Dragon 379: Assassin Heroic Tier

[CelticMutt]

I just noticed something odd about the PPs - none of them have a pre-req other than Assassin, despite two of them having powers or features that affect Shade Form. I wonder if that's an accidental omission, or a hint that the multi-class feat will grant Shade Form?

 

[thecasualoblivion]

I just noticed something odd about the PPs - none of them have a pre-req other than Assassin, despite two of them having powers or features that affect Shade Form. I wonder if that's an accidental omission, or a hint that the multi-class feat will grant Shade Form?

PPs have had features that modified class abilities that a multiclassed character wouldn't get before. In those cases, those PP features simply don't do anything.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Cadfan, nice analysis. That's interesting, if not intuitive. Accuracy I freely admitted was better, but I did not think damage would be. Huh. Well, I stand corrected.

I still maintain, however, that Flurry of Talons is the better tactical option. If you consider a 1d8 weapon, all else being equal, you have a higher accuracy and untyped damage for FoT versus Shadow Fire. However, I am drink at the moment, so you can hold that against me. However, factoring in the differences in average defenses amongst monsters as calculated earlier by... er, I forget who. Anyway, factoring those in, and also the probability of a monster with fire resistance, I think FoT wins out. That may change with weapons with a higher damage type though, and I'm not about to do that math right now. Verifying yours tired me out.

 

[andarilhor]

On my understanding of ki focus, it is not a specific object or a new implement, it's just a way to say "everything in the assassin hands, including his bare hands, can be used as a implement".

I believe when we see the final version of the monk next year, he also will have the ki focus as implement. That's a simpler way to make this mechanic instead of creating a entirely new weapon category as "monk weapons". The only difference will be where the assassins focus shadow energy in a weapon, monks will focus psionic energy.

I also believe we will see other ex-ki classes with "ki focus" implement as well in the future.

 

[Klaus]

Cadfan, nice analysis. That's interesting, if not intuitive. Accuracy I freely admitted was better, but I did not think damage would be. Huh. Well, I stand corrected.

I still maintain, however, that Flurry of Talons is the better tactical option. If you consider a 1d8 weapon, all else being equal, you have a higher accuracy and untyped damage for FoT versus Shadow Fire. However, I am drink at the moment, so you can hold that against me. However, factoring in the differences in average defenses amongst monsters as calculated earlier by... er, I forget who. Anyway, factoring those in, and also the probability of a monster with fire resistance, I think FoT wins out. That may change with weapons with a higher damage type though, and I'm not about to do that math right now. Verifying yours tired me out.

Don't forget that, being fire damage, Shadow Fire can be augmented by fire feats, like Surging Flame, Astral Fire and whatnot.

 

[Cadfan]

Cadfan, nice analysis. That's interesting, if not intuitive. Accuracy I freely admitted was better, but I did not think damage would be. Huh. Well, I stand corrected.

I still maintain, however, that Flurry of Talons is the better tactical option. If you consider a 1d8 weapon, all else being equal, you have a higher accuracy and untyped damage for FoT versus Shadow Fire. However, I am drink at the moment, so you can hold that against me. However, factoring in the differences in average defenses amongst monsters as calculated earlier by... er, I forget who. Anyway, factoring those in, and also the probability of a monster with fire resistance, I think FoT wins out. That may change with weapons with a higher damage type though, and I'm not about to do that math right now. Verifying yours tired me out.

I'm not sure that's the case, but its mostly not a straight mathematical comparison so its hard to be 100% sure.

Flurry of Talons lets you move your speed towards an enemy without provoking OAs, then attack with an implement attack using the three attack system from a lot of the assassin's powers.

Shadow Fire uses the same three attack system, but is a weapon attack versus AC. If you hit with at least one, you become invisible until the end of your next turn.

Flying towards an enemy without provoking for movement is less great than it seems, because you're already an assassin who can teleport at will. Becoming invisible until the end of your next turn is very nice, by comparison, since it lets you avoid damage, gain combat advantage, and move without provoking. I think that's the better suite of bonuses.

I can't say for sure which is the better choice: attacking reflex with an implement attack, or attacking AC with a +3 proficiency weapon. I suspect that attacking AC is the better choice.

But this isn't all math, so I can't say which is objectively better.

 

[Shroomy]

Don't forget that, being fire damage, Shadow Fire can be augmented by fire feats, like Surging Flame, Astral Fire and whatnot.

I also believe that it is the only assassin power that inflicts fire damage, which could be a nice change of pace from your standard psychic, force, cold, and poison damage depending on your campaign.

 

[reiphil]

So using the "hack" about enchanting the Ki, I had a question.

I believe that we'll have specific ki foci up over the course of the month. As a hack, I'd suggest putting any weapon property that can be applied to any weapon into the ki focus. That's just a temporary hack until the official rules roll out, but it should work fine as a starting point.

Does that mean ANY weapon enchant can be put on a ki? Or any weapon enchant that can affect ALL weapons?

(Basically can I have a grasping ki, or can I only have ki's such as Magic ki or Battlemaster's Ki)

 

[Phaezen]

So using the "hack" about enchanting the Ki, I had a question.



Does that mean ANY weapon enchant can be put on a ki? Or any weapon enchant that can affect ALL weapons?

(Basically can I have a grasping ki, or can I only have ki's such as Magic ki or Battlemaster's Ki)

My reading is that only unrestricted enchantments until the ki focus part of the article is up.

 

[davethegame]

We did a brief interview with Mearls about the Assassin:
In Depth: 4E Assassin and Q&A with Mike Mearls | Critical Hits

He talks about ki focus a little bit, but I don't know if it answers all the questions asked here.