Assassin Combat Abilities

Assassins are quiet killers, having characteristics that are more like a fighter than a thief. An assassin is capable of a stand-up fight, but traditionally is one who plans before any action taken. And that action? To eliminate the target. To kill. And disappear afterwards, like a ghost in the fog.

Beginning with 1st level, assassin characters roll a d8 to determine their hit points. Player characters forego this die roll, automatically gaining the maximum 8 on the die ('full' hit points). Additional hit points are then received based on the character's body mass, which must be rolled. As player character assassins reach higher levels, they will automatically re-roll any 1s on their hit dice. Non-player assassins roll a hit die for 1st level and accept whatever roll occurs. Assassins receive 15 hit dice before they reach maximum level.

Assassins are able to wear padded, leather or studded leather armour. They may wear normal helmets but not great helmets, and are able to fight wearing gauntlets. They may use any size of shield to protect themselves.

Weapon	Damage	# of Hands	Break Chance	Attack Form
ankus	2-5	one	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
axe (battle)	1-8	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
axe (hand)	1-6	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled
axe (short)	1-4	one	1 in 5	hand-to-hand, hurled
bola	-14	both	1 in 6	hurled
bo stick	2-5	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
bow (long)	1-8	both	1 in 6	fired
bow (short)	1-6	both	1 in 6	fired
club	1-6	one	1 in 4	hand-to-hand, hurled
corseque	2-7	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
crossbow (heavy)	3-13	both	1 in 6	fired
crossbow (light)	3-9	both	1 in 6	fired
dagger	1-4	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled
dart	1-3	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled
flail	2-7	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
flail (horse)	2-5	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
glaive	1-6	both	1 in 10	hand-to-hand
godentag	2-8	one	1 in 4	hand-to-hand
guisarme	2-8	both	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
halberd	1-10	both	1 in 5	hand-to-hand
hammer (short)	1-3	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled
hammer (war)	1-6	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled
javelin	1-6	one	1 in 6	hurled
jo stick	1-4	both	1 in 10	hand-to-hand
lance	1-6	one	1 in 3	mounted
mace	2-7	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
maul	1-10	both	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
morning star	2-8	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
pike	1-8	both	1 in 8	hand-to-hand
quarterstaff	1-6	both	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
scimitar	1-8	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
sling	1-4	both	1 in 6	hurled
sling (staff)	1-4	both	1 in 6	hurled
spear	1-6	both	1 in 4	hand-to-hand, hurled
sword (bastard)	2-8	one	1 in 5	hand-to-hand
sword (broad)	2-8	one	1 in 4	hand-to-hand
sword (long)	1-8	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
sword (short)	1-6	one	1 in 6	hand-to-hand
sword (two-handed)	1-10	both	1 in 5	hand-to-hand
trident	2-7	both	1 in 6	hand-to-hand, hurled

Assassins are unlimited in what weapons they are able to use. When creating a character, the player chooses three proficiencies. Among NPCs, the dagger is popular, particularly for assassination or when backstabbing. There's no requirement for an assassin to choose a dagger. Assassins automatically gain new weapon proficiencies every fourth level after 1st: at 5th level, 9th level and 13th level. The penalty for using a non-proficiency weapon is -2 to hit.

The tables below give a complete list of weapons available (above), along with the range of missile weapons (bottom). Weapons thrown or fired at point blank range are +1 to hit. There is no adjustment at short range. Medium range gives a -2 penalty, while long range gives a -5 penalty.

See Weapons List

Missile Range in Combat Hexes

Weapon	Point Blank	Short	Medium	Long
axe (hand)	2	3-6	7-9	10-13
axe (short)	2	3-5	6-7	8-10
bola	—	3-9	10-16	17-23
bow (long)	2-3	4-22	23-44	45-66
bow (short)	2-3	3-16	17-32	33-48
club	2	3-5	6-7	8-9
crossbow (heavy)	2	3-14	15-28	29-40
crossbow (light)	2	3-10	11-20	21-30
dagger	2	3-5	6-9	10-12
dart	2	3-5	6-10	11-15
hammer (short)	2	3-4	5-6	7-8
hammer (war)	2	3-5	6-8	9-11
javelin	2	3-9	10-18	19-27
sling	—	2-13	14-25	26-37
sling (staff)	—	4-18	19-35	36-52
spear	2	3-6	7-12	13-18
trident	2	3-5	6-9	10-13