The common perception of the assassin is that of a coldblooded killer, one who commits murder on contract, or, worse, for whatever twisted pleasure the act gives him.
While these individuals do exist, they are merely a minority whose actions and proclivities sullies the name of the profession as a whole. Hands-on detectives, bounty hunters, spies, and agents all fall under the umbrella of the assassin, and while being adept at planting a knife in the back is indeed a ubiquitous part of the profession, their differences are great enough that a table of assassins can all be special snowflakes.
Role: Thanks to their ability to sneak attack competently, assassins are typically found at or near the front lines of any combat, though their choice of techniques fine-tunes the exact positioning. Outside of combat, their ability to skulk about, brew poisons, and/or put two and two together still makes them a dangerous instrument.
Alignment: Any. Any moral code can cleave to killing, if done for the right reasons.
Hit Die: d8
Starting Wealth: 3d6 x 10 gp (average 105 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills
The assassin's class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the assassin.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Assassins are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the blade boot, hand crossbow, katana, kukri, rapier, sap, scimitar, short sword, shortbow (and composite), shuriken, and wakizashi and with light armor.
Assassin Techniques
An assassin is a finely-honed weapon, though the precise shape of the weapon is dependent upon his particular education. This is represented by an assassin's known techniques and chosen technique specializations.
At 1st level, an assassin chooses two categories of hot techniques and two categories of cold techniques from the lists below. These are known as his specializations. He begins play with one technique drawn from each of the technique lists of his four specializations, for a total of four techniques. At each new assassin level, he gains an additional technique drawn from any of his specialization categories. An assassin must meet the prerequisites of a technique in order to learn it. At 5th level, 10th level, and 15th level, the technique the assassin gains may be from any category, and not just from his specializations.
Techniques drawn from outside one of his chosen specializations are known as cross-specialization techniques. An assassin treats his assassin level as though it were half its actual value, rounded up, for the purpose of the magnitude of effect and duration of cross-specialization techniques. He still treats his assassin level as its full value for all other purposes of that technique, such as save DC and meeting the technique's prerequisite.
The Difficulty Class (DC) for a saving throw against an assassin's technique is 10 + 1/2 the assassin's class level + the assassin's Intelligence modifier. Unless stated otherwise in a technique's entry, an assassin can only execute a single technique per round.
"Hot" techniques interact with the presence pools an assassin grants to those near him (see the presence class feature, below), and each technique has three quantities that describe their particular interaction with it: presence source, presence required, and presence change. A technique is considered to be "hot" if it has a defined Presence Source.
Presence Source Since an assassin can maintain a presence pool for each foe in range, a technique must tell which presence pool is affected by it, and the source chosen restricts targeting. When executing single target techniques, the source is almost always the intended target. When executing area techniques, the source gets a bit murkier read each individual entry.
Presence Required In order to execute a hot technique, the presence source(s) must have an amount of presence that matches one of the numbers listed on this line. If this does not match, the technique cannot be executed using the chosen source. Find another source or pick another technique.
Presence Change When a hot technique is executed, the chosen source's presence increases or decreases by an amount equal to the number listed on this line.
A "cold" technique does NOT interact with presence pools, and interacts with the assassin's technique pool instead (see the technique pool class feature, below). "Cold" techniques ignore presence required and presence source rules, and treat the following two quantities differently.
Pool Compatibility If a technique's pool compatibility is set to yes, then its cost can be paid from the technique pool. It is considered a "cold" technique.
Presence Change When a cold technique is executed, the assassin expends points from his technique pool equal to its presence change. For example, a presence change of means the assassin must expend 2 technique points.
Some techniques have both a presence source AND are pool compatible. Such "lukewarm" techniques may be executed as either "hot" or "cold", as the situation dictates. Finally, some techniques don't have an activation cost at all. These techniques may be passive, or they may modify other techniques that they have as prerequisites.
Hot Technique Categories
Acupressure
A poke in the right spot can kill a man, stun a man, force a man to drop his weapon, or just make a man take a nap.
Execution
When tricks simply won't do, assassins specializing in execution get stuck in and defeat their opponent with brutal attacks that wear even the most resilient foe down.
Initiation
Prolonged fights are for suckers. Masters of initiation know how to get the first blow in, and to make it count. As a result, quite a few of them are snipers.
Magehunting
Vampires are to blood as magehunters are to magic. Adept at dismantling the gift of magic at its source, the magehunter specializes in stealing magic from his victims and maintaining the ability to use it for hours after the mark's death. Magehunting assassins are held in very high regard, and the organization is known to employ a significant number of them.
Cold Technique Categories
Infiltration
It's not all about getting into places unseen. Sometimes, being seen is an asset. An assassin who specializes in infiltration gets where he needs to go and out again with his hide intact.
Intuition
All assassins have a sixth sense, but those who are attuned to their own intuition have a seventh, and an eighth, and a ninth...
Poison
Those assassins who dabble in the lost techniques of poison manufacture know how to produce deadly compounds from just about anything. Masters of the art, however, find that simply killing a man is the easy way out, and their cocktails begin to do very exotic things indeed.
Presence (Su)
An assassin begins play with the ability to weaponize the emotions and instinctive reflexes of others. Each non-allied creature that approaches within 60 feet of the assassin gains a presence pool, a measure of the assassin's influence upon that creature's physiological state if a victim to be believes, consciously or subconsciously, that the assassin is capable of something, then the assassin is indeed capable of doing it, assuming he knows the correct motions to use. The maximum number of points in a presence pool is equal to 4. Unlike most pools, however, the presence pool begins play empty and does not replenish itself after a period of time.
Instead, whenever the assassin wishes to execute a technique with a listed Presence Source, the number of points in the source's presence pool increases or decreases by the amount listed by that technique's Presence Change. Some techniques demand that the presence source and target be the same creature, while others do not. See individual technique entries for details.
The presence pool requires a very real risk of death to function properly. As a result, creatures that flee from the assassin lose their presence pools once out of range for minutes equal to his Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Sneak Attack: If an assassin can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from his attack, he can strike a vital spot for extra damage.
The assassin's attack deals extra damage anytime his target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the assassin flanks his target. Techniques that do not apply weapon damage do not apply sneak attack damage.
This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by 1d6 every three assassin levels thereafter. Should the assassin score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.
With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (like a sap, whip, or an unarmed strike), an assassin can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. He cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.
The assassin must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot.
An assassin cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.
Technique Pool (Su)
At 1st level, an assassin gains a technique pool, representing his ability to execute "cold" techniques. The number of points in an assassin's technique pool is equal to his assassin level + his Intelligence modifier. Technique points are used to pay the costs of techniques that are Pool Compatible, as detailed in assassin techniques, above.
The technique pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or meditation. These hours do not need to be consecutive.
Universal Techniques
At the indicated levels, an assassin gains the following techniques as bonus techniques. These represent ubiquitous tricks of the trade.
Study Mark (Ex)
Category: Universal
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 60 feet + 5 feet/level
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 1
You study a creature within range. You may execute an additional technique this round, but only if its presence source is the same as this technique's target and its presence change is 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Note: This technique literally does nothing beyond producing presence. At higher levels, its ability to guarantee chained techniques can be useful if you desperately need to get something big off. However, its primary reason for existing is to ensure that people who didn't pick a technique with a +1 presence change have a way to gain presence.
Hot to Cold (Ex)
Category: Universal
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 60 feet
Target: creature in range with 2 or more presence
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 0
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
This technique may only be executed if the number of Hit Dice the target possesses is at least half your assassin level. The presence of your target is set to 0, and you gain a temporary technique point. This temporary technique point persists for 1 hour.
Starting at 18th level, temporary technique points granted by this technique stack, to a maximum of 2.
You may execute an additional technique this round.
Instinctive Focus (Ex)
Category: Universal
Requires: Assassin 8
At the end of your turn, choose a creature within 30 feet that has a presence pool. If that creature has 0 presence, it gains 1 presence.
Starting at 20th level, this technique affects all creatures within 30 feet that have a presence pool.
Switch Focus (Ex)
Category: Universal
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 60 feet
Target: creature in range with 2 or more presence
Presence Source: another creature in range
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 free action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 12
The presence of your target is set to 0.
You may execute an additional technique this round.
Fruits of Focus (Ex)
Category: Universal
Requires: Assassin 14
You have a +1 luck bonus to AC and saving throws against creatures with a presence pool containing 1 or more presence. This increases to a +2 bonus at 18th level.
Evasion (Ex)
At 2nd level and higher, an assassin can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility.
If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the assassin is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless assassin does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Favored Class Bonuses
Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a Favored Class, some races have the option of choosing from a number of other bonuses, depending upon their Favored Classes. The following options are available to the listed race who have assassins as their Favored Class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the listed Favored Class reward.
Aasimar – Whenever the assassin expends technique points on a technique that targets himself or an ally, the target is healed for points of damage equal to the number of technique points expended. The assassin can heal a number of hit points equal to twice the number of times this bonus has been selected daily.
Drow – Add +1/2 to the size of the assassin's technique pool.
