The Assassin (Class Rework, PEACH)

[Durzan]

The Assassin

Note 1: This class was designed for heavily homebrewed 3.5e campaign(s) that involve a condensed skill list, simplified skill point system, reworked feats, and restructured balancing. Each base class receives some sort of class feature/ improvement to a class feature at every level; this includes spellcasting classes.

Note 2: This class was designed to be a non-spellcaster class.

Note 3: Will post relevant feats/Class Features in the next couple of posts.

Requirements:

• Alignment: Usually Non-Good
• Skills: Bluff 4 Ranks, Stealth 8 ranks, Perception 8 Ranks.
• Feats: Weapon Finesse, Archery Training.
• Special: Sneak Attack +2d6, must have successfully assassinated at least one target.

Level	BAB	Fortitude	Reflex	Will	Defense	Special
1	1	1	2	0	2	Wanderer Synergy, Sneak Attack +1d6, Poison Profeciency, Assassin’s Mark, Death Strike
2	2	2	3	0	2	Uncanny Dodge, Assassin Trick
3	3	2	3	0	3	Sneak Attack +2d6, Blend (Crowds)
4	4	2	4	1	3	Assassin Trick, Ranged Death Attack
5	5	3	4	1	3	Sneak Attack +3d6, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Blend (Urban Environments)
6	6	3	5	1	4	Assassin Trick, Improved Death Attack
7	7	4	5	2	4	Sneak Attack +4d6, Blend (Shadows)
8	8	4	6	2	4	Assassin Trick, Hide in Plain Sight
9	9	4	6	2	5	Sneak Attack +5d6
10	10	5	7	3	5	Assassin Trick, Mastered Death Attack

HD: d6

Weapon & Armor Proficiencies: Assassins are proficient with all Simple Weapons, plus the Hand Crossbow, Sap, Shortbow, Rapier, & Short Sword. Wanderers are proficient with Light Armor, but not with shields.

Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Linguistics (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Varies, Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Pickpocket (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points: 8+Int Modifier

Class Features:

• Wanderer Synergy: Levels in the Assassin prestige class are treated as Wanderer levels (Or Rouge/Scout/Similar Classes) for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.
• Sneak Attack: This is exactly like the Rouge/Wanderer's ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every other level (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th). If an assassin gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.
• Poison Profeciency: Assassins are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a weapon. In addition, the assassin may add half their class level to all checks and saves dealing with poison, Minimum of +1.
• Assassin’s Mark: By studying a creature as a full round action, an assassin may mark said creature as his target, granting himself a +5 competence bonus to all attack rolls against the marked target for the next 3 rounds. In addition, an assassin may treat the marked target as though they were denied their dexterity bonus, so long as they remain marked. An assassin may undertake other actions while studying his target so long as his attention stays focused on the victim, and the target does not recognize the assassin as an enemy. An Assassin may have multiple targets marked at the same time. The maximum number of marked targets she may have is equal to their class level.
• Death Strike (Ex): If an assassin successfully performs a melee sneak attack against his marked target, then the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target. The death strike automatically fails if the target recognizes the assassin as an enemy, although the attack might still count as a sneak attack if the proper conditions are met. Should the target survive the damage dealt from the sneak attack they must succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 CharacterClass Level + Int Modifier), then they either die, or become paralyzed for a number of rounds equal to 1d6 + the Assassins class level (Assassin’s choice). If the death strike is attempted and fails (Victim makes his save), or the Assassin fails to launch the attack within 3 rounds of marking the target, then he must mark the target again before attempting another death strike.
• Assassin Trick: At 2^nd level, and every even level thereafter, an Assassin learns a trick that can aid him during combat, assassination attempts, or with other devious deeds. An Assassin must meet the prerequisites for any abilities chosen.
  
