"Security" is a polite fiction. The Infiltrator is the reason why.
These operatives are the masters of physical and digital penetration. While a Ghost deceives the mind and a Sniper eliminates the body, the Infiltrator defeats the environment. They are the ones who turn off the gravity plating in a hallway to trip up a Vesk strike team, or who loop the camera feed so the party can walk through the front door of a Syndicate vault.
In the Inner Sphere, Infiltrators are high-value corporate assets often referred to as "Pen-Testers" or "Breakers." They test the defenses of rival megacorps by breaking into their servers and physically stealing prototypes.
In the Frontier, they are "Tomb-Spiders"—specialists who crawl into the radioactive guts of drifting Primordial wrecks to disarm ancient defense grids so scavengers can strip the hull.
Their existence has created a unique subculture of "anti-security," where the best Infiltrators sign their work with digital graffiti or a single, physically placed playing card inside a sealed vault—not to steal, but to prove they could.
Infiltrator Specialization
Source Player Core pg. 129
You specialize in bypassing security systems, hazards, traps, and other defenses. From hacking a computer system or cutting power to a building, to bypassing a biometric lock and cracking a secure vault, you're skilled at accessing locations without alerting security or tripping safeguards. You're trained in Computers. You gain a skill feat for Computers.
Exploit Your tinkering causes technological items and creatures to experience glitches and malfunctions. You gain the Sabotage action.
Sabatoge
[one-action]
You disrupt enemy tech to cover your tracks or gain a tactical advantage. Select a single tech creature or tech item within 15 feet that you can detect. If your target is a tech creature, attempt a Computers check against the creature's Fortitude DC. If your target is a tech item, attempt a Computers check against the item's DC or the Reflex DC of the creature possessing the item if the item is being carried, held, or worn.
If you're an expert in Computers, you can Sabotage a tech creature or tech item within 30 feet. If you're a master, this range increases to 45 feet. If you're legendary, this range increases to 60 feet.
Critical Success The target becomes glitching 1 for 1 minute.
Success The target becomes glitching 1 for 2 rounds.
Failure Your attempt fails and requires more persistent analysis. The target is immune to your Sabotage until the end of your next turn.
Critical Failure Your attempt backfires. The target is immune to your Sabotage for 10 minutes.
Enhanced Exploit (9th) You can Sabotage as a free action whenever you critically hit a tech creature with a melee or ranged attack, targeting the triggering creature. You can Sabotage as a reaction whenever a tech creature or a creature using a tech weapon critically fails a melee attack roll against you, targeting the triggering creature or weapon.
Applications
The "Open Sesame": Whether it's a mag-lock, a biometric scanner, or a rusted padlock, the Infiltrator removes barriers. This isn't just about doors; it's about opening supply crates, venting atmosphere from a burning room, or unlocking the landing gear of a grounded ship.
Forensic Engineering: An Infiltrator can look at a destroyed door or a fried console and tell you exactly how it was breached. This makes them excellent investigators for sabotage or accidents.
Tech-Harvesting: When exploring ancient ruins, an Infiltrator can safely extract delicate power cores or data-crystals that would explode if yanked out by a clumsy Soldier.
Societal Impact
The Analog Revival: Because Infiltrators are so good at hacking wireless systems, the most paranoid factions (like the Chronologists) have returned to using purely mechanical, physical keys for their most sensitive sanctums.
Construct Paranoia: Wealthy citizens rarely trust fully automated security droids, fearing an Infiltrator could turn the bot against its owner with a single command code. Instead, biological guards (or hired mercenaries) are preferred for high-stakes protection.
The Breaker's Market: A black market exists entirely for Infiltrator tools—single-use decryptors, mono-filament lockpicks, and "sequencers" that mimic high-ranking Commission keycards.
Adventure Hooks
The Unhackable Vault: The Ebon Syndicate claims to have built a vault inside a pocket of "dead magic" Rift-space where no tech works. An Infiltrator is hired to break in using only ancient, mechanical tools.
The Runaway Train: A mag-lev train in the Inner Sphere has been sabotaged and is hurtling toward a population center. The party is dropped onto the roof, and the Infiltrator must climb underneath the speeding carriage to manually disengage the mag-brakes before impact.
The Construct Rebellion: A virus is causing service bots in a space station to go berserk. The Infiltrator must navigate the station's maintenance shafts to find the central hub and upload a "Sabotage" patch to shut them all down at once.
The Infiltrator reminds us that the deadliest weapon isn't always a gun—sometimes, it's a screwdriver in the right access panel. They turn the enemy's fortress into the party's playground.
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