Assassins and Investigate

[Alien Rope Burn]

One things that's puzzled my group about the Assassin skill list is the lack of Investigate. It seems odd that the Fantasy Craft version of the Assassin class - given they have to have some knowledge of their target to take on a proper disguise, don't have any great means to research or even find their targets. Yes, there are other ways to get the skill other than base class, but it always has felt odd to me.

And so I was wondering, how is this supposed to work in play? How is an career assassin - that is, a literal interpretation of the class that kills people for money - supposed to get around this obstacle? Do they have to go around pumping information with Bluff and Intimidate from individuals? Or is that solely available through the Canvass application of Investigation?

[Wolverine]

It probably helps if you think of an Assassin as more of a guided missile than a self-targeting one. If you want your Assassin to seek out their own targets, then you can always take Investigate as an Origin skill, or have another player with the skill find the details for you.

Or you could just go around Intimidating people into giving you the information you want. That could be fun.

[Sletchman]

I think of Investigate as a pretty overt action - when your mark turns up dead people who investigate the murder will quickly find out that you were (quite literally) canvassing the area for information about him.  Impress/Intimidate is much quieter - not to mention that those who like you (via impress) are less likely to mention that you were asking about the mark.

[Gentry]

The Investigation can also sit in the hands of a Personal Lieutenant, or even a network of contacts. Steve Buscemi rolling into a bar to gauge reaction to Antonio Banderas-fueled stories of shotgun mayhem is more effective than Banderas himself walking into a bar with a guitar case. 

[aegis]

Two words: Origin Skill.

A little bit more words: Yes, it would make sense the Assassin had Investigate. However, looking at many classes with a certain concept in mind, you would find one or more skills you think would make a lot of sense in their bagage. Fantasy Craft has a mechanic for that, Origin Skills. It's meant to make you happy with your concepts.

[Nova]

Very yes on Origin Skill.

As for how they play, don't be taken too heavily by the name of the class. They have more to do with James Bond than with any assassin you'll ever see in D&D since 3rd edition.

The Assassin is a versatile, party-friendly semi-combattant class. Their biggest weakness is being heavily feat-starved, but they come with a large number of very fun abilities. Yes, they mostly get into gear only once you've actually figured out some form of goal, organisation or target. If you don't have it yourself, its either someone/something you ran into, or a friendly told you what they need done-in.

 That's when things get fun. You can insinuate yourself into the target's group or circles, and the havoc you will wreck is second to none once there.

Out of Combat: Cold Read is as useful as you can make it. Some may find the ability quite useless, while those that ask the right questions, or that make creative use of the information gained, can topple empires with this thing. The most basic use is to gain the info you need to pull a proper con-job, find (mostly psychological or organisational) weaknesses, and other fun tidbits.

Bald Faced Lie, if used right, can seal the target's fate or crash an organisation in a single sentence. Use it wisely and creatively, and your obstacles may even raise armies against each-other. Watch out for evidence to the contrary, or things just too far-fetched, and you might even get a medal!

The mask abilities vary, but should be self explanatory. Same with the disguise use of quick-on-your-feet.


In combat, while 'blade practice' can be fairly simple (but very versatile), the biggest gem is Quick-On-Your-Feet's ability to pull an instant ambush from where the sun don't shine. Yes, a free action ambush check. Think about that for a minute. Now think about the feats that combine with it. Now think about your teammates. One exploding watch or traps you'll retroactively have placed, and we're staring at a surprise round in mid combat.

You're also one of the few who can hope that maybe, with a lot of luck, possibly, perhaps, potentially, poison will actually work at higher levels on targets that aren't too tough. Possibly. Still, if you take black vial, you can get to hope. Heartseeker is self-explanatory, your primary targets are not the legions of mooks; you're usually the best-suited in the group to take on special characters, and if you aren't you're probably a damn close second.

With solid 'middling' saves, average defense and gawdly initiative, 10+ levels of assassin and "only fighting battles you know you can win" is bloody retroactive!