Level 4 assassin-type characters
- Thread starter Whizbang Dustyboots
- Start date
Masquerade
First Post
Duskblade/Rogue or Duskblade/Ninja could be interesting. Certainly capable of operating alone.
MonkeyDragon
Explorer
I needed pirates in my game yesterday and used cr 6 tiefling warlocks from the NPC Wiki. They were VERY effective. I primarily used their blast and hideous blow, and had darkness cast from the beginning. Since they could see through it (devil's sight) and the others had a miss chance, it kept them from being pasted.
I don't have my complete arcane handy, so I couldnt suggest anything specific, but I think they could easily be built specifically with an eye towards assassination.
I don't have my complete arcane handy, so I couldnt suggest anything specific, but I think they could easily be built specifically with an eye towards assassination.
Arkhandus
First Post
This is the first idea that popped into my head, and I think it'd work pretty well. Let's see. Main strategy is Invisibility spell + a high Move Silently skill + some combination of spells, weapon, and sneak attack to deal high damage with an invisible first attack, and possibly a second attack or a coup de grace.
Halfling illusionist wizard 3/rogue 1. Say maybe, str 14, dex 15, con 10, int 16, wis 8, and cha 8 (just assuming 25-point-buy, with the 4th-level boost going to Str).
Feats would be Skill Focus (Move Silently) and Stealthy. Notable equipment would be a punching dagger, a masterwork composite longbow made to accomodate his +2 Strength bonus to damage, some arrows, Boots of Elvenkind, and probably some potions that could help when absolutely necessary (such as substituting for some of the 1st and 2nd level spells you would otherwise be casting, and probably in place of a 3rd-level spell or two that you would've wanted to cast if you had the ability to do so yet). Some Dust of Tracelessness could help to cover your tracks when really needed. If no potions and no Dust of Illusion is needed, then a Cloak of Elvenkind would also help a bit, but probably only at upper levels (when the Invisibility spell might not be enough to remain unseen). With Scribe Scroll as a free wizard feat, you'll be able to scribe some useful scrolls after you gain a bit of XP to spare.
Familiar would be a cat, raven, or rat, for best covert scouting ability (least likely to be considered suspicious, if noticed at all, while scouting in most environments). Cat is the best for these purposes, but a raven or rat would also have it's advantages. As an illusionist wizard with 16 Intelligence, he'd have good spell slots available; 4 slots of 0-level, 2+1+1 of 1st-level, and 1+1+1 of 2nd-level. 0-level spells prepared don't really matter, but Prestidigitation should be one of them or something (to sweep away any footprints on a dusty floor, or whatnot, though it won't function as well as a Pass Without Trace or the like, since it won't truly cover your tracks). Prestidigitation won't be needed if you use Dust of Tracelessness or the like, however.
1st-level spells prepared would be 1 or 2 copies of Magic Weapon, 1 copy of Color Spray (or Disguise Self, or Ventriloquism, or Silent Image, to make a distraction or hide your identity, as appropriate, if you don't expect to need Color Spray in rendering your target unconscious or paralyzed), 1 or 2 copies of Shocking Grasp, 0-2 copies of Mount (to aid in your approach to, and/or escape from, the scene), and 1 copy of Enlarge Person (if circumstances allow, after the familiar scouts to see how much space is available around the target). 2nd-level spells prepared would be 2 copies of Invisibility, and 1 copy of either Ghoul Touch, Bull's Strength, Levitate, or Spider Climb, as the situation demands (see below). Remember that you can leave that slot with no spell prepared in it, then prepare it with the needed spell after your familiar does the initial scouting.
You'll have 7 ranks in Move Silently, 4 ranks in Hide (possibly 7 ranks if you buy 3 cross-class during your wizard levels), +2 MS and Hide from Dexterity (or better, if you weren't stuck with just a 14-15 Dex in the beginning), +2 MS and Listen as a halfling, +4 Hide as a small creature, +3 MS from Skill Focus, +2 Hide and MS from Stealthy, +5 MS from your Boots of Elvenkind, +3 MS from your cat familiar (when nearby), +2 Spot and Listen from your cat familiar's Alertness benefit (when nearby; it should be resting on your shoulder or in your backpack while you move in for the kill), and a big Hide bonus from your Invisibility spell rendering you unseen. You might invest some ranks in Spot and Listen (instead of Hide perhaps, trusting in your Invisibility to hide you). You might have a Cloak of Elvenkind for another +5 on Hide checks, or not.
