In a time long ago, in a place far away... there was a man who stood up to injustice... but few know of his humble beginnings... this is that story... the story of... Reynaldo the Assassin!
Reynaldo the Assassin is a 25-part machinima series based on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Made by a single college student working from his basement in his spare time, it chronicles the story of Reynaldo, a young man who discovers that he is the bastard son of an assassin. Reynaldo sets out to find the father he never met, and begins a series of strange quests (which turn out to be "A complete waste of time, effort, and demon magic").
Reynaldo finds his dad, who then sends him on a series of training missions to become an assassin. Rey's dad also teaches Rey how to summon a demonic sidekick, a Deadpan Snarker "lesser demonoid of the subtype Scampus" whom he names Lil' Rey.
This series provides examples of:
- Black Comedy - At one point Reynaldo kills his best friend, and this is played for laughs.
- Brainwashed and Crazy - The Thief guildmaster brainwashes Reynaldo using "hypnotic frequencies" from his helmet's built-in-radio to kill all of Rey's True Companions.
"I will carve them each like Thanksgiving turkeys. In fact, I'll carve them into the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey!"
- Death Is Cheap - The afterlife committee keeps handing out "get out of the Abyss free" cards.
- Insult Backfire - The Thieves' Guild master is quite pleased when Reynaldo calls him demented.
- Ninja
Reynaldo: There's a Ninjas' Guild?
Assassin Boss: Yes. And if you're thinking of joining them because you think they're cooler, then we'll assassinate the crap out of you.
Assassin Boss: Yes. And if you're thinking of joining them because you think they're cooler, then we'll assassinate the crap out of you.
- No Fourth Wall - Justified. Reynaldo has a bizarre dream in episode 3 that literally causes the fourth wall to break (with a loud crashing sound), and it never ends up getting fixed.
- Hammerspace - Reynaldo's sword comes out of nowhere during fight scenes, then disappears.
- Portmanteau - Dadsassin (a dad who is an assassin) and swordsassin (an assassin with a sword)
- Prophetic Names - According to Captain Pirate (first name Captain, last name Pirate), "I guess my parents just figured I would be a pirate captain".
- Secret Legacy - Reynaldo spent most of his life not knowing who his real dad (a professional assassin) was.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - The ninjas just "hang out and talk about movies and play bingo. That kind of stuff".
- Vague Age - Reynaldo. He is going on a Hero's Journey, and is just leaving home for the first time in Episode 1, yet he's also bald and looks somewhat weathered.
