Tweaked Assassin

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merias
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by merias »

Cool, I did not know there was a WD version of the assassin.

So the static range leads me to believe that the Blackmoor table (based on HD of the assassin and target) was created to prevent issues with low-level assassins killing frost giants (or whatever large HD creature) with one die roll. I think logically they should not be able to do that, but should have a fair chance to kill Orcs and other ~ 1HD creatures. Anyway I think that's why I don't like the table in any form, it's hard to keep it simple and still make it balanced.

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

Yea I wasn't aware of it either and I'm not sure who John Rothwell is. But at any rate I may adopt this version to my own since this is original source material. So basically the Assassin would have a chance to out right slay a target every time a backstab is performed which most likely would only happen once per combat if that anyways. The DM can decide in the event that the Assassin rolls high enough whether or not the target is valid or not. But I like how it's simply mingled in with backstab. Set it and forget it type of thing. But with this I would probably remove the added bonus to backstab based on the Assassin's level.

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

I wanted to add though it really comes down to if you want a constant bonus that always triggers or a one time powerful bonus that may go off every now and then. Right now I have a level 8 Assassin in Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth using S&W/IF rules.

With a +2 Long Sword his backstab is x3+10 damage. (+8 for his level and +2 magical bonus) So he will do a minimum of 10 damage on a backstab EVERY time. And with my skill changes his chance of hiding in shadows and/or moving silently is greatly improved.

With the Rothwell version, my Assassin would have a normal x3 backstab just like a thief with an Assassinate range of 17-20. That's a 20% chance to instantly slay something. Not too bad either. I think I may simply keep both and let the player decide which bonus he wants moving forward.

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

Hey Doug,

I'm back. :lol: After finding that new Assassin article by John Rothwell I decided to tweak a few things in order to reflect some of Rothwell's ideas. Even though I'm house ruling this class I still want to draw from pre-existing source material as much as possible. Alright here are the changes I made:

-Used percentages as they are listed according to the Rothwell Assassin (total of +20% to Hide and Move Silently)
-Added in Climb Walls from the Rothwell Assassin. (Why not. Assassins can climb. I don't think this steps on the thief's toes)
-This meant I need to decide on a starting percentage for poison-craft so I chose 30%
-Added a simple +2 saving throw bonus vs. Poison (Seems appropriate and I've seen this house rule often)

Everything else is the same. I ultimately didn't add in the instant kill chance as I simply don't really like that kind of thing. BUT...the one thing I am thinking of doing is lowering the backstab progression by 1 level. So x3 would come at level 4, x4 at level 8 and x5 at 12. What do you think?
Last edited by cbarchuk on Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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merias
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by merias »

That seems fine as well, although personally I prefer your first version, without the percentages. Just personal bias towards simpler mechanics I guess. Let me know how it plays!

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

I'm going to keep both. I prefer the d6 as well and will probably end up using that most of the time. What is your opinion about lowering the back stab progression by 1 step? Does that seem excessive?

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merias
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by merias »

No the x3 at level 4 and going from there seems fine to me.

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

Sweet. I think so to. Thanks for the feedback. I attached the final version using the D6 below. Let me know what you think otherwise this should be the final version.
Attachments
S&W Assassin Class D6 version1024_1.jpg
S&W Assassin Class D6 version1024_2.jpg

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merias
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by merias »

That looks great, thanks for sharing it here!

cbarchuk
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Re: Tweaked Assassin

Post by cbarchuk »

Thanks Doug for all your feedback as I very much value your thoughts and opinions. So thanks again for letting me run my ideas off of you. I deleted all the earlier uploads of the class and I'm going to attach a final version PDF below for you or anyone else that cares to use it. There will be a D6 and percentile version. Cheers.
Attachments
S&W Assassin Class Percentile version.pdf
(331.26 KiB) Downloaded 315 times
S&W Assassin Class D6 version.pdf
(278.7 KiB) Downloaded 320 times

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