Murder (sage study)

Murder is a sage study that incorporates the unlawful and malevolent killing of humanoid beings, without legitimacy and particularly with malice. Authoritarian skill in the study exempts the character from any feelings regarding his or her victim — including cases involving the murder of a child, a pregnant woman, an official or person of noble or royal blood, persons of great talent or those of great piety. All forms of murder are inherent in the study.

The study also includes elements of causing pain, either to torment victims for the sake of pleasure or to solicit secreted information. This allows for knowledge of instrumentation, some of which may have other game applications. As characters advance in ability, their skills become sought after by the social elite, so that a murderer can achieve a high social standing, despite the gruesomeness of their profession.

The skills below describe the forms of murder that the character might indulge in, or the degree of suffering the character is able to cause.

Amateur

• Assassination: the art of dispatching an enemy quickly and efficiently through the use of hand-held weapons.
• Dosing: the art of slipping a poison or other substance into a ready glass or prepared food.
• Execution: the character is capably skilled at established capital punishments (hanging, beheading, etcetera).
• Exhaustive Questioning: a method of questioning and rough treatment in order to gain information or a confession.

Authority

• Arson Method: enables skill at killing a specific intended victim through the use of fire.
• Blood Revenge: advantages gained when the target has previously attacked, insulted or otherwise wronged the assassin.
• Suffering: skill at expanding the length of time it requires a victim to die.
• Unfair Duel: advantages gained in circumstances where the assassin is obstensibly in a "fair" one-on-one fight.
• Weregild: access to circumstances where the assassin is able to obtain compensation for murder, disablement and injury of predetermined individuals.

Expert

• Missus Dominicus: gain option to be commissioned as a vassal assassin to a state of importance.
• Practical Torment: produces legitimate information from the torture of an individual.
• Target Assassination: enables the assassination of an individual using a bow or crossbow.

Sage

• Brainwashing: enables the character to reform the thoughts of individuals, inserting new ideas and thoughts in place.
• Missus Immunitas: obtain impunity from the persecution of any state of importance, on account of one's value as a killer.
  

See Assassin Sage Abilities