building an assassin, some questions

[DemonAtheist]

me and my friends are about to start a level 7 campaign, and i have created a worg-riding goblin mercenary (level 5 ranger/level 2 assassin) and have a few questions that came up.

1.) Can Worgs use barding armor? If they can, may it be made out of animal skins, or would this upset them (studded leather, hide, etc)

2.) Do Worgs count as war mounts, as in can i order them to attack while i do my own actions?

3.) How many tricks do Worgs learn if they are my animal companion? Only confused here because worgs have an intelligence of 6, and handle animal only discusses tricks for intelligence of 1-2.

4.) Since my worg can learn goblin, can my goblin learn worg? It would be handy to have a 'secret' language with my mount.

5.) Can i hold a punching dagger while using a longbow?

6.) Is there any way to use death attack with a raged weapon?

7.) If I install safeties on my hand crossbows, can i preload them, then take both out and nail people?

8.) If I use a medium sized dagger, do i still get the sleight of hand bonus?

9.) If assassins cast spells just as bards do (from the SRD), does this mean i cannot use the Silent Spell feat on True Strike?


hmmm, i think thats it for now. thanks guys.

 

[UltimaGabe]

1.) Can Worgs use barding armor? If they can, may it be made out of animal skins, or would this upset them (studded leather, hide, etc)

I don't see why they couldn't use Barding armor, and I doubt it would really upset them if they were made out of animal skins. They kill and eat animals every day, after all.

2.) Do Worgs count as war mounts, as in can i order them to attack while i do my own actions?

Um... sure.

3.) How many tricks do Worgs learn if they are my animal companion? Only confused here because worgs have an intelligence of 6, and handle animal only discusses tricks for intelligence of 1-2.

You don't teach them tricks- the reason they only discuss tricks for such low intelligence scores because once you have an intelligence of higher than 3, you're officially an intelligent, thinking being- so unless you have to teach the Int 6 Half-Orc Barbarian to "attack" or "heel", you don't need to teach them to a Worg.

4.) Since my worg can learn goblin, can my goblin learn worg? It would be handy to have a 'secret' language with my mount.

Is Worg an actual language? If so, then you can learn it just as easily as you can learn Celestial. If not, then no.

5.) Can i hold a punching dagger while using a longbow?

Sure. You won't threaten any spaces with it, though.

6.) Is there any way to use death attack with a raged weapon?

Is there anything saying you can't?

7.) If I install safeties on my hand crossbows, can i preload them, then take both out and nail people?

It depends on where you're getting these "safeties" from. If they're in a book, look in that book. If a person made 'em up, ask that person. But as it is, there's no such thing in D&D, so I'm gonna say no.

8.) If I use a medium sized dagger, do i still get the sleight of hand bonus?

I'd say no. Generally, that kind of a bonus is for something of your size, and it just makes common sense. Keep in mind, of course, that you're also taking a penalty to hit if you use a medium-sized dagger and you're not medium-sized.

9.) If assassins cast spells just as bards do (from the SRD), does this mean i cannot use the Silent Spell feat on True Strike?

There's been some debate about this for quite some time... the way I interperet it, the only thing they're implying by mentioning Bards rather than Sorcerers (as Sorcerers are the usual example), they're implying that Assassins can cast spells in Light Armor without incurring Arcane Spell Failure. Don't take my word for it, though- ask your DC whether he allows it or not.

 

[DemonAtheist]

Is there anything saying you can't?

Death Attack: If an assassin studies his victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or the target (assassin's choice).

emphasis on melee weapon, whereas i'd like to rule the typical 30 ft sneak attack with ranged weapon. thoughts?

 

[DemonAtheist]

ack, new question

would it make sense for my worg to level (giving it more HD)? My DM is allowing a worg as my animal companion only because i'm a goblin, but i dont see how she's going to survive without some extra hp

thanks

 

[Lord Pendragon]

1.) Can Worgs use barding armor? If they can, may it be made out of animal skins, or would this upset them (studded leather, hide, etc)

This is your DM's call. In the animal entry in the MM, it states that animals "trained for war" are proficient with armor. But there is no such entry for magical beasts. Some DMs might allow a magical beast mount to be treated the same as an animal mount with regards to armor use. Some might require the magical beast to spend the feats for proficiency.

2.) Do Worgs count as war mounts, as in can i order them to attack while i do my own actions?

Worgs follow the same rules as any other mount. I'm not sure what you mean by "order them to attack while I do my own actions"...since a rider and mount's actions are inextricably linked, and there are situations where the rider can both gain, and lose, actions in comparison to a PC on foot. I'd suggest brushing up on the Ride skill and mounted combat.

3.) How many tricks do Worgs learn if they are my animal companion? Only confused here because worgs have an intelligence of 6, and handle animal only discusses tricks for intelligence of 1-2.

If you learn to speak Worg, this is a non-issue. You can direct your Worg verbally. If you cannot speak Worg, then a Worg would have the same number of tricks as any other animal companion.

4.) Since my worg can learn goblin, can my goblin learn worg? It would be handy to have a 'secret' language with my mount.

Yes, you can learn to speak Worg by paying the skill point cost, as with any other language.

5.) Can i hold a punching dagger while using a longbow?

No.

6.) Is there any way to use death attack with a raged weapon?

No. You've quoted the relevent text yourself.

would it make sense for my worg to level (giving it more HD)? My DM is allowing a worg as my animal companion only because i'm a goblin, but i dont see how she's going to survive without some extra hp

If your DM has allowed you to have a worg as your animal companion, it gains bonus hit die as an animal companion, based on your ranger level. If you don't take any more levels in ranger, then no, your companion will not get any more HD.

 

[DemonAtheist]

I'm not sure what you mean by "order them to attack while I do my own actions"...since a rider and mount's actions are inextricably linked, and there are situations where the rider can both gain, and lose, actions in comparison to a PC on foot. I'd suggest brushing up on the Ride skill and mounted combat..

i did brush up on the ride skill. thats why this question came up. and i quote:

Fight with Warhorse: If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a free action.

requires a ride check dc 10, this is in the description of ride. my question is whether Worgs are war-trained.


okay...last question (i hope) if I take the feat Spirited Charge, does it multiply sneak attack damage? the description of sneak attack only rules out multiplication by critical hits, but at the same time im unsure whether this is intended or a loophole.

thanks for everything so far!

 

[Liquidsabre]

Well first, a Worg is a magical beast and not an animal and can't be taken as an animal companion. Being a goblin (and small) you can ride a regular wolf fine which qualifies as an animal companion available to a 5th level Ranger.

However I suggest just taking the Leadership feat at 6th and attracting a Worg as a cohort, if you have a good enough leadership score you would be able to attract a Worg straight from the MM (4HD +1 LA = 5th level). I'd suggest doing this if you have your heart set on a Worg companion. As they are, havign a Worg as an animal companion is impossible and just having a Worg around is an ally is a tad powerful and likely an unfair advantage for the character to possess.