Katjemeran Assassin · Salorras Codex

Salorras Paragon: Katjemeran Assassin · Base Path: Scoundrel (Thief) · OSE build: reskinned Advanced Fantasy assassin chassis A custom OSE class for the sworn poisoner-killers of the Fatal Contracts guild of Katjemeran — the ranked masters of poison and anatomy known in their own tongue as the rasjacaras. Played from 1st level; the character’s induction into the guild is part of their background.

The assassins of the city-state of Katjemeran, known also as the rasjacaras, have raised the art of poisoning and their knowledge of anatomy to the highest level, making them insidious hunters of their marks. A rasjacaro usually works for the guild of the Fatal Contracts — Rasjacaras in the local tongue — though more than a few break from the organization and act alone, and renegades most often end up hunted by the guild itself. Wherever they belong, they are the deadliest users of poisonous substances in Asmeda.

Within the guild many call themselves rasjacaras, but only a very small number are true masters of the kind. Members pass through harsh trials to prove themselves worthy to rise into the higher strata of the assassins — an advancement that lets them be hired at better rates and gain greater leverage in the guild’s internal affairs. Strict self-discipline and respect for the hierarchical pyramid are what earn the title of rasjacaro. Their extensive anatomical knowledge grants them several deadly gifts: in time they learn to strike an opponent’s vulnerable points, and they place great weight on the study of chemical admixtures that reinforce their poisons.

In faith the assassins take no clear stand, though the devout tend to follow doctrines that suit a paid killer — those of Nerkan Thak’Ar, Galiena, Othrax, or The Weapon. They always wear carved metal masks depicting birds that mark their place in the guild’s hierarchy — raven, eagle, owl, and condor in ascending seniority — the supreme rank held by the Supreme Rasjacaro (Yrjaani Trialanddaris).

Class Overview

Requirements: Non-Chaotic alignment; induction into the Fatal Contracts; minimum DEX 9 Prime requisite: DEX Hit Dice: 1d4 Maximum level: 14 Armour: Leather; no shields Weapons: Any (the rasjacaras favour small, silent, concealable arms — dagger, sap, dart, short sword, crossbow) Languages: Alignment, Colloquial

Katjemeran assassins are the master poisoners and anatomist-killers of Salorras — peerless in the lethal opening strike, the studied kill, and the brewing of venoms. A prime requisite of DEX 13–15 grants +5% to experience earned; DEX 16–18 grants +10%. The sharper the assassin’s Intelligence, the harder their studied kill is to survive. An assassin who betrays the guild is hunted, but keeps every gift they have earned (see below).

The Katjemeran Assassin

Level	XP	Hit Dice (1d4)	THAC0	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d4	19 [0]	13	14	13	16	15
2	1,800	2d4	19 [0]	13	14	13	16	15
3	3,600	3d4	19 [0]	13	14	13	16	15
4	7,200	4d4	19 [0]	13	14	13	16	15
5	14,400	5d4	17 [+2]	12	13	11	14	13
6	30,000	6d4	17 [+2]	12	13	11	14	13
7	60,000	7d4	17 [+2]	12	13	11	14	13
8	120,000	8d4	17 [+2]	12	13	11	14	13
9	240,000	9d4	14 [+5]	10	11	9	12	10
10	420,000	9d4+2*	14 [+5]	10	11	9	12	10
11	600,000	9d4+4*	14 [+5]	10	11	9	12	10
12	780,000	9d4+6*	14 [+5]	10	11	9	12	10
13	960,000	9d4+8*	12 [+7]	8	9	7	10	8
14	1,140,000	9d4+10*	12 [+7]	8	9	7	10	8

* Modifiers from CON no longer apply. — Saving throws: D Death/Poison · W Wands · P Paralysis/Petrify · B Breath Attacks · S Spells/Rods/Staves. The assassin fights and saves as a thief; the XP column follows the Advanced Fantasy assassin track and is reconstructed pending confirmation against the printed Player’s Tome.

Class Abilities

Combat. Katjemeran assassins may wield any weapon but favour small, silent, concealable arms, and wear only leather armour with no shield.

Guild Skills. A rasjacaro has the scoundrel’s trade-craft — Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Climb Sheer Surfaces, Hear Noise, and the rest — using the chances on the scoundrel’s table for their level. The guild trains its killers first of all in silence and shadow.

