Please rate the Assassin
- Thread starter smetzger
- Start date
1. assassin = rogue with poison and death attack - skill points: aka well balanced
2. most PCs will not enter this class as there is an evil pre-req - but great NPC class
3. not every NPC will goto this class - but that is as it should be - assassin PrCl serves its purpose perfectly - in fulfills the role of the tradional assassin
4. never played one - not sure, I would imagine given the right campaign, this could be very fun.
5. this class adds tremendously to the vividness of a campaign
2. most PCs will not enter this class as there is an evil pre-req - but great NPC class
3. not every NPC will goto this class - but that is as it should be - assassin PrCl serves its purpose perfectly - in fulfills the role of the tradional assassin
4. never played one - not sure, I would imagine given the right campaign, this could be very fun.
5. this class adds tremendously to the vividness of a campaign
Maitre Du Donjon
First Post
I'm starting this friday an evil campaign set in FR. One of the players has an assassin (we started at lvl9 - the other 2 players are a rogue / guild thief and an invoker... i always end up with weird class combos...) but i doubt he'll outshine the other players. The death attack can be nice, as long as he stays hidden, but i don't think its overpowering. The spells are kind of stupid... especially since the assassin needs a spell book... i might rule-0 them so that he can use them the same way a cleric does (although he still needs int to cast them). The most problem/fun i'll probably have with this campaign is that all the players have taken a hat of disguise 
All in all, an ok class that can be nasty in very very particular circumstances.
Maitre D
All in all, an ok class that can be nasty in very very particular circumstances.
Maitre D
We're playing in an evil campaign right now, and one of my buddies is playing an assassin. I think it works out pretty well, and he's been able to use his poison handling skills to good use. The death attack has not been so useful, because you need to study the victim for 3 rounds, and that's a lot of doing nothing for three rounds when combat hits. But he's a pretty mean archer, and that poison is pretty helpful. I like it, and certainly the flavor is cool.
Shard O'Glase
First Post
I think the death attack is done decently, but should of been capable of use at 30' without a spell.
Overall though i's a solid prestige class, I jsut don't like the evil pre-req. This is more of a DMG design issue, but I think for some of the presitge classes they could of put up couple titles, with diffeent flavor pre-reqs for each of the titles. So Assassin/SPY/Bounty Hunter (pre-reqs evil-X-Y)
Overall though i's a solid prestige class, I jsut don't like the evil pre-req. This is more of a DMG design issue, but I think for some of the presitge classes they could of put up couple titles, with diffeent flavor pre-reqs for each of the titles. So Assassin/SPY/Bounty Hunter (pre-reqs evil-X-Y)
Personally, I think this prestige class is a great model for how a prestige class should be. I feel that it works well in just about every aspect (balance, usefulness, uniqueness, RP, fun, and balance).
I give it a 9.
I give it a 9.
Li Shenron
Legend
BALANCE:
The class is evidently a variation of Rogue, with which it shares HD, BAB, ST, a similar skill list, Sneak Attack progression and Uncanny Dodge progression. For the "cost" of less skill points and no special rogueish abilities, it gets the Death Attack ability, some bonus vs poisons and a limited spellcasting ability, "the Wizard way" but with a short spell list, very few spells/day and only up to 4th level spells. The class seems very balanced on the overall.
FEATURES:
The most characteristic unique feature, the Death Attack, is clearly meant for non-combat purposes, that is it has its most usefulness in ambushes, which is very likely to be an Assassin's job. It is not necessarily a stunningly powerful ability, but after all even if the target makes the save there is still the Sneak Attack damage.
Poison abilities could have been expanded a little; they include just the 0% chance of accidentally poison himself while handling poison, and an improving bonus to ST. I wish there was a Craft(Poisonmaking) as exclusive skill, or at least as class-skill for Assassin which would be cross-class for all the core classes.
Sneak Attack is anyway probably the most useful feature. Although is it a replica of the Rogue ability, and therefore this PrCl does not introduce anything new about it, it is good to have another class with this feature.
Spells are IMHO designed almost perfectly for this PrCl. This is a character who is supposed to look forward for anything useful for assassination, being it weaponry, poisons, tactics or magic. The short progression (up to 4th level) and limited spells list show that
for the Assassin magic is just a mean, not an end or a general interest, and therefore he is not even remotely comparable with a full-time spellcaster. All the spells in the list have a reason to be useful for ambushing or killing and the choice of making it work like a Wizard is the best choice IMHO. A slightly longer list would have been nicer, since anyway he learns 2 spells/level + research, and a few more spells from PHB could have been included easily.
