My GM's been playing games like Assassin's Creed 3 and Dishonored and expressed his interest in running what he calls a "long-term assassin campaign." (Which does not necessarily mean an evil campaign)
He's encouraging us to approach character creation with a little more creativity than usual, meaning not that rogues, ninjas, vivisectionist alchemists and the assassin prestige class are out, but that we should consider other classes just as viable for a team of 4 assassins working together from level 1 onward.
Our group's never synergized characters much beyond what roles we fill, so we're also going to try building this team together, capitalizing on teamwork feats and class ability/feat/spell synergy as well.
The setting is a steampunk horror homebrew, with advanced firearms and hardly any armor beyond the light stuff. Divine spellcasting is common, arcane a bit less so, but magic items are rare, usually limited to what the GM chooses to hand out.
So what classes do you think would work for this? Any 4 player combos you've found interesting? Any tips for multiclassing, if at all? (I usually avoid multiclassing but the GM hinted it might help. He didn't elaborate.) Teamwork feats: yea or nay? Is sneak attack almost mandatory for everyone?
Any insight would be appreciated.
An Inquisitor is going to do extremely well for this type of campaign. A Ranger with the favored enemy human (or whatever is the most common race) will also do well. Any class with a lot of skill points and stealth as a class skill will be fine.
Sneak attack is overrated so don't worry about that. As long as you are able to deal the damage it does not matter how. Both the inquisitor and the ranger should be able to deal more damage than a rogue with sneak attack.
For party makeup I would suggest a bard, Inquisitor, switch hitter ranger and a ninja. The bard gives you knowledge's, social skills, and arcane magic, the inquisitor for divine magic and damage, the ranger provide both melee and ranged combat as well as wilderness survival, and the ninja is just plain better than the rogue.
Going for an arcane trickster build would also be in keeping with the campaign concept :)
Cleric. Stoneshape your way into someone's house, cast silence, let your Ranger buddy slit some throats.
Achemist, then go into the Daggermark poisoner from paths of prestige the ability to mass produce poisons for the party at DC's 6+ hi gher than normal can be a ggreat boon
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Witch, for familiar scouting and slumber hexes and all manner of creepy fun.
Bards have fascinate and silence and disguises.
Both could be great assassins.
Urban Ranger could be really nasty if you tend to be killing similar creature types. Inquisitors work well especially with the team work idea since they get them for free. If your goal is to kill quickly you can't beat two weapon fighters and barbarians. Don't forget the druid. Wild shape can get you into a lot of places other classes can't. Plus you get nice spells especially if you operate in rural as well as urban settings.
Thanks for all the input. The game is set to start this weekend and most of us players are getting our characters together. Normally we stick to core races and a few made for the homebrew setting, but, in an unprecedented move, the GM opened up almost the entirety of the advanced race guide. So, we have a few oddities in the group.
So far the roster includes a dhampir ninja, a hobgoblin grappler (unarmed fighter who'll splash a few levels of rogue), a human bard (need a face, right?) and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing a fetchling oracle (dark tapestry mystery and likely the Stargazer archetype).
The GM allowed me to take the Mute curse from Open Design's Divine Favor - The Oracle. It grants Silent Spell like the Deaf curse and eventually grants detect thoughts and telepathy, but Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate all take a -8 penalty that doesn't decrease. That hurts. I really wanted the cool silent spell feature but didn't want the character to be deaf, but such a blow to my social skills seems like it could really hinder me in a game that's only 30% combat. I'd be able to communicate with sign language (GM says a rank in linguistics covers it) and, from a background story, the GM is allowing me to start at level 1 with Pipes of Sounding for any necessary vocalizing.
Should I bother with the stargazer archetype? Can I really pull off being mute? Is this just a case of forcing a concept at the expense of the build? I stuck with oracle since the dhampir will need a source of inflict spells for healing, but I see the Inquisitor gets those as well. Should I just play a fetchling Inquisitor and save everyone the headache?
Have you looked at the Legalistic curse? Demands you keep your promises, with pluses if you do and minuses if you don't. Social skills get nice boosts in time.
I've been interested in a Cleric of Norgorber, with the Trickery and Death (possibly Murder) Domains... Probably with some kind of reach weapon.
Interestingly, my mate just got the NPC codex and there is a Cleric in there with the exact same set up, described as an assassin.
Basically, instead of rogue skills, you use your spells to the same effect. (Disguise Self, Invisibility, etc.)
Ranger. Favored Enemy Human.
I've been interested in a Cleric of Norgorber, with the Trickery and Death (possibly Murder) Domains... Probably with some kind of reach weapon.
Interestingly, my mate just got the NPC codex and there is a Cleric in there with the exact same set up, described as an assassin.
Basically, instead of rogue skills, you use your spells to the same effect. (Disguise Self, Invisibility, etc.)
Hmm. I've always preferred spontaneous casters because I've found them easier to play. Maybe I can break from the norm and go with cleric. I'll give those domains a look.
Yes, Spontaneous casters are easier to play, but i have always preferred the prepared casters for most builds.
For an assassin, prepared works. You study your foes, you get info, THEN you prepare your spells to suit the situation. Though you have less spells per day, you have greater access to the utility that greater number of spells known brings.
Just leave a couple spell slots open that you can prepare mid adventure.
|
Consider the Summoner. If you are allowed traits you can get stealth as class skill, plus they eventually get invisibility as spell and all that.
