Brigand

Version 0.14: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

An Assassin is a stealthy character who is especially good at killing, using daggers or blowguns.

Assassins are operatives who specialize in stealth and the killing of unsuspecting victims. They are often the servants of criminal syndicates, dark lords, and other villains, but they can also be simply mercenary in their outlook, or even antiheroic, striking terror in the hearts of evildoers. They start with the tools to silently and quickly take down the living.

Preferred Races

Halfling, Spriggan, Troll, Vine Stalker, Demonspawn, and Vampire are the recommended races if you pick an Assassin background.

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

• +2, +2 dagger
• +0 blowgun
• +0 robe
• +0 cloak
• 10 needles (8 poisoned, 2 curare)
• Bread ration

Starting Skills and Stats

These are adjusted by your species' aptitudes.

• Fighting: 2
• Short Blades: 2
• Throwing: 2
• Dodging: 1
• Stealth: 4

Choosing Assassin adds 3 to your starting Strength, 3 to your starting Intelligence and 6 to your starting Dexterity.

Strategy

Assassins are a good general starting background for stealthy types; the enchanted dagger handles early-game monsters very well, while the curare and poisoned needles are excellent for taking down tougher targets. It is also a fairly versatile background: they start with more neutral stats than a Fighter or a Wizard, which means they can easily choose to take up magic, fighting, or a hybrid style.

History

Prior to 0.14, Assassins began with potions of poison identified, and had 50 gold.