D&D 3E/3.5 Give unto me your "Power Gamer's 3.5 Guide to Rogues"

[Egres]

One word: Craven.

Check out Champions of Ruin for it.

 

[Shallown]

Whisper gnome or Deep halfling is the way to go if you are looking to maximise your roguish abilities. The synergy is unbeatable for these two races.

Deep halflings are in the Monster manual. Basically you give up some skill bonuses gain darkvision and stonecunning (like a dwarf)

Whisper gnomes get some nice stat bonuses and skill bonuses that work well with rogues.

later

 

[J-Buzz]

Bluff. Max out Bluff and you can use the skill to feint an attack and the next gets sneak damage. I am playing a Rogue 17/Fighter 2 and just starting to use bluff, and was wishing I had it maxed. But it still works...

I have not fought a foe yet that has a Sense Motive to save their rear.

 

[Nac_Mac_Feegle]

Be careful of Bluff, some GM's dont like it,we found it to be overpowered to an extent, as a rogue can outbluff a high level warrior with ease, Sense Motive isnt a warrior class skill, I think we had an in house rule of setting the bluff check to the characters level plus wisdom bonus, meaning its harder to bluff higher level class'.

Feegle Out

 

[Nail]

a rogue can outbluff a high level warrior with ease, Sense Motive isnt a warrior class skill, I think we had an in house rule of setting the bluff check to the characters level plus wisdom bonus, meaning its harder to bluff higher level class'.

Uhmmm......

Feinting in Combat: You can also use Bluff to mislead an opponent in melee combat (so that it can’t dodge your next attack effectively). To feint, make a Bluff check opposed by your target’s Sense Motive check, but in this case, the target may add its base attack bonus to the roll along with any other applicable modifiers. If your Bluff check result exceeds this special Sense Motive check result, your target is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) for the next melee attack you make against it. This attack must be made on or before your next turn.

That wasn't a House Rule you were using.

 

[FEADIN]

My group is going to be playing Age of Wroms in a little bit, and I'm aiming to play a rogue, the first time I've played the class for any extensive period of time. I was thinking of going gnome (I know, I know), but other races are do-able. I'm looking to do a very straightforward classic-thief type; emphasis on being the guy who scouts, sneaks, and disables traps.

So, what do I need to know? What are the optimal feats? Where to best use skill points? Basically, if you were to write a rogue version of Goodman Games' excellent Power Gamer guides, what advice would you give?

Thanks.

Good choice but "some" monsters are immune in AoW, may be go the way of the trapfinder and the diplomat/bluff more than the way of the sneak attacker.

 

[buzz]

This is great stuff, guys! Thank you.

 

[Particle_Man]

From BoED: Nymph's Kiss can give you (among other things) even more skill points (1 per level, arguably quadrupled at 1st character level if you take the feat then).

 

[Sejs]

From BoED: Nymph's Kiss can give you (among other things) even more skill points (1 per level, arguably quadrupled at 1st character level if you take the feat then).

According to WotC CS (apply grain of salt as you will), the bonus skill point from Nymph's Kiss is not quadrupled if the feat is taken at 1st level.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Note that you almost certainly want to have a way to deal damage/contribute in combat. It's just plain boring to be sitting there after your incredible scouting mission: Wizard: I drop an empowered fireball: reflex DC 22 for 52 points of damage. Fighter/barbarian: I rage, charge and hit AC 38 for 38 points of damage then cleave into his buddy and great cleave into the third one. Cleric: Now that the fighters are dead, I cast slay living, move up to the enemy wizard and touch him. Make that DC 21 Fort save? Oh well, take 22 points of damage then. You: I pull out my shortbow as I move forward and shoot. With my small magic shortbow, that's 1d4+1 points of damage.

But, that is the fate of the small rogue who thinks he can contribute in combat with a bow. (Given greater invisibility or a ring of blinking, it gets better, but you can't count on those things). So, you're going to want one of three options:
1. A good strength and some feats or rage--I'll be a slightly lower hit point fighter/barbarian who deals less damage normally but more if he flanks.
2. Some melee feats (spring attack, weapon finesse, two weapon fighting, or tumble)--I'll get into a flank and kill my enemies. Now it's take 1d4+1 +6d6 plus two points of strength. (Oh, and make a DC 24 fort save or be staggered--I have the staggering strike feat). A bit more respectable. (Note that in this configuration, you want to have something to fall back on if you're fighting undead or constructs. Maybe an imubed grave strike, maybe a ghost strike (Libris Mortis) weapon, etc).
3. Spells as an arcane trickster or rogue/wizard--I move forward and cast scorching ray for 8d6 damage--13d6 if I get sneak attack--or I cast vampiric touch, tumble up and deliver the sneak attack for a good 8d6 points of damage and I collect them as temp hp.