# Master Assassin

@ Master Assassin 

Difficulty

20

Attacks

Weapon poisonous 2d6, weapon 2d8, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d6

@ Master Assassin 

Difficulty

20

Attacks

Weapon poisonous 2d6, weapon 2d8, claw quest-artifact-stealing 2d6

Base level

15

Base experience

503

Speed

12

Base AC

0

Base MR

30

Alignment

18 (lawful)

Frequency (by normal means)

Not randomly generated; unique

Genocidable

No

Weight

1450

Nutritional value

400

Size

Medium

Resistances

Stoning

Resistances conveyed

None

The Master Assassin:

 has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso.

 is omnivorous.

 is not a valid polymorphable form.

 is a human.

 is male.

 is normally generated hostile.

 can follow you to other levels.
 is nasty.
 is strong.

 can pick up weapons and food.
 can pick up magical items.

 wants your quest artifact.
 waits for you to come.

 can be seen through infravision.

Reference

monst.c#line3286

The Master Assassin, @, is the Rogue quest nemesis.

Strategy
Reaching him generally proves to be more difficult than fighting him, due to the design of the level. While the Master Assassin can be very annoying, if you're a competent fighter, he doesn't pose much of a threat to you. However, he has a nasty habit of teleporting into the lower left corner of his level (the area that is inaccessible to you while in the larger middle portion) and healing himself. There are a few good ways to take him out quickly and easily:

Zap him with a wand of death, if you have one, to get rid of him instantly.
Throw a potion of sickness at him and he'll soon be gone.
Throw a potion of sleeping or paralysis at him, then beat his head in. You may wish to wield the potion if you want to be sure it will hit. Zapping him with a wand of sleep can also achieve the same ends.
Alternatively, after he lands on the upstairs, leave the level via whatever means you have prepared and re-enter. This will remove the whole "hard to reach" part of the conflict and reduce it to a basic boss fight.
Instead of reaching him directly, you can also use a drum of earthquake, a cursed potion of invisibility, the shriek of a shrieker, or the psychic blast of a mind flayer to wake him up while you're standing on the upstair. This will cause him to warp to you and attack, while preventing him from escaping to the floor above.

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