How efficient would "traditional" assassins be today?

[effilctar]

So, I'm rereading the Night Angel Trilogy, and I'm pretty excited about Assassin's Creed 2. The whole idea of blades rather than guns is much more appealing to me than the idea of a "modern" assassin just using a sniper rifle or any manner of gun.

But I got wondering: How efficient would traditional assassin's be today? they were great at being a blade in the night/crowd back in the good old days, pre-Big Brother. But how well would they conceal themselves and make themselves unseen when challenged with today's technology, CCTV and security?

 

[Distorted Stu]

Ninjas are only seen when you want them to be seen. Im sure they will do fine.

 

[Cargando]

I think they would fail miserably. Trouble is, it would take them a while to adapt. And assassination is not a career that allows time to adapt. You either succeed, or die.

 

[Mozared]

They'll probably be able to hide and sink in and might even get the kill off. I'm thinking they'll have a hard time ever escaping the scene though, given that the guards will lock down the entrance and bullets simply own swords. And even if he does get away, he'll be found due to data on surveillance cameras and the likes.

But on that note, how 'traditional' are we talking here, exactly? Seeing as the 'original' hassassins never even bothered trying to escape from the scene, iirc.

 

[Spygon]

the blade in the crowd thing would be easy just wear a baseball cap and shades the cctv would never be able to pick you out of a decent crowd

 

[Ph33nix]

ineffective. you can't get close enough to important people to kill them. oyou need to snipe.

 

[Syndef]

Unless they specialize in poisons, I doubt they'd be effective against more important folk. Sure, you can tell Altair to take out your neighbor, and he'll do just fine, but tell him to assassinate the prime minister of some developed country, and he'll wish he had a sniper rifle.

 

[Legion]

They would work extremely well, assuming you mean the kind of assassin designed to blend in with a crowd and kill their target unnoticed. There are all kind of things that can be used to murder the person without the assassin even being in the same room as them.

If you mean the kind like in Assassins Creed, where he couldn't be more obvious as an assassin if he wore a neon sign above his head saying "I kill important people for money" then they wouldn't work, no.

Unless they specialize in poisons, I doubt they'd be effective against more important folk. Sure, you can tell Altair to take out your neighbor, and he'll do just fine, but tell him to assassinate the prime minister of some developed country, and he'll wish he had a sniper rifle.

Or a fan wanting to shake their hand? Assassins would do whatever it takes to get the target, even if they died. Suicide pills would stop them talking afterwards.

 

[WINDOWCLEAN2]

Well i know the we are definatley still effecti........... eh hem...........I guess THEY would still be in a modern world

 

[sagonas123]

So, I'm rereading the Night Angel Trilogy, and I'm pretty excited about Assassin's Creed 2. The whole idea of blades rather than guns is much more appealing to me than the idea of a "modern" assassin just using a sniper rifle or any manner of gun.

But I got wondering: How efficient would traditional assassin's be today? they were great at being a blade in the night/crowd back in the good old days, pre-Big Brother. But how well would they conceal themselves and make themselves unseen when challenged with today's technology, CCTV and security?

That, my friend, is a great book series. I just finished the first book, but I love it. So, had to add that in :] And I love AC II. Beat the first game ^.^

OT: Modern assassins? Well, for one, the blade would be much more preferred, a lot more quieter than a noisy gun. And easier to hide, while getting a sure kill. Second, with all the modern technology, assassins would probably be caught before they could carry out with their Deader... Whoops, I meant target ;]

 

[Random Argument Man]

Everything is with a sniper or a silenced gun these days.

If you want a good assassin, call Mr. Goodkat http://returntomanliness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mr-goodkat.jpg

 

[Fluxart]

I think part of the whole "Assassin" job, would be to move up with modern technology, and not gimp yourself. The point is to do the job, and not get killed, at least in most cases. I'm sure a blade is an excellent weapon of choice, but there are much more simplistic, less active ways to murder someone. An assassin without technology would be like an army of knights attacking a local Air Force base.

 

[effilctar]

They would work extremely well, assuming you mean the kind of assassin designed to blend in with a crowd and kill their target unnoticed. There are all kind of things that can be used to murder the person without the assassin even being in the same room as them.

