[2023] Assassin changes

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.

Hello, Pathfinders!
Over the two years since Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous was released, we have identified the least popular class and the one that you, our favorite players, have been asking us to improve. We have listened and are delighted to announce that the Assassin class has been redesigned and upgraded in update 2.2, which will be available on November 21 with The Lord of Nothing DLC! We understand that the main problem with the old Assassin was using poisons in a world where most enemies are immune to poisons. So, we've added new mythic feats that allow you to ignore this immunity. We'll cover the new mythic feats in a separate article, but for now, let's focus on the changes to the Assassin:

Instead of Death Attack, we added a new ability called Mark of Death. This is a standard action that requires you to make a knowledge check appropriate to the creature type. If the check is successful, you point to a target with a mark. As long as the creature is marked, your attacks against it ignore its DR and resistance. You can only have one victim marked at a time.
At the 7th level, the Assassin can use Mark of Death as a swift action.

Also, we added a new mechanic: Assassinate Target. The Assassin can make a full-round action that instantly kills a target marked with Mark of Death. A target unaware of the Assassin (you must sneak up to the target) must make a Fortitude saving throw with DC 10 + the Assassin's level + Intelligence modifier, and dies on a failure. On a success, this Assassin attack is treated as a critical hit (it still needs to be confirmed) and the target gains the Shaken condition for 1d4 rounds. After that, Assassinate Target cannot be reapplied to the target for one day.

At the 2nd level, the Assassin gains the Use Poison ability, and we've also improved this progression, including how it interacts with other class mechanics. Now, if you apply poison to a target marked with Mark of Death, the target must make two Fortitude saves and choose the worst result.
The ability progresses with every level:
At the 2nd level, the Assassin has access to poisons that deal 1d4 stat damage to Strength or Dexterity for 4 rounds;
At the 3rd level, poison duration increases by 1 round;
At the 4th level, the Assassin gains access to a poison that deals Constitution damage;
At the 5th level, the number of successful saving throws needed to remove the poison increases to 2;
At the 6th level, poison duration increases by 1 round;
At the 7th level, the Assassin can apply poisons as a move or a swift action;
At the 8th level, poison duration increases by 1 round;
At the 9th level, the number of successful saving throws needed to remove the poison increases to 3;
At the 10th level, the Assassin's poison target takes poison damage even with a successful Fortitude check.

Additionally, the redesigned Assassin gains the Cold Minded ability at the 2nd level, which grants a +2 bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting, compulsion, fear, and emotion effects. This ability increases every 3 levels, reaching a +4 bonus at the 8th level.

A new ability at the 3rd level is Alter Ego. The Assassin can create copies of themselves to distract the enemy. As long as at least one copy is present on the battlefield, all creatures attacked by the Assassin take damage from a sneak attack. This ability works like Mirror Image.

At the 4th level, the Assassin now has the Public Execution ability. Each time the Assassin kills a target, they make a Persuasion check to demoralize all enemies within 30 feet. If the target is under the influence of Mark of Death, the Assassin gains a +2 bonus on this check.

Finally, at the 10th level, the Assassin becomes a Master Assassin. You have mastered the art of assassination to the point you can deliver a killing blow before the target can react. The Assassinate Target ability can now be used as a standard action. You also add sneak attack damage to all attack rolls on a target marked with Mark of Death, even if you don't have an advantage.

We hope that players will now achieve Mastery at slaying demons and be able to diversify their Crusade style! Good luck in the Worldwound!