FLAVOR/RP:
It is usually more common to have non-evil PCs, and in fact there are definitely more Assassins in the NPCs ranks; I also think that the Death Attack is very difficult to use in combat, and PCs usually don't ambush but rather get ambushed.
The class emphasizes that the Assassin makes a profession out of it, hence the fact he belongs to a guild. Great flavor, but less appeal for a PC, who may be attracted by a PrCl's power rather than duties.
REQUIREMENTS:
Skills: very easy to reach by a PC with not too few skill points, and possibly taken by the very majority of Rogues around (with the exception of Disguise maybe). The ranks are set so that any class can reach them at most at 13th level, and it leaves the PrCl open to all, although not always to full extent.
Alignment: someone may disagree, but I think it is a fair req. As I said, the PrCl looks like it was written as a professional killer, who gets a target and proceed to kill him without questions.
RP: again, in line with the rest.
DESIGN:
I think it fits the stereotype perfectly, at least one of the killer's possible stereotypes.
I would have liked a longer weapon proficiency list, but the PHB doesn't have too many weapons geared toward stealthy murdering. As I said above, the abilities with poisons could have been expanded to something more complete.
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OVERALL: 9
The class is evidently a variation of Rogue, with which it shares HD, BAB, ST, a similar skill list, Sneak Attack progression and Uncanny Dodge progression. For the "cost" of less skill points and no special rogueish abilities, it gets the Death Attack ability, some bonus vs poisons and a limited spellcasting ability, "the Wizard way" but with a short spell list, very few spells/day and only up to 4th level spells. The class seems very balanced on the overall.
FEATURES:
The most characteristic unique feature, the Death Attack, is clearly meant for non-combat purposes, that is it has its most usefulness in ambushes, which is very likely to be an Assassin's job. It is not necessarily a stunningly powerful ability, but after all even if the target makes the save there is still the Sneak Attack damage.
Poison abilities could have been expanded a little; they include just the 0% chance of accidentally poison himself while handling poison, and an improving bonus to ST. I wish there was a Craft(Poisonmaking) as exclusive skill, or at least as class-skill for Assassin which would be cross-class for all the core classes.
Sneak Attack is anyway probably the most useful feature. Although is it a replica of the Rogue ability, and therefore this PrCl does not introduce anything new about it, it is good to have another class with this feature.
Spells are IMHO designed almost perfectly for this PrCl. This is a character who is supposed to look forward for anything useful for assassination, being it weaponry, poisons, tactics or magic. The short progression (up to 4th level) and limited spells list show that
for the Assassin magic is just a mean, not an end or a general interest, and therefore he is not even remotely comparable with a full-time spellcaster. All the spells in the list have a reason to be useful for ambushing or killing and the choice of making it work like a Wizard is the best choice IMHO. A slightly longer list would have been nicer, since anyway he learns 2 spells/level + research, and a few more spells from PHB could have been included easily.
FLAVOR/RP:
It is usually more common to have non-evil PCs, and in fact there are definitely more Assassins in the NPCs ranks; I also think that the Death Attack is very difficult to use in combat, and PCs usually don't ambush but rather get ambushed.
The class emphasizes that the Assassin makes a profession out of it, hence the fact he belongs to a guild. Great flavor, but less appeal for a PC, who may be attracted by a PrCl's power rather than duties.
REQUIREMENTS:
Skills: very easy to reach by a PC with not too few skill points, and possibly taken by the very majority of Rogues around (with the exception of Disguise maybe). The ranks are set so that any class can reach them at most at 13th level, and it leaves the PrCl open to all, although not always to full extent.
Alignment: someone may disagree, but I think it is a fair req. As I said, the PrCl looks like it was written as a professional killer, who gets a target and proceed to kill him without questions.
RP: again, in line with the rest.
DESIGN:
I think it fits the stereotype perfectly, at least one of the killer's possible stereotypes.
I would have liked a longer weapon proficiency list, but the PHB doesn't have too many weapons geared toward stealthy murdering. As I said above, the abilities with poisons could have been expanded to something more complete.
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OVERALL: 9
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