Amoren
2013-12-07, 10:57 AM
So, catching up on the Assassin's Creed games recently has given me the motivational urge to try to give the Assassin class (and its analogues) a bit of love by trying to catch some of the spirit of the game's assassination techniques and skills in DnD form. The main idea behind it is a collection of feats centered around the Assassin's death attack special ability to give it more options and usefulness while, hopefully, still being balanced, although a few miscellaneous feats and other options will be listed here as they fit the general idea.
So, without further ado...
http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/231/e/4/ezio_auditore_by_ady18-d474ctk.jpg
Death Attack House Rules
The Assassin's Death Attack ability counts as a Death Attack ability, as described under the Special Ability section. However, spells such as Death Ward, and other magical effects that specifically protect a target from magical death attacks, do not protect them from the Assassin's Death Attack. This is a specific exception to the Death Attack special ability under its normal rules.
Furthermore, The Assassin can deliver Death Attacks against targets that have detected him and consider him an enemy, provided they believe they are 'safe' from the Assassin. Such instances include, for example, an Assassin believed to be bound and unable to attack, but who has actually already undone the lock on his bindings and is waiting with a concealed weapon to strike when his target's back is turned. Ultimately, the DM should be the final arbiter of where an attack does or does not qualify as a Death Attack under this interpretation, based off of the target and the circumstances of the event.
Assassin Alternate Class Features
Tricks of the Trade Assassin
Rather than rely on a small collection of spells to round out their repertoire, some assassins instead decide to focus on improving their technique for the kill, training in a variety of different methods to assassinate and slip away undetected.
Gain: Starting at level two of the Assassin prestige class, and every even level afterwards (4, 6, 8, 10), the Assassin gains a bonus feat that can be taken from any Assassination Feat (see below) or Fighter Bonus feat. For the purpose of feats gained from this alternate class feature, the Assassin counts his Assassin levels as Fighter levels.
Lose: A Tricks of the Trade Assassin doesn't gain the spellcasting class features of the Assassin.
Unblemished Knife
Some assassins find the use of poisons 'messy' and unreliable, as they do not always kill and often leave the target living for enough time to do whatever the assassination wanted to prevent. These assassins focus their attention on perfecting the art of using hidden weapons to slay their targets instead.
Gain: The assassin gains the Assassin Hidden Blade Exotic Weapon proficiency at level one. The assassin also ignores the -2 penalty to using surprise weapons due to his specific training with the weapons. At level 2, and every even level afterwards (4, 6, 8, 10...) the Assassin gains a +1 bonus to his Sleight of Hand check to conceal a weapon on his person.
Lose: The assassin does not gain the Poison Use special ability at level one, nor the bonus to saves against poison at even levels.
Tools of the Trade
Assassin Hidden Blade (Exotic Weapon)
The Assassin Hidden Blade is a specialized, advanced version of the sleeve blade found in Complete Scoundrel, utilizing a combination of armored bracer and advanced mechanism to activate and deactivate the blade with the flick of a wrist.
The Assassin Hidden Blade takes up the arm slot of equipment, due to its armored bracers. These bracers provide a +1 shield bonus to armor class when worn. This shield bonus does not increase (or be doubled) if the bracers are worn as a pair. The Assassin hidden Blade counts as a buckler for the purposes of feats and special abilities related to a shield. However, the Assassin Hidden Blade does not count as a shield (or armor) for the purposes of the monk unarmored AC bonus or similar abilities, and the shield bonus is not lost if the user attacks with the bracer-using arm.
Additionally, each bracer comes equipped with an advanced sleeve blade (see Complete Scoundrel, Surprise Weapons). However, masterwork construction allows the Hidden Blade to be activated or deactivated as a free action, rather than a move action. The Assassin Hidden Blade's sleeve blade is a masterwork weapon, and thus gains a +1 enhancement bonus to hit (although the sleeve blade takes the standard -2 penalty to attacking with surprise weapons).
