Assassin Newbie Guide

[Lord Solinari]

(Originally posted by Reon, updates by Dehucka, Maerryji et al.)


Few tips on seasonal assassins:

1) Race
Elf wins against human as he got auto-sneak, high intelligence and wisdom make your life more pleasant,  low constitution is compensated by Mind over body feat and many trains received from converting practice sessions,  and high mana makes you even healthier through spring of fortitude.
However, he is much weaker and hence makes weaker damages. Half-elf would be a nice compromise as well.
Half-kender is comparable to human, with lower strength but higher dexterity that probably matters more.
Dwarf is an utter perversion.

2) Weapons
Fight unarmed after you got styles unless your opponent is immune to physical attacks but still take your time to master all of your weapon skills, as defences depend on this.

Use shield and some nice hold when you are defending yourself, or remove both and hit with bare hands.

3) Staves and potions
There are many useful protective potions and orbs you should use. For example, easy-to-get rainbow orbs for protection evil, which makes all damages done to you by evil opponents lower, or potions with 'fly' spell which make you immune to trip/legsweep/sweep kick (a potion of levitation you can find in Kalaman is pretty expensive but you can find cheaper ones or just gather flowers in some forest south from Kalaman) which.

4) Styles
They style effective for defending yourself is seemingly a Tiger.
If you hit stronger or need to hold your opponent, choose Python style with Python hold after bashes and throws making it much harder for enemy to recover and latch attack efficient for preventing opponents with low dexterity from fleeing (though it wouldn't normally be useful against elves and kenders). If you fight a non-flying opponent and can overdamage him, it is nice to choose Wyvern style with sweep kick having a 1,5 round lag holding efficiently and delivering decent damage, kick could be used sometimes as damaging non-blockable skill if you got high damroll and weapon turning able to cause sudden unexpected damage in right time (wouldn't rely much on it though, see below).

5) Feats
Toughness-Toughness (Mind over Body for elves)-Uncanny Dodge.

6) Skills

Dodge, hand block and shield block
Assassin's best friends making him a great tank, especially with Uncanny dodge feat.

Dirt kicking and Blindness dust
Exceptionally useful. Always try to blind your opponent in battle. Dust if he has low saves (take care, as it strikes all around you except your group) and dirt kick in other cases (note that there's usually not enough dirt to kick in many clean places). Dirt kick may be good for raiding/reraiding, if you failed to strangle your opponent - just dirt kick him, flee, and hit cabal guard while he is blinded.

Trip and bash
Good old holding skills with 1,5:1 round lag. Unfortunately almost everyone got fly so trip is useless in most cases but still I would recommend to master it as sometimes it can decide the fate of battle. Bash is great to initiate battle if you are chasing fleeing opponent and especially efficient in Python style with Python hold making it harder to recover.

Dual wield and hand to hand
You hit with both hands only if you hold nothing in them. If you have one hand free, you seemingly make as many blows as when you hold something at both hands. However, this may change, so you should make a test yourself.

Kick and Follow through
If you got huge damroll it is not bad damaging skill. To be used only in Wyvern style which provides great bonuses to kicking.

Hide
Your main advantage are sudden attacks, so surely always stay hidden if possible.

Riding and mounted fighting
While assassin should never fight mounted as he loses almost all of his skills, it can still be used to strangle mounted opponents. Don't try to mount and strangle if your riding skill is low.

Caltraps
If you are involved in a long boring battle with both sides hitting each other pretty slow, it could be nice to reduce opponent's dexterity, but in most cases you will use other skills in battle.

Disarm
Only works with a weapon, probably could be used against a blinded cleric, who wouldn't rape you at once if you wear a dagger, didn't try it much though.

Nerve
The same as caltraps but reducing strength, useful on strangled opponents as it doesn't wake them and sometimes can even cause enemy to drop very heavy weapon. Also usable against mobs.

Throw and ground control
Nice skills, lag your opponent and deliver decent damage, especially in python style and with big damroll. Lags you for 2 rounds though. Good to use in combination with latch attack to prevent opponent from fleeing.

Vanish
Good surviving skill, since you can't recall from battle - you can vanish and quaff potion. Doesn't work when you are cursed unfortunately.

Poison dust
Practically useless at high ranks as almost everyone got decent saves. Can be tried at sleeping not-too-well-saved opponent though. Take care, you will attack all around except your group.

Recovery
Needless to comment, great surviving skill, always try to master it.

Iron strike, perception and find vulnerability
Useful automatic skills, just practice them and enjoy: very fast mastering in ranking.     

