Michael Silverbane
Adventurer
I build a character... any sort of character... And then when NPCs ask him what he does for a living. He tells them, "I kill people for money."
Later
silver
Later
silver
Create an "Assassin"
- Thread starter Satori
- Start date
WayneLigon
Adventurer
For your standard run of the mill assassin, I'd use two levels of rogue, two levels of Fighter. After a couple more levels of Rogue, I'd add in a level or two of wizard or sorcerer. Probably wizard, just to know some of the more useful spells such as feather fall, an illusion or two, alter self,. etc.
Sollir Furryfoot
Explorer
The most professional assassin's guild in my campaign is called the Hands of the Bright One. They're an offshoot of a now-defunct religion who lost their deity (being mostly rogue-ish types, the organization was the least effected and now the most powerful). The hierarchy is broken up into tiers, with the Grandfather (CR 15) at the top and 4 Fathers (CR 12) as the leaders, 15 Brothers (CR 8) as your standard assassin with flair and numerous Sons and Nameless below them as average assassins and lackeys. If you're intrigued by the following assassin, feel free to look up the 13 others in this thread.
Adam, LE Clay Golem Monk 2/Warshaper 4 (CR 12):
[sblock]"Adam" was a Drow Monk in the organization. Smart but not too particularly skilled, 'Son' was the highest level he was told he could reach. Ambitious and bargaining for more power, he agreed to participate in an arcane experiment that would imbue his soul into a Clay Golem-though he insisted that the new body needed to be crafted to resemble his own. Quickly adapting to his granted near-invulnerability and strength, he shot through the ranks, reaching the level of "Father" soon after. He is the most recent Father, claiming his position a few years previous.
He is often sent by the guild to assassinate strong magic-users or anyone who can easily be taken out by brute force. All too eager for any assignment, he seeks to prove his worth to the guild by his work. By no means stupid, he uses help from his Brothers, often using them to gage his enemies capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.
Adam, CR 12
LE Clay Golem Monk 2/Warshaper 4
Medium Construct (Former Drow)
HD: 16d10+20 (135 hp)
Move: 30 ft., Init +3
AC: 27 (+3 Dex, +12 Natural, +2 Dodge)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +8, Grapple +24.
Attacks: 2 Slams +20 or 3 Slams +18 (2d10+8)
SA: Cursed Wound, Morphic Reach.
SQ: Alter Self, DR 10/A&B, Evasion, Fast Healing 2, Haste, Immunity to Magic.
Str 26, Dex 16, Con --, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 12.
Skills: Bluff +22, Disguise +30, Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Sense Motive +20.
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Defensive Throw*, Dodge, Elusive Target**, Improved Grapple,
Improved Trip, Mobility, Sidestep Charge***.
Equipment: Father’s Blade (Assassin's Blade that allows Invisibility Purge and Silence 3/day
on command word), worn as necklace.
*Defensive Throw—If your Dodge target misses, you get an immediate trip attack as an AoO.
**Elusive Target (Tactical Feat)—(1) Negate Power Attack-vs. Dodge targeted opponent, opponent keeps attack penalty,
(2) Diverting Defense-Declare dodge on flanker, first attack automatically hits his allied opponent, flat-footed instead,
(3) Cause Overreach-Provoke AoO by moving away, if opponent misses you may make a Trip attempt, opponent may not trip you back if you fail.
***Sidestep Charge—Adam gains +4 to AC vs. Charge attack, gets an AoO for failed charge attack.
Clay Golem Abilities:
Alter Self (Su): Adam can use Alter Self at will, gaining a +10 to Disguise checks.
Cursed Wound (Ex): Wounds a clay golem deals don’t heal naturally and resist healing spells, anyone attempting to must succeed on a DC 26 CL check or the spell has no effect.
Damage Reduction: 10/Adamantine and Bludgeoning.
Immunity to Magic (Ex): Move Earth drives the golem back 120’ and deals 3d12 damage.
Disintegrate slows the golem for 1d6 rounds and deals 1d12 damage.
An earthquake cast directly at it stops it from moving on its next turn and deals 5d12 damage.
Any magical acid attack heals 1 point of damage for every 3 it would otherwise heal. It gains excess hp healed as temporary hp.
