The Campaign: Pay No Attention To The Nondescript Dagger-Man In The Corner

(Following from yesterday's post.)

Speaking of cult-like class structures, let's talk about our sneaky-stabby boys.

As the picture indicates, this class is inspired by the legends of the Hassasshin cult (and a few others of similar makeup, like the Thugee cult).

The Assassin class may be wholly devoted to doing evil, but it is not without organization. Even a Chaotic Evil Assassin group conforms to the strictures governing this class, and as such those that dismiss this class as Edgy Lone Wolves are going to find out it's a lot closer to John Wick than you may want to think.

From The Mountain The Word Goes Down

The Assassin organization, as presented in the manuals, is a unitary one. There is only one Grandfather of Assassins (L15), and all Assassins ultimately answer to him. As Assassins can be Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic Evil the cultural shifts from the top will have tells that manifest all the way down- even if junior officers differ in Alignment from the Grandfather.

Underneath the Grandfather are the Guildmasters (L14). For most Assassins, this is the face of power and the target of ambition; the Grandfather, being aloof from everyday affairs, is closer to a mythical or legendary figure than a living man so far as most Assassins (or outsiders) are concerned and thus not a serious concern. The Guildmaster's followers come from these local Assassins under his leadership, and are tied to him personally instead of the Assassin organization as a whole.

From Prime Assassin (L13) on down, things are more fluid in terms of hierarchy but more restrictive in terms of cultivating a personal powerbase. Only Prime and Chief (L12) Assassins have leave to recruit Hirelings or retain Henchmen freely; Seniors (L11) through Executioners (L8) are only allowed other Assassins and Thieves, Cuththroats (L7) through Murderers (L4) are allowed only Assassins, and no one below that can have anyone at all.

Most Assassin work is espionage-for-hire, being dispatched to do spying missions on the client's targets and maybe a follow-up mission to outright kill the target. These, as one can expect, are the lower-level Assassins in a guild being directed by their seniors wherein they get field experience that they can later capitalize upon via Training to level and rank up.

This mercenary work, as implied, is a cover for the guild's (and the organization's) true purpose and activities- which is to covertly assume power and rule all through a silent terror punctuated from time to time by brazen acts of sudden and swift slaughter so as to demoralize the population into compliance. An Assassin-dominated domain will feature a fearful populace, a secret surveilance state, and targetted killings as terror attacks meant to demonstrate the supreme power of the Assassin organization.

It can be assumed, therefore, that a campaign heavy on Faction Play will have the Grandfather of Assassins as a Faction Leader unto himself and his primary task will be to keep the Guildmasters too busy to come after him- just as they have to keep Prime Assassins from coming after them. (There is an obvious High-and-Low-vs-Middle dynamic at work here.)

The Grandfather of Assassins, therefore, is someone that should be fleshed out when putting a Grand Campaign together because his shot-calling will directly impact upon what goes down, where, how, and why.

The Made Men

It is no surprise, therefore, that even though most demi-humans can be Assassins only those inclined by their tainted blood to Evil (Half-Orcs) thrive therein (Unlimited) while others hit a ceiling below the leadership levels. Assassin guilds are run by Men and Half-Orcs- no one else. In this respect, Assassins are far more like old-school organized crime families than (rogue) state agents.

Assassins, therefore, have reason to give Thieves the side-eye. Sure, Thieves do the sneaky-parts better, but what they get for all that sneaky stuff doesn't seem worth it to the Assassin. To an Assassin the entire point of stealth is to set up a Surprise situation so that they can auto-kill targets on the Assassination table, not to steal everything of value that a target has.

Assassin penetration of communities, as a direct consequence of racial level limits as well as Alignment norms, is going to reflect the lack of virtue within it and some races (those with lower limits or more Good-inclined norms) are more resistant to the call of the Assassin than others or have counterveiling institutions (formal or otherwise) to gatekeep Assassins out. Again, this shows why Half-Orcs thrive in this class when even as Thieves they are capped (unlike all other races).

Their preference for, and requirements (save for the Grandfather) to be based out of, urban locales like cities puts the Assassin organization at odds with others (e.g. Druids) in ways that may not be obvious. (Druids oppose the domination of Nature by Civilization, whereas Assassins cannot exist without it, ergo conflict ensues.) Their class structure compels association with others of their own class at the lower levels, meaning that even Chaotic guilds are going to have a hierarchy that you dare not challenge lest you get on the wrong end of a hit.

How To Play It

You're in a crime syndicate that's a front for a terrorist organization of the Aloha Snackbar sort, a style of organization that goes back (in real world terms) millenia when such cults fought against Persia, Rome, Carthage, etc. in favor of their own less-than-nice state that may (and usually is) imperialist itself. James Bond you are not; you are, at best, Agent 47.

Or, worse, you're part of the successful terror state security apparatus. You're the guy that disappears people and runs death squads.

Either way, your problems turn internal as you level up and become a myopic focus when you become a Prime Assassin and get soft-capped on further leveling without killing an existing Guildmaster. Note that just going elsewhere is not given as an option (PHB pg. 30). This is the All-In version of "Up Or Out" (something you military folks get), and remember that guile is A-OK; if you're aiming to go for Guildmaster, ain't nothing stopping you from conniving with the Grandfather to make it so, but that is an even higher-risk gambit.

Don't be surprised if your man goes out like he's in a Mafia movie. It's not just the monsters that Assassins have to worry about.