The normal combat tactic would be to stay back, hide as much as possible, and launch arrows with a Magic Weapon spell cast on your bow for extra attack/damage bonus. If it's not too risky or difficult to stay within 30 feet while doing so, you can also be delivering Sneak Attack damage through your bow. Once in a while you'll be able to enter melee with your comrades and flank for sneak attack damage, possibly using a Shocking Grasp before entering melee to do extra damage with a touch attack + sneak attack combo ("I flank and shocking-grasp the back of his head! Muahahaha!"). Any time you have the chance to sneak up on a lone enemy and try taking them down in one or two hits, you can employ the assassination method below.
Send familiar to scout ahead and report back on some simple matters (i.e. return and nod its head once for each guard it sees in location X, or turn around if no guards are seen there), then cast Invisibility and sneak into position. The second Invisibility spell prepared is for making your escape. If the situation demands it, use Levitate or Spider Climb to reach the target, but preferably he should have 2 Invisibility spells prepared and 1 Ghoul Touch spell prepared. Carry punching dagger in the primary hand in case it is needed. Once the target is reached, or nearly so, cast Ghoul Touch in a spot the PC won't be overhead from, and before that cast Magic Weapon on the punching dagger.
Approach target, then either 1) coup de grace with punching dagger if unnoticed and target is helpless, or 2) perform an unarmed strike against the target, who is more or less unaware of where you are and thus basically an easy target, delivering your Ghoul Touch spell through the contact made by your unarmed strike. As a sneak attack, the unarmed strke will be dealing 1d2+2+1d6 damage (with the 1d2+2 being subdual), and the target should be paralyzed by the Ghoul Touch. Next round, coup de grace with the punching dagger.
If Ghoul Touch is not expected to work on the target, instead cast Shocking Grasp before the final approach, to deliver extra damage with your coup de grace or whatever. If time allows, and the first attack does not kill or knock out the target, cast Shocking Grasp anyway before the coup de grace attempt, and use an unarmed strike to deliver the coup de grace in that case (you automatically hit with the opponent being helpless, effectively, so the -4 attack penalty to deal normal/lethal damage unarmed is no problem).
If time and circumstances allow, you may also cast Enlarge Person on yourself before moving in for the attack (has to be before casting Ghoul Touch or Shocking Grasp, though). If you aren't expecting to use Ghoul Touch, Levitate, or Spider Climb, then Bull's Strength is a good alternative to that 2nd-level spell (to use in combination with Enlarge Person), to deal more damage and attack a bit more accurately.
Depending on how you go about executing the target, you'll be dealing 1d2+2+1d6 damage, or 1d2+2+4d6 damage, or 3d3+9+1d6 damage, or 1d3+3+1d6 damage, or 1d3+3+4d6 damage, or 3d4+12+1d6 damage, or 1d3+5+1d6 damage, or 1d3+5+4d6 damage, or 3d4+18+1d6 damage. Using Enlarge Person + Magic Weapon + Bull's Strength + a punching dagger for a coup de grace is preferable, but some circumstances won't allow for such (like if the target becomes aware of you before you are within reach for a coup de grace against the helpless target; if they're no longer helpless, your safer bet is to be using the Ghoul Touch tactic and then just use the punching dagger tactic for a coup de grace after the target is unconscious or paralyzed).
Of course the obvious path for this PC is to advance a bit further as a wizard and rogue, then into the assassin prestige class. Wizard will help with reaching the target (Knock, Levitation, Invisibility, Fly, etc.) while Rogue and Assassin will help deliver an effective lethal blow.
Halfling illusionist wizard 3/rogue 1. Say maybe, str 14, dex 15, con 10, int 16, wis 8, and cha 8 (just assuming 25-point-buy, with the 4th-level boost going to Str).
