ROGUE-ASSASSIN Class Description: Assassins are individuals who have chosen to make their way in the world by killing others for profit. While many have private codes of honor or conduct, others merely hire themselves out to the highest bidder. Assassins have a reputation for being competent, cold-blooded, and extremely efficient. Thus, when they not taking active commission for death warrants, they often drift into related activities, such as spying. Above all else, Assassins are masters of the stealthy kill. This includes not only sudden and swift attacks from shadowy corners but also insinuating themselves into another individual's confidence and allaying suspicion toward themselves, carefully positioning themselves to expose another's secrets and vulnerabilities to set them up for the kill. Requirements: Assassins use eight-sided hit dice and the THAC0 and saving throws of Priests. Assassins begin with 3 weapon and 3 non-weapon proficiencies and gain new NWP slots every 5 levels. As killing for payment (however well it may be justified) cannot be construed as a good action in any sense, Assassins must be of non-good alignment (most are evil, especially those who make frequent use of lethal poison). In addition, many races simply do not have assassin members. Only humans, half-orcs, half-elves, dwarves, and tieflings may become Assassins. They must be swift and smart to survive and prosper at their profession, and at the same time they must be confident and have great self- control; thus, they require Wisdom of at least 9 and scores of at least 13 in Intelligence, Dexterity, and Charisma. Weapons and Armor: Assassins can become proficient in any weapon desired, though they often prefer weapons that are quick, small, or easily concealable for use in their clandestine work. Assassins can use bucklers or small shields (but not large or body shields) and can wear any armor desired, though armor heavier than leather will severely detract from their thieving skills. Thief Abilities and Modifiers: Climb Walls, Detect Noise, Escape Bonds, Find/Remove Traps, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently Assassins gain no discretionary points at 1st level, but they do gain 20 discretionary points at each level thereafter to add to their thieving abilities as they choose, though no more than 10 points can be put in any given ability at each level. Special Benefits: As noted above, Assassins are masters of the stealthy kill, gaining an enhanced version of the Backstab of a Thief; they also know how to counter such attacks, as they know only too well the dangers of leaving oneself exposed to a sneak attack. They also are masters of poisons of all types, given their obvious utility in their chosen line of work. They are also masters of disguise and impersonation, easily worming their way into the confidence of those they encounter. Their abilities are described in detail below: Assassination: Assassins are extremely skilled at getting within someone's defenses and getting past their initial suspicions in order to attack them when they are vulnerable with lethal efficiency. This ability cannot be attempted in combat situations (though an unsuccessful attempt may well lead to a combat situation), and the possibility of success depends a great deal on the situation in which it is attempted, the intended victim's attitude toward the Assassin, and the level of preparations undertaken by the Assassin in planning the deed. The base chance of success of an Assassination attempt is 25% + 5% per level of the Assassin, -5% per level of the intended victim, with the following modifiers: Modifier Condition +10 Friendly reaction to Assassin - Indifferent reaction to Assassin -10 Cautious reaction to Assassin -25 Threatening reaction to Assassin -50 Hostile reaction to Assassin DM's discretion Time spent observing victim DM's discretion Quality of plan by Assassin DM's discretion Precautions taken by victim These latter three can apply as positive or negative modifiers, depending entirely on how well the Assassination attempt is set up and how well the intended victim is protected against such attempts. If the Assassination ability succeeds, the victim must immediately save vs. petrification to avoid death. This saving throw is modified by the difference between the Assassin's level and the target's level (i.e., a 5th level Assassin attempting Assassination against a 7th level character would allow a +2 bonus to the saving throw). The victim also gains a +1 bonus to this save for every point of Wisdom (acute intuition allowing a character to sense danger just in time) and Constitution (high resistance to pain and ability to pull through grievous injury) over 14. Aside from these bonuses, an Assassination attempt allows no other