Drow Rogue Experimental Build: opinions anyone?

Oh gawd. You've got him tweaking to his heart's content. Look at what you've done!

You are speaking, by the way, to the creator of the already-mentioned drow rogue that can cause such headaches.

(Actually, I'm not really serious - I love that my group has two rogues that are capable of dealing a huge amount of damage. It makes the fights run a lot more smoothly, and is a lot of fun).

I am a bit curious as to why you're starting at 30th. It seems like that'd get super confusing, super fast. But then, that's just me - I get confused cold-starting a 5th level character.

And good luck with the home brewing character classes! It's always fun... and seldom balanced. Remind me to speak sometime about the "orc" class I made for BECMI D&D. Or the "Ogre" class that immediately followed.

Wik said:

Oh gawd. You've got him tweaking to his heart's content. Look at what you've done!

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Haha! I know, I'm such a bad person, right? lol

Anyway, I'm starting with a lvl 30 build so that I can see what feats and paths stack up really well together. I find that there can be a lot of synergy between powers and feats. Items can have an awesome effect (although I only incorporate items that the DM has awarded us or that we can purchase, given that he lets us switch characters often, just to try stuff out). I screw up a lot if I don't have a plan for later on.

Thanks for the encouragement on the homebrew! And I will definitely try to remember to ask you about those classes. They seem really interesting.

BTW, any advice that you can give me on homebrewing? Like do's and dont's? Rules? Anything? Would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the input!

I'd recommend not homebrewing until you've played around enough to know what you can do with the existing toolset. But have fun.

That said -- for a 2d4 light blade (and one you can use with ranger powers if you feel like it), try Spiked Chain with the Spiked Chain Training multiclass feat. A sweet dual weapon -- and with the feat, a 2d4 light blade on both ends, and with reach 2 at that.

Harleau said:

That sounds like a awesome idea! I'm going to play around with it a bit!

And the Dread Fang class attack is a 2W attack, but it says that it targets 1 or 2 creatures. Does this mean that the 2W is split between 2 creatures?

Since you've been such an awesome help , would you be willing to answer a couple more question for me? I have a Blade of the Eldritch Knight Broadsword. This sword gives me reach 5 on melee attacks. Epic, right (My DM equated it to being a Final Fantasy sword, haha)? So, on opportunity attacks, does my reach 5 mean that my threatened squares are 5 spaces from me or right next to me still? I understand that an enemy needs to leave a threatened square into a non-threatened one. Do you have any strategies for a rogue with reach like this?

Thanks again!

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Having reach 5 only changes squares you threaten if you somehow get threatening reach.

Under normal circumstances, never.

Here you go, Harleau. I picked the feats more judiciously than the powers, but the general build idea is there. A lot of the encounter and daily powers are free/no/interrupt actions - the assumption is that you'll spend your standard/move/minors making as many attacks as possible.

While it's technically a two-weapon fighter, it actually only uses the radiant dagger to make attacks. Twin Strikes would be done with it as a thrown weapon. The particularly fun combo is Low Slash, Twin Strike (ranged without provoking OAs), Low Slash again. Manticore's Fury adds some fairly gonzo damage into that particular mix.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Elex et Rouge, level 30
Drow, Ranger|Rogue, Daggermaster, Chosen
Hybrid Ranger: Hybrid Ranger Reflex
Hybrid Talent: Ranger Fighting Style
Ranger Fighting Style: Marauder Fighting Style (Hybrid)
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Constitution
Divine Spark: Divine Spark Dexterity
Darkfire: Darkfire Charisma
Background: Windrise Ports (Windrise Ports Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 18, Dex 28, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 24.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 13, Dex 16, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 15.


AC: 49 Fort: 37 Reflex: 46 Will: 40
HP: 175 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 43

TRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +29, Stealth +36, Thievery +29, Perception +21, Intimidate +29, Streetwise +27, Endurance +24

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +15, Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Dungeoneering +16, Heal +16, History +15, Insight +16, Nature +16, Religion +15, Athletics +20

FEATS
Level 1: Backstabber
Level 2: Lethal Hunter
Level 4: Hybrid Talent
Level 6: Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 8: Nimble Blade
Level 10: Weapon Focus (Light Blade)
Level 11: Weapon Expertise (Light Blade)
Level 12: Two-Weapon Ambush
Level 14: Merciless Killer
Level 16: Manticore's Fury
Level 18: Agile Opportunist
Level 20: Melee Training (Dexterity)
Level 21: Armor Proficiency (Hide)
Level 22: Berserker's Fury
Level 24: Second Skin
Level 26: Robust Defenses
Level 28: Swift Blade Style
Level 30: Defensive Throw

