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kanachi
2006-09-17, 11:07 AM
Hiya everyone!

I am thinking of having my party foil an attempted assassination upon a key figure in my campaign world and was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me construct such an assassin. Information relevant is bellow, please feel free to have as much fun as possible with the concept (though as the same time try to hit all the criteria). I’m very sorry if this makes me look lazy as well, I’ve just been staring at my monster manual, DMG and PHB and can’t seem to make something that fits and feel balanced.

The party will probably be between 6th and 7th level at this point in time and numbers at 3.5 members (the .5 being a type of uber dog played on-and-off by a player’s wife).

I also intend for the assassin to bite into a capsule (when near death) that will course their body to combust. This will leave the party with no evidence, items or remains to assist their investigation (which is necessary for the story).

I want the assassin to be a skilled sniper (as they will have taken up a sniper position within a building overlooking the target when the party rush in). After this time the assassin will probably engage the party in melee so the assassin will therefore have to be able to hold their own against the entire party.

The assassin will is supposed to be some form of humanoid that has been twisted by dark magics (Uruki style) into something evil.

Obviously the assassin must have good skills and abilities that would assist her profession.

Any help or suggestions would be fantastic! Thankyou very much to anyone who helps in advance!

Legoman
2006-09-17, 11:57 AM
Check out the bone-creature template from the BOVD. It fits the RP concept you're talking about, and also adds dex. Add in an elf on top of it, and you have crazy +dex.

Make your assassin a bone elf Ranger/Rogue/Assassin.

First round: Death attack, with a poison-tipped sleep arrow. If the death attack fails, then the poison should knock the target unconcious. Failing that, sleep.

Second round: Coup-de-grace with a pick (x4 crit multiplier). Make 2 saves v. death, one for massive damage, the other for the CDG effect.

Third round: UMD a scroll of fireball on itself, standing over the body. Also, have the bone assasin carry 2 pounds of TNT on it's person . Target takes roughly 50-75 points of fire damage, and makes yet another save vs. death. Assasin is obliterated, thus leaving no clues as to it's origin.

If CDG is not an option, due to interferance from guards or PCs, then skip to step 3.

The result is a very scary assassin, with an additional built in plot-hook to boot. (Who created the bone creature in the first place? Where did it get all those poisons/arrows?)

Eighth_Seraph
2006-09-17, 03:06 PM
Wow. That is a creepy and yet beautifully constructed assassination sequence. Well done, Legoman. Not sure what the bone template includes but are you sure it would be so willing to commit a kamikaze act like that?

Legoman
2006-09-17, 03:32 PM
It's a template that can be applied to any living creature, just like Zombie, or Skeleton. It becomes undead through the application of the template.

Because it's undead, it's probably created. And since it's created, it's no stretch to think it'll follow the will of its creator.

If you're not comfortable with that, then give the creature everything the bone template does, as well as an incorporeal spirit possessing the body. Back-story is that an incorporeal undead assassin stole the body of a high-ranking thief from the thieves’ guild, and through the aid of a death cult's ritual, rendered the hit-man to bone, and then sent it off to assassinate a public figure for a sinister purpose.

This gives a plethora of adventure-hooks.

What was the spirit escaping from the explosion?
What would the death cult gain by assassinating the ______?
Is the spirit working with the death cult? Are there more of them? Will it possess again?

All of a sudden, you're fighting an enemy that could be anyone in order to kill anyone at a moment's notice.

Better work fast, PCs :D.

kanachi
2006-09-17, 04:06 PM
Thankyou legoman i really like this idea, saidly I dont have access to the BOVD but i'll do a search and see what i can find on this.

I probably should have made this clear but the assassination attempt is suposed to get foiled by the PCs, however its very possible the assassin could get a shot off that almost kills the target (perhaps the PC's bursting in on him is enough to ofset his shot that 1% that would have been fatal).

As for the assassins willingness to comit suicide thats a vital part of the flavor. Not only is he willing to kill himself but hes willing to destroy himself and any evidence even his body may provide.

once again very nice stuff, if anyone else has any other ideas though i would still erally like to see them, thanks! :)

Mephibosheth
2006-09-17, 04:49 PM
The only problem with Legoman's build is that an Assassin can't make a Death Attack with a ranged weapon. In fact, the sniper-assassin is very difficult to construct in D&D for many reasons, not the least of which is that D&D lacks rules to govern things like shooting to kil/disable with a single shot (targeting specific body parts and the like). Additionally, many of the methods of increasing the amount of damage dealt by a single shot require close range, something any sniper-assassin would avoid. As far as I know, the best way to go about making a sniper-assassin in D&D is to try to maximize damage with a single shot (something like a Rogue 6, Order of the Bow Initiate X from within 30 feet), to use expensive, powerful poisons (in which case, a class like Deepwoods Sniper from Masters of the Wild would be helpful), or gain some other ability (like the Arrow of Death ability of the Arcane Archer PrC). In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of an elven Rogue/Warmage/Arcane Archer, if only to add area of attack spells to arrows and increase damage with that method.

Hope that helps a little.

Mephibosheth

Legoman
2006-09-18, 12:22 AM
Kanachi, the best way to have the PCs foil the attempt then is to have them spot the would-be assassin as he tracks is quarry. Make him jump from rooftop to rooftop as he sneaks towards the mayor's mansion. With +6 dex, max ranks in balance and maybe skill focus, have him walk a tightrope into the mark's building. The PCs then either have to alert the guards, or figure out a way to stop the plan themselves.

This also amerliorates the aforementioned death-attack from range problem.

Were-Sandwich
2006-09-18, 12:56 PM
One hit sniper kills are possible, if you use the Vitality/Wound point system. Which I do, but not everyone does. If the targets an NPC, you could just Deus Ex it.


And concept is spelt with a C