The bracer and hidden blade can be enchanted separately. The hidden blades count as weapons and the bracers count as an arm slot for purposes of enchanting. High ranking assassin's commonly use the Bracers of Murder (Drow of the Underdark) enchantment on the armored bracer, and the Assassin's Dagger enchantment (DMG) on the hidden blade.
The following stats for the hidden blade portion of the Assassin Hidden Blade are given for a medium sized weapon.
Exotic One Handed Weapon (Light)
Damage: 1d4 (piercing), 19-20/x2. Weight: 1 lb.
Cost: 500 gp.
Assassination Feats
An assassination feat represents special training in the art of killing, more so than the typical member of the assassin prestige class would understand. As a side effect of mastering these techniques, the assassin gains a greater understanding in how to better kill his opponent. As a reflection for this, any time the player gains an Assassination feat, the save D.C. for their Death Attack ability increases by one.
To take an Assassination feat, the character must possess the Death Attack ability in some form.
Aerial Assassination (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Tumble 5 ranks, Jump 5 ranks.
Benefit: If the assassin is at least 10ft above their target, they can perform a special attack as a full round action by jumping from their current position and landing in their target's square, performing a melee attack of their choosing (provided it can be done normally with a standard action) against the target.. If the assassin successfully lands in his target's square, any falling damage avoided from the use of the assassin's tumble skill may be added to the damage of his attack.
Additionally, if the attack the Assassin performs as part of this maneuver is applicable to be a Death Attack, the Assassin increases the save D.C. for his Death Attack's as part of this maneuver by one for every 10ft fallen.
Blade in the Gap (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: BAB +5, Spot 5 ranks, Proficiency with a light, piercing weapon.
Benefit: If the Assassin performs a Death Attack with a light, piercing weapon, the attack ignores the target's armor class modifiers from any worn armor, natural armor, or shield. If the weapon the assassin uses to perform this attack is capable of different damage types, it must be used as a piercing weapon to gain the benefit of this feat.
Double Assassination (Assassination Feat)
Benefit: The assassin can now study two targets at the same time for his Death Attack ability, or may begin to observe an extra person while still being able to use his Death Attack ability against his first observed target. For the purposes of his attention being focused, so long as the assassin is focused on either of his two targets (such as performing a death attack on one of his targets) he isn't treated as breaking focus against the other. At no time may the Assassin keep more than two targets 'observed' or 'being observed' for his Death Attack ability through this feat.
Normal: An Assassin can usually only focus on one target at a time to study them for his Death Attack ability.
Knife In the Crowd (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Bluff 5 ranks, Sleight of Hand 5 ranks.
Benefit: When the Assassin performs a Death Attack, he may choose to subtly kill his foe rather than expose his presence. To do so, the Assassin makes a sleight of hand check opposed by any observer's spot check to see that the attack was dealt (observers who are actively paying attention to the Assassin gain a +10 circumstance bonus on this check).
If the Assassin beats this sleight of hand check by 20 or more, the target is unaware that he was attacked by the Assassin, although he is aware of the attack. If the target fails his saving throw against the Death Attack, he falls dead (or unconscious, depending on the Assassin's choice) at the end of the assassin's next turn. During this round the assassin's target is treated as if he was Disabled, and is unable to speak as he's wracked with pain or in the midst of falling unconscious.
Never See It Coming (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Bluff 8 ranks, Improved Feint (or another method to perform a feint as a move action or less).
Benefit: After successfully performing the feinting in combat special maneuver, the Assassin may perform a Death Attack with a surprise weapon against his feinted target without study (despite the normal rules for Death Attack not being usable on targets that detect and consider the Assassin an enemy). The target must be unaware of the surprise weapon's existence on the assassin for the attack to be counted as a death attack.
Quick Observation (Assassination Feat)
Benefit: The assassin can perform a Death Attack with only one round of observation.
Normal: An Assassin can usually only perform a Death Attack after three rounds of study.
