Assassin Archetype: Shoring up Weaknesses

[Easy_Lee]

Some feel the assassin Archetype is weak, in spite of how often its high damage potential shows up in threads. Unless the archetype acts first in combat and catches the foe by surprise, its features are worthless in combat. The impersonation and fake identity features, while flavorful, won't come up in every campaign.

What can we do to compensate for its weaknesses?

What play styles and tactics lead one to gain surprise most often?

What class makes the best companion for an assassin?

[Dudu]

I think nothing.

Either the player knows it's tools or play something else. I do think a lot of players see the assassin as a in combat damage dealer, in which case they'll probably be disappointed.

Assassin is an out-of-combat guy. His features reward that play style. Scout ahead, kill the two orcs standing guard so the party can launch a surprise attack. Or the party infiltrated a palace ball and the assassin is the guy who needs to head to the private quarters to kill the Marquis. He is that kind of guy.

Otherwise, damage in combat is usually better handled by the likes of fighters, barbarians and paladins, when subtetly is already gone.

[Douche]

Some feel the assassin Archetype is weak, in spite of how often its high damage potential shows up in threads. Unless the archetype acts first in combat and catches the foe by surprise, its features are worthless in combat. The impersonation and fake identity features, while flavorful, won't come up in every campaign.

What can we do to compensate for its weaknesses?

What play styles and tactics lead one to gain surprise most often?

What class makes the best companion for an assassin?

Ideally the DM would give the enemies multiple initiatives so the rogue will go before AT LEAST one enemy or group. That would eliminate the problem.

I agree about "not coming up in every campaign" but personally I don't play for hack-n-slash so I would be making the most of those features in any campaign that I'd be playing in. At worst, you shoehorn it in by impersonating a footsoldier from whoever's base you're about to blow up and leading them into an ambush... So even in a hack-n-slash game, I think you'd be able to get use out of it if you think creatively.

To your question on tactics - this is a big problem I have with groups that contain rogues... They don't use them as scouts. Your rogue should be sneaking ahead and opening with a sneak attack, then kiting the enemy back towards his companions. Some people don't like to think this much and just barrel through the dungeon as an amorphous blob of 5 party members though.

Last question - anyone with Hold Person, lol

[coolAlias]

For me, the main problem is that the Assassin really wants to play solo. Infiltrating, impersonating, setting up ambushes for guaranteed surprise - these become more difficult to do the more people are involved, and it's a rare table where everyone is going to roughly equally participate in and enjoy those types of encounters.

It's not that the Assassin is inherently weaker, but that it is highly table dependent and even at a given table its value will change from one encounter/adventure to the next.

On the other hand, I've played an Assassin and had plenty of fun without trying to go solo (too much), but my DM was fairly generous with granting surprise.

So for me, a fix would need to provide an ability or abilities that are more reliably useful, such as advantage on initiative or the ability to apply poison to a weapon as part of an attack (or perhaps as a bonus action).

[Foxhound438]

rogues in general aren't optimized for combat alone. Swashbuckler is probably the only thing that comes close, but the chassis is filled with things like expertise that is very niche in combat, and far more useful when preparing or scouting, etc. The assassin gets a pile of good abilities, only 2 of which are useful in combat, and even they require OOC setup.

[GlenSmash!]

I like the assassin's low level feature's it's the high level ones that are lackluster. Mostly being completely outclassed by spells at that point. I think as a DM I'd give them access to greater Poisons at higher levels. Maybe some that inflict other conditions too. If I were homebrewing I'd bake it in as a class ability.

Pass without trace is the Assassin's best friend. Rangers, Shadow Monks, Earth Genasi could all help with that.

[Sigreid]

The assassin is great the way he is. He's not the combat super hero guy. He's the neutralize that guard, quickly and quietly so the party can get into the stronghold guy.

He's also a good bluff your way in to steal the plans or murder the general so the army falls apart guy.