Ever Played an Assassin?

[jcljules]

Haven't come across anything on the GDB about people playing assassins--is it just not a popular guild? If you've played an assassin, how was it?

[Cutthroat]

I always thought assassin was the closest guild to the "guy/gal that can do anything in a city setting" type, just as much or even more than the burglar. I think it can be safely said you can make a guild_assassin and perform just about any type of job in at least a passable fashion.

[Simple]

Excellent city guild. Just don't back yourself in a toe to toe fight.

[Is Friday]

Hard adjustment from being able to either hunt or fight like a pro. Definitely a different kind of playing style than the popular guilds.

[Tisiphone]

Assassin is the city ranger.

[a strange shadow]

Assassin is the city ranger.

[Synthesis]

Assassins are as good as or better than every guild except warriors in a fair fight.

Further, I've had assassins that could drop experienced warriors before they could even draw weapons, in an unfair fight.

It's something special when you realistically have the ability to put someone in the negative hp range before they can even manage to type 'flee'.  I've had a couple of fairly bad-ass warriors...and none of them even came close to that kind of killing efficiency.

Factor in all the extra goodies...and yeah.  I'm actually kind of stumped as to why we aren't being overrun by ninjas.  Hell, with the new sneak+hide business, I'm surprised there aren't more blatant killings in the streets, because now you can -actually- get away with it, if you're that fucking good.

[Is Friday]

Probably because it's much harder to be an assassin than a warrior.

[Malken]

I'd die for a good assassin to hire.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I'd die for a good assassin to hire.

[Elzocone]

I've played a few assassins, some successful, most unsuccessful.

If you're talking about playing an assassin as a literal assassin (someone that kills people for money) is not as say, playing a warrior or ranger as an assassin.  Assassins get dirty tricks that rangers and warriors don't get.  In return I believe they are balanced out with this in mind.  They have to utilize stealth/surprise/fighting dirty to their advantage, where as warriors and rangers use their strengths.

If you make a PC with the intent of becoming an assassin for hire, don't start out thinking you can assassinate anyone right when you start.  You'll probably die, or have a great long struggle (playing an assassin as a straight up combatant is difficult compared other combat oriented guilds).  To start out, you'll probably want to master the art of stealth and surprise.  You might also want to get some kind of formal training and attempt to learn to fight 'fair' like 'normal' people do it.  Joining the Byn or some other military organization will be good for this (but expect to be humbled while sparring).  But in the end, if you want to become an expert at killing people, you're going to have to kill some people.  Be creative, if you're counting on killing someone in a fair fight you'll most likely fail.

I see people saying that they'd love to find a skilled assassin, but the truth is (as far as an independent assassin goes), most people would probably rather use someone they know/trust (someone in the clan), instead of using someone they don't (and maybe for good reason, is it wise to trust someone that kills other people for money).  Assassins don't go around telling people "Hey, I'm an assassin, can I kill someone for you?" (not good ones), so inquiring minds might have to do some digging.  But in general most people have to work for some organization or another to survive (or just to have fun, being a loner can be boring).  The romanticized 'hit' where someone comes and offers big money to an assassin to kill someone is very rare, not something an assassin could make a living off at least.  They'll probably need to find way to feed themselves in the mean time.

[Qzzrbl]

I thought an assassin's reputation was something very important to any successful assassin? At least that's what the docs say....

[Agent_137]

in allanak, you better have the right rep with the right people who are also tipped appropriately.

in tuluk you might be able to afford being a little more public with it because it could be considered art, but still.

[jcljules]

yeah, that is a problem--how would you get the word out, as an assassin? and how many assassinations are actually called for?

[flurry]

I had a lot of fun playing an assassin.  It does require a certain amount of patience, though, and it's not as obvious how to develop your skills as it is with other classes.

I think the biggest mistake (and source of frustration) for some people is that they think of the class as being all about the backstab skill.  If you remember that you're playing a roleplay game, it isn't.  The class gives you a lot of tools to develop your craft, and you just have to be creative and realize you have a lot of avenues to explore rather than one single skill.

As to how to get the word out, one good way is to earn the trust of some people in power. When I played one, I would (over time) let some nobles and templars know what I could do, once my character felt comfortable enough with them. If one takes you under their wing, you're well on your way to getting involved and building that reputation. Just have a little patience and don't expect an easy road.

[Elzocone]

I thought an assassin's reputation was something very important to any successful assassin? At least that's what the docs say....

To me, part of being an assassin is that it's somewhat of a secret.  It's more difficult to kill someone if they know who's after them.  There's no chance of slipping them some poisoned food/drink or getting them alone in a secluded place to kill them.

