I'm playing a Rogue and I want to take a couple of levels in Assassin, however I am kinda iffy with how Death Attack works, is there a way to make improve upon it, or could I just substitute it for something else that is similar and better?
There's the Ability Focus feat and the Assassin's Dagger.
You could try to TWF with Assassin's Daggers would increase the DC by 2, but RAW it won't work since it's a bonus and bonuses from similar sources don't stack. Ask your DM.
EDIT: There's also the Red Mantis Assassin which gets a few spells on top of sneak attack and a modified death attack.
Unless you honestly expect to sneak into places alone and try to kill targets by yourself I would just call yourself an assassin and avoid the prestige class all together. The death attack is less than useful in combat since it requires 3 rounds of concentration before it can be used. You will find that by the time you've used it, the rest of your party will have already killed everyone else.
In my opinion, being an assassin is all about the style and behavior. The mechanics of the assassin class actually just suck for playing with a party.
Remember, if you come across a sleeping target your sneak attack will get to do full damage on a coup-de-grace and force a fort save with a DC equal to the damage dealt. All the death attack you really need.
As Claxon says, the Assassin is not right for all campaigns.
So the fact of the matter is, I need something that leaves my targets helpless. Is there a quick and easy way to do that as a Rogue?
Ninja Trick/Rogue Talent from Ultimate Combat:
Assassinate (Ex): A ninja with this master trick can kill foes that are unable to defend themselves. To attempt to assassinate a target, the ninja must first study her target for 1 round as a standard action. On the following round, if the ninja makes a sneak attack against the target and the target is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly killing the target. This attempt automatically fails if the target recognizes the ninja as an enemy. If the sneak attack is successful and the target of this attack fails a Fortitude save, it dies. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the ninja's level + the ninja's Charisma modifier. If the save is successful, the target still takes the sneak attack damage as normal, but it is immune to that ninja's assassinate ability for 1 day.
Better than death attack I believe.
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Unfortunately that is an Advanced Ninja Trick, something that a Rogue does not qualify for, however a Ninja on the other hand may choose to attain the Advanced Rogue Talents.
In other words, I wish...
So the fact of the matter is, I need something that leaves my targets helpless. Is there a quick and easy way to do that as a Rogue?
You could build as a sap specialist; there's a combo of feats and items you can take that I can't quite recall off the top of my head that lets you do a ton of non-lethal damage via saps and sneak attack.
As Daethor said, the Ninja Trick is essentially the Assassin prestige but better, but lacks the ability to just paralyze.
Side note, as a house rule I think I'd consider Assassinate/Death Attacks as auto kills versus enemies with 4 or less HD than you (or something similar)... I know that doesn't really help you, but now I'm thinking about it.
Unfortunately that is an Advanced Ninja Trick, something that a Rogue does not qualify for, however a Ninja on the other hand may choose to attain the Advanced Rogue Talents.
In other words, I wish...
Could ask your DM to just let you rebuild as a Ninja because it's just Rogue+; it would take you no time at all.
Unfortunately that is an Advanced Ninja Trick, something that a Rogue does not qualify for, however a Ninja on the other hand may choose to attain the Advanced Rogue Talents.
In other words, I wish...
Ah, you're right of course. That's too bad. A rogue should really have access to this ability (but probably with int mod instead).
So the fact of the matter is, I need something that leaves my targets helpless. Is there a quick and easy way to do that as a Rogue?
Perhaps someone else with better knowledge than I can help, but in general it can't be done. There isn't an easy way to render an enemy helpless, mostly because doing so pretty much means instant death for that creature with the coup-de-grace that will be occuring on it.
Sleep spells, hold spells, etc can render a creature helpless. But these aren't things a rogue gets access too. The classic method of assassination is of course to wait until the target is sleeping and move in silently for the kill.
Helpless: A helpless character is paralyzed, held, bound, sleeping, unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent's mercy. A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (–5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a prone target). Ranged attacks get no special bonus against helpless targets. Rogues can sneak attack helpless targets.
Poisons might be the answer. Drow poison in particular isn't terribly expensive as far as poisons go, is an injury poison, and causes unconsciousness. The downside is it has a low save DC. You might look into various poisons. Good luck!