Shuriken
Absolutely useless at the moment, don't waste your time at it.

Strangle
One of your main powers, useful in all situations, doesn't check saves. Tip: success of strangle depends on your and your opponent's size.

Calm mind
Absolutely great surviving skills, prevents you from being blinded, always keep it on.

Weapon turn
Pleasant extra-damage sometimes, but can be used only in Wyvern style and only works after hand blocks, which are rare (usually, you dodge all enemies' attacks).

Blood of winter ice and blood of summer fire 
Great skills, not only do they give decent resistances to cold and fire (in combination with endure, hero resistances and some items, you can gain immune at hero ranks), they give you slow and haste! Always walk under summer fire and use winter ice to regenerate quickly after battles.

Latch attack
Can be used only in Python style, effectively prevents opponents with low dexterity from fleeing. Very good holding skill especially when defending your cabal. Not too efficient against elves and kenders unfortunately.

Assassinate
Very useful skill if you can't outdamage or hold your enemy properly.
Chance of assassinate increases significantly if opponent is blind and sleeping (strangle + dust).
Requires much patience though. Note that you cannot hide while preparing it.


Fortitude of spring
Assassin generally doesn't need mana at all, unless he is clanned. Well, fortitude will allow you to last on your mental power after your physical strength is gone. Converts 2 mp to 1 hp (or possibly 3 -> 1).

7) General overview
Silent killers dangerous for everyone if you are patient enough to use assassinate. Otherwise they are still very dangerous, especially for the enemies who can't recall from battle (or for those caught in cursed place),  but mostly notable for surviving abilities. With proper defensive spells from potions and orbs assassins are ultimate tanks able to stand against almost any opponent. Fortitude saves are of most importance for them.

[Maerryji]

(Originally by Crusader, updates by Maerryji)

Shadow assassin is the one who gives you a lot of ways to kill a victim. He has lack of brute force of beast assassins or survival skills of seasonal. But it’s doesn’t mean he/she is not a headache for all others.

1) Race
Human. Good enough since he has the best strength and no aversions.
Half-elf. About the same as human. Has automatic sneak and lives much longer.
Dark-elf. Weakest one. Very intelligent, so learns much faster than the others. Vulnerable to holy attacks. Long life and automatic sneak.

2) Mandatory skills and spells

As a shadow assassin your best friends are (viper style) viper strike, dirt kick; (python style) latch attack and throw; (always) vanish, word of recall, kidnap, sting of manticore, stalk, murder and bash.

Styles
Viper style is the best defensive style among all. Only in that style you can use viper strike.
Use python style for hold by latch and throw. You may just latch and then switch from python to viper style and use viper strike. Victim still will be latched. Carefully choose moments for switching the styles.

Dirt kicking and blindness dust
Victim must be always blinded. Fighter-like classes must be blinded during the whole battle.
However, dirt kick does awfully work in clean rooms, and blindness dust is resisted by the spells and may add you some new foes, so blinding is not always possible.

Vanish
Useful to protect you from stalking and tracking.
It may be better to use vanish or recall instead of just fleeing from combat.

Kidnap
It is a way to kill a victim face to face or just allow some aggressive monster to do so. However, you may fall to that monster as well (or even be the only one to fall there, though it is not very likely).

Sting of  Manticore
Lethal skill. They say that it depends from saves and constitution of a victim. So elves are best victims for that skill.

Murder and bash
If your victim uses any mount, murder it and bash his/her mount. Retreat. Back. Strangle.

Assassinate
Use it then you do not see other way to kill or you just want to kill a victim with it. Lazy you are. Remember you can hide in any room that was prepared for assassination.

3) Feats

Hide tracks + Toughness (Mind over body for dark elves) /Bloodline holy + Uncanny dodge.

4) Tactics

First, remember you are not supposed to fight against multiple opponents. Kidnap is your main way to equalize odds. This does not mean you just can't fight against two or three, but it could be better to avoid.

Strangle (if victim is mounted, get him off the mount or mount yourself), put nerve, throw blindness and poison dust if possible (but do not waste too much time for it). If you did not kidnap him before, think about it now. Finally, try to perform a sting of manticore. Successful? 1-0. Well, in most cases at least. No luck? Anyway you are close to victory, and your opponent knows that as well, so be ready to continue the hunt in the city after he recalls.

With decent preparations (good potions, orbs) you can fight without kidnap and with failed strangle (or with any of the further important skills except nerve). Without them you probably should not.