Haste (Su): After it has engaged in at least 1 round of combat, a clay golem can haste itself once per day as a free action. The effect lasts 3 rounds and is otherwise the same as the spell.
Warshaper Abilities:
Morphic Healing (Su): Full round, Concentration check (DC = Damage taken) to recover 10 hp.
Morphic Reach (Su): Adam has 10’ reach, evident only when he uses it.
Morphic Weapons (Su): Increase natural attack’s damage by 1 step. Can form new weapons.
Modus Operandi:
[sblock]-If hired as a team, he lets his minions engage his targets first in a battle where he has a good view of things and is able to note the tactics, strengths and vulnerabilities of his opponents. They only engage for a few rounds before retreating. If he uses them in the future, it'll be to create a distraction away from his main target.
-He uses Alter Self to get within range to the opponent (Gaining a fly speed or a smaller form or a servant's form) with the Father's Blade to Silence (the effect is centered on the necklace), combines with Hide to sneak up.
-If there are bodyguards, declares dodge on the stronger looking one, leaving himself "vulnerable" to be charged and flanked (taking advantage of Sidestep Charge and Elusive Target). When he gets a chance to Trip opponents who will always use Improved Trip to follow up (AoOs shouldn't normally allow for Trip attempts but his feats specify letting him Trip so Improved Trip should work). He basically slams their heads into the ground, knocking them prone, instead of just tripping them.
-Any wound is a good wound since they are *very* difficult to cure effectively (Wands of Curing will be almost useless here), Adam will retreat whenever he takes damage to bring him to half or less, taking a quick breath to let Fast Healing recover his hp, hoping to win his battle through attrition. (Think of him as a Terminator-type)
-He only uses Haste if he thinks he can kill his target quickly or to help him run away. He can easily bust through the wall of a building and drop down to recover if need be.[/sblock]
Design Notes:
[sblock]Strengths- Major: Strong Physical Defense, Near Magic Immunity, Deadly Combatant (Cursed Wounds), Minor: Tricky Combatant (by virtue of feats), Tireless (doesn't need to rest, eat, breathe, etc...), Transformer (Alter Self)
Weaknesses- Adam is less intelligent than the other Fathers and thus less capable of long term planning. He is prideful and as the newest Father he is eager to prove his worth, he will continue going after a target even after they have uncovered his nature. Because of this, and because he has specific weaknesses to exploit (the kinks in his Magic Immunity), a well-prepared group can take him out. A creative group can take him down, such as bull rushing him off a balcony and making him take massive falling damage.
Adam was built as a sturdy, very strong "sneak"-type assassin. Clay Golem was chosen for its Cursed Wounds and also because I felt that the material was thematic enough to allow some minor shapechanging. Begin with a Clay Golem (CR 9), change the size from Large to Medium (10 less hp, -8 str, +2 Dex, -2 natural armor), moved base speed up to 30 ft.-reduced CR by 1 since increasing from Medium -> Large is +1 CR. The guild modified him with Alter Self so he could perform in missions better (+0 CR), Added on Elite Array with +2 Dex/Int/Cha since Adam was originally Drow (No CR increase due to class levels). Added on 2 levels of Monk (+2 CR), and 4 levels of Warshaper (I decided on +2 CR, including them as non-associated levels since he only received half the benefits-Morphic Body only gave +4 Str (no Con to gain!) and he already had immunity to criticals from being a Construct. Elusive Target is a Tactical feat from Complete Warrior, Defensive Strike is from Complete Warrior and Sidestep Charge is from the 3.5e Psionics Handbook (in the SRD). If you don't have the Complete Warrior or don't like tactical feats, replace those with Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes and Combat Expertise.[/sblock][/sblock]
Adam, LE Clay Golem Monk 2/Warshaper 4 (CR 12):
[sblock]"Adam" was a Drow Monk in the organization. Smart but not too particularly skilled, 'Son' was the highest level he was told he could reach. Ambitious and bargaining for more power, he agreed to participate in an arcane experiment that would imbue his soul into a Clay Golem-though he insisted that the new body needed to be crafted to resemble his own. Quickly adapting to his granted near-invulnerability and strength, he shot through the ranks, reaching the level of "Father" soon after. He is the most recent Father, claiming his position a few years previous.