Dwarf – Every 3 times this bonus is selected, the assassin gains 1 temporary hit point that lasts for 1 minute whenever he executes a technique with a presence change of 2, 3, or 4. This bonus stacks.
Elf – Add +1/2 to the size of the assassin's technique pool.
Gnome – Every 5 times this bonus is selected, choose a technique with a presence change of 2, 3, or 4. Whenever the assassin executes the chosen technique, he may throw a flask of acid or alchemist's fire as a free action.
Half-elf – Add +1/2 to the size of the assassin's technique pool.
Halfling – If this bonus has been taken at least 3 times, then the assassin treats the uncanny intuition technique as though it were part of one of his specialization categories, even if it really isn't. Additionally, each morning when the assassin records rolls with the uncanny intuition technique, he may change a to be stored roll to be +1 higher or 1 lower than what was actually rolled. He may do this once for every 5 times this bonus has been selected, and cannot apply the effects of this bonus to a single roll more than once unless all to be stored dice have already had its effects applied once.
Half-orc – Every 3 times this bonus is selected, the assassin gains 1 temporary hit point that lasts for 1 minute whenever he executes a technique with a presence change of 2, 3, or 4. This bonus stacks.
Hobgoblin – Treat the assassin's class level as +1 higher for the purpose of determining the duration of techniques that grant weapon special abilities.
Human – Add +1/6 of an assassin technique from a specialization category.
Kitsune – Every 5 times this bonus is selected, choose a known assassin technique, then name a specialization category other than its native category. The assassin treats the chosen assassin technique as though it were both from its native specialization category, as well as from the chosen specialization category. This applies to meeting the prerequisites of feats and abilities, as well as to interactions between techniques.
Kobold – Add +1/4 to the Difficulty Class of all techniques if the victim is a gnome.
Orc – Treat the assassin's class level as +1 higher for the purpose of determining the duration of techniques that grant weapon special abilities.
Puddling – Every 5 times this bonus is selected, choose a technique with a presence change of 2, 3, or 4.
Whenever the assassin executes the chosen technique, he may throw a flask of acid or alchemist's fire as a free action.
Tiefling – Every 3 times this bonus is selected, the assassin has an additional poison point whenever he makes poisons with the poison mixology ability.
Vanara – Whenever the assassin executes a technique with a presence change of 2, 3, or 4, add +1 foot to the assassin's base land speed for 1 round (+5 feet for every five times this bonus is taken). This is an enhancement bonus.
Vishkanya – Every 3 times this bonus is selected, the assassin has an additional poison point whenever he makes poisons with the poison mixology ability.
Assassin Feats
Arcane Larcenist
Why stop with just one spell when you can walk off with half the contents of a wizard's brain.
Prerequisite(s): Know any one of filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift, assassin level 9th
Benefit(s): Whenever you execute the filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift techniques, if you have exactly one spell retained by that technique, you do not lose it when you attempt to steal another one. If you have exactly two spells retained by that technique, choose one of the two spells to lose immediately.
Bloody Mess
Killing is so much easier when the next mark is busy screaming over what you did to the first guy.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, execution as a chosen execution specialization, know at least three execution techniques
Benefit(s): Three times per day, whenever you execute an execution technique with a presence change of 3 or 4, you may immediately grant 1 presence to a creature adjacent to your target.
Cold Assassin
In court, premeditation gets thrown around like it's a dirty word. News flash: it's a great way to avoid getting caught in the first place if you do it right. Of course they hate it!
Prerequisite(s): Technique pool class feature, assassin level 1st
Benefit(s): The size of your technique pool increases by +3 points.
Special: You can gain Cold Assassin multiple times. Each time, the size of your technique pool increases by +2 points, and the required assassin level increases by +3.
Cumulative Exposure
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, magehunting as a chosen assassin specialization, know at least three magehunting techniques
Benefit(s): Choose a 1st-level spell from the cleric, druid, sorcerer, or wizard spell lists. You gain the ability to cast the chosen spell twice per day as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your assassin level and Intelligence as your key ability.
Special: You can gain Cumulative Exposure multiple times. Each time, choose a new 1st-level spell to learn. The required number of magehunting techniques increases by +2 for each time you have taken this feat.
Extended Larceny
When you take magic, it's for keeps, and such paltry issues as the death of the caster don't really matter so much.
Prerequisite: Know any one of filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift, assassin level 5th
Benefit(s): Spells stolen with the filch the gift, pilfer the gift, and steal the gift techniques are retained for 1 hour per assassin level or for hours equal to your Charisma modifier after the subject's death, whichever comes first.
Normal: You retain stolen spells for 10 minutes per assassin level or for minutes equal to your Charisma modifier after the subject's death, whichever comes first.
Fingers of Fury
You poke faster than the eye can move.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, acupressure as a chosen assassin specialization, know at least three acupressure techniques
Benefit(s): Three times per day, whenever you would execute an acupressure technique in place of an attack in a full-attack action, you may instead execute that technique at the end of your full-attack action without sacrificing an attack to do so. Its attack bonus is equal to that of your last main-hand attack in a full-attack action.
Greater Specialization Focus
At some point, other people start to memorize the names of your attacks.
Prerequisite: Specialization Focus
Benefit(s): Choose one of your specializations that has already gained the benefits of the Specialization Focus feat. The Difficulty Class of all saving throws called for by techniques of that specialization increases by a further +1.
This stacks with the bonus granted by Specialization Focus.
Special: You can gain Greater Specialization Focus multiple times. Each time, choose another one of your specializations that has already gained the benefits of the Specialization Focus feat.
Instructor of Assassination
You feel like it's high time to give back, and giving back apparently means making more assassins.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, assassin level 7th
Benefit(s): Whenever you replenish your technique pool for the day, you may spend 1 hour training an ally without the assassin techniques class feature in the art of assassination. For the next 24 hours, or until the next time you replenish your technique pool, whichever comes first, that ally gains a technique pool containing 4 technique points, the study mark universal technique, the ability to create presence pools as a 1st-level assassin, and any one assassin technique you know that can be learned by a 1st-level assassin. The ally has an effective assassin level equal to his character level 3 or your assassin level 2, whichever is lower.
Master Instructor
You've been around a long time. Are you spending time passing on your successes, or are you warning others about your failures.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor of Assassination, assassin level 13th
Benefit(s): Whenever you train an ally in the art of assassination with the Instructor of Assassination feat, that ally learns two additional assassin techniques you know that can be learned by a 1st-level assassin, and the size of his temporary technique pool increases by +2 points. The ally forgets these additional techniques when the abilities granted by Instructor of Assassination are lost.
Saw it Coming
"Hang on, guys! Is the hair on the back of your neck tingling?"
Prerequisite(s): Assassin techniques class feature, intuition as a chosen assassin specialization, know at least 3 intuition techniques
Benefit(s): Whenever you do not get to act in a surprise round, you may assign 1 presence to up to two creatures in combat with a presence pool.
Share the Gift
You may hate mages, but those who cooperate with you get to live, usually.
Prerequisite: Know any one of filch the gift, pilfer the gift, steal the gift
Benefit(s): Whenever you execute the filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift techniques on a willing creature, that creature may choose which spell you steal. When performing steal the gift on a willing creature, do not roll to see what level of spell you get to steal: the subject chooses any 1st through 3rdlevel spell to give you instead.
Sneaky Savant
Even for an assassin, you're a tricky one.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, infiltration as a chosen assassin specialization, know at least 3 infiltration techniques
Benefit(s): You gain an infiltration pool, a measure of just how much sneakier than other assassins you are. The number of points in your infiltration pool is equal to 4.
You may expend infiltration points as though they were technique points, but you may only expend them on infiltration techniques. The infiltration pool replenishes itself whenever you replenish your technique pool.
Special: You can gain Sneaky Savant multiple times. Each time, the size of your infiltration pool increases by +3 and the number of required infiltration techniques increases by +2.
Specialization Focus
You've given your techniques fancy names, a habit that tends to get laughed at until their efficacy is well-documented. It will be soon enough.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature
Benefit(s): Choose one of your specializations. The Difficulty Class of all saving throws called for by techniques of that specialization increases by +1.
Special: You can gain Specialization Focus multiple times. Each time, choose another one of your specializations.
Stockpiler Adept
When you talk about saving for a rainy day, what you mean is you hoard away poison for when you're going to need all of it at once. And maybe even then some! That's why you hoard it in the first place: it's never enough.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, stockpiling technique, poison as a chosen assassin specialization
Benefit(s): The stockpiling technique can now retain an additional +2 poison points, for a total of 5.
Subduing Techniques
We've all seen wanted posters, and, sometimes, a mark is worth far more alive than dead. It's good to learn how to knock somebody out if that's your idea of good work.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature
Benefit(s): Whenever you execute a technique that does only slashing, piercing, and/or bludgeoning damage, you may choose to make the damage dealt by that technique nonlethal.
Technique Training
Even within specializations, assassins vary widely from one to another simply because there are so many techniques out there. The only real way to get ahead is to put effort into learning more of them.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, assassin level 1st
Benefit(s): You learn an assassin technique for which you meet all the prerequisites. The chosen technique must be from one of your chosen specialization categories.
