Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Brenyx 11-19-06, 10:33 PM	What is the best build for a level 10 character who wants to become an assassin?
Kazeofwinds 11-19-06, 10:36 PM	Rogue 5-> Assasin x Least, That's what I've always thought, though any class with hide, move silently , and enough skills to crossclass disguise, can make the class by level 5. Generally you pump dex, put at least 14 to int for spellcasting, and take weapon finesse unless you have a strength score that isnt that much below your dex. I usually wear mithril chain armor and get a rapier/thinblade. Yeah, you pretty much build an assasin like a rogue, because all it is is a subsecialization of the rogue skillset.
Arien_Drajanuma 11-19-06, 10:53 PM	Rogue 5/asn x is good, I'd also go for Ninja 5/asn 5, but if you miss the death strike, you're doomed in a fight... specialluy because normally the other party members won't be there if you snuck in. I'd say fighter 3/rogue 2/ asn X. That way you'll be much better in a fight, have a LOT more weapons handy, 2 extra feats, more hit points, and you'll keep 1d6 of sneak attack and the EVASION ability
saidin0111 11-20-06, 12:02 AM	if you pick up fighter, don't forget to make sure you end up with BAB of at least 16/11/6/1 at lvl 20, or else you are forever denied that 4th attack
AZNsupermarket 11-20-06, 12:36 AM	Rogue 5/asn x is good, I'd also go for Ninja 5/asn 5, but if you miss the death strike, you're doomed in a fight... specialluy because normally the other party members won't be there if you snuck in. I'd say fighter 3/rogue 2/ asn X. That way you'll be much better in a fight, have a LOT more weapons handy, 2 extra feats, more hit points, and you'll keep 1d6 of sneak attack and the EVASION ability odd number of fighter levels always make me cry
Belgian Waffle 11-20-06, 12:44 AM	Use a Warblade. You get the BaB + HP + extra abilities to use with your intelligence. Could also mix in some Rogue for the Sneak Attack as well. I'mma play with that idea actually.
saidin0111 11-20-06, 01:16 AM	Use a Warblade. You get the BaB + HP + extra abilities to use with your intelligence. Could also mix in some Rogue for the Sneak Attack as well. I'mma play with that idea actually. ah, well, I like the warblade/rogue combo and adding assassin will only make it more deadly my build featured warblade 4(every 5th level)/rogue 16 and the feats Marial Study (Cloak of Deception) (must be after taking first level of warblade) and Martial Stance (Island of Blades), I just love getting 4 sneak attacks per round, every round or if no allies, every other round so I guess something like warblade 4/rogue 6/ assassin 10 would work out so you can just keep the death attacks coming actually that's no good, only gets BAB 15, switch the # of rogue and warblade levels and I think you should get BAB 16 by the way, did I mention how much I hate the BAB system's each class is an island theory, of course you could use the UA variant on BAB and ad the "real" bonus for each level and just round off the total for your measurable game stats Good 1 lvl = 1 BAB Average 1 lvl = 3/4 BAB Poor 1 lvl = 1/2 BAB I think you round down for the total
Krevon 11-20-06, 02:25 AM	Elf Rouge5/Assassinx/Arcane Archerx Hail of Arrows with sneak attack..*twitch*
RobbyPants 11-20-06, 08:52 AM	Rogue 5/asn x is good, I'd also go for Ninja 5/asn 5, but if you miss the death strike, you're doomed in a fight... specialluy because normally the other party members won't be there if you snuck in. I'd say fighter 3/rogue 2/ asn X. Ftr 3/ Rog 2 is pretty sub-optimal. You have a dead level in the 3rd fighter level, and you don't gain anything that a 3rd level rogue wouldn't except a few extra HP. If you do Ftr 2/Rog 3 instead, you get an extra +1d6 sneak attack, your BAB stays the same, you gain 6 skill points, and only lose on average 2 HP (the difference from d10 to d6). Make sure if you go this route that you start your first level as a rogue. You will be shorted a few HP, but the extra skills will be vital to playing a good assassin.
