Skills and Tools of the Rogue/Assassin

1. I would like to see some sort of mask that we can wear, like a ninja mask, or just a mask like the guy from Watch Dogs, that covers the face and only the eyes are visible. The benefit of wearing the mask could be removing the name above your head.
2. I would like the ability to disguise my identity, so even when I whisper to somebody it doesn't show my name but a unique code name I choose. I don't want my employers to know who I really am. Also with the code name, I want the ability to ditch the old name and choose a new one if my identity get's compromised. (this is important, because we might have jobs to kill people we associate with).
3. Let us have the option to loot a head that doesn't decay so fast that we cannot give it to our employers, and if it can be made to be mounted on a wall, even better.
4. I envision the assassin having skills that are available to every other rogue character, but have the ability to locate a person and shadow them, and observe their behavior to find the best moment to strike. (all except locating is a player skill not an in game skill) An assassin should be able to operate by getting the upper hand on somebody by surprise and attacking first landing a massive damage attack from behind (or whatever) that will be hard for the person to recover from. This might not be as much of an issue if the target where already in combat mode with all their glyphs in place. The assassin should have an upper hand if they attack a person who is not ready.
5. My name could remain anonymous unless I am killed.
6. I would like the ability to have a contract system. Something separate from a bounty system. Separate in the sense that if a person has a contract they should not gain murder counts unless they kill somebody other than the target. If somebody tries to save the target while I'm attacking them, then I should get a murder count even if I defend myself against the second opponent because I failed being stealth about my mission. The person trying to save his friend was just trying to stop an assassination attempt so they should be innocent to me even if they attack me. This makes the assassin's job more challenging since you must avoid/sneak past, all the other people, and only kill the target.

Any other thoughts on this?

 

A cloak that wraps around the body would be nice too, as opposed to the more fancy cloaks that warriors wear that tend to blow wildly in the wind. A robe would do the same thing, but an assassin might need access to her utility belt so to speak.

Something like, this but more stealthy coloring.

 

Nice thoughts but pvp will be consensual so it is pointless to implement this. And if you are an assassin the last thing you want to look like is... an assassin.

 

When I visit an employer I want to look like an assassin. I want to be cloaked, and not have them see my face. As for approaching the target, I intend to be stealth. If nobody sees me then they won't know I'm an assassin will they? If he doesn't see me until I attack him, he won't care what clothes I'm wearing. The fact I took his head will be proof enough that it was a successful assassination attempt.

Also there will be people flagged full time PvP. There will also be guild wars. This is not a useless feature. Many of the people you would want to put a contract on are likely PvPers anyway.

Contracts would be a PvP feature, just like Bounties. I don't mind if formal contracts don't make it into the initial release, but the other skills I would like to see. Believe it or not there will be the use for assassins.

 

Putting aside my thoughts on body part trophies. I imagine there would be some concern about exploiting the ability to simple change your name.

Last year I had suggested being able to basically lie about your name. You could use one of more aliases and NPCs would only know your real name if they heard it. Otherwise they would think it was which ever alias you told them. Of course the game would know you were lying and would track that. Rather than being able to change your real name you just wouldn't use it and use an alias instead.

Then again, either way you go you're not switching accounts and your data stays in tact so there's no real issue there. I think the real issue with the name change is avoiding the consequences of having your name known by players and NPCs. That probably isn't going to fly well.

While I like the mask feature hiding your name I can't help but think it'll be abused. All the bad guys will want to wear masks. So there would have to be some kind of cost associated with it. Like a skill requirement.

Contracts I imagine would be like a reverse bounty system. Good guys can collect bounties. Assassins collect contracts. Then again.. you don't technically need an in-game system to regulate PvP bounties/contracts. Players can handle that themselves if they like. NPC generated bounties and contracts would also be nice though.

 

Bowen, I wonder if the mask, if it did hide the name, could have no armor class stats or bonus's. That maybe could be the penalty. Just a thought.

 

I don't think the lack of stats would be sufficient. The rest of the body can still be armored and unless combat allows aimed shots to the head you're only talking a minor armor penalty that players can compensate for with tactics.

In theory, any head gear that covers the face should allow you to hide your name. But it's also possible to recognize someone by their armor or maybe some other means.

Personally I don't think it should be possible to automagically know another player's name until you "hear" it used with that person in proximity. Like you actually hear them say "my name is _____"

Unfortunately, games have always been somewhat limited with regards to being able to recognize characters. So hello.. everyone's name is over their head to make them easier to find and recognize.

