Assassin build ideas

Scottg · Post by **Scottg** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:05 pm

Claudius wrote:Probably would work better with fewer FS levels. 14(16) CHA plus whatever item is available on the server. The main spell you need is extended divine power. Add in Blackguard for aura of despair with the free levels I reckon.

Well if we delve into the "art" of Divine Power then..

-Monk, Cleric (Strength domain), Assassin? (..it would be more difficult though because of the Wisdom requirement rather than Charisma.)

Valkos · Post by **Valkos** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:08 pm

Favored soul will lose me too much in other stats. Honestly I do not like spellswords and the only one ever to be a little interesting would have to be wizard/assasin

Claudius · Post by **Claudius** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:15 pm

Good ideas. Of course if we reflect its more along the lines of how to get a high DC death attack without ruining the character too much. Rather than what is the best build. Pretty much I would only take assassin if I wanted HIPs AND sneak attack and had only 1 class left to play with. Otherwise I'd much rather have rogue 10 shadowdancer 1(2). Another use is to add a prestige class to gain the skills tumble and UMD. For that need just 1 level.

Scottg · Post by **Scottg** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:25 pm

Valkos wrote:..a little interesting would have to be wizard/assasin

The BAB goes to hell there. You could add cleric levels with divine power to compensate, OR consider an EK.

Wizard/EK/Assassin?

The occasional True Strike should work (for higher AC opponents) - but only while Invisible, not while Hiding.

Hmm, THAT actually sounds plausible. (..perhaps mixing a LOT of potions of Invisibility along with Mirror Image and Displacement).

Valkos · Post by **Valkos** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:32 pm

Holy f@ck! That was actually a good idea :O It will be a melee hybrid, but with enough wizard and EK, the AC and AB will be very good and ofc my DA DC will be boosted greatly.

Scottg · Post by **Scottg** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:43 pm

Valkos wrote:Holy f@ck! That was actually a good idea :O It will be a melee hybrid, but with enough wizard and EK, the AC and AB will be very good and ofc my DA DC will be boosted greatly.

Remember to get the craft potion feat, otherwise you'll be doing a lot of resting to scribe scrolls. Hmm, wonder if True Strike is "potion-able"?:mischief:

Also, because you will be quaffing potions of Invisibility rather than Hiding as much - MOVE SILENTLY will be the most beneficial skill you have. (..you'll want both high though, because of course Invisiblity can be seen through.)

Note that Trap setting will be a "biggie" too (..as least with the SOZ expansion). You can stack traps in one spot by pausing and then clicking to place multiple traps in one spot and then un-pausing.

Its too bad that:

1. you can't have 4 classes on your chosen server, and

2. Death Attack doesn't count as Sneak Attack for the purpose of class requirements (..though this might have changed with the latest patch).

Otherwise you could have used 5 levels of Wizard and 5 levels of Arcane Trickster.

Scottg · Post by **Scottg** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:34 pm

I did a "quickie" build in Vordans based on the Wizard/EK/Assassin..

A few things to note:

1. Hitting the level increase to 30 - provided only 28 levels for a Yuan-ti (..though it may be possible to gain more levels just on the basis of additional exp. points).

2. Death Attack's paralysis was up to a DC 30 (native), which is pretty good - perhaps even serviceable in Battle of the Builds (with a high Intelligence boosting item).

3. The additional damage wasn't that great, it wasn't bad - but it wasn't good. Scoring an average of 14 per hit with it raised to 19 with Tenser's. By contrast - a critical with Tenser's averaged more than double (i.e. 44). (..and yes, Tenser's does work with everything.

)

4. Base (and bonus) Attack numbers were good, but not nearly good enough for even average AC builds in "Battle of the Builds". Pretty much the equivalent of a base-line medium BAB. Buffed you could take this up to a medium BAB class with good dexterity levels, weapon finesse, and with an excellent enhancement modifier to the weapon (..i.e. - in the mid 30's). Lower 40's with a high Dexterity enhancing item (and of course having the feat Weapon Finesse).

5. Many of the tougher *monsters* cannot be Sneak Attacked.

, Its not just undead, Dragons can't be Sneak Attacked (..or at least the red one I tried it out on). Of course most humanoids CAN be - so it isn't all bad.

6. You do get access to 9th level spells with this build.

But only toward the end of it.

7. You don't get access to HIPS until level 20.

8. There are LOTS of skill points to distribute.

But you need Able Learner to take advantage of it.

9. Craft Potion is useless - it works exactly like scribe scroll. But you aren't wasting a feat here either.

.....................................................................................................

All-in-all its a serviceable build, but really only when starting into epic levels.

It *is* however the ONLY *efficient* and effective means for a *quality* Assassin *class* character.

Another high Intelligence build could employ Swashbuckler, Assassin, Dualist, BUT it really isn't getting full *value* for its monumental intelligence. What it *will* get though is a higher BAB, but it sure will be useless against a lot of opponents - at least on the basis of Sneak Attack or Intelligence Damage modifiers alone. Add-in Trap setting however and you can probably "equalize" the build for most opponents.

Valkos · Post by **Valkos** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:58 am

It had good potential, but I tried one myself. It lacked something which seems to be thhe problem with every assassin build you make. There's always something that will be missed out on and frankly there is no viable assassin build. It is a pity, because the class in itself is awesome.

EDIT: Yes, a swb/assassin/dls is very good, but as you said, the immense int is almost wasted on the build. It can achieve a very good AC, but then I'd rather use a feint version rogue which allows for epic dodge.

Scottg · Post by **Scottg** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:32 am

Valkos wrote:It had good potential, but I tried one myself. It lacked something which seems to be thhe problem with every assassin build you make. There's always something that will be missed out on and frankly there is no viable assassin build. It is a pity, because the class in itself is awesome.

EDIT: Yes, a swb/assassin/dls is very good, but as you said, the immense int is almost wasted on the build. It can achieve a very good AC, but then I'd rather use a feint version rogue which allows for epic dodge.

Yeah, its pretty much the case of "five steps forward, ten steps backward".

Cool idea - poor implementation by the developers when considering game-balancing.

If you could get a chance at paralysis with a feint.. then it might have more use.

Also, if you increased the DC check by half-again.. again then, it might have more use.

Really though - from what I've read it doesn't even come close to the pen'n'paper original. To do that I'd think you have to drop the paralysis and sneak attack and go with an attack modfier that added a DC vs class level - level increase with something like a chance for outright death .."vorpal" perhaps.

The fact is that there is something like that in the toolset for weapon enchantment.

Hmm, something *cumulative*..

Assassin level 1: Vorpal DC 3 100% chance.
...

level 5: DC 15 50% (plus all the other rolls for each level)
..

level 10: DC 30 10% (plus all the other rolls for each level).

And sure - it would be a lot of calculations.. BUT it would essentially only occur once or twice (with haste) in a moderate attack period (..because of the limitation for NOT having the opponent attacking).