agent may not have more Expertise options than they have Experience options.

Exploit

Define a weakness for your agent, something that can be commonly exploited to their disadvantage. When you roll the dice in a conflict you may decide to take a hurdle outcome without rolling and describe how your weakness was exploited. In return you recover one to three burned fortune for your agent.

Flat Busted?

Your agent starts the game with no bank of creds. Instead they earn one starting fortune for every step steps of kcreds they would have placed in their bank. You may only take this option when creating an agent. How did your agent become flat broke?

Foresight

Your agent has amazing powers of sense and can almost predict the immediate future. When you agent makes any conflict roll, they may sacrifice a fortune to say they never did that and choose a new course of action. This means you may back out of a conflict at this point, as if your agent never started it. Add training in Insight for your Agent. If your agent uses this more times in a scene than they have Insight levels, they earn the condition “distracted by dreams”.

Fortunate

Your agent just seems to always have some luck on their side, and their buddies too. Once per scene you may elect to give another player’s agent one fortune and recover up to three burned fortune your own.

Fragile Flower+

Your agent has amazing ability, but really can’t take a pounding. Many people know this as the glass ninja effect. When your agent suffers physical injury, increase it one step. In addition, place three more levels into your abilities.

Hard Life?

Your agent had a tough life, making them more able just in order to survive. When determining kcreds, reduce both starting and bank kcreds one step. In return, add two levels to any two abilities and start the game with one more fortune.

Hardcore

Your agent is truly hardcore, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means things get tougher for everyone else. When you agent is in a conflict and in jeopardy, they may sacrifice a fortune to take on from every other player’s agent with three or more. They may only do this once per scene.

Hawkeye

Your agent has great acuity and sight. You add one level to both Hand-Eye and Prowl. Your agent may burn fortune to earn bonus dice for Hand-Eye rolls, but never more than three at once.

Heredity?

Your agent has a past that gives them some established advantage. You add one step of social immunity for your agent, and they earn training in Standing, ignoring the need for Charm. Who were the agent’s powerful ancestors?

High Class?

Your agent was (or still is) part of a high class society. You add one level to any supplemental ability and one step towards starting gear. What high class society was/is the agent part of?

Highly Compensated

Your agent gets more than the normal compensation for your work in the agency. Whenever your agent cashes a check (gets paid), they roll two dice and take the highest as their roll result. Why is the agent so highly compensated?

Lightning Reflexes

Your agent has amazing reflexes. You add one level to both Fight and Prowess. Your agent may burn fortune to buy bonus dice for Fight rolls, but never more than three at once.

Low Class?

Your agent was part of low class society. Take three levels from supplemental abilities and add three levels to core abilities as you wish. Increase your steps for determining starting gear by two. What low class society was the agent a part of?

Marketable Skill?

Your agent has some marketable skill that has helped them in their life. You pick one supplemental ability to earn training in, and also add a level to one supplemental ability. How did the agent use this skill over their life to benefit them?

Mastermind

Your agent is truly a master of planning. Once per scene you may elect to win a conflict that your agent started or is assisting, by describing how they outsmart it. Your agent may only do this is your highest rank is greater than the challenge level of the conflict. Then you burn fortune based on the conflict’s consequence: one for minor, two for moderate, and three for major. If you resolve an Agenda with this rule, pay one fortune to the Narrator’s agent. An agent may only have Mastermind if they have Scheme training.

Menacing Aura

Your agent truly is a scary person. When they intimidate others, give them a bonus die for that conflict if they burn a fortune. When they earn doubt during a conflict in which they are participating with other agents, their player may sacrifice a fortune to move that doubt to another agent in that conflict.

Miser?

Your agent gets only ten starting kcreds and instead adds all their normal starting kcreds to their bank at triple value. At the end of any scene in which they have ten or more kcreds on their card, they must move ten kcreds to their bank. How did your agent get to be so miserly?

Natural Genius

Your agent is a genius, naturally good at brainy things. You add one level to Hack and Guile. All rolls you make for Hack get a bonus die.

Respect

Your agent has the respect of most in the program. Add one to your agent’s agency rank, and one step to bank kcreds later. In addition, when you ask for assistance from any other agent, their player must burn a fortune to deny you.

Standard of Living+

Your agent has some kind of measurable lifestyle during those rare moments of downtime they earn. Raise your agent’s mainstream rank one for each time your take this option. At the start of each session you roll one die for each time you have taken this option and take the highest result, adding that to your bank.

Storage Locker+

Your agent has access to a storage locker of gear they have accumulated over time. For each time you take this option, pick six steps worth of additional gear they have in this locker. At any time you may only have two items from this storage locker on your agent and available to them. If you break this rule, sacrifice a fortune for that scene.

Strength+

Your agent has impressive physical strength. You may burn one fortune to add a bonus die to rolls where this would be applicable. In addition when dealing physical injury in an applicable way, burn one fortune to increase it one step, up to one time per scene for each time you take this option.

Successful Career?

Your agent has/had a successful career. You gain training in one supplemental ability of your choice and three steps of starting bank creds. What did/does the agent do for a living?

Talent+

Your agent has some talent (developed or innate) that gives them an advantage on occasion. You add one level to two abilities and start with one more fortune for each time you take this option.

Team Player

Your agent knows how to be there when it counts. Whenever another agent makes a roll in a scene and you could possibly be in a spot to assist, you may elect to burn a fortune and roll a die. If this die is higher than the roll of the other player, raise their roll one. Describe at this point how your agent jumps in and provides assistance.

Tough+?

Your agent is one bad dude. You gain a step of immunity to mental and physical, but not social, injury. What makes the agent so tough?

Trained Assistants

Your agent has a team of assistants that can help them manage their funds. Your agent may buy assets when they are available from their bank instead of their card, except they must burn a fortune to do so.

Trusted Contact+

Your agent has a trusted friend in one social arena, pick one of: Agency, Mainstream, or Infamy when you take this option. Raise your agent’s rank in this realm by one. When you call on this friend you can buy an asset from that social realm up to three steps, though at a +1 step premium. You do this between scenes, offering a vignette of the agent getting the asset.

Vicious+

Your agent has a mean streak a mile wide. When they deal steps of mental injury on a personal level, you may burn fortune to increase it on step. You may do this once per scene for each time you take this option, and also start with one more fortune.

Windfall?

Your agent has fallen into some luck and come across something special. Your agent begins the game with two more fortune and may take on item of gear that is valued 20 to 60 kcred. You may only take this option during agent creation. How did they come across this amazing piece of gear?