3.5 Tricky assassin needed

[stenver]

So my players managed to piss off a major organisation that organisation decided to hire the most notorious assassin the world has seen.

The party is at level 12 and are low optimised
Ork Cleric/Barbarian who specialises in heavy damage and skill checks
Ork PsyWarrior/eye of Gruumsh who specialises in heavy damage and utility
Goblin warlock/Cleric/Eldritch disciple who specialises in Utility and Buffing only

The assassin, i tought that anappropiate encounter would be around level 14-15. He should have about 100 000-150 000 GP of resources(For items, not personal army)

And i want him to be cunning and hard to fight. I want him to be very well able to flee the combat to fight another day, as well as make damaging him very hard and tedious process. As a side note, i would rather not have him make 200 + damage round, i dont want to TPK everyone. Massive debuffing and disabling would make for alot more interesting fight. Also, he likes to choose the battleground for himself.

So any suggestions on build, classes, items and so on and forth would be greatly appreciated.
Time is of the issue, next session is maybe tomorrow or saturday night.

Thank you

[Zovc]

Perhaps you should feed us a little more. Why is he(?) the most notorious assassin? Does he have some sort of signature. How do you want him to approach/engage the players?

[Psyx]

Seems a shame not to have him from the assassin class, in many ways.

I'd also dip a level of Summoner for the ACF teleports.

Do the party normally have ebon eyes / truesight / teleport interdiction spells running? Do they sleep in watches?

A decent assassin should hit them at their weakest... when they are asleep, or split up all over town shopping, or just after a hard combat and the end of the adventuring day, when spells are low.

If you want things to be tense, use a lot of misdirection. Don't even let them SEE the assassin if possible. Have him strike indirectly. Accidents are good: Cause a massive avalanche. Burn down their inn. Have their ship sink. None of these should be obvious attacks.

Perhaps he passes them in disguise in a busy street and sleight of hands something truly horrific onto them (periapt of foul rotting? Or maybe he's good enough to slip a necklace of strangulation around a throat (and yes: A decent pickpocket can do that), or poisons their food. Maybe he pays some bandits to waylay the party and pays them with magic items that are cursed or trapped, so when the party win, it leads to them taking said items. For sure some of the coins he pays them with should have scrying built-in, so he can track the party and scry on them.

If there has to be a confrontation, make it brief, confusing and then..he's gone. In a busy street it would be easy to blend into the crowd, wander up to a player, deliver a massive single sneak attack, with death attack with added poison for fun.. (1d4 con loss from a sneak attack ambush feat, plus a con loss poison, and then a death attack save, and maybe a massive damage save too is nothing to be sniffed at) and then and then *bamph* teleport away, swift invis and be gone amid the crowd. If they try to persue, have the escape route horribly trapped and lethal in itself.

Oh yeah: Kill the party's horses to slow them down. Disrupt them. Confuse them. Eventually (and I had a team of assassins launch SEVEN murder attempts on a party before someone even postulated that 'I think someone might be trying to kill us') they'll figure out they're in trouble.

It's not the stats that make an assassin, it's not even knowing that you're a target. When they do figure things out, he'll always seem to know what they're doing and be one step ahead of them, and they should start being massively paranoid.

[stenver]

Excellent suggestions Psyx. Indeed, indirect combat, and "accidents" with paranoia should really make things alot more interesting. Why on earth didnt i think of that.

As for Zovc
Why is he the most notorious bandit? It doesnt matter. Its completely open. The only restriction, probably, but not definately would be that the Assassin is human. Because the organisation is a major Pro-Human organisation. Racist organisation. Let your fantasy flow, classes, all books, anything is allowed.

As for extra details: The party spends most of its time in a metropolis city. Trips outside of this city are far and few.

They normally have only darkvision, no true sight or anything as such. They dont sleep watch either, because they have a warehouse the size of a football field which is filled with orcs working for them.

I thought i should give them a cutscene where they will see the BBEG hiring an assassin against them. But now that Psyx made these excellent suggestions, i dont know wheather i should...

[Escheton]

Sniper:

Warlock6/rogue2/cleric3/assassin 4

he is invisible untill he shoots. He is in flight when he does so. He is sniping from the max range of his eldritch spear. He is using a 1st lvl spell to sneak attack from any range.
He will be invisible and far away after the first hit. He will do this untill you are dead.

The Strangler:

Monk2/rogue3/unarmed swordsage 3/assassin 7

He will appear out of nowhere and pull you into the shadows while strangling you with a garrotte wire.

