Sacrosanct
Legend
For example, the 1E thief was not a striker and the 5E rogue is not a striker. Neither one of these classes averaged more damage than their respective level fighter overall (the 1E one because 1E facing rules made it very difficult to get behind a foe, so back stabbing was infrequent and the 1E fighter had a better attack table; back stabbing was also considered a secondary function of the class). A DPR designed 5E fighter, on average, does more DPR than a DPR designed 5E rogue..
Not necessarily. Assuming equal ability modifiers and same weapons (long sword in this case), you could build an assassin striker to be the following. If you assume the assassin could get a surprise attack in a combat encounter the same number of times a fighter can action surge, the numbers would look like this:
Rogue 1: Dmg 1d8 longsword + 3 Ability Mod + 1d6 sneak attack = 11 average damage per round
Fighter 1: Dmg 1d8 longsword +3 ability Mod = 7.5 damage per round
Rogue 5 (assassin): Surprise round = (1d8 dmg +3d6 sneak attack)*2 (assassin) +4 ability mod = 34 points of damage. Every other round is 1d8 +4 +3d6 = 19 points per round
Figher 5: Action surge round: 4 attacks each at 1d8+4 dmg = 32.5 points. Every other round is 2d8+8 (2 attacks) = 17 points per round
Rogue 11 (assassin): Surprise round = (1d8 +6d6)*2 (crit hit) +5 = 56 points. Every other round is 1d8+5+6d6 = 30.5 points
Fighter 11: action surge: 6 attacks at 1d8+5 = 62 points of damage. Every other round is 3 attacks at 1d8+5 = 28.5 points.
*Edit* In my actual play experience, the assassin actually gets the drop on opponents (surprise) more often than once per short rest, which is how often the fighter above gets action surge. And with the rules for sneak attack work, an assassin worth his or her merit will be able to apply sneak attack damage to just about every attack. So if your criteria for a striker is to do more damage than other martial classes on a consistent and reliable basis, the 5e assassin rogue fits that role.
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