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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6106398" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 312: October 2003part 3/9Among the dead: Necromancers have always been pretty popular villains, even when the mechanics didn't back up their effectiveness. In a way, that makes them the inverse of clerics, which is fitting. As with the last article, we get three variant classes, each trading the standard familiar and bonus feats for other things. Whether they'll be better than the stuff you could buy with those slots, well, that is definitely worth seeing. Deathwalkers trade off their bonus feats for gradually becoming undead. Since there are definitely better ways to do that when you're a wizard, this is a pretty lazy move really. Once you've made it to lichdom, you'll really want that extra versatility in making magic items, as you've got eternity to build stuff, but also eternity to get bored in and regret your suboptimal choices earlier. Fleshcrafters are rather more interesting, gaining the ability to create cheap flesh golems and disgusting hybrid creatures by sewing together limbs. They also gain the ability to perform fake doctoring so they can get more materials to work with, and perform coup de graces without leaving themselves vulnerable for a round. Not sure you want them on your side, because if you go, you know you'll be used in their experiments too. I think flavour and mechanics wise, these ones are a success. Soul Reapers are a bit half-assed as a variant, only trading half their bonus feats and familiar for special abilities involving binding the spirits of the dead. So I guess that's one strike out of three. Not a very impressive record. I'm still more afraid of a smart transmuter or diviner than I am a necromancer. Assassin specialty prestige classes: Unsurprisingly, Assassins get similar treatment to Rogues and Bards in the previous issues. However, they do at least get 10 level prestige classes which you can really dedicate yourselves too, instead of just dabbling in. Like Ninjas, there are many different skillsets you can develop to accomplish the same end. But will they be cross-compatible enough that you can multiclass between them without losing effectiveness, or will it be best to pick one until you max it out? Since all of them gain a die of sneak attack at 1st level, there's that possibility at least.  Oppressors eschew subtlety and fulfil all the very worst stereotypes about the police. They smash into a place, beat the crap out of people in public, and intimidate everyone watching into doing what they want. This obviously only works if you have a government system that encourages this behaviour, or organised crime strong enough to laugh at the law, so they're far more likely to be part of a group than regular assassins. I'm sure any Despot from the earlier article would love to have one as a lieutenant. Poisoners are more regular sneaky sorts, sacrificing the general magical abilities of a regular assassin for concentrated poison creation and resistance. Since they don't need tools, and at the highest levels can kill via touch, breath or gaze, they can be pretty subtle and even locking them up naked won't save you. Just be thankful there's plenty of ways to make yourself completely immune to their schtick. Replacement Killers are the subtlest of all, because if they do their job right, you won't even know the person is dead until quite some time afterwards. Unfortunately, in terms of actual disguising, they're not as good over 10 levels as the doppleganger fanbois from issue 300 were in 5. Still, they're no slouches at the kidnapping and killing stuff, with plenty of stealth and sneak attack. Let's see now. If you dip in the right order, I think you could get at least +13d6 by 20th level, while retaining near full skill progression. That's not to be sniffed at. Shame your BAB'll be barely better than a Wizard's. Oh well, It's not as if you were planning on a straight fight anyway.</blockquote>

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