Use stalk in all possible situations

Victim is a thief
Try to strangle him before he blackjacks you. If you are successful, you have good chance to kill him. If he's successful, he has good chance to clean your pockets and disappear in hazy distance. Your death is not probable at all (but possible. If you choose to fight to death or run too slow, thief can kill you after blackjack-backstab.) If thief is well prepared (spellbook, potions etc.), flee and wait. He can't keep himself prepared constantly.

Victim is a fighter
A skilled fighter is a great enemy. You are not equal to him on open battlefield. So strike from shadows. Strangle. Blind. Kidnap. Fighter must be blinded always, then he cannot change weapons. You can try to disarm him.
But anyway you must be always ready to escape and disappear in the shadows.

Victim is a knight
Dirt kick and throw. Do not allow to cast wrath. Do not allow him to mount.

Victim is an Outcast knight
Don't allow to sleep you. Hide, use saves. If you are slept, wait till he wakes you and run away. Or hide and wait till curse fades. Remember about hails. Keep the curative potions with you, or poison and plague will reveal (or just kill) you.
Blinded outcast will not sleep you. So he will either use swords, or hell balls. Both are dangerous, but throw must help.

Victim is ranger
Power of ranger in his pets. They hits hard with unblockable attacks. Cut ranger from pets and kill. Do not fight with ranger in forests.

Victim is an assassin

Shadow
You know what you can do? So you know what an enemy can do too. Use it.

Seasonal
Frontal battle will not lead to victory. Strangle. Kidnap. Sting. Don’t try to blind, monks are immune to it. Seasonal assassins can slow or haste self. They have perception that will prevent your good dodge in viper. They have spring of fortitude that make them healthier. Avoid frontal battles. They can latch you, but can’t prevent you to recall, you can always do it. So chose battlefield. And fight on it.

Beast
Counts on brute force. Strangle. If you fail to sting or at least blind him, do not fight.

All other classes (clerics, druids, mages) have the spells to prevent you from hiding. If you don't have high saves, be very careful. They also can recall from combat, just like you. So you will hardly kill them without sting or latch attack in some cursed place.

[Maerryji]

Death comes in an instant,
As they hoped it would.
Souls ascend to heaven
While it feasts on flesh and blood!

Judas Priest, "Night Crawler"

Beast assassins are extremely dangerous and deadly, tearing their enemies to pieces with mighty blows, powerful kicks, and deadly claws of a fierce wolverine when they are in rage. They can find their enemies wherever they hide, prevent them from casting or praying, and send them to the ground in at least four ways to hold them in battle. They lack the defensive abilities of other wayfollows, python style useful for making enemies virtually unable to flee in non-magical ways and some hunting and killing skills of shadows, but their advantage is brute force which is matchless. Also it is one of the best classes for quickly gaining experience and helping others to do so.

If you just want to have some fun with quick and somewhat insane PK, beast assassin at middle ranks (18-26) is your choice. Just find unprepared enemies and strike. Only a few classes can withstand you. You can win the battle against two or sometimes even three foes, if they aren't defended too well. Hard-earned equipment and preparations, advanced tactical skills would be useful at hero rank when all your enemies are more or less prepared.
Best way to feel yourself a Mighty Player Killer without much efforts. Feel the adrenalin and share it with your foes!

1. Alignment and race.
Beast assassins can be both good and evil.
Elf. The best choice for goods with only a few slight disadvantages. Learns most of skills necessary for PK when ranking. High wisdom provides additional will saves and training sessions that make him as healthy as human. Constitution is a weakness because of fortitude saves penalty and some skills that work against you better. Vulnerability to negative is one more. Always sneaking. Has a bit more mana than others which is useful, too.
Dark elf. The best choice for evils with only a few slight disadvantages. Learns most of skills necessary for PK when ranking. Has only a little less HP than human. Vulnerable to holy, which is his most notable weakness. Always sneaking. Has a bit more mana than others.
Half-elf. Any alignment. Very good, too. Compared to elves, his very notable disadvantage is slower learning, and among the advantages only the absence of vulnerabilities worths mentioning.
Human. Any alignment. Compared to half-elf, has a few slight pros and cons that seem to be balanced, and one notable disadvantage is lack of automatic sneak.
Half-kender. Good alignment. Similar to human, slightly more agile which may matter. [To find out: what is his size? If he is smaller than human this may matter too.]
Dwarf. Good alignment. Utter perversion.

