Assassin
Assassin is a 2nd tier archetype.
Assassins are masters at identifying the slightest vulnerabilities of key targets and dispatching them by any means necessary.
Core focus: high damage, dodge and dodge reduction, threat elimination, hit-and-run.
Key Features
- Aim for the Opening
Available Stat Advancements
- Agility Advancement
- Ballistic Skill Advancement
- Intelligence Advancement
- Perception Advancement
- Weapon Skill Advancement
Available Skill Advancements
- Awareness
- Lore (Imperium)
- Lore (Xenos)
Prerequisites:
Warrior, Operative or Bladedancer
Tier 3 Options:
Abilities
| Ability | AP Cost | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 Aim for the Opening |
1 | Unlimited | The Assassin chooses an enemy in their line of sight and marks an additional opening on this enemy on whichever side is closest to the Assassin. If this additional opening is not hit by the end of the Assassin's turn, it disappears. |
 Death Whisper |
1 | Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack that does not count toward the limit of attacks per turn and does not block the Assassin's movement, but deals only 25% of the Assassin's usual damage. If the attack is successful, the target suffers the haemorrhage effect. |
 Death Whisper — Second Weapon |
1 | Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack that does not count toward the limit of attacks per turn and does not block the Assassin's movement, but deals only 25% of the Assassin's usual damage. If the attack is successful, the target suffers the haemorrhage effect. |
 Elusive Shadow |
1 | Self | For 1 round, the Assassin becomes the lowest priority target for enemy attacks and gains the elusive effect, which lasts until the Assassin attacks. |
 Danse Macabre |
1 | 0 | The Assassin dashes in a straight line for up to (1 + AGI bonus / 2) cells, suffering −Assassin's Weapon Skill bonus less damage from attacks of opportunity and gaining +(2 × Assassin's AGI bonus)% dodge against the enemies they dash through until the next Assassin's turn.
If the Assassin has not dashed through any enemies, at the end of their turn they gain +(2 × (greater of Assassin's PER and INT bonus))% cover efficiency to their cover until the Assassin moves. Does not stack with itself. After the first use, the Assassin can use this ability again for free. |
 Killing Edge |
1 | Weapon | The Assassin attacks, granting +40% dodge to the target of this attack. If this attack hits, it deals an additional +(lethality / 5) (rounded down) damage increased by twice the percentage of that target's missing wounds. |
 Killing Edge — Second Weapon |
1 | Weapon | The Assassin attacks, granting +40% dodge to the target of this attack. If this attack hits, it deals an additional +(lethality / 5) (rounded down) damage increased by twice the percentage of that target's missing wounds. |
 Poised to Strike |
1 | 40 | The Assassin makes an enemy suffer −(2 × Assassin's AGI bonus)% armour and −((greater of Assassin's PER and INT bonus) − 1) deflection until the end of the Assassin's turn. |
 Feinting Attack |
1 | Self | The Assassin's next single-target attack will have a −50% armour penetration penalty, with a minimum of 0% armour penetration, and +10 lethality.
|
Heroic Act / Desperate Measure
| Ability | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
 Dispatch |
Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack with the current weapon against an enemy. This attack cannot miss and deals +50% more damage. It also deals additional damage equal to 25% of the target's missing wounds. The Assassin's dodge, dodge reduction, armour penetration, and parry reduction are doubled for this attack. |
 Dispatch (Desparate Measure) |
Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack with the current weapon against an enemy. This attack cannot miss and deals +50% more damage. It also deals additional damage equal to 25% of the target's missing wounds.
The Assassin's dodge , dodge reduction, armour penetration, and parry reduction are doubled for this attack. The Assassin suffers +100% more damage until the end of combat. |
Dispatch (Desparate Measure) - Second Weapon |
Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack with the current weapon against an enemy. This attack cannot miss and deals +50% more damage. It also deals additional damage equal to 25% of the target's missing wounds.