  • Poisoner: An assassin may apply poison to a weapon as a swift action, and you may add your Assassin level to the DC made to detect the presence of poison you apply.
  • Infiltrator: All Profession skills become class skills if they are not already. You gain a +4 bonus on all Profession skills that you have no ranks in, and may make a Profession check appropriate to your disguise instead of a Bluff check to act in character; you gain an additional bonus on this check equal to half your level.
  • Kidnapper: Whenever the conditions of Sneak Attack apply, you also gain a bonus on grapple checks and trip attempts equal to the number of sneak attack dice you possess.
  • Efficient Killer: You gain a +2 bonus to the DC of your Death Attack Ability. Note: You may take this Trick a second time; if you do so, the bonus increases from a +2 to a +5. In order to take this ability a second time, you must be at least a 5th level Assassin.
  • Fake Death: The paralysis from your Death Strike now lasts until removed by a DC 25 Heal check. A DC 20 Heal check is required to determine that a paralyzed victim is not actually dead.
  • Agile Fall(Ex): When an assassin falls, he can disperse the force of the fall over a longer period of time than normal, thus allowing him to take less damage. By making a successful Acrobatics check (DC 15 + 5 for every 10 ft increment above 100 ft.), an assassin can reduce the effective distance of the fall by a number of 10 ft increments equal to his class level.
  • Devious(Ex): You can use the Bluff skill to mislead, misdirect, and fool opponents even at a distance, including fooling the effects of spells designed to detect lies, alignment, or spy on you. You can use your bluff skill to lay a false trail or cover your tracks which is then opposed by their Survival or Search checks. For a spell to fail you must make a bluff check (DC 10 + the spell level+ the casters primary modifier) in order to fool the spell, then the caster must make a sense motive check against your bluff with a -5 penalty. If they succeed all they can tell is that the spell is not working properly; if they fail they cannot make anything from the spell but hold out suspicions toward you; if they fail by 5 or more they read something false in the weave but in your favor.
  • Informant: You have developed a working and friendly relationship with a number of shady contacts in the underworld, who are willing to supply you with information… for the right price. Make a special Diplomacy check to gather information on a marked target. The level and amount of information you are able to gather from your informant(s) is based off of a secret roll the DM makes for your contact’s knowledge. The informant can generally answer questions like: Where dose he live, Family members, Friends, Habits, Type of work, and rout to work? Generally the informant has an amount of knowledge equal to 20 + the Informant’s Intelligence modifier. If you meet the roll the informant gives you all the information he has, however, if you roll less he gives you some or most of what you need, but holds back certain knowledge for later at a higher price. Information gained in such a manner grants a circumstance bonus (equal to the Informant’s Intelligence modifier) to your attack rolls while your target is marked.
  • Supplier: You have developed a friendly relationship with someone in the Black Market who can supply you with assassin gear at a discounted price. He will give you an additional 10% off the price of all goods he has in stock, which includes, Smoke Sticks, Various Poisons and other illegal goods, and occasionally some magical items.
  • Favor: You can use the Favor class feature once per week. You can take this Trick multiple times; each time you do, you may use the Favor class feature one additional time per week.
  • Hide from Existence (Su): As long as you are hiding and no creature has detected your presence through Perception checks, you can choose to become nonexistent for almost all other purposes. You leave no trace in this state; blind-sense and scent cannot detect you; magic does not reveal your presence or consider your actions; traps will not activate against you. However, if you coincidentally stand in the area of a harmful effect, it will still affect you. Note: You must have the Hide in Plain Sight class feature in order to take this Assassin Trick.
  • Rouge Trick: An assassin may choose a Rouge Trick instead of another Assassin Trick.
  
