Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 manadrew Nov 17, 2008 3:04:18	Hey guys, It has been a while since I played and therefore visited these boards. Was wondering if you had some ideas for builds for a party of assassins (much like a hand of Claw or Talons from Ericksons Malazans book of the fallen) The party with consist of : -a mage (any ideas a cool concept would be nice) -a dex-based fighter (probably using swordsage and maybe the assasin class) -a unknown (your ideas would be helpfull) We will be using 3.5 and have access to almost all the books. I do appreciate any help you can give. Once again it has been a while since we have played and we would like some cool ideas of where to look. Manadrew
#2 rasmus_wagner Nov 17, 2008 3:47:56	Hey guys, It has been a while since I played and therefore visited these boards. Was wondering if you had some ideas for builds for a party of assassins (much like a hand of Claw or Talons from Ericksons Malazans book of the fallen) The party with consist of : -a mage (any ideas a cool concept would be nice) -a dex-based fighter (probably using swordsage and maybe the assasin class) -a unknown (your ideas would be helpfull) We will be using 3.5 and have access to almost all the books. I do appreciate any help you can give. Once again it has been a while since we have played and we would like some cool ideas of where to look. Manadrew Nightsong Infiltrator and Nightsong Enforcer are good team players.
#3 stpetegamer Nov 17, 2008 13:52:34	For the third class I would suggest a cleric who worships whatever theif god is in your world with the luck/?? domain ftw
#4 emansdrawkcab Nov 17, 2008 19:29:25	Nightsong Infiltrator and Nightsong Enforcer are good team players. Yeah, and have a Dread Commando, team initiative on a group of Assassins is tasty.
#5 feloniousela Nov 17, 2008 20:00:43	Sniper Mage Spellthief 1/Sorceror 1/Human Paragon 3/Unseen Seer 4/Spellwarp Sniper 4/{Unseen Seer +4/Sorceror +1/Full Caster w/cool ability 2} Not sure about those last six levels, but if you choose the right spells (Wings of Flurry and Frost Blast) and give this guy some fun metamagic items he can be quite a sniper. Snag Hunter's Eye (I think that's the name of the Ranger spell from PHB2) with your advanced learning from Unseen Seer. Don't forget Master Spellthief. No thte most optimized character ever, but certainly fits the role.
#6 ninjarabbit Nov 17, 2008 20:08:55	Mage: grey elf or human beguiler1/wizard3/spellthief1/ultimate magus10/mindbender1/unseenseer4 Dex-based fighter: human rogue3/swashbuckler17 with the able learner and daring outlaw feats Wild card: elf cleric archer: cloisteredcleric12/divineoracle2/contemplative6, trade the knowledge domain for the knoweldge devotion feat, some domains you'll want are elf, trickery, time, and travel
#7 SIKBUZ Nov 17, 2008 21:29:48	How many in the party? Just three? We had a four pronged party in a FR based campaign. Our DM hates psionics so banned them. The party was: Fighter: Monk 2/Ranger 1/ Fighter2/ Bloodhound 3/Reaping Mauler 5/Bloudhound 2 (Grappler) build. Mage: Rogue 1/Wizard 5/Spellwarp sniper 5/Rogue 2/Wizard 2 (Sniper) build. Monk: Monk 3/Swashbuckler 3/Monk of the Long Death 6/Assassin 3 (with Carmendine Monk feat) build. Mage: Wizard 1/Sorcerer 1/Elven Paragon 3/Ultimate Magus 10 (support) build. Yes I know people here on the CO boards don't like Reaping Maulers but this one was pretty effective with his Garrote. At 15th Lvl every hit he did drained 2 Str to his target and eventually he just dominated. The Sniper was deadly within 30ft and the monk could get to any target. Enough said. The UM was pretty awesome too. Saved the others skin and could buff them extremely well.
#8 idontmuchcareforit Nov 17, 2008 21:37:31	If you're actually going to make this party, everyone is going to be shown up by the full casters. I'm running a campaign where the rogue is basically useless, he even has less skills than the unseen seer.
#9 phaedrusxy Nov 17, 2008 22:42:30	The cleric could be a (forest) gnome cloistered cleric/shadowcraft mage with the Trickery and Illusion domains. Here is a link to a build for a 10th level version: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=346.msg8912#msg8912
#10 kurashu Nov 17, 2008 23:34:34	Dex based fighter? Sounds like a swordsage to me. Or a champion of corellon. Or a swift hunter. A rogue 15/swashbuckler 3/champion of corellon 2 with EWP (Elven Courtblade) could do some serious damage.
#11 ChristopherGroves Nov 17, 2008 23:39:35	Dex based fighter is Beshadowed Blade Shadowcraft sounds good for the mage for the wildcard? Spellthief 1 / Wiz 3 / Rogue 1 / Ur Priest 2 / Mystic theurge 2 / Arcane Trickster (advancing Ur Priest until it is done, then Wizard) Is that wild-card enough?
