Underworld Slicer
DR 1Humanoid · Medium·Recommended levels: 2-4
Abilities
Saves
- DEX +2
- INT +5
Skills
- Use Computer +7
- Investigation +5
- Perception +3
- Deception +4
Languages
- Basic
Equipment
Traits
Once per round, the Slicer may use a Bonus Action to target a device, security console, droid, or door control within 60 feet that it can see. The Slicer makes a Use Computer check contested by the target’s Security (DC determined by GM). On a success, choose one effect: Lockdown (a door within 60 ft locks until the start of the Slicer’s next turn), Jam (one creature the Slicer can see within 60 ft has Disadvantage on its next ranged attack), or Blind Sensors (one creature the Slicer can see within 60 ft cannot benefit from Advantage until the start of the Slicer’s next turn).
As an Action, the Slicer targets a console, droid, or powered device within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) energy damage and be Slowed until the end of its next turn (speed reduced by 10 ft and it cannot take Reactions).
When the Slicer takes the Disengage action, it may move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Actions
Lore
Underworld Slicers are the brains behind jobs that look clean on the surface and catastrophic underneath. They open doors that shouldn’t open, erase footage that shouldn’t vanish, and make sure security systems fail at exactly the wrong moment. A good slicer doesn’t need to win a firefight — they just need the room to turn against you.
In SWURPG encounters, a Slicer is a force multiplier. They coordinate escapes, stall pursuers, and reshape the battlefield by controlling doors, lights, alarms, and droids. Even when they’re personally fragile, their impact is immediate: suddenly the blast door drops, the turret wakes up, and the party’s best angle becomes a kill zone.
Slicers are also social threats. They forge credentials, fake comm traffic, impersonate authorities, and feed misinformation to keep heat off their crew. They’re the reason the party gets blamed for a crime they didn’t commit — with video evidence that looks annoyingly real.
Use an Underworld Slicer to make fights feel like heists: chaotic, reactive, and full of moving parts. If a slicer is present, the heroes aren’t just fighting people — they’re fighting the infrastructure.
In Play
Underworld Slicers avoid direct combat. They stay behind cover or behind allies, using Quick Hack every round to control the environment: locking doors to split the party, jamming ranged attacks at key moments, or denying Advantage when a hero tries to spike damage.
When pressured, the Slicer uses Overload Device to punish pursuit and buy time, then Disengages and slips away with Slippery Exit. They’re not trying to duel — they’re trying to survive long enough to trigger a larger problem: an alarm, a sealed exit, or an escape route for their allies.
If you want the slicer to feel terrifying without extra rules, tie their hacks to obvious set dressing: blast doors, overhead cranes, docking clamps, security shutters, loudspeaker announcements, or a patrol droid waking up. The best slicer turns a normal fight into a cascading disaster.
Adventure Hooks
- Camera Ghost — Security footage shows the party committing a crime they didn’t do. The only lead is an underworld slicer known for forging images and rewriting logs.
- The Locked Wing — The heroes infiltrate a facility, but an underworld slicer seals bulkheads behind them and starts routing guards to their position in real time.
- Cut the Comms — A syndicate job goes sideways because someone jammed the crew’s comms. Tracking the signal leads the party to a slicer working out of a hidden back-room rig.