Assassin's Touch
Assassin's Touch is an uncommon +1 dagger whose Deathly Slumber property adds necrotic damage against sleeping or knocked-out targets.
Key Takeaways
Assassin's Touch is an uncommon +1 dagger whose value comes from exploiting vulnerable target states rather than from a universally active damage bonus.
Conditional necrotic damage
Its Deathly Slumber property adds 1d4 necrotic damage when the target is sleeping or knocked out, making the rider dependent on that condition.
Flexible dagger properties
As a dagger, it has Finesse, Light, and Thrown, supporting melee, off-hand, and thrown use without requiring a single ability-modifier setup.
Proficiency affects its weapon action
A proficient wielder can use the Piercing Strike action when Assassin's Touch is equipped in the main hand; dagger proficiency is therefore relevant to its full toolkit.
Act 1 quest reward
The dagger is obtained by completing Save the Goblin Sazza and escorting Sazza to the Shattered Sanctum in the Goblin Camp.
Strongest when enemies can be disabled
The weapon can reward Rogue or Bard setups that deliberately create sleeping or knocked-out targets, but its special damage is limited when those conditions are unavailable.
A situational alternative to general-purpose daggers
Its +1 enchantment is consistently useful, while Deathly Slumber is more specialized than an effect that applies regardless of the target's condition.
Overview
Assassin's Touch is an uncommon enchanted dagger in Baldur's Gate 3, defined by a conditional necrotic rider against sleeping or knocked-out targets rather than by broadly increased damage.
As a dagger, Assassin's Touch occupies the light melee-weapon role: it can be used by characters with dagger proficiency, benefits from the weapon's Finesse property, and can also be thrown. Those traits make it flexible for an early-game Rogue, Bard, or another character already suited to agile weapons, while its main-hand weapon action gives proficient users an additional close-range option.
The defining feature is Deathly Slumber. The weapon adds necrotic damage when its target is sleeping or knocked out, so its value depends on whether the party can create or exploit those conditions. It is therefore not a universally active damage bonus; against ordinary alert enemies, the dagger functions much more like a conventional enchanted dagger.
Assassin's Touch is obtained during Act 1 through the Save the Goblin Sazza quest, with the reward tied to escorting Sazza to the Shattered Sanctum in the Goblin Camp. That places it early enough to matter during the opening portion of the campaign, but its usefulness is shaped more by encounter setup than by a long-term progression system or a special variant.
Compared with a plain dagger, Assassin's Touch offers a more distinctive payoff when a party deliberately uses sleep or knockout effects. Compared with daggers that provide a broadly useful passive, however, its bonus is narrower and can feel situational. It suits players who want a flexible early weapon and can plan around incapacitated targets, rather than those seeking a consistently active effect in every fight.
Statistics
This game publishes dice damage rather than 0–100 bars, so the verified damage, enchantment, weight and value are listed instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.
- Base Damage1d4+1
- Damage TypePiercing
- Enchantment+1
- RarityUncommon
- Weight0.45 kg
- Value40 gp
- Entry TypeNamed / special
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar piercing weapons
| Weapon | Base Damage | Damage Type | Enchantment | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin's Touch | 1d4+1 | Piercing | +1 | 0.45 kg | 40 gp |
| Bloodthirst | 1d4+2 | Piercing | +2 | 0.45 kg | 640 gp |
| Dolor Amarus | 1d4+2 | Piercing | +2 | 0.45 kg | 190 gp |
| Hunter's Dagger | 1d4+1 | Piercing | +1 | 0.45 kg | 65 gp |
| Stillmaker | 1d4+2 | Piercing | +2 | 0.45 kg | 480 gp |
Damage is the dice expression; weight and value are the game’s own figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- Act 1 access to the Emerald Grove and Goblin Camp.
- Sazza must survive long enough to be escorted to the Shattered Sanctum; the reward route is choice-dependent and can be missed if the quest is not completed.
- This is a base-game reward with no DLC or New Game Plus requirement.
- 01In Act 1, find Sazza imprisoned in the Makeshift Prison in the Emerald Grove and free her, beginning the Save the Goblin Sazza quest.
- 02Escort Sazza from the grove to the Goblin Camp and bring her into the Shattered Sanctum. After the escort is completed, collect Assassin's Touch as the quest reward from Sazza. This is a fixed quest reward rather than a random enemy drop.
Availability
Requires Complete “Save the Goblin Sazza” and escort Sazza to the Shattered Sanctum in the Goblin Camp.
No separate price, difficulty, NG+, or DLC availability is established for this weapon.