  
• Uncanny Dodge: Starting at 2^nd level, an Assassin can react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. The Assassin retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If an Assassin already has uncanny dodge from a different class she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead. At 5^th level, the Assassin gains the benefits of Improved Uncanny dodge.
• Blend: At 3^rd level, an Assassin has become adept at hiding in urban environments. Large crowds grant concealment to an assassin, allowing them to use may also use the Stealth skill to blend in more effectively. At 5^th level, he may use the stealth skill while in any sort of urban terrain, even if it doesn’t grant cover or concealment, and may take 10 on all stealth checks (even when rushed or threatened). At 7^th level, an assassin may use the stealth skill as long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, even if there isn’t any cover or concealment; he cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
• Ranged Death Strike: At 3^rd level, an Assassin may perform a death strike with a ranged weapon, but only within 30 feet of the marked target. Losing focus of the target, the target detecting you (like a missed shot flying by his head) or recognizing you as an enemy can cause you to lose the opportunity to do a sneak attack and thus a Death Strike.
• Improved Death Strike: At 6^th level, an assassin is more proficient with performing ranged sneak attacks on the vital spots on an unaware opponent and thus can perform both a sneak attack and a death strike at a greater range. This function’s like Ranged Death Strike, but you can now use up to one full range increment of a ranged weapon to perform a sneak attack against your marked target.
• Hide in Plain Sight (Su): At 8^th level, an assassin can use the Stealth skill even while being observed.
• Mastered Death Strike: At 10th level an assassin has mastered the technique of performing ranged sneak attacks on an unaware opponent and thus can perform both a sneak attack and a death strike at an even greater range. This function’s like Ranged Death Strike but you can use multiple range increments of a ranged weapon to perform a sneak attack and thus a death attack instead of having to be within one range increment, or within 30 feet of the target. All normal penalties for range apply. Note that for each range increment beyond the first the sneak attack damage is reduced by 1d6, representing the force needed to carry your shot to the target.

[Durzan]

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Relevant Links

The following links are to related content that ties into the Assassin.

1. I originally made the Assassin as a prestige class for my Wheel of Time RPG rework (Which is actually a bit outdated, but it helps to give you guys the reference); however, I decided to post it separately since this class SHOULD be workable/competent in more traditional DnD 3.5 games.
2. My Paladin Rework (Which again, was designed with the Wheel of Time setting in mind, but can easily be adapted to other settings or even more traditional dnd 3.5 games)

Rouge Tricks

Rouge Tricks are a rework of the Rouge's special ability class feature. I reworked them so that the classes that use them get to choose one at 2nd level and every even level thereafter. Note that the Rouge/Wander must still meet the prerequisites for the individual trick. As a Rouge-Based prestige class, the Assassin may opt to choose a Rouge Trick instead of an Assassin Trick.

Spoiler: Rouge Trick List

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Danger Sense: You gain a dodge bonus to Defense against attacks made by traps, an untyped bonus to saves made against traps, and an untyped bonus to Perception Checks equal to your intelligence modifier (Minimum of +2).

Skill Emphasis: You gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat, and the skills chosen become class skills for you. You can take this trick multiple times, each time you do, it applies to different skills.

Crippling Strike (Ex): A Wanderer with this perk can sneak attack opponents with such precision that her blows weaken and hamper them. An opponent damaged by one of her sneak attacks also takes 2 points of Strength damage. Ability points lost to damage return on their own at the rate of 1 point per day for each damaged ability. Note: A character must be able to do at least +3d6 worth of sneak attack damage before she can take this trick.

Additional Sneak Attack Damage (Ex): A wanderer with this perk gains an additional +1d6 points of sneak attack damage. The Wanderer may take this perk multiple times, and each time she does, it stacks. Note: A wanderer must be at least 5^th level to take this perk. (This trick was created to offer an optional offset for the Wander's reduced Sneak Attack progression, which was +1d6 every three levels instead of every odd level. This perk should not be allowed by the DM/GM if the character is progressing in a class that has normal sneak attack progression)


Defensive Roll (Ex): The Wanderer can roll with a potentially lethal blow to take less damage from it than she otherwise would. Once per day, when she would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by damage in combat (from a weapon or other blow, not a spell or special ability), the rogue can attempt to roll with the damage. To use this ability, the rogue must attempt a Reflex saving throw (DC=damage dealt). If the save succeeds, she takes no damage from the blow; if it fails, she takes full damage. She must be aware of the attack and able to react to it in order to execute her defensive roll—if she is denied her Dexterity bonus to AC, she can’t use this ability. Since this effect would not normally allow a character to make a Reflex save for half damage, the wanderer’s evasion ability does not apply to the defensive roll. Note: A wanderer must be at least 7^th level to take this perk.

Opportunist (Ex): Once per round, the wanderer can make an attack of opportunity against an opponent who has just been struck for damage in melee by another character. This attack counts as the Wanderer’s attack of opportunity for that round. Even a rogue with the Combat Reflexes feat can’t use the opportunist ability more than once per round. Note: A wanderer must be at least 7^th level to take this perk.

