Can assassins cast spells silently?

[random user]

In the PrC assassins cast spells as if they are bards.

In the PH, bards cannot cast silent spells.

Therefore, one could say that assassins can't cast spells silently.

Is that correct?

 

[AGGEMAM]

Yes, that is correct.

 

[Sejs]

Yes, retarded as it may be, that is the case.


Might I suggest an after-dinner house rule? Itsa wafer thin!

 

[Plane Sailing]

My assumption is that they mean i.e. can cast in light armour without suffering arcane failure chance (and have to use full round actions for metamagic)

I don't believe that designers intended for assassins to sing their spells like bards do!

"What's that sound?"

"Oh No! It's the singing assassins of Grond!"

target dies laughing

 

[Li Shenron]

In the PrC assassins cast spells as if they are bards.

In the PH, bards cannot cast silent spells.

Therefore, one could say that assassins can't cast spells silently.

Is that correct?

I can bet that is it NOT correct.

I proposed the same questions last year, do Assassins get no ASF when casting in light armor? Can they use Silent Spell?

It should be that they either have BOTH features like bards (if the "cast spells like bards" was meant in that precise way) or NONE (if the "cast spells like bards" is just a way to say they cast spontaneously).

To me, the image of an assassin would fit well with having no ASF in light armor, but even better with casting silently. Therefore if I have to choose I choose to give none of them like bards.

IOW, I think it was just a bad idea from the authors who probably thought at that time that, since assassins are not full-casters, were more similar to bards than sorcerers...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

My assumption is that they mean i.e. can cast in light armour without suffering arcane failure chance (and have to use full round actions for metamagic)

I don't believe that designers intended for assassins to sing their spells like bards do!

"What's that sound?"

"Oh No! It's the singing assassins of Grond!"

target dies laughing

Thanks. Now I have to sleep with the lights on because I fear that they will come for me, singing pop music to me, over and over again, until I bleed from the ears and kill myself with a tuning fork. After the 20th rendition of Daniel Kübelböcks version of "The Lion sleeps tonight" death is such a nice prospect! (OK, after the first 5 seconds of the first rendition, really)

 

[Liquidsabre]

In the PrC assassins cast spells as if they are bards.

Assassins cast spells the same way a bard does, this doesn't make them a bard or necessarily bard-like.

In the PH, bards cannot cast silent spells.

I don't see a relevant quote in the PHB that refers to bards not being able to cast silent spells. The PHB reads: "Every bard spell has a verbal component (singing, reciting, music)."

Every bard spell possesses a verbal component, this doesn't mean they can't cast spells silently. The Silent Spell metamagic feat simply removes the verbal component of a spell. The text doesn't say anywhere that the bard is restricted from doing this, only that the verbal component exists for all bard spells.

But yeah, the text should be much more specific for clarity's sake in the Assassin entry as to exactly HOW an assassin casts as a bard. Just to avoid any confusion.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't see a relevant quote in the PHB that refers to bards not being able to cast silent spells. The PHB reads: "Every bard spell has a verbal component (singing, reciting, music)."

Every bard spell possesses a verbal component, this doesn't mean they can't cast spells silently. The Silent Spell metamagic feat simply removes the verbal component of a spell. The text doesn't say anywhere that the bard is restricted from doing this, only that the verbal component exists for all bard spells.

SILENT SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Benefit: A silent spell can be cast with no verbal components. Spells without verbal components are not affected. A silent spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.

Special: Bard spells cannot be enhanced by this metamagic feat.

However, that's a restriction on the feat, not a restriction on the way a bard casts spells, so it doesn't apply to assassins. Assassins are not barred from using the Silent Spell feat.

-Hyp.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Aha, there it is! Thanks Hyper, I couldn't find it anywhere in the Bard description. Never thought to check the feat lol.

 

[AGGEMAM]

Aha, there it is! Thanks Hyper, I couldn't find it anywhere in the Bard description. Never thought to check the feat lol.

Just remember that it still uses a spell slot one level higher, and that since Assassins cast spells like Bards metamagic feats makes the casting time longer.