D&D 5E Rogue assassins/handheld crossbows

[Amatiel]

Yes, it would appear I'v been running surprise two rounds effectively.. my bad lol
Hex is a concentration spell and has a duration of 1 hour.. once he has a 3rd lvl spell slot, it will have a duration of 8 hours.. spell pretty much lasts all day

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

ASSASSINATE
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit. Hex is cast before combat starts usually, it does have a 1 hour duration after all.
Surprise: If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a reaction until that turn ends. (We have been interpreting that to mean your surprised until your initiative comes around .. Guessing thats not right ?)

Hex needs to be cast within 90ft of its target and has Verbal components. Its target is going to know immediately when its effect hits, but even the people near them are going to notice unless they are in a noisy area.

Everyone rolls initiative when combat starts. Say the Assassin gets 20 and the giants get 10.
Round 1
On 20 the assassin hits his target with Hex (Bonus action), then makes his two attacks (Attack action). He gets advantage (because the giants have not taken a turn yet) and automatic critical hits (because the giants are surprised.)
On 10 the giants take their first turn. They cannot do anything because they are surprised. At the end of their turn they cease to be surprised.
Round 2
On 20 The Assassin makes 3 attacks (2 from Attack action, 1 from Bonus action). He gets advantage if the giants are faerie fired or some other reason. (But not from being an assassin because the giants have taken their turn.) He does not get automatic crits because the giants are no longer surprised.
On 10 the giants take their second turn and can now act. They run over, pick up the assassin with an grapple check and unscrew his head.

 

[Amatiel]

Hex is a Duration 1 hour spell - Concentration. Yes has a range of 90 feet. But says "If taget drops to 0 hps before this spell ends, can use a bonus action to curse a new creature".. So cast spell.. 20 mins later meets some creatures.. uses bonus action to curse a target.

 

[MechaPilot]

... This is quite practical but in my head I can only think of it like a mum attaching a child's mittens with elastic so they don't lose them.

Pirates must have had very loving mothers then. It was not uncommon for a pirate to carry a brace of muzzle-loading pistols for use in boarding a ship before finally drawing their melee weapons.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Hex is a Duration 1 hour spell - Concentration. Yes has a range of 90 feet. But says "If taget drops to 0 hps before this spell ends, can use a bonus action to curse a new creature".. So cast spell.. 20 mins later meets some creatures.. uses bonus action to curse a target.

. . . at which point you're in combat, because the target is going to react to being cursed. Remember Hex doesn't just increase damage: it actively hinders one of its target's abilities as well. The Assassin is still needing to use their bonus action on the first round of combat to place the spell whether or not they are casting it or just swapping targets.

 

[jaelis]

It's a DM call whether the target of hex is aware of it. It depends whether you think the spell has a perceptible effect (suddenly you feel clumsy or whatever) or not (you just make mistakes when you try to do things). Though dropping a Wisdom hex on a creature you're trying to surprise does seem like a pretty good idea.

But holding a hex over from a previous battle is not going to happen every time. It has to be less than an hour, you can't take a short rest, and you have to successfully maintain concentration through the previous battle. Not to say it can't be done, its just one more conditional factor (on top of getting surprise, winning initiative and hitting a lot) that is contributing to your big damage number.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Not to mention, if you do not place Hex on a target, then it ends. You can use a bonus action to move it, but you still have to satisfy the conditions of the spell (a target you can see within 90 feet) -- you can't just hold it "in reserve" focused on nobody.

And since you're maintaining concentration, anything that interrupts concentration has the chance of turning it off. An attractive person flashing the assassin, the assassin taking damage, etc. All these require a concentration check.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I also don't see why you can't fire a second one with your BA. You can't use them next turn, they're not loaded. But that first turn seems right.

This is actually the only way I allow it (contrary to the Sage Advice).

 

[Carlsen Chris]

Flamestrike is correct: the game was errataed in such a way to completely hose dual wielding hand crossbow users.

On the other hand, no balance is lost by simply saying yes to the player: "yes, you can use two hand crossbows, that sounds awesome".

Or "no my campaign is not a John Woo movie."

 

[n00b f00]

Or "no my campaign is not a John Woo movie."

Ah man what am I going to do with expertised acrobatics now?