Favorite assassin
 

I really like assassins. I used to think the R'lyeh Starspawn was worthless after paralyze was fixed, but he's now my favorite. Stick a lifelong protection on him and he's great (admittedly a bit hard to come by for R'lyeh - probably a blood-1 Random Starspawn or Sage with a ring of sorcery and wizardry/empowerment to get to blood-3). Unlike the other assassins he has the luxury of being able to paralyze anything the imps can't take care of themselves. He also has the flexibility of being able to throw on resist magic, body ethereal, personal luck, astral shield, etc., as needed. Personally, I've been using Resist Magic, Body Ethereal, Fire, but that can be changed up if you know what you'll likely be facing.

Actually, my favorite assassin is an Earth Elemental, but that doesn't really count http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Question 1) If someone has flying bodyguards, will they fly at the assassin or stay by the commander? My guess is that they'd stay by the commander unless the assassin started firing at him, but I haven't seen flying bodyguards in a while.

Question 2) What's your favorite assassin?

Re: Favorite assassin
 

Favorite assassin? Mictlan's Lord of Night pretender. Read a thread a while back about him being able to assassinate and tried him out, pretty damn sweet and he brings two fiends into the assassination with him too. Perhaps a dubious use of a pretender but I'd rather see it as an extra tool.

[ May 07, 2004, 14:05: Message edited by: Anglachel ]

Re: Favorite assassin
 

My favourite type of assasin is a Vampire Count with a black heart.

Re: Favorite assassin
 

I'm fond of battlefield assassinations via mass-casting Ghost Riders when my Astral Windows or spies tell me a hapless AI pretender is out in the middle of a field away from a castle. Seriously, 'tho, Ethereal Stalkers are pretty nice if you can get them, albeit Chuzrael the Abysian Demonbred Slayer is much more entertaining.
A Heliophagus with a Black Heart and decent kit can also be unusually menacing, although not too stealthy IIRC. Black Hearts on high-stealth Glamour units could make for nigh-undetectable ones.
And if you allow mods... the Ashikagan Jonin, which I'm fond of prophetizing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Favorite assassin
 

I like Succubi, since occasionally I get something interesting and useful besides just a dead enemy.

How about a druid scripted to cast Swarm, just for grins? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

PvK

Re: Favorite assassin
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Thats why I like Pandemoniums. 2 blood so they can cast "hellbind". If it works then you get a combat right after that of the commander fighting his own troops. If he was the Last commander then you watch his troops rout from him. You get the province and any equip the commander had.

Pans and Lord of the Hunt do almost the same thing. A combat follows the assassination as Maenads try to take the province. If you are using assassination for gaining provinces its at least TWICE as fast.

Re: Favorite assassin
 

Nice techniques, Gandalf! Very nice... Hmm. So, if you wander through enemy provinces generating Maenads, the generated ones attack the province with no leader, and don't rout for having no leader?

What happens if you have a stealthy commander leading stealthy units, and that commander dies for some reason (such as a failed assassination)?

PvK

Re: Favorite assassin
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">They rout also. But Maenads have a high morale. And even if both sides rout you know its safe to attack with the assassin.

I forgot to mention, even if there are more commanders there the maenad attack is a nice way to look at who is left for assassination. Sometimes my response is "oops" and move on.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmmm I dont remember. I think they are lost as if they had routed to an unowned province.

[ May 07, 2004, 22:49: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: Favorite assassin
 

1. I would have thought they'd fly at the assassin, since most bodyguards immediately attack an assassin. But I have not tested this.

2. My favorite is a slayer, since he actually has easy access to a lifelong protection (my very favorite assassin tool for months now) as well as a Rod of Incineration, my second favorite tool. He is also a bit more robust than the Star Child. But then again, Abysia is my favorite nation, and I suck at Ryleh, so I may be biased. A star child is certainly much more flexible than a slayer, since it can do anything a slayer can plus is a mage plus has mind bLast. But my slayer has stayed alive with a few HPs left where a Star Child would have been long since killed.

Re: Favorite assassin
 

Only assassin assassins? no built ones? I guess I still like Ctis with the slings and the magic

But built, I love Pangaen assassins. Pans, Pandemoniacs, and the Lord of the Hunt