Josie was the one who prompted this, and some of the class features here were stolen from her musings in the GLOG server. It's only fair, as she stole some of these features from me (after I in turn stole them from the 5e rogues).
All assassins have a cipher score equal to their [templates] in any assassin class. Given some unusual tools (1 slot for a case) and a few moments of fiddling, they have a cipher-in-6 chance of succeeding a cipher check, in addition to whatever the normal resolution rules are. The cipher skills of the assassins are, according to tradition, to Climb Sheer Surfaces, Find Or Remove Traps, Hide In Shadows, Move Silently, Pick Locks, Identify Substances and Surprise Target.
Assassins collect information about their targets before closing in for the kill. For every fact that you know about your target, you have an additional +1 damage and to-hit during surprise rounds, up to a max of +4. These don't have to be major facts, but they cannot be trivial. "Drinks Earl Grey tea", "Commands the fifth cavalry", "Is named Ostruchus Poncelroy" are all good facts. "Is currently inside his tent", "Is a man", "Has two arms" are not. If you could learn it by looking at a snapshot of the current scene, it's trivial (thanks Arnold).
Unless otherwise mentioned assassins may wear light armor only, may not use shields, and are proficient with hatchets, knives, clubs, slings and any weapon they start with.
Ghost
When situations call for grace and elegance, you're the one for the job. Some say a perfect assassination leaves no trace of foul play. You know that's not true — a really perfect assassination would leave no trace of death. With each life you take, you get a little closer to that beautiful shining city on the hill.
Starting Equipment: nice suit (+1 to reactions), garotte wire (kills silently in 3 rounds if you beat them in a move check and they didn't know you were there), vial of iocaine powder (odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, deals 1d6+6 poison damage exactly five rounds after consumption. Expensive to replace), lucky coin, case of unusual tools.
Skills: 1. Surgery 2. Modern languages 3. Ornithology.
- A One of Those Faces, +2 SNEK
- B Catburglary, +2 SNEK
- C Tearaway Pants, immunity to iocaine powder
- D Empty Eyes, +2 SNEK
One of Those Faces
Something about you is oddly familiar. While wearing a uniform, you are assumed to be the sort of person who wears that uniform. This doesn't let you impersonate specific people (say, by stealing the Duke's fancy dinner jacket), only nameless background characters.
Catburglary
You don't need to roll to Move Silently, or to Hide In Shadow so long as you're standing still.
Tearaway Pants
While unobserved, you can change outfits and/or reapply makeup in six seconds.
Empty Eyes
When you lock eyes with someone and project a killing intent, they can't make a noise until you blink, and must save each round to move or act. You're a dab hand at not blinking.
Sicarius
You, or your teacher, remember a time when men were free and children weren't raised to fear them (whoever they happen to be, in your corner of the world). They imagine that they are safe. They believe that you are conquered, toothless, too scared from too many beatings to ever rise up again. There is a tendency for confidence to kill.
Starting Equipment: nondescript heavy clothing (as leather), 60' rope with grapnel, ordinary blade (light), case of unusual tools.
Skills: 1. Religious instruction 2. Military bureaucracy 3. Law
- A The Cloak, +1 HP
- B Crowd Work, +1 MOVE
- C Extortion, +1 HP
- D The Dagger, +1 MOVE
The Cloak
Your preferred technique is "walk up and stick a knife in their throat". If someone in melee range wasn't looking at you, and didn't know they were about to be knifed, you may stab them for 6 damage plus your useful facts with no need for rolls.
Crowd Work
Your preferred technique gets you in hot water sometimes. Upon breaking line of sight with pursuit, you disappear into crowds as perfectly as if you turned invisible.
Extortion
Sometimes it's best to stab someone after they've given you what you want. If you grab an NPC with [level] or fewer HD and poke a knife into their back, they do whatever you say until an ally with more HD than you appears.
The Dagger
The perfect technique, "walking up and stabbing them in the throat", has reached its final form. Melee or thrown weapon attacks deal 12 damage (plus useful facts) to targets who weren't looking and didn't know they were about to be knifed.
Metal Man
When situations call for grace and elegance, other assassins are the better choice. That's all. You're not the talkative sort.
Starting Equipment: nice suit (+1 to reaction), a fucking gun (2d6 at 20', -1 to-hit for each 20' after, 2 slots, takes a minute to reload), three grenadoes (2d6 to uncovered targets within 20', save for half), folding axe (medium, but can be concealed in a sleeve. Expensive to replace), case of unusual tools.