Skill Mastery: The wanderer becomes so adept in the use of certain skills that she can use them reliably even under adverse conditions.Upon gaining this ability, she selects a number of skills equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier. When making a skill check with one of these skills, she may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so. A wanderer may gain this special ability multiple times, selecting additional skills each time.
Note: A wanderer must be at least 7^th level to take this perk.

Slippery Mind (Ex): This ability represents the rogue’s ability to wriggle free from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel her. If a rogue with slippery mind is affected by an enchantment spell or effect and fails her saving throw, she can attempt it again 1 round later at the same DC. She gets only this one extra chance to succeed on her saving throw.

Fast Sneak (ex): When using the Stealth skill, you can move up to your normal move speed without suffering a penalty.

Lightning Strike (ex): Whenever an opponent you threaten is denied their Dexterity bonus against you, you may make an immediate additional attack of opportunity, which is a sneak attack unless the creature is not vulnerable to your sneak attacks. Even if you have combat reflexes you may only do this once per round for any single target.
Note: A wanderer must be at least 5^th level to take this perk, Requires Opportunist.

Faceless (ex): You gain the benefits of Hide in Plain Sight whenever you are in an urban environment.

Improved Feint (ex): You may feint an opponent (see PHB 64) as a move equivalent action, rather than a standard action.

Ambush (ex): During a surprise round you are not limited to taking only a single action.

Thorn in their Side (ex): If others are flanking a target you gain the benefits of flanking against that target, even when you are not yourself flanking. This only applies to melee attacks.

Relevant Feats

The following feats have been reworked/renamed or added in via homebrew are relevant to the Assassin Rework.

Spoiler: Relevant Feats

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Talented:

• Benefit: You have developed a natural profeciency for using certain skills. Pick any two skills; you gain a +2 bonus on all checks made with said skills.
• Special: You may select this feat multiple times; its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, apply it to 2 different skills of your choice.

Skill Training:

• Prerequisites: No ranks in the 2 cross-class skills of your choice.
• Benefit: You have been trained in skills normally outside your area of expertise. Pick any 2 Cross-Class skills; you gain one rank in these skills. In addition, these skills are now considered class skills.
• Special: You may select this feat multiple times; its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, apply it to 2 different skills of your choice.

Skill Focus:

• Prerequisite: 2 or more ranks in the skills of your choice.
• Benefit: You have spent extra time honing your abilities in certain skills. Pick any two skills; you gain a +2 competence bonus on all checks made with said skills. The bonus increases by an additional +1 for every 5 character levels the character has.
• Special: You may select this feat multiple times; its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, apply it to 2 different skills of your choice.

Archery Training

• Prerequisites: Dex 13+, BAB +1.
• Benefit: You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard -4 penalty on your attack roll. In addition, you may add your Dexterity Modifier to all damage rolls made with a ranged weapon. If you are wielding a Composite Weapon, you may use your strength or your dexterity modifier, whichever is greater.

Combat Archery:

• Prerequisites: Dex 15+, Archery Training, BAB +1.
• Benefit: You do not incur any attacks of opportunity for using a ranged weapon at melee range. In addition, you gain an insight bonus to attack and damage equal to 1/2 your character level whenever you are attacking an opponent from within 1 range increment of your ranged weapon.
• Normal: Without this feat, a character incurs an attack of opportunity from all opponents who threaten him or her whenever he or she uses a ranged weapon at melee range.

Marksman:

• Prerequisites: Dex 15+, Archery Training, Combat Archery, BAB +6.
• Benefit: When you use a projectile weapon (such as a bow) or a thrown weapon, its range increment is doubled. In addition, when using the attack action with a ranged weapon, you can move both before and after the attack, provided that your total distance moved is not greater than your speed.

Improved Marksman:

• Prerequisites: Dex 17+, Archery Training, Combat Archery, Marksman, BAB +10.
• Benefit: Your ranged attacks ignore the AC bonus granted to targets by anything less than total cover, and the miss chance granted to targets by anything less than total concealment. Total cover and total concealment provide their normal benefits against your ranged attacks. In addition, when you shoot or throw ranged weapons at a grappling opponent, you automatically strike at the opponent you have chosen.
• Normal: See the normal rules on the effects of cover and concealment. Without this feat, a character who shoots or throws a ranged weapon at a target involved in a grapple must roll randomly to see which grappling combatant the attack strikes.