Back-Stab. The assassin’s anatomical mastery makes the opening strike lethal beyond any common thief’s. When they attack an unaware or flanked foe, they gain +4 to the attack roll and multiply the damage — doubled at 1st level, tripled at 5th, quadrupled at 9th, and quintupled at 13th. As with any back-stab this needs a living target with discernible anatomy and a blow it does not see coming; at range it works within 30 feet.

Death Attack. If the assassin studies a chosen victim for three rounds and then lands a back-stab that deals damage, the strike may kill or paralyse (the assassin’s choice, declared before the attack). The victim must save versus Death to resist a kill, or save versus Paralysis to resist paralysis; a failed save means death, or helplessness for 1d6 rounds plus one round per assassin level. While studying, the assassin may act otherwise so long as their attention holds and the victim does not know them for an enemy. Once the study is done, the death attack must fall within the next three rounds, or a fresh study is needed.

Poison Use. The rasjacaras are so schooled in toxins that they never poison themselves by accident when coating a blade.

Poisonmaking Admixtures. The assassin learns to cut their poisons with cheaper substitutes without loss of potency, drawing two uses from each vial they brew where another poisoner would get one.

Save versus Poison. Trained against every manner of toxin, the assassin’s body hardens: they gain a +1 bonus to saves versus poison at 1st level, rising to +2 at 4th, +3 at 7th, +4 at 10th, and +5 at 13th.

Assassin’s Wariness. From 2nd level the assassin does not lose their defence when caught unawares or struck from hiding (retaining any Dexterity bonus to Armour Class unless bound or helpless). From 6th level they can no longer be flanked — no foe can slip a back-stab past their guard by position alone.

Poison Expert. From 3rd level the assassin brews deadlier venoms. They choose one delivery type of poison (contact, ingested, inhaled, or by wound); poisons of that type they craft are harder to resist (worsening the victim’s save) and their lingering effects strike in half the usual time. They choose a second poison type at 9th level. This aids only the poisons the assassin personally brews.

Stunning Strike. From 4th level the assassin can trade lethality for a numbing blow to a nerve-cluster. As an alternative back-stab, they may give up one step of their damage multiplier to add a stun: on a hit, the target must save versus Paralysis or be stunned for 1 round (longer if the assassin gives up more of the strike). Usable once per round.

Quick Poison Apply. From 5th level, after hundreds of applications, the assassin coats a weapon far faster — a swift motion rather than a careful one. They may even apply it in a single instant, at a 5% risk of botching the dose (wasting it, and possibly poisoning themselves).

Poison Enchantment. From 7th level the assassin masters the rarest art of the rasjacaras — blending a poison with an oil or potion into a single hybrid liquid, so that a victim must resist both the poison and the magic. The mixture must match the poison’s delivery to the magic’s form: oils suit contact and wound poisons, potions suit ingested and inhaled ones. A poison the assassin has perfected as a poison expert keeps its edge in the blend.

Crippling Strike. From 8th level the assassin’s knowledge of the spine is such that they can strike for paralysis exactly as with Stunning Strike, save that the target that fails is left helpless — and the blow must give up at least two steps of the back-stab multiplier to attempt it.

Rasjacara Hideout — After Reaching 9th Level. An assassin of proven rank may keep a guild hideout — a hidden cell of the Fatal Contracts — whereupon lesser rasjacaras and aspirants gather to serve the master killer and learn the craft of silent death.

Master Poisoner. At 14th level the assassin becomes a true master of the kind. Choosing one poison type in which they are already a poison expert, they learn to raise its toxin-content, increasing the poison-damage die by up to three categories per the table below (each further step costing more time, a harder brew, and double the price of the last).

Normal Poison Damage	Master Poisoner Damage
1d2	1d4
1d4	1d6
1d6	1d8
1d8 or 2d4	1d10 or 2d5
1d10 or 2d5	1d12 or 2d6
1d12 or 2d6	2d8
2d12 or 3d8	3d10

Ex-Katjemeran Assassins

If an assassin of Katjemeran violates the code of the Highest Contract, or treats a client’s sworn contract with contempt, they are deemed a traitor to the Fatal Contracts: they lose their rank on the guild ladder and are hunted by their former brothers and sisters, to be dragged before the Supreme Rasjacaro. Even so, the character keeps every gift of the class — each was earned purely through their own effort and study, and no guild can take it back.