Appearance

Physical Description

STR 13
To-Hit Modifier: +1
Open doors: 1-2
Carry Modifier: +10 pounds
 
DEX 18
Armor Bonus: +1 AC
Missile Weapon To-Hit Modifier: +1
 
CON 10
Raise Dead Survival: 75%

Body Features

Hit Points: 9/9
Base Movement Rate: 12

Identifying Characteristics

Assassin
Prime Attribute: Dexterity, Strength, and Intelligence all 13+
Saving Throw: 14

Apparel & Accessories

Combat

Weapons

Crossbow

ROF 1/2
Range 80 ft.
Damage: 1d6 +1

Flail

Damage: 1d8

Armor Class [+14 AC]

Leather

+2 AC

Shield

+1 AC




 

Items

Bullseye Lantern

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 30)
These shine a beam of light 60 feet long but only 10feet wide, through a hole in the lantern’s metal cylinder. They have a hinged cover, allowing the light to be hidden.

Garlic, Charmed

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 30)
A head of garlic with hexes and blessings on it. Normal garlic has a minor effect on undead, but charmed garlic works much better.

Holy Water (flask)

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 30)
Causes damage when thrown on most types of undead creatures and demons. This can be useful, since many of the more-powerful undead and demons can otherwise only be damaged with magical weapons.

Oil, Lamp (pint)

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 30)
Oil is highly flammable; a lit flask of oil can be used as a thrown weapon to cause 1d4 points of damage with a successful hit, and 1 more point of damage per round for the next 2 rounds. Burning oil can also be used to create a hazard for pursuing monsters.

Potion of Mirror Image

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 66)
Spell Level: Magic-User, 2nd Level
Range: Around caster
Duration: 1 hour or until destroyed
The spell creates 1d4 images of the caster, acting in perfect synchronization with him like mirror images. Attackers cannot distinguish the images from the caster, and may attack one of the images instead of the caster himself (determined randomly). When a hit is scored upon one of the images, it disappears.

Wolfsbane

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 30)
Fresh wolfsbane will often keep werewolves at bay…temporarily.

Special abilities

(Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, p. 10)

Disguise

Assassins can disguise themselves with great skill, allowing them to blend into other groups without causing suspicion. A person of average Intelligence and Wisdom (both scores averaging about 10) has only a 5% chance to see through such a disguise, unless it involves considerable fakery such as posing as a member of the opposite sex. In these cases the base chance to detect the disguise is 10%. These chances will be modified by the Referee to take the observer’s intelligence into account. As a rough guideline, if the observer had the brutish intelligence of an orc or a particularly foolish human, the chance to detect the disguise might drop by 1% or 2%. If the observer were a captain of the guard, a Cleric, a Magic-User, or were otherwise of greater than average mental capacity, the chance to detect such a disguise would increase by 1% to 3%. The Assassin’s disguise is more than just a matter of costume; it encompasses mimicry of speech and behavior as well. However, if the character is impersonating a specific individual, the disguise can only make the Assassin look vaguely similar – anyone at all familiar with the original would spot the imposture immediately. Disguises are more about blending in, mimicking a different social class, and – especially – not being recognized afterwards.

Magic Items

Assassins can use any magic items usable by Thieves, plus any magic weapons, armor (leather only), and shields.

Poison

Assassins are able to use poison on their weapons without the risk of making basic errors. Fighters who coat their swords with poison might – just might – make the mistake of absentmindedly rubbing their eyes before remembering to wash the deadly toxin from their hands; Assassins are trained not to fall prey to such basic errors when using poison. Assassins are not, however, trained at concocting poisons; most guilds employ an alchemist for such purposes.

Backstab

Assassins may attack from behind with a to-hit bonus of +4, and inflict double damage. This damage multiplier increases at the same level as that of a Thief.

Mentality

Personal history

The Vilgyr clan, located primarily in the city of Djir in the Xha'en Hegemony and the majority leaders in The Crimson Mask, knew that, to protect their power, they needed to extend their family beyond the reach of the emperor who might otherwise round them up for eradication. Hence, it is custom among the Vilgyr to arrange their marriages far and wide in the unlikeliest of places with two associated mandates. The first is that, if a woman of the clan is married far outside the Hegemony, her clan name must be retained after marriage (although unionized names are allowed). Children born of the wedlock must become assassins of The Crimson Mask is the second. Such was the fate of Knell.

How Forsdere became married to Dagmar was simple enough. One day deep in his cups after Xanaphia left him, Forsdere was telling any who would listen how much he would give to have a woman like that drow in his life. One of those passing through the common room, an assassin of The Crimson Mask, told him that this could be arranged easily.

Drunk as he was, Forsdere agreed all too readily to have an assassin to wife. While the price was high, The Inn of The Burly Brewer in Ironhill still turned enough of a profit in those days that Forsdere was willing to pay the cost. As easy arrangements often go, however, there were parts to this bargain of which he was unaware.

Dagmar was attractive enough, if rather taciturn, which somewhat suited Forsdere when he was sober. When he slapped her around while drunk, however, he could never get a rise out of her, so that deadened his feelings for her, not witnessing a fighting spirit like that in Xanaphia. Instead, she just seemed cold and distant throughout his abusive tirades. It didn’t prevent him from having his way with her as any husband might.

When she bore him twins, Forsdere was beside himself with joy, thinking that Dagmar might be worth something after all. No sooner had the midwife that Dagmar had hired to deliver the children announced the birth and returned to the bedroom, however, several black-cloaked figures entered the common room of the inn, as if they had been poised listening outside the inn’s door. They did not answer Forsdere’s questions when they stormed through, and, when he attempted to stop them, one held him at bay with a curved knife beneath the chin.

The figures emerged a short while later with a crying Dagmar Vilgyr carried among them. One of the group, a woman, handed him his newborn son. “This is Knell Vilgyr-Aleslops,” she said in the same cold manner as that expressed in Dagmar as long as Forsdere had known her. “You will take care of him until he is old enough to kill others at which time he will be taken by The Crimson Mask for training in our arts.”

“Where are you taking my wife?” Forsdere cried. The other assassin’s knife dug into his Adam’s apple before the brewer stopped pressing forward.

“Your wife has betrayed us. She allowed the midwife to steal away her other child to keep her from us. Because of this, she must be taken back into the fold in place of the other.”

Forsdere was livid. “But she is my wife. I paid for this marriage. By all rights, she is mine!”

“First and foremost, she belongs to The Crimson Mask,” the woman replied as she turned away. “As does your son. See that nothing happens to him, for if he dies, so do you.”

Ignoring the dagger at his throat and his squalling boy in his arms, Forsdere strained to get one final glimpse of Dagmar before he lost her for good. But her captors had already carried her out the door, and he didn’t even get one last look at even an ivory limb.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Experience Points: 1050

Intellectual Characteristics

INT 15
Maximum Additional Languages: 4
 
WIS 6

Morality & Philosophy

Alignment: Neutral

Known Languages

Common Tongue
Dwarven
Elvish

Personality

Motivation

CHA 8
Maximum Number of Special Hirelings: 3

Social

Birthplace

Ironhill

Current Residence

Bard's Gate

Contacts & Relations

Twin sister Chime is a monk.

Religious Views

Knell worships Orlik, a Lesser Power of the Ethtuwate Pantheon (Haunted Steppes). Lawful Neutral, Orlik is known as "The Rotting Limb, God of Death." His spheres of influence: Death, Earth, Law, Repose. Typical worshippers are "[a]ssassins, embalmers, murder[er]s, soldiers" (Lost Lands, page 491).