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Old 11-14-2009, 12:23 AM   #21
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by johoohno View Post
If I were to create something advantageous for assassins when backstabbing someone, what would it look like, should I use skills or advantages? What I'm looking for is something that gives extra damage (and/or extra skill) when sneaking up from behind on people and attacking them.
Attack the veins and arteries. An additonal -3 in most cases up to -8 in the exceptions. Raises damage modifer by 0.5, so an impaling attack does 2.5 x injury taken instead of x2. Weapon Master for the weapon lets you add damage, Weapon Bond perk gives you a +1 to hit with that weapon (lose the weapon, lose the point spent) Imbument if allowed is definitely your friend. Penetrating Attack gives you AP starting at (2) but with increasing penalties to the skill can go to cosmic bypass. Toxic Strike converts your damage to something that at default does not leave a mark

Cheapskate version make a combo of Penetrating Toxic Strike. Take Single Skill Imbument (Penetrating Toxic Strike) 3 for 8 pts and buy the skill up to DX +2 [16]. 24 pts total plus 2 fatigue per attack and the boys in the medical examiner's office will be shaking their heads as to what killed your victims. Well the autopsy will tell them but they'll never figure out how it was administered. ;)
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Last edited by Captain-Captain; 11-14-2009 at 12:28 AM.
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Old 11-14-2009, 01:42 AM   #22
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by Kuroshima View Post
Personally, I give Fine rondel daggers to my assassin NPCs. They're not that expensive, and with TA/Chinks in Armor/Vitals maxed, they end up rolling against skill-3 only. Add Telegraphic attack and Dirty Fightingx3 and even skill 12 assassins roll against 16. Oh, and any assassin worth his name will use reversed grip for the first strike.
Good point, I actually remembered the long dagger to also have that property but I see I'm wrong.

I gotta find that Dirty Fighting thing, what book was it in again?


---

But yea all this jsut supports the real world fact that being a good assassin is not about fighting skills or striking power but about getting close to the victim (and getting away again).
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Old 11-14-2009, 12:13 PM   #23
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

It should be noted that if you want to take out your target *quietly*, you may have to add Grapple (targeted attack: face/ throat so as to cover the mouth) just before the attack to vitals/ throat.

If that sentry makes his consciousness/ death checks and yells for help you just might be SOL no matter how good your initial attack is.
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Old 11-14-2009, 12:23 PM   #24
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

Also as an option you could use a poisoned blade of course - toxic follow-up attack... (not all assassins are strong... ;-)) Combined with a hit to the lungs or the neck/throat (or the brain) that should be an relatively easy and deadly greeting... [IMO it should hold off the victim from crying, too...]

Last edited by OldSam; 11-14-2009 at 12:51 PM.
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Old 11-14-2009, 02:21 PM   #25
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by Maz View Post
Good point, I actually remembered the long dagger to also have that property but I see I'm wrong.

I gotta find that Dirty Fighting thing, what book was it in again?


---

But yea all this jsut supports the real world fact that being a good assassin is not about fighting skills or striking power but about getting close to the victim (and getting away again).
Dirty Fighting comes from Action 3.
Basically it gives a bonus to hit for attacks given as "sucker punches" before combat begins. Adapting it for fantasy would mean having it give a bonus to surprise attacks.
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Old 11-14-2009, 02:51 PM   #26
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

You could also build a cinematic backstab as a technique, using the Martial Arts system.

New Technique: Backstab

Base: All-Out Attack (Strong) delivered as a Telegraphic Attack to the Vitals. Starts at skill+1, can be bought up to skill+3 using the Targeted Attack rules.

-4 = Does +2 damage or +1/die extra
+1 = Restricted target (vitals only from behind)
+1 = Can only Step (instead of half Move)

That brings it to skill-1, and it can be raised to skill+1. The attack can only be delivered from behind, as a Step and Attack to the vitals, and you get no defenses on the turn after you execute it. It does +4 damage or +2/die if better. Even a weak assassin should be able to score a major wound with this.
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Old 11-14-2009, 02:56 PM   #27
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

It is found in Power-Ups 2 as well, page 5.

edit: Ack - this was an answer for #25 (#22 really, but ... ;-)
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Old 11-14-2009, 03:03 PM   #28
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty View Post
You could also build a cinematic backstab as a technique, using the Martial Arts system.
I suppose it would be fitting to have another version for targeting vitals armor chinks. That would effective add another -7 to the hit location penalty (-10 instead of -3) but you could buy off another 3 points (total +5 instead of total +2) of the penalty. For simplicity, I'd combine the two. Make the armored version an "add-on" to the normal version, by tacking it on as an extra penalty that can be bought off as a separate technique. It should still be Hard, though, to reflect that there is a difference between "vitals" and "vital chinks" in the GURPS rules. So that'd give these two techniques:

Backstab (Hard)
Default: Prerequisite skill-1; cannot exceed prerequisite skill+1.
Prerequisite: Any impaling or piercing melee weapon skill.

You may use this technique when making an impaling or piercing attack from behind; you may take a step (before or after) if you wish. If the victim is aware of your presence, he defends at +2 (or +3 if you've backstabbed him previously). If successful, you hit his vitals, doing an additional +4 damage (or +2/die, if better). Successful or not, you have no defenses until your next turn.

Backstab Through Armor (Hard)
Default: Backstab (same skill)-7; cannot exceed Backstab-4.
Prerequisite: Backstab.

As for Backstab, but when targeting an armored foe, you also bypass half of his DR by attacking through the armor's chinks (p. B400).
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Old 11-14-2009, 04:05 PM   #29
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty View Post
Backstab Through Armor (Hard)
Default: Backstab (same skill)-7; cannot exceed Backstab-4.
Prerequisite: Backstab.
It should be noted that with certain weapons (Katar, Rondel, Stilletto, and Estoc), the default becomes -5. Would those still be limited to Backstab -4, or would it become Backstab -2?
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Old 11-14-2009, 11:01 PM   #30
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Default Re: [Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

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Originally Posted by aesir23 View Post
It should be noted that with certain weapons (Katar, Rondel, Stilletto, and Estoc), the default becomes -5. Would those still be limited to Backstab -4, or would it become Backstab -2?
Good question. Since the technique would be Backstab Through Armor (Knife), not Backstab Through Armor (Rondel), it seems that the only way to implement the effects of the weapon without making one's head explode is to treat it as a flat +2 situational bonus to the Backstab Through Armor technique. So if you use a Rondel Dagger, you get +2 on your BTA (Knife) rolls, no matter what your relative level is.
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