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While assassins are rare in most campaigns, the question that comes up is how to assassinate someone? (while getting your web page probably flagged by the FBI)
At the simplest level, if an assassin surprises someone, they can attempt to assassinate:
PHB, p. 29: However, if they [the assassin] surprise (q.v.) a victim, they may attack on the ASSASSINATION TABLE. This gives a roughly 50% chance of immediately killing the victim; and if this fails, normal damage according to weapon type and strength ability modifiers still accrues to the victim. Thus, if a poisoned weapon is used, the victim must also make the saving throw versus poison or die. The assassin decides which attack mode he or she will use: assassination, back stabbing, or normal melee combat.
Simple enoughif the assassin has surprise, they can choose to assassinate using the ASSASSINATION TABLE. The assassin can use any weapon, and a shield, but like the thief is limited to performing class-functions to leather armor. Yet nothing in AD&D is ever simple. Can the assassin use ranged weapons? While missile weapons are never specified as excluded, the fact that the choice of assassination is included as an alternative to “normal melee combat” speaks to assassination itself being only possible with non-missile weapons.
However, assassination isn’t always simple. In the DMG:
The percentage shown is that for success (instant death) under near optimum conditions. You may adjust slightly upwards for perfect conditions (absolute trust, asleep and unguarded, very drunk and unguarded, etc.). Similarly, you must deduct points if the intended victim is wary, takes precautions, and/or is guarded. If the assassination is being attempted by or in behalf of a player character a complete plan of how the deed is to be done should be prepared by the player involved, and the precautions, if any, of the target character should be compared against the plan.
For the assassin, spying missions are defined as: Simple, Difficult, and Extraordinary. The scenario where the assassin surprises someone and attempts to assassinate them is described as “simple”:
Therefore, if an 8th level assassin snuck up on and surprised a 10th level magic-user in the dungeon and successfully assassinated him, the assassin would receive 1,000 x.p. plus another 100 x.p. since the magic-user was 2 levels higher than he. However, since it was a simple mission, the total 1100 x.p. would be multiplied by %, giving 550 points.
However, there’s another way for an assassin to function—developing an assassination plan and submitting it to the DM. If the assassination is being attempted by or in behalf of a player character a complete plan of how the deed is to be done should be prepared the player involved, and the precautions, if any, of the target character should be compared against the plan. You can see that reflected in the section on poison as well:
He or she can then use poisons at full normal effect and have the following options as well:
- choose to assassinate by an instantaneous poison
- elect to use a slow acting poison which will not begin to affect the victim for 1-4 hours after digestion
- elect to use a poison which gradually builds up after repeated doses victim for 1-4 hours after ingestion and kills 1-10 days after the final dose
… This does not guarantee the assassin success, naturally, for he or she must still manage the poisoning and then escape.
Certainly not a scenario including Surprise!
The DM then determines any adjustment to the roll on the ASSASSINATION TABLE
The ASSASSINATION table should also be used when any character class is making an attack on a helpless (e.g., sleeping) opponent (DMG, p. 70, 75).
References
TSR 2010, Players Handbook [1e], 1978.
TSR 2011, Dungeon Masters Guide [1e], 1979.
Polyhedron #22, “In the Black Hours”, Volume 5, Number 1, 1984, p. 17: “The three assassins move silently and invisibly toward the Crown room by different routes, dispatching any guards they meet along the way by assassination if they have complete surprise, otherwise by backstabbing”