first feat

[meltinbradley]

I have a 1st level kobold rogue who will advance as rogue for several levels before going into sorcerer. Eventually I will go into the arcane trickster prestige class. Hes a con artist, skill based character who will probably deal mainly in illusion and personal self help spells. I am having a very difficult time figuring out my first feat. Any ideas?
Thanks
MB

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Tell us more about your PC and the campaign: what books can you use? How combat oriented is this guy? What kind of stats do you have?

As a kobold combat rogue- presumably emphasizing Dex over Str- your best (highest damage) ranged weapon would be the Crossbow (they never get a Str bonus), and things like Point Blank Shot and Precise shot should be on your must have" list. Be a sniper. Use poison (lethal or sleep/nausea). Accentuate your ranged arsenal with things like grease bombs, caltrops, alchemist's fire, vials of trog-stink and tanglefoot bags. You'll be able to place them accurately, helping to control the battlefield, funneling foes towards the party's heavy hitters...and away from you!

I'd try to support my strengths- taking the Dodge feat tree will improve your AC. Lightning Reflexes means you'll be the first to act many times.

Also, how, exactly, are you planning on meeting the prereqs for arcane trickster? Are you taking levels in Beguiler? Its a good fit...

 

[pawsplay]

Improved Initiative. Whether it's getting off the spell first or grabbing free sneak attack damage, it's hard to go wrong with this one for an Arcane Trickster.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Listen to Pawsplay...when I said Lightning Reflexes, I meant Improved Initiative.

 

[irdeggman]

Improved Initiative. Whether it's getting off the spell first or grabbing free sneak attack damage, it's hard to go wrong with this one for an Arcane Trickster.

I concur.

Improved initiative is pretty good choice for a rogue/sorcerer

 

[meltinbradley]

Alcatraz- Ok, he is a rogue and his father a traveling minstrel. He wasnt much of a artist or singer but he did pick up a lot of other skills from his father. How to bluff, how to speak well to a crowd, how to steal, and con people. He eventually fled and is currently running away from him after beating him down, thus begins the campaign.
The campaign is in a made up world and I am not really allowed to know anything save for the fact that I am in a country that is run by goblinoids and Orcs. Elves, half elves, dwarves, gnomes, humans are all slaves. Humans have it better then the rest and some have even earned their freedom but are still looked down upon. My character background with the minstrel and all allowed me to learn that there are other countries ruled by humans, elves, etc...but at this point in time i will be dealing with this goblin country.
Me being a kobold is a wild card. I will not know how they will react to me until I meet them.
I can use any book, including d20 system.
str:8
dex:18
wis:10
con:10
cha:18
int:18
As for combat, I was thinking for the first few levels I would run from every fight. I have 6 hp a -5 grapple, 0 bab and a ac of 16.
Im hoping that I can con people into helping me and just staying out of peoples way who would cause me harm.
I am not much of a killer, even when I get spells, i was going to focus more on illusions, hold person, things that would allow my party members to kill them or just allow me to get past them. Of course experiences in the game will shift how my character will do things and he may in time decide to get offensive spells but at the moment he is not a killer.
Tanglefoot bags, non lethal poisons, etc are definetely things I will be involved in when I steal them or buy them.
for arcane trickster I was going to go with a basic sorceror but i did read up on the beguiler and i really liked it, however I didnt like the set spells. Well I did, but I would rather pick my own because there were many spells not on that list I wanted.
Improved initiative sounds like something I will definetely consider. It would be good to get my spells off quickly when I do finally have spells to cast.
I would also like to have a familiar when I am ready, and would like to know of any feats that enhance familiars.
Thanks fellas.
MB

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Re: Familiars

Before you pick one:

• Make sure your DM isn't a "pet-killer"- some DMs simply don't like familiars, animal companions & mounts, and will take any opportunity to kill them off.
• Improved Familiar can be found in the 3.5DMG and in CompWar. There are some nifty ones listed, and the list is not all inclusive- you can add creatures of similar power, as the DM permits.
• Obtain Familiar is a feat for Arcanists who want a familiar but who aren't a Wizard or Sorcerer, and is in CompArc.

 

[FEADIN]

Improved initiative is good for everybody and a must have for rogue.

 

[Dragonnety]

Improved Initiative is by far the best choice. Yet Point Blank shot is also a must for a rogue.

 

[Herobizkit]

str:8 dex:18 wis:10 con:10 cha:18 int:18

As for combat, I was thinking for the first few levels I would run from every fight. I have 6 hp a -5 grapple, 0 bab and a ac of 16.

Add another vote for Improved Initiative. Here's the rub, though - if you never DO anything in combat, it doesn't matter whether you go first or not.

Don't underestimate your character just because you're a kobold. You may only have a +0 BAB, but a warrior of your level only has +1. Your DEX of 18 gives you a +4 to hit with ranged weapons, and that puts you in a great place. Using tanglefoot bags etc is a good idea, but an expensive one if you can't make them yourself. You will need to take the Alchemy skill to do so, but you must be a spellcaster in order to create the "magic" items. Hence, I'd take your next level as Sorc to get your feet wet.

If you don't plan on slinking around a lot, you can wear armor up to a chain shirt and only suffer a -2 penalty to your sneak/move silently skills. That's a +4 AC right there.

Re: familiars - there is an Improved Familiar feat that you can take to replace old familiars with new, unique ones, such as shocker lizards, stirges, and pesudodragons. The only limit is your imagination and the DM's OK.