Assassin of Impiltur, Part 1

When WotC released the Assassin preview at GenCon, it was only a matter of minutes before William, one of the players in the weekly Saturday morning D&D game that I DM, stated that he would like to run an Assassin in the new campaign that I was about to start up in the Forgotten Realms. Being the open-minded DM that I aspire to be, I, of course, said “I would love to have an assassin in game!”  So William took it upon himself and converted the 11th level Halfling Assassin preview that WotC handed out into a 1st level Changeling Assassin PC named “Kit”. After seeing Kit in action in our weekly Realms game set in Impiltur, I thought that I would write up a review to share with everyone else who might be interested in running a game with Assassin PC’s or playing an Assassin themself.



The Assassin is a Shadow Striker, and the striker's extra damage comes from his class feature, Assassin’s Shroud, an at-will power, that lets the Assassin, as a free action, study his foe in a close burst 10 and attack them with his shroud.  Now, if the target already has a shroud on it, the assassin can add an another shroud to it, to a maximum of 4. When the Assassin attacks that target, he can expend all of his shrouds on it or none at all.  Moreover, if the Assassin opts to use the shroud, then he will deal 1d6 damage per shroud it placed on the target if the attack hits, and 1d6 per shroud with the subtraction of one shroud if he misses. Therefore, the Assassin can stalk around attacking other foes while building a shroud up on one enemy, and can keep building up to do the maximum of 4 d6 damage. However, if the Assassin uses his shroud on another target or the target marked with shroud dies before the Assassin gets to use them, all other shrouds disappear. Assassin’s Shroud is not a “mark” and does not effect any mark that may be in place on the target.

Here is the list of at-will (Assassin) powers that Kit has:

• 
  
  • Assassin'S Shroud
  • Assassin Class Feature 1
  • An invisible shroud settles on your for. At your command the shroud reveals the target's weak points to your keen gaze.
  • At-Will • Shadow
  • Special: You can use this power only on your turn and only once per turn.
  • Effect: You subject the target to your Assassin's Shroud. If any of your shrouds are already on the target, you subject it to an additional shroud up to a maximum of four. The shroud last until you use this power against a different enemy or until the end of the encounter.
    
    Before you make an attack roll against the target you choose to invoke either all your shrouds on it or none of them. If you invoke your shrouds, the attack deals 1d6 damage per shroud, minus one shroud if the attack misses, and all your shrouds then vanish from the target. The damage roll never benefits from bonus damage.
    
    Level 11: 1d6 + 3 damage per shroud
    
    Level 21: 1d6 + 6 damage per shroud
  • Created with DungeonMastering.com's DM Tools

• 
  
  • Shadow Step
  • Assassin Class Feature 1
  • You vanish into the shadow energy around one creature and then step out of it near another creature.
  • At-Will •
  • Move Atction
  • Requirement: You must be adjacent to a creature.
  • Effect: You teleport 3 squares to a square adjacent to a different creature.
    
    Level 11: teleport 4 squares
    
    Level 21: teleport 4 squares
  • Created with DungeonMastering.com's DM Tools

• 
  
  • Executioner's Noose
  • Assassin At-Will 1
  • You gather shadows into the form of a noose, cast it around your foe's neck, and pull.
  • At-Will • Force, Implement, Shadow
  • Standard Action
  • Ranged 5
  • Target: One Creature
  • Attack: Dex vs. Fort
  • Hit: 1d6 + dex force damage, and you pull the target 2 squares.
  • Effect: The target is slowed until the end of your next turn.
  • Created with DungeonMastering.com's DM Tools

• 
  
  • Shadow Storm
  • Assassin At-Will 1
  • Your tie to the Shadowfell calls on the living shadow around your foe, causing them to claw at it as you make your attack.
  • At-Will • Shadow, Weapon
  • Standard Action
  • Melee 1
  • Target: One Creature
  • Attack: Dex vs. AC
  • Hit: 1[W] + Dex damage, plus 1 for each creature adjacent to the target
  • Created with DungeonMastering.com's DM Tools

Assassin of Impiltur, Part 2 will have the list of encounter and daily (Assassin) powers that Kit has.

Of course, the full Assassin player character write-up will be released in next month's DDI Character Builder update at D&D Insider.

But this post is for those of us without patience.

Until next time, have fun and keep the dice rolling!