2. Feats.
1. Toughness or Balance
2. Toughness (Mind over body for elves, dark elves) or Blind fight
3. Blinding speed or Uncanny Dodge

3. Skills and spells.

Styles. Make sure you have quick aliases to switch them. Tiger style to defend yourself and perform some actions (tiger claw, dirt kick and rage of wolverine if doing so in dragon style seems to be bad idea), wyvern style to hide in forests or sweep kick (if your opponent is not flying), and the main one is dragon style to make damages. The most important is a dragon style which makes you larger and gives you the most possible strength (thus equalizing humans or even dwarves and elves). Free both hands and tear your foes like paper.

Holds. Beast assassin's holds are not as deadly as shadow's or season's. You can meet an enemy you just cannot hold. Others you should bash or throw in enlarging Dragon style. Still, many classes have their ways to somewhat protect them from both holds. Trip is inferior to sweep kick and bash, usually there's no need to practice it.

Blinding. Blindness dust is mostly against unconscious enemies, dirt kick is useful in battle. If your enemies outdamage you in melee, do it in Tiger style, and then you will probably win in Dragon.

Blocks. Better have dodge, parry, and hand block perfect, but do not expect much, at least in Dragon or Wyvern styles. These styles are not for defending. Perfect shield block is optional at middle ranks, you do not use shields much. Best way of defending yourself is flee or vanish, hide, run. Against other assassins or thieves who can see hidden best defense in most cases is offense. If you see this is not correct in your case, just run. Or quaff word of recall potion.

Additional damage in combat.
- rage of wolverine - Any style. Costs much mana, you need to have more than a few scratches (90% HP or less) to use it. Extremely dangerous. Most of your blows are blocked usually, but potentially you can make ~500 HP damage at once. Try to blind and disarm your enemy and you will see its power.
- kick+follow through - Dragon, Wyvern. Proper kicks lag you for 1.5 rounds and are very powerful, if you fail to perform them and make simple kick it lags you for 1 round. Virtually unblockable.
- throw+ground control - Any style, possibly best in Dragon. 2 rounds lag, but your opponent may be lagged for one, too. Not so powerful, mostly useful as hold.
- Sweep kick - Wyvern style. Not against flying enemies. 1.5 round lag, 1 for your opponent (same as for bash and trip). Mostly useful as hold.

Defensive affects
- endure - will saves, resistance to fire and cold
- dragon blood - armor class, resistance to bash, slash, fire, cold and energy
- razorspine - kind of defense against surprise attacks (ambushes, backstabs).
- detect hidden, detect invis - use these always
- affects from preparations - fly is important, haste if you find it is extremely good. Many other potions and orbs can be found across the world.

Other skills and spells
- eagle eye - shows you your enemy and everything in his room. So if you can recognize the place, you know where he is. Costs much mana. Note that when you do so you also warn the target. One of your most important skills making your enemies hate you.

- tiger claw - makes some damage. If successful, your enemy cannot cast or pray for a few hours. Skill is somewhat hard to perform but very dangerous.

- assassinate - dangerous, but requires much patience. Useful if other ways to kill have failed.

- strangle - makes your enemy unconscious. You have time to blind and poison him with dust and nerve him. Very useful if you are inferior in melee combat or want to fight a few foes at once.

- nerve - slightly weakens your foe, useful against mobs, but (usually) not against players, do not waste time on it in combat.

- caltraps - slight damage, decreases opponent's dexterity. Useful against mobs, and sometimes against those players who are normally able to block most of your blows.

- disarm - very useful sometimes. Better blind your enemy before disarming.
Note that if you attempt to disarm with bare hands you are sometimes penalized by unblockable strike.

- dash - performs some action right after moving into adjacent room. You can pass aggressive mobs and do many other useful things with it. Note that you will be lagged.

- vanish - useful to escape. Transports you to a random place within the same area.

- cleanse - tries to remove poisons and diseases from your body. Costs much mana.

- locate object - locates the objects, useful sometimes. Can help you to find preparations, for example.

- shuriken - virtually unblockable strike. Possibly useful to start a battle when bash is ineffective. However, 'murder' is better way in most cases.

4. Opponents.
(Disposition existing at middle ranks)

Fighter
Everything depends on his equipment and specializations. In most situations fighters are not prepared sufficiently to withstand you, but be ready to flee and hide if your opponent is.

Ranger
Similar to a fighter with some advantages. Seems to be more or less equal to you in open combat, but you can use the advantages of hide over camouflage (possible almost anywhere, no lag). Also you can attack her if you know where she has camouflaged while she can't attack you without special preparations even if she guesses your hiding place. Strangling and killing pets might be useful.