Rapid Reload:

• Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Archery Training, BAB +1.
• Benefit: When using a ranged weapon that requires more time than a free action to reload, the time required to reload is reduced by one step. You must be proficient with said weapon in order to use this feat with said weapon.

Rapid Fire:

• Prerequisites: Dex 15+, Archery Training, BAB +6.
• Benefit: You can get one extra attack per round with a ranged weapon. The attack is at your highest base attack bonus, but each attack you make in that round (the extra one and the normal ones) takes a -2 penalty. You must use the full attack action to use this feat.
• Special: If you are using a ranged weapon that requires more time than a free action to reload, then you must have the Rapid Reload feat in order to use this feat with said weapon.

Multi-Shot:

• Prerequisites: Dex 15+, Archery Training, Rapid Fire, BAB +6
• Benefit: As a standard action, you may fire two arrows at a single opponent within 30 feet. Both arrows use the same attack roll (with a -4 penalty) to determine success and deal damage normally (but see Special).For every five points of base attack bonus you have above +6, you may add one additional arrow to this attack, to a maximum of four arrows at a base attack bonus of +16. However, each arrow after the second adds a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll (for a total penalty of -6 for three arrows and -8 for four). Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each arrow fired.
• Special: Regardless of the number of arrows you fire, you apply precision-based damage only once. If you score a critical hit, only the first arrow fired deals critical damage; all others deal regular damage.

[Durzan]

<Reserved for additional content as needed>

I haven't seen your modified classes, but it's unclear to me what this gives up compared to a normal rogue(edit: realized this wasn't Pathfinder)

Some Assassin tricks:

-Poisoner: Add your Assassin level to the DC to detect the presence of poison you apply.
-Kidnapper: Whenever the conditions of Sneak Attack apply, you also gain a bonus equal to your sneak attack bonus dice to combat maneuver checks
-False-death gambit: The paralysis from your Death Strike now lasts until removed by a DC 25 Heal check. A DC 20 Heal check is required to determine that a paralyzed victim is not actually dead.

I wasn't done reserving posts. My other posts should help clarify things a bit. Would you be willing to delete this post and repost it after this one?

These are really good suggestions for some Assassin Tricks though. I'll add them to the list! Might need to alter them later, though; as you said, this is for 3.5 not pathfinder (that isn't too big a problem, as I do occasionally steal stuff from Pathfinder for my homebrew). It can take me a day or two of pondering to realize how to tweak things.

EDIT: Feel free to comment now!

Specifically, I am looking for PEACH regarding the Assassin Mark and Death Strike abilities (and their improvements). General feedback and suggestions are of course, also welcome.

Hopefully, this rework makes the prestige class a bit more useful for Players and DMs alike.

[aimlessPolymath]

You ask, and I answer!

I haven't seen your modified classes, but it's unclear to me what this gives up compared to a normal rogue(edit: realized this wasn't Pathfinder)

Some Assassin tricks:

-Poisoner: Add your Assassin level to the DC to detect the presence of poison you apply.
-Kidnapper: Whenever the conditions of Sneak Attack apply, you also gain a bonus equal to your sneak attack bonus dice to combat maneuver checks
-False-death gambit: The paralysis from your Death Strike now lasts until removed by a DC 25 Heal check. A DC 20 Heal check is required to determine that a paralyzed victim is not actually dead.

On assassin strike and death strike, give me some time to work out my thoughts.


Edit: Alright, I'm going to consider the two features separately- even though one is a prerequisite for the other, in situations in which you can use death strike, assassin's mark is default-on.


Assassin's mark:
I actually misread this at first, and thought the bonus was "3 + the number of round you spend concentrating", which is an interesting alternative that deserves some thought. But anyway.

There are two general classes of situations in which this is used:
-Use for 1 round during combat, to make use of the buff. Effect will last 4 rounds, but you'll be stronger for that time.
-Use for multiple rounds precombat. When the fight starts (possibly with Death Strike), you basically can decide how long the ability lasts.