Swift Kill (Assassination Feat)
Requirement: Quick Observation
Benefit: The assassin can perform a death attack with only a move action of study, rather than a full round. During this period of study, the assassin can walk at half of his movement speed without breaking his study, and must follow all other rules for Death Attack (such as having his attention remained focused on the target). If the Assassin uses Swift Kill to study a target in one move action, he must perform the Death Attack by the end of his next turn, or else must take another move action to study his opponent. The assassin may also choose to continue observing his opponent for a full round instead to gain three rounds before he must perform the death attack, as per normal.
Other Feats
Eagle Vision
Requires: Spot 4 ranks, Listen 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.
Benefit: By honing your senses and learning how to read people, you gain an almost supernatural ability to read people. When you observe a target for at least a full round, you can make a sense motive check to gain information from them, with the extent determined by the following table. For targets actively trying to hide relevant information from you, add their bluff check modifier to the DCs to beat. For example, trying to read a double agent with a bluff modifier of +6's attitude towards you with Eagle Vision would require beating a DC 21, rather than a DC 15.
DC 10: If the target is actively hostile to you, friendly, or neutral.
DC 15: The specific attitude of the target towards you (see diplomacy skill).
DC 20: If the target is a specific individual you're looking for, with some sketchy information towards his identity (such as the leader of the local guards in the area, an important dignitary, someone plotting to kill a specific person you know, or a double agent that you've been told about).
Furthermore, when actively trying to remain unnoticed and you're spotted, you can make a free sense motive check (opposed by the spotter's bluff or hide, whichever is higher) to detect that you've been seen. More information can be gained by beating the check by different amounts, as given by the following table.
+5: If the person observing you is hostile, friendly, or neutral.
+10: The direction of the observer to you.
When Eagle Vision is used on an illusion, the user is allowed an immediate will save as if he was interacting with the illusion. If successful, the user disbelieves the illusion.
This remarkable ability takes many forms, whether as a near supernatural 'sixth sense' overlayed on top of the user's own, or merely the reflection of years of training in how to read people. Ultimately, the fluff for this mechanic is up to the player and DM to determine, especially in games not designed around the Assassin's Creed universe for which it pays homage too.
So, without further ado...
http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/231/e/4/ezio_auditore_by_ady18-d474ctk.jpg
Death Attack House Rules
The Assassin's Death Attack ability counts as a Death Attack ability, as described under the Special Ability section. However, spells such as Death Ward, and other magical effects that specifically protect a target from magical death attacks, do not protect them from the Assassin's Death Attack. This is a specific exception to the Death Attack special ability under its normal rules.
Furthermore, The Assassin can deliver Death Attacks against targets that have detected him and consider him an enemy, provided they believe they are 'safe' from the Assassin. Such instances include, for example, an Assassin believed to be bound and unable to attack, but who has actually already undone the lock on his bindings and is waiting with a concealed weapon to strike when his target's back is turned. Ultimately, the DM should be the final arbiter of where an attack does or does not qualify as a Death Attack under this interpretation, based off of the target and the circumstances of the event.
Assassin Alternate Class Features
Tricks of the Trade Assassin
Rather than rely on a small collection of spells to round out their repertoire, some assassins instead decide to focus on improving their technique for the kill, training in a variety of different methods to assassinate and slip away undetected.
Gain: Starting at level two of the Assassin prestige class, and every even level afterwards (4, 6, 8, 10), the Assassin gains a bonus feat that can be taken from any Assassination Feat (see below) or Fighter Bonus feat. For the purpose of feats gained from this alternate class feature, the Assassin counts his Assassin levels as Fighter levels.
Lose: A Tricks of the Trade Assassin doesn't gain the spellcasting class features of the Assassin.
Unblemished Knife
Some assassins find the use of poisons 'messy' and unreliable, as they do not always kill and often leave the target living for enough time to do whatever the assassination wanted to prevent. These assassins focus their attention on perfecting the art of using hidden weapons to slay their targets instead.