modifiers to the save, except for very unusual cases (e.g., a Paladin's +2 bonus to all saves, a luck blade sword or stone of good luck, or similar case, at the DM's discretion--common items such as a ring of protection grant no benefit). If the check fails or if the saving throw succeeds, this means only that the Assassination attempt itself has failed; there may still be great danger for the victim, depending on exactly what was included within the attempt. A victim has a 3% chance per level of experience, minus 1% per level of the Assassin, of noticing the attempt (assuming that it is not an attempt that would be impossible to ignore). This is true regardless of whether or not the attempt is successful, though in the case of a successful attempt the realization might well come to late to do any good. Similarly, if a failed Assassination attempt was to be made with a stab in the back with a poisoned blade, surprise should be rolled and the attack should proceed as a Backstab (if surprise is achieved) or a normal attack (if not), requiring a poison save if the envenomed blade hits. For example, if an Assassin attempted to kill a victim by putting poison in his or her food, the poison will still be present and will require a normal saving throw to resist even if the Assassination check fails. Had the Assassination attempt succeeded, the victim would have blithely consumed the poisoned meal without suspicion and would be slain without the benefit of a poison save. If the victim noticed the poison on a successful Assassination, he or she might realize that he or she has been poisoned (though the source of the poison would remain a mystery unless the Assassin chose to taunt his or her victim) and might be able to seek healing if the onset time allows. On a failed attempt, a would- be victim who noticed the attempt would realize that something was not quite right with his or her food (though he or she might not know it was poison) and could then take appropriate action. As a final point about Assassination, part of the effectiveness of this ability lies within an Assassin's skill and intuition for estimating the power level of a potential victim. Hence, has a 25% + 5% per level chance to determine the level and character class of an individual after observing them for one round; if failed, no further attempts will succeed with respect to that individual until the Assassin has gained a level. Back Protection: Assassins have an uncanny sense about being ambushed, attacked from concealment, or attacked from behind. Any attempt to attack an Assassin from the rear has a 25% chance of being detected and countered, +5% per level of the Assassin. If this roll is successful, any attack from behind is resolved as a normal attack against the Assassin's frontal armor class (even if the Assassin does not turn to face the attacker), with none of the bonuses usually gained for attacking from the rear. In addition, an Assassin who makes a successful Back Protection check is entitled to a free attack against his or her ambusher, even if the Assassin has already taken his or her normal allowance of actions in that round. If the creature attempting to attack the Assassin from behind is not itself an Assassin or other stealthy creature, the Assassin's chance of detecting and countering the attack is doubled. If the ambusher is magically invisible or otherwise not normally detectable, the Assassin may still sense and counter the impending attack, though his or her chance of detection is half normal, and his or her free attack suffers all normal penalties for attacking an invisible creature. Backstab: Assassins are highly skilled at striking from surprise, gaining a -2 bonus to surprise others (note that this bonus applies even if an Assassin is accompanying a party of other characters, in which case the Assassin might well surprise the enemy even if the rest of the party does not achieve surprise). Further, in any situation where an Assassin can attack from surprise against a basically humanoid foe of size L or smaller, he or she can carefully strike so as to inflict massive damage against that target. In practice, the Assassin gains a +4 bonus to hit when attacking from surprise and gains a bonus to damage inflicted, as described below. The Backstab damage table is presented here in its basic form. It should be noted, however, that an Assassin's Backstab has the effect as if he or she was double his or her actual level (i.e., a 4th level Assassin has a Backstab equivalent to an 8th level Thief). An Assassin can also attempt a Backstab with a missile weapon, though only a single shot or throw is allowed and the Assassin must be at Short range for such attempt to work. If using a missile weapon for a Backstab, an Assassin uses the damage