Of the 8 Career Skills, choose 4 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Bounty Hunter Career Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Perception, Piloting (Planetary), Piloting (Space), Ranged (Heavy), Streetwise and Vigilance.

Assassin Specialization Skills: Melee, Ranged (Heavy), Skulduggery and Stealth

Whereas most Bounty Hunters focus primarily on the capture of quarry, those who specialize as Assassins are generally tasked with the straightforward proposition of terminating their targets. Assassins tend to prefer getting in quietly, taking out targets (either up close or sniping from afar), and leaving just as silently as they entered. Their talents are very appropriate for this kind of work.

Despite their different methods, Assassins still adhere to many of the same ethics and practices of other Bounty Hunters. They take their work very seriously, avoid all needless bloodshed, and honor their contracts to the letter. Some treat their methods with reverence, even assigning a certain mystique to it. Others simply see themselves as cold killers, and are just fine with it.

Potential Backgrounds

• In It For the Money: Assassins would seem to have need for wealth beyond what it takes to maintain their equipment. A good blade or rifle, a suit of black clothing, and a tendency toward skulking and hiding in shadows looks, at first glance, to be an achievable goal for anyone with moderate resources. While this is true, a number of assassins are very concerned with money. Some do not chase it to keep themselves in fast ships and high-tech gear, however: they chase the status that comes along with it. The best assassins are the most expensive, and there are individuals whose fees are in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of credits for a single job. While this money does buy them a high standard of living, it also ensures that only the wealthiest, most discerning clients can afford their services—and the higher-class the customer, the more prestigious the job.

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• Lawbringer: Killers for hire have an unsavory reputation nearly everywhere in the galaxy, and it is strange to think of Assassins as motivated by something as high-minded as a dedication to law and order. There are those, however, for whom dispensing justice is paramount. These hunters often see themselves as avengers, using their skills to right wrongs and to punish the wicked—for those who can pay their fee, at least.

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• Thrill of the Hunt: Most Assassins are no-nonsense professionals who go about collecting their bounties with a minimum of fuss. Whether with a blaster rifle from a kilometer away or the deft use of a blade or garrote, the majority of Assassins wish only to kill their target and collect their money. Further, most Assassins view anyone who kills for any reason other than financial gain as deranged; they are professionals, after all, not mere murderers. Some Assassins, however, are not so discerning—killing is something they enjoy, and they would do it even if they weren’t being paid. These hunters quietly stalk their targets, following them constantly and often approaching close enough to touch them before fading back into the crowd. They leave little hints to their presence and purpose where their targets can find them, and ratchet up the pressure and paranoia before delivering the killing blow. For them, a clean, fast kill, while efficient and professional, is hardly worthwhile at all.