Feats would be Skill Focus (Move Silently) and Stealthy. Notable equipment would be a punching dagger, a masterwork composite longbow made to accomodate his +2 Strength bonus to damage, some arrows, Boots of Elvenkind, and probably some potions that could help when absolutely necessary (such as substituting for some of the 1st and 2nd level spells you would otherwise be casting, and probably in place of a 3rd-level spell or two that you would've wanted to cast if you had the ability to do so yet). Some Dust of Tracelessness could help to cover your tracks when really needed. If no potions and no Dust of Illusion is needed, then a Cloak of Elvenkind would also help a bit, but probably only at upper levels (when the Invisibility spell might not be enough to remain unseen). With Scribe Scroll as a free wizard feat, you'll be able to scribe some useful scrolls after you gain a bit of XP to spare.
Familiar would be a cat, raven, or rat, for best covert scouting ability (least likely to be considered suspicious, if noticed at all, while scouting in most environments). Cat is the best for these purposes, but a raven or rat would also have it's advantages. As an illusionist wizard with 16 Intelligence, he'd have good spell slots available; 4 slots of 0-level, 2+1+1 of 1st-level, and 1+1+1 of 2nd-level. 0-level spells prepared don't really matter, but Prestidigitation should be one of them or something (to sweep away any footprints on a dusty floor, or whatnot, though it won't function as well as a Pass Without Trace or the like, since it won't truly cover your tracks). Prestidigitation won't be needed if you use Dust of Tracelessness or the like, however.
1st-level spells prepared would be 1 or 2 copies of Magic Weapon, 1 copy of Color Spray (or Disguise Self, or Ventriloquism, or Silent Image, to make a distraction or hide your identity, as appropriate, if you don't expect to need Color Spray in rendering your target unconscious or paralyzed), 1 or 2 copies of Shocking Grasp, 0-2 copies of Mount (to aid in your approach to, and/or escape from, the scene), and 1 copy of Enlarge Person (if circumstances allow, after the familiar scouts to see how much space is available around the target). 2nd-level spells prepared would be 2 copies of Invisibility, and 1 copy of either Ghoul Touch, Bull's Strength, Levitate, or Spider Climb, as the situation demands (see below). Remember that you can leave that slot with no spell prepared in it, then prepare it with the needed spell after your familiar does the initial scouting.
You'll have 7 ranks in Move Silently, 4 ranks in Hide (possibly 7 ranks if you buy 3 cross-class during your wizard levels), +2 MS and Hide from Dexterity (or better, if you weren't stuck with just a 14-15 Dex in the beginning), +2 MS and Listen as a halfling, +4 Hide as a small creature, +3 MS from Skill Focus, +2 Hide and MS from Stealthy, +5 MS from your Boots of Elvenkind, +3 MS from your cat familiar (when nearby), +2 Spot and Listen from your cat familiar's Alertness benefit (when nearby; it should be resting on your shoulder or in your backpack while you move in for the kill), and a big Hide bonus from your Invisibility spell rendering you unseen. You might invest some ranks in Spot and Listen (instead of Hide perhaps, trusting in your Invisibility to hide you). You might have a Cloak of Elvenkind for another +5 on Hide checks, or not.
The normal combat tactic would be to stay back, hide as much as possible, and launch arrows with a Magic Weapon spell cast on your bow for extra attack/damage bonus. If it's not too risky or difficult to stay within 30 feet while doing so, you can also be delivering Sneak Attack damage through your bow. Once in a while you'll be able to enter melee with your comrades and flank for sneak attack damage, possibly using a Shocking Grasp before entering melee to do extra damage with a touch attack + sneak attack combo ("I flank and shocking-grasp the back of his head! Muahahaha!"). Any time you have the chance to sneak up on a lone enemy and try taking them down in one or two hits, you can employ the assassination method below.
Send familiar to scout ahead and report back on some simple matters (i.e. return and nod its head once for each guard it sees in location X, or turn around if no guards are seen there), then cast Invisibility and sneak into position. The second Invisibility spell prepared is for making your escape. If the situation demands it, use Levitate or Spider Climb to reach the target, but preferably he should have 2 Invisibility spells prepared and 1 Ghoul Touch spell prepared. Carry punching dagger in the primary hand in case it is needed. Once the target is reached, or nearly so, cast Ghoul Touch in a spot the PC won't be overhead from, and before that cast Magic Weapon on the punching dagger.
