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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 407559" data-attributes="member: 3146">In that case, it's absured in the Green Ronin book too--it's not as if 3rd party publishers haven't ever printed broken material (for that matter, it isn't as if WOTC hasn't**cough** HARM, Armor of Speed, etc **cough**).In any event, you're missing the fact that save or die spells actually give you a reasonable save--your ninja ability won't if the ninja is played with any intelligence at all. I noticed that they have scythes on their proficiency list. 4x (2d4+3)+3d6 averages out to 43 points of damage which means that your sixth level assassin forces his target to make DC 53 fort saves or die.At 7th level--one level higher--a wizard's best bet for a save or die spell is Phantasmal Killer which gives two saves--one fort and one will. The will save negates the whole spell and making the fort save means that the character only takes a dozen points of damage on average. Far inferior to your Killing Blow. And, even a pumped 7th level wizard (18 int, +2 headband, Spellcasting Prodigy, Spell focus and greater spell focus: illusion) will only have a DC of 24 for the spell. Most 7th level wizards will have a DC more like 20 (16 int, headband, spell focus). The only other "save or die" 4th level spell is polymorph other which does no damage if the target saves, and also grants a fortitude save which probably doesn't exceed 24 either. Most significantly, the target isn't really dead if he blows the save--only polymorphed and that can be dispelled, etc. What's worse is that you've chosen to combine this with Hide In Plain Sight which means that the assassin can pretty much use his unavoidable Killing Blow whenever he darn well feels like it. The ability to use this while flanking is what makes it ultimately ridiculous.Player: Am I flanking the dragon? Kewl. I use my Killing Blow ability. (AoO misses or hits--maybe even doing lots of damage). I deal 65 points of damage (my average above assumed a 14 strength and a nonmagical scythe--Bull's Strength and magical scythes will pump that damage up really quickly). Does the dragon live? OK, now he has to make a DC 75 fort save or die.Got Epic Level fort saves?The worst bit about this is that sooner or later it will be used against PCs. Give a DM 6 6th level assassins and there's no reason that any party should survive--no matter what their level.I don't know whether you use the same Shadowdancer ability that everyone else does but Hide in Plain Sight usually does function as Hide In Combat. Why wouldn't it? The restriction that usually prevents hiding in combat is the "can't hide while observed" restriction and Hide in Plain Sight removes that one.Furthermore, it is not "just" the Shadowdancer ability. It is the core of the Shadowdancer class concept. Here it's just an add-on.It's also worth noting that Shadowdancer is a prestige class (which are supposed to get funky abilities) and this is a core class (which are supposed to be more ordinary). More significantly, it's impossible to become a Shadowdancer at 3rd level which is where you place the ability.  You have to wait until 6th or 7th level to become a Shadowdancer. And Shadowdancers have to have a number of feats which also serve to balance their abilities. Since this is a core class, there are no prerequisites to balance it.Not to mention that Shadowdancers have far less synergy with the ability since they don't get sneak attack progression and the Assassin does.Not until very high level. And Improved Invisibility is a once or twice per day thing that is dispellable and detectable by see invisibility, True Seeing and invisibility purge--unlike Hide in Plain Sight which is whenever you darn well feel like it and is not dispellable or detectable except by Foresight.I don't see how you can argue that it's balanced to give a core class ability X at level three because a prestige class gets it at clvl 8 or clvl 16. Maybe paladins should get whirlwind attack, great cleave, and the ability to cast Tenser's Transformation as a free action 1/day at 3rd level in return for spellcasting. After all, Frenzied Beserkers get Deathless Frenzy and Improved Power Attack. And spellcasting Paladins get Holy Sword.No, you gain sneak attack, hide in plain sight, uncanny dodge, deathblow, Killing Blow, Mark (which is more flexible than Favored Enemy since assassins will almost always be targetting their marks while rangers will rarely fight their favored enemy more than once every 3 or four adventures), and five special class abilities, some of which are too powerful for any class at non-epic levels (ranged sneak attack) and others (slippery mind, opportunist, crippling blow, etc) of which are made available to the Assassin at 4th level while everyone else has to wait until after clvl 10 in order to get them. The core system is very customizable. If you need to make a halfling sneaky assassin, take rogue levels then shadowdancer levels, and then assassin levels. If you want a dwarf who uses an axe to split his marks' skulls, take fighter/barbarian/rogue.This class is actually not very customizable at all. Note the code of conduct. (Which seems rather silly considering what the assassin does for a living--respect the law?!? (Presumably except the ones against murder, breaking and entering, etc.) Don't kill the "truly innocent"?!? (Presumably unless you're paid to and your employee assures you that they're not really as innocent as they look.)) Even if you think that this code is workable, it won't let you create more than one kind of assassin character. It'll give you the protagonist from The Professional but not the antagonist.Well, first it's debatable whether every p-class wizards has published since the DMG is better than the DMG ones. Some have been but the DMG blackguard stacks up to the Holy Liberator (its most directly comparable p-class) pretty well and the Arcane Archer is competitive with the Order of the Bow Initiate and the Deepwood Sniper. Similarly the Bladesinger doesn't blow the Dwarven Defender out of the water.More importantly, this assassin is a core class (20 levels, no entrance requirements) and the DMG Assassin is a prestige class. "But my core class isn't more powerful than a multiclassed Fighter/Barbarian/Forsaker/Tribal Protector/Frenzied Beserker" is not a valid argument.Ranged Sneak attack is also a very bad idea. At the moment, all of the class abilities that grant extra ranged damage (with the possible exception of some Peerless Archer abilities but then again from what I've seen, Peerless Archer is the definition of Unbalanced) limit it to within 30 feet. It is not coincidental that thirty feet is also the normal movement for most creatures. Instead, it is a balance factor. A ranged character who wishes to make good use of his abilities has to expose himself to the danger of a charge (even a halfling wearing full-plate can reach him with a charge) and possibly a sunder or trip attack.If you extend the range at which sneak attacks are possible, you make it possible for archers to use their full (massive) damage bonusses without fear of retribution. What's worse is that it also allows the archer to get beyond the range of much anti-invisibility magic. An Improved Invisibiltied assassin (flying or not) will make a flying improved invisible wizard with fireball look like a pansy in terms of damage inflicted. And fireballs are much easier to track to their origin than arrows are.</blockquote>

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