We are basically talking about here though is a stealth based ability to conceal one's identity. Disguise kits have been a relatively popular idea somewhat along these lines. So I think the best solution is a skill based one. That being said.. is there are such skills than opposing skills should also exist. Basic hiding/move silent type skills are counters with spot and listen checks and potentially to some degree, tracking.

Someone very highly skilled in detection might be able to see through a disguise. Though a simple mask and cloak may not apply to that. *shrug*

 

one point I think to consider is not that they wish to remain un named, but to conceal the *bright tag* above their head when trying to sneak up on some one. That is another reason to hide the name, simply for camouflage reasons.

 

That would be part of stealth regardless. Otherwise there would be no point.

 

well not necessarily using the stealth skill, just the mask and trying to creep up on some one.

 

Would not the act of creeping up on someone be using stealth?

 

Good posts, V!

Lots of great RP ideas for assassins in there. Are there ways to do any of that in the current game mechanics using an RP sense? What would have to be coded in game, vs. not (maybe it could be covered with items or role playing instead)?

What do you see the downside of an assassin be? What is your achilles heel?

 

well there is a camouflage skill, and a stealth skill. If you simply were out pk'ing, and did not have the skill points in those talents. Theoretically at night, which is very dark in game, you could sneak up on some one, unless your name is not hidden, and it gives you away.

 

you are correct, if an assassin gains the surprise, he should lose something also. maybe vulnerability to extra damage or something.

 

Assuming your intended target isn't using their own light source. If you're not using any kind of stealth one can argue that someone would hear you approach and thus your name would be an indicator of that.

You could technically RP it but not everyone is dedicated to RP to the point of "my character doesn't know who this person is so that's how I'll play it". There's a certain amount of discipline required there and that's assuming the player in question is concerned about RP at all. There will be quite a number of players who won't be.

The downside is highly subjective. I don't really see any need to do any more than balance whatever skills and abilities there will be. Carrying out contracts would be no different than any other 'wrong-doing' in terms of behavior tracking. You would have to invest in the skills needed as any other play style.

If anything.. if there is a "downside" I would think it would be that stealth tends to be very skill intensive.

 

This makes me think, as a mask or a helm, or a hood would hide your face, would not it also hide your name. I would like to propose any helm or hood would make the character name disappear and not be able to be read. It would be logical to do so. If you want your name to show, maybe you could have an option to show it. This would greatly improve immersion and rp by people not readily identifying you.

 

Excellent points. While skills like perception can be passive, they are more potent when using it actively. Also tracking skills are good for determining if somebody else is around too. Opposing skill checks could be made.

It seems stealth is going to be a light armor skill. If you're a mage you might not need to put skill points in that unless you want to hide a lot. A mage can just focus on basic light armor skills like the sprint skill. However the rogue/assassin would do well to have some stealth.

 

If they want to make it so we can hide our names that's fine with me. Still a mask is a good idea. hundreds of people could wear the same mask, but somebody might recognize your face and hair color.

Hiding our name is good enough for me. Having a code name for whispering would be nice but not absolutely necessary. It would still be nice to be able to send a private message to somebody letting them know where to meet up for the payment without revealing your true name. If there were code names it could be obvious that is is a coded name. The reason I'm saying this is if somebody truly wanted to play the role of an assassin, theif, or ninja for that matter, they would need to keep their identity totally secret. This may not be possible with the current game design, and it might bring up some other difficulties with people annoying other players whispering under fake names.

I figured I'd just through these thoughts out there, and let the better ones float to the top, and let the bad ones sink. However any true burglar, cutthroat, or rogue, would want to keep their identity as secret as possible. Always staying one step ahead of the law enforcement, and rivals.

 

It seems reasonable that somebody can be stealth during the day too. It might be more difficult, but there are lots of things to hide behind. What about having the ability to crawl? The stealth skills in light armor, are passive skills so it isn't something we activate. It may just help us blend in a bit easier. It won't likely make us totally invisible, unless we are really hiding smart.

 

If you're really going for the RP angle than while not quite as convenient as chat you could use more indirect methods of communication. If we ended up with a postal service for example you could write letters. hmmm You might have to set up an odd delivery system. ie "Reply by dropping your missive down the abandoned well" or "Take out an add in the local paper saying this or that" though I don't know how cloak and dagger most would-be assassins would want to get in-game.