so you wanna be an assassin?

[funkysnunkulator]

this reminds...

some of you checking this thread might also be interested in some threads on the plot forum. some near-related stuff that didn't quite fit here.

looking foreward to it.

 

[Brazeku]

sounds good. our group will be ripping this off straightaway.

outside of the mechanics, how do you guys use assassination in your games?

some use it as something to do. players take levels, so they need to ply the trade. others are swept in by circumstance. any number of possibilities.

also, is it meant to be final. really final? extreme? order of the day? how does the rest of your game world deal with it? where does assassination fit?

A few ways.

-In a revival-heavy campaign, where death is usually just a setback, being assassinated in a non-permanent way is usually done to send a warning. Calling cards can be left (often politely worded). Killing someone's servants, lesser house members, or illegitimate children has much the same message.

-A step up from this is soul-trapping. This is much the same as holding hostages in some cases; in other cases it's for interrogation (We'll put your soul into this new body and torture you till death, repeat the process until you tell us things), in yet other circumstances people's souls are used as currency or to power devices.

-The big one is soul destruction. Depending on how volatile the situation is, this can range from rare right through to everyday.

I don't have any particular alignment restrictions versus assassination. Some churches will temporarily kill parishioners to warn them that they're on the wrong path (as after they die they could wind up in the clutch of a different deity). Priests and necromancers with revival magic are commonplace enough to render this a viable form of intervention. EDIT: obviously it is done in a ceremony, not like a daggers in the night type deal. Similar ceremonies for initiations into warrior's groups and secret societies also exist.

When death stops being final, you might imagine that social attitudes change a great deal as well. People can have themselves killed and then reincarnated to avoid legal problems, for example.

 

[funkysnunkulator]

sounds good. we have alot of the same elements in our game. death can be very very final. however, there is always away to weasle out of it.

assassination is big business for a few.

of course, so is ressurection.

neither comes cheap or easy and both can have dire consequences for all around.

 

[Voadam]

In my game anyone can be an assassin, you don't need a specific base or prestige class to be called one. That said, I like the sorcerer casting assassin prc from the 3.5 srd, the non magical one from Libris Equitis and a bunch of the prestige classes from Crimson Contracts. I had a cultist send a brutal killer from Crimson Contracts after the party when their investigations started to get too close for her comfort. They defeated him of course but not before he killed their helpful city guide.

 

[jdrakeh]

are they pro's who do the job exclusively?

Yes. Murder for hire takes a special kind of sociopath.

 

[William drake]

just wondering. have any of you given any thought to the subject of assassination, as it fits into the larger context of the game?

we run things a bit differently in our group.

you see, many years ago, we tripped upon an aspect of the job noone ever seems to consider.

assassination targets are generally fairly high level or fairly prominent. this generally means they have connections and they have means.

in a world where resurrection is a distinct possibility, disposal of the body is of paramount importance.

how do the rest of you hand the concept of assassination? are assassins just rogues who can hit hard? are they pro's who do the job exclusively? do you allow players to have assassin characters?

sound off!!

Yes, in my game there are assassins, but no, they arn't the players.

The idea of having a cold blooded killer for hire in the party, amongst good hearted heroes doesn't sit well with me. Also, most people don't think about all the things that said character must be in order for them to be fine with killing for money, or some other form of game. I do, and thus, there are none in my game who are playable.

thanks

Game On

 

[Grymar]

Yes, in my game there are assassins, but no, they arn't the players.

The idea of having a cold blooded killer for hire in the party, amongst good hearted heroes doesn't sit well with me. Also, most people don't think about all the things that said character must be in order for them to be fine with killing for money, or some other form of game. I do, and thus, there are none in my game who are playable.

thanks

Game On

Which is perfectly fine. But often my campaigns aren't the "good heroes" type of game. While I do not do evil campaigns, I'm more likely to do the sort where the characters are people trying to survive in a wild and unpredictable world. They generally try to do what's right, but not always. They will often help those in need, but sometimes they'll walk right on by. They have to look out for themselves first.

In that sort of game a mercenary killer is a bit more acceptable. You are completely right that in a 'hero' game an assassin is out of place as a PC.