Green Ronin's Assassin - Killing Blow Unbalanced?

[Codragon]

In Green Ronin's Assassin Handbook, I'm not sure whether to allow the assassin's Killing Blow attack as written in my game.

For those unfamiliar, the GR Assassin base class has the ability to use a Killing Blow a limited number of times per day. A killing blow is basically a coup-de-grace as a standard action to a non-helpless opponent. The target must be flat-footed. The assassin must successfully roll to hit. The target takes damage and must make a FORT save with DC equal to 10 + the damage dealt or die.

My issue is with the DC of the FORT save. I think it can get extremely high, esp. if you have previous levels in rogue. Let's save you have a Rogue7/GR Assassin2, with 10 strength wielding a normal long sword. The damage dealt during a Killing Blow will be 1d8x2 + 4d6, which averages to 23 points. The FORT save DC is 33! That seems quite high to me, and this doesn't even consider high strength or magic. Perhaps reducing the DC to 5 + damage dealt or just the damage dealt would be a better idea. The killing blow already has a pretty significant power in that it gives an automatic critical.

What do you think? Has anyone had any experience with the GR assassin? Is it balanced? (I've read the EN world reviews)

 

[Mordane76]

There was a bit of heated discussion about this topic a while back, when the class first came out and someone in House Rules put up an Assassin Core Class with mechanics that looked very similar to GR's Killing Blow.

I think the GR mechanic is broken; it can get ridiculous very quick. IIRC, in my campaign where we were discussing a Assassin core class, we used the Assassin PrC mechanic, which involves Int modifier, but I don't remember off the top of my head the exact mechanic.

 

[Codragon]

There was a bit of heated discussion about this topic a while back, when the class first came out and someone in House Rules put up an Assassin Core Class with mechanics that looked very similar to GR's Killing Blow. ...

Anyone have a link to the aforementioned thread?

 

[Mordane76]

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25843


That's the Assassin that was put up.

 

[Grog]

A killing blow is basically a coup-de-grace as a standard action to a non-helpless opponent.

That right there just screams out of balance to me. Even with the limitation that the target must be flat footed, there's no way I'd allow that.

 

[hong]

I'd replace the DC with the standard 10 + 1/2 level + ability mod formula. If it's good enough for monks (who can only use their quivering palm once per week) it should be good enough for assassins.

 

[Shadeus]

I'd replace the DC with the standard 10 + 1/2 level + ability mod formula. If it's good enough for monks (who can only use their quivering palm once per week) it should be good enough for assassins.

I assume you mean half character level, as opposed to the assassin Death Attack ability which is 10 + PrC level + ability mod. The latter seems to work just fine. A 10th-level assassin with an 18 Int would have a DC 24 save or die...for a minimum 15th-level character AND it takes 3 rounds of observation to do so.

GR's assassin seems unbalancing to me, but I haven't played one so I may be wrong.

 

[Mordane76]

Since this thread is discussing the treatment of the Assassin as a core class option, I think the DC that hong puts out must be 1/2 Assassin Class level, not character level, otherwise, what's the point of taking more than one level of assassin? With that first level, you have this death attack that gets better and better, even though you're not necessarily expanding on your assassin-y talents by taking levels in the class.

 

[Shadeus]

Since this thread is discussing the treatment of the Assassin as a core class option, I think the DC that hong puts out must be 1/2 Assassin Class level, not character level, otherwise, what's the point of taking more than one level of assassin? With that first level, you have this death attack that gets better and better, even though you're not necessarily expanding on your assassin-y talents by taking levels in the class.

Good point.