multiplier for his or her actual level, rather than doubling it as usual for a Backstab with a melee weapon. Level Damage Multiplier 1-4 x2 5-8 x3 9-12 x4 13-16 x5 17-20 x6 21+ x7 The damage multiplier applies to the base damage dice of the weapon being used and the Assassin's Strength damage bonus, but not to any other modifiers or adjustments. In addition to the damage multiplier, a successful Backstab attack by an Assassin on a basically humanoid creature of size L or smaller has a percentage chance equal to twice the Assassin's level to instantly kill the victim (halved to 1% per level if using a missile weapon). If the defender is of a higher level than the Assassin, this difference is subtracted from the Assassin's instant kill chance. Size H creatures can be attacked with a Backstab but will suffer only half the normal damage multiplier (rounding up) and cannot be instantly killed. Likewise, non-humanoid targets halve the backstab multiplier (hence, a non- humanoid size H creature would suffer one-quarter the normal damage multiplier) and cannot be instantly killed. Size G targets cannot be effectively backstabbed, nor can amorphous creatures (e.g., elementals, gray ooze). Note that size S Assassins (e.g., dwarves) can backstab normally against size M opponents but may backstab at only half their normal effectiveness against both size L and size H targets. Masquerade: Assassins are masters of infiltration and impersonation. With a combination of skill at disguise, voice imitation, and learning the mannerisms of others, they are able to make themselves appear as virtually anything and pass themselves off in very believable fashion. Thus, when an Assassin attempts to Masquerade as someone else, only creatures that have a reason to suspect something out of the ordinary have any real chance of penetrating his or her Masquerade. If the Assassin is simply disguising his or her appearance in a generic fashion (i.e., not impersonating a specific creature), a creature with a Cautious or worse reaction is entitled to a save vs. wands to notice that something is amiss. Creatures with an Indifferent or better reaction will accept the Masquerade without question unless the Assassin commits some significant gaffe in his or her role (DM's discretion). If an Assassin is impersonating a particular individual, creatures who know him or her very well (e.g., family members, henchmen, close associates) are entitled to a saving throw regardless of their reaction to the Assassin, as their close relationship with the impersonated individual allows them to notice subtle clues. In addition, any Assassin, any creature with the Observation proficiency (if a check is successful), and any creature with Intelligence or Wisdom of 19 or higher is automatically entitled to a saving throw. The saving throw vs. wands to notice a flaw in the Assassin's Masquerade can be made no more than once per contact with the Assassin (or once per day, if in continuous contact), and it should be modified (positively or negatively) by the difference between the Assassin's level and the observer's level, as well as the following ability score modifiers: Ability Observer Observer Assassin Score Intelligence Wisdom Charisma 3 -3 -5 +8 4-5 -2 -3 +4 6-8 -1 -1 +2 9-12 - - +1 13-15 +1 +1 -1 16-17 +2 +3 -3 18+ +3 +5 -5 An Assassin's ability to Masquerade is not magical but is based on skill and knowledge of people. The DM may apply modifiers to the chance of success of a Masquerade attempt based on the Assassin's knowledge of the individual (or the generic type of individual) that he or she attempts to imitate with this ability (e.g., if an Assassin had never been to Mulhorand, he or she might have a penalty if attempting to Masquerade as a native of that land, with a larger penalty for trying to imitate a specific Mulhorandi). This ability does not provide knowledge of languages, though an Assassin can imitate accents of various lands and cultures. An Assassin may also suffer penalties if trying to imitate creatures of a different race and/or gender. In any event, an Assassin cannot change his or her apparent height by more than a few inches, though apparent weight or age are more easily faked. An Assassin also learns the standard Disguise and Voice Mimicry non-weapon proficiencies in the course of his or her training in the art of the Masquerade, and if they wish they can use these proficiencies (though as a rule they are not as useful, versatile, or powerful as the combined Masquerade). Poison Mastery: An Assassin's knowledge of poisons allows him or her a 5% chance per level to detect and analyze poison. The Assassin receives a bonus to this ability based on his or her Intelligence: 13-15 = +5%, 16-17 = +10%, 18 = +15%, +5% per point of Intelligence above 18, with