I played a Tabaxi Swashbuckler yesterday in a little one shot at levels 3 and 4 and just wanted to share my thoughts as it was a really fun and effective race class combo.
First of all, I was able to use my Sneak Attack for every single turn in which I hit with an attack. Starting with a 16 in Dex and Cha, I almost always went first, and it was easy to rush up to an isolated enemy and sneak attack him. When that wasn't an option, I could just run up to an enemy standing next to one of my allies. Either way, I was doing a reliable 3d6+3 damage(sometimes 4d6+3) at level 3 which is great and was easily the most damaging character in the party.
Secondly, the Tabaxi's extra speed is excellent for a Rogue. It was useful in scouting, it was useful in fleeing, and it was useful in combat. Was able to sneak up to an Orc camp, basically tell them "Hi!" and then double dash x2 out of there and lead them into an ambush. I was able to climb a 40ft wall to evade a different Orc camp. I was able to play this character kind of recklessly since I could just run away if things go really though.
Overall, it was a really fun character that I might have to revisit one day. With a little planning, you really should be able to use your sneak advantage every single turn if you hit. There was only one turn that I can think of that I missed with both my main hand and my off hand. Although I did miss with my shortbow a couple of times. One turn, I was in a position where I could not use my sneak damage, so I hit the enemy with my main attack, then ran around to a better position and attacked a different enemy with my off hand and was able to use my sneak damage of him. With this character, I was able to maneuver the battlefield to pretty much anywhere I wanted to be.
First of all, I was able to use my Sneak Attack for every single turn in which I hit with an attack. Starting with a 16 in Dex and Cha, I almost always went first, and it was easy to rush up to an isolated enemy and sneak attack him. When that wasn't an option, I could just run up to an enemy standing next to one of my allies. Either way, I was doing a reliable 3d6+3 damage(sometimes 4d6+3) at level 3 which is great and was easily the most damaging character in the party.
Secondly, the Tabaxi's extra speed is excellent for a Rogue. It was useful in scouting, it was useful in fleeing, and it was useful in combat. Was able to sneak up to an Orc camp, basically tell them "Hi!" and then double dash x2 out of there and lead them into an ambush. I was able to climb a 40ft wall to evade a different Orc camp. I was able to play this character kind of recklessly since I could just run away if things go really though.
Overall, it was a really fun character that I might have to revisit one day. With a little planning, you really should be able to use your sneak advantage every single turn if you hit. There was only one turn that I can think of that I missed with both my main hand and my off hand. Although I did miss with my shortbow a couple of times. One turn, I was in a position where I could not use my sneak damage, so I hit the enemy with my main attack, then ran around to a better position and attacked a different enemy with my off hand and was able to use my sneak damage of him. With this character, I was able to maneuver the battlefield to pretty much anywhere I wanted to be.