Desperate help needed for Assassin Build!

[Touché]

Actually, that's a fairly valid point about the DM fudging the roles anyway. Oh, and the reason I wanted the spiked chain was because Death Attack only works with melle attacks, and looks REALLY cool.

Anyway, I'll just grab vast amounts of poison for the sake of having vast amounts of poison.

As it is, I'll take Breath Of The Night as an invocation. I'm thinking with Blind Fight, I can make Spiked Chain attacks on the square I think he's in with Total Concealment, and from a realistic perspective he will have no idea where I am. And with Total Concealment I think I am allowed to hide, so it should be alright for more sneak attacks. As for other invocations, will Hideous Blow and Frightful Blast do?

I remember from playing Neverwinter Nights 2 I could apply both at shapes and essences at the same time, but Complete Arcane says nothing about it. Assuming my DM doesn't fudge enemy rolls, I wouldn't mind the extra -2 to enemy attacks and saves.

Well apart from that, I guess we're done! ^^ Thanks for all the help!

 

[irdeggman]

Actually, that's a fairly valid point about the DM fudging the roles anyway. Oh, and the reason I wanted the spiked chain was because Death Attack only works with melle attacks, and looks REALLY cool.

Missed that one.

Still, if going that way then instead of using a feat on exotic weapon proficiency, try 2 weapon fighting and using "light" weapons. -2/-2 on attacks - but get to apply sneak attack damage with both weapons as long as the sneak attack conditions apply.

As it is, I'll take Breath Of The Night as an invocation. I'm thinking with Blind Fight, I can make Spiked Chain attacks on the square I think he's in with Total Concealment, and from a realistic perspective he will have no idea where I am. And with Total Concealment I think I am allowed to hide, so it should be alright for more sneak attacks. As for other invocations, will Hideous Blow and Frightful Blast do?

a 5th level warlock gets 3 least invocations - so choose wisely.

Hideous blow - basically sucks as an invocation.

Breath of night gives you concealment, not total concealment (a 20% miss chance instead of a 50% one).

But with any type of concelament you can hide.

All creatures within the fog have concealment including your opponent.

You lose the benefit of hiding once you make your first attack.

For this tactic I would choose darkness (once you get least invocations take hungry darkness instead and then everyone but you is attacked by a bat swarm and in darkness) and devil's sight invocations instead. Devil's sight gives ability to see in darkness and magical darkness so your target gets no concealment from the darkness.

I remember from playing Neverwinter Nights 2 I could apply both at shapes and essences at the same time, but Complete Arcane says nothing about it. Assuming my DM doesn't fudge enemy rolls, I wouldn't mind the extra -2 to enemy attacks and saves.

It says you can apply a single essence and then later it says you can apply a single shape. These are not exclusive, basically it doesn't state they are so you can use both at once.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Breath of the Night, unless it's doing anything besides the miss chance, is a waste of an invocation. UMD is a class feature for Warlocks. They can take 10 on it. Obscuring Mist is a cheap scroll, and benefits little from higher CL (aside from protection from dispelling). Why waste an invocation on something a 25 gp item can do?

 

[BENINHB]

I also recommend Rogue2/Swash3 to get into assassin.

Start out with rogue for all the skills x4 at first lvl

3 levels of swashbuckler is great because it gets you weapon finesse for free at first level and at third level you get insightful strike which adds INT to damage rolls. So with three levels you eliminate the need for STR and boost the effectiveness of DEX and INT which should already be your two main stats as an Assassin.

At 6th Level go into Assassin and take Daring Outlaw as your bonus feet. It will give you back all those Sneak Attack dice you missed out on for your swashbuckler levels and it will give you a dodge bonus to AC.

DEX and INT become your only real important stats at this point so boost them through the roof.

I am actually playing exactly this character in a Pirate campaign right now and he is AWESOME. He is lvl 5 and waiting to go into assassin. There was a bounty on his head so his party turned him in to collect the reward and are planning to break him out of jail once they get paid but i smell a double cross in the works from my second in command and i think they are hanging me out to dry (actually out of character I worked this out with the DM so that i have a Nemisis throughout the campaign)

He is an awesome mix of Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer's version from Tombstone) Jarlaxle Baenre, and Durzo Blint with a stylistic touch from Vincent Valentine from FFVll. From a Poison use accident he damaged his lungs and will occasionally cough blood, he also knows that his condition is getting worse so he has a careless attitude towards death since he knows it is coming for him soon anyway ala doc holiday's tuberculosis

 

[Ydars]

Get your wizard friend to cast grease alot: one little known effect is that all enemies are denied their dex bonus to AC whilst balancing and hence can be sneak/death attacked regardless of flanking.

I actually played a Rogue4/Wiz 2 (at level 6: I eventually played him to Rog10/Wiz5) just to get a few nasty spells like this, and summon monster 1 to give me a cheap partner to flank me and also to use "aid another" to attack AC10 and grant me either +2 to AC or +2 to hit.

Shock and awe is also highly recommended to give your foes -10 to initative if cast in the surprise round (as a swift action).

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Grease is great, though 5 balance ranks prevents the enemy from losing dex to AC.

The best spell for rogues, though, is Persistent Blade, level 1 from Spell Compendium. It allows SR, but no save, it follows with the target if he moves, and automatically grants anyone attacking the target in melee to treat him as flanked.

 

[Ydars]

I used persistant blade all the time, and even had it attack AC 10 as aid another to get +2 to hit, since it could seldom do much damage.

 

[shadyizok]

BTW, a good item for assassin's is the Braces of Murder from Drow of the Underdark, it adds +2 to you death attack dc, a small bonus on attack when sneak attacking and re-roll 1 on sneakattack rolls. It's only 8k so try to pick it up in about 2 lvls.