Knight
Dangerous enemy, extremely hard to kill if he already has silver aura around him. However, it is not hard to survive since there's not much he can do once you hide. Get him off his mount (strangle or bash it) and bash him to prevent his wrath spells. Strangling might be useful as well (don't forget to kill his horse after success).

Cleric
Stay away from her. Once you are revealed, you may need considerable skill just to survive. Your chances to kill her are close to zero. If you utterly want to kill someone in her team, strangle her first and run away if you fail.

Outcast
Dangerous enemy, but can be defeated if he is not prepared or skilled too much. Before you attack him make sure you have good will saves and know the surroundings well enough to run through them being blinded. Be ready to flee and hide, remember that he can attack you if he guesses your hiding place. Poison and plague will reveal you each tick, this will help him. Curse won't let you vanish from traps where he may summon you.
If you're sure you can withstand this all, try to strangle and blind him. Use bash in combat.

Thief
Easy enemy. Unless prepared or skilled very good, worst thing she can do to you is to clean your pockets.

Assassin
Look at the mirror. Nasty? And so is he.

Druid
Depending on her rank, preparation level, and killing skill she might be extremely dangerous or relatively weak and easy to kill. General advice is not to touch her if she already has a treant.

Invoker
Easy to kill before he gets an interposing hand. With interposing hand and elemental shields he becomes defended well enough and about as dangerous as you are. Beware of stunning fork lightning spells.

Transmuter
Not dangerous at lower ranks but very hard to kill (she always remembers that she can do nothing to you and will not try to fight, a mistake that usually kills others). Don't waste your time on her once she gets white aura. Beware if she is an alteration and has a major offensive form (bull, tiger) already.

Necromancer
Not so dangerous if he has no undeads. It is very likely he will kill you giving you no chances if he has them. Do not fight after they rescue him. Possibly with decent preparations you can withstand them for a while and kill their master with rage of wolverine.


Author thanks Quino, Raider, and Matthew for their useful comments.

[arre]

Shadow assassin tips

Congratulations. You have the best solo-oriented player killing character. Nobody can match you in the field. At middle ranks clerics and necromancers can kill better then you do, but it is not for long. Your killing ability grows fluently up to sting ability, then it stays at the same level, while they can do little with high-ranked characters due to good saves stuff. You are the only class able solo to hunt, find and slay equipped clanned heroes.

General overview.

Actually, you have dextrous hand-to-hand only spec fighter with great survival potential.
Shadow has survivability, comparable with one abjuration mage has. Bad side, it relies on preps.

First of all, it is supported by hide, skill that grants first-strike ability. It means, you laugh at warriors, mages, and the majority world inhabitats. The fact it is you who attack first, means you are one who is prepared, and proper preparations are blood and bone of your success in fight. If you get faerie fired, or faerie fogged, it's better to retreat.  Avoid to accept fight in forest, mountains, sea, any place where you can't hide. After all, it is patience that is of utmost importance for successful kill.

While fighting, you are protected by dodge with your great assassin dexterity, hand block and shield block skills. It grants considerable degree of hit avoidance. You should wear shield if you do not need to show your damage potential, it means almost as ever. Besides, best defensive style viper is available only to your wayfollow.

Still, you are vulnerable for direct damage skills, and for spells. It is covered mostly by sometimes underestimated staves skill. It means, you will have protection, and sanctuary. This kind of protection is limited, use it when you need to maximize you chances to stay alive.

Hometown.

If you play in aggressive style, and it is only style worth to play, take palanthas. It makes easier for you to pursue your victims. And you should have teleport pots for the case, if they become pursue you.

Feats

I'd propose hide tracks (sometimes you kidnap victim to BAD place.. hero shadow with this feat is able to survive Edges, hero shadow without this feat is unable to do it) , blind fighting (to improve survivability when failed to strangle victim) , lightning speed (to improve your damage output to stinged persons). Speed is better then dodge, because you have good safety margin, it is your battle damage performance that is important.

Preps part.

It is preps, that makes your shadow so dangerous. Shadow without preparations, is even worse then outcast without cruelties. Preps allow to triple, or even quadruple your survivability, to make you twice more damage, to get out from deadly places and situations.


You should use sanctuary, protection good, haste, frenzy, armor+shield+stone skin, fly, bless (of secondary importance for damage output, of primary importance against spellcasters). For your survival, cure blind is of utmost importance, it negates blindness affect, and it means a lot for one who knows. Find and carry also some of healing potions, it can save your ass in critical situation. If you are rich, get harden skin potion for emergency cases. Carry a pair of teleport pots, you know, sometimes these gopanics open wide hunt for you. Some passdoor pots are useful also.

