The Murderous Assassin (villain class)

Thanks to everyone on the Iron Heroes forum who contributed, in particular Alexander "Haelis" Sol, Dalfen, Nic "Hydromaster113" Quimby, and Ian Watt. Love the First Strike idea, Haelis. Thanks to Jasin Zujovic for suggesting the class in the first place.

The murderous assassin is a character who specialises in taking down opponents by underhanded means, and when they least expect it. Murderous assassins are at a disadvantage in a fair fight, but their skills at stealth and deception ensure it should be difficult to pin them down. Lesser assassins are often no match for an experienced party, even when encountered in groups; but more capable assassins can be very dangerous foes.

The murderous assassin can fill a number of roles in a campaign.

• The horde of ninja or lower-level thugs that waylays the party at night, thinking it will be an easy kill — only to be cut down in swathes beneath the heroes' blades.
• The lone assassin who torments the party, striking from afar (or at close range), only to disappear into the shadows before they can deal with him.
• Higher-level murderous assassins can act as the palace guard for a powerful dreaded sorcerer or champion... and they might even be persuaded to turn against him.

Class Statistics

Creature Type: You can add levels in murderous assassin to any existing creature to represent a particularly stealthy monster. Use the base creature's stats as normal.

CR Range: A murderous assassin's Challenge Rating ranges from 1 to 15. While they can be formidable opponents for a lower-level or unprepared party, in the end they are usually somebody else's minions, rather than leaders themselves.

Abilities: A murderous assassin's Challenge Rating determines its ability scores, as shown in the table below.

Skills: A murderous assassin gains ranks equal to its CR + 3 in Bluff, Climb, Disguise, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand and Tumble. Apply its ability score modifiers to its total skill bonuses as normal.

Feats: Murderous assassins gain Quick Draw, as well as the base Weapon Finesse and Precise Shot mastery feats. This allows them to use their Dexterity modifier with their melee weapons, and to ignore the penalties for firing into the melees they cause. A murderous assassin gains no other feats, nor does it gain mastery ratings.

Hit Dice: A murderous assassin has hit dice equal to its CR. It uses d6 for hit dice and gains 3.5 hit points per hit die on average. Add the murderous assassin's Constitution modifier to this total as normal; these are included in the numbers below.

Class Abilities

A murderous assassin has the following class abilities.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Murderous assassins are proficient with all light and finesse weapons, all projectile weapons, and light armour.

Sneak Attack: Murderous assassins gain the sneak attack ability, as given in the following table. At CR 1, they deal an additional +1d6 points of damage on applicable attacks. This increases by +1d6 points every 3 subsequent CRs.

First Strike: A murderous assassin gains this ability at CR 2. If a murderous assassin's first attack on a flat-footed opponent is successful, it can deal an additional +1d6 points of sneak attack damage on that attack. This increases by +1d6 points every 2 subsequent CRs. Feats and abilities that prevent sneak attack damage also prevent first strike damage. This ability only applies to one attack.

Fleet of Foot: A murderous assassin can use the Hide and Move Silently skills at no penalty while moving at their full speed.

Assassin Ability: At CR 3 and every 3 CRs thereafter, a murderous assassin gains a special ability. The possible abilities are listed below; each ability can be chosen once. Some of these abilities can be used only once per encounter. If the murderous assassin has multiple such abilities, it can use more than one in a round, but only one such ability can be activated on any given attack.

• Hindering Cut: Once per encounter when the murderous assassin makes an attack and deals sneak attack damage, it can force its victim to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the murderous assassin's CR + the murderous assassin's Wisdom modifier) or take a -2 penalty to attacks and defense. The penalty lasts until the end of the encounter. The penalties from multiple hindering cuts stack, if there is more than one murderous assassin in the encounter.
• Rapid Attack: The murderous assassin gains an extra attack at its highest attack bonus. All its attacks, including the extra attack, are made at a -4 penalty. The murderous assassin must take the full attack action to use this ability. This ability can be used with both melee and ranged attacks.
• Stunning Blow: Once per encounter when a murderous assassin of at least CR 10 makes a melee attack and deals sneak attack damage, its victim must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the murderous assassin's CR + the murderous assassin's Wisdom modifier) or be stunned for 1 round.
• Crippling Blow: Once per encounter when the murderous assassin makes a melee attack and deals sneak attack damage, it can force its victim to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the murderous assassin's CR + the murderous assassin's Wisdom modifier) or take 1d6 points of Strength or Dexterity damage. The murderous assassin can choose which ability score to target. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 6 to take this ability.
• Hamstringing Strike: Once per encounter when the murderous assassin makes an attack and deals sneak attack damage, it can attempt to halve its victim's speed. A Fortitude save (DC 10 + the murderous assassin's CR + the murderous assassin's Wisdom modifier) negates the effect. The effect lasts until the end of the encounter. If this ability is successfully used twice (such as if there are two or more murderous assassins in the encounter), the victim is reduced to 0 speed. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 6 to take this ability.
• Spring Attack: As a full attack action, the murderous assassin can make a single attack with a melee weapon at its best base attack bonus and move. It can move both before and after the attack, provided the total distance moved does not exceed its speed. Moving in this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target attacked, although it might provoke them from other creatures. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 6 to take this ability, and must not be wearing heavy armour.
• Devious Strike: The murderous assassin can apply its Dexterity modifier to damage rolls, instead of its Strength modifier. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 9 to take this ability. This applies to both melee and ranged damage rolls.
• Poisoned Strike: Once per encounter when the murderous assassin makes an attack and deals sneak attack damage, it can attempt to poison its victim. The poison deals 2 points of initial and 2d6 points of secondary Constitution damage. A Fortitude save (DC 10 + the murderous assassin's CR + the murderous assassin's Wisdom modifier) negates the damage. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 9 to take this ability.
• Shadow Lurk: Once per encounter, the murderous assassin can make a Hide check while being observed, and without the need for cover or concealment. Making an attack ends the effect, as does any other action that would normally reveal a hiding character. The murderous assassin must be at least CR 9 to take this ability.

Equipment

A murderous assassin is typically equipped with the gear appropriate to a thug, assassin or similar underhanded type. Armour will be light (leather or studded leather), and weapons will allow the murderous assassin's Dexterity to be used to advantage. Appropriate weapons include a dagger and either a shortsword, scimitar or rapier, or a longbow or crossbow. Higher-level murderous assassins, or those in certain cultures, might use bastard swords or shurikens.

Last updated: 18 Apr 2006

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