Psi and die

wiz3/psion3/cerebramancer 10

scry, and full blast with everything he has. Possily through a portal of sorts.
SR? psi, PR? arcane

[Thurbane]

How about a Factotum/Assassin? INT synergy all the way...

Also, Fiendish Heritage feats (CM) - Fiendish Legacy nabs him Teleport 1/day, as well as some other nice SLAs. SLAs are a standard action to use, so that Summon Monster V doesn't take a full round.

[Snake-Aes]

Your assassin will have lots of time to prepare and pick his fight. Don't be afraid of giving him items tailored to counter your group, and his build should be as sneaky as possible, so he can walk in front of their faces, moon them and they would still not notice.
The ideas for "accidents" are just short of perfect, let your imagination run wild on those. If he can set those accidents up as if the players did it, all the better.

Direct confrontation with him should look more like a chase scene(where he has the advantage and keeps laying annoyances on the way) than anything else. Something like a stab in the woods, then they chase the guy for a few rounds and as soon as he finds cover he's gone. Same for cities. This way you don't have to give him an obscene ac or something like that. Concealment and a high speed will do.

[Psyx]

"They normally have only darkvision, no true sight or anything as such. They dont sleep watch either, because they have a warehouse the size of a football field which is filled with orcs working for them."

That's just sweet. Getting past 3 orcs and coup de gracing a sleeping PC with full sneak/death/poison attack should be child's play.

Obviously; You'll want to burn that warehouse down. If the party are there and go back in to grab stuff; it's a great time for burning timbers to land on them, or other containments traps to be sprung.

The worst kind of foe to face is a truly invisible foe. Not (just) physically, but everything about him is a ghost. Nobody knows his name, his real face. Even the people who hired him don't know: They just thought about hiring an assassin, and a letter turned up in the post. Scrying doesn't work on the guy, nobody has ever claimed to have seen him in the flesh... and he's so good that the old lady next to you good be him. Actually; a female assassin could be good.

The party should (eventually..when they catch on) be scared. They'll have a foe whose door they can't kick in and kill. Everything they do could be falling into a trap. Everything they do -including doing nothing- could get them killed. Don't pull punches, and don't be afraid to kill them. If they ressurect party members it will be a drain on resources, and the assassin might have to up his game (unless he was only paid to kill them once, of course! In which case kill each of them in turn, and then have him never return... until the next time they make some serious enemies...)

Erm... and there's a material for making weapons that stores the soul of a slain victim, meaning that they can't be ressed without the weapon. If you need to knife a PC to death in his sleep, use that. Be prepared for them to get upset when the res spell mysteriously doesn't work. Then... much later, when they eventually manage to get the guy, he can reveal that he has the knife, and if they let him go, they can have their friend's soul back. Good assassins have back-up plans...

[hamishspence]

In Epic Handbook- the head of the Assassin's Guild in Union, is a little old lady. Very dangerous one though.

[Dusk Eclipse]

How trusting is your party? maybe you can make the assassin "hire" them for a sidequest, a dungeon crawl or something to wear them out before attacking? Also if he has some spellcasting maybe if your party is trusting you can bluff them into believing that he is gonna buff them but instead he is debuffing them, bestow curse particularly (be sure that your party doesn't have to many spellcraft ranks or use the skill trick to conceal what you are casting....maybe use a MM rod of chaining to curse the, with just one casting)

Also IIRC there is a poison in Complete scoundrel that prevents clerics from recieving spells, might be a good idea to use them since two of the party members depends on divine spells.

[Cespenar]

A pure rogue with Craven and some Ambush feats (from Complete Scoundrel) can both disable and cause an adequate amount of damage with the same attack. Get Shadowdancer 1 for Hide in Plain Sight, and maybe a dash (or more) of Master Thrower for more attacks/touch attacks/etc.

I mean, there's no need to overcomplicate things. It's more about how you'll play the character: the devious plans, traps, ambushes, and so on.

[AvatarZero]

The only restriction, probably, but not definately would be that the Assassin is human.

That's an awful shame, because I was going to suggest Sharuku. (just click Gaming over there on the left)

If you want this guy to be a recurring opponent, it's probably a good idea to make it be a mystery to your players. Not just stealthy, or just a guy with the Assassin PrC, but something that the players won't initially know how to fight. Figuring out the assassin's nature would be the first step to actually being able to kill it.

What about an assassin that won't stay dead. He gets hyped up as the world's best assassin, but then he arrives on the scene in the middle of the day in broad daylight, introduces himself politely and attacks. He gets killed by the PCs, everyone has a big, slightly puzzled celebration... and then the same guy attacks again at the same time the next day. No explanation, and he's a little bit stronger every time and knows more of the party's tricks; yesterday he was fireballed, today he's enchanted with Resist Energy and has apparently learnt Evasion somewhere. He's supposedly an ordinary human, except every time he gets killed he GAINS a level.

