Assassin's Home Precautions
- Thread starter Varianor Abroad
- Start date
the Jester
Legend
Rel said:
DUDE!!! You've got to announce when you do that, and share it!
I would so love to play that!
Painfully
First Post
For the truly paranoid assassin, always wear a disguise. Change faces after each job. A ring of alter self, or a hat of disguise can really pay off for any criminal. A new disguise is essential after every meeting with anyone who can accuse you or create problems with your identity.
To be truly evil, the assassin can use the disguise to imitate a secondary target. Thus, WANTING to be seen to commit the murder or "job" he has to do, and then letting the authorities deal with the "criminal" in that case. Yes, even assassins can be thrifty with their time.
Never use your own front door. But, even better than that is to not have a permanent residence at all. Keep moving. Take on a new identity as needed to keep anybody off your trail. If you look, smell, and walk like a peasant, then nobody will want to bother you. Be boring. Use a good cover story. Even better, have a network of thieves (the guild) set up in positions that can authenticate your cover story. For all intents and purposes, you have become the D&D translation of a CIA "ghost."
If you're a professional assassin, you don't have a home!
------
Assuming you do want to guard your residence, caltrops under doors and windows are a good way to slow your enemy...but it also gives them a reason to be suspicious if an ordinary person comes inside unexpectedly.
The roof being the typical perch of thieves in most towns, consider having your roof protected with a grease spell, or slick it up with a mundane, but effectively slippery equivalent. Pig fat? Mind you, it would stink somewhat.
If you have a chimney, a spiked steel grate halfway up might be good. Casting an illusion to have it disappear is even better. Be sure it has a door built into the grate, so you can open it if you need to climb out your chimney as an escape route. If you can affod it, cast Vanish on a small bell, and tie it to the trapdoor with a string.
Escape routes are key. But you only need them if you screwed up! I would have at least one well hidden and unobvious route. A chimney, or underground passage is ideal. An escape route that you can block off is even better, like a loose timber underground, or a lock you can quickly throw on the steel grate as you climb out. Of course, this is assuming that teleport, invisibility, fly, and other such spells are a bit out of reach, or are compromised.
A pet animal with scent would be a good investment. Their scent ability can reveal things you just won't normally catch. Good boy. But, a pet can compromise your cover, especially if you are spotted as an assassin with a dog. Still, a good enough cover identity will usually protect you even from someone who can identify the dog. The disguised assassin can say he picked up a stray, or perhaps disguise the dog as well with magic.
If you have wine or ale, be sure to keep a small stock of sleep poison handy for "special" guests you might invite for a meal. It's good for those nosey neighbors that are getting to close, and is one way to tie up any loose ends.
One-way windows are a good investment as well. Magically enhanced windows that appear closed and shuttered from the outside, can be a good way to see who's at the front door before you invite them in.
Hope this helps. Still need more?
To be truly evil, the assassin can use the disguise to imitate a secondary target. Thus, WANTING to be seen to commit the murder or "job" he has to do, and then letting the authorities deal with the "criminal" in that case. Yes, even assassins can be thrifty with their time.
Never use your own front door. But, even better than that is to not have a permanent residence at all. Keep moving. Take on a new identity as needed to keep anybody off your trail. If you look, smell, and walk like a peasant, then nobody will want to bother you. Be boring. Use a good cover story. Even better, have a network of thieves (the guild) set up in positions that can authenticate your cover story. For all intents and purposes, you have become the D&D translation of a CIA "ghost."
If you're a professional assassin, you don't have a home!
------
Assuming you do want to guard your residence, caltrops under doors and windows are a good way to slow your enemy...but it also gives them a reason to be suspicious if an ordinary person comes inside unexpectedly.
The roof being the typical perch of thieves in most towns, consider having your roof protected with a grease spell, or slick it up with a mundane, but effectively slippery equivalent. Pig fat? Mind you, it would stink somewhat.
If you have a chimney, a spiked steel grate halfway up might be good. Casting an illusion to have it disappear is even better. Be sure it has a door built into the grate, so you can open it if you need to climb out your chimney as an escape route. If you can affod it, cast Vanish on a small bell, and tie it to the trapdoor with a string.
Escape routes are key. But you only need them if you screwed up! I would have at least one well hidden and unobvious route. A chimney, or underground passage is ideal. An escape route that you can block off is even better, like a loose timber underground, or a lock you can quickly throw on the steel grate as you climb out. Of course, this is assuming that teleport, invisibility, fly, and other such spells are a bit out of reach, or are compromised.
A pet animal with scent would be a good investment. Their scent ability can reveal things you just won't normally catch. Good boy. But, a pet can compromise your cover, especially if you are spotted as an assassin with a dog. Still, a good enough cover identity will usually protect you even from someone who can identify the dog. The disguised assassin can say he picked up a stray, or perhaps disguise the dog as well with magic.
