Cordat
From Discworld MUD Wiki
The Assassin's Cordat is an important book that documents rules and information all members of the Guild of Assassins should know.
It is publicly accessible in the The Assassins' Guild Library.
-THE CORDAT-
The book of Assassins.
This is a volume of great importance to all those
who are attempting to learn the art of the Assassin.
It holds information concerning specialised weapons,
poisons and other information that may not only
help you pass "the run", but save your life as well
(although this could amount to the same thing).
-The Guild of Assassins-
The Guild is one of the hardest to succeed in and
is hard to get into, and even harder to leave from
while still upright. Upon graduation an Assassin
should be at home in any company and able to behave
like a gentleman or lady of breeding.
The Guild has a strict sense of honour and its most
important rule is: Nil Mortifi Sine Lucre (no death
without payment). Other rules, made by the Guild
Master or Mistress, have been written up into a
charter, which all Assassins must obey. Those who do
not might feel the Guild's terminal displeasure.
-The run: Advice for students-
The run is something that all Assassins must do in
order to graduate from the guild. It may be attempted
at any time, but only those who have learnt all that
the guild has to teach are likely to succeed. Some
extra-curricula training in balancing and vaulting
may be needed to safely traverse rooftop routes.
In order to begin, you must find your examiner on the
roof and ask them if you may do the run. Remember,
politeness is the calling card of the Assassin.
According to the rules, your examiner is required to
ask you three questions. All of the answers can be
found in this book, so it is vital that you study it
well. Once you have answered the questions correctly
you may proceed on the run, it is best to carry as
little as possible while taking those things that may
be needed to disarm the traps and of course you will
need to take a weapon to inhume with.
While nothing your examiner does can be considered
unfair, they will not kill you directly. Instead they
will try to get you to kill yourself. So beware
an Assassin's constant enemies: carelessness, poor
maintenance of tools, ill-preparedness and over-
confidence.
There are six different routes that the run takes.
The traps vary on each route and are carefully
hidden. If you trigger one, the consequences may be
dire so you should look everywhere for them. Once a
trap has been found it should be examined carefully,
in order to discover how to disarm it. If you fall
victim to a trap, you should attempt the run again
only after you have recovered.
-Poisons-
Poison is an almost irreplaceable tool, essential to
every Assassin. There are quite a number of different
poisons available, crushed diamonds used to be quite
popular, though their efficacy has yet to be proven.
Giant spiders, mustick by ear and mercury have all
been used, while arsenic remains a favourite. At the
present time, Assassins generally favour three
poisons that can be administered by dart: achorion
purple, hemlock and bloat.
Achorion purple is derived from a mould, Achorion
quinckanum, and has the effect of greatly reducing
a victim's health, often to the point of death. It is
characterised by its rich purple colour and runny,
syrup-like consistency.
Hemlock is derived from the hemlock plant, Conium
maculatum and in certain preparations, attacks the
victim's overall constitution. It is a colourless,
oily liquid.
Bloat is extracted from the deep sea blowfish,
Singularis minutia gigantica, which protects itself
from enemies by inflating itself to many times its
normal size. If taken by humans in sufficient
quantities it has the effect of making every cell in
the body instantaneously try to swell some two
thousand times. This is invariably fatal, and very
loud. It is an expensive but effective poison that
is highly sought after. It is an oily brown liquid.
As well as many poisons being derived from plants and
animals, so too are antidotes.
For example, spime is an extremely rare antidote to
certain snake venoms, and is obtained from the liver
of the inflatable mongoose.
-Inhuming-
Upon successful completion of the run students
graduate to become full Assassins. They gain the
ability to inhume and to close the precalculated
contracts that the guild deems suitable for their
ability level.
After gaining adequate experience in matters of the
guild and a demonstrated aptitude for inhumation,
Assassins are entitled to attempt the more difficult
contracts restricted to senior Assassins.
Three methods of inhumation are approved by the
Guild: stabbing, fired and thrown.
Stilettoes, elegant stilettoes and poniards can be
used for the stabbing method. This method is more
powerful but requires more skill, and so is only recommended for the more senior Assassin.
Both the crossbow and the blowpipe rely on the
Assassin's ability at firing weapons. Fired weapons
must be loaded, and light-weight ammunition, such
as darts, must contain a deadly poison for a chance
of a successful inhumation.
In situations where it is not prudent to carry an
obvious weapon, one that is disguised as something
else might be a wise choice. Kompt de Yoyo sells a
variety of musical instruments crafted just for
such an occassion.
Throwing knives allow an assassin to strike a point
on a target with great accuracy from varying ranges
and, not surprisingly, rely on the Assassin's ability
with thrown weapons.
The knives are of differing lengths and range from
the small, yet weighty number 5 to the almost
cumbersome number 12. Lengths and weights are shown
on the next page
-Throwing knives (Lengths and Weights)-
Length Weight Throwing Distance
(fingers) (clams) (feet)
Five 4.0 5.0 75
Six 4.5 5.5 60
Seven 5.0 6.0 50
Eight 6.0 8.0 45
Nine 7.0 10.0 40
Ten 7.5 14.0 35
Eleven 9.0 20.0 30
Twelve 10.0 25.0 27