Skills: 1. Dog breeding 2. Mechanical engineering 3. Gambling.
- A Splash Zone, +1 to-hit and damage
- B Lead Foot, Extra attack
- C Evil Aura, +1 to-hit and damage
- D Baba Yaga
Splash Zone
Your brutality is remarkable, even among murderers. Your damage cleaves.
Lead Foot
What could be opened by a man with a 16kg hardened steel battering ram, you can open instantly and loudly. You have advantage on saves against booby traps and/or being surprised by ambushes when using this ability.
Evil Aura
Something is obviously wrong here. Mooks of 1HD check morale to enter combat with you.
Baba Yaga
Once, ever, you may declare that no one will leave this room alive. Leaving This Room Alive is a cipher skill for you.
Ninja
As a member of an ancient and storied order, you have a reputation to uphold and superiors to answer to. Each movement you make is judged by unseen eyes. Each decision is weighed on the scales. The rest of these thugs can only lose their lives; you have much more at stake than they know.
Starting Equipment: nondescript clothes, concealed chainmail (+2 to AC, takes up a slot. Expensive to replace), elaborate facemask (unique to you), katana (medium, WIS instead of STR), 60' rope with grapnel, case of unusual tools
Skills: 1. Flower arrangement 2. Cooking 3. Literacy (ninjas who don't have this skill are illiterate).
- A Uncanny Dodge, Kungfu, +1 CD
- B Bounty, +1 CD
- C Red Vision, +1 CD
- D Master Ninja, +1 CD
Uncanny Dodge
You move like a serpent, or one of those funny little spiders that do the fancy dances. Two empty inventory slots give you a +1 bonus to AC and any saves to avoid damage.
Kungfu
Kungfu, the ancient physical art taught to mankind by the g_ds. Chi, the primal energy which fuels it. You have a pool of eight-sided Chi Dice which you expend to fuel your Jutsu. Your pool refills with ten minutes of restful and undisturbed meditation. Roll 2d8 on the list below this class to determine your starting Jutsus. If you'd like, you may also roll one CD to deal [sum] damage with a karate chop.
Bounty
Before allowing you to advance in the art, your brethren need to be confident in your abilities. If you can kill a target they name within a week, they'll teach you an additional Jutsu of your choice. Failing to kill the target is a great shame, but you can try again with a new name next week, if you're still alive.
Red Vision
Your eyes have begun to reflect red behind your mask. When you stand still and focus for at least a round, you can see HD, CD, illusions, preferred deadly sin, and concealed weapons.
Master Ninja
The clan has acknowledged your skill, and now you will teach those skills to new ninjas. Other ninjas must refer to you as "master". You may designate an NPC to be killed by a junior ninja; next session, the DM will roll to see if the junior ninja succeeded (the NPC probably has an HD-in-20 chance to survive, +1 if they've got a fortress, +1 if it's a really swell one, +1 if they're personally dangerous, +1 for each cool bodyguard, +1 for being a wizard, +X for other things that the DM might think of which I'm not thinking of right now). If they did, your character is unavailable for a session as they train the junior ninja in a Jutsu. Thanks, Shribe.
Jutsus:
- Clone. Make [sum] duplicates of yourself for [dice] minutes. Clones die when they would take damage. You all share one mind; coordinated action is easy, multitasking is very very hard.
- Transformation. Turn into an object you've seen, smaller than a cart, for [sum] rounds. If [dice] is 3 or more, you may turn into a living creature.
- Smoke Bomb. Produce a cloud of smoke big enough to cover a crowd of [sum] people. Other than yourself, everyone inside must save or be surprised. You may choose to be somewhere else when the smoke clears next round.
- Scroll Seal. Conceal an object the size of (one [die]) a loaf of bread, (two [dice]) a man, (three [dice]) a horse or (four [dice]) a cart as a written word on a large piece of paper. Living subjects must be either willing or restrained. Your CD are invested until the paper is destroyed, which releases the targets on nearby safe, solid ground.
- Earth Swim. Soil is like saltwater to you for [sum] rounds.
- Summoning. Call up a talking animal of [best] or fewer HD. They are under no obligations; clans of wise animals will expect you to sign a contract before they'll take orders or fight for you.
- Acrobatics. Leap [dice]*10' from standstill, or wallrun [dice]*4'.
- Bullshit. Replace With Logs is a cipher skill for you.
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