Thought on expanding IF for my own games

[cbarchuk]

I don't mind the instant death thing, but I don't like some rules to be vague leading to abuse, doubt or discussion (a level 1 assassin with a lucky roll could kill almost anything that has a throat regardless of level, HD, HP, etc... that is why I linked it to backstab)

I don't mind it either. I think its pretty cool. But I definitely would limit it to, as it says, creatures with a throat or a target with stereotypical anatomy. (So no undead, slimes etc...) Do you think the limit to only the very first melee round is needed?

[Dimirag]

I think its needed, otherwise the assassin has the chance of directly killing any opponent with each strike regardless of damage and hit points

[cbarchuk]

I think its needed, otherwise the assassin has the chance of directly killing any opponent with each strike regardless of damage and hit points

Well it still has to take place via backstab so surprise or hide in shadows/move silently is still needed. In AD&D Assassination requires actual surprise while backstab does not. So since we're not using the percentage table to outright kill something I think just keeping the requirements for backstab in place is sufficient. So if the Assassin can pull off a backstab then there's a chance for the target to be instantly slain. That will only happen once per combat, maybe twice at most.

[Dimirag]

Do you think the limit to only the very first melee round is needed?

I though you where speaking of the original skill.
My take as its linked to backstabbing should not need any more restrictions as its even less powerful than other assassination skills...

...which makes makes me think that a 5% chance on a situational strike could be a little weak. Even a Master Assassin of 10th level would have a 15% of killing a target with a successful backstab...

if I wanted to keep it related to the attack roll with either:
A.1) A die roll of 16+, reduced by 1 at some levels.
A.2) A die roll of 16+, with a level based backstab bonus.
B.1) Rolling a set amount above the To Hit Value with the assassin reducing the amount needed at some levels.
B.2) Rolling a set amount above the To Hit Value with the assassin improving his backstabbing attack bonus at some levels.
C) Use a Level vs Level/HD to determine the roll needed to convert a backstabbing into a killing strike akin to the Advanced table

[cbarchuk]

Here's a version of the Assassin by B/X Blackrazor. He made it for the Holmes rule set but I really thought he did a fantastic job and that it would fit well within the similar rule set of IF. He made it with a level maximum of 12. The original OD&D Assassin only went up to level 14. So I'm not sure if it should be tweaked for levels 1-20. I'm currently reaching out to him to get his thoughts.

[cbarchuk]

Okay so after much deliberation I mixed some ideas from B/X Blackrazor, Necropraxis, tweaked a few things here and there and made an Assassin class that I like for Iron Falcon. I plan on doing this for all the sub-classes. Obviously some will need much less tweaking compared to others. Anyways I always thought the Assassin class was a bit of an odd duck and too similar to the thief. Despite that I still wanted to include it but make it more distinct since OD&D is all about house rules anyways right? By the way, you'll notice I use a d6 for skills. I also do this for the thief as I simply prefer it. The only thing I'm uncertain about is the XP progression. The Assassin class typically has a higher progression than the thief but that's with it's original layout. Anyways, here it is...Cheers.