In the first scenario, I think that the payoff is only "worth it" at higher levels. Early on? A +2ish bonus is absolutely not worth losing a full round of damage. So early on, you mainly see the second mode.
In the second mode, the time taken to activate the ability essentially doesn't matter- the main question is how long you want it to last. In fact, the setup time could end up being completely useless, since the first attack (Death Strike) has a significant chance of killing the target.

Overall:
-Skewing the bonus based on assassin level makes the feature near nonexistent except precombat at low levels- but a +10 attack/damage bonus on top of full BAB is a massive, overwhelming advantage, and needs to be toned down. I suggest making the bonus flat, but large- perhaps +3?
-The duration factor is just not really significant at low levels (since you always use it precombat) and high-level play tends to be more rocket-tag-y with shorter encounters, making even the 4-round mode relatively long-lasting. If you use it precombat, the extra duration really shouldn't matter, since the whole point of an assassin is to kill people quickly. I've run the numbers before, and it turns out that assuming all attacks hit(admittedly, this isn't always accurate), a rogue deals about 41(+/- 5)% of the health of an equal-level monster in a full attack, consistently, from levels 1-20. I suggest setting it to a single full-round action, and making the duration always 3 rounds (this allows for consistency with the 3-round limit of Death Strike). If we wish to distinguish precombat preparation and midcombat analysis, I suggest that if the assassin spends a full minute preparing, the bonus is doubled.

Edit: I just realized that the mark doesn't work if the target is aware, so the midcombat mode can't happen. I maintain that a) the duration scaling is silly, since round 6 essentially doesn't matter for this class, and b) the bonus scaling goes from "nonexistent" to "numbers far above what is appropriate for level".

Death Strike:
My main note is that the save DC scaling as a Coup-de-grace is extremely unusual, and takes the Death Strike save DC from the level-standard (10 + level/2 + stat) to far, far above mean Fortitude save- a strike from surprise is an almost guaranteed kill.
A quick rule-of-thumb I notice is that mean monster Fortitude saves are approximately their CR (trendline 1.85 + 0.94*CR), so a save DC progression that scales with number of Sneak Attack dice or something similar would make sense.

[Durzan]

Skewing the bonus based on assassin level makes the feature near nonexistent except precombat at low levels- but a +10 attack/damage bonus on top of full BAB is a massive, overwhelming advantage, and needs to be toned down. I suggest making the bonus flat, but large- perhaps +3?

There were a few reasons why I had the attack/damage bonus scale the way I did

1. Lorewise, an assassin who just entered the prestige class is learning the ropes of assassination, while a 10th level Assassin has mastered his skills in stealth killing. Thus having a low bonus at a lower level and a high bonus at a high level makes thematic sense.
2. Mechanics wise, I set it the way I did to for internal balance reasons with some of my other homebrew stuff. A lot of my other classes and prestige classes (or feat) have similar abilities that add bonus attack/damage with a similar scale of improvement. Tack on the fact that a number of classes also have a ridiculously high Defense Score by D&D standards (due to Armor Compatibility or other shenanigans), and you can start to see why that bonus can get high. Its compensation in part for heavy AC inflation.
3. I never really liked using flat numbers for class based abilities. Set it too low and it becomes irrelevant past low levels, set it too high and it becomes OP at low levels and meh at higher levels. At least by having the bonus scale allows it to stay relevant as you level up.
4. I like things to be both simple and effective (no point in making things unnecessarily complicated). Having the bonus scale according to your class level or 1/2 your class level (for base classes) is a simple and effective way to not only keep track of the bonus, but also keep it relevant to the character's power level. I use this scaling rule fairly uniformly among my homebrew classes and feats, so it works out.

I agree that for use with vanilla D&D stuff, the bonus would need to be toned down, so perhaps have it scale starting off at +2 to attack/damage at 1st level, then add an additional +1 to that bonus at 3rd, 5th and 9th levels, leaving it at a max of +5 to attack/damage?

