D&D 5E Assassinate and Greater Invisibility

[Dausuul]

Actually, it goes on to say, "In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit."

So it doesn't have to be a creature at the beginning of combat. They just have to be surprised.

The assassin ability doesn't say it has to be at the start of combat, but the surprise rules do.

"Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter. 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."

 

[Iry]

If the second guy is completely unaware that the first guy just died horrendously, and is oblivious to any threat at all, then he's not actually part of combat, doesn't need to roll initiative, and the assassin is free to surprise him next round. He's a separate encounter.

 

[Guest 6801328]

The assassin should absolutely be able to take out 6 people in a row, by darting in and out of sight like a homicidal Batman.

6th level ability should be LAZORZ OUT OF UR EYEZ!!!!!

 

[Horwath]

I really like 3rd edition over 5th in surprise/initiative rolls.

And we used that rule in 5th ed campaigns.

If you are surprised you do not act during 1st(surprise round).
Initiative is rolled only if needed for this round.

After that round initiative is rolled for all and you are still surprised until your turn comes.

 

[Olrox17]

This is the sort of thing that bugs me. The assassin should absolutely be able to take out 6 people in a row, by darting in and out of sight like a homicidal Batman.

I’d allow assassinate against any target from whom you are hidden.

I would allow that in a Metal Gear Solid style solo game, in which the assassin is the only PC. Even then, I wouldn't allow assassinate to work on enemies that are aware of your presence and are actively searching for you. The assassin would need to lay low between kills, to "reset" the enemies' awareness.

 

[jasper]

If the second guy is completely unaware that the first guy just died horrendously, and is oblivious to any threat at all, then he's not actually part of combat, doesn't need to roll initiative, and the assassin is free to surprise him next round. He's a separate encounter.

Let see If I got you right. IRy
P 189 Surprise is achieved if Granny Hide Roll is > your passive perception And Granny Initiative is > Target initiative.
I was going write a story. But imagine if a dm cloned your assassin build which generally got 19+ in both hide and initiative. Your cool. Monsters and mooks fear you. Then the DM funnels you into a five foot wide hallway with you scouting up front. You turn around and see an Don Meepo The Urban Assassin of Los Vegas, and all your fellow pcs dead. How possible? I just looked at my check in sheet which lists my players pcs passive. A 19+ hide build would beat their passive perception. And remembering last weeks combat a 19+ initiative build would have beaten their initiatives.
TLDR
Using your post where if I kill the first guy horrendously, would you mind if I did this against the party.

 

[Ashrym]

The Sage Advice Compendium already confirmed this. Surprise is only the first round so assassinate is also only the first round. Sneak attack still applies subsequent rounds for muderhappy darkbatmans.

I also allow for resetting the encounter with time or separation of targets.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I would allow that in a Metal Gear Solid style solo game, in which the assassin is the only PC. Even then, I wouldn't allow assassinate to work on enemies that are aware of your presence and are actively searching for you. The assassin would need to lay low between kills, to "reset" the enemies' awareness.

If they don’t know where the assassin is, I’d be perfectly happy letting one round be enough time to reset. Especially when there are other threats present. You still gotta actually fine a place to hide, and I’d give enemies advantage on passive perception (so +5) against your stealth, but you can totally do it multiple times.

 

[Seramus]

Using your post where if I kill the first guy horrendously, would you mind if I did this against the party.

There are more interesting narrative options than slaughtering PCs. Strahd von Zarovich is a perfect example.

 

[jasper]

There are more interesting narrative options than slaughtering PCs. Strahd von Zarovich is a perfect example.

True. But I am an old fart. I found the best way to find out if someone really thinks a tactic is balanced is to use the same tactic against the party. If the players scream, it wasn't balanced.
Yes my man Strahd the fireball king. I love him. Back in 1E the only reason the party killed him was I had to PCS. He had the pcs sleeping during the day to recover. And he lit up the room when he entered. Generally by fireballing the party, attacking, and then fleeing.