Whisper Blade

Who are they?

A whisper in a shadow. A silhouette in the moonlight. A dagger on your throat... They are the Whisper Blades. While loosely associated under a common banner, the Whisper Blade are a varied breed that comes from all walks of life. They are nobles trained in the art of murder by dark tutors. They are cut-throats and snatch purses taken in by government organizations to be turned into spies. They are prisoners given new knowledge by an erstwhile cellmate.

Whisper Blade are patient, cold, and calculating. They are generally intelligent and well read because they are required to possess not only knowledge about their enemy, but his or her culture and their native language. They are trained by their masters to disguise themselves, sneak in to enemy territory and perform the assassinations instead of simply attacking their target outright

Whisper Blades are killers. They are thieves. Most of all, they are tactical geniuses that rely on stealth, dexterity and guile over brute strength to reach their aims. They can be greedy. They can be altruistic.

Whisper Blades have a strict moral code when it comes to taking life. In common combat, such as on the battlefield or when accosted by monsters, the Whisper Blade will kill without hesitation. Yet when taking a contract (usually monetary) to assassinate a non-monster public figure or individual, the Whisper Blade follows a strict code of honor to give their quarry a fighting chance.

Anyone can murder. Only a Whisper Blade can assassinate. The difference between the two is getting away with it.

Who likes them?

No one.

The Whisper Blades are widely rejected by lawful, organized societies. While humans and orcs employ them in their spy organizations, they are still publicly disavowed and persecuted. The Forsaken and trolls have some respect for them and their skill, but they are, in the end, still murderers.

Training

Requirements

Only Rogues can become Whisper Blades.

Alliance » Dwarf Gnome Human Night Elf

Horde » Blood Elf Forsaken Orc Troll

Strengths

• Dexterity

The Whisper Blades are dexterous and nimble. They are hard targets to hit and can leap, bound, run and dive with expert skill. Weapon Proficiency The Whisper Blades are masters of small-bladed or blunt weapons. Fist weapons, daggers, small swords, staves and small clubs all give them weapon bonuses.

• Poison

The Whisper Blades are masters of crafting poison, often adding magical elements to it to give them strange, unknown abilities. (Talk to a GM before making a poison to get approval!)

• Backstab

A Whisper Blade gets critical damage whenever they successfully hit a target in the back or from a hidden position.

• Ranged

Whisper Blades are well-versed in the use of ranged weaponry, from guns to throwing knives and crossbows.

Weaknesses

• Marked Target

A Whisper Blades must always inform their assassination target that they are being hunted. This does not necessarily have to be right before the killing blow, but the Whisper Blades believe in a fair fight. A knowledgeable opponent is a prepared opponent.

• Weak

The Whisper Blades are, physically, quite weak. They have no bonuses to strength and have no bonuses to health.

• Weapon Proficiency

The Whisper Blades have poor ability with bulky weapons. One handed swords, clubs, axes, pole-arms and any two handed weapon are difficult for them to wield. They lose all combat bonuses when wielding those weapons.

• Uncovered

When they have lost their element of surprise and are visible, the Whisper Blade looses many of their stealth-based abilities until they are able to re-conceal themselves.

Skills and abilities

• Scale

The Whisper Blade, using training and magic, can scale any wall using their hands and feet. They cannot climb the ceiling.

• Conceal

The Whisper Blade can, instantly, hide any weapon or tool they were using on their person. They conceal these weapons in such a way that prevents them ever being found without the aid of magic.

• False Face

The Whisper Blade can, using magic, morph their features and clothes to mimic a living organism. They must conserve their mass (An orc cannot morph into a gnome and vice versa) and they cannot morph their voices. Any clothes they create using this illusion magic, from robes to full plate armor, function as cloth armor. The illusion lasts for five hours or until dispelled by magical means. The Illusion requires fifteen minutes to be created.

• Shadow Meld

The Whisper Blade is capable of concealing themselves in any large, stationary shadow, using magic to render themselves invisible to physical detection.

• Extinguish

Using magic, the Whisper Blade is capable of extinguishing all physical light sources –torches, light bulbs and lamps- in a single room.

Training Outline

The training of a Whisper Blade is one of the more versatile of the training processes. As such, it is difficult to create a set outline and a degree of creativity is required by the player to complete the process.

A Whisper Blade Aspirant can find a teacher or formal school to learn their craft, but it is not required. A street thug can pick up lessons just as easily walking the cobbles as a noble enrolled in a prestigious assassination school. Magical tomes and eldritch knowledge can just as easily be stolen as instructed. High birth or low, anyone can become a Whisper Blade.

Now the Aspirant must select the tone of their education and what drives them to completion. They can learn for the sake of becoming stronger, a desire to obtain survival skills in an urban sprawl, the means to exact revenge upon a personal enemy, a way to obtain wealth, a set of skills to be used in service for a nation…Whatever would drive a character to learn how to kill and sneak will be applicable as a driving force.

Based on the presence of a teacher or not, what drives them to fight and the location where they are instructed, the training will proceed. While there is no set outline considering the variable nature of this prestige, a general picture can be made: An Aspirant begins their study by training themselves through stealth, assassinations, poison-craft and magic. They are tested throughout their trials and forced to contend with the cruelty and amoral nature of their chosen craft.

In the end, the Whisper Blade must test their skills in a final strike. They can kill a powerful practitioner to prove to themselves and others their skill. They can, in service to a nation, kill a high-value target. They can steal a valuable prize. They can obtain a powerful weapon or artifact. In essence, they can do anything to break out of being a simple Aspirant and become a true Whisper Blade.

Active Whisper Blades

• Coriv Aseldor