Approach target, then either 1) coup de grace with punching dagger if unnoticed and target is helpless, or 2) perform an unarmed strike against the target, who is more or less unaware of where you are and thus basically an easy target, delivering your Ghoul Touch spell through the contact made by your unarmed strike. As a sneak attack, the unarmed strke will be dealing 1d2+2+1d6 damage (with the 1d2+2 being subdual), and the target should be paralyzed by the Ghoul Touch. Next round, coup de grace with the punching dagger.
If Ghoul Touch is not expected to work on the target, instead cast Shocking Grasp before the final approach, to deliver extra damage with your coup de grace or whatever. If time allows, and the first attack does not kill or knock out the target, cast Shocking Grasp anyway before the coup de grace attempt, and use an unarmed strike to deliver the coup de grace in that case (you automatically hit with the opponent being helpless, effectively, so the -4 attack penalty to deal normal/lethal damage unarmed is no problem).
If time and circumstances allow, you may also cast Enlarge Person on yourself before moving in for the attack (has to be before casting Ghoul Touch or Shocking Grasp, though). If you aren't expecting to use Ghoul Touch, Levitate, or Spider Climb, then Bull's Strength is a good alternative to that 2nd-level spell (to use in combination with Enlarge Person), to deal more damage and attack a bit more accurately.
Depending on how you go about executing the target, you'll be dealing 1d2+2+1d6 damage, or 1d2+2+4d6 damage, or 3d3+9+1d6 damage, or 1d3+3+1d6 damage, or 1d3+3+4d6 damage, or 3d4+12+1d6 damage, or 1d3+5+1d6 damage, or 1d3+5+4d6 damage, or 3d4+18+1d6 damage. Using Enlarge Person + Magic Weapon + Bull's Strength + a punching dagger for a coup de grace is preferable, but some circumstances won't allow for such (like if the target becomes aware of you before you are within reach for a coup de grace against the helpless target; if they're no longer helpless, your safer bet is to be using the Ghoul Touch tactic and then just use the punching dagger tactic for a coup de grace after the target is unconscious or paralyzed).
Of course the obvious path for this PC is to advance a bit further as a wizard and rogue, then into the assassin prestige class. Wizard will help with reaching the target (Knock, Levitation, Invisibility, Fly, etc.) while Rogue and Assassin will help deliver an effective lethal blow.
Particle_Man
Explorer
Ninja 4!
What?
What?
Sejs
First Post
Whizbang Dustyboots said:
First things first: fair fights, or frankly fights at all, are for suckers. Approach your target when they're asleep or otherwise helpless, poison their food, etc. Never expose yourself. If at any point the target is aware that you're an assassin, you're doing something wrong. Stealth, deception, and disguise are your hallmarks. Assume a forgettable false identity, get close to the target, do them in, and disappear.
Rogue 3/Urban Ranger 1. Favored Enemy (Human). Urban Tracking helps you get info on your target.
Skills to keep an eye on: Hide, Move Silently, Disguise, Bluff, Open Lock. Certain degree of Gather Information and Climb.
Feats are largely up to you. Combat feats are ... optional. They're not what you do.
Poison is your friend. Particularly Con poison.
Your MO is basically get close to the target using a false identity, wait for the target to render themselves vulnerable, sneak in, CdG them while they sleep (or poison them while they sleep), and leave.
Tidy as you please.
Sejs
First Post
Nothing at all - Ninja 4 would work damn well, using the same method (Fight = You've Messed Up) above. They've got the skill list, enough skill points to cover your bases, poison use, ghost step to take care of those 'oh crap' moments, and sudden strike works just as well as sneak attack against sleeping targets.Particle_Man said:Ninja 4!
What?
Toss on Urban Tracking and Stealthy (or Darkstalker, or Run, or Swift and Silent) for feats and you're set.
Particle_Man
Explorer
Besides, everyone knows that ninja are more effective when they work alone. With a ninja in a solo campaign you should be able to defeat anything except for:
a) Batman
and
b) Chuck Norris
a) Batman
and
b) Chuck Norris
Urban Ranger 2/Rogue 1/X.
X can be whatever you want for flavor. Wizard or Sorcerer to add some nice low-level spells to the mix (Disguise Self, True Strike, etc.); Fighter to get a bonus feat; another level of Rogue to get Evasion and skill points; or even a level of Ninja or Spellthief or something similar to increase the sneak attack damage.