Come up with an explanation that fits your campaign and roll with it. Did the body from the previous day disappear? Did the guy have equipment that was looted but is now missing? What happened to his previous victims? Can the PCs figure out what's going on before he becomes too much for them to handle?

edit: this is a good set of rules for a character who learns new abilities based on what he's encountering rather than from a preset list.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/cl...ricClasses.htm

[Snake-Aes]

Why is he the most notorious bandit? It doesnt matter. Its completely open. The only restriction, probably, but not definately would be that the Assassin is human. Because the organisation is a major Pro-Human organisation. Racist organisation. Let your fantasy flow, classes, all books, anything is allowed.

How about a changeling? This way you can have him be up-front with the Players, he could be anyone, and when he acts, they wouldn't have his real face.

[Telonius]

He should have about 100 000-150 000 GP of resources(For items, not personal army)

I'm away from my books, but that looks like it might be a bit dangerous. Consider what happens if the players win. Split up three ways, would that totally hose you for WBL?

[Keld Denar]

You could go with a very simple Unseen Seer build. Rogue or Spellthief1/Wizard4/USS10 gives you a nice 15 level build. Spellthief in particular is fun, since the assassin can use hit-and-run tactics to syphon off the cleric/barb and the cleric/warlock. Heck, take Hidden Talent (Energy Ray or Compression) and Psythief and he could even drain PP from the PsyWar, and PsyWars don't exactly have a lot of PP to spare!

Spells like Greater Mirror Image and Greater Invis/Blinking would make the guy REALLY hard to even hit, much less kill, and Greater Blinking in particular, combined with Mobile Spellcaster (CMage) would allow the character to spring through walls, launch a RTA spell for sneak attack, and then retreat to the relative shelter behind the wall. BRILLIANT.

[stenver]

<great suggestions, thank you, keep them coming. Changeling is also a nice idea, since it can really be anybody, even human.

Incorporating him into party would be difficult, since they are VERY mistrusting. Unless that someone is an orc, ogre, or something similar. Go figure.But.. if he would be a changeling.. maybe kill one of their minions and take their role.. now theres an idea

So far i like the idea that in the beginning the assassin uses accidents, traps and hires random people to attack. Eveytime he is observing and making notes and eveytime the accidents become more dangerous.

WPL will be fine, level 12 and above can have an insane amount of gold

Thank you all, keep them coming, you all are very creative.

[Draz74]

Unusual suggestion: Make him a Dragonfire Adept.

There are tricks to make him stealthy if that's a necessary element of "assassin" (Able Learner, Dark Template, Whisper Gnome, Factotum dips, soulmelds), but those are only if you want.

He'll be able to do annoying but not dangerously lethal damage, every round, to the whole party (assuming they fit within a 30-foot cone). He'll excel at AoO debuffs.

For "escape the battle" potential, he will have to rely somewhat on items (e.g. teleport items), unless you throw in a Martial Study (Shadow Stride) feat. But at least he can fly. More to the point, he'll be ridiculously hard to kill off -- great saves, good AC if you use some other tricks, and most importantly, oodles of Hit Points. (Constitution is my #1 top priority stat in every way? Yes please!)

Make sure to give him the best two Dragonfire Adept feats (Entangling Exhalation from RotD, and Ability Focus (breath weapon) from the MM) and the best Dragonfire Adept item (Dragon Spirit Cincture, a belt in the MIC that gives him an extra d6 damage on every breath weapon, and a situational +1 Save DC too; only 2000 gp).

While DFA is very heavy in flavor, it's also pretty easy to reflavor it however you like. The party I'm DMing right now has no clue that the sorcerer they're fighting is actually a DFA.

[AvatarZero]

Incorporating him into party would be difficult, since they are VERY mistrusting. Unless that someone is an orc, ogre, or something similar. Go figure.

If you want to play up the race angle, what about a half-orc? Is he against the party because he's part human, or will his masters turn on him because he's not human enough?

[avr]

The PCs are surrounded by friendly orcs with poor will saves? Your assassin wants to use magic jar though possibly from a scroll or something.

[Roc Ness]

Okay, here is my two cents.

You will need:
A) Tome of Battle
B) Book of Vile Darkness
C) Homebrew

Use P1d6's Revised Assassin.