Exotic preps include displacement, and icewall. Second is excellent to kill reraiding heretics, or quick victims caught in maus.

Tactic against one person

While you have to deal with single person, you can almost always consider self a winner there. No matter, is it tower mage, heretic warrior, solamnic knight, or takhisis outcast.

You should remember, that your aim is not to overdamage victim. Is not be more powerful. But have fresh corpse. It means, you should not show your damage potential until you know very good what are you doing. You should not fight enemy at equal conditions. You should not fight at all, you should kill.

Three conditions

To kill somebody, three terms are to be met. First one, you should find them. Second one, is you should overdamage them. And third, you should close their ways to escape.

First condition is met by your unique 'stalk' ability. Well, gating clerics, flying druids, transmuters and some clanned characters, people who hide tracks are out of danger, but it is roughly one from five victims. Other four victims still can be successfully stalked. Often it mean you will need to check several cities entries.. Timeeating a bit, but after all you come for person, and they are not aware about your hunt... worth something.

Second condition – it is what for you gather all these preparations, and some feats. Sanced protected hasted spelluped by cheap armor-shield-stone skin combo shadow is able to survive failed strangle against solamnic knight, heretic warrior, or group of average characters. And if strangle was successful, it grants you good chance they are blinded, nerved, poisoned and may be kidnapped. Add to your preps bless and frenzy. Prepared, you overdamage 95% Krynn player population. It mean, most likely you kill them if they do not flee.

Third condition – most hard to satisfy. Top notch degree of skill and luck, is to follow victim until they get wounds fighting an monster.. You make a pair of hits, and have desired corpse. Of course, it happens rarely. As for other cases, you have no curse empower, clever victim just word out when you attack them. Cursed area like maus helps you, strangle/blind them and then stalk them to death. You can try strangle victim anywhere, and to kidnap strangled victim, with hope to appear in cursed place, still it is a kind of roulette. There is latch skill also, use it if you overdamage victim, and it is not cleric and not mage.

When you get sting skill, it greatly makes easier to keep victim until death takes their soul.. It holds them unable to make ANY action for 12 rounds. Prepared knights, prepared clerics, prepared invokers/transmuters, and prepared season monks have a chance to survive it, yeah, others hardly can do it. After victim is strangled, apply all offensive preparations you have, haste is of the most importance, remove shield, go offensive style, Jaguar the best, viper is second top due to viper strike skill. Try to blind them some time (5-10-20 times) before sting.. then, go sting. When stinged them, countdown is running, immideately attack. Dirt them if they still can see, caltrap dextrous opponent, then go do damage. If failed to sting, try to avoid fight, let them leave unharmed. Victim almost met their death, you know it, and if you show them your damage potential now, they can realize it too. Go defensive style, and seek for another chance to strangle them. Your offensive preps are spent, but it is better to spent an extra pair of haste/frenzy pots, then to lost christmas tree corpse.

Extreme tactics

If failed to strangle, you can just try to sting. I'd say, it is gesture of despair, but it can work, and it worked for me. But.. you should use all your offensive preps before you try 'just sting', and it is bad thing, you both demonstrate your abilities to do damage and waste your pots for a illusory chance to paralyse them.. still, there are little things worse then to see scared prey leaving your hugs after you failed to destroy them in 12 rounds.

Tactic against group

Hard task. Up to their staff&stuff, they can offer moderate resistance for you, or they can meet you so that you feel self lucky to survive the meeting.

It is time for you to use your defensive preps. To be too greedy can mean to be too dead.

Most likely, they do more damage then you do. You need to fight them one after one. Two ways. First one, you try to strangle them all. Failed to strangle, you should blind this person. Pray they are too slow to wake their teammates. Then you have very limited time to try your chances with blinded victims, if they are dead or retreated – with sleeping.
And second, is kidnap. With all risks it brings, sometimes it is only way to get their gold and shinies.

Patience tactics

Sometimes you have to find use for this strange assassinate ability. It takes ton of patience to foresee your victim directions, but sometimes your opponents are just too clever to give you other chance to kill them, then prepare assassination trap, and wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It should bring you incredible fun to kill them this way.

Conclusions

You can kill most easy. Life and death of others are up to your decision. It creates some kind of power, use it wisely. You are hired killer, not berserker. After all, somebody should brew these tasty haste potions.