#12 aphaedon Nov 20, 2008 20:10:20	Dex based fighter is Beshadowed Blade Shadowcraft sounds good for the mage for the wildcard? Spellthief 1 / Wiz 3 / Rogue 1 / Ur Priest 2 / Mystic theurge 2 / Arcane Trickster (advancing Ur Priest until it is done, then Wizard) Is that wild-card enough? That build sounds like it would be the leader of the Hand. There is usually a leader and 4 others in a hand of claw (hence the name). A lot of them are just non-magical assassins - dual wield and thowing knives when they have to. While the Hand leaders are usually mage/assasin combo's using arcane power to hide the group or themselves, and portal in and out of the area. I remember seeign a Prc (?) that was somethign like shadow dancer? where the character could basically portal from shadow to shadow, IIRC. that would be in keepign with the theme of the more highly skilled assassin's. They genreally don't do strength builds (2 exceptions in the world, one dead the other MIA). just soem more info to help out people who are makign suggestions. Also this world of Malaz was actaulyl originally a D&D world settign created by Erikson and Esslemont to play in. Wiki it for more info.
#13 ChristopherGroves Nov 20, 2008 20:13:12	Telflammer Shadowsword, from Forgotten Realms. Look in the handy links threads for "shadowpouncer"s.
#14 ChristopherGroves Nov 20, 2008 20:15:49	That's three of the 5 ... what are the others?
#15 feloniousela Nov 20, 2008 20:40:58	Human Paragon 1/Fighter (Sneak Attack variant) 1/Sorceror 2/Human Paragon +2/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 1/Spellwarp Sniper 4/Earth Dreamer 5/Abjurant Champion +3 14 BAB (Plenty for casting Spellwarped Frost Breath and Wings of Flurry) 18 CL (Yay for 9th level spells!) Can see through walls and walk underneath floors (if they are stone or earth at least). Should be able to lock down opponents via Daze, let the melee guys beat on em. Not the strongest build ever, but kinda cool, at least IMHO. You could sub in 4 Unseen Seer levels instead of Abjurant Champion to make it more assassin styled.
#16 Wyvernhand Nov 20, 2008 21:03:27	How about a cha based fighter for your wildcard? GravetouchedGhoul2/Marshal1/Hexblade4/BlackguardX would be ok. Blackguard gets stealth skills IIRC, and Marshall can motivate dex for a huge init bonus and bonus to stealthy skills. Hexblade gets Dark Companion and Hex, both of which lower save, and Blackguard gets Aura of Dispair to further lower saves. Get Dreadful Wrath or Fightening Presence to cause fear on a charge, and your foes DCs will be so low, they won't be able to make the saves vs your paralysis. Your allies can follow behind with SoD spells on other foes caught in your auras to have a good chance to score killing spells. Max out Cha, then everything else. Get like, Rapidstrike and Improved Rapid Strike for itteratives on your claw attacks. Should make a fairly competant member of an assassin team.
#17 jobiejones Nov 21, 2008 0:05:55	I don't know exactly what you are looking for, but I made a character based on Nightcrawler from X-men, which was a human with Shadow template and Shadow-Walker template, for a +10 to Hide and Move Silently. Also went 3 Scout and 4 Telflammar Shadowlord, along with Ranger that lets it stack for skirmish. Tons of magic items that allow lots of dimension doors in Magic Item Compendium. Just x1.5 for different body slots. Also, I did a one level dip in wizard and got the variant that lets you Dimension Jaunt(immediate action 10ft teleport with the Full attack after teleport spells from T.S. is great).
#18 darksamuari Nov 21, 2008 1:59:53	So with any good crew, you should think about what each individual brings to the table. So here is how it looks to me: The Mage; the planner, the supplier, the thinkcase. This guy has the map to the prison and the spells to get past all the defenses. He's about power over skill, "Why train in opening a lock when you can cast knock?" The Dex Fighter; the muscle, the force, the doer' of thangs'. This guy has the dagger up the sleeve that will get you the head on a plate needed. If the wizard is the gun, he's the bullet. The WildCard; this guy can be anything but you need something to complement the above two guys. Between the mage and the Dex fighter you have planning, security deactivation, combat, and general adaptability. The WildCard should bring something that saves the day, thus being a wildcard... As I see it the Wildcard can be a lot of things but I'll list a few options. Changeling Rogue/Master Spy/Chameleon: He's the face, he'll get you in... Human Factotum: Versatility, this guy is the essential wildcard. Half-Ogre Dungeon Crasher: The uber muscle and diversion. Sometimes you need a guy with muscles and he's got em'. But with all these grand options it really comes down to you. What do you think would be fun to play because an assassin only has one requirement, he kills folks for money (sounds a lot like an adventurer...). Whatever you do, it'll work* (the DM will probably make it). *Disclaimer: Paladin's suck as assassin's unless all your marks are demons...