POWERS
Hybrid at-will 1: Acrobatic Strike
Hybrid at-will 1: Twin Strike
Hybrid encounter 1: Fox's Cunning
Hybrid daily 1: Duelist's Prowess
Hybrid utility 2: Arm and Edge
Hybrid encounter 3: Low Slash
Hybrid daily 5: Spitting-Cobra Stance
Hybrid utility 6: Death Threat
Hybrid encounter 7: Snap Shot
Hybrid daily 9: Profit from Weakness
Hybrid utility 10: Begin the Hunt
Hybrid encounter 13: Stunning Strike (replaces Snap Shot)
Hybrid utility 16: Vengeful Oath
Hybrid encounter 17: Wolverine Claw Strike (replaces Stunning Strike)
Hybrid utility 22: Hunt the Herd
Hybrid encounter 23: Shimmering Blade (replaces Fox's Cunning)
Hybrid daily 25: Deadly Sidestep (replaces Profit from Weakness)
Hybrid daily 29: Assassin's Point (replaces Spitting-Cobra Stance)

ITEMS
Adventurer's Kit, Predator's Hide Elderhide Armor +6, Rhythm Blade Dagger +1, Radiant Dagger +6, Bloodgem Shard +6, Executioner's Bracers (epic tier), Gauntlets of Blood (epic tier), Circlet of Arkhosia (epic tier), Belt of Titan Strength (epic tier), Sandals of the Temporal Step (paragon tier), Greater Ring of Invisibility (epic tier), Reaver's Touch ring, Solitaire (Citrine) (paragon tier)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

mneme: Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely look into it!

blargney the second: This looks like a sweet build. The AC is ridiculous! I really like what you put together. Though like the height of the AC and reflex, what is point of pushing up defenses while leaving others extremely weak?

In 4e, your best case scenario is generally to have one weak defense and three strong ones. In this case, you could shore up your Will or Fort defense by retraining out Lethal Hunter for Epic Fortitude or Epic Will. I'm not sure I would remove any other feats - they're giving you some really good stuff.

Besides, have a look at what the items do. In particular, check out the Predator's Hide, the Bloodgem Shard, and the Greater Ring of Invisibility. Put together, they can add +11 to your defenses.

blargney the second said:

In 4e, your best case scenario is generally to have one weak defense and three strong ones. In this case, you could shore up your Will or Fort defense by retraining out Lethal Hunter for Epic Fortitude or Epic Will. I'm not sure I would remove any other feats - they're giving you some really good stuff.

Besides, have a look at what the items do. In particular, check out the Predator's Hide, the Bloodgem Shard, and the Greater Ring of Invisibility. Put together, they can add +11 to your defenses.

Click to expand...

That is some epic defensive power! I must say that I am impressed. I like the incorporation of two-weapon ambush to re-roll natural 1s. So, this build counts on the use of low slash and twin strike to deal a lot of damage, right? Sounds like a good plan!

Nice pick on the Radiant Weapon. I like how you think, adding in the the enhancement bonus as damage. Thanks for all of your help on this! Although an awesome build, I think I'm going to continue with my Reaper Class. I'll try to post a notice here that it's finished and put it up in the proper section of the forum.

Thanks again!

And thanks to everyone who posted here!

Other very good encounter powers to get as an at-will power is Disruptive Strike (level 3 ranger power). It's an immediate interrupt that gives the attacker a penalty to the attack roll of 3+wis. With reach 5 you should have a good chance of blocking a LOT of attacks.

Harleau, I'm just glad you're getting the rules-ing and powergaming out of his system.

In regards to homebrewing, the only advice I can give is to focus on one or two things the class does well, and not try to have it do anything. It's very easy to make a class that can do everything, and it gets muddy super fast. It's best to write down in a box a sentence or two describing what the class does ("Single-target striker damage attacks with powers that aid in escape" for example) and make sure you're tying most of your powers into that.

Homebrewing can be a lot of fun, but I can almost guarantee that the first couple tries will result in something either too powerful, or not powerful enough. But hey, that doesn't stop it from being incredibly fun!

(Oh, and the "orc" class was basically a D&D fighter in the BECMI tradition that rolled a d10 for hp - when fighters at the time rolled d8s - did additional damage on a charge, was proficient in light armours and all weapons, and did a buttload of damage... and levelled exactly as a fighter. And the ogre? d12 for hit points, extra damage on all attacks, reach, size, and natural AC boosts. Gawd, it was BRUTAL).