Assassin Revision

[Quellian-dyrae]

I imagine assassins a bit different than the D&D style. I see them more as stealthy warriors than rogues with spells, and I honestly don't agree with the whole "must be evil" and "must kill someone for no better reason than to be an assassin" thing. At worst, they're stealthy mercenaries.

This revision isn't too terribly different from the original. I basically removed the spells in favor of a full attack bonus, made them a bit better at using poison (at the expense of their ability to resist it), and gave them a bit better proficiencies and made their death attack somewhat more usable/versatile. I considered removing uncanny dodge, but for the moment I've decided against it if only because I'm not sure that +3 on their attack rolls really makes up for the combination of full sneak attack and greater invisibility.

The Assassin

The shadows are their swords, silence their armor. They are masters of physical combat and stealth tactics alike. Spells? They need no spells. They are far too skilled to need spells. They are the assassins, blades lurking in the darkness, ever waiting for the perfect opportunity to destroy their foes.

Assassins combine the stealthy skills of thieves with the melee training of warriors. They may not have all the options of a fighter, or a rogue’s vast selection of skills and abilities, but they are adept at slaying their opponents with single stealthy blows, and at engaging in close combat.

Assassins are often evil, selling their services to the highest bidder without care of the morality of the issue. Some assassins practice their own codes of honor, and some are even righteous practitioners of the shadowy arts, warriors who turn practices that so many label “evil” back upon beings of that alignment. In any case, killing people without giving them a chance to defend themselves is generally frowned upon by polite society, so most assassins would do well to keep their profession concealed, regardless of their alignment or intentions.

Most assassins were formerly rogues, although many have some degree of additional fighting experience. Some rangers turn their skills in stealth and combat down the assassin path, although they more frequently go by the term “bounty hunter”. Monks and bards have also been known to take the class, and some arcane spell casters find that their magic allows them to perform assassinations that others wouldn’t even consider attempting. Few divine casters follow the path of the assassin, save for some clerics of stealth deities.

Assassins aren’t known for getting along well with others, but rangers, rogues, and other stealthy characters are more likely to accept their tactics. There tends to be friction between assassins and warriors, with the latter considering the assassin's tactics dishonorable. Paladins, in particular, rarely see eye to eye with assassins.

Prerequisites:
Base Attack: +4.
Skills: Hide 8 Ranks, Move Silently 8 Ranks, Disguise 4 Ranks.

HD: d6.
SP: 4.
Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device, and Use Rope.
Proficiencies: The assassin gains proficiency in simple and martial weapons and in light and medium armor. It gains no proficiency with shields.

Assassin
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+1

|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|Death Attack, Poison Use, Sneak Attack +1d6

2nd|

+2

|

+0

|

+3

|

+0

|Poison Mastery +1, Uncanny Dodge

3rd|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|

+1

|Sneak Attack +2d6

4th|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|Poison Mastery +2

5th|

+5

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|Improved Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +3d6

6th|

+6

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Poison Mastery +3

7th|

+7

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Sneak Attack +4d6

8th|

+8

|

+2

|

+6

|

+2

|Hide in Plain Sight, Poison Mastery +4

9th|

+9

|

+3

|

+6

|

+3

|Sneak Attack +5d6

10th|

+10

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|Poison Mastery +5[/table]

Death Attack (Ex): All rogues can strike a foe in a critical spot; an assassin is a master of striking an opponent vitally with a single blow. On the assassin’s first attack of the encounter, if the attack is a successful sneak attack and made during a surprise round, the target must roll a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the assassin’s class level + the assassin’s Int modifier). If it fails its saving throw, its hit point total is automatically reduced to anywhere from 0 to -10, at the assassin’s option. The assassin may choose whether or not the victim is stable.

The assassin can also use its death attack if its first attack of the encounter is made against a target that was not previously aware of its presence or who did not think it was an enemy. The attack must still be a successful sneak attack.

Poison Use (Ex): Assassins are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

Sneak Attack (Ex): As the rogue class feature.

Poison Mastery (Ex): The save DC of any poison the assassin uses increases by +1 at every even-numbered level the assassin gains. However, this ability cannot bring the DC of a poison above 10 + the assassin’s class level + the assassin’s Int modifier.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): As the rogue class feature. An assassin that already has uncanny dodge instead gains improved uncanny dodge.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): As the rogue class feature. An assassin that already has improved uncanny dodge stacks assassin levels for purposes of determining the minimum rogue level required to sneak attack the target.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): At 8th level, an assassin can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, an assassin can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I personally liked the spells...

The current problem with your class to get the most use out of full base attack it needs to charge into combat while it still has abilities that rely on stealth. Assasinating in combat rather than back stabbing has some basis in real life but your class is still too focused on sneak attacking. To be warriors your assasins would need to fight in groups to get someone to flank with or their sneak attack ability is useless in combat.

You might want to increase the Base Attack Prequisite.