Deus Vult!

Cost: 4 karma

The words “Deus Vult,” “God wills it” in Latin, were the words that helped launch the First Crusade in 1095. Similarly, the assassin sees himself as on a crusade to eliminate the enemies of his religion. These enemies might be striking violently at the people or holy sites of his faith, or they might simply be “sinners” in his eyes. Either way, they must be eliminated. While the Code of Honor is called “Deus Vult,” it is not limited to any particular religion. A radical pagan can take this Code as justifiably as a fanatical Christian. Note that this Code might require some research on the player’s part to properly roleplay his character’s devotion to his religion’s tenets.

Advantages: The assassin’s faith sustains him even in the face of terrible wounds. Make a Willpower check at the beginning of the character’s Action Phase if he has taken a wound, either Stun or Physical damage, since his last Action Phase, with the threshold being equal to the number of wounds taken in that time. Success on the roll means that the assassin ignores all wound penalties. The assassin should continue making rolls before each Action Phase, with the threshold for the test growing with each wound; for example, if a character makes a roll after sustaining two wounds, then sustains two more wounds before his next Action Phase, the threshold would be 4 for the next roll. If one of these rolls fails, all wound penalties immediately come into play and this advantage cannot be used until the next combat.

Disadvantage: Perhaps as overcompensation for violating his religion’s tenet against killing, the assassin demands much more of himself in observance of the other tenets of his faith. The assassin must make a Charisma + Willpower roll to act against his religion’s tenets, with the threshold varying based on the severity of the violation: simple theft would likely call for a threshold of 1, while great blasphemy or renouncing his religion entirely would call for a much higher threshold. If the character fails the roll, they refuse to perform the action and actively seek to stop anyone they see attempting it.