The Assassin's Guild - A Discworld Character Mod
version 1.1

A guild of gentleman (and lady) assassins, the Discworld assassin's guild considers itself a caring profession. Guild assassins always leave a receipt, and pride themselves on offering personal service. Fists are for common brawlers, and bows are too impersonal; a gentleman will kill with a dagger, or perhaps poison. And, of course, an Assassin will always dress in elegant black, and will be an ornament to any gathering.

"Nil Mortifi Sine Lucre." It is unforgivable for an Assassin to kill for any reason other than being paid to do so, and the contract must be lucrative. They are, after all, not mere hitmen or common street thugs. (In Skyrim, mechanisms and draugr are clearly an inconvenience rather than potential clients, and may be deactivated without concern. Also wild animals -- and dragons may be considered to be under perpetual contract.) Although "inhuming" bodyguards is sometimes a regrettable necessity, it's much better manners merely to put them out of action. Killing bandits and the like would be undignified; far better to leave them groaning on the ground. (This mod includes an elegant walking stick which does little physical damage but can knock "clients" unconscious.)

OR:

You don't have to kill people to use this mod.

The Assassins' School is considered the finest "school for gentlemen" on the Disc. Students acquire a solid grounding in etiquette and the liberal arts, as well as practical skills which could serve them well in a political career.

If you're satisfied to leave your opponents unconscious behind you, many of the quests in Skyrim can be completed without killing. (As above, leaving mechanisms, draugr, and dragons aside.) For that matter, an "assassin" character with good stealth and weapon skills would be well placed to take down the Dark Brotherhood.

So: you could be an assassin. Or you could be an elegant and supercilious adventurer, with an unusually humane approach to combat.

CRAFTING:
Craft weapons at the forge or anvil.
Craft clothing at the tanning rack.

No armor is included. That would be beneath an Assassin's dignity; they are gentlemen,not mercenaries. An Assassin will rely instead on skill, stealth, and subtlety.

Jewelry: an Assassin under contract will not wear rings or necklaces - they're too likely to catch the light. Therefore I've modified the Assassin's gloves and the black cloak so that equipping them will unequip any ring or amulet. On the other hand, the gloves and cloak can also be enchanted with any enchantment on the jewelry they displace.

WEAPONS:
With Steel Smithing ability you will be able to craft
- an Assassin's dagger, sword, and crossbow.
- an elegant cane, which can knock out your client.
- darts, and the Dart Throwing ability.
(Dart Throwing is listed as a weapon, which cannot be dropped. Darts and Dart Throwing do very little physical damage, and are intended to be used for poisoning. Apply poison to the Dart Throwing ability.)
- pistol bows, for either hand

You'll find a useful book at the Guardian Stones.

VERSION 1.1
Adds pistol bows, a black face mask, and a formal Assassin's Guild hat with coat of arms.
NOTE: an "instant kill" deadly pistol bow, which relies upon a script, is added to the alternate version. That folder contains the alternate esp file, a scripts folder, and a brief installation guide.

REQUIREMENTS:
Skyrim, Dawnguard, Dragonborn

CREDITS:
The Assassin's swords are adapted from throttlekitty's Oblivion rapier set (http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/18846). This was released under a Creative Commons license, and my adaptation is posted under the same conditions: "You are free to copy and re-distribute the work, as well as make remixes/alterations. (and distribute those as well!) This is provided with the following conditions: Attribution must be given to the original author. Noncommercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike: If you alter this work, you may distribute that result only with the same or similar license to this one."
The Assassin's cloak is adapted from Noodles' "Cloaks of Skyrim" (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12092)
The black face mask is adapted from volvago0's "Face Masks of Skyrim" (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33391)
The Assassin's Guild formal hat is adapted from Patrick Reece's "Witchhunter Hat" mod (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/5300)
All are used by permission, and with my thanks.

PERMISSION:
You have permission to use any of my assets in this mod, giving credit; but not in mods offered for sale.