The important thing is that the right people know your reputation.  But sometimes that can be difficult with the limited player base (and somtimes OOC chatter) it's not easy to keep a secret in Zalanthas.

[psionic fungus]

Played lots.  They're good.

One thing that does bother me is the designation of Assassin as a city class... I see an Assassin as the link between the Fighter Classes (warrior and ranger) and the Rouge Classes (burglar and pickpocket).  The Assassin is both fighter and rogue, and as such I feel they should be equally comfortable in the desert or city.  An assassin should be able to hunt quarry anywhere they travel, not just within the city-walls.  Assassins should be the best class to play if you want to be a bounty hunter of any sort, but unfortunately it's just not so...

[Yam]

You really haven't seen threads about people playing assassins?


Really?

[Jenred]

Gypsy assassins are scary... they will kill you and steal your babies...



Just kidding, but seriously, the Gypsy assassins I've seen not only had a logical way to make money doing it (they -could- market themselves, since they didn't have to live in that city), but they also tended to be awesome in every way.

All my assassins were ok. One that was good... but never publicized his talent.

[Nile]

'Rinth. Assassin. Fun.

I've had a couple of what I'd call powerful assassin characters. Managed to find their way into a lot of murder and fun during their time. Patience is the key though. For advice I'd just recommend trying to survive past the 5 day mark. Backstab really isn't everything with the guild, they have plenty of good stuff...Meh.

[evil_erdlu]

I had a chance with assassins and I should say that coded skills mean not much more than 'nothing'... Literally nothing. If you are forced to confront your foes openly in a city atmosphere, you're already dead. It doesn't matter if you have a maxxed backstab skill or not because I have observed that we have mini-nukes called 'magickers', avatars of powers called 'templars'. Furthermore, people have allies and the more allies one has, the stronger that one is. So a wuss with three strong allies that he feeds with valuable information can prove stronger than your 50-day-old assassin.

So, guild_assassin? Take it if you want. But if you know to play your cards well, guild_merchant may be more than enough and you know what? They receive [edited -- please don't talk about what skills guilds get].

[Mood]

I had a chance with assassins and I should say that coded skills mean not much more than 'nothing'... Literally nothing. If you are forced to confront your foes openly in a city atmosphere, you're already dead. It doesn't matter if you have a maxxed backstab skill or not because I have observed that we have mini-nukes called 'magickers', avatars of powers called 'templars'. Furthermore, people have allies and the more allies one has, the stronger that one is. So a wuss with three strong allies that he feeds with valuable information can prove stronger than your 50-day-old assassin.

So, guild_assassin? Take it if you want. But if you know to play your cards well, guild_merchant may be more than enough and you know what? They receive [edited -- please don't talk about what skills guilds get]

lol.

[Gimfalisette]

I had a chance with assassins and I should say that coded skills mean not much more than 'nothing'... Literally nothing. If you are forced to confront your foes openly in a city atmosphere, you're already dead. It doesn't matter if you have a maxxed backstab skill or not because I have observed that we have mini-nukes called 'magickers', avatars of powers called 'templars'. Furthermore, people have allies and the more allies one has, the stronger that one is. So a wuss with three strong allies that he feeds with valuable information can prove stronger than your 50-day-old assassin.

So, guild_assassin? Take it if you want. But if you know to play your cards well, guild_merchant may be more than enough and you know what? They receive [edited -- please don't talk about what skills guilds get]

You played it wrong.

[Cutthroat]

I had a chance with assassins and I should say that coded skills mean not much more than 'nothing'... Literally nothing. If you are forced to confront your foes openly in a city atmosphere, you're already dead. It doesn't matter if you have a maxxed backstab skill or not because I have observed that we have mini-nukes called 'magickers', avatars of powers called 'templars'. Furthermore, people have allies and the more allies one has, the stronger that one is. So a wuss with three strong allies that he feeds with valuable information can prove stronger than your 50-day-old assassin.

So, guild_assassin? Take it if you want. But if you know to play your cards well, guild_merchant may be more than enough and you know what? They receive [edited -- please don't talk about what skills guilds get].

Um... templars are supposed to be powerful. Magickers too. It doesn't matter if you have a maxxed backstab skill or not because if you try to rip out a templar's or magicker's spine with your sharp bone spike they will burninate you.

That's not the fault of the guild itself, though. I encourage the OP jcjules, give guild_assassin a try, and see how he likes it.

[Reiloth]

Assassin = "Put-way-to-much-time-into-this-game-because-you-have-to-train-9000-different-skillz-and-won't-be-even-very-good-until-25-30-days-played-but-if-your-girlfriend-left-you-in-the-middle-of-the-night-because-you-woke-up-to-train-backstab-just-one-more-time-you're-on-the-right-track"