Special: You can gain Technique Training multiple times. Each time, choose a new technique for which you meet all the prerequisites, and the required assassin level increases by +4.
Thin Lady's Disciple
If the show ends when the fat lady sings, then it stands to reason that some beanpole of a woman gets things started.
Prerequisite: Assassin techniques class feature, initiation as a chosen assassin specialization, opening salvo technique, know at least 3 initiation techniques
Benefit(s): Three times per day, you may benefit from the opening salvo technique even if it isn't the first round of combat.
Toxic Mixologist
They'll love your new recipe.
Prerequisite: Toxin mixology ability, know at least 1 poison technique
Benefit(s): Whenever you brew poisons with the toxin mixology ability, the number of poison points you have to spend increases by +2.
Special: You can gain Toxic Mixologist multiple times.
Each time, the required number of known poison techniques increases by +2.
Varied Technique Training
Learning outside of one's specialization is very difficult, but you managed it.
Prerequisite: Technique Training
Benefit(s): Choose an assassin technique you know that is not a prerequisite for any other ability you possess. (You cannot choose a poison technique if you only know one of them because of toxin mixologist.) You forget the chosen technique, but learn your choice of any assassin technique for which you meet all the prerequisites.
Assassin Technique Summary
Hot Techniques
Acupressure
No Prerequisite
Blackout: Presence -1. Your touch deafens and blinds for a short period.
Clear the Channels: Presence -1. Your touch grants a temporary +2 or higher morale bonus to Strength and Constitution, but imposes a 2 penalty to AC.
Deathgrip: Presence -3. Your touch deals 1d6 + 1/3 level Con damage.
Hijacked Ambulation: Presence +1. Your touch forces a creature to move 5 feet.
Pressure Point: Presence +1. Your touch force a creature to drop a random object it is wielding.
Reaching Poke: Presence -1. Your acupressure techniques are temporarily ranged.
Reflex Trigger: Presence -1. Your touch forces a creature to attack itself.
Sinister Relation: Presence +1. Your touch imposes a 2 penalty to saving throws for 1 round.
Steel Finger: Presence -1. Your acupressure techniques temporarily deal piercing damage.
Level 4
Nerve Pinch: Presence -2. Your touch puts a creature to sleep for 2d4 rounds.
Staggering Poke: Presence -1. Your touch staggers a creature for 1 round.
Level 6
Death of a Thousand Stings: Presence -4. You may execute a number of additional acupressure techniques this round, based on your BAB.
Lockjaw: Presence -2. Your touch suppresses an extraordinary ability for a time.
Wake the Dead: Presence -1. Your acupressure techniques temporarily affect creatures without a functioning nervous system.
Level 8
Attempted Purgation: Presence -2. Your touch may end a poison or disease effect.
Execution No Prerequisite Execute: Presence -4. Your attack deals damage equal to the amount of damage taken by the subject so far, max 1d6 per level.
Exploit Weakness: Presence +1. Your next weapon attack uses Intelligence to hit. Escalation: Presence -1 to use Seek Weakness at the same time.
Lacerate: Presence +1. Your next weapon attack deals additional bleed damage.
Mark for Death: Presence +1. Subject temporarily takes +1 damage from all weapon sources.
Seek Weakness: Presence +1. Your next weapon attack uses Intelligence to damage. Escalation: Presence -1 to use Exploit Weakness at the same time.
Sever Arteries: Presence -3 Exhaust a creature temporarily with a Fortitude save to negate the effect each round.
Skewer: Presence -1. Weapon attack ignores damage reduction equal to twice your Intelligence modifier.
Twist the Knife: Presence -1. Weapon attack deals additional bleed damage based on level.
Level 4
Deathblow: Presence -2. You temporarily gain the ability to cleave when you kill or destroy a creature.
Exsanguinate: Presence -2. Weapons you wield temporarily have the wounding weapon special ability.
Keen Implements: Presence -1. Weapons you wield are temporarily keen. Starting at 10th level, weapons that are already keen gain an additional +1 to their critical threat range.
Swift Trickery: Presence -1. If an attack hits, feint that creature.
Level 6
Garrote: Presence -2. You grapple a creature, staggering it for the duration of the grapple.
Level 8
Bloodletting Strike: Presence -3. Your touch makes the target take damage whenever it takes a move, standard, or full-round action.
Rupture: Presence -2. Rupture an organ, inflicting an effect of your choice and additional damage.
Hot Techniques
Initiation No Prerequisite Ambusher You have a +3 bonus to initiative during a surprise round.
First Blood: Presence +1. Attack deals additional damage to undamaged creature.
Hurl: Presence -1. You temporarily treat weapons that are compatible with the Weapon Finesse feat as though they were both throwing and returning. Escalation: Add additional weapon special abilities at the cost of 1 presence each.
Ignored Peril: Presence +1. Attack deals additional damage to creature that neither attacked nor damaged you in the previous round.
Opening Salvo – In the first round of combat, treat initiation techniques with a 1 presence change as though it were +1.
Produce Knives: Presence X. Create throwing knives equal to twice the presence spent.
Sniper Adept: Presence -1. You roll twice and take the better result when attempting to remain hidden after making a ranged attack, and have a bonus to the check.
Steady Snipe: Presence +1. The range increment of your ranged weapons increases by +30 ft. (+60 ft. at 11th level and higher) for 1 round.
Wound Spring Maneuver: Presence +1. A creature attacking you in the first round of combat provokes an attack of opportunity from you.
Level 4
Disarming Shot: Presence 0. Ranged attack performs a disarm combat maneuver on a successful hit.
Ricochet Expend 1 presence to make a ranged attack ricochet and strike another creature. This can chain.
Level 6
Ambush Artist Your techniques gain the ability to allow execution of more techniques, but only during a surprise round.
Burrower: Presence -2. The subject's move actions, standard actions, and full-round actions deal bleed damage to itself.
Silencing Shot: Presence -2. Ranged attack silences a creature temporarily. Starting at 11th level, the effect is permanent.
Level 12
Eliminate: Presence -4 Weapon attack kills a creature instantly. Fort negates.
Magehunting No Prerequisite Choke the Source: Presence X. Deactivate a single magic item while grappling.
Filch the Gift: Presence +1. Steal a 0thlevel spell.
Hunter's Immunity: Presence -1. You have a +2 luck bonus to saves against the subject's spells for 1 round.
Magic Detective: Presence -1. You can cast detect magic and read magic as spell-like abilities.
Rattling: Presence Presence +1. The subject must make a concentration check to cast a high level spell. Escalation: Presence -1 to affect all spells.
Stifling Strike: Presence +1. Melee attack temporarily imposes a 1 penalty to caster level.
Level 4
Bad Medicine Weapons you wield gain an enhancement bonus when a creature with sufficient presence casts a spell in range.
Homunculus Trophy Gain the ability to craft homunculi from the blood of mages you killed. The homunculi have a small vestige of their source's power.
Pilfer the Gift: Presence -2. Steal a 1st-level spell or other equivalent ability and gain the ability to cast it once as a spell-like ability.
Level 6
Dispel Magic: Presence -2. Cast dispel magic as a spell-like ability.
Master Thief + 1 caster level for magehunting techniques.
Level 8
Explosive Repossession: Presence -1. Stolen spells from filch the gift, pilfer the gift, and steal the gift explode, dealing 2d6 points of damage per spell level to the original spell owner, or 1d6 points of damage per spell level in a 10-ft.-radius if the owner is in range and dead.
Level 10
Grand Theft Arcana: Presence -4 Cast a copy of a spell that targeted only you against which you made a successful saving throw.
Special Charitable Thief Req. any one of filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift. Expend 2 technique points and a stolen spell to allow a nearby ally to cast without expending a spell slot.
Steal the Gift Req. Assassin 10, pilfer the gift.
Presence -3 Steal a random 1st to 3rd-level spell from a creature and gain the ability to cast it once as a spell-like ability.
Cold Techniques
Infiltration
No Prerequisite Expeditious Feet: Presence +1. You temporarily increase your base land speed by +30 feet. Escalation: Presence -1 to execute as a free action.
Kip Up: Presence +1. Stand up from prone as a swift action. Escalation: Presence -1 in order not to provoke attacks of opportunity.
Kong Vault: Presence +1. You temporarily ignore the effects of up to 10 feet of difficult terrain per round. Enhancement bonuses to base land speed apply to this distance starting at 6th level.
Stick the Landing: Presence -1. Make an Acrobatics check to reduce falling damage.
Thrown Ventriloquism: Presence -1. You throw your voice as the ghost sound spell, and maintain it for as long as you wish.
Traceless Step: Presence -1. You temporarily do not leave footprints or scent while moving.
Unpredictable Step: Presence -1. Your movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from a single creature. The effect ends after 1 round of active use.
Weave: Presence +1. You briefly gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC.
Level 4
Scaling Step: Presence -1. Your movement scales walls and walks on water, but only so long as you keep moving. Lasts 1 round.
Level 6
Least Interesting Man in the World: Presence -2. Bystanders and guards rewrite their internal narrative to make your snooping about something they shouldn't bother.
