Assassin apprentice

"The liberation of Roma has begun. If you choose to flee, do so now, but if you choose to fight, stand with me against the Borgia."

- Ezio Auditore to one of the rescued civilians, after saving him from Borgia guards.

The apprentices are Assassins from Rome who were saved by Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the rough streets of Rome during the war against the Knights Templar, and had subsequently devoted themselves to learning the ways of the Assassins.

Operating out of the Tiber Island headquarters, the apprentices were sent on mission across Europe in order to improve their skill and combat experience, beyond their traditional training; though the apprentices did not always survive their missions. Also, when not on missions outside of Rome, the apprentices would support the efforts of Ezio Auditore and his fellow assassins, providing support and, if necessary, reinforcement during missions.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
In-game, Ezio has the ability to train up to twelve apprentices at a time, and is able to have at least five support him during his own missions. After recruiting someone to his cause, Ezio sends them to Niccolò Machiavelli to become an Assassin. Ezio signals these Assassins by raising his arm and clenching his fist indicating that they strike. During the game, players have the opportunity to send the apprentices to different cities across Europe to complete tasks and assassinations. If they complete the mission, the apprentices earn experience points. If they die during the mission, they will be lost forever.

Players can also customize the Assassins' armor, weaponry and also the color of their robes and each one has a different personality. Later on, players can use the experience points they've gained to upgrade their apprentices' fighting and free running abilities. Apprentices can ride horses like Ezio and will engage in horse chases if Ezio instructs them to.

Known apprentices

 * Nestore Nucci
 * Guido Tuccerini
 * Bastano Pulci
 * Paolo Simoni
 * Giovanni Migliore

Trivia

 * While all apprentices wear uniforms similar to Ezio's, not one of them have a cape on their left shoulder.
 * Apprentices are equipped with only one hidden blade, unlike Ezio, who has two. This can be explained through Altair's Codex page, which states that the metals to make more than one hidden blade are rare.