Assassins
Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 7:18 pm
Assassin
They lay in wait, for hours, days, and sometimes weeks, all in the hope of catching their quarry where the terrain, weather, lighting, and initiative favor them and are against their mark. They strike with lightning quick efficiency and ruthlessness from the shadows. Their blows land straight and true, rarely missing the vital organs of their pray leaving them paralyzed and unable to fight back. Then as their prey's life slips away into pools of crimson on the floor, they disappear back into the shadows without sound or trace. They are the embodiment of death-bringer, and if you see one, it is likely you are already well on your way to deaths door.
Assassins are difficult to define. They are as different from each other as any individuals are from each other. No two favor the same techniques, methods, or work toward the same goals. While formal schools are rumored to exist, no unassailable proof has ever been seen.
Most notorious of the rumors is the alleged Underdark academies, most notably "The Silver Sisters." The Drow have long been known to strike from the shadows, but they have never, nor will they ever confirm that such academies exist. Venturing into the Underdark to find out, is typically frowned on by the majority of the surface world.
It is also said that the Churches of Ravenos and Tyrannos have extensive training facilities teaching the black art of assassination.
Additionally, Kingdom sanctioned schools are only clumsily covered up. Public denial of the schools is politically expedient, but the tacit knowledge of their existence and the Kingdoms unfettered willingness to use the respective graduates to their full advantage is a good hammer to wield when the negotiations are failing to produce desired results.
Putting aside the existence of the training facilities where assassins are mass produced, many assassins learn from mentors who take on students for money, a desire to pass on all they have learned, or to keep such skills within their own family.
While motivation and method may vary, a few immutable facts are nearly constant: 1)Assassins are typically loners*. The act of killing people for money doesn't leave a strong desire for human contact or interpersonal relationships. As with anything their are exceptions, they are rare. 2)They get paid for their bloody work. How much and in what form is up to the contract between the Assassin and his employer.
Stats
Hit Die: d6
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, Light Armor Proficiency
Requirements
Alignment: Any evil
Skills: Hide 8 Ranks, Move Silently 8 Ranks
* The real truth is that while assassins like to do jobs alone, only the best (and least-known because they're so good at what they do) have a team. The breakdown of such a team is ill-defined because such an organization doesn't advertise how it does business. What is known is that assassins who work alone seldom last more than a few years at best. Teams can disappear for years before resurfacing for a new job, and disappear again.
They lay in wait, for hours, days, and sometimes weeks, all in the hope of catching their quarry where the terrain, weather, lighting, and initiative favor them and are against their mark. They strike with lightning quick efficiency and ruthlessness from the shadows. Their blows land straight and true, rarely missing the vital organs of their pray leaving them paralyzed and unable to fight back. Then as their prey's life slips away into pools of crimson on the floor, they disappear back into the shadows without sound or trace. They are the embodiment of death-bringer, and if you see one, it is likely you are already well on your way to deaths door.
Assassins are difficult to define. They are as different from each other as any individuals are from each other. No two favor the same techniques, methods, or work toward the same goals. While formal schools are rumored to exist, no unassailable proof has ever been seen.
Most notorious of the rumors is the alleged Underdark academies, most notably "The Silver Sisters." The Drow have long been known to strike from the shadows, but they have never, nor will they ever confirm that such academies exist. Venturing into the Underdark to find out, is typically frowned on by the majority of the surface world.
It is also said that the Churches of Ravenos and Tyrannos have extensive training facilities teaching the black art of assassination.
Additionally, Kingdom sanctioned schools are only clumsily covered up. Public denial of the schools is politically expedient, but the tacit knowledge of their existence and the Kingdoms unfettered willingness to use the respective graduates to their full advantage is a good hammer to wield when the negotiations are failing to produce desired results.
Putting aside the existence of the training facilities where assassins are mass produced, many assassins learn from mentors who take on students for money, a desire to pass on all they have learned, or to keep such skills within their own family.
While motivation and method may vary, a few immutable facts are nearly constant: 1)Assassins are typically loners*. The act of killing people for money doesn't leave a strong desire for human contact or interpersonal relationships. As with anything their are exceptions, they are rare. 2)They get paid for their bloody work. How much and in what form is up to the contract between the Assassin and his employer.
Stats
Hit Die: d6
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, Light Armor Proficiency
Requirements
Alignment: Any evil
Skills: Hide 8 Ranks, Move Silently 8 Ranks
* The real truth is that while assassins like to do jobs alone, only the best (and least-known because they're so good at what they do) have a team. The breakdown of such a team is ill-defined because such an organization doesn't advertise how it does business. What is known is that assassins who work alone seldom last more than a few years at best. Teams can disappear for years before resurfacing for a new job, and disappear again.