Lightfoot: Presence -3. Your footfalls do not trigger mechanical traps, at least temporarily.
Locksmith: Presence -2. A piece of metal or wood becomes the exact key you need when pushed into a lock.
Sliding Trip: Presence -1. Trip as part of a move action.
Level 8 Shadowfoot: Presence -2. You teleport 5 feet per level as the dimension door spell, but must emerge unseen.
Level 10 Defensive Roll: Presence -2. Reduce damage dealt to you by half on a successful Reflex save. Can be used without an action once per day.
Intuition No Prerequisite Anticipate: Presence +1. The next time the subject targets you with an attack or ability, it provokes an attack of opportunity from you.
Detect Compulsion: Presence -1. You learn whether or not the subject is affected by a compulsion spell, and can attempt to identify it.
Foreseen Strike: Presence +1. You have a +2 insight bonus to the next saving throw called for by the subject.
Sense of Direction You always know which way is magnetic north, so long as where you are has a magnetic field.
Uncanny Intuition Each morning, store d20 results that you can use in place of rolls.
Level 4 Danger Sense You may expend 2 technique points to act in a surprise round.
Ricochet Arrows: Presence -1. You deflect an incoming arrow and have it strike another creature.
Uncanny Dodge You cannot be caught flatfooted, including against invisible creatures.
Level 6 Sense Fear You have blindsense 30 feet for the purpose of detecting creatures with presence.
Level 8 Walking Polygraph: Presence -2. Detect lies and evasions in touched creature.
Level 12 Improved Evasion As evasion, but you take half damage on a failed Reflex saving throw.
Special Improved Uncanny Dodge Req. Assassin 8, uncanny dodge. You can no longer be flanked, and you deny sneak attacks by virtue of being flanked.
Preternatural Senses Req. Assassin 4, uncanny intuition. Once per day, you may replace a d20 roll with a roll stored by the uncanny intuition technique.
Stolen Future Req. Assassin 8, uncanny intuition.: Presence -4 Record two d20s rolls as if rolled by the uncanny intuition technique.
Thrown Intuition Req. Assassin 6, uncanny intuition. You can force other creatures to use results stored by the uncanny intuition technique.
PoisonToxin Mixology
Autogranted when any other poison technique is taken. Allows for the production of custom poisons.
No Prerequisite Alternative Preparation Your toxin mixology poisons have an optional, delayed onset for 1 poison point and can be made to have different modes of action.
Bilious Edge
Weapons coated by toxin mixology poison are treated as magic, and, at high levels, your alignment for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Double Dosing
You can expend poison points to grant toxin mixology poisons a second attack per dose if a saving throw is made against the first attempt. The second attempt has a 2 penalty to DC.
Lethargic Liquids
You gain access to a number of status effects for toxin mixology.
Mélangology
Toxin mixology poisons can now target a secondary ability score.
Sinister Concoctions
You may expend poison points to increase the DC of your toxin mixology poisons.
Somnolence Solutions
You may expend poison points to make a toxin mixology poison put creatures to sleep.
Level 4
Brewer's Immunity
You have immunity to your toxin mixology poisons.
Painful Toxins
You may expend poison points on toxin mixology poisons to have them deal 1d8 acid damage per point on application.
Stockpiling
You may carry poison points over from day to day.
Special Additional Doses Req. Assassin 10, 4 poison techniques. You may create additional, weaker vials of poison with the toxin mixology ability for 2 poison points each.
Assassin's Metabolism: Req. brewer's immunity technique. You may consume toxin mixology poisons as though they were healing potions.
Flexible Stockpiling: Req. stockpiling.
Poison points retained by the stockpiling technique can now be used as though they were technique points, and the stockpiling technique can hold +1 point.
Projectile Poison: Req. alternative preparation, brewer's immunity.
Contact or ingested poison made by toxin mixology may be consumed, then squirted from the tear ducts as a ranged attack. Only one dose may be stored in this manner at a time.
Subtle Tactics Req. brewer's immunity.: Presence -1. You smash a vial of toxin mixology poison in a creature's face.
Assassin Technique ListAcupressure Techniques
Attempted Purgation (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: yes (if target is willing)
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 8
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, choose a single poison or disease affecting the subject. The subject gains an additional saving throw against the chosen poison or disease effect. on a successful saving throw, that effect ends immediately. On a failed saving throw, the normal periodic effects for failing a saving throw against that effect occur.
If the subject is willing, then your melee touch attack automatically hits.
Blackout (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject is deafened and blinded for 1 round, plus an additional round for every five assassin levels you possess.
A successful Fortitude save negates. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
If the subject is willing, then your melee touch attack automatically hits.
Clear the Channels (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: yes (if target is willing)
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. If it hits, the subject gains a +2 morale bonus to Strength and a +2 morale bonus to Constitution, but takes a 2 penalty to AC. This effect persists for rounds equal to your assassin level. A successful Fortitude save negates. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Starting at 13th level, the subject gains a +4 morale bonus to your choice of Strength or Constitution instead.
If the subject is willing, then your melee touch attack automatically hits.
Death of a Thousand Stings (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 4
Presence Change: 4
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round
Requires: Assassin 6
If your base attack bonus is from +6 to +10, you may execute up to two additional acupressure techniques this round. If your base attack bonus is from +11 to +15, you may execute up to three additional acupressure techniques this round. If you base attack bonus is +16 or greater, you may execute up to four additional acupressure techniques this round.
Deathgrip (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 3 or 4
Presence Change: 3
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject takes Constitution damage equal to 1d6 + one-third your assassin level, rounded down. A successful Fortitude save negates the Constitution damage, but the subject takes damage equal to your assassin level instead.
Hijacked Ambulation (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: yes (if target is willing)
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject moves 5 feet in a direction of your choice. this movement provokes attacks of opportunity. A successful Will save negates. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Lockjaw (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, choose a single extraordinary ability possessed by the subject. The chosen ability is suppressed for 1 round, plus an additional round for every three assassin levels you possess. A successful Fortitude save negates. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Nerve Pinch (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 4
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject falls asleep for 2d4 rounds. A successful Fortitude save negates. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
When you are not in combat, nerve pinch is considered to be pool compatible.
Pressure Point (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject spasms with sudden pain, dropping a random object held in its hands, or what passes for hands.
Equipment that is attached via a strap or locked gauntlet does not drop. A successful Fortitude save negates.
Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Reaching Poke (Su)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Your acupressure techniques that are delivered via a melee touch attack now have a range of 30 feet and are delivered via a ranged touch attack.
You may execute an additional acupressure technique this round.
Reflex Trigger (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject attacks itself with the object in its main hand. If no object is in the subject's main hand, or if it is wielding a two-handed object, then it attacks itself with any applicable natural weapons while unarmed, or with the aforementioned two-handed object, respectively.
Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Sinister Relaxation (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject takes a 2 penalty to saving throws for 1 rounds. A successful Fortitude save reduces the penalty to 1.
Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Staggering Poke (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 4
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject is staggered for 1 round with a Fortitude save to negate. Creatures without functioning nervous systems are immune to this technique.
Steel Finger (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Your acupressure techniques that are delivered via a melee touch attack now deal piercing damage equal to your Intelligence modifier. This piercing damage is dealt before the primary effects of the aforementioned techniques, and it is not reduced or negated by a successful saving throw. This technique does not allow you to apply precision damage with other acupressure techniques.
You may execute an additional acupressure technique this round.
Wake the Dead (Ex)
Category: Acupressure
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Requires: Assassin 6
Your acupressure techniques function on all corporeal creatures, including those without a functioning nervous system.
You may execute an additional acupressure technique this round.
Execution Techniques
Bloodletting Strike (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature in reach
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 3 or 4
Presence Change: 3
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round/2 levels
Requires: Assassin 8
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the subject begins to bleed internally at the slightest provocation. Whenever the subject performs a move action, it takes 1d6 points of damage. Similarly, performing a standard action causes it to take 2d6 points of damage, and a full-round action causes it to take 3d6 points of damage. A successful Fortitude save negates any individual source of damage inflicted by this technique.
Deathblow (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round/level
Whenever you kill or destroy a creature with a melee attack, you may make a single melee attack against a creature that is adjacent to the creature you just killed as a free action.
Escalation: When you execute this technique, you may set its Presence Required to 4 and its Presence Change to 4. If you do, its duration is set to 1 minute/level.
Execute (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature in reach
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 4
Presence Change: 4
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a weapon attack. On a successful hit, your target takes normal weapon damage, plus 1d6 points of damage per assassin level, to a maximum of the difference between its maximum hit points and its current hit points.
A successful Fortitude save halves the maximum damage this technique can deal.
Exploit Weakness (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: see text
The next weapon attack you make against a creature within 30 feet this round uses your Intelligence modifier instead of any other ability modifier on damage rolls.
Escalation: If you know both exploit weakness and seek weakness, you can execute both as a swift action. If you do, the Presence Change of the combined technique is set to 0.
Exsanguinate (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Requires: Assassin 4
Weapons you wield have the wounding weapon special ability.