He is often sent by the guild to assassinate strong magic-users or anyone who can easily be taken out by brute force. All too eager for any assignment, he seeks to prove his worth to the guild by his work. By no means stupid, he uses help from his Brothers, often using them to gage his enemies capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.
Adam, CR 12
LE Clay Golem Monk 2/Warshaper 4
Medium Construct (Former Drow)
HD: 16d10+20 (135 hp)
Move: 30 ft., Init +3
AC: 27 (+3 Dex, +12 Natural, +2 Dodge)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +8, Grapple +24.
Attacks: 2 Slams +20 or 3 Slams +18 (2d10+8)
SA: Cursed Wound, Morphic Reach.
SQ: Alter Self, DR 10/A&B, Evasion, Fast Healing 2, Haste, Immunity to Magic.
Str 26, Dex 16, Con --, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 12.
Skills: Bluff +22, Disguise +30, Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Sense Motive +20.
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Defensive Throw*, Dodge, Elusive Target**, Improved Grapple,
Improved Trip, Mobility, Sidestep Charge***.
Equipment: Father’s Blade (Assassin's Blade that allows Invisibility Purge and Silence 3/day
on command word), worn as necklace.
*Defensive Throw—If your Dodge target misses, you get an immediate trip attack as an AoO.
**Elusive Target (Tactical Feat)—(1) Negate Power Attack-vs. Dodge targeted opponent, opponent keeps attack penalty,
(2) Diverting Defense-Declare dodge on flanker, first attack automatically hits his allied opponent, flat-footed instead,
(3) Cause Overreach-Provoke AoO by moving away, if opponent misses you may make a Trip attempt, opponent may not trip you back if you fail.
***Sidestep Charge—Adam gains +4 to AC vs. Charge attack, gets an AoO for failed charge attack.
Clay Golem Abilities:
Alter Self (Su): Adam can use Alter Self at will, gaining a +10 to Disguise checks.
Cursed Wound (Ex): Wounds a clay golem deals don’t heal naturally and resist healing spells, anyone attempting to must succeed on a DC 26 CL check or the spell has no effect.
Damage Reduction: 10/Adamantine and Bludgeoning.
Immunity to Magic (Ex): Move Earth drives the golem back 120’ and deals 3d12 damage.
Disintegrate slows the golem for 1d6 rounds and deals 1d12 damage.
An earthquake cast directly at it stops it from moving on its next turn and deals 5d12 damage.
Any magical acid attack heals 1 point of damage for every 3 it would otherwise heal. It gains excess hp healed as temporary hp.
Haste (Su): After it has engaged in at least 1 round of combat, a clay golem can haste itself once per day as a free action. The effect lasts 3 rounds and is otherwise the same as the spell.
Warshaper Abilities:
Morphic Healing (Su): Full round, Concentration check (DC = Damage taken) to recover 10 hp.
Morphic Reach (Su): Adam has 10’ reach, evident only when he uses it.
Morphic Weapons (Su): Increase natural attack’s damage by 1 step. Can form new weapons.
Modus Operandi:
[sblock]-If hired as a team, he lets his minions engage his targets first in a battle where he has a good view of things and is able to note the tactics, strengths and vulnerabilities of his opponents. They only engage for a few rounds before retreating. If he uses them in the future, it'll be to create a distraction away from his main target.
-He uses Alter Self to get within range to the opponent (Gaining a fly speed or a smaller form or a servant's form) with the Father's Blade to Silence (the effect is centered on the necklace), combines with Hide to sneak up.
-If there are bodyguards, declares dodge on the stronger looking one, leaving himself "vulnerable" to be charged and flanked (taking advantage of Sidestep Charge and Elusive Target). When he gets a chance to Trip opponents who will always use Improved Trip to follow up (AoOs shouldn't normally allow for Trip attempts but his feats specify letting him Trip so Improved Trip should work). He basically slams their heads into the ground, knocking them prone, instead of just tripping them.
