Assassin

The Median XL assassin class fights dirty, using poisons and rapid movement to keep themselves from harm. Assassins have powerful physical and elemental melee attacks, throw deadly knives and can use mechanical bombs and automatic weapon systems.

Background of the Median XL Assassin

The Order of the Mageslayers, or Viz-Jaq’Taar, was created in the aftermath of the Mage Clan Wars that ravaged Kehjistan. Intended to police the Mage Clans for the creeping dark influence of magic, the Mageslayers were to seek out those who fell for the whispers of demons and destroy them before they could cause further harm.

The Mage Council, knowing very well that such an organisation would be subverted and used as a weapon by the Mage Clans themselves to settle the endemic power struggle between the Clans, went to great lengths to prevent the Mageslayers from being useful to any of the Clans. To this end, the Order would eschew the magical arts and employ mechanical and enchanted devices and the innate powers of the mind.

For both practical and symbolic reasons, the Order’s headquarters were founded in the ruins of Vizjun, once a thriving city under the Annuit Clan, now a blighted zone of death glowing with deadly mana radiation. Mageslayer initiates were taught to ritually disconnect themselves from the ethereal plane, rendering them unable to wield magic but protecting them from the pervasive radiation that cripples and kills trespassers and slowly erodes the enchanted structures of the mage city.

The Warrior Children of Vizjun, or Viz-Jaq’Taar, became a force to be reckoned with. Their unique needs necessitated the development of ever more advanced technology, and their kensais and techsmiths swarmed out over the world to combat evil on a local scale. The Order attracted the best scientists of Xiansai and other lands, and according to some even received the blessing and gifts of the very archangel of the Cosmic Spheres, Rosicruciel.

While most mages are aware of the technological prowess of the Mageslayers, few know how much is really hidden from the outside world at Sector D, the Viz-Jaq’Taari base in the Aranoch desert, camouflaged by a light-bending cloak field. It is whispered that the inner circle of Mageslayers is in possession of ever-burning lanterns powered by trapped lightning, gleaming flying chariots, disintegrating beams of light and metallic arrows with tails of fire that can strike any location in the known world.

But no one knows for sure because the canyon leading to the compound is considered cursed by the locals and protected by hidden traps, holographic illusions and cybernetic death rays.

Today the Order operates 209 secret bases, some manned, others entirely automated, some located in the basement of a friendly villager in the endless jungle, others sprawling underwater complexes in the Sea of Light guarded by trained hammerhead sharks with heat rays mounted on their heads.

All bases are centrally controlled by an artificial sentient system which according to the few spies that made it out alive was lifted by metal angels up beyond the High Heavens...

Preferred Weapons

Assassins are trained in all disciplines of the martial arts and master their arts’ weapons.

Martial artists who prefer either the protection of a shield or the intimidation factor of two blades train in the Viz-Jaq’Taar’s exotic claw fist weapons. Their large metal surfaces conductive to manaflux currents make them ideal for those who seek the aid of the psychic arts as well.

Kensais who wield the fearsome naginata are known as blademasters. The naginata is one of the rarest weapons in the Kingdoms and most existing naginata are centuries old, passed on through generations by the Xiansai warrior-monks. Its combat style emphasis its long range, attacking with sweeping arcs of death that cleave through multiple enemies, enabling one blademaster to fend off an army.

Preferred Armour

With most attention of the Viz-Jaq’Taari techsmiths going to weapons, and their lightning-fast martial arts, few notable developments in the field of armourcrafting can be attributed to the Order. One important invention, however, are the crowd control shields employed by the Mageslayer urban strike forces, created from light but strong exotic alloys or specially treated demon bone with similar properties.

Skills

The Assassin's skills by tree. Each skill's page shows its values per level.

Innate skill

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Bloodbath	1		vampiric dual claw melee attack that returns life on kills

Melee

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Batstrike	1		melee attack that summons bats or converts enemies
Crucify	6	Batstrike	melee attack that unleashes homing spikes
Queen of Blades	12	Crucify	periodically casts bouncing shuriken at enemies
Barrier Strike	18	Queen of Blades	melee attack that creates a circle that repels and damages enemies
Doom	24	Barrier Strike	Curse effect: adds points to physical damage taken

Ki

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Way of the Spider	1		Passive effect: adds poison damage to attacks, improves poison skills
Shadow Refuge	6	Way of the Spider	powerful attack that temporarily raises speed and damage reduction
Twin Fang Strike	12	Shadow Refuge	melee attack that unleashes poison and fire novas
Laserblade	18	Twin Fang Strike	Passive effect: adds magic damage to a naginata's sweep attack
Way of the Phoenix	24	Laserblade	Passive effect: adds fire damage to attacks, improves fire skills

Throw

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Scorpion Blade	1		enchants throwing knife to deal poison damage
Storm Crows	6	Scorpion Blade	throw multiple homing knives
Wychwind	12	Storm Crows	knife that creates a rift field on impact, but weakens the user
APF-10 'Maelstrom' MkIV	18	Wychwind
Broadside	24	APF-10 'Maelstrom' MkIV	devastating knife storm that temporarily disables ranged skills

Bombs

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Cluster Mine	1		places a field of mines at target location
Limpet Laser	6	Cluster Mine	sticks to a wall and fires a freeze beam at nearby enemies
Electrofield Sentry	12	Limpet Laser	lightning field sentry that explodes with a nova
Fireball Sentry	18	Electrofield Sentry	fireball sentry that explodes with a ring of fire
Singularity	24	Fireball Sentry	trap that creates a black hole

Ninja

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Blink	1		teleport to target spot, stunning nearby enemies
Starburst	6	Blink	throw multiple homing shuriken
Bionetic Blast	12	Starburst	psionic orb that explodes with concussive force based on energy
Psionic Storm	18	Bionetic Blast	manifest a storm whose damage is based on energy
Perfect Being	24	Psionic Storm	Passive effect: grants a chance that incoming attacks miss

Uberskills

Skill	Required level	Requires	Effect
Beacon	90		periodically targets a nuclear strike at a random nearby location
Way of the Gryphon	90		Passive effect: adds lightning damage to attacks, improves lightning skills
Phase Bomb	90		lowers enemy resistances, but disintegrates physical attackers
Vampiric Icon	90
Psychic Scream	90

From Brother Laz's Median XL documentation, used with permission.