Garrote (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, you attempt to grapple your target. For as long as this grapple lasts, your target is staggered.
Keen Implements (Su)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Requires: Assassin 4
Weapons you wield have the keen weapon special ability.
Starting at 10th level, if a weapon you wield already has the keen weapon special ability, then its critical threat range increases by +1 instead. This does not multiply with the keen weapon special ability (or any other effect that multiplies critical threat range), but is rather added after applying its multiplicative effect. For example, an 18-20 weapon would become 14-20 with keen and this technique applied.
Lacerate (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: see text
Your next weapon attack made this round deals 1 point of bleed damage, plus an additional point of bleed damage for every eight assassin levels you possess. This stacks with other bleed effects, but not with itself.
Mark for Death (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: see text
Make a melee touch attack. On a successful hit, the target takes an additional point of damage from all weapon attacks until the beginning of your next turn.
Rupture (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 8
Make a weapon attack. On a successful hit, you strike your choice of one of the following organs within the subject's body, dealing weapon damage, additional damage equal to your assassin level, and imposing the effect associated with the chosen organ. The chosen organ's effect lasts for 24 hours or until the subject receives magical healing. A successful Fortitude save negates the organ effect and halves the additional damage.
- Kidney Whenever the subject takes a full-round or standard action, it takes 1d4 points of damage with a Fortitude save to negate.
- Liver The subject takes a 2 penalty to saving throws against poisons.
- Lung The subject takes a 5foot penalty to base land speed.
- Spleen The subject takes a 2 penalty to saving throws against disease.
Creatures without vital organs are immune to this technique. Creatures with vital organs that do not happen to have the chosen organ are immune to the effects of stabbing that organ, but still take the additional damage.
Seek Weakness (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: see text
The next weapon attack you make against a creature within 30 feet this round uses your Intelligence modifier instead of any other ability modifier on attack rolls.
Escalation: If you know both exploit weakness and seek weakness, you can execute both as a swift action. If you do, the Presence Change of the combined technique is set to 0.
Sever Arteries (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 3 or 4
Presence Change: 3
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a melee weapon attack. On a successful hit, the subject is exhausted for rounds equal to your assassin level. Each round, a successful Fortitude save negates the effect for that round.
Skewer (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make a weapon attack. On a successful hit, you treat all forms of damage reduction possessed by the target (except DR/epic) as though the amount of damage they prevented was lessened by an amount equal to twice your Intelligence modifier, but only for that attack.
Swift Trickery (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 4
Make a weapon attack. On a successful hit, you may perform a feint against that creature as a swift action. If you have the Improved Feint feat, you perform a feint as a free action instead.
Twist the Knife (Ex)
Category: Execution
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: as weapon
Target: creature attacked
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Make an attack with a melee weapon that deals piercing damage. If it hits, the target takes bleed damage based on your assassin level in addition to standard weapon damage. Each time it takes bleed damage from this technique, a successful Fortitude save stops further bleeding.
Infiltration Techniques
Defensive Roll (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: the attacking creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 10
This technique may only be executed in response to taking damage from an attack. You roll with an attack upon your person, attempting a Reflex saving throw (DC = damage dealt). If the save succeeds, you only take half damage from the blow. If it fails, you take full damage. You must be aware of the attack and able to react to it in order to execute your defensive roll. If denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, you cannot use this technique. Evasion cannot be used in conjunction with this technique to take no damage on a successful save.
Once per day, you may execute this technique in response to what would be lethal damage. If you do, the Presence Required for this technique is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the Presence Change is 0.
Expeditious Feet (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
Your base land speed increases by +30 feet. This is an enhancement bonus.
Escalation: You may set this technique's presence required to 1, 2, 3, or 4 and it presence change to 1. If you do, this technique's execution time becomes 1 free action and you may execute another technique this round.
Kip Up (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: instantaneous
You stand up from a prone position.
Escalation: You may set this technique's presence required to 1, 2, 3, or 4 and it presence change to 1. If you do, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for standing up through the execution of this technique.
Kong Vault (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round
You ignore the movement-impairing effects of the first 10 feet of difficult terrain through which you move each round. Starting at 6th level, if you have an enhancement bonus to your base land speed, then the amount of difficult terrain you ignore with this technique increases by an amount equal to that enhancement bonus.
Least Interesting Man in the World (Su)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 minute/level
Requires: Assassin 6
There's just something about you that seems excessively... ordinary. Creatures that observe you skulking about in places where you shouldn't be can't help but rewrite their internal narratives such that it is their staunch belief that, yes, you were indeed meant to be rifling through safety deposit boxes in the bank, reading the local lord's correspondence, or loosening all the salt shakers at the local inn. They certainly remember seeing you do whatever it is you were doing, and can faithfully report on what they saw if pressed. You just seemed harmless at the time and you really weren't worth stopping. A successful Will save negates this effect, and this effect ends immediately if you perform an action that would cause the invisibility spell to end. It is indeed a mind-affecting ability.
Lightfoot (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 3 or 4
Presence Change: 3
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round/level
Requires: Assassin 6
You cannot involuntarily trigger traps whose trigger is mechanical in nature, such as pressure plates or tripwires.
Traps with a magical trigger, such as true seeing, trigger as normal.
Locksmith (Su)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: rod placed in lock
Presence Source: N/A
Presence Required: N/A
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: see text
Requires: Assassin 6
You may only execute this technique when you place a metal rod, stick, or other cylindrical material into a lock.
If that lock can be unlocked by a mundane key, then the inserted cylinder transforms into an exact match of the key required to unlock it, and remains in that state until removed from the lock, at which point it becomes a normal cylinder once more.
Scaling Step (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round
Requires: Assassin 4
You ready yourself for a burst of acrobatics and speed.
Whenever you run, you may walk on water as though you were subject to the water walk spell, and you may scale sheer surfaces (but not walk on ceilings) as though you were subject to the spider climb spell. You lose this benefit the instant you stop moving, so unless you are subject to another ability that lets you walk on water, you'll simply fall in. If you stop moving while scaling a sheer surface, you may hold onto that surface by making a Climb skill check at a DC of 5 less than the normal DC required to scale that surface.
Shadowfoot (Su)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: 5 feet/level
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within range
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 8
You fade into nothingness and teleport up to 5 feet per assassin level as the dimension door spell, with the caveat that you may only teleport to a location from which no nonallied creature would be able to see you. If no such square in range exists, you reappear in your original square, looking quite foolish.
Sliding Trip (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: target creature that meets criteria, see text
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 free action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
This technique may only be executed as part of a move action, and the target creature of the technique must be in a square you threaten for a continuous 10 feet of the path of your movement. Make a melee touch attack. If it hits, you perform the trip combat maneuver against the target as a free action. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if it fails.
Stick the Landing (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: instantaneous
You may only execute this technique when you would take falling damage. Make an Acrobatics check (DC = 10). If you succeed on the Acrobatics check, then you roll forward 5 feet and take 1d6 less falling damage. For every 5 by which you exceed the target DC, you reduce the falling damage by an additional 1d6.
Thrown Ventriloquism (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: 120 feet
Target: a 5foot square in range
Presence Source: a creature within 120 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: see text
You throw your voice as the ghost sound spell, with the following exceptions. There is no Will save to disbelieve, as this is not an illusion effect. It's actually your voice.
Instead, make a Bluff check opposed by a Sense Motive check from each creature in range. Creatures that see you gain a +5 circumstance bonus to their Sense Motive checks, and you take a 5 penalty to your Bluff check if you impersonate another creature. At the beginning of each of your turns, you may choose to spend a standard action maintaining your ventriloquism. If you do not, it ends immediately.
Traceless Step (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: NONE
Presence Required: N/A
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 hour/level
You do not leave footprints or a scent trail while moving.
Tracking you is impossible by non-magical means.
Unpredictable Step (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round/level
Your movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from your presence source. Whenever this technique would prevent an attack of opportunity, it ends at the beginning of your next turn.
Weave (Ex)
Category: Infiltration
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
You gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC.
Initiation Techniques
Ambush Artist (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Requires: Assassin 6
The first technique you execute during a surprise round gains, "You may execute an additional technique this round." If it already has the aforementioned text, it does not stack.
Ambusher (Ex)
Category: Initiation
You have a +3 bonus to initiative checks, but only when able to act during a surprise round.
Burrower (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: see text
Requires: Assassin 6
Make a weapon attack. If it hits, it deals damage as normal, plus it leaves behind a fragment of twisted material that burrows its way into the subject's body, punishing its actions. Whenever the subject takes a move action, it takes 1 bleed damage. Whenever it takes a standard action, it takes 2 bleed damage and whenever it takes a full-round action, it takes 3 bleed damage. This effect persists until the subject performs no actions other than free, swift, or immediate actions for 1 round.
Disarming Shot (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 0
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 4
Make a ranged weapon attack. If it hits, it does not deal damage. Instead, you perform a disarm combat maneuver with a CMB equal to your base attack bonus + your Dexterity modifier. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity by performing a combat maneuver with this technique.