The duration factor is just not really significant at low levels (since you always use it precombat) and high-level play tends to be more rocket-tag-y with shorter encounters, making even the 4-round mode relatively long-lasting. If you use it precombat, the extra duration really shouldn't matter, since the whole point of an assassin is to kill people quickly. I've run the numbers before, and it turns out that assuming all attacks hit(admittedly, this isn't always accurate), a rogue deals about 41(+/- 5)% of the health of an equal-level monster in a full attack, consistently, from levels 1-20. I suggest setting it to a single full-round action, and making the duration always 3 rounds (this allows for consistency with the 3-round limit of Death Strike). If we wish to distinguish precombat preparation and midcombat analysis, I suggest that if the assassin spends a full minute preparing, the bonus is doubled.

Edit: I just realized that the mark doesn't work if the target is aware, so the midcombat mode can't happen. I maintain that a) the duration scaling is silly, since round 6 essentially doesn't matter for this class, and b) the bonus scaling goes from "nonexistent" to "numbers far above what is appropriate for level".

After thinking about it for a little bit, I also agree with you on fixing the duration of the bonus to 3 rounds, and setting the study time to a single full-round action.

Death Strike:
My main note is that the save DC scaling as a Coup-de-grace is extremely unusual, and takes the Death Strike save DC from the level-standard (10 + level/2 + stat) to far, far above mean Fortitude save- a strike from surprise is an almost guaranteed kill.
A quick rule-of-thumb I notice is that mean monster Fortitude saves are approximately their CR (trendline 1.85 + 0.94*CR), so a save DC progression that scales with number of Sneak Attack dice or something similar would make sense.

The whole idea of tying the Death Strike to the Coup-De-Grace mechanic was to get the fort-save or die effect with an absurdly high DC. Your standard save is able to be reasonably made by creatures of the same level, and for an assassin (who gets paid to ensure that their target dies) a low save won't cut it. Effectively, the point was that the Assassin treats their marked target as though they were helpless, and thus a Death Strike is treated similarly to a Coup De Grace.

In that case, the way to defend yourself against an assassin was to detect them before they attempted their Death Strike.

However, after thinking about it, the Death Strike DC is good... perhaps too good in fact. Having an assassin with a DC tied to the damage dealt wouldn't be fun to deal with as either a player or a GM, so scaling that down makes some sense. And a Player could abuse that quite a bit. I can just imagine them using the Death Strike on an Ancient Dragon. Yeah, the DC needs to be toned down a bit. Still should be a tad higher than the standard formula, but not so hard that your average mid-high player has to roll a nat-20 to succeed.

How does the class look as a whole? Is it a significant improvement over the class shown in the SRD?

[aimlessPolymath]

There were a few reasons why I had the attack/damage bonus scale the way I did

1. Lorewise, an assassin who just entered the prestige class is learning the ropes of assassination, while a 10th level Assassin has mastered his skills in stealth killing. Thus having a low bonus at a lower level and a high bonus at a high level makes thematic sense.
2. Mechanics wise, I set it the way I did to for internal balance reasons with some of my other homebrew stuff. A lot of my other classes and prestige classes (or feat) have similar abilities that add bonus attack/damage with a similar scale of improvement. Tack on the fact that a number of classes also have a ridiculously high Defense Score by D&D standards (due to Armor Compatibility or other shenanigans), and you can start to see why that bonus can get high. Its compensation in part for heavy AC inflation (which ).
3. I never really liked using flat numbers for class based abilities. Set it too low and it becomes irrelevant past low levels, set it too high and it becomes OP at low levels and meh at higher levels. At least by having the bonus scale allows it to stay relevant as you level up.
4. I like things to be both simple and effective (no point in making things unnecessarily complicated). Having the bonus scale according to your class level or 1/2 your class level (for base classes) is a simple and effective way to not only keep track of the bonus, but also keep it relevant to the character's power level. I use this scaling rule fairly uniformly among my homebrew classes and feats, so it works out.

agree that for use with vanilla D&D stuff, the bonus would need to be toned down, so perhaps have it scale starting off at +2 to attack/damage at 1st level, then add an additional +1 to that bonus at 3rd, 5th and 9th levels, leaving it at a max of +5 to attack/damage?

