Spies (CNH)

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Naturally, not all cultures can have ninja clans. However, other cultures can have characters similar to ninja.
These characters are built with the ninja character class guidelines, but we call them spies.
Not every campaign setting should have characters of the spy (ninja) class; a setting should have spies only if the DM allows. Certainly, every culture can have rogues who perform espionage tasks, but for a culture to produce specialized spies belonging to their own character class, it must:
* Be considered culturally advanced and sophisticated compared to the cultural average for the world, and
* Have a tradition of attempting to resolve problems with cunning, guile, pressure, blackmail, trickery, and even treachery (in addition to that familiar old standby, war).
==The Foreign Service==
Spies belong to the Foreign Service, a branch of the government whose specific task is to manage international relations. The Foreign Service's main task is to operate a corp of ambassadors and negotiators, but intelligence work also falls under its umbrella.
Unlike the ninja, the spy was probably not born to a family of spies. He or she was noticed by the Foreign Service during adolescence or early adulthood and recruited into the service.
However, in most ways the service is like a ninja clan. It is ruled by a powerful, autocratic leader. It has a goal, an alignment, a range of resources, a set of allies, a number of enemies. It demands loyalty of its agents and punishes betrayal. It sends its members out on life-or-death missions.
==Ninja Kits and the Spy==
All ninja kits are available to the spy except for the Lone Wolf kit.
The Stealer-In, or basic spy, is actually uncommon. Spies prefer to specialize.
The Shadow Warrior, or fighting spy, is common but is almost always used in association with other spies. A Shadow Warrior spy is seldom sent on a solo mission or as the leader of a mission.
The Intruder is the most common sort of spy, and the type tapped most often to lead a group or to undertake a solo mission.
The Consort spy is also very common, and is second most likely to lead a group or undertake a solo mission. When a mission leader is sent into an area, a Consort spy may already be in place, maintaining a cover identity established years earlier.
The Pathfinder spy is uncommon; spy missions tend to be more urban.
The Spirit Warrior spy is often used as a mission specialist, seldom as a mission leader
==What the Spy Does==
Chapter 8 includes notes on campaigning spy characters.
The spy goes on missions much like the ninja, but these missions relate more to national security than clan concerns. The spy is more prevalent in campaigns set in western cultures, and is perhaps most appropriate to campaigns settings somewhat like the European Renaissance.
==Demihuman Spies==
Whereas ninja clans are always human clans, an intelligence agency employing spies can belong solely to another race. Because dwarves and halflings can be ninja, predominantly dwarf and halfling spy organizations can exist.