Soulmage 11-20-06, 09:37 AM	You should definitely pick up 2 levels of fighter. Pays off big time for an assassin type. In fact, given the general suckitude of the Death Attack ability, you really ought to skip the Assassin PrC, and just concentrate on pumping up your sneak attack as high as possible. There's a magic item property in Complete Adventurer that gives a weapon +2d6 sneak. You will of course want to dual-wield. There's a feat that gives you another +1d6. Finally, in EPH, there is Deadly Precision which allows you to re-roll 1s on your sneak attack dice. No psionic ability required. If you do have psionics, Psionic Weapon can be used to pump up your 1st round damage. Plus, also in Complete Adventurer are "Alchemical Ampules". You can use regular poison in them to auto-poison your weapons, and your best bet is Sassone Leaf posion from the DMG. Contact poison that does an extra 2d12 damage primary, and 1d6 con secondary. Of course, you don't intend your target to live to feel the secondary effect!!
Odimax 11-20-06, 09:47 AM	You should definitely pick up 2 levels of fighter. Pays off big time for an assassin type. In fact, given the general suckitude of the Death Attack ability, you really ought to skip the Assassin PrC, and just concentrate on pumping up your sneak attack as high as possible. There's a magic item property in Complete Adventurer that gives a weapon +2d6 sneak. You will of course want to dual-wield. There's a feat that gives you another +1d6. Finally, in EPH, there is Deadly Precision which allows you to re-roll 1s on your sneak attack dice. No psionic ability required. If you do have psionics, Psionic Weapon can be used to pump up your 1st round damage. Plus, also in Complete Adventurer are "Alchemical Ampules". You can use regular poison in them to auto-poison your weapons, and your best bet is Sassone Leaf posion from the DMG. Contact poison that does an extra 2d12 damage primary, and 1d6 con secondary. Of course, you don't intend your target to live to feel the secondary effect!! But if you use poison a lot, it does help to have levels in Assassin. I have found good poison to be very expensive, though. I agree that Death Attack isn't the greatest, unless maybe if you could find ways to really pump it up (there are a few). Quick question: What is the feat that gives you +1d6 sneak attack?
VonRichthofen 11-20-06, 10:11 AM	Quick question: What is the feat that gives you +1d6 sneak attack? It's called : Not legal. At least in a pre-epic game. Apart from that, Death Attack is not bad - it is only very highly situational. An assassin with 10 levels in the PrC, Ability Focus, a pumped-up intelligence and an assassin's dagger can easily end up in the 30ies with his Death Attack. That's pretty much death to any unprepared low-Fortitude guy, such as a wizard. The challenge is to catch him unprepared. If you play FR, you could go for something like Fighter 2/rogue 3/Assassin 9/Telflammar Shadowlord 6 for a final death attack DC of 27 + Int bonus + equipment bonus.
RobbyPants 11-20-06, 12:09 PM	In fact, given the general suckitude of the Death Attack ability, you really ought to skip the Assassin PrC, and just concentrate on pumping up your sneak attack as high as possible. But if you use poison a lot, it does help to have levels in Assassin. I have found good poison to be very expensive, though. I agree that Death Attack isn't the greatest, unless maybe if you could find ways to really pump it up (there are a few). One option is to take one level of assassin, and then continue down another track. The advantage is that you still get the Poison Use ability, you still get +1d6 sneak attack, you still get Death Attack, and you can put levels into a different class(s) to boost your power. The drawback is that this will truely make your Death Attack suck (as it's DC won't increase with your level). It's a trade-off, so it's up to you if you think it's worth it.
The_Shaman 11-20-06, 12:33 PM	BTW, if death attack from different sources stack, the dark hunter PrC could also be quite useful. Plus, in total darkness, most races can't see you so you can DA more easily. A Justice of Weal & Woe/Assassin combo (if you have Champions of Ruin, which also has some great assassin archery spells) can be simply insane. Whoever included ranged death attack and the splitting weapon enhancement in the same book must have seen the CharOp forums ;) Also, a ranger/rogue build of most any level combination could be useful. I'd suggest at least 2 levels of ranger for the bonus feat though.
VonRichthofen 11-20-06, 02:47 PM	BTW, if death attack from different sources stack, the dark hunter PrC could also be quite useful. Plus, in total darkness, most races can't see you so you can DA more easily. A Justice of Weal & Woe/Assassin combo (if you have Champions of Ruin, which also has some great assassin archery spells) can be simply insane. Whoever included ranged death attack and the splitting weapon enhancement in the same book must have seen the CharOp forums ;) Also, a ranger/rogue build of most any level combination could be useful. I'd suggest at least 2 levels of ranger for the bonus feat though. Not wishing to spark a new war here, but do the "Ranged Death Attack" and "Death Attack" class features stack?