Assassin's Home Precautions

[Painfully]

I guess my major thought at this point is that magic is still a major pain. What do you do if spellcasters show up?

Magic is always going to be a major pain. That's why it's magic.

There are precautions like disguises and escape routes I mentioned earlier. As an assassin, your goal is never to confront people face-to-face and have a fight to the finish. You are in permanent stealth mode, with the intention of picking off targets as instantaneously as possible. Always cover your tracks.

An investment of skill points in the use magic device skill can really pay off when used correctly.

If a sorcerer did show up at the doorstep, it's obvious they must have some intention on their mind. Maybe they're doing an investigation. If they walked around with a detect magic, or truesight spell, what would it give away?

If they are there to fight you, well then you screwed up somewhere, and you might end up paying the price for it. I suggest you run as soon as they discover you, claim a new identity, and make a quiet living as an ordinary folk for a few weeks at least before you do any funny business whatsoever.

This is one of the reasons a guild is so valuable. They can shelter you from the authorities using safe houses, or putting you in a neighborhood where people won't point fingers at you. A guild can also find wizards or clerics that might help you, for a price. The underworld of the thieves guild is full of favors and backstabbing.

----------
A better question right now might be to look at the other side of things, and ask, "If you were a spellcaster about to attack an assassin in his own home, how would you do it?"

 

[Wippit Guud]

Do a favor for an outsider, secure a home on a para-elemental plane or some other obscure place people would never go.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

If a sorcerer did show up at the doorstep, it's obvious they must have some intention on their mind. Maybe they're doing an investigation. If they walked around with a detect magic, or truesight spell, what would it give away?

I'm thinking it would give away the contingency spell that you have to get you out of there.

This would have to be an item. Presumably just a d-door or t-port that you activate with a single word or thought that takes you to a preset, scry-proof location. (Dimension door being cheaper, I'd go with that.)

This is one of the reasons a guild is so valuable. They can shelter you from the authorities using safe houses, or putting you in a neighborhood where people won't point fingers at you. A guild can also find wizards or clerics that might help you, for a price. The underworld of the thieves guild is full of favors and backstabbing.

Presumably a guild can afford to do this as this level of investment is not possible for a 6th or 7th level character. (Or if it is, many resources are devoted to safety.)

I had an idea for a hereditary family of assassins. They all cover for each other, living in different houses and pretending to be everyday people. After a job, they all rotate. Keeps down auras, etc. Justifies the extensive amounts of magical protections accumulated over the centuries.

It's a weird existence though. You never let your hair down except with other family members.

----------

A better question right now might be to look at the other side of things, and ask, "If you were a spellcaster about to attack an assassin in his own home, how would you do it?"

Step one is locate it.

Step two is to learn as much as I can about it. (Det magic, divination, and gather information, etc.) Presumably, there's a chance that the assassin, if they've cultivated locals, gets a warning that someone's asking questions.

Derivative of that is figuring out ways to bypass what I identify and plan for what I can't.

Step three is to observe the guy entering and leaving.

All of this presumes a deliberate, planful attempt to get an assassin of course. Joe thug barging in off the street is what the poison is for. Hmm. Sounds like efforts to look around the house before entering for folks casing the joint is a good idea.

 

[jayaint]

If the first interior door frame of the house was a portal, and the key was an internal bone/organ/etc in your body, then as long as the house was un-scry-able, you would have no worries... cause they only way someone could follow you, would be with one of your own internal pieces, which it would be hard to leave behind without you knowing it.

*shrug*