Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RobbyPants 04-16-07, 10:07 AM	I've read various threads where people argue that a rogue 20 is superior to a rogue 10/assassin 10. The assassin's death attack save DC also seems to be fairly weak, by the time you can qualify for the PrC, so it makes the ability less useful in many situations. It seems in many ways that this PrC is more for flavor than outright effectiveness. So what I was thinking was to make the Death Attack ability a feat. I'd still have to consider the prerequs. I had a few ideas on it: Use the assassin's skill requirements (Hide 8, Move Siliently 8, and Disguise 4). Perhaps I could put an alignment requirement on too. Have +3d6 sneak attack as a prereq instead (but this limits the ability only to rogues and ninjas, leaving out monks and rangers). Require evasion and a BAB of +4 (I like this one least of all, so I probably won't use it). The idea is the feat would behave just like the Death Attack ability. The save would be 10 + 1/2 the character's level + Int mod (as it's not based off of a PrC level anymore). This would make for higher save DCs at lower levels, but they would taper off at higher levels. Anyway, has anyone else tried something like this before? Should I create more of a feat tree, to grant other abilities to make this more attractive? Any other suggestions?
tarkin 04-16-07, 10:54 AM	The basic rule is: Prestige Class abilities are too powerfull to be taken as feats. ----------------- You disagree about the Death Attack. OK, let's look at it first to see how tough it really is, and compare with a wizard kill spell Requirements for using: 3 rounds: Effectively this makes it a 1/batle event, equivelent to a higher level spell, say 6th level, like Disintegrate. Sure, it takes some prep time, but unlike Disintegrate you can use it unlimited times/day. Sneak attack, succesfull required. Similar again to Disintegrate, where the touch attack is required. Melee weapon only (prevents doing sneak attack with a ray of frost, reasonable limitation) Fortitude save (DC 10 + the assassin’s class level + the assassin’s Int modifier) Disintegreate would be 10 + 6 + stat modifier. Looks fairly balanced with Disintegrate to me. Choice of Kill/Paralyis, makes up for the fact that Disintegrate can also be used to remove matierals. Failure = regular Sneak Attack Damage, vs. Disintegrate 5d6 Conclusion: Assasin's Death Attack is roughly equivelent to a 6th level spell Your claim that it is 'weak' is not reasonable. It is a strong ability, far more powerfull than a feat should be. Yes, it requires some brains and ambushing to set up. That is part of the game. If a player does not want it, he does not have to take the Assasin class.
RobbyPants 04-16-07, 11:05 AM	True, it has it's uses, but mostly outside of combat. You're also forgetting that it does not work on creatures immune to crits. I suppose another caviat could be added to limit the attack to only working on creatures with less hit dice than the attacker...
IonizedChicken 04-16-07, 03:13 PM	Heh. Tarkin, pushing it there. Death Attack has nothing on Disintegrate. Hell it has nothing on Phantasmal Killer. They don't need you the target to 'not detect you as an enemy', nor is any sort of study period required. And comparing Sneak Attacks to touch attacks? That's utterly unreasonable. I'm not sure about Death Attack as a feat. Maybe some sort of similar feat with uses per day that requires you to forgo Sneak Attack damage too. Death Attack is a little too restrictive, I think. At any rate, it will have to be at high level feat -- 15th or so.