Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Cyber-Dave Sep 13, 2009 13:31:28	So, house Phiarlan doesn't primarily employ "assassins," as in the concept. It says that they are more about intelligence gathering, and giving information to the right people, and maintaining balance. So, I doubt they would ever hire out their services to an employer as "assassins." But, would they have any "assassins" working them for them? Perhaps spys who can double as "assassins," James Bond style? People who can kill the people that need killing when the house fears that balance and order in Khorvair will be upset? Which brings me to my next question: does house Phiarlan employ any Assassins, as in the new shadow class? The abilities seem sort of similar to the ones possessed by the "Phiarlan Spy" NPC, so I would think yes, but I would like to know what others think. And if others think that such characters would exist in house Phiarlan (but go by the title spy instead of Assassin), how does one explain their shroud class power? Why are they so skilled at studying foes to take them out? Anyways, thanks for the input!
#2 Alex_ Sep 13, 2009 23:03:41	Yes house Phialarn employs assassins (little A), and given how well a shadow themed killer is represented by the Assassin (capital A) class, I imagine that many of them would have that class as well.  If you don't like the Shadowfell flavor, it can very easily be explained as them tapping into the power of their mark.  There's already a thread related to how one would incorporate the class into Eberron, and it could apply to many different races, cultures, traditions, and institutions.      House Phaialarn does some contract killing, but this is hardly its bread and butter.  The overwhelming majority of people in Khorvaire know them as entertainers.  A smaller clientel know them as intelligence gatherers and spies.  Only those who are most in the know discover their business in death.    It's also worth noting that house Thuranni has the proported edge over Phialarn when it comes to assassination.
#3 Madfox11 Sep 14, 2009 4:16:10	Besides the assassin class can very well function as spies. Remember, the name of a class does not equal the profession of the character. My Phiarlan dex-based fighter is more of a cat-burglar and spy then a warrior even though as a fighter (the class) he has an easy time to pose as a soldier ;)
#4 Hellcow Sep 14, 2009 22:53:19	Don't forget that until 30 years ago - relatively little time in an elven lifespan - House Thuranni WAS house Phiarlan, and it was thus House Phiarlan with all those expert assassins. Currently House Phiarlan has the edge in espionage because it has more people, more resources, better territorial distribution, and the families that have always had the strongest representation on the Serpentine Table; Thuranni has the edge on assassination because that was always the specialty of the Thuranni lines, so they took the best assassins and assassination instructors with them in the schism. Phiarlan hasn't abandoned the concept any more than Thuranni will refuse espionage. However, each house has an edge in the respective fields, and there's also some advantage to each of them to avoid head on competition... to allow the other a little breathing room in their specialty field. But you could certainly have an assassin in House Phiarlan... and if he's more than 30 years old, he might very well have been trained by a Thuranni mentor. Assassination was never the specialty of House Phiarlan, but it's always been a tool and their disposal. For Thuranni, that's their strongest tool and the thing they do better than their Phiarlan cousins, so they've made it a pillar of their services. But Thuranni has excellent spies, and Phiarlan has skilled assassins; these just aren't what they are best at.
#5 Hellcow Sep 14, 2009 22:54:03	Besides the assassin class can very well function as spies. Remember, the name of a class does not equal the profession of the character. My Phiarlan dex-based fighter is more of a cat-burglar and spy then a warrior even though as a fighter (the class) he has an easy time to pose as a soldier ;) An excellent point.
#6 Ogiwan Sep 20, 2009 7:39:53	But you could certainly have an assassin in House Phiarlan... and if he's more than 30 years old, he might very well have been trained by a Thuranni mentor. Ooo.