additional modifiers based on the method of identification: Modifier Method of Detection -20% Sight - no chance to be affected -10% Odor - 10% chance to be affected - Taste - 25% chance to be affected (Injected poison; 50% for Ingested or Contact poison) +10% Symptoms - no chance to be affected (but must have victim who failed his or her saving throw) An Assassin who is affected by the poison that he or she is attempting to identify gains a saving throw as normal for the poison, and suffers only half normal effects from it in any event (a half-effect paralytic poison slows (q.v.) the Assassin, while a half-strength fatal poison inflicts half of the Assassin's original hit points as damage). If the roll is successful, the Assassin gains knowledge of the name of the poison and its effects (including onset time) and can attempt to synthesize an antidote from scratch if he or she knows the Healing proficiency. If one method of identification fails (i.e., using sight only), the Assassin can attempt to use each of the others if desired. Each such attempt requires one round. In addition to identifying poisons, Assassins learn how to create and use them beginning at 2nd level. At each level of experience after 1st, an Assassin should roll 1d6 and add the result to his or her level to determine which poison is learned (or an equivalent alternate poison, at the DM's option): Roll Type Method Onset Strength 3 G Ingested 2d6 hours 20/10 4 A Injected 1d3 turns 15/0 5 K Contact 2d4 rounds 5/0 6 H Ingested 1d4 hours 20/10 7 B Injected 2d6 rounds 20/1d3 8 L Contact 2d4 rounds 10/0 9 I Ingested 2d6 rounds 30/15 10 C Injected 1d4+1 rounds 25/2d4 11 M Contact 1d4 rounds 20/5 12 J Ingested 1d4 rounds Death/20 13 O Injected 2d12 rounds Paralysis (2d6 hrs)/ Slowed (2d12 rds) 14 N Contact 1 round Death/25 15 D Injected 1d2 rounds 30/2d6 16 F Injected Immediate Death/0 17 P Injected 1d3 hours Debilitative (1d3 days)/0 18 E Injected Immediate Death/20 The figures under Strength before and after the slash refer to results on a failed/successful save vs. poison. If a poison is rolled more than once, the Assassin can elect to roll again, to learn an effective antidote to that poison type, or to learn a more virulent version of that poison, applying a penalty to the saving throw of 1d4, with the modifier rolled when the stronger poison formula is learned and remaining constant thereafter. This option can be repeated if the poison is rolled again, though the save penalty cannot go beyond -5. Additionally, instead of rolling an Assassin can choose to learn any poison for which the die roll is less than or equal to his or her level (e.g., an 8th level Assassin could automatically choose to learn or to strengthen poisons of types G, A, K, H, B, or L). Special Hindrances: An Assassin's chief disadvantage is that he or she must earn double the normal amount of experience points to advance in level as a typical Rogue (i.e., 2500 to reach 2nd level, 5000 to reach 3rd level, etc.). Assassins also tend to distance themselves from others and avoid the unnecessary complications that close relationships with others can bring. As a result, they can attract only half the normal of henchmen normally allowed for their Charisma, and they may not have any henchmen or hirelings until they reach 8th level, and even then only Rogues can be hired on. At 12th level or above, an Assassin can attract henchmen of any class. Assassins can always train other Assassins in the tools and tricks of the trade, and Assassins do sometimes congregate and organize in Guilds, somewhat similar to Thieves' Guilds, but in general they are much smaller and wield less political power and influence, though they may allow access to contraband items and secret information. Finally, even those who do not know that a character is an Assassin will be able to sense something a bit sinister about the character, causing a -2 reaction penalty (-4 when dealing with animals or young children). If an Assassin's true profession is discovered in any non-evil culture, his or her negative reaction penalty will be increased to -10 with all intelligent creatures, and there is a cumulative 20% chance per day that an Assassin stays in an area where he or she has been discovered that he or she will be set upon by the local law enforcement authorities. If captured, the Assassin faces almost certain summary execution. Required Proficiencies: Anatomy, Disguise, Herbalism, Voice Mimicry Preferred Proficiencies: Ambush, Blind-fighting, Camouflage, Close-quarter Fighting, Display Weapon Prowess, Healing, Instant Stand, Intimidation, Language (Modern), Lightning Reflexes, Monster Lore, Prone Fighting, Reading/Writing, Seduction, Set Snares, Sign Language, Torture, Tracking, Trailing, Venom Handling, Weapon Improvisation