Give him Quick Draw, Assassin's Stance, Some Tiger Claw Maneuvers, Cloak of Deception boost, Shadow Blink and Shadow Stride line of Maneuvers and have him (preferably) TWF poisoned Hand Crossbows/Daggers. Use the expansive wealth of the Assassin on items that grant extra actions/raise his AC to an incredible level. (His HP won't be great)

Now, go to BoVD and look up poisons that damage Strength/Dex. Use the Revised Assassin's Masterful Brew to customize these poisons (increase the Save DC/ability damage) in a sane fashion (i.e. make the poisons possible to craft), use the poisons to attempt to completely shut down your PC's offensive abilities.

Basically, the fight should start off like this:
Suprise Round: The Assassin Shadow Blinks into the middle of the group, use that 1st level Tiger Claw maneuver that allows TWF as a standard action. Double poison sneak attack somebody.
1st Round: Assume the PC saves against one of the poisons, they've still taken a hit. They'll fight back, and hopefully you've increased the Assassin's AC enough so that they're having a hard time hitting him. Assassin will either full attack any PC within his reach with his poison, or, if he's already taken a hit or two, he'll 5-foot step away from the PCs and Full Attack Rapid Shot with a Hand Crossbow (also with poisoned bolts)
2nd Round: Hopefully at least one of the PCs will be having trouble attacking/using psionics due to the ability damage. Continue battle as before.

Once the assassin has lost at least two-thirds of his HP, or the battle has taken more than 3 rounds without anybody getting a clear upper hand, he'll flee into the darkness using his last Shadow-Hand-Teleport ability.

[mabriss lethe]

-I've used this one on my players before, they loved and hated me for it for a long time, and it turned out to be the toughest encounter they ever had.

Use a good bit of his wealth on cursed items. disguise them as far more pleasant items, usually one item to shut down each character and one or two more *potentially cursed items* in case they don't divvy it up the loot the way you hope, so that one piece of cursed equipment is available to each member of the party.(it's important to make sure that they're items are just "too good enough" The party won't try to sell them and will equip them ASAP.

Each of these cursed items is a variant. They function normally as the items they pretend to be, until a special command word is spoken. (My favorite is "pretty pink princess"

Now. Hire some somewhat inept thugs to take a shot at the PCs all of them kitted out with these cursed items. The thugs go down pretty quickly and leave behind all this nice loot. The characters take it and run for an encounter or two, becoming reliant on it.

Just when they've forgotten about the assassins, have your big guy show up. it will be good for him to have a couple of helpers that are a level or two lower than the party to act as disposable meat. even 3 levels higher may not do enough with a 4-1 action economy. After the party is fully engaged, the assassin yells out really loud "Pretty Pink Princess!"

Suddenly, all of those neat toys turn on their owners and are revealed as the cursed items they are.

[bobspldbckwrds]

i have to suggest druid. they never have to have the same form when they are striking against them. if they are going elsewhere, then s/he could probably get a few insidious spells off before they even know what is up. the summonings make for amazing diversionary tactics, and no one expects the squirrel.

[lsfreak]

Rogue/wizard/unseen seer. Focus on enchantments and illusions, plus status-affecting sneak attack things. He scries. He forces people to be allies via spells or diplomacy. He makes the PC's see things that aren't there. He makes it so they can trust no one, so that they're favorite barkeep suddenly attacks them for no reason at all. He's got the illusions and the skillset to walk right up to them and feed them false information, or the ability to send a random schmuck that got suggestioned, or the ability to force a trusted ally to give them the location of a trap. The stealth to leave a note on their bedstand telling him how impressed he was that they managed to escape the trap, and a nice bottle of victory wine, just to freak them the hell out. If everything goes as planned, they deal with themselves by either a complete mental breakdown, paranoia-induced murder of the other party members, or being tricked into killing someone important and being executed by the crown.

If they finally manage to find him and fight, he pulls out invisibility and tactical teleporting to keep them guessing at wear he is, along with things like wounding weapons and staggering strike to make them feel especially vulnerable.

You can do similar things with a bard or beguiler, I simply prefer wizard for the spell selection, even if there is a lot of overlap. A warlock is a bit tougher, but things like devil's whispers (CM, suggestion and the person thinks it was their own idea) make it especially fun; eldritch theurge sorc/warlock with early entry tricks would work.

[stenver]

I have been thinking about everything you said and i am really leaning towards the chameleon class. It would fit him perfectly and make him very versatile while at the same time very flexible and he would have quite a few HP to top it off aswell.

How would Chameleon work. I decided to make him what you suggested. An assassin who just wont show himself. With chameleon he can craft all the magical cursed items he would ever want, have UMD for any spell he doesnt have and finally, he would have level 6 divine, arcane spells with medium BAB and d8 HP

Factotum5/chameleon 10