Any tips for converting Diablo 2 Assasin to D&D?

[KIDS]

Well, I would very much like to design a character (not for immideate play, this is more theorycraft) that roughly resembles the diablo 2's Assassin (http://www.diabloii.net/characters/assassin/index.shtml). That is, an agile, opportunistic anti-mage type, with a touch of unarmed combat. Preferrably using one or two claws (Bladed Gauntlets from Sword & Fist, even with the nerfed threat of 19-20). Books avaliable to me are PHB, DMG, MM, Complete Warrior, Complete Divine, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane and PHB2. Within 15 or so levels.

So far I see several options:
*note* mostly when I mention monk, wearing armor would be acceptable if it is a 2 or 3 level dip.

1. Swashbuckler / Monk / Occult Slayer / ?
2. Fighter / Monk / Dervish?
3. Fighter / Rogue / Occult Slayer?
4. (Ascetic) Rogue / Monk?

Or is it impossible to make a character like that, which deals good damage with claws in melee, has some unarmed capability, can close in quickly (with things like dimension door=?) and is resistant to spells (i.e. high saves and stuff) If it is so, don't be afraid to say it. I'm just trying to see what options did I miss. For those familiar with Diablo, focusing just on Martial Arts, Shadow or Trap tree with only basic abilities of other two might be enough too.

p.s. also, the Mageslayer feat (Carcane) seems to be contradictory with the Occult Slayer (Cwarrior) prc since his ability Spell Turning is based on caster level equal to his level and Mageslayer reduces your caster level? Or it does not matter for the purposes of spell turning?

[El Jaspero, the Pirate King]

Might want to consider Complete Warrior's Scout class for the mobility.

[Grizzled Gryphon]

You know, over on the wizards boards, I came up with a fairly well balanced Amazon based on the Diablo II class of the same name. As it is, I have some books that tried to make the Diablo II game into a RPG based on DnD 3.0. I merely tweaked it so that a) it actually worked in 3.5, and b) it was a total copy of the origonal.

I had only wished that a book had come out with the Assassin and the Druid. However, the concept died, as it really sucked.

However, I have recently gotten the Tome of Battle; Book of Nine Swords, and the manuevers and what not in there have a LOT of Assassin flavor to them. Seems to me that with only a little adaptation, a swordsage could very easily be made to match an Assassin. You could easily just make a Swordsage, and have the character call themselves an assassin, with the same idea and background that the assassin from DII has. I am definetly going to look into it, myself, now.:belkar:

[The Valiant Turtle]

I second the "Grab Tome of Battle as quickly as you can" suggestion. Some of the stuff in there is perfect for what you are looking for, and it's a darn good book for just about anyone that's not a dedicated spellcaster.

Consider this: I usually play casters, but Tome of Magic just didn't excite me, Tome of Battle does, even though it's been years since I played anything that could use any of it.

[Zadiac]

in the diablo 2 collector's edition there was actually a d&d crossover game
you were limited to classes that were in d2 so id assume the material is out there somwhere, ive just lost mine.

[The Valiant Turtle]

I'm pretty sure I could still find my collector's edition stuff, but the Assasin was part of the expansion pack, and so not in the collectors edition. It wasn't anywhere near being compatible with standard D&D of any edition. It was more like it's own stand alone d20ish game.

[KIDS]

Hm, it seems that a reasonable investment might be in place then... thanks for help everyone, Tome of Battle here I come!

[Zadiac]

oh yea, i completly forgot about the expansion
wow that game is old...
tob is awesome you wont regret it

[Ramza00]

Just another weapon you may want to look into, the claw bracer from Arms and Equipment guide.

Well besides adding the weapon tidbit, and seconding the tomes of battle (there is a recommended adaption of swordsage, lose the wis in light armor abilities replace with monk unarmed progression and wis to ac in no armor), I would recommend a enlightened fist monk. Some of the assassin "melee" builds were a mixture of monk and sorcerery. Use enlightened fist with sorc (even though wizard works better mechanically though far less so flavorly).

[DeathQuaker]

I'd probably do a fighter/rogue/shadowdancer build.

Only a few levels in fighter, for some extra feats and BAB. Rogue for sneak attack and other abilities; Shadowdancer for additional abilities and to vaguely mimic the Assassin's own shadow-summoning abilities.

Feats in Improved Unarmed Strike, Two Weapon Fighting, maybe Weapon Focus, Specialization, and Improved Critical in punch daggers or tiger claws.

[KIDS]

Hmph, I really like that last one with ftr/rog/shadowdancer, only that build is very vulnerable to spells (what monk needed to fill, basically). But it does sound very good!
Still there is one (well, from metagaming sense of view) problem if one isn't starting at higher levels: if you start with rogue you can't have exotic weapon proficiency and if you start with fighter you lose a lot of acrobatics. Maybe starting with punching daggers and then switching to Bladed Gauntlets could do the job I guess :)

[DeathQuaker]

Hmph, I really like that last one with ftr/rog/shadowdancer, only that build is very vulnerable to spells (what monk needed to fill, basically).

Not exactly. Your Will saves may not be fantastic (but there's ways around that, such as Iron Will, high Wis, or magic items) but any spell requiring a reflex save will barely hurt you with Evasion and Improved Evasion.

Shadowdancers can do a lot with Shadow Jump and Summon Shadow to stymie spellcasters (much as the Assassin could with her Shadow, which I often used as a spell attractor).


But it does sound very good!

Well thanks. :)



Still there is one (well, from metagaming sense of view) problem if one isn't starting at higher levels: if you start with rogue you can't have exotic weapon proficiency and if you start with fighter you lose a lot of acrobatics.
Maybe starting with punching daggers and then switching to Bladed Gauntlets could do the job I guess :)

Yeah, I'd just start with Rogue to get your skill points (especially if you want her to be a trap builder) and use punch daggers (which were perfectly fine Assassin weapons in Diablo). You can switch to cesti later on, if you want. If you want to specialize, I'd work on getting Imp. Unarmed Strike and your Two Weapon Fighting together, and then do weapon specialization after you're certain you want to use whatever fist-weapon you like best.

[Amotis]

I assume you're doing a melee build. A trap assassin would be hard to convert as I have no idea what would make a semi-permenant trap that shoots only enemies in range automatically. For me the traps are what made the assassin but I can't think of any spell or ablitiy that does such a thing...

[Grizzled Gryphon]

Something else to consider. Yes, they have exotic weapons that are kind of like the weapons from D2. However, you could just use the regular weapons that a rogue can use, and just have them look like the weapons from D2. As long as they follow all the rules from the book regarding the weapon, what it looks like doesn't matter. So, you have a weapon that does damage like a short sword, and crits like a short sword, and in all ways acts like a short sword, what does it matter that it looks like a Scissors Katar?