The Assassin. Core Class or Prestige Class? Spell-Casting or Non-Spellcasting?

[MetalBard]

Well, let's see...

Assassins were a very secretive sect of Shi'ites in the fertile crescent. That's a pretty exclusive power group, even if they eventually were crushed by the Mongols. They would have to be a prestige class because of that. AND if we throw in the heavy reliance on hashish for their uncanny nerves while out a-killing, they have to be spellcasters to some extent (because what's trippier than casting spells?)

So... there's no way an assassin could be playable if it wasn't a spellcasting prestige class...

 

[Sejs]

I also think they should not get the "hide in plain sight" ability, which is the trademark ability of the Shadowdancer.

I can see why they did it, however. Used to be you'd get alot of sneaky types taking a 1-level dip in Shadowdancer just to get Hide in Plain Sight.

 

[Krieg]

No, but it is necessary for a particular kind of professional - namely, a member of a generic fantasy Assassins' Guild, steeped in dark arts, etc.

This is not to say that you couldn't have similar prestige classes without the spellcasting abilities fulfilling largely the same role, but they'd be of a slightly different stripe.

Sure, but remember we are just talking about the difference between a professional Assassin and amateur assassin. The big A does not require magical powers, although there can certainly be Big As who do have them.

And I wonder if Sejs came up with the little "a", big "A" thing on his own. I've been using it in various discussions for years now (usually in conjunction with little "b", big "B" barbarians). Great minds? Convergent evolution? You decide.

I've used similar terminology for quite awhile as well and don't recall any outside source so I would say it's quite possible that Sejs came to the same conclusion independently.

 

[Illvillainy]

All I really want is Poison Use and Death Attack available as feats.

 

[Altalazar]

Other - NPC class only. I do not allow Evil characters in my group.

NPC Class or Prestige class? And keep in mind that not all assassins are evil. In a wild land, with little organized justice, there are evil people that need killing, and perhaps a good or neutral assassin is the one to do it.

 

[Gundark]

I took a look at the Assasin class that Green ronin put out. I saw it as being pretty broken. I chose the DMG Prc. I think it's fine as it stands. However I do agree with the little "a" big "A" interpretation of Assasins posted by Krieg

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I draw a line between assassin and Assassin, which is to say that there are members of the Assassin's Guild who are not of the PrC Assassin class. Many are of the 'Assassin' core class from Mongoose Publishing's Powerclass series. All call themselves 'Assassin', since I tend to think that class names are metagaming to an extent. So if someone were to ask an NPC Fighter what his class was he would likely answer 'Soldier'. But goodness it can get confusing at times.

I would very much prefer a non spellcasting Assassin PrC as well, perhaps with a different name.

The Auld Grump

 

[Ahnehnois]

The first thing is that there should be a nonmagic core assassin. We need that a heck of a lot more than we need a core paladin (or, for that matter, some of the new base classes).

One could also imagine organization specific prestige classes, some of which could have spells.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

The first thing is that there should be a nonmagic core assassin. We need that a heck of a lot more than we need a core paladin (or, for that matter, some of the new base classes).

They're called Rogues.

The "hit man on the roof-top" versions have lots of ranks in Climb, Hide, and Move Silently.

The "James Bond / Geishagirl" versions have lots of ranks in Diplomacy, Disguise, and Bluff.

 

[Wombat]

I always looked upon assassin as an occupation, not a class.

Shoot, under RAW, all Rogues are essentially assassins, in that all Rogues have sneak attack.

That was amended in my House Rules