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<blockquote data-quote="Schmoe" data-source="post: 3653289" data-attributes="member: 913">This has been brought up before on the Paizo boards, as well.&nbsp; One thing to keep in mind is that the group aren't all assassins in the D&amp;D sense of the term, but assassins in the &quot;hired killer&quot; sense of the term.&nbsp; There are a few things in favor of having the encounter play out as described in the adventure:1.&nbsp; The assassins' abilities will likely be flashy and draw attention whether they attack in the dead of night or not.2.&nbsp; If anything, the PCs are more likely to have their guard down while enjoying a meal at the inn than when sleeping for the night.&nbsp; They would expect the party to have some defenses around their residence that they would rather not deal with.&nbsp; The PCs are easier to get to in the common room than in their private room.3.&nbsp; The assassins can be viewed very much like an old-fashioned mob hit.&nbsp; Enter door.&nbsp; Blast target.&nbsp; Leave.&nbsp; The fact that they operate as a group, rather than singly, as well as their chosen tactics, reinforces this style of hit.4.&nbsp; As a metagame consideration, a full-on assault is less likely to TPK the party. Remember that just because you, the DM, know how to inflict maximum damage on the party, does not mean that the NPCs do or that they will act in such a maximizing way.&nbsp; The NPCs have personalities, beliefs, and prejudices, just as people in real life.&nbsp; It's very easy to rationalize the assassins as a group of hit-men who prefer an open hit to sneaking around.Edit: Also, based on accounts from people who've run the encounter on the Paizo boards, the encounter will most likely still be extremely difficult even when run as a frontal assault.&nbsp; It's already widely regarded as one of the most challenging encounters in the SCAP, so you might not want to make it much more deadly.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Schmoe, post: 3653289, member: 913"] This has been brought up before on the Paizo boards, as well. One thing to keep in mind is that the group aren't all [i]assassins[/i] in the D&D sense of the term, but assassins in the "hired killer" sense of the term. There are a few things in favor of having the encounter play out as described in the adventure: 1. The assassins' abilities will likely be flashy and draw attention whether they attack in the dead of night or not. 2. If anything, the PCs are more likely to have their guard down while enjoying a meal at the inn than when sleeping for the night. They would expect the party to have some defenses around their residence that they would rather not deal with. The PCs are easier to get to in the common room than in their private room. 3. The assassins can be viewed very much like an old-fashioned mob hit. Enter door. Blast target. Leave. The fact that they operate as a group, rather than singly, as well as their chosen tactics, reinforces this style of hit. 4. As a metagame consideration, a full-on assault is less likely to TPK the party. Remember that just because you, the DM, know how to inflict maximum damage on the party, does not mean that the NPCs do or that they will act in such a maximizing way. The NPCs have personalities, beliefs, and prejudices, just as people in real life. It's very easy to rationalize the assassins as a group of hit-men who prefer an open hit to sneaking around. [i]Edit:[/i] Also, based on accounts from people who've run the encounter on the Paizo boards, the encounter will most likely still be extremely difficult even when run as a frontal assault. It's already widely regarded as one of the most challenging encounters in the SCAP, so you might not want to make it much more deadly. [/QUOTE]

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