Gain: The assassin gains the Assassin Hidden Blade Exotic Weapon proficiency at level one. The assassin also ignores the -2 penalty to using surprise weapons due to his specific training with the weapons. At level 2, and every even level afterwards (4, 6, 8, 10...) the Assassin gains a +1 bonus to his Sleight of Hand check to conceal a weapon on his person.
Lose: The assassin does not gain the Poison Use special ability at level one, nor the bonus to saves against poison at even levels.
Tools of the Trade
Assassin Hidden Blade (Exotic Weapon)
The Assassin Hidden Blade is a specialized, advanced version of the sleeve blade found in Complete Scoundrel, utilizing a combination of armored bracer and advanced mechanism to activate and deactivate the blade with the flick of a wrist.
The Assassin Hidden Blade takes up the arm slot of equipment, due to its armored bracers. These bracers provide a +1 shield bonus to armor class when worn. This shield bonus does not increase (or be doubled) if the bracers are worn as a pair. The Assassin hidden Blade counts as a buckler for the purposes of feats and special abilities related to a shield. However, the Assassin Hidden Blade does not count as a shield (or armor) for the purposes of the monk unarmored AC bonus or similar abilities, and the shield bonus is not lost if the user attacks with the bracer-using arm.
Additionally, each bracer comes equipped with an advanced sleeve blade (see Complete Scoundrel, Surprise Weapons). However, masterwork construction allows the Hidden Blade to be activated or deactivated as a free action, rather than a move action. The Assassin Hidden Blade's sleeve blade is a masterwork weapon, and thus gains a +1 enhancement bonus to hit (although the sleeve blade takes the standard -2 penalty to attacking with surprise weapons).
The bracer and hidden blade can be enchanted separately. The hidden blades count as weapons and the bracers count as an arm slot for purposes of enchanting. High ranking assassin's commonly use the Bracers of Murder (Drow of the Underdark) enchantment on the armored bracer, and the Assassin's Dagger enchantment (DMG) on the hidden blade.
The following stats for the hidden blade portion of the Assassin Hidden Blade are given for a medium sized weapon.
Exotic One Handed Weapon (Light)
Damage: 1d4 (piercing), 19-20/x2. Weight: 1 lb.
Cost: 500 gp.
Assassination Feats
An assassination feat represents special training in the art of killing, more so than the typical member of the assassin prestige class would understand. As a side effect of mastering these techniques, the assassin gains a greater understanding in how to better kill his opponent. As a reflection for this, any time the player gains an Assassination feat, the save D.C. for their Death Attack ability increases by one.
To take an Assassination feat, the character must possess the Death Attack ability in some form.
Aerial Assassination (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Tumble 5 ranks, Jump 5 ranks.
Benefit: If the assassin is at least 10ft above their target, they can perform a special attack as a full round action by jumping from their current position and landing in their target's square, performing a melee attack of their choosing (provided it can be done normally with a standard action) against the target.. If the assassin successfully lands in his target's square, any falling damage avoided from the use of the assassin's tumble skill may be added to the damage of his attack.
Additionally, if the attack the Assassin performs as part of this maneuver is applicable to be a Death Attack, the Assassin increases the save D.C. for his Death Attack's as part of this maneuver by one for every 10ft fallen.
Blade in the Gap (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: BAB +5, Spot 5 ranks, Proficiency with a light, piercing weapon.
Benefit: If the Assassin performs a Death Attack with a light, piercing weapon, the attack ignores the target's armor class modifiers from any worn armor, natural armor, or shield. If the weapon the assassin uses to perform this attack is capable of different damage types, it must be used as a piercing weapon to gain the benefit of this feat.
Double Assassination (Assassination Feat)
Benefit: The assassin can now study two targets at the same time for his Death Attack ability, or may begin to observe an extra person while still being able to use his Death Attack ability against his first observed target. For the purposes of his attention being focused, so long as the assassin is focused on either of his two targets (such as performing a death attack on one of his targets) he isn't treated as breaking focus against the other. At no time may the Assassin keep more than two targets 'observed' or 'being observed' for his Death Attack ability through this feat.
