D&D 5E Do Assassins suck?

[Tales and Chronicles]

I still think that an assassin without a ''save or die'' feature at higher level is kinda dumb.
Open Hand monks have it at higher level, for a pretty small cost; assassins should be able to pull that off with a small setup!

Assassinate
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. At the start of your first turn of each combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet and the first hit you score against such a creature on your turn is a critical hit.

Implements of Death
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the poisoner kit and your choice of disguise kit or forgery kit. Furthermore, you can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your proficiency bonus.

Cunning Infiltration
Starting at 9th level, you gain the ability to unerringly mimic another person's speech, writing, and behavior. You must spend at least 1 hour studying these three components of the person's behavior, listening to speech, examining handwriting, and observing mannerism.

Furthermore, you can unfailingly create false identities for yourself. At the end of a long rest, you can spend 25 gp to establish the material documents, history, profession, and affiliations for a false identity. You can't establish an identity that belongs to someone else.

Your ruses are indiscernible to the casual observer. If a wary creature suspects something is amiss, they have disadvantage to all checks made to detect your deceptions.

Hobble Pursuit
At 13th level, whenever you hit a target while you are hidden from them, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equals to 8 + proficiency bonus + Intelligence mod. On a failed save, the creature receives a -10 penalty to their Initiative and have their speed reduced by 10 feet for 1 hour or until they receive magical healing. On a save, the creature is immune to this effect until the end of their next long rest.

Death Strike
Starting at 17th level, you become a master of instant death. Whenever you hit a target with your Assassinate feature, it must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the creature is reduced to 0 hp.

 

[fearsomepirate]

Assassinate
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. At the start of your first turn of each combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet and any hit you score against such a creature is a critical hit.

Would make this the first hit you score to avoid MC munchkinism.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Would make this the first hit you score to avoid MC munchkinism.

Yup, indeed. I dont play with multiclasses, so its always stuff like this that I forget!

 

[auburn2]

Pretty much and doesn't work as advertised.

Arcane Trickster us probably the best one if your a powergamer but you can balls it up as well.

Scout and Swashbuckler are the best rogues for the casual player and still great for power gamers maybe not quite as good at AT depending on level.

How can you you screw up an Arcane Trickster? There are not many options in the way of spells because almost all have to be enchantment or illusion. If you take Find Familiar then all of the others until 8th level or so need to be. That class is really fun in my experience, but there are not a whole lot of choices you can get wrong.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How can you you screw up an Arcane Trickster? There are not many options in the way of spells because almost all have to be enchantment or illusion. If you take Find Familiar then all of the others until 8th level or so need to be. That class is really fun in my experience, but there are not a whole lot of choices you can get wrong.

Quite easily. I had a player pick Tasha's Eldritch Brew instead of Find Familiar, and they didn't go anywhere near the blade cantrips.

 

[fearsomepirate]

One way to screw up Arcane Trickster is to consistently forget you have spells unless the DM reminds you.

 

[Weiley31]

Yeah the Assassin would never be on my high end list pick of Rogue subclass choices. The auto crit, seems like it would require too much work. Although, in one of the first dnd sessions I was in, we did have an Assassin rogue hide behind a bar counter, use the Tasha's Aim add-on, and would fire his crossbow at the opposing drow we were fighting. Said Drow were too focused on us and I think he got the pick of the first turn surprise round when it happened.

Maybe, ultimately, such an ability would work better if the Assassin rogue was more of a Military Sniper with an Anti-Material/Sniper Rifle.

 

[fearsomepirate]

I'll throw in here that one reason I've come to dislike WotC published campaigns is that, since they're designed for any party to be able to complete by following the bread crumbs and killing the stuff in their way, they're not terribly amenable as written to these sorts of ribbon abilities. Maybe I'm just bad at running them, but it feels like players really do just get hurried along to the next point. By contrast, players have found it easier to get more mileage out of their abilities in the completely open-ended scenario presented in Temple of Elemental Evil.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

As I see it there are 5 basic weaknesses to the subclass:
1. The core level 3 ability is really two abilities (advantage against enemies who haven't gone and auto-crits against surprised enemies), but is described briefly and as one ability such that people often get confused, play a few levels getting auto-crits against any enemy who hasn't gone yet, and then are disappointed when someone at the table later realizes they've been doing it wrong.
2. The surprise part of the level 3 ability is highly DM dependent and may just never come up at your table.
3. The advantage on anyone who hasn't gone yet is theoretically great, but it's a bit belt and suspenders for a rogue in the first round who is often already going to be attacking from hiding or something.
4. The level 9 and 13 abilities are minor, highly situational benefits. It is questionable whether the level 9 one gives any benefit that every character shouldn't already get through good roleplay, albeit perhaps with a few more ability checks.
5. The level 17 ability again requires that elusive surprise that spoiled half of the level 3 ability, so given how little time you are going to play at that level, if your characters get there, it likely only comes up once or twice ever if you're lucky.

Now weakness 1 is not actually a real problem with the subclass, just a problem with how people perceive the class and a rules interpretation problem caused by poor wording in the PHB. It's bad writing and bad public relations, but that's all. Weaknesses 5 is of no relevance to most campaigns. Weakness 4 is of limited relevance to most campaigns; since the second round of Rogue subclass abilities comes pretty late Rogue subclasses basically live or die on effectiveness based on their 3rd level features.

So the real question is whether the two features of Assassinate save the subclass. If you get surprise frequently the autocrits probably make it all worthwhile. If you don't find other ways of consistent first round advantage then that also might make it worthwhile. When the subclass was released it probably did. Now however, we have Swashbucklers and Inquisitives able to get sneak attack without advantage more easily, optimization guides have taught everyone that their Arcane Tricksters should take Find Familiar to generate easy advantage, and Tasha's added the Steady Aim feature to make extra double sure that Rogues can always generate advantage when they need it. I think the niche for playstyles where Assassin is mechanically optimal for the sake of advantage is pretty small these days.

Mechanically it is still relatively strong as a multiclass dip. If you aren't really playing as a Rogue than the fairly uncomplicated "advantage when you beat someone on initiative first round" is pretty awesome, and only shines more with extra-attacks and any feature that improves initiative (which makes Gloomstalker probably the most conspicuous peanut butter to its jam, but there are lots of solid combos).

As a pure Rogue however, unless you have a DM who just gives you surprise all over the place or makes it impossible for you to get easy advantage by normal Rogue techniques it doesn't really hold up to competing subclasses. If the lore of it calls to you it's certainly not worthless, but it's mechanically underwhelming in most campaigns at most tables.

 

[auburn2]

Quite easily. I had a player pick Tasha's Eldritch Brew instead of Find Familiar, and they didn't go anywhere near the blade cantrips.

I think it depends on your build. The blade cantrips are great in melee, but I don't see them as a must have for an AT. I was playing ATs before SCAG and BB/GFB came out and they were pretty awesome then without those even available.

My must have cantrip for an AT is message. After that, BB ,Prestigation, Mending, GFB, dancing lights and light or all viable options for the second spot depending on what I am going for in the character. If it is melee damage it will be one of the blade cantrips, but that is rarely what my character is built around.