-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Assassin variant minus spells?
- Thread starter uv23
- Start date
Yeah, me, I have one.
I thought it was a piece of cake, and so far it hasn't proved unbalancing.
I gave them fighter BAB (made sense to me given that they're supposed to be specialists of - get this- killing
), 6 Skill Points/level and Craft (Poisonmaking) as a class skill. IMC, Craft (Poisonmaking) is exclusive to everyone but rogues, to whom it is cross-class, and Experts, who can have it just as any other skill.
Worked like a charm, really. *braggart*
/Feliath
I thought it was a piece of cake, and so far it hasn't proved unbalancing.
I gave them fighter BAB (made sense to me given that they're supposed to be specialists of - get this- killing
), 6 Skill Points/level and Craft (Poisonmaking) as a class skill. IMC, Craft (Poisonmaking) is exclusive to everyone but rogues, to whom it is cross-class, and Experts, who can have it just as any other skill. Worked like a charm, really. *braggart*
/Feliath
Khorod
First Post
I've been kicking around ideas for a non-magical assassin for a while. For consideration, what is an assassin, once some of the particular organizations and characters of fiction have been removed? He is someone who can sneak in, arrange for death to occur, and depart with a minimum of fuss or personal risk.
An assassin is not supposed to be a great fighter, but most would be interested in precision strikes designed to end combat as quickly as possible. Improved Critical is a natural for the assassin- a better chance of maximizing damage, and it does not indicate skill as a trained warrior- just someone who knows how to place strikes to hit.
Likewise, if the assassin is supposed to move sneakily through an area, a Skill Focus in Hide, Move Silently, and Listen are all good possibilities. If you are wondering, Listen is better than Spot because if you can see someone, they can see you, and it is too late to hide.
Of course, this presumes that you are the stealer-in type assassin, rather than the dress up, walk into the kitchen and slip a poison into the lord's dish. In that case, Disguise, Bluff, and Pick Pockets (for slate of hand) would be more ideal Skills to focus on. This is not to say that the long list of skills already in the assassin description are not useful, but they are by and large just things the assassin would do well to have, and are not as close to necesseties.
It might also be worth considering that a knowledgeable assassin who makes use of poison will do more than just use it- he should be trained to recognize it. In any sort of assassin war, or in the event that an assassin is hired in a bodyguard position, the ability to diagnose a poison is a great idea, as would the ability to create an antidote. As the assassin would take the antidote, it is riskier to trust his alchemist-poisonbrewer friend for the antidote than the poison he will be putting into someone else.
As the masters of instant kills, it makes perfect sense that given a prone, unmovinging target the assassin would be increasingly able to kill them on the run. Coup de Grace, simply killing someone unable to do anything to defend himself, is normally a partial action. I suggest the assassin be able to upgrade that to a move equivalent action, then to a free action that can be done once per round or a single attack (as in one attack of the full attack action).
Lastly, at the highest levels of finesse, the particular anatomy and physiology of the target is of great concern to the assassin. Thus, I suggest a sort of Favored Enemy ability, one geared toward a more urban engagement. Among other things, it would perhaps allow an assassin to calibrate his poisons and antidotes to a specific race, increasing the DC (etc).
An assassin is not supposed to be a great fighter, but most would be interested in precision strikes designed to end combat as quickly as possible. Improved Critical is a natural for the assassin- a better chance of maximizing damage, and it does not indicate skill as a trained warrior- just someone who knows how to place strikes to hit.
Likewise, if the assassin is supposed to move sneakily through an area, a Skill Focus in Hide, Move Silently, and Listen are all good possibilities. If you are wondering, Listen is better than Spot because if you can see someone, they can see you, and it is too late to hide.
Of course, this presumes that you are the stealer-in type assassin, rather than the dress up, walk into the kitchen and slip a poison into the lord's dish. In that case, Disguise, Bluff, and Pick Pockets (for slate of hand) would be more ideal Skills to focus on. This is not to say that the long list of skills already in the assassin description are not useful, but they are by and large just things the assassin would do well to have, and are not as close to necesseties.
It might also be worth considering that a knowledgeable assassin who makes use of poison will do more than just use it- he should be trained to recognize it. In any sort of assassin war, or in the event that an assassin is hired in a bodyguard position, the ability to diagnose a poison is a great idea, as would the ability to create an antidote. As the assassin would take the antidote, it is riskier to trust his alchemist-poisonbrewer friend for the antidote than the poison he will be putting into someone else.
As the masters of instant kills, it makes perfect sense that given a prone, unmovinging target the assassin would be increasingly able to kill them on the run. Coup de Grace, simply killing someone unable to do anything to defend himself, is normally a partial action. I suggest the assassin be able to upgrade that to a move equivalent action, then to a free action that can be done once per round or a single attack (as in one attack of the full attack action).
Lastly, at the highest levels of finesse, the particular anatomy and physiology of the target is of great concern to the assassin. Thus, I suggest a sort of Favored Enemy ability, one geared toward a more urban engagement. Among other things, it would perhaps allow an assassin to calibrate his poisons and antidotes to a specific race, increasing the DC (etc).
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
I know that someone on these boards who does a lot of "Wheel of Time" stuff and has a WoT website created a non-magic using variant of Assassin for that game, which might be useful for you.
It is by Eosin the Red and his website "Call of the horn" is found at http://home.mmcable.com/mabinogin/rules2.htm
The actual nonmagical assassin is here http://home.mmcable.com/mabinogin/the_professional.htm
Cheers
It is by Eosin the Red and his website "Call of the horn" is found at http://home.mmcable.com/mabinogin/rules2.htm
The actual nonmagical assassin is here http://home.mmcable.com/mabinogin/the_professional.htm
Cheers
Similar Threads
