Chapter 2: Locations (i.e. The Lair)

The trap summary was a good overview of the most important traps that players will likely face.

Portal Chamber — The note about the ruby was a nice touch, since that’s sure to catch the eyes of most adventuring players who’ve decided to loot an assassin hideout.

Chapel of Cyrene — Simple, plausible, fits perfectly.

Training Chamber — Decent, but the weapon level scaling seems arbitrary, and no real description of why one would do so is given. My assumption is that you’d scale the bonuses so that they’re better loot for the PCs, but it could also be to scale the bonuses of the assassins who use the weapons to the level of the PCs. The total silence on the issue is disconcerting, considering so much advice is given on usage in other areas.

Assassins Office — Plain, simplistic, yet perfectly believable.

Equipment Chamber — The chance of poisons coating surfaces seems a little arbitrary, and not really what a group of individuals would do to their safe haven. While yes, they do expect and prepare for the Lair to be infiltrated by outsiders, the spells and other protective measures seem sufficient on their own. Anyone able to get past those is unlikely to fall for the poisoned surfaces, which would pose a serious risk to actual guild members.

On the other hand, the training tiles were a nice cosmetic touch; exactly what you’d expect to find in an actual lair of assassins.

Arcane Chantry — This library area was extremely well done and thought out. I especially like the detailed descriptions of the various books contained within, most notably “Pithy Advice for the Well-Intentioned”. “Divinity and Omnipotence” was also good for a laugh, since it reflects reality so well.

One great selling point of this area was the fact that all of the books had descriptions, allowing a GM to just drop it right into play without needing to populate it with books from other sources.

Residence — This area seems rather bland, but the provided variations spice up what otherwise is pretty much guaranteed to be a boring location.

Chapter 3: GM Advice

As a small forward, this section is almost entirely the reason I bought Assassin’s Amulet. I didn’t expect everything else that came with it, but I was anticipating this portion with high hopes.

126 Hooks — Thoroughly comprehensive, some of these did perhaps seem a bit forced, but the sheer quantity of them provides more than enough balance to tip the scales in favor of this section.

16 Targets — These bare-bones contract ideas provide exactly what is needed for a scenario hook without imposing anything more on the situation.

Combat Tactics — These were very much focused on D&D; applying them elsewhere takes a bit of work to generalize the advice. They’re solid tactics, they just could’ve used a bit more generic introduction instead of just focusing on the set of feats required to make something work.

Worthy Opponents — A solid part of integrating assassins into the campaign world, this is actually all-around good advice for group integration in general.

Contacting and Hiring — This continues the integration of the assassins into the campaign world, offering some solid advice that needs to be thought through by any GM wanting to integrate assassinations into a setting.

Equipment — I wish that the portable traps section had been a bit larger; the provided traps seemed creative and plausible, so more would’ve been better. The equipment list is rather comprehensive too.

Scare Tactics — Excellent coverage of how to build up terror in PCs of a threat (any threat, not just assassins) over time.

Poisons — While the quick for-against argument about using poisons was interesting, it really only applies to the Hand of Cyrene. In general, assassins are almost certain to use poisons. They’re just too effective a tool to be left by the wayside, unless a particular assassin has a good reason to avoid their use.

That said, the largest argument against assassins using poison is that it’s almost certain to kill your players without giving them a fighting chance. The poisons used by assassins are going to be brutally effective at what they do; by definition that means they’re going to be overwhelmingly lethal.

The compromise is to give your players an out somehow; some way to avoid the instant death-sentence that comes from being poisoned by a professional assassin, while still allowing your assassins to use one of the most infamous tools in their armory. My suggestion? Toxins that weaken a target, while not killing them. This strikes a solid balance between plausibility and playability.

Setting Up An Assassination — I really like the methodical mindset laid out here. This is exactly the mindset that an assassin would have; getting into the mind of the assassin when planning the assassination is pretty much the point. The list here is quite good, but even more detail can be pulled from other sources, such as military snipers, who often have to do exactly this sort of planning. This is the sort of advice that I was looking for when I picked up Assassin’s Amulet; getting down into the nitty-gritty of how to play an assassin and how to play out an assassination.