Mechanics and Handling
Assassin's Touch handles like a standard dagger rather than introducing a separate attack sequence. Its practical identity comes from the conditional Deathly Slumber rider: attacks deal an additional 1d4 necrotic damage when the target is sleeping or knocked out. The dagger does not create either condition itself, so the bonus depends on another character, spell, or effect setting up the target first.
As a Finesse weapon, it can use the more favourable relevant ability modifier under Baldur's Gate 3's normal weapon rules; the dagger does not force Strength or Dexterity in every context. Its Light property supports off-hand use, while Thrown allows it to be used for a thrown weapon attack instead of requiring the wielder to stay in melee. These properties make it flexible, but they do not make the Deathly Slumber damage unconditional or convert the weapon into a dedicated ranged option.
Deathly Slumber is a setup-dependent rider
The extra 1d4 necrotic damage applies only against a sleeping or knocked-out target. Treat it as a conditional damage rider, not as a permanent bonus on every hit. A character using Assassin's Touch normally therefore gets the most from it when the party can reliably create or preserve one of those conditions before the attack.
Because the weapon's distinctive effect is tied to target state rather than to a self-contained weapon action, it is less consistent against enemies who cannot be put to sleep or knocked out, or when the party has no reliable way to do so. Once the target is awake and otherwise active, Assassin's Touch behaves like its ordinary dagger profile.
Dagger handling and weapon action
The dagger's Light and Finesse properties suit dual-wielding and agile melee characters, while Thrown gives the wielder a way to attack from outside immediate melee without changing the weapon's core identity. The weapon should still be evaluated as a dagger: its usefulness depends on positioning, action economy, and whether the wielder can exploit its conditional rider rather than on a unique reach or area effect.
A proficient wielder can use the dagger weapon action Piercing Strike while Assassin's Touch is equipped in the main hand. This is a proficiency-gated weapon action, not an additional version of Deathly Slumber; the two mechanics should be considered separately when planning an attack.
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- The +1 enchantment gives Assassin's Touch a reliable early-game accuracy and damage improvement over an unenchanted dagger.
- Deathly Slumber adds 1d4 necrotic damage when the target is sleeping or knocked out, rewarding attacks against enemies already disabled by those conditions.
- Finesse supports Dexterity-based users without imposing a specific ability modifier, while Light allows it to fit dual-wielding setups and Thrown provides an option beyond melee range.
- Proficient dagger users can access the main-hand Piercing Strike action, giving the weapon a relevant class-agnostic combat option.
Weaknesses
- Deathly Slumber is conditional rather than a general damage bonus; it does not apply to an ordinary target that is neither sleeping nor knocked out.
- The weapon's distinctive effect depends on creating or finding a narrow status window, and many encounters do not reliably present sleeping or knocked-out enemies.
- As an uncommon Act 1 dagger, it can be outclassed by later weapons or by unique daggers whose effects apply more consistently across encounters.
- Thrown use can preserve flexibility, but it does not remove the condition requirement for Deathly Slumber.
Best uses
- Use it as an Act 1 sidearm for a Dexterity-based Rogue, Bard, or another dagger-proficient character who can exploit sleeping or knocked-out targets.
- Pair it with a party plan that deliberately disables an enemy before the wielder attacks, rather than treating its conditional rider as baseline damage.
- Keep it available for encounters where an enemy is already unconscious or can be safely attacked while knocked out; switch weapons when that setup is unavailable.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Enchantment and properties | Distinctive role | Acquisition timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin's Touch | Adds 1d4 necrotic damage against sleeping or knocked-out targets | Act 1 reward for completing Save the Goblin Sazza and escorting her to the Shattered Sanctum | — |
| Sussur Dagger | Silences a target when it hits, supporting spellcaster disruption rather than sleeping-target damage | Act 1; created through the Finish the Masterwork Weapon quest | — |
| Knife of the Undermountain King | A stronger general-purpose dagger for critical-hit and damage-focused builds, without Assassin's Touch's sleeping-target condition | Act 1; purchased from A'jak'nir Jeera at Crèche Y'llek | — |
| Dagger | A baseline option without Assassin's Touch's enchantment or Deathly Slumber property | Commonly available from early-game loot and vendors | — |
Used In
- Save the Goblin SazzaCompleting this Act 1 quest by escorting Sazza to the Shattered Sanctum rewards Assassin's Touch.
- SazzaSazza is the character associated with Assassin's Touch's quest reward.
- Shattered SanctumThe reward becomes available after Sazza is escorted here within the Goblin Camp.
- Goblin CampThe Act 1 area containing the Shattered Sanctum and the quest route for obtaining Assassin's Touch.