Eliminate (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 4
Presence Change: 4
Execution Time: 1 full-round action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 12
Make a weapon attack. If it hits, the subject dies instantly with a Fortitude save to negate. On a successful saving throw, it still takes damage as if hit normally. If the subject's current hit points are greater than or equal to its maximum hit points, it takes a 2 penalty to its saving throw.
First Blood (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: undamaged creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action or in place of an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
This technique may only be executed if the target's current hit points are greater than or equal to its maximum hit points. Make a single weapon attack, dealing additional damage equal to 1 + one-third your assassin level, rounded down, on a successful hit.
Escalation: When you execute this technique, you may set its Presence Required to 1, 2, 3, or 4 and its Presence Change to 1.
If you do, the subject takes 1 point of bleed damage, plus an additional point of bleed damage for every four assassin levels you possess.
Hurl (Su)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: yes
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels
You treat weapons that are compatible with the Weapon Finesse feat as though they had both the throwing and returning weapon special abilities.
Escalation: When you execute this technique, you may expend any amount of additional presence. For each point of presence expended in this fashion, choose a weapon special ability with a +1 enhancement modifier, such as frost, keen, or shock. When throwing them, you treat weapons that are compatible with the Weapon Finesse feat as though they had the chosen weapon special abilities. You must be at least 8th level to use this escalation ability, and this escalation ability is not pool compatible.
Ignored Peril (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action or in place of an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
This technique cannot be executed in the first round of combat, and can only target creatures that neither attacked nor damaged you in the previous round. Make a single weapon attack, dealing additional damage equal to 1 + one-third your assassin level, rounded down, on a successful hit.
Escalation: When you execute this technique, you may set its Presence Required to 1, 2, 3, or 4 and its Presence Change to 1.
If you do, the subject takes a 2 penalty to attack rolls made against you and you gain a +2 luck bonus to saving throws made against spells and abilities used by the subject. This effect lasts for 1 round.
Opening Salvo (Ex)
Category: Initiation
In the first round of combat, you may treat initiation techniques with a presence change of 1 as though they had a presence change of +1. (This works for initiation techniques with a variable cost if you choose "1" as the cost to "pay", as well as for techniques with an escalation clause that sets their presence change to 1.) You treat the presence change of the technique as though it were +1 for the purpose of that technique's interaction with other techniques and abilities.
When making use of opening salvo, initiation techniques that normally grant the ability to execute an additional technique this round do not do so.
Produce Knives (Su)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: see text
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 10 minutes/level (D)
You may choose to expend any amount of presence when you execute this form. For each point of presence expended, you conjure two throwing knives. Starting at 4th level, throwing knives conjured in this fashion have a +1 enhancement bonus, increasing by +1 every four assassin levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5 throwing knives at 20th level. These knives persist for the duration of the technique, until the technique is executed again, until thrown, or until they leave your possession.
You may execute an additional initiation technique this round.
Ricochet (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Requires: Assassin 4
Whenever you strike a creature with a ranged attack, you may expend 1 presence from that creature's presence pool.
If you do, the ranged attack ricochets, attacking another target creature within 20 feet. Ricocheting ranged attacks do not apply precision damage, nor do they apply the effects of any executed technique. A ricochet can itself be ricocheted, but an attack cannot ricochet off of a particular creature more than once.
Silencing Shot (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature attacked
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
Make a ranged weapon attack. If it hits, it deals damage as normal, and the target is rendered incapable of speech for 1 minute with a Fortitude save to negate. It does not deal damage. Starting at 11th level, this silence effect is permanent instead.
Sniper Adept (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 free action
Duration: instantaneous
You may only execute this technique when making a ranged attack that falls under the purview of the "sniping" function of the Stealth skill. You roll twice and take the better result for the Stealth check that determines whether or not you remain obscured. In addition, you have a luck bonus to that check equal to half your assassin level, rounded down (minimum 0).
Execution of this technique does not count against the maximum number of techniques you can execute in a round. By extension, it may be executed even if you have reached your maximum allotment for the round.
Steady Snipe (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 120 feet
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 swift action
Duration: 1 round
You steady your breathing, increasing the range increment of any ranged weapon you use by +30 feet. The range at which sneak attacks are applied increases by the same amount. At 11th level, this increases to +60 feet.
Wound Spring Maneuver (Ex)
Category: Initiation
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: creature provoking attack of opportunity
Presence Required: 0
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: instantaneous
This technique may only be executed in response to being attacked in melee in the first round of combat. The attacking creature provokes an attack of opportunity from you.
Intuition Techniques
Anticipate (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 10 feet
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature targeted
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/8 levels or until discharged
The next time the subject performs any action that targets you, it provokes an attack of opportunity from you.
Escalation: When executing this technique, you may set its Presence Required to 2, 3, or 4 and its Presence Change to 2. If you do, rather than your subject's next action targeting you provoking an attack of opportunity, you may move 10 feet as a free action, before that action resolves. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Danger Sense (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 4
Whenever a combat with a surprise round starts, if you are not entitled to act in that surprise round, then you may expend 2 technique points. If you do, you may act in the surprise round.
Detect Compulsion (Su)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: 60 feet
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature targeted
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
You learn whether or not the subject is subject to a compulsion spell. If it is, a successful Spellcraft check allows you to identify the spell. You treat Spellcraft as though it were a class skill when using this technique.
Foreseen Strike (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 30 feet
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: creature targeted
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: 1 round or until discharged
The next time the subject performs any action that calls for a saving throw, you gain a +2 insight bonus to that saving throw.
Improved Evasion (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 12
This works like evasion, except that while you still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, you henceforth take only half damage on a failed save. You do not gain the benefit of improved evasion while helpless.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 8, uncanny dodge
You can no longer be flanked.
This defense denies other characters the ability to sneak attack you by flanking you, unless the attacker has at least four levels in an uncanny dodge granting classes than the target does.
If a character already has uncanny dodge from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level required to flank the character.
Preternatural Senses (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 4, uncanny intuition
The first time you fail a saving throw each day, you may retroactively replace your roll with a d20 recorded by the uncanny intuition technique. If this would result in a successful saving throw, then the save is retroactively successful.
Ricochet Arrows (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3 or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 4
You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to use this technique, and may only execute it when you would normally be hit with an attack from a ranged weapon. You ricochet the ranged attack so that you take no damage from it, instead subjecting a creature within 15 feet to the attack at the original attack modifier. You must be aware of the attack and not flatfooted.
Unusually massive ranged weapons (such as boulders or ballista bolts) and ranged attacks generated by natural attacks or spell effects can't be ricocheted.
Sense of Direction (Ex)
Category: Intuition
You always know which direction is magnetic north. This technique grants no benefit on worlds or planes of existence without magnetic fields, and can get horribly confused by worlds and planes with magnetic fields that work in exotic ways.
Sense Fear (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 6
You are considered to have blindsense 30 feet, but only for the purpose of detecting creatures with at least 1 point of presence.
Stolen Future (Su)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 60 feet
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 4
Presence Change: 4
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 8, uncanny intuition technique
You subtly manipulate your knowledge of the immediate future to spell doom for another creature while preserving your own hide. Roll three d20s and record the results of two of them. Treat these d20s as though they were recorded with the uncanny intuition technique. Until those recorded d20s are expended or otherwise lost, whenever the subject rolls one of the results recorded on your d20s, the subject automatically fails that roll.
Thrown Intuition (Su)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 6, uncanny intuition technique
As an immediate action, whenever a creature within 30 feet of you is about to make a d20 roll, you may force it to use one of the results recorded with the uncanny intuition technique rather than make an actual roll of its own.
Results of "1" or "20" imposed upon a creature in this manner are not automatic misses or hits, respectively. A successful Will save renders a creature immune to any further imposed results for 24 hours.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Requires: Assassin 4
You can react to danger before your senses would normally allow you to do so. You cannot be caught flatfooted, nor do you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. You still lose your Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. You can still lose your Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action (see Combat) against you.
If you already have uncanny dodge from a different class, you automatically gain improved uncanny dodge instead.
Uncanny Intuition (Su)
Category: Intuition
Whenever you replenish your technique pool, you may immediately expend 1 technique point. If you do, roll a d20 and record the result. You may use the recorded d20 in place of making a d20 roll, expending it. d20s recorded in this fashion persist until used or until you replenish your technique pool.
Starting at 4th level, whenever you expend a d20, you may expend 2 technique points. If you do, you immediately roll a new d20 and record the result.
Starting at 8th level, you may instead expend 2 technique points whenever you replenish your technique pool. If you do, you roll two d20s and record the results.
Starting at 16th level, you may instead expend 3 technique points whenever you replenish your technique pool. If you do, you roll two d20s and record the results, then you record the average of those two d20s, rounded down, as a third result that you can use as though it were a normal d20 roll.
Walking Polygraph (Ex)
Category: Intuition
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 minute/level
Requires: Assassin 8
For the duration of this technique, you know if any creature you are touching deliberately and knowingly speaks a lie by discerning disturbances in its physiological state caused by lying. This technique does not reveal the truth or uncover unintentional inaccuracies, but it does detect evasions. A successful Will saving throw allows a creature to tell lies without your detecting them for 1 round.
