Feats
There are no feat requirements for becoming an assassin, which gives characters a lot of leeway in choosing what tricks they know. Some feats are more useful than others, however; here are a few worth considering.
- Combat Expertise
- Combat Expertise requires an Intelligence of 13, but any assassin worth his salt has a good, high Intelligence anyway, to help with the spellcasting. This feat is a prerequisite to taking Improved Feint (q.v.), as well as Improved Disarm and Improved Trip; in short, it's the feat to take if you want to make sure your opponent is at your mercy.
- Stealthy
- While Skill Focus can make an assassin especially good at one skill, it is perhaps better to take a slightly lower bonus in two skills. Assassins often depend on their ability to stalk their prey, making this feat an exceptionally good choice.
- Improved Critical
- The easier the crit, the quicker the kill. Sadly the requirement for this feat -- a base attack bonus of +8 -- means that a rogue/assassin won't be able to take this feat for a while. Still, it's not a bad choice. Many assassins have a favourite means of dispatching their enemies. Extra training with a special weapon adds a nicely mythic quality to the assassin; if the PCs are investigating a series of murders by the assassin, then leaving a calling card makes a good adventure hook.
- Improved Feint
- The Bluff skill is useful in combat since it can deny your enemy his Dexterity bonus to AC. If you can do this, then you can deal sneak attack damage -- very useful for an assassin!
- Improved Initiative
- Even if she doesn't manage to surprise the enemy, the assassin may still catch her quarry flat-footed if she wins initiative. This feat is invaluable as a consequence.
- Persuasive
- Worth considering because of the +2 bonus it gives to Bluff and Intimidate checks, since both those skills are class skills for an assassin. A nice, healthy Bluff check can't hurt, but Improved Feint is more important since speed is of the essence.
- Point Blank Shot
- Sneak attacks and death attacks can be dealt at range, but the crucial range at which this can happen is 30 feet. This feat improves accuracy and damage in that range; not to be sniffed at.
- Weapon Focus
- See Improved Critical.
Former Assassins
Of course, alignments can change; if a paladin can fall from grace and become a blackguard or an assassin, who's to say that an assassin can't develop a conscience and turn away from his path, sickened by his actions? Although Kai from the series Lexx did not feel guilt, he was a former assassin and definitely had a conscience. An assassin who turns good is unable to advance as an assassin, and finds using her assassin abilities to be a pretty repugnant thing. However, it can make a pretty interesting NPC. Perhaps the former assassin wishes to start a new life, but her old guild are not willing to give her up just yet; can the PCs help her out, perhaps covering her escape to another country? Perhaps one of the PCs' mentors is an ex-assassin, teaching them some of her tricks in an attempt to groom them as a force capable of destroying her old masters. The possibilities, as always, are endless.