Assassination
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I think you misinterpreted what I meant by that-
In most settings I've played in, I've been told by DMs that an important requirement of the assassin -prestige- class is that the character must be able to kill without a moment's hesitation or remorse, that the death attack ability is literally an evil abilty- I myself asked the same question you're asking afterwards, and truthfully that type of assassin is perfectly acceptable- they were just speaking in matters of alignment- yes they can have remorse and pray and all that jazz, but there should be a difference between the assassin and the cleric- if you get what I mean by that. A cleric looks and sounds sincere- the assassin would likely come off as ritualistic and impersonal in his prayers.
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@petey512:
. A cleric looks and sounds sincere- the assassin would likely come off as ritualistic and impersonal in his prayers.
Why?
Why can't the assasin honestly feel bad for the victims? perhaps he knows his whole life has been terrible and is at a stage where he honestly feels bad about it and truly regrets each life he takes… but he knows no other way...or can't stop due to other ramifications... Perhaps she even befriends the victoms first, gets to know them, and makes a small memorial to them in a way they would appreciate... -
Its just that, wouldnt moral obligations make an assassin less reliable then a guy who just kills you cold, then gets paid and moves on? I think that feeling regret for your actions doesnt really qualifiy you for a prospective potential Assassin career.
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Its just that, wouldnt moral obligations make an assassin less reliable then a guy who just kills you cold, then gets paid and moves on? I think that feeling regret for your actions doesnt really qualifiy you for a prospective potential Assassin career.
Perhaps statistically, but if we based charcaters on that, then as the (paraphrased) statement goes, "Theres more velsharoon priests in Arabel than the rest of Faerun".
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Yes I…erm... I don't get that statement :S
I like the idea of Assassins that arent just a "Kill you and be done" Since it makes the death of a character that much more interesting. But I still think you can't really be opposed to the murder of others.
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Eugh. Picking apart what I'm trying to say.
Assassins kill quickly and efficiently with seemingly no remorse in combat.
Roleplay that.Have them talk about afterwards how you regret the assassination or whatever, IDC.
I never said they can't honestly feel bad- only that it normally wouldn't seem that way from the outside looking in. Assassins are evil- it's a PRC requirement. Evil means killing with little remorse, or with cold justification. Assassin PRCs -enjoy- killing. They might regret it, but they relish killing.
If you want to roleplay an assassin that's very very religious and kills people, but also feels terrible about it the entire time, thus making him closer to the Neutral- to- Good vigilante scale, then roll up a cleric/rogue, or just a rogue, or whatever.
Basically -anyone- can be an assassin,
But in order to get the PrC, you character has to be evil and without remorse for his victims. (Until well after the victim is gone, at least.) The way it was explained to me was that the death attack ability in of itself isn't just an "improved sneak attack." It is literally an assassin quickly and efficiently exploiting all the weaknesses against an opponent after studying them for a short period of time. Any thought of remorse or sadness at what you're about to do, completely throws off the ability.
Of course, this might not be the way the DMs do things on this server, so it's really up to them. It's just how I was always taught. The prestige class in the D&D books explains it in a similiar manner. <_< Don't have it with me; not that it matters.
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Semi-off-topic, and probably best to ask in the Ask a DM forum but…here goes:
Since mechanical restrictions have been removed, is it possible to now play an Assassin that is not Evil-aligned? I'm thinking along the lines of Slayer of Domiel or Justice of the Weald and Woe (other PnP PrCs that are similar RP-wise and mechanics-wise to Assassins without being evil). Would these types of concepts be possible?
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@petey512:
… in order to get the PrC, you character has to be evil and without remorse for his victims.
Not really. On CoA the only prerequisite to apply for the PrC is to have completed a contract. Contract that doesn't even require the death of the subject. I can think of one character that obtained his assassin prc not long ago, for beating down his target and stealing what he had been paid to steal.
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Personally i'm not a fan of such things. An assassin not required to kill someone is like a weaponmaster who is not really required to be any good with his weapon. This is -MY- opinion only.
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Someone hires an assassin to mug the target? And said assassin stoops to such a contract? Yeah, this doesn't sound right to me either.
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See, it's different on CoA, as I suspected.
More different than I realized, but. shrugs