In addition, you can easily make the Eidolon into a Horror-from-Beyond that is crazy good at sneaking (and looks scary).
Not the optimal choice, but don't overlook the Summoner just because he's a caster.
In fact, he doesn't even need to use Stealth. At 4th or 5th level, he can grab the Summon Eidolon spell, that allows him to summon your "Terror from the Void" as a Standard action instead of a whole minute.
Another option is, crazily enough, a cavalier. Talks as good as a bard, and people have this odd habit of staring at people on top of horses. I'll give it to you, you need a face, but you also need someone to distract the targets.
Swordsaint is one of my favorite archetypes. Unfortunately, I don't think that the flavor matches will with the system. Of course, do it right and the normal flavor can be changed to fit anything your heart desires.
I'm surprised no one's said wizard! You get a familiar for scouting, and it provides the flexibility to take on mission that could otherwise be tricky. And since assassinations will assumedly involve a lot of single-encounter days, having few spells/day won't be much of a problem.
My first instinct would be the Illusion school (the Mage of the Veil subschool seems interesting,) although the Teleportation subschool could also be useful. To stay on the down-low when you strike, take spells like Color Spray, Ear-Piercing Scream, Forced Quiet, and Sleep. To sneak past guards, take spells like Ghost Sound, Silent Image, Vanish, Obscuring Mist, Disguise Self, Reduce Person, Hypnotism, Lock Gaze, and Illusion of Calm. To gather intel, use Interrogation and Charm Person. To clean up the scene of the crime, use Sculpt Corpse, Prestidigitation, and Hold Portal. Since there will be lots of guns, you could even use Damp Powder! And although Icicle Dagger probably isn't the best choice, it is the archetypal "no murder weapon" murder weapon so you could take it just for fun.
And those are just the 1st-level spells.
|
If you're operating clandestinely, you probably want someone to patch you up between jobs that doesn't ask difficult questions. A cleric may be useful, or a witch with the proper Patron maybe.
A wizard is still the expert at scry-'n-die; getting into a target's lair, bypassing defenses, and getting out again. They can also be useful in erasing evidence of who carried out the hit.
Witches have brutal debuffing powers, can be very useful for taking down individial targets. Not as impressive against groups, but that's not what assassins are supposed to do.
Witches/Wizards also provide familiars, as scouts. The +8 Stealth from tiny-sized really helps. Improved Familiars can often provide their own Invisibility. And take a look at the Shadow Projection spell; excellent scouting, or even direct assassination.
You'll need some high-speed death machine to actually kill people; I do think a ranger with the right favored enemies does nicely, since rangers also get enough skill points; assassination is probably skill-heavy.
The whole party needs to invest in Stealth; one weak link breaks the chain.
A Shadowdancer's shadow is an incorporeal minion; it can take out any number of sentries without the magical gear to injure it, and it can also move through walls.
elf (for the extra arcana)
(kensai) magus 6/(knife master+scout or knife master+bandit) rogue 4/arcane trickster 10: all the sneak attacks. ALL of them.
wield keen agile kukris, focus dex/int for crazy spells, skills, AC (canny defense/bracers of armor/amulet/ring), etc. check it out (i'm going back over and correting the equipment now).
A group of assassins could always use a an old fashioned thug (barbrian and fighter) to break down doors when necessary, cause distractions, or others get them out of situations when stealth and sabotage go wrong.
A kitsune (if allowed) with the feat that allows them to try to disguise as any adult human they have met is incredibly useful for a character that wants to pursue stealth but doesn't have the bonuses. He could easily disguise as a guard or some person (especially if he was a Cad fighter) supposed to be in a given area and stand by ready for when all hell breaks loose.
|
Tengu Sohei. You get a nimble killer with a wide arsenal of abilities, and at 6th level you can flurry with some unconventional weapons. What's says cool assassin better than a black-feathered bird man who can do a ride-by flurry with a hand-crossbow? Plus you're automatically proficient with all sword-like weapons, so you could multiclass rogue and flurry with a seven-branched sword, pulling them flat-footed with your first attack and applying sneak attack to the rest of your flurry attacks.
I have built a nice Alchemist (Grenadier) who specializes in Rogue-ish talents.
Basically makes smoke bombs and stuff like that and uses them. Might be fun for you, would fit the tone of the campaign, and has some very good abilities that makes it worthwhile.
Need a quick escape? Throw a Smoke/Stink Bomb. Chuck some Caltrops too if you're feeling sadistic.
Need to kill some mofos? You've got the perfect setup to become an archer, and bombs are not something you sneeze at. Bonus points you can put sneezing powder on your arrows.
Need to get somewhere up high? Spider Climb, Fly, and the Wings Discovery are at your command.
Need to break in somewhere? Disable Device as a class skill. Traps? Ditto, and you have Dispelling Bombs for the magical ones.
Whatcha think?
I'd say Inquisitor or Oracle and then go into Gray Gardener.
I'd say Inquisitor or Oracle and then go into Gray Gardener.
The character must publicly execute a tried and sentenced individual. Whether the victim is actually guilty or innocent is irrelevant.
I have no idea why I'm laughing so hard right now
Dervish Dancer bard. A performer can have clear reasons to travel, can gain easier access to those in positions of power, and since the performances are dances, rather than singing, or music, I'd say they're more stealth friendly.
Also good for fun lines, like "Let me show you the dance of blades. You will only see it once."