Defending the Lair — Yes! Paranoia to the max! Crank it up to eleven! These are ruthless killers, who have many many enemies (at minimum the families and loved ones of their victims, if not the entire government). They’re going to cover themselves so hard instinctively. A clumsy assassin is a dead assassin.

Setting Impact — A good overview of questions to answer before including assassins in a campaign setting. The final anecdote really brings it home: assassins are all about the feel they give the setting. Their greatest weapon isn’t the arrow, bullet, spell or poison, it’s the fear they produce by their known presence. It can and will change your players entire playstyle.

Quick Tips — Solid ending advice to wrap up the chapter.

Chapter 4: NPCs and Classes

Since I don’t intend to use the mythos of Cyrene nor her Hand, and I don’t intend to use the classes, those aren’t getting reviewed. The personality traits might be something handy to keep around for ideas on fleshing out assassin NPCs in a rush.

“Using the Gumshoe” provides some nice scenario ideas for encountering assassins in ways other than as part of an assassination.

I laughed at the final line of the chapter.

Chapter 5: Equipment

The stats aren’t useful for those playing non-d20 systems, but the core ideas of the items still apply. I’m always on the lookout for sneaky little tricks that stealthy types would use, and the gloves of blinding fit perfectly.

Legacy Items — As was mentioned at the end of the rules details, this concept is divorced from the main Assassin’s Amulet concept. It’s a decent idea, and entirely worth putting out for others to use; however, because it definitely doesn’t relate to assassins in general and has lost it’s original relationship to the Assassin’s Amulets, I don’t think it should’ve been included. It dilutes the continuity of the text.

Chapter 6: Assassin’s Amulet Integration

No real commentary here, since I don’t intend to be using the Cyrene mythos.

Learn the deity’s origins and design philosophy. Lots of great behind-the-scenes stuff here!

Today, I’m going to be telling you about Cyrene, a Greater Goddess and part of the original Pantheon that we’ve created for AA. Cyrene started as a cipher, a name that Michael included in his product pitch to the two of us. Supposedly, the Assassins of the game supplement’s title carried out their bloody work in the name of this being – whether she was the Guildmaster, or the Goddess, or some pretender, we had no idea.

Read the whole Cyrene of Assassin’s Amulet article.

We asked the game master community which cover they liked best for Assassin’s Amulet.

The winner receives a copy of the book plus fame.

Check out what cover design is going to grace the cover of this must-have GMing book.

Check out this new preview from the GM Advice chapter.

Too often we get into combat with our precious NPCs without a game plan. We stat out the foe before the game and then wait for the initiative roll.

However, some forethought before the encounter can double your NPC’s chances for survival (he who fights and runs away lives to roleplay another day).

Assassin’s Amulet gives you high level strategies when using these NPCs in encounters, plus a ton of other GM advice.

Not only do these six strategies help your NPCs survive, they make combat encounters with them much more interesting because you will avoid the classic toe-to-tie dice roll fests that fill boring encounters.

Many GMs struggle with running killer NPCs. One big goal of the book is to arm you with enough actionable advice that you’ll scare the crap out of your players if they ever catch wind of an NPC assassin ever again.

Part of this GM training involves learning some general principles of engagement when running assassins.

We hope you find this advice useful.

Chief caveat for assassins in combat situations: avoid combat if possible.

The most favorable combat situations involve fighting with allies. However, assassins tend to work alone, which causes tactical problems.

In all the tactics below, hit-and-run is the only reliable method to combine with any combat tactic. Using an assassin’s amulet in combination as a means of escape makes this even more reliable.

1.Maximize Sneak Attack Opportunities

Sneak attack is the best option for assassins in combat. Do anything you can to give NPC assassins this opportunity so they can cause damage while trying to get away.

It is difficult, though not impossible, to flank an opponent without an ally – anything that removes an opponent’s Dexterity bonus or causes him to become flat-footed will grant such an opportunity.

Feint/Improved Feint: using the feint option of the Bluff skill, the assassin spends his first round trying to cause the opponent to be off-balance or otherwise unready.

This denies the opponent his Dexterity bonus to his Armor Class on the assassin’s next attack, giving the killer a sneak attack.

This tactic provokes an attack of opportunity, so use it carefully. Give the assassin the Improved Feint feat when it becomes available.