-Any wound is a good wound since they are *very* difficult to cure effectively (Wands of Curing will be almost useless here), Adam will retreat whenever he takes damage to bring him to half or less, taking a quick breath to let Fast Healing recover his hp, hoping to win his battle through attrition. (Think of him as a Terminator-type)
-He only uses Haste if he thinks he can kill his target quickly or to help him run away. He can easily bust through the wall of a building and drop down to recover if need be.[/sblock]
Design Notes:
[sblock]Strengths- Major: Strong Physical Defense, Near Magic Immunity, Deadly Combatant (Cursed Wounds), Minor: Tricky Combatant (by virtue of feats), Tireless (doesn't need to rest, eat, breathe, etc...), Transformer (Alter Self)
Weaknesses- Adam is less intelligent than the other Fathers and thus less capable of long term planning. He is prideful and as the newest Father he is eager to prove his worth, he will continue going after a target even after they have uncovered his nature. Because of this, and because he has specific weaknesses to exploit (the kinks in his Magic Immunity), a well-prepared group can take him out. A creative group can take him down, such as bull rushing him off a balcony and making him take massive falling damage.
Adam was built as a sturdy, very strong "sneak"-type assassin. Clay Golem was chosen for its Cursed Wounds and also because I felt that the material was thematic enough to allow some minor shapechanging. Begin with a Clay Golem (CR 9), change the size from Large to Medium (10 less hp, -8 str, +2 Dex, -2 natural armor), moved base speed up to 30 ft.-reduced CR by 1 since increasing from Medium -> Large is +1 CR. The guild modified him with Alter Self so he could perform in missions better (+0 CR), Added on Elite Array with +2 Dex/Int/Cha since Adam was originally Drow (No CR increase due to class levels). Added on 2 levels of Monk (+2 CR), and 4 levels of Warshaper (I decided on +2 CR, including them as non-associated levels since he only received half the benefits-Morphic Body only gave +4 Str (no Con to gain!) and he already had immunity to criticals from being a Construct. Elusive Target is a Tactical feat from Complete Warrior, Defensive Strike is from Complete Warrior and Sidestep Charge is from the 3.5e Psionics Handbook (in the SRD). If you don't have the Complete Warrior or don't like tactical feats, replace those with Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes and Combat Expertise.[/sblock][/sblock]
Last edited:
Aus_Snow
First Post
Any class or combination of them with Hide, Move Silently, Spot and Listen, hopefully Bluff and Disguise. . . and a means of insta-kill or at least a ton of damage. Or silencing + incapacitation. Or whatever. Assassination stuff.
Obviously, in D&D-ish worlds, things like Invisibility, Alter Self, Dispel Magic, Scry, Teleport, and so forth are going to be exceedingly useful, and in many cases could render much of the above (i.e., the skills) redundant.
Anyway, there are heaps of possibilities.
edit --- the Soulknife approach? I like it.
Also, I'll just add another (non-)requirement: any alignment.
Obviously, in D&D-ish worlds, things like Invisibility, Alter Self, Dispel Magic, Scry, Teleport, and so forth are going to be exceedingly useful, and in many cases could render much of the above (i.e., the skills) redundant.
Anyway, there are heaps of possibilities.
edit --- the Soulknife approach? I like it.
Also, I'll just add another (non-)requirement: any alignment.
Last edited:
szilard
First Post
There are many, many ways to do this - depending on the method.
Traditional stealthy killer? Invisible stalker with class levels in rogue and assassin.
Traditional tricksy killer with an elaborate plan? Beguiler.
Most effective? Probably a Wizard with, say, scrying, teleport, greater invisibility, mind fog, and phantasmal killer (or a similar combo).
-Stuart
Traditional stealthy killer? Invisible stalker with class levels in rogue and assassin.
Traditional tricksy killer with an elaborate plan? Beguiler.
Most effective? Probably a Wizard with, say, scrying, teleport, greater invisibility, mind fog, and phantasmal killer (or a similar combo).
-Stuart
Hammerhead
Explorer
I made an Elan Psion with a strong focus in Telepathy and Psychokinesis; no real stealth skills, but could just blow away any guy somewhere close to his level, then Dimension Door away before more guys could show up.
Stealth is drastically overrated in building an assassin; a wizard or psion makes a more effective assassin (Demand is an especially awesome way to kill someone).
Stealth is drastically overrated in building an assassin; a wizard or psion makes a more effective assassin (Demand is an especially awesome way to kill someone).
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