If you have wine or ale, be sure to keep a small stock of sleep poison handy for "special" guests you might invite for a meal. It's good for those nosey neighbors that are getting to close, and is one way to tie up any loose ends.
One-way windows are a good investment as well. Magically enhanced windows that appear closed and shuttered from the outside, can be a good way to see who's at the front door before you invite them in.
Hope this helps. Still need more?
Rel
Liquid Awesome
the Jester said:DUDE!!! You've got to announce when you do that, and share it!
We'll see if it gets off the ground. I've got to find somebody to help me with the scripting because my scripting is crap. But if it happens, I'll definately post a link here at ENWorld.
Varianor Abroad
Explorer
Painfully said:
This is all great stuff. Thanks!
I guess my major thought at this point is that magic is still a major pain. What do you do if spellcasters show up?
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Varianor Abroad said:
"No matter how subtle the Wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style."
Sorry.But seriously, getting up close to him and causing him considerable damage is always a good option. This is one reason why you don't have a huge palatial home and instead have a small flat with little rooms. Nobody gets long sight lines to launch spells at you. Instead they have to cast them from close up where you get your AoO's on them.
Having a partner of some sort (the aforementioned hottie/ex-assassin wife works well in this regard) means you can further limit their ability to do the "5' step shuffle" and gives you somebody to flank with. If you're nervous about having a partner (who might get loose lips at some point), what about some kind of construct guardian? At higher levels, a golem (what about a Flesh Golem made from your victims - that'd keep anybody from casting Raise Dead on them, wouldn't it?) would be the perfect anti-wizard security system.
Eldragon
First Post
Forbiddance (Cast by a CE cleric) is a great way to set up a safe house. This will keep most of those lawfully aligned authorities out.
Another favorite trick of mine is to set up a false door that does not open. Right next to it is the real door to the safe-house. This door is concealed with an illusionary wall.
Smear the doornob of the real door with contact poison. You open the door via twisting the key alone.
Finally use another illusionary wall in the back half of the safe-house. in this pseudo-room, the character actually sleeps. The bed in the visible part of the safe-house is of course booby-trapped.
Another favorite trick of mine is to set up a false door that does not open. Right next to it is the real door to the safe-house. This door is concealed with an illusionary wall.
Smear the doornob of the real door with contact poison. You open the door via twisting the key alone.
Finally use another illusionary wall in the back half of the safe-house. in this pseudo-room, the character actually sleeps. The bed in the visible part of the safe-house is of course booby-trapped.
Inconsequenti-AL
Breaks Games
Rel said:
Yoink.
That's great...
A 'quest' to steal a flesh golem from a crazed assasin... simply so one of his former victims can be raised...
I love this place.
An antimagic field inside the house seems a good way to go. This eleminates the scrying, telportation danger, the supernatural abillities of monks and monsters, and renders combatants magic items powerless. In short the perfect environment for a cunning man of skill and stealth.
A labyritine house,(say something akin to the Winchester House), can be very effective for confusing adversaries. Disoreinting stair ways, identical rooms on different floors or corridors,(and to confound scrying as well if the anti magic field is removed,), rooms with fake doors and tromp de l'oeil (fool the eye), style decour,(dim light, with painted or fake doors, chests, chairs, so on and so forth).
Small secret crawlspaces, and doors are a must, your Assassin should be able to observe, and quickly emerge and strike a target, and then fade back into the walls.
I would like other poster use posion as well on various objects and weapons. If you use Magical posions in your campaign, I could see having posions that bestow curses, cause the character to stink to faciliate scent tracking, or posion that leaves a pyschic trail that would make it easier for the assassion,(or his proxies) to scry in return.
Beyond being a cool effect,(the players only become aware of magical effects of the posion only after they leave the antimagic field), it also a great way for the assassin to confound and control the party's actions.
If someone is inflicted w/ devil chills, and say only 2 temples can remove the magical disease, then the assassin has a good chance of knowing where to strike his revenge, assuming he or she survives his house.
A labyritine house,(say something akin to the Winchester House), can be very effective for confusing adversaries. Disoreinting stair ways, identical rooms on different floors or corridors,(and to confound scrying as well if the anti magic field is removed,), rooms with fake doors and tromp de l'oeil (fool the eye), style decour,(dim light, with painted or fake doors, chests, chairs, so on and so forth).
Small secret crawlspaces, and doors are a must, your Assassin should be able to observe, and quickly emerge and strike a target, and then fade back into the walls.
I would like other poster use posion as well on various objects and weapons. If you use Magical posions in your campaign, I could see having posions that bestow curses, cause the character to stink to faciliate scent tracking, or posion that leaves a pyschic trail that would make it easier for the assassion,(or his proxies) to scry in return.
Beyond being a cool effect,(the players only become aware of magical effects of the posion only after they leave the antimagic field), it also a great way for the assassin to confound and control the party's actions.
If someone is inflicted w/ devil chills, and say only 2 temples can remove the magical disease, then the assassin has a good chance of knowing where to strike his revenge, assuming he or she survives his house.
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