Assassin

NWN Requirements

• Alignment: Any evil
• Skills: Hide 8, Move Silently 8

Arelith Changes

Token Process

In addition to the mechanical requirements, players will also need DM approval. To apply for a Prestige Class token, please contact DMs on the forums, via PM to Active DM's. Please have the character already created and being presently played.

You must be capable to demonstrating an ability and intent to form a constructive story from the mechanical benefits. A sample assassination will be asked for along with the usual background. If your concept does not bring fun to both parties involved, it will be denied. Be ever mindful of the to-be-murdered.

A RP Rating of 20 is required.

Mechanical Changes

• Skillpoints per level increased to 6.
  • They gain the skillpoints after taking the level, so they get to actually use the extra 2 that they get the next level. This is due to a mechanical limitation of the engine.
• At levels 3, 6, 10, 14 and 18 an assassin receives +1 to the DC when using custom poisons.
• Assassin (and Shadowdancer) levels stack with Rogue levels when qualifying for the +1 AB to Rogue proficiency weapons at levels 19 and 24. Rogue levels are required for this bonus to trigger.
• Assassin (and Shadowdancer) levels will stack with Rogue levels for the purpose of calculating how much lost DEX is regained as Dodge AC via the Lightly Armored feat. Rogue levels are required for this bonus to trigger.
• Assassin (and Shadowdancer) levels now count for the reduction of Blinding Speed Cooldown. Rogue levels are -not- required for this bonus to trigger. All applicable class levels stack - this includes Rogue, Assassin, Shadowdancer, and Harper Scout.
• Assassin levels now contribute towards interpreting tracks. At class level 10, Assassins no longer leave tracks.
• Hidden Danger: Assassins receive a passive AB bonus when wielding a concealable weapon, equal to +1 AB per five class levels. Small characters treat any Tiny weapon as concealable. Medium or larger characters treat any Small or Tiny weapon as concealable. This bonus does not apply to Kama, Katana, Shuriken, or Lances. If the Assassin qualifies for the Rogue bonus to the AB property of Rogue Proficiency weapons, the Hidden Danger bonus will not stack - the Assassin bonus will be reduced by the same amount of AB granted by the Rogue bonus.
• Assassin Feats:
  • Gain Evasion at level 6.
  • Gain Defensive Roll at level 12.
  • Gain Improved Evasion at level 16 - these feats are applied AFTER the level up, which means Epic Dodge cannot be taken in the same level, provided the other requirements are fulfilled.
• Assassin Spells:
  • All spells have been changed from uses/day to 2 minutes cooldown.
  • At Assassin level 11; Ghostly Visage will instead cast Ethereal Visage
  • At Assassin level 13; Darkness will also produce an Ultravision effect along the spell.
  • At assassin level 15; Invisibility will also grant 50% movement increase, like that of Expeditious Retreat.
• New ability: Assassinate. (This currently does NOT work as intended. It is only applied to the main weapon, and not to the off-hand weapon.)
  • This ability marks a target for 30 minutes that will receive additional damage from the attacks of the assassin.
  • The ability has 2 minutes of CD against NPCs, and 10 minutes against PCs.
  • The damage is Magic and equals to Assassin Level + Int Modifier. The Int Modifier is capped to half the assassin level. The damage is not multiplied by critical hits.
  • This ability is accessed through the radial menu, (or sent to a player in a tell using the command -assassinate). In the radial menu, it will appear as the Player Tool 2. This can be quickslotted.
  • This ability currently only works with melee weapons, not ranged. Unarmed characters need to be wearing gloves for it to work.

The Rules of Engagement

Assassins must abide to all but one of the OOC rules of engagement.

The exception is the interaction rule. Assassins, and only assassins who have taken the class, can interact with their target, and then afterwards, attack their target at ANY point WITHIN 24 hours. IF they die during any attempt, they must wait 24 hours. If more than 24 hours have passed, they must interact in some way again, and then they may attack without the usual RP beforehand hours later. Despite this grace, think very hard about how the interaction will be fun for your victim before you do the assassination X time later in the day. This will be asked of you to present in your application.

Bear in mind that this is something of an honor system. Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should attack your mark, lose the fight, raise and go chase after the mark again and again.

Tips for Roleplay of Assassin

Cuchilla:

"If you find the most thrilling part of an assassin's work to make the PvP of a target, then choose another class. You'll very quickly get bored with it.

If you find the preparations for an assassination thrilling, then there are a lot of RP possibilities, and playing an assassin can be a blast.

