The Rugi
2010-09-08, 05:52 PM
These are changes I want to make to the SRD Assassin prestige class for this campaign I want to run.
Requirement Changes
Alignment requirement changed to nonchaotic and nongood. You still can't feel remorse or pity to those you assassinate, and it can't be without purpose. You can assassinate for reasons other than evil intent, just not good intent.
BAB requirement of +6. Rogues were able to become assassins a bit too early for my tastes. They should at least be competent in a fight before trying to stealthily murder someone.
Feat requirement: Quick Draw. An assassin using a disguise should be able to draw a blade, kill a target, and make a run for it in one swift motion. Like a walk-by death attack or something.
Rather than having to kill someone in cold blood, you should have killed someone who didn't anticipate your attack and could do nothing to fight back. This could be for any reason, it doesn't have to be in cold blood.
Removed Class Features
No Hide in Plain Sight class feat. I always felt this should be a unique Shadowdancer ability, and sort of destroys one of the reasons to play a Shadowdancer if an Assassin also gets this ability.
No spells. I always felt the ability to cast spells to be somewhat awkward. I don't imagine an assassin to be a spellcaster. Also, spontaneous casting using Intelligence is just weird too.
New Class Features
Silencing Attack at level 4: Death attack can now silence a target. Silencing lasts for 1d6 rounds + 1 per assassin level. Spellcasters will be able to continue casting spells with verbal components after 1 round, but still cannot speak normally. The point of this ability is to stop targets from shouting alarms or screaming. Silencing doesn't allow a save.
Shadowy Attack at level 6: You can replace a death attack with a normal sneak attack and Hide vs. that target immediately after attacking with no penalty. You still need cover to hide though. You take a -5 penalty to Hide vs. other creatures in the same room. This is like a replacement for Hide in Plain Sight, except more limited in usage.
Stealth master at level 8: You can take 10 for Hide and Move Silently against a single target, even when you normally couldn't. You can pick a new target once every round during your turn. When studying a target for death attack, stealth master can only be used on that target. You can also take 10 when making a Disguise for the purposes of sneaking up on someone and killing them. The point is to be able to do exceptionally well at sneaking up on a specific target.
Sudden Death Attack at level 10: 1/day you can make a Death Attack when sneak attacking, even if you normally couldn't death attack. You do not need to study the victim when using this.
Sniping: You can make Death Attacks with a ranged weapon in place of Sneak Attacks. You must study the victim longer when making Death Attacks from range. You must study for 6 rounds at 30 feet, and an additional 3 rounds every 30 feet after that. Targets with cover are immune to death attacks at range.
Death Attack with Touch Spells: You can use death attack with melee or ranged touch spells using the same rules above, but they must be used as normal attacks instead of touch attacks for that to work.
Overpowered? Underpowered? Retarded?
Edit: Changed the wording a bit to clear things up.
Requirement Changes
Alignment requirement changed to nonchaotic and nongood. You still can't feel remorse or pity to those you assassinate, and it can't be without purpose. You can assassinate for reasons other than evil intent, just not good intent.
BAB requirement of +6. Rogues were able to become assassins a bit too early for my tastes. They should at least be competent in a fight before trying to stealthily murder someone.
Feat requirement: Quick Draw. An assassin using a disguise should be able to draw a blade, kill a target, and make a run for it in one swift motion. Like a walk-by death attack or something.
Rather than having to kill someone in cold blood, you should have killed someone who didn't anticipate your attack and could do nothing to fight back. This could be for any reason, it doesn't have to be in cold blood.
Removed Class Features
No Hide in Plain Sight class feat. I always felt this should be a unique Shadowdancer ability, and sort of destroys one of the reasons to play a Shadowdancer if an Assassin also gets this ability.
No spells. I always felt the ability to cast spells to be somewhat awkward. I don't imagine an assassin to be a spellcaster. Also, spontaneous casting using Intelligence is just weird too.
New Class Features
Silencing Attack at level 4: Death attack can now silence a target. Silencing lasts for 1d6 rounds + 1 per assassin level. Spellcasters will be able to continue casting spells with verbal components after 1 round, but still cannot speak normally. The point of this ability is to stop targets from shouting alarms or screaming. Silencing doesn't allow a save.
Shadowy Attack at level 6: You can replace a death attack with a normal sneak attack and Hide vs. that target immediately after attacking with no penalty. You still need cover to hide though. You take a -5 penalty to Hide vs. other creatures in the same room. This is like a replacement for Hide in Plain Sight, except more limited in usage.
Stealth master at level 8: You can take 10 for Hide and Move Silently against a single target, even when you normally couldn't. You can pick a new target once every round during your turn. When studying a target for death attack, stealth master can only be used on that target. You can also take 10 when making a Disguise for the purposes of sneaking up on someone and killing them. The point is to be able to do exceptionally well at sneaking up on a specific target.
Sudden Death Attack at level 10: 1/day you can make a Death Attack when sneak attacking, even if you normally couldn't death attack. You do not need to study the victim when using this.
Sniping: You can make Death Attacks with a ranged weapon in place of Sneak Attacks. You must study the victim longer when making Death Attacks from range. You must study for 6 rounds at 30 feet, and an additional 3 rounds every 30 feet after that. Targets with cover are immune to death attacks at range.
Death Attack with Touch Spells: You can use death attack with melee or ranged touch spells using the same rules above, but they must be used as normal attacks instead of touch attacks for that to work.
Overpowered? Underpowered? Retarded?
Edit: Changed the wording a bit to clear things up.