Not all that different from some of the above, it focuses on sneaking in close and delivering a nice CDG. Consider a pick to make the coup de grace that much more deadly. Pick up the ranged combat style, in case you don't have the luxury of getting close to your target. In this case especially, you'll want to load up on poisons. Two poisoned arrows or bolts can be quit e lethal.
Your feats can focus on boosting your ability to sneak (Stealthy, Skill Focus), or give you some extra damage-dealing options (Power Attack, Point Blank Shot). Favored Enemy is probably going to be humans most of the time, though it can vary for campaign reasons. The Ranger levels should be used to bump up things like Hide, Move Silently, Listen, Spot, Climb, Use Rope, and any other physical skills you may be relying on. The Rogue level(s) are for things like Disguise, Bluff, and Open Lock that will help you get closer to your target when inside a building.
Another fun option is a Warlock 3/Rogue 1 or Warlock 2/Rogue 2. Two nice options for invocations are Darkness and Devil's Sight (you'll be the only person in the room who can see), and Hideous Blow and Spiderclimb (not related, but Hideous Blow ramps up your damage while Spiderclimb will get you in and out of buildings no matter how high, as well as giving you a very handy hiding spot on the ceiling). Warlock doesn't offer that many skill points, unfortunately, but put what you have into things like Bluff, Concentration, Jump, and Sense Motive. Rogue skill points will be stretched thing, particularly for a Warlock 3/Rogue 1. They'll be covering Hide, Move Silently, Listen, Spot, Open Lock, and most of your social skills, among other things. The biggest issue with a Warlock 3/Rogue 1 is the fact that most of those skill are going to be at 4 ranks, since you won't be able to increase them well as a Warlock - that's what makes a Warlock 2/Rogue 2 (or Warlock 2/Rogue 1/Ninja 1, or whatever you like) a decent option.
For feats, Stealthy and Skill Focus are good options, to make up for potentially lower modifiers there. Point Blank Shot helps with Eldritch Blast.
X can be whatever you want for flavor. Wizard or Sorcerer to add some nice low-level spells to the mix (Disguise Self, True Strike, etc.); Fighter to get a bonus feat; another level of Rogue to get Evasion and skill points; or even a level of Ninja or Spellthief or something similar to increase the sneak attack damage.
Not all that different from some of the above, it focuses on sneaking in close and delivering a nice CDG. Consider a pick to make the coup de grace that much more deadly. Pick up the ranged combat style, in case you don't have the luxury of getting close to your target. In this case especially, you'll want to load up on poisons. Two poisoned arrows or bolts can be quit e lethal.
Your feats can focus on boosting your ability to sneak (Stealthy, Skill Focus), or give you some extra damage-dealing options (Power Attack, Point Blank Shot). Favored Enemy is probably going to be humans most of the time, though it can vary for campaign reasons. The Ranger levels should be used to bump up things like Hide, Move Silently, Listen, Spot, Climb, Use Rope, and any other physical skills you may be relying on. The Rogue level(s) are for things like Disguise, Bluff, and Open Lock that will help you get closer to your target when inside a building.
Another fun option is a Warlock 3/Rogue 1 or Warlock 2/Rogue 2. Two nice options for invocations are Darkness and Devil's Sight (you'll be the only person in the room who can see), and Hideous Blow and Spiderclimb (not related, but Hideous Blow ramps up your damage while Spiderclimb will get you in and out of buildings no matter how high, as well as giving you a very handy hiding spot on the ceiling). Warlock doesn't offer that many skill points, unfortunately, but put what you have into things like Bluff, Concentration, Jump, and Sense Motive. Rogue skill points will be stretched thing, particularly for a Warlock 3/Rogue 1. They'll be covering Hide, Move Silently, Listen, Spot, Open Lock, and most of your social skills, among other things. The biggest issue with a Warlock 3/Rogue 1 is the fact that most of those skill are going to be at 4 ranks, since you won't be able to increase them well as a Warlock - that's what makes a Warlock 2/Rogue 2 (or Warlock 2/Rogue 1/Ninja 1, or whatever you like) a decent option.
For feats, Stealthy and Skill Focus are good options, to make up for potentially lower modifiers there. Point Blank Shot helps with Eldritch Blast.
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