Further, winner or loser, make it fun."

• Leave notes for that character, making it clear for him that he is a target for assassination.
• Send the person a halfling/goblin Speedy messenger making clear that he is a target for assassination. Much alike the note, but more directly. Note: This does not count as 'interactive roleplay', you may not attack someone just because you have sent them a speedy.
• Use deceptive Speedy messengers to set up meets, then betray the target after they show up and talk to you thinking you're an ally. Note: This does not count as 'interactive roleplay', you may not attack someone just because you have sent them a speedy and they turn up.
• Have someone they trust sell them out, plan a "great" event with them or lure them into shady meeting to capture them.
• Party up with someone, and after roleplaying an adventure with them for a while place them on dislike - then, when you're in combat, betray them. Or when you're in a desolate enough location, begin the hostile RP. Sprinkle a few well placed one liners and there you have it, an assassination.
• Play cat and mouse with someone, stringing them along for a long period of time with notes and clues and taunts before you finally strike.
• Emote every time you stalk target like *you feel you are being watched* etc. For your emotes to show to your target even when you are in stealth mode, use either -disguise or racial language when the person you are to assassinate speaks the same language as you. Then the emotes you make will show up in the right window with server messages. (Remember that in fight any such message will be likely lost to other player.)
• Bluntly step forward and tell him you are now about to assassinate him. It gives someone the chance to run away. It does kill your element of surprise in a way, but it's a way. Some characters may consider it a joke and start talking with you.
• Step forward, let him know you are to assassinate him, and tell him you won't if he pays you enough? ;) Fun RP.
• Use darkness wands or invisibility potions to regain advantage after talking.
• Trick them or persuade them into giving you something that can be used to identify them, then take it back to whoever hired you as "proof of the kill"
• An emote fight, with some light mechanical fighting. It can end with one side NOT mechanically dead, and the other walking off/escaping/etc.
• Provoke them. (Nice for chaotic hitman). Just hang out around the person and do everything you possibly could to provoke them ICly to attacking. "Hey, that's not an assassination! Its justified self defense!"
• Get some friends and roleplay out an ambush or something similar. Sloopy and un-assassinish, yes, but it gets the job done.

Chris:

"Remember that people are more keen to go along with your conflict roleplay if you don't force it upon them and give the other player also ways out or chances to influence the outcome. It's one of the fundamentals of dynamic-episodic roleplay. This is not always easy to do."

DM Watchtower:

"The response to this is always "but if I give the enemy any wiggle-room, they'll exploit the OOC knowledge and mess up my plans." As with everything, if you have evidence that someone is a wanker, please report it, and I can deal with it. More importantly though... why are you going to try and perpetuate RP with someone you don't trust? If you can't trust someone to not give as much as you're giving in a story, look at it as a nice little sign placed on their chests that say "hey, don't waste your time with me, find someone who will be more fun!""

Cuchilla:

"I can't remember how many Clyasy been assassinating during her time. But it's numerous, and all the acts were more or less inspired by the book "The Day of the Jackal" by Frederick Forsythe (and the Oscar nominated film made from this book).

If you want to get a kick out of your assassin, I'd strongly recommend you to read that book, or see the movie. 99 % of the book is an exciting thriller on how "The Jackal" prepares for his assassination of the French president Charles de Gaulle. The act itself, is actually only described over a few pages.

As the following plot is over (the players left), I can reveal that one of the best 'assassination' role play I remember with Clyasy, was when a renegate Banite hired and paid her to assassinate the dread master of Stonehold. Like The Jackal she prepared, stalked, talked to the one who hired her, interviewed discretely surfacers at Jhared's, and followed the dreadmaster to know all about how him, and plan the final strike.

There never was an assassination, as Stonehold vanished, the dread master just left, and, yeah .... But I still find this week long plot a high light, with much roleplay, and with many players involved, and the thrill it was to prepare for the final act.

So this is why the final PvP itself mostly made me as a player get the feeling: Ack, days or weeks of fun role play has ended. Because the 5-10 seconds a PvP normally takes (and talking about assassinations, it's mostly until death for one of the involved) is really only a question of build, luck and mostly out of your hands."

Kumagoro:

"Also play Assassin's Creed - a large chunk of the game is devoted to merely finding out about the mark, and you rarely get the chance to actually assassinate them properly - you usually need to deal with one on ... fifty... combat. Finding out their friends, their enemies - heck, everything about them is probably the best way to go about it. A crafty assassin could work it so that the target is killed by someone entirely else."

External Links

Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.