Assasin of ______ (No Spells)

[Technik4]

I think the assasin class from the DMG is good, but I just had a thought for a more lethal, yet weaker assasin. Tell me what you think.

Hit Die: d6

Requirements:

Alignment: Any Evil
Move Silently: 10 ranks
Hide: 10 ranks
Disguise: 4 ranks
Special: As Assasin

1 Death Attack, Poison Use
2 +1d6 Sneak Attack
3 +2d6 Sneak Attack
4 +3d6 Sneak Attack, Special Ability
5 +4d6 Sneak Attack
6 Fast Death Attack
7 +5d6 Sneak Attack, Special Ability
8 +6d6 Sneak Attack
9 +7d6 Sneak Attack
10 Greater Death Attack 1/day

BAB: As Rogue
Class Skills: As Assasin
Skill Points at Each Level: 4+Int Modifier

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As Assasin

Sneak Attack: As Assasin

Death Attack: As Assasin and "An assasin always adds her class level to her saving throw against another assasin's death attack."

Poison Use: As Assasin

Special Ability: As a rogue but the options are limited to: Crippling Strike, Death's Protection, Lethality, Opportunist, Resist Poison, and Skill Mastery.

Death's Protection: Your focus is unrivaled when you have marked someone for death. You gain a +4 dodge bonus against someone you have studied long enough to make a death attack. This bonus lasts until you make a death attack or your death attack duration expires.

Lethality: The saving throw DC of any poison you apply to a weapon is 2 higher. Your death attack DC is also 2 higher.

Resist Poison: You gain a +4 bonus to saves against poison. If you pass the first save you do not have to make a second one, it is automatically passed.

Fast Death Attack: Instead of 3 rounds of study, only 2 rounds are required. The death attack duration is 1 minute instead of 3 rounds (the time before it expires).

Greater Death Attack: If the assasin scores a critical hit while making a greater death attack, the number of sneak attack dice are multiplied by the crit modifier (Max 40d6). For instance, an assasin making a death attack with a rapier who scores a critical rolls double the normal number of sneak attack dice. You must choose to use this ability after you score a critical hit, and it may only be performed 1/day.



Ok, no spells, no Uncanny Dodge, no Saves vs Poison. 2 extra sneak attack dice, Fast Death Attack, 2 Special Abilities, and Improved Death Attack. The requirements are also for a level 7 rogue meaning Greater Death Attack is obtained when wizards and clerics get 9th level spells.

My original thought was to give sneak attack dice every level, but I toned it back. The prc name can be tailored to any campaign setting or it can replace the standard assasin.

I nerfed Greater Death Attack (Changed name from improved to greater) by giving it a cap and a 1/day limitation. This is the pinnacle art of an assasin, its not meant to be abused by adventurers. It does however provide a way for an assasin to kill an adventurer.

Technik

 

[Angcuru]

So If I were to sneak up on someone, pull my Mercurial Greatsword of Subtlety out of my bag of holding, and slice someone with it, I could possible end up doing 48d6 sneak attack damage?

Assassin of Munchkinosity

 

[Camarath]

I like the class. The lack of spell casting will cut down on the assassins ablity to actually pull off death attack especially in combat and the lower hit points will make him a bit of a light weight too. But at least this assassin would be able to kill people when he needs to. It might be better as a NPC class.

 

[AEtherfyre]

It's ... front-loaded. Heavily so. No real costs for entering it, and that first level gives quite a bit to any rogue into that kind of thing.

I don't really know enough to say about the Death Attack specials, but they aren't obviously problematic - balance-wise. I don't care for the crit range of the weapon having an impact on sneak attacks, personally, but anyone who goes through the entire class is going to be fragile, and without the full set of skills a rogue has, they're even more impotent out of their environment. Especially given how many ways there are to block sneak attacks.

The obvious problem is that it gives one big ability - Death Attack - at first level, and for almost no cost; any rogue who'd want death attack probably would take those skills anyway. Give something minor but useful at that level, shift Death Attack up a few, and put in some stiffer entrance requirements - some feats, preferably relatively costly ones, would work. (Costly, here, means relatively low-value feats - it doesn't count if they'd take it anyway. Alertness, Skill Focus, or other "low desirability" feats are good for this.)

 

[Technik4]

Angcru:

Thats definitely a problem with this class, not the Mercurial Greatsword of Subtelty. Right.

Camarath:

I'm trying to keep it at a PC level, but as I said, I may have gone a little too far. Experts can be regular assasins or this alt. assasin as well, but I want it on the power curve of most things from the core books.

Aetherfyre:

Please compare it to the DMG Assasin. This one features less front-loaded features (no sneak attack on 1st level, higher entry requirements) but both have death attack as a feature at 1st level. Death attack requires 3 rounds of study after which, if a sneak attack is performed (within 3 rounds) the victim must make a Fort save DC 10+Prc Class Level+Int Mod (at first level, 11+Int mod, or a low save).