Foes defeat this tactic using Sense Motive, if they have that skill, or a raw check aided by their Wisdom modifier.

Therefore, an assassin should scout out foes to determine their ability to sense others’ motives or see through such tricks as feinting.

The killer must know in advance if a foe can defeat feint. This saves the assassin a full round of futility plus exposure to a potential attack of opportunity.

Invisibility: except for class dipping with caster levels, which is not recommended, becoming invisible means using a magic item and the Use Magic Device skill.

An invisible assassin initiating combat denies their opponent a Dexterity bonus to that attack, and so the foe must suffer a sneak attack.

Blindness: like invisibility, if the opponent is blind, the assassin is effectively invisible (see above).

Possessing the feat chain Critical Focus and Blinding Critical is helpful, though unreliable, as the NPC must engage in at least one round of combat with no advantages, and he must succeed on a critical hit, which can never be counted on.

Eggshell grenades-pepper (from Oriental Adventures) are a mundane device that require use as a thrown weapon. With a successful hit affecting a five-foot area, the opponent is blind, though he gets a save to avoid the circumstance. Any magic item that causes blindness will also do this.

2. Single Striking

A one-shot kill relies on high Strength combined with Power Attack and using a two-handed weapon, granting half-again Strength bonus on attacks. Unfortunately, Strength is generally a tertiary stat for assassins, following Dexterity and Intelligence.

Focus on causing as much damage as possible with a single attack using magic, magic items and equipment to eke out all the extra damage you can.

Enhance this tactic with Dodge, Mobility and Spring Attack, as well as the vital strike feat chain. While this is feat intensive and takes away valuable feat slots to make an effective assassin combatant, the three feats mentioned allow him to strike without attacks of opportunity, so offer better survivability.

Having the Quick Draw feat also gets the weapon in hand quickly. Combine this with sneak attack and this could be a one-shot kill.

Read all six combat tactics for assassins >>

Too often GMs just create the stat block for an assassin NPc and then call it a day. But these NPCs can be so much more than combat constructs.

For busy GMs, the best thing you can do to minimize game prep is to build re-usable game pieces. That includes NPCs that live longer than their first encounter with the player characters.

Use these hooks as an instant way to add personality and depth to your assassin NPCs and do everything you can to make them recurring NPCs so you build great game pieces without minimal prep.

Get your 50 hooks here >>

This is great info for game masters stuck on how to make assassins interesting and impressive at the game table.

Assassins should be compelling NPCs in every encounter in which they appear. This article, an excerpt from the forthcoming Assassin’s Amulet, describes how to run Assassins as compelling characters to roleplay and deadly adversaries to fight. And don’t forget to vote for the cover!

Step 1: Pick an Archetype or Example

Creating an assassin NPC personality becomes a lot easier if you have a character concept already in mind. This provides a framework to which you can just add flesh. To mask your inspiration so players will not recognize it, layer on a couple of differences or twists. You are welcome to build a complex NPC from scratch, but if in a hurry, pick a character from a book or movie to model.

Quick archetypes to mimic: James Bond, Drizzt, Chuck (from the TV show), Rorshack (from the Watchmen), Batman.

Even people you know might make excellent candidates. Consider your neighbors, relatives, co-workers and other people you frequently see.

Step 2: Add Personality

What makes the character interesting and different? Make a list of about five notable traits and behaviors. How do they act and talk? What seems to motivate them? What do they own? Who are their friends and why?

There are two kinds of NPC traits: normal and extreme. Extreme traits include strange quirks, bizarre attributes and rare personality disorders. You do not want to give every NPC an extreme trait, else your campaign becomes comical or bizarre. You need normal—but interesting—NPCs around so the extreme ones stand out.

If you run a single assassin in your campaign, go ahead and give the NPC an extreme trait plus a few normal ones. If you run several, such as the Hands of Cyrene guild, give a quarter of the group unique extreme traits plus normal ones, and the other half just a variety of normal traits.

Read the other 3 steps >>

It’s a GM toolbook for everything you need to know for running assassins and encounters.

But the book is much more than that. It’s a thick volume that shows you how to change your world with an epic assassin guild.

We support you with new classes, mundane and magic items, NPCs and other instantly usable game elements as well.

This product is for D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder game masters.

Mike runs through each of the book’s sections here.