Shadowdark describes the assassin merely as “a black-cloaked, skulking killer.” The assassin uses a poisoned weapon in both Shadowdark (poisoned dagger) and 5e (poisoned short sword or light crossbow), though the mechanics differ across the rulesets. The poison just adds to the damage in Shadowdark, with the dagger causing 2d4 damage instead of the typical 1d4. Individuals struck by the assassin’s weapon take extra poison damage and gain the poisoned condition. The assassin is best when striking from the shadows, particularly in Shadowdark. The Shadowdark assassin deals 3x damage against surprised targets.
An assassin opens several role-playing doors. They can be of many different races or species. They can serve many different masters. They do not have to wear black cloaks if something else makes sense. Characters will be unlikely to face an assassin in a fair fight. The assassin is at their strongest in the shadows.
Encounter Seed: Just as the party is heading into their room at the inn for the evening, a man (assassin) frantically follows, saying, “Please, help me, I need in. I need to hide. They’re coming.” There is more noise coming from the other room as six guards charge forward. The man hides behind the bed and says, “I’ll make it worth your time.”
Encounter Seed: During the busiest part of the day in a local market, someone yells, “No. No. He killed him! He killed him!” Someone wearing a black cloak (assassin) is seen running from the scene, swinging a weapon as the first person who tries to stop him.
Encounter Seed: In a dungeon, the party comes upon the monument of a young woman with the inscription, “She Stalks Those Who Offer No Tribute.” Unless the party places coins in the slot at the floor of the statue, a shadow cast from their torch comes alive and sneaks behind the party to attack. [Shadowdark Mechanics: Use statistics of an assassin but +4 to hide and able to move to near by disappearing and reappearing elsewhere in the room without using a turn. All weapons are made from shadow.]
Adventure Seed: Two rival settlements have entered a virtual state of war fought through assassinations rather than military might. One or more assassins has assassinted guards, judges, and politicians. Peasants are beginning to distrust strangers. The political elite are beginning to distrust anyone. The likelihood of an actual war continues to increase by the day.
Adventure Seed: An investigation has uncovered the names of four assassins working for a loose network of hired enforcers in the settlement. While the assassins are in hiding, there is some suggestion that they are each hiding out at different parts of the settlement or just outside it. The merchant guild has placed a large bounty on each of these assassins after the murder of one of their own.
Adventure Seed: A local merchant hired an assassin with the merchant, herself, as the target. She has second thoughts about this decision, but she is unable to get in touch with the assassin to cancel the mission. She is beginning to panic, as her murder is scheduled to take place in five days.
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This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ legalcode.