Magehunting Techniques
Bad Medicine (Su)
Category: Magehunting
Range: 30 feet
Presence Source: qualifying spellcaster in range, see text
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Requires: Assassin 4
Whenever a spellcaster in range whose current presence meets this technique's presence required casts a spell, weapons you are currently wielding gain a +1 enhancement bonus for 1d4+1 rounds. This stacks with existing enhancement bonuses, to a maximum of one-third your assassin level, rounded down, but does not stack with itself.
Charitable Thief
Category: Magehunting
Requires: any of one filch the gift, pilfer the gift, steal the gift techniques
Whenever an ally within 30 feet casts a spell whose spell level is less than or equal to the spell level of a spell you have stolen with the filch the gift, pilfer the gift, or steal the gift techniques, you may expend that spell as an immediate action, and expend 2 technique points. If you do, the casting ally does not consume the spell slot being used to cast his spell.
Choke the Source (Su)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: see text
Execution Time: 1 free action
Duration: see text (D)
Whenever you enter a grapple with a creature, you may choose to suppress the effects of a single magic item on its person. The magic item suppressed is the one with the highest caster level that does not exceed your assassin level. If there is no item that meets this criteria, this technique ends immediately. At the beginning of each of your turns, the affected creature's presence decreases by 1. This technique persists until you no longer meet its required presence, until you dismiss it, or until the grapple is broken.
Dispel Magic (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: 60 feet
Target: one spellcaster, creature, or object in range
Presence Source: creature targeted, or the wielder of the object targeted
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 6
You cast dispel magic as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your assassin level and Intelligence as your key ability.
Explosive Repossession (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 60 feet
Target: all creatures in range from which you have retained stolen spells
Presence Source: any one target creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 8
For each spell you have retained with the filch the gift, pilfer the gift, and steal the gift techniques, if the creature from which you originally took the spell is in range of this technique, you lose that retained spell. The original source of that spell is hit by an immense backlash of magical energy, taking 2d6 points of damage for each spell level worth of spells you lost that were originally that creature's. If the original source of any of your stolen spells is in range and a corpse, then it explodes with magical energy, dealing 1d6 points of damage in a 10ft.
radius for each spell level worth of spells that were originally that creature's. Creatures damaged in this manner take a 2 penalty to their caster level for 1d4 rounds. Treat 0thlevel spells as 1st-level spells for the purpose of this technique.
Filch the Gift (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: spellcaster touched
Presence Source: spellcaster touched
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: see text
Your very touch strips the gift of magic from the target and grants it to you temporarily. Make a melee touch attack. If it hits, randomly select a cantrip or orison known by the subject. You gain the ability to cast the randomly determined spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your assassin level and Intelligence as your key ability. While you retain the ability to cast said spell-like ability, the subject cannot cast that cantrip or orison. You retain the ability to cast a spell-like ability gained in this manner for 10 minutes per assassin level or for minutes equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) after the subject's death, whichever comes first. Casting the stolen spell or stealing a new spell with this technique (but not other, similar techniques that also steal spells) ends retention immediately.
Grand Theft Arcana (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: see text
Target: see text
Presence Source: caster of the spell to be stolen
Presence Required: 4
Presence Change: 4
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: Assassin 10
You may only execute this technique in response to making a successful saving throw against a spell that targets only you. You cast a copy of the spell against which you made a successful saving throw targeting its original source, using your assassin level as your caster level and Intelligence as your key ability. This spell has sufficient range to reach your target despite your caster level, and ignores any extenuating circumstances that would otherwise hinder the delivery of the spell. For example, if the caster of the spell you are copying used an additional spell or ability to increase the range of the spell you are copying in order to attack you with it, or even if the caster used some complex mumbo-jumbo to cast on you from another plane, you can target that caster as though range or obstruction was no problem whatsoever (Bear in mind, however, that scoring 4 presence on a creature targeting you from another plane is not going to come up very often!). You may only execute this technique if the spell in question has a spell level that is less than or equal to one-third your assassin level, rounded down.
Homunculus Trophy (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Requires: Assassin 4
You gain the ability to create homunculi without meeting the caster level requirements to do so. Rather than supply a pint of your own blood in their creation, however, you supply a pint of the blood of a spellcaster that you personally helped slay. Despite the blood sourced, the homunculus is bound to you as though you used your own blood. The total Hit Dice of a homunculus you craft in this fashion cannot exceed half your assassin level, rounded down, and each additional Hit Die you add to a homunculus costs only 1500 gp to add rather than the standard 2000 gp.
When crafting a homunculus, you become aware of every spell the spellcaster whose blood you are using knew, and you may increase the creation cost of your new homunculus to grant it the ability to cast a single spell that spellcaster once knew once per day as a spell-like ability. Consult the table below for the costs and requisite assassin level to grant homunculi spells in this manner.
Hunter's Immunity (Ex)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: personal
Target: you
Presence Source: a creature within 60 feet
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 immediate action
Duration: see text
You leverage your presence to make it easier to avoid incoming balls of flaming death, lightning bolts, illusions, and other magical threats, gaining a +2 luck bonus to saving throws against spells cast by your presence source until the beginning of your next turn.
Magic Detective (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: yes The only way to catch a rogue mage is to have magic of your own in the toolbox. You gain the ability to cast detect magic and read magic as spell-like abilities with a caster level equal to your assassin level and Intelligence as your key ability. To cast one of the aforementioned spells, you must expend a point from the presence pool of a creature within 60 feet, or you must expend a point from your technique pool.
Master Thief (Ex)
Category: Magehunting
Requires: Assassin 6
You treat your assassin level as +1 higher for the purpose of determining your effective caster level for any spell-like ability granted by a magehunting technique.
Pilfer the Gift (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: spellcaster touched
Presence Source: targeted spellcaster
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 2
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: see text
Requires: Assassin 4
Your very touch strips the gift of magic from the target and grants it to you temporarily. The means by which this technique does so differs based on the style of magic the subject uses, though a Will saving throw negates all effects. If the subject knows two or more styles of magic, choose one to be affected.
No matter what style of magic is assaulted, the end result is the same: a single-use spell-like ability drawn from their power and packaged for your use. You retain the ability to cast a spell-like ability gained in this manner for 10 minutes per assassin level or for minutes equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) after the subject's death, whichever comes first. Casting the stolen spell or stealing a new spell with this technique (but not other, similar techniques that also steal spells) ends retention immediately.
If the subject has no spells to steal, then the presence change of this technique is set to 0.
If you know the steal the gift technique, then this technique changes as follows:
Presence Required: 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Ethermagic Ethermagus, Ethermancer, Etherslinger Randomly select a 1st-level blast compatible manifestation known by the subject. You gain the ability to cast a lesser blast etherspell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, without paying its ether point cost, and treat Intelligence as your key ability. This lesser blast etherspell has the aforementioned randomly determined blast-compatible manifestation applied to it, again at no cost to you. The subject loses EP equal to the total cost of the stolen etherspell (1 + 1/8 your assassin level + the EP cost of the randomly selected manifestation), and cannot use the randomly selected manifestation until this technique ends.
Known Magic Cantor, Maestro Randomly select one of the subject's known 1st-level spells that has not been cast today. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject's daily use of that spell is consumed.
Prepared Magic Cleric, Wizard, etc.
Randomly select one of the subject's unexpended 1st-level spell slots. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject's prepared spell is consumed.
Spontaneous Magic Bard, Sorcerer, etc.
Randomly select one of the subject's known 1st-level spells. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject consumes one of his daily castings of spells of that level.
Truenaming Scion of Discordia, Truenamer
Randomly select one of the subject's known 1st-level recitations from the Codex of Heart and Mind. You gain the ability to recite that recitation once as a spell-like ability without the need to make a truenaming check.
Your reciter level is equal to half your assassin level and Intelligence is your key ability. Trigger the Law of Finite Malleability and the Law of Flowing Rhetoric as though the subject recited it himself.
Rattling Presence (Ex)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: no
Range: 30 feet
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: 1 round
Your very presence makes magic difficult to manage.
Whenever the subject attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, if it does not already need to make a concentration check, then it must make a DC 10 + 1/2 your assassin level + the spell's spell level + your Intelligence modifier concentration check or lose the spell. All other concentration checks, such as casting on the defensive, have a minimum DC equal to the aforementioned formula, and failing any concentration check causes the spell to fail. Spells whose spell level is at most half the highest spell level castable by the subject are immune to this technique.
Escalation: When you execute this technique, you may set its presence change to 1.
If you do, it affects all spells, not just those of high level.
Steal the Gift (Sp)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: touch
Target: spellcaster touched
Presence Source: targeted spellcaster
Presence Required: 3 or 4
Presence Change: 3
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: see text
Requires: Assassin 10, pilfer the gift
Your very touch strips the gift of magic from the target and grants it to you temporarily. The means by which this technique does so differs based on the style of magic the subject uses, though a Will saving throw negates all effects. If the subject knows two or more styles of magic, choose one to be affected.
