Assassins as a Heroic Archetype?

[RathWolf]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned The Bride from Kill Bill yet.

 

[lotuseater]

the steven erikson series, the malazan book of the fallen, features a member of the assassin's guild. while working for the guild, he just takes orders and kills who he is supposed to. separately, he becomes involved with some friends to avenge the unjust removal of a nobleman from his title, lands, and the city council. in this light, he is heroic, even as a member of a dark profession.

 

[Belphanior]

It seems to me as if some people have confused the assassin with some kind of fictional ninja who is clad in black, kills because he's told to, and slices open his target in a single moment.

But all it really means is somebody who's going to kill some prominent figure.

You could casually saunter up to the town's mayor in broad daylight and work him over with an axe and it's an assassination (not one you're likely to walk away from though).

 

[D'karr]

The Punisher seems to me like a likely assassin.

 

[Klaus]

"You must understand this: I have a particular set of skills, and I will use them on you if you do not give me my daughter back"

- Liam Neeson, Heroic Assassin

Very well put!

 

[Dragonhelm]

It seems to me as if some people have confused the assassin with some kind of fictional ninja who is clad in black, kills because he's told to, and slices open his target in a single moment.

I considered the ninja in all of this. The ninja could certainly be an assassin, though I could also see it as a rogue. It kind of depends on what sort of background flavor you want to give ninjas, whether they're historical or Hollywood or even something else.

But all it really means is somebody who's going to kill some prominent figure.

I disagree with this point. You could, for example, be an assassin hired by a woman to kill her unfaithful husband. Prominent figures are certainly a target. However, imagine how boring your game would get if all you did was go from town to town assassinating prominent figures. There has to be more to the class than that.

 

[Somebloke]

Isn't there an entire series of books concerning a sympathetic, moral (if somewhat wangsty) assassin written by Robin Hob? Very much a 'for King and country' line taken. Maybe you should look it up.

 

[Belen]

Can the assassin be a heroic character? Or, will he always be a mercenary at best and a cold-blooded killer at worst? Or are they anti-heroes, like the Punisher? What are some good examples of some heroic assassins?

Best one is Fitz in the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. He is the bastard son of the the ruling family and is trained to become assassin and adviser to the king. He works to keep peace and security in the kingdom by taking out those who would cause disruption and pain to the people.

 

[El Mahdi]

... it seems that for the most part everyone has seemed to forget that a sniper is an assassin. Even though in D&D most snipers are rangers (for obvious mechanical reasons, specifically the track and bow proficiency) a sniper is one who "studies, stalks and eliminates" any known threat. While the popular conception is a Soldier on the battlefield taking out targets of opportunity, snipers can and have (look it up) posted a target for weeks before they "take the shot".

The sniper school teaches the art of the stalk which an take a very LONG amount of time to complete. They are, at the core assassins, ones that have to live for the rest of their lives knowing what that entails. ... However, I have never met a hero that has ever said..."I'm a hero!!". ...

Yup! Perfect, real-world, example: Carlos_Hathcock.

He's emulated in a lot of fiction. But even there, the fiction doesn't even come close to what the man actually accomplished. He may not have ever called himself a Hero, but I do.

To the OP: if you want to read a good, real-world, example of a heroic Assassin archetype - read Marine_Sniper.

I happen to know a couple "ex" snipers and you can trust me, they have issues - they never think of themselves as heroes, just people doing the job they were taught, the best way they know how. ...

We had a former Marine sniper in my last unit in the Air Force. He had switched to the Air Force at the urging of his wife who was worn out from his operational tempo (snipers have been a bit "in demand" and busy since 9/11). So he became a helicopter maintenance crew chief (or APG). Definitely a change of pace for him. He's one of the quietest people I've ever met - kind of that "still waters run deep" thing.

He'd bring a 2-litre bottle of Mountain Dew into work every day, and usually drink most of it in a shift - and still have rock steady hands. After a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew, I'd either be bouncing off the ceiling, throwing up, or just have my heart explode!

I remember a few of us joking around outside one day during a break, and I made a comment to him that maybe I shouldn't crack a joke at his expense - or I might end up with him laying in wait for me on a water tower or something. Without missing a beat he replied: "Nah. You don't have an effective escape route from a water tower.". I couldn't think of anything else to say to that except "Damn". It wasn't scary or anything, and was just friendly banter between comrades, but it was kind of spooky how his thought process just automatically went back to his training.

Last I heard though, he just couldn't take the pedantic pace of an Air Force maintenance unit any more, and went back to the Marines.

 

[WalterKovacs]

Someone who has to spend half an hour whaling away at someone until their HP are gone isn't much of an assassin!)

Any character who wails away at their target for 300 rounds without taking it down is not doing their job, regardless of class