Normal: An Assassin can usually only focus on one target at a time to study them for his Death Attack ability.
Knife In the Crowd (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Bluff 5 ranks, Sleight of Hand 5 ranks.
Benefit: When the Assassin performs a Death Attack, he may choose to subtly kill his foe rather than expose his presence. To do so, the Assassin makes a sleight of hand check opposed by any observer's spot check to see that the attack was dealt (observers who are actively paying attention to the Assassin gain a +10 circumstance bonus on this check).
If the Assassin beats this sleight of hand check by 20 or more, the target is unaware that he was attacked by the Assassin, although he is aware of the attack. If the target fails his saving throw against the Death Attack, he falls dead (or unconscious, depending on the Assassin's choice) at the end of the assassin's next turn. During this round the assassin's target is treated as if he was Disabled, and is unable to speak as he's wracked with pain or in the midst of falling unconscious.
Never See It Coming (Assassination Feat)
Requirements: Bluff 8 ranks, Improved Feint (or another method to perform a feint as a move action or less).
Benefit: After successfully performing the feinting in combat special maneuver, the Assassin may perform a Death Attack with a surprise weapon against his feinted target without study (despite the normal rules for Death Attack not being usable on targets that detect and consider the Assassin an enemy). The target must be unaware of the surprise weapon's existence on the assassin for the attack to be counted as a death attack.
Quick Observation (Assassination Feat)
Benefit: The assassin can perform a Death Attack with only one round of observation.
Normal: An Assassin can usually only perform a Death Attack after three rounds of study.
Swift Kill (Assassination Feat)
Requirement: Quick Observation
Benefit: The assassin can perform a death attack with only a move action of study, rather than a full round. During this period of study, the assassin can walk at half of his movement speed without breaking his study, and must follow all other rules for Death Attack (such as having his attention remained focused on the target). If the Assassin uses Swift Kill to study a target in one move action, he must perform the Death Attack by the end of his next turn, or else must take another move action to study his opponent. The assassin may also choose to continue observing his opponent for a full round instead to gain three rounds before he must perform the death attack, as per normal.
Other Feats
Eagle Vision
Requires: Spot 4 ranks, Listen 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.
Benefit: By honing your senses and learning how to read people, you gain an almost supernatural ability to read people. When you observe a target for at least a full round, you can make a sense motive check to gain information from them, with the extent determined by the following table. For targets actively trying to hide relevant information from you, add their bluff check modifier to the DCs to beat. For example, trying to read a double agent with a bluff modifier of +6's attitude towards you with Eagle Vision would require beating a DC 21, rather than a DC 15.
DC 10: If the target is actively hostile to you, friendly, or neutral.
DC 15: The specific attitude of the target towards you (see diplomacy skill).
DC 20: If the target is a specific individual you're looking for, with some sketchy information towards his identity (such as the leader of the local guards in the area, an important dignitary, someone plotting to kill a specific person you know, or a double agent that you've been told about).
Furthermore, when actively trying to remain unnoticed and you're spotted, you can make a free sense motive check (opposed by the spotter's bluff or hide, whichever is higher) to detect that you've been seen. More information can be gained by beating the check by different amounts, as given by the following table.
+5: If the person observing you is hostile, friendly, or neutral.
+10: The direction of the observer to you.
When Eagle Vision is used on an illusion, the user is allowed an immediate will save as if he was interacting with the illusion. If successful, the user disbelieves the illusion.
This remarkable ability takes many forms, whether as a near supernatural 'sixth sense' overlayed on top of the user's own, or merely the reflection of years of training in how to read people. Ultimately, the fluff for this mechanic is up to the player and DM to determine, especially in games not designed around the Assassin's Creed universe for which it pays homage too.