Some say that swift and deadly killers are not made, they are born. Some individuals have such a keen eye for where to strike a target for the greatest amount of damage that they become a force to reckoned with early on in their career. Masters of remaining undetected until they commit the most crippling of strikes, these assassins are in high demand amongst the less-savory of powerful individuals.

Class Features Modifications

Expert Stalker (Ex): At 1st level, an acrobat does not suffer any armor check penalties on Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth skill checks while wearing light armor. When she is not wearing armor, she gains a +2 competency bonus on Acrobatics and Fly skill checks.

This ability replaces trapfinding.

Deadly Strike (Ex): At 3rd level, as a full-round action, an assassin can make an attack and make a Perception check against a DC of 10 + the target's total levels to judge how the target responds to the attack. The check automatically fails if the target is immune to precision damage. If the Perception check is successful, the assassin can accept a -2 penalty to her next attack roll against that target to gain a sneak attack with a +1d6 bonus to damage. The assassin will gain sneak attack damage with this attack regardless of whether she would have gained it under normal circumstances or not. The assassin must commit this attack within one round of succeeding in the above Perception check; after that round, whether or not she has made a successful attack, she must once again perform the above full-round action to gain the bonus once again.

This ability replaces trap sense.

Rogue Talents

The following rogue talents complement the assassin archetype: Befuddling Strike, Bleeding Attack, Combat Trick, Fast Getaway, Fast Stealth, Finesse Rogue, Offensive Defense, Positioning Attack, Powerful Sneak, Rogue Crawl, Surprise Attack, and Weapon Training.

Advanced Talents

The following advanced rogue talents complement the assassin archetype: crippling strike, deadly sneak, entangling of blades, feat, hunter's surprise, knock-out blow, opportunist, and skill mastery.

Author's Note: This archetype is intended to complement, rather than replace, the assassin prestige class. I felt that it was unfair that acrobats got their own rogue archetype, but assassins did not. While one could argue that the poisoner could be the "assassin archetype," and that would be technically correct, I envision an assassin as an expert of getting into position to commit the best amount of damage possible in a single strike. I offer the above archetype to fill that niche.

Additional Ratings
Balance:	1 2 3 4 5 ( 8 Votes )
Utility:	1 2 3 4 5 ( 8 Votes )
Clarity:	1 2 3 4 5 ( 8 Votes )