Assassins, also known as Asāsiyyūn ("people who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]"), were a military order founded by Hassan-i Sabbah. The modern term "assassination" is based on the tactics used by the Assassins. The term "assassin" likely has roots in "hashshāshīn" (hashish smokers), a mispronunciation of the original Asāsiyyūn. Used figuratively, the term hashishi connoted meanings such as outcasts or rabble.
While Assassins typically refers to the entire sect, only a group of disciples known as the fida'i carried out espionage and assassinations of key enemy figures. The preferred method of killing was by dagger, never poison or arrows. They killed hundreds over the course of nearly 300 years, the first being Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk in 1092 in an effort to establish a Nizari Isma'ili state in Persia.
The Assassins were acknowledged and feared by the Crusaders. By 1275, the Mongols destroyed and eliminated the order of Assassins.
"Origin: Tokyo. Killers who dash from the darkness. They are trained in the deadly art of kukishin-ryu and slay with skill. The word 'assassin' comes from 'hashish,' a drug used by a clan of skilled killers."
—Shin Megami Tensei A-Mode DDS dictionary
Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE[]
Assassins are an enemy associated largely with the Old Ichigaya Camp in Ichigaya. Introduced as followers of Ogami, players encounter them in story-related instances up until the final confrontation with Ogami.
They can also be found as the normal boss of B108F within Ichigaya Camp and were used as a primary means of leveling for higher leveled players prior to the introductions of the Kuchinawa Cave Daisoujou and Hongo field.
