Post/Author/DateTime	Post
great_wyrm 04-20-06, 08:34 PM	I planned making a campaign wher the PCs would be assassins. They would infiltrate enemy castle, and move around silently. Sort of like Splinter Cell (yes I am playing that game a bit much lately). Now, there's a few things I'd need to fix so it works right. 1. Silent kill. I think this would be important because the PCs will often need to kill without being spotted. Move Silently, I think, wouldn't be 100% acurate because it doesn't cover the weapon you are using and the anatomy knowledge needed to hit silent spots. 2.non-lethal sneak attacks. It is said in th PHB that the rogue's sneak attack may only do lethal damage. I think a good smack from a dagger's handle into the back of the head should knock someone out. 3. Hiding bodies. I think I'd just make a hide check, but it might need some adjustements. If anyone can help translate these ideas into rules, or have some other ideas, please help me out. It would be very apreciated.
Arkiana 04-20-06, 09:05 PM	1. Give body parts like the throat (vocal chords cut = less screaming) different ACs. Make them like creatures. Maybe the "neck" is considered Diminutive and gets bonus to its AC due to this size. Also, unless these places are specifically armored I would give them a touch AC. So the noble in his room has an ac of 11 (+1 dex) but his neck is considered diminutive (+4 size modifier) so to hit the neck and vocal chords the rogue/assasin would have to hit an AC 15. Also, if they kill him on the first strike the guy doesn't have time to cry out anways. 2. Third Paragraph under the sneak attack description on p.50 of PHB. "With a sap (blackjack) or an unarmed strike, a rogue can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal..." Continues on to say you can not use a dagger hilt for this same effect. Sap is in the equipment section in the PHB also 3. Hide check is what I would use. It would be the assasins's hide check vs spot/search of the other person, depending on the situation.
Erendi 04-20-06, 09:09 PM	Also, try making the PC's chance to hit the neck/vital spots a combination of a check with intellegence and/or dexterity since it takes the know how and the skill to actually do that. Also, I use a house ruling that a rogue can use a sneak attack with a sap, for subdual damage. Just find out what works for you.
great_wyrm 04-20-06, 09:17 PM	thx alot. But my problem is not really the noble in his room. I'm thinking about killing a guard without the other one right next ot it not hearing it. I'm still thinking a dagger's handle in the back of the head should knock out. Doesn't even have to do anything with rogue's sneak attack. The neck is really sensitive because thats where all your nerves connects your brain to the rest of the body. When hit, it sorts of temporarly shuts down the body because the communication with the brain is damaged. I think this is important in fact. And cool, because it is quick, effective and silent. Can't get more assassin-style than this.
Milandros 04-20-06, 09:28 PM	Killing someone silently in real life is very hard to do, apparently. There are some possibilities, however. A sneak attack that kills immediately could be ruled as silent. If the guards are relatively low level, sneak attack has a good chance of succeeding to kill immediately. More generously, allow actions until the guard's move - so a suprise round plus a possible won inituative could give two sneak attacks. Since this is an assassin game, Assassin prestige class levels could be appropriate - meaning that instant-kill attacks are possible. You could use a grapple check to see if the guard can be grabbed around the throat, preventing him from crying out. After that, stab repeatedly. A non-lethal attack that takes down a guard in one blow would be the classic "judo chop" from the movies. No sound made beyond the thump. Silence spells can help as well, of course :) You could also introduce a 1st level version Muffle Noise which gives penalties to listen rolls. D&D isn't really suited to the one hit takedown game, usually. I'd recommend you keep this at low levels, particularly for cannon-fodder guards, or have the PCs take several assassin levels for the insta-kill.
Arkiana 04-20-06, 09:34 PM	In the RAW, in order to knock some one out you have to deal them subdual damage equal to their hp (which is possible seeing how sneak attack does alot of damage) Otherwise, they are just hit REALLY hard. Maybe make it where there is a Fort Save on the part of the guard (DC15+Rogue/assasin class level) or fall unconcious. Or something simular. Whatever you do, DON'T make it fool proof way to knock some one out. Give it a hard fast dice roll, because if your players can always knock out the guards then you trivalize the guards a little. Also, killing somebody RIGHT next to another guy, and have that other guy not notice is...hard. to really understand this, look at it from the guards point of view, they're standing right next to each other on alert (they are guards) how would he NOT notice his buddy just fell over? Checks that would involve Move Silently (with a penalty, you have to control the body on the way down so that armor doesn't make any noise) Hide (with a penalty also, because your trying to hide RIGHT next to a guard while handling a 200+ pound person (armor wieghs alot) Slight Of Hand (to hit the guy at just the right time, like when his buddy is looking away for a moment) Mostly it comes down to balancing coolness with a challenge. If your PCs are nearly invisible to everything all the time, though cool, there is no challenge and the game becomes boring. Edit: Also, what you could do is hvae them buy scrolls/wands of silence and cast it on their weapons, no sound escapes from within the radius of the spell, really easy to kill things silently. Could also do the same thing with darkness.
Sianger 04-20-06, 09:38 PM	You might like to make available the Whisper Gnome from RoS. Not only are they probably the single best LA+0 race for stealth-rogues EVER, they can get a feat (from the same book) called Silencing Strike, which basically lets them centre a Silence spell (racial spell-like ability) on the target of a sneak attack. Also, you could consider updating the Ninja of the Crescent Moon (from Sword and Fist) to 3.5. It is one hell of a cool class, and just made for this kind of infiltration / assassination stuff. Sneak attack, super stealth skills, the occasional invisibility / etherealness type thing, and also the ability to silence / fascinate opponents for a couple rounds (the idea being to "occupy" a guard for long enough to take him down).
StruckingFuggle 04-20-06, 09:48 PM	The thing about silence is it radiates for a good distance, so if your PCs do that, please have people notice when they walk into an area with no sound ...