The Assassin's dodge , dodge reduction, armour penetration, and parry reduction are doubled for this attack. The Assassin suffers +100% more damage until the end of combat. |
Dispatch - Second Weapon |
Weapon | The Assassin makes an attack with the current weapon against an enemy. This attack cannot miss and deals +50% more damage. It also deals additional damage equal to 25% of the target's missing wounds. The Assassin's dodge, dodge reduction, armour penetration, and parry reduction are doubled for this attack. |
Upgrades
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Dispatch (Upgrade I) | Until the end of combat, the target of Dispatch loses half of its current armour and deflection. |
| Dispatch (Upgrade II) | Dispatch deals additional damage equal to 45% of the target's missing wounds instead of 25% of its missing wounds. |
| Dispatch (Upgrade III) | Until the end of combat, whenever the Assassin hits an opening, they gain +(lethality / 15) (rounded down) temporary wounds. |
| Dispatch (Upgrade IV) | If the Dispatch attack kills the target, all enemies in a 3-cell radius around the target gain +2 stacks of the disturbed effect and must pass an Agility resistance test or become staggered for 1 round. |
Talents
| Talent | Description |
|---|---|
| Ambush | At the start of the Assassin's turn, all enemies that do not have the Assassin in their line of sight suffer the unsuspecting effect until the end of the Assassin's turn. |
| Carmine Whisper | The haemorrhage effect applied by Death Whisper deals an additional +10 damage. |
| Create an Opening | If an enemy suffers a critical hit from one of the Assassin's allies, at the start of the Assassin's turn, a new opening is created on that enemy on whichever side is closest to the Assassin. |
| Deadly Calculation | For every 10 damage dealt by the Assassin's attack, that attack also deals +1 direct damage to the same target. |
| Flawless Lunge | Poised to Strike also reduces the target's dodge by −(2 × AGI bonus)%. |
| Imminent Demise | Whenever the Assassin deals direct damage to an enemy, that enemy suffers +1 stack of the vulnerable effect. |
| Inevitable Enervation | Each use of Aim for the Opening on the same target reduces that target's dodge and dodge reduction by −10%. Stacks. |
| Killing Spree | Whenever the Assassin hits an opening, the Assassin's damage is increased by +(AGI bonus / 2)% until the end of combat. Stacks. |
| Leave No Witness | The enemy last damaged by the Assassin suffers the witness effect. |
| Lethality Heightens | Whenever the Assassin deals 5 or more direct damage to an enemy with a single attack, the Assassin gains +10 lethality until the end of combat. Stacks. |
| Lone Killer | While the Assassin has no allies in a 5-cell radius around them, they gain +10% dodge and +10% dodge reduction. |
| Mortally Effective | Whenever the Assassin hits a target with an attack that has 100 lethality or greater for the first time in a round, the Assassin immediately regains the AP spent for that attack. |
| Seize the Advantage | The Assassin gains +15 lethality against enemies that have any of following effects: slowed, immobilised, or haemorrhage. The bonus is gained for each of these effects but cannot exceed +45 lethality. |
| Elusive Speed | If the Assassin is elusive at the start of their turn, they gain +4 MP and +10 lethality until the end of their turn. |
| An Eye for the Unscathed | Whenever the Assassin attacks an enemy that is at full wounds, the Assassin gains +20% dodge and dodge reduction against that enemy until the end of the Assassin's next turn. |
| Outsmart | Whenever the Assassin hits an enemy without hitting the enemy's opening, the Assassin gains +(2 × AGI bonus)% dodge until the start of their next turn. |
| Esquive | Each successful dodge grants the Assassin +(lethality / 15)% damage for the next successful attack. |
| Disarray | Whenever the Assassin deals direct damage, the target must pass an Agility resistance test with a −(2 × Assassin's AGI bonus) penalty or become slowed until the end of their next turn. |
| Professional Acumen | Every turn, the first use of an Assassin ability costs 0 AP. |
| Perfect Opening | The Assassin gains +lethality% chance to deal +5% of target's maximum wounds more damage when hitting an opening. |
| Keep Your Distance | Whenever the Assassin has no more than 1 adjacent enemy, any enemy that moves into a cell adjacent to the Assassin must pass an Agility resistance test with a −(2 × STR bonus) penalty or fall prone, if possible, and become immobilised until the start of that enemy's next turn. |
| Bringer of Doom | Whenever the Assassin attacks an enemy with a single-target attack, this attack reduces the target's armour and dodge by −10% until the end of the Assassin's turn. Does not stack. |
| Morbid Pirouette | Danse Macabre deals an additional +Agility Bonus direct damage. |
| Gruesome Gust | The armour penetration penalty of Feinting Attack is reduced to −20%. |
Levels
Total Skill Selections: 4
Total Stat Selections: 6
Total Archetype Talent Selections: 7
Total Common Talent Selections: 4
Total Ability Selections: 3
| Level | Features |
|---|---|
| 1 | Seek the Opening |
| 2 | Ability Selection |
| 3 | Archetype Talent Selection |
| 4 | Dispatch |
| 5 | AP Increase Stat Selection |
| 6 | Archetype Talent Selection Stat Selection |
| 7 | Skill Selection Ability Selection |
| 8 | Archetype Talent Selection |
| 9 | Stat Selection Common Talent Selection |
| 10 | Archetype Talent Selection |
| 11 | Stat Selection Skill Selection |
| 12 | Heroic Ability Upgrade Selection |
| 13 | Common Talent Selection Archetype Talent Selection |
| 14 | Stat Selection Skill Selection |
| 15 | Ability Selection |
| 16 | Common Talent Selection Archetype Talent Selection |
| 17 | Skill Selection |
| 18 | Archetype Talent Selection Stat Selection |
| 19 | Common Talent Selection |
| 20 | Heroic Ability Upgrade Selection |