No matter what style of magic is assaulted, the end result is the same: a single-use spell-like ability drawn from their power and packaged for your use. You retain the ability to cast a spell-like ability gained in this manner for 10 minutes per assassin level or for minutes equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) after the subject's death, whichever comes first. Casting the stolen spell or stealing a new spell with this technique (but not other, similar techniques that also steal spells) ends retention immediately.
If the subject has no spells to steal, such as attempting to steal 3rdlevel spells from a sorcerer who has used all of his 3rdlevel spells, then the presence change of this technique is set to 0.
Ethermagic Ethermagus, Ethermancer, Etherslinger
Roll 1d3, then randomly select a blast-compatible manifestation known by the subject whose level is equal to the rolled result. You gain the ability to cast a lesser blast etherspell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, without paying its ether point cost, and treat Intelligence as your key ability. This lesser blast etherspell has the aforementioned randomly determined blast-compatible manifestation applied to it, again at no cost to you. The subject loses EP equal to the total cost of the stolen etherspell (1 + 1/8 your assassin level + the EP cost of the randomly selected manifestation), and cannot use the randomly selected manifestation until this technique ends.
Known Magic Cantor, Maestro
Roll 1d3, then randomly select one of the subject's known spells that has not been cast today whose level is equal to the rolled result. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject's daily use of that spell is consumed.
Prepared Magic Cleric, Wizard, etc.
Roll 1d3, then randomly select one of the subject's unexpended spell slots whose level is equal to the rolled result. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject's prepared spell is consumed.
Spontaneous Magic Bard, Sorcerer, etc.
Roll 1d3, then randomly select one of the subject's known spells whose level is equal to the rolled result. You gain the ability to cast that spell once as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to half your assassin level, rounded down, and Intelligence as your key ability. The subject consumes one of his daily castings of spells of that level.
Truenaming Scion of Discordia, Truenamer
Roll 1d3, then randomly select one of the subject's known recitations from the Codex of Heart and Mind whose level is equal to the rolled result. You gain the ability to recite that recitation once as a spell-like ability without the need to make a truenaming check. Your reciter level is equal to half your assassin level and Intelligence is your key ability.
Trigger the Law of Finite Malleability and the Law of Flowing Rhetoric as though the subject recited it himself.
Stifling Strike (Ex)
Category: Magehunting
Pool Compatible: yes
Range: as weapon
Target: creature in range
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 0, 1, 2, or 3
Presence Change: +1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: 1 round + 1 round/3 levels
You make a single weapon attack, dealing damage as normal and reducing the subject's caster level by 1 (minimum 1) for the duration of the technique.
Poison Techniques
Toxin Mixology
Most assassins contract somebody out to squeeze oils out of a lotus flower, brew it up to enhance its lethality, and deliver the deadly end product in vials. You are one of the few who truly understand what it takes to make horrifying cocktails out of various compounds that really aren't so dangerous individually. As an aside, this also lets you avoid the horrible price-gouging inherent in the lotus extract business.
Each morning, whenever you meditate to refresh your technique pool, you may also spend that time brewing up a selection of customized poisons. When brewing poisons, you produce one vial of poison, plus an additional vial of poison for every five poison techniques you know. Each poison you create has the following base profile, and can be enhanced further through the expenditure of poison points. (Most uses for poison points are themselves separate poison techniques. Just how free you want your freeform poison crafting to be is dependent on how much you want to invest in it.) When brewing poisons with this ability, you have poison points equal to your assassin level. You do not have to use all of your poison points, but they do not carry over from day to day, so you may as well use them all. Your poisons contain no preservatives and spoil whenever you brew a new batch of poisons. For this reason, they cannot be sold.
When brewing a poison, choose one of the targetable ability scores listed for your assassin class level in Table: Custom Poison Effects by Level. The poison deals ability damage of the chosen type. Other poison techniques refer to this as the "primary effect". You may also choose to expend 1 poison point. If you do, the poison deals +1 ability damage. This effect cannot be purchased multiple times. Repeat this process for each vial of poison you produce.
Type poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 10 + 1/2 assassin level; Frequency 1/round for 1 round; Effect see Table: Custom Poison Effects by Level; Cure 1 save; Special: The toxin mixology ability is not a technique.
Rather, whenever a character gains any technique from the poison category, he gains toxin mixology as a bonus ability. Like a cross-specialization technique, if the assassin gains this ability, but did not select poison as one of his specializations, then his level is halved for the purpose of determining the power of this ability, as normal.
Additional Doses (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: Assassin 10, any four poison techniques
Whenever you produce poison with the toxin mixology ability, you may produce any number of additional vials of poison for 2 poison points each. These vials treat your assassin level as though it were 10 lower (minimum 1) for the purpose of determining the strength of their primary effect, but not for the purpose of determining targetable ability scores or save DCs.
Alternative Preparation (Ex)
Category: Poison
Poisons you produce with the toxin mixology ability may now be contact poisons or ingested poisons. In addition, whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend 1 poison point. If you do, that poison has a delayed onset of your choice of 1 minute, 10 minutes, or 1 hour.
Assassin's Metabolism (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: brewer's immunity technique
You may consume poisons you produce with the toxin mixology ability as though they were potions, healing you for points of damage equal to the ability damage normally dealt by its primary effect, plus twice the number of poison points expended on the vial. For example, a 12thlevel assassin consuming a standard (not produced with the additional doses technique) vial with 4 poison points of investment would heal for 1d10+8 points of damage.
Poison ingested in this fashion may not be squirted back out using the projectile potion technique.
Bilious Edge (Su)
Category: Poison
Weapons coated with poison you produce with the toxin mixology ability are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Additionally, starting at 11th level, those weapons are also treated as good, evil, lawful, and/or chaotic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction if your alignment matches any of those states.
Brewer's Immunity (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: Assassin 4
You are immune to all effects of poisons you brew with the toxin mixology ability.
Double Dosing (Ex)
Category: Poison
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend a number of poison points equal to one-third the number expended on that vial by all other sources, rounded down (minimum 1). If you do, whenever a creature makes its saving throw against that poison while it is on a weapon, the weapon remains poisoned, though the DC of any saving throw called for by the poison is reduced by 2.
If a creature makes its saving throw against a poison that has already become subject to double dosing, then the poison is lost rather than being recycled for a third attempt. Additionally, the painful toxins technique does not apply to poisons that have already been subject to the double dosing technique.
Flexible Stockpiling (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: stockpiling technique
Poison points retained by the stockpiling technique may be spent as though they were technique points. The stockpiling technique may now retain +1 poison point.
Lethargic Liquids (Ex)
Category: Poison
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may add any number of additional features listed in Table: Lethargic Liquids Effects, below. All additional features are negated on a successful saving throw.
Mélangology (Ex)
Category: Poison
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend 1 poison point. If you do, choose an ability score other than the one targeted by the vial's primary effect. The poison now deals 1 point of damage to the chosen ability score. Starting at 11th level, the poison deals 1d3 points of damage to the chosen ability score instead.
Special: Mélangology can be added to a vial of poison multiple times. Each time, choose a different ability score.
Painful Toxins (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: Assassin 4
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend any number of poison points not to exceed one-quarter your assassin level (minimum 1). For each poison point expended in this manner, that vial of poison deals 1d8 points of acid damage to those affected by it. This damage has no saving throw.
Projectile Poison (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: alternative preparation technique, brewer's immunity technique
You gain the ability to drink any contact or ingested poison you produce with the toxin mixology ability as though it were a potion. The poison settles just behind the eyeballs, where it can be squirted from the tear ducts.
Launching poison at a creature in this manner is a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet, while "cold" uses of this ability, such as draining poison into a glass or coating a doorknob with a dose of eye poison, is simply a standard action. You can only hold one dose of poison in your eyes at any one time, and further doses of poison are wasted if ingested.
Sinister Concoctions (Ex)
Category: Poison
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend any number of poison points.
If you do, the Difficulty Class of any saving throws called for by that vial of poison increases by an amount equal to twice the number of poison points expended, to a maximum of your Intelligence modifier. The effects of this technique only apply if the poison is used by the brewing assassin personally.
Somnolence Solutions (Ex)
Category: Poison
Whenever you produce a vial of poison with toxin mixology, you may expend 2 poison points. If you do, that vial of poison puts its victim to sleep for minutes equal to the points of ability damage that would normally be dealt by its primary effect. This replaces the ability damage of the primary effect.
Stockpiling (Ex)
Category: Poison
Requires: Assassin 4
Whenever you produce poison with the toxin mixology ability, if you have poison points remaining, you may retain up to 3 of them and add them to the number of poison points you have the next time you prepare poisons.
Subtle Tactics (Ex)
Category: Poison
Pool Compatible: no
Range: touch
Target: creature touched
Presence Source: targeted creature
Presence Required: 1, 2, 3, or 4
Presence Change: 1
Execution Time: 1 standard action OR an attack in a full-attack action
Duration: instantaneous
Requires: brewer's immunity technique
You smash a vial of poison you created with the toxin mixology ability in the face of a creature within reach.
Make a melee touch attack, dealing 1 point of piercing damage that ignores damage reduction on a successful hit. Yes, this poisons the target.