If you mean the kind like in Assassins Creed, where he couldn't be more obvious as an assassin if he wore a neon sign above his head saying "I kill important people for money" then they wouldn't work, no.

Unless they specialize in poisons, I doubt they'd be effective against more important folk. Sure, you can tell Altair to take out your neighbor, and he'll do just fine, but tell him to assassinate the prime minister of some developed country, and he'll wish he had a sniper rifle.

Or a fan wanting to shake their hand? Assassins would do whatever it takes to get the target, even if they died. Suicide pills would stop them talking afterwards.

Altair was terrible, though Ezio (AC2) seems a lot more efficient from videos. But I'm talking about someone of Kylar Stern's skill. He's a wetboy ("A wetboy is an assassin in the same way a tiger is a kitten), trained to use the slightest shadow to conceal himself. He could be a blade in the dark, walk up to a person's face and kill them in front of a crowd, and people would still wonder what happened (possibly a slight over-exageration by me), he could also use a wide range of poisons and had a limitless number of informants and spies.

 

[effilctar]

So, I'm rereading the Night Angel Trilogy, and I'm pretty excited about Assassin's Creed 2. The whole idea of blades rather than guns is much more appealing to me than the idea of a "modern" assassin just using a sniper rifle or any manner of gun.

But I got wondering: How efficient would traditional assassin's be today? they were great at being a blade in the night/crowd back in the good old days, pre-Big Brother. But how well would they conceal themselves and make themselves unseen when challenged with today's technology, CCTV and security?

That, my friend, is a great book series. I just finished the first book, but I love it. So, had to add that in :] And I love AC II. Beat the first game ^.^

OT: Modern assassins? Well, for one, the blade would be much more preferred, a lot more quieter than a noisy gun. And easier to hide, while getting a sure kill. Second, with all the modern technology, assassins would probably be caught before they could carry out with their Deader... Whoops, I meant target ;]

Shadow's Edge somehow managed to make a better sequel to an already perfect book. It does focus a lot on Logan in the Hole though, and Vi's life.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I suppose it depends on your definition of "traditional assassin". Because Kylar from the Night Angel trilogy, and infact any wetboy noted, is not necessarily traditional with the use of those magical orbs, the names of which I've forgotten! With todays technology at their disposal (without resorting to ballistics) they could do pretty well.

 

[Akas]

You know, not all "traditional assassins" used blades. People used projectiles, poisons, explosions, all sorts of tools in the past. While blades might be harder to work with today, there's one element that they would be able to take advantage of all too well: security. As a general populace, we assume a lot of security is working. Police or other security organizations will protect us, our lives are hardly in mortal danger on a daily basis (unlike in the past), and we've allowed ourselves to relax while essentially automating security.

A computer might be able to record video of anyone who passes through certain areas, or perhaps give warning by way of alarms, but there's little that they can do to actually incapacitate people at the moment. We're still relying on humans to enforce the law, and these humans have been raised in an environment that's somewhat lax due to said computer. Ever wonder why people today tend to fear blackouts, when hundreds of years ago people lived with more darkness? It's because we're raised in an environment where artificial light comes at the switch of a button. If you take away our comforts, we're more likely to panic and react badly (ever wonder why power is one of the first things many people kill in movies?), and it gives you an advantage.

So they could do fairly well, as long as they still remained smart and adapted to a few modern tricks.

 

[McNinja]

It already happens, so some apparently are pretty good at it, and it works. Like that guy who pulled up to a curb and called a guy to his car to ask for directions (read: test his new crossbow by shooting a metal bolt 6 inches into his head before using it to assassinate someone).

It's the same thing as in older eras, just less room for error.

 

[Captain Pancake]

see, times change. Back in "the day", assassins used blades and the dark etc because it was efficient. same applies in modern terms, but with new technologies and stuff, not abusing them would seem a pretty dumb move for an assassin.

Not that I would know, I'm just a stereotypical scottish nerd.

 

[Xojins]

ineffective. you can't get close enough to important people to kill them.

This, hence why assassins these days use guns; they have adapted to the times.