Legionary Assassin

Legionary assassins are high-end assassins living in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281. They work for Caesar's Legion and travel in groups of four.

Background
The assassins are small groups of elite killers for Caesar, dispatched to eliminate the Legion's worst enemies. Legionary assassins begin to appear if the player obtains a Shunned or worse status with Caesar's Legion. They will travel across the wasteland from their original spawn point towards the player's current location, not stopping until they finally encounter the player. As a result, they can end up attacking the player almost anywhere in the wasteland. Assassins may also attack other non-player characters they pass near while searching for the player, such as NCR settlements or traveling merchants (as with all non-player character vs non-player character combat, this only occurs if the player is currently in the same active map cell as the non-player characters).

Legionary assassins typically attack in 4-man bands; a Decanus leader, a Legion Vexillarius, a Praetorian guard, and Veteran legionary. Legionary assassins may also appear after aiding the Legion's enemies, namely the NCR, by successfully completing the quests Three-Card Bounty, I Put a Spell on You, I Don't Hurt Anymore, or any other quest that improves the reputation of the player with the NCR.

Assassins can first be encountered while traveling towards Novac, where they will attack you if you kill the Caesar's Legionnaires and Vulpes Inculta at Nipton.

Legionary Assassin parties can also end up attacking outposts or NCR garrisons like the 188 Trading Post without actively attacking the Courier (if he/she is Neutral or Ally with Caesar's Legion).

They usually travel in groups of four, with one Decanus (Who tells you that you're going to be attacked), one Vexillarius, and two other random "classes" (veterans, Praetorians, etc.) and will have weapons and armor depending on your standing with Casear's Legion and your level. They can range from simple 9mm pistols, caravan shotguns and machetes to 12.7mm Pistols and Sub-machine guns, Assault and Marksman Carbines, Brush guns and Thermic Lances.

As of patch 1.4.0.525, Legionary assassins level with the player, up to level 45. At higher levels this gives them very high health on par with an non-player character companion. Additionally, the Praetorian and elite Veteran assassin may be equipped with Legion Centurion Armor instead, making them all the more difficult to kill.

Appearances
Legionary Assassins appear in Fallout: New Vegas.

Bugs

 * Due to a large number of quest script errors, Legionary Assassins will not reappear after their initial attack, and furthermore may not initially appear at all depending on circumstances.
 * A third-party bugfix has been released which corrects this issue.
 * They may occasionally be found setting up ridiculously inadequate attempts at ambushes (such as standing in the middle of the road at Novac staring in one direction), making it easy for the player to walk up behind and get the drop on them.
 * If the assassins are killed, and the player then waits - Upon dismemberment of a corpse, all corpses will suddenly disappear.
 * Mid-way into an ambush, the Legion Vexillarius will often turn tail and run, leaving the remainder of his men to die.
 * Wearing NCR Ranger Patrol armor seems to prevent legion assassins from appearing even though you have a vilified status with the legion. Just taking off the armor or switching to another armor before entering areas where assassins normally spawns seems to fix this problem.
 * The Legion Assassins will often be aware of the player's exact location prior to attack, regardless of how stealthy the player is, and will run towards you to attack, making a stealthy option impossible.