Before I say anything: want to you know I'm not just trying to get the "last word" here. Just keep having thoughts about what you're posting.

>You point out that they are fragile and rely on stealth. Yes,
>but assassins can stealth better than a thief and are not
>fragile. They can hide from a thief and can attack with trance
>dam redux and +200-300hp? with an edge.

1. "Assassins are better at stealth". Sort of in that they can hide some places thieves can't. But sort of not in the sense they can't immediately re-hide when adrenaline is high. In the places the assassin can hide that thieves can't, he usually can't move around and remain hidden.

2. " are not fragile". In a planned fight, sure, by virtue of trance. You get jumped and it can be a different story. But, yes, they are definitely less fragile than thieves.

3. "can attack with trance and +200 hp". Yes, and I can almost always flee from them and wait until trance is gone.

>Frankly, I'm not sure that a very reliable KO skill is
>overpowered when it lasts an hour, people can wake up from a
>failed steal (cabal power maybe?) and when you attack them,
>most can kick your ass or get away if they've quaffed a 150
>copper potion.

Trick is to catch people when they don't know you're there and aren't flying. Blackjack lasts more than hour, and I'm pretty sure stealing doesn't wake up knocked out people. Benefit is that you've hopefully robbed them, maybe recited some stuff at them, maybe recited some stuff on yourself, and get to wake them up with a 500 hp backstab.