Hm. If other attack/damage bonuses scale similarly, then it's OK, but I'd like to point out that the idea that bonuses become less relevant as you level is actually not true for attack rolls, or other similar d20 bonuses. +4 is always worth a 20% accuracy increase per attack, no matter what. This means that an assassin who has surprise is 20% more accurate than otherwise, but he's
a) still a viable combatant without surprise (assuming other combat numbers are reasonable)
b) not overwhelmingly accurate without surprise.
Damage bonuses can scale however you like.
An alternate suggestion for the damage bonus, though: Assassins rarely fight in pairs, and they don't have surprise past the first turn. What about automatically letting them sneak attack marked targets? Or otherwise tying it to sneak attack dice?

The whole idea of tying the Death Strike to the Coup-De-Grace mechanic was to get the fort-save or die effect with an absurdly high DC. Your standard save is able to be reasonably made by creatures of the same level, and for an assassin (who gets paid to ensure that their target dies) a low save won't cut it. Effectively, the point was that the Assassin treats their marked target as though they were helpless, and thus a Death Strike is treated similarly to a Coup De Grace.

In that case, the way to defend yourself against an assassin was to detect them before they attempted their Death Strike.

I agree with you that the save DC was absurdly high

However, after thinking about it, the Death Strike DC is good... perhaps too good in fact. Having an assassin with a DC tied to the damage dealt wouldn't be fun to deal with as either a player or a GM, so scaling that down makes some sense. And a Player could abuse that quite a bit. I can just imagine them using the Death Strike on an Ancient Dragon. Yeah, the DC needs to be toned down a bit. Still should be a tad higher than the standard formula, but not so hard that your average mid-high player has to roll a nat-20 to succeed.

Here's the trick- referring back to my notes on average Fortitude save and such, it turns out that a DC of 10 + level gives your average monster a 50% chance to save. If you want a 75% chance to fail the save, use DC 15 + level. No stat bonus, just level (or other level-equivalent bonus such as 2x sneak attack dice, or base attack bonus, or ranks in Hide - 3, or whatever) to get a reasonable save DC.

How does the class look as a whole? Is it a significant improvement over the class shown in the SRD?

Absolutely.

Edit: Another Assassin style:

Infiltrator: All Profession skills become class skills if they are not already. You gain a +4 bonus on all Profession skills that you have no ranks in, and may make a Profession check appropriate to your disguise instead of a Bluff check to act in character; you gain an additional bonus on this check equal to half your level.

Something a bit more magical (maybe a capstone?):

Hide from Existence: As long as you are hiding and no creature has detected your presence through Listen or Spot, you can choose to become nonexistent for almost all other purposes. You leave no trace in this state; blindsense and scent cannot detect you; magic does not reveal your presence or consider your actions; traps will not activate against you. However, if you coincidentally stand in the area of a harmful effect, it will still affect you.

[Durzan]

-snip-

Great thoughts and insights.

Okay... here are some of the cumulative changes I recently made:

• Changed Assassin's Mark by setting its competence bonus to a flat +5 bonus. Simplified the wording. Nerfed it by removing the bonus to damage and specified that an assassin may only have a number of marked targets equal to his assassin level at a time, compensated in part by allowing the assassin to treat the marked target as though they were always denied their dex bonus (thus allowing them to sneak attack every round against the marked target)
• Fixed a few typos.
• Nerfed Death Strike by switching the Save-or-Die DC to a more standard save.
• Added a couple more Assassin Tricks, some of which were suggested by Polymath.
• Merged a few Assassin Tricks together.
• Altered the informant Trick to grant the Assassin an insight bonus to his attacks against a marked target.
• Added an Assassin Trick that increases the DC of Death Strike: Efficient Killer -- You gain a +2 bonus to the DC of your Death Attack Ability. Note: You may take this Trick a second time; if you do so, the bonus increases from a +2 to a +5. In order to take this ability a second time, you must be at least a 5th level Assassin.

Edit: Did some more updates to the OP. Changes made have altered the list above.

Alright, so how does the class look overall as a whole? Anything else stand out as particularly odd or unbalancing (either underpowered or overpowered)? Additional suggestions, comments, concerns, etc? Looking for at least two additional well thought out opinions for this PEACH, in addition to aimlessPolymath. I like hearing multiple viewpoints and thoughts.

Feel free to critique the Rouge Tricks themselves or the Related Feats as well... although I would like the main focus to remain on the Assassin class itself.