You were once a ruthless contract killer working for an order of blades for hire which was marked by a hot metal brand. Your former bosses worked against specific targets in the nobility. They tell you they're scumbags, but in truth, they're being paid by the scumbags to pick off the good guys. After you found that out, you left, avoiding them wherever you go. You no longer trust your sense of good and evil, but you want to get on the straight and narrow (according to the government anyways). Fighting is all you're good at, so you decided to become a LEGAL bounty hunter with a side hustle of tavern brawling in your spare time.
- Ability Scores: Gives you a +2 on strength (in addition to your roll), and an automatic -1 on Wisdom (Or lower if you managed to roll that). You have no modifiers on Charisma, both being legendary and feared. You're light on your feet and able to take a hit or two.
- Feat: Brawler of Taverns:
Enhanced Unarmed Strike. When you hit with your Unarmed Strike and deal damage, you can deal Bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 plus your Strength modifier instead of the normal damage of an Unarmed Strike.
Damage Rerolls. Whenever you roll a damage die for your Unarmed Strike, you can reroll the die if it rolls a 1, and you must use the new roll.
Improvised Weaponry. You have proficiency with improvised weapons.
Push. When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can deal damage to the target and also push it 5 feet away from you. You can use this benefit only once per turn. (Credit to 12timm343)
- Skill Proficiencies: You were trained to fight and not be noticed. And yet, your faction is known for being killers, thus giving you an intensely intimidating aura.
- Tool Proficiencies: You may have proficiency in lockpicking or poison kits (depends on your brand).
- Languages: No additional languages besides common and any racial languages involved.
- Equipment: You've trained with hefty, yet portable, weapons for swift kills that leave little to no mess.
When you got entered into the faction, you were given a skill-specific brand pertaining to your killing style. This determines your gear and was used to tell you what targets you go after. Grand Marshals have these and when they are promoted achieve a second brand, that of a stylized crown filled with red wax, on their forehead. Your brand designates you as a mercenary. Some people in the order may still ally with you, others may be against you. You have a particularly strong bond with those in your same brand faction.
| d6 | Brandmark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sword and scythe: Weapons specialist |
| 2 | Arrow-pierced skull: Long-range assassin |
| 3 | Owl with Xs for eyes: Uses animals |
| 4 | Cupped hand with droplet: Poison specialist |
| 5 | Broken wand: Magic-using assassin |
| 6 | Gears with dagger: Trap killer |
You have advantage on perception and survival checks (or whatever else is necessary depending on the situation) when encountering a hidden assassin, trap, or various methods of killing listed in the background-specific table (with the exception of magic for murder).
Spell List
THIS ONLY APPLIES TO MAGIC-USER ASSASSINS!!!!
You have a limited set of options, with options of concealing illusion spells, weak necromancy spells, and other unelaborate spells that can assist in your efforts to kill or be used as weapons of unaliving.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | fire bolt, minor illusion, sapping sting, toll the dead |
| 1st | burning hands, disguise self, inflict wounds |
| 2nd | cloud of daggers, invisibility, mirror image, silence |
| 3rd | hypnotic pattern |
FOR MAGIC USING ASSASSINS ONLY! Note: This is the list of spells you CAN learn, you do not automatically learn any of these spells.
- Invisibility
- Sapping Sting
- Disguise self
- Hypnotic pattern
- Mirror image
- Silence
- Toll the dead
- Fire bolt
- Inflict wounds
- Burning hands
- Cloud of daggers
Suggested Characteristics
A Lawful neutral, True neutral, or Chaotic neutral alignment is preferred for this character, as well as being a fighter/combat class. You should be hardy and mildly charismatic (in an intimidating way), moderate to high strength is also a good idea.
You were once one of the leaders who assigned kills to their killers, but you were somehow disgraced and outed. If you encounter another Grand Marshal, you're likely to lose your head, and most branded mercenaries don't look kindly upon you. However, the extra marking on your forehead designating you as a Grand Marshal still holds a good amount of fear and leverage (especially amongst nobles).
Those who know you look upon you with disdain and possibly aggression. They will stop at nothing to see you pay for your misdeeds. Sometimes it's rather petty, other times it can come down to a case of "Off with your head!".
On the other hand, those you DON'T know you are afraid they might be one of your targets and are wiling to comply with your requests. Some may just hightail it, but those who stay pose no real threat... that is, unless they find out. If this does happen, they will turn on you much as someone who already knew you would, only they would be a touch angry at you for deceiving them. Use this power wisely!
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