As far as entry requirements, this is actually more stiff than the DMG as I have raised the ranks necessary to start the road as an assasin. I don't think every prc needs crappy feats as requirements (or subpar feats for that matter).

Thanks for the feedback

Technik

 

[Camarath]

I thought it might be better as an NPC class because it lacked the options that would normally make a PC class fun to play. I also feel the same way about the DM Guide Assassin, often there is little fun in waiting several rounds as you friends mow through your foes. It can be very annoying to not get to death attack the person you have been trageting because the fighter walked up and killed them. I think you might give the class more skills at least 6 maybe 8 since death attack much less useful with out invisibility and skills are a nice way to do other things with your character other than just kill. I do like assassins especialy when you take down powerful foes in one shot or in games were killing hordes of enemies isn't the norm.


Also it might be nice to be able to Death Attack with posion you hid in food or secreted on some item. Or maybe perpare posion with your Assassin lv added to the save DC. You might consider changing Improved Death Attack to where after 3 rounds of study you can treat one flat-footed craeture as helpless. Athough that would make the assassin very deadly to foes that fail to spot it or fail their sense motive checks.

 

[RandomNPC]

As far as front loaded, the draw back to taking one level in this class is that the save DC for the death attack is based on the assassin level, so IMO it's not so bad, although the critical hits working forsneak attack damage may need to be reworked just on account of that being a D&D no-no.

 

[Technik4]

although the critical hits working forsneak attack damage may need to be reworked just on account of that being a D&D no-no.

While this particular rule hasn't been changed in any other prc, it doesn't mean its wrong to do so. High level rogues (and assasins) have more options with feats like hamstring on what to do with their sneak attack dice. Giving the assasin (probably the deadliest class, or should be) an ability to do ridiculous sneak attack damage is not necessarily wrong, its just not done before.

There are many assasins in the world, and I think that in the d&d world the distinctions among assasins are difficult to see (DMG version). After all, look at these comparisons:

Rog5/Ass8: +7d6 Sneak Attack, Death Attack DC 18+Int, Spell Use
Rog9/Ass4: +7d6 Sneak Attack, Death Attack DC 14+Int
Rog13: +7d6 Sneak Attack, 2 special abilities

There isnt that much difference really. Any of those could be assasins in the game (despite the straight rogue not having assasin levels) and their differences are small. Death Attack, the spposed way assasins make their kills, increases at a small rate and the saves are almost always so low that it is only useful on minor NPCs.

Now allow me to add my version:

Rog7/Ass6: +8d6 Sneak Attack, Fast Death Attack DC 16+Int

An assasin of that level is more succesful, not because of higher saves, but because of a better death attack. He will be forced to compensate for spells with magic items, but the DMG assasin doesnt exactly get a lot of those either.

I'm still not satisfied with the class, please add your .02

Technik

 

[haiiro]

Improved Death Attack: If the assasin scores a critical hit while making a death attack, the number of sneak attack dice are multiplied by the crit modifier. For instance, an assasin making a death attack with a rapier who scores a critical rolls double the normal number of sneak attack dice.

At first glance, I like everything but this ability. It reminds me of the assassin core class from Green Ronin's Assassin's Handbook, which uses an automatic critical for its death attack (and the save DC is based on the damage dealt). This makes the class easy to break, even at relatively low levels, by pumping up one's ability to use a high-multiplier weapon (like a scythe, which will later be a keen scythe backed up by Improved Critical, etc.).

Improved death attack isn't in the same league, but I still think it could prove to be problematic.

I do think there's a need for a non-spellcasting assassin, be it a PrC or a core class, and this is an interesting take on that concept. Focusing on sneak attack progression and death attacks is a cool approach, and I think it looks mechanically sound overall (for the most part).

That said, though, I think the Assassin of the Deadly Underscore is a bit too much of a one-trick pony/glass cannon to be useful as a PC-oriented class in an "average" campaign. It would be hard to fiddle with the abilities to change this without losing the focus, but if you think the class is weaker than it needs to be then I'd say add in one or two other minor abilities -- mostly to give it a bit more versatility.

(As an aside, this thread is a good example of why I like your posts in HR, Technik4 -- you have good ideas, a good grasp of the mechanics, interesting ways of implementing your ideas, and your comments are thoughtful and insightful.)

 

[Technik4]

I've made a few changes. I gave back the d6 HD, as it was sort of a cheap shot. This class doesn't even have spells, theres no reason it shouldnt be as tough as a rogue or DMG assasin.

I've added "Special Ability" as one of their bonuses, and created a couple assasin-only abilities (although they lose out on a couple that are rogue-only). This adds a little versatility to the class, without adding a lot of power.

Haiiro:

Thanks for the praise! I really do love the game, and this forum is the best for getting creative within the rules.

Technik