D&D 3.x Arcane Trickster Spell and Feat Suggestions (3.5e)

[Pielorinho]

I thought about going the Improved Feint route, but wasn't sure if it'd be worth it: at the cost of two feats, I'd be able to sneak-attack in combat without having to get into a flanking position. This one only seems worth it if you don't have a melee partner on whom you can count for flanking purposes.

Daniel

 

[atom crash]

In the game I run, the rogue/sorceror is hardly ever in a position to flank. He typically gets cut off from the rest of the party and quickly gets outmatched in melee. I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually added sneak attack damage to any attack. If he used feint, he'd be a much more effective combatant.

Now if only there was a way to attempt a feint on an enemy within 30 feet.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

The best part of feinting isn't necessarily the sneak attacks - though those are really nice - it's denying your opponent the Dex, Dodge, etc. Armor bonuses *and then* getting a +2 for flanking.

 

[Patlin]

I don't mind feinting, but blinking seems to me to be much easier and almost always works.

Another thing to remember: a cool thing about Arcane Tricksters is access to so many spells that don't use sneak attack. While the more normal thief is of much less use when a horde of undead or oozes attacks the party, you've still got fireballs up your sleave.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Edit: Ooh, I never realized that Grease led to flatfootedness! I would rule that the affected character is only flatfooted while moving, since it's only the attempt to move that provokes a balance check; therefore, they're not flatfooted when it's not their turn. However, I'm not sure if that ruling would be accurate; can anyone elaborate on this idea? Certainly as a player of an arcane trickster-in-training, I'd love it if the effect were constant on anyone standing in the area of a grease spell .
Daniel

Personally I think grease is a spell that fell through the cracks - ideally it should just say "anyone in the area must make a balance check against the DC of the spell to perform actions which require movement, such as combat etc."

Instead it's got this bizarre combination of reflex saves and balance checks...

To my mind, I can't imagine that someone who is having to make a reflex save each round to avoid falling over is not balancing or flat footed.

 

[Pielorinho]

The best part of feinting isn't necessarily the sneak attacks - though those are really nice - it's denying your opponent the Dex, Dodge, etc. Armor bonuses *and then* getting a +2 for flanking.

Hmm--maybe. I'm currently playing a wiz3/rog1 halfling with 18 dex, and a +6 attack bonus (due to weapon finesse). If I'm flanking someone with a touch AC of 10, I only miss on a 1. If they've got a touch AC of 15--extremely high for a touch AC at fourth level--I'll still only miss 30% of the time.

I just can't see paying two feats in order to reduce a few opponent's touch AC by a couple of points. If improved flank allowed you to bluff with range attacks, that'd be different.

Feats that seem useful for an arcane trickster:
-Weapon Finesse
-Spell Focus (we're using 3.0 version, and excluding Improved Focus from the list of allowable feats) in Necromancy, or another school with plenty of sneakattackable spells (necromancy has Enervation, Vampiric Touch, Chill Touch, and a handful of other good ones)
-Empower Spell (at sixth level, being able to empower a Ray of Enfeeblement is gonna be fun) or Create Wands (so that you can create a wand of Ray of Frost or something else that makes easy sneak attacks)
-Improved Initiative
-Point Blank Shot
-Precise Shot

And for a normal character, that takes you through eleventh level (if you're human) or fourteenth level (if you're not), or seventeenth level if you're a nonhuman sorcerer-based AT.

Daniel

 

[Saeviomagy]

A metamagic that comes to mind is repeat (or twin) spell - double the sneak attack damage makes this one potentially worth it.

 

[Thanee]

Re: Feinting:

At least in my experience, it's not worth it. My halfling AT had the Quicker than the Eye feat, which is highly superior to Improved Feint and I stopped using it after 10th level or so, except for extremely rare circumstances. The single attack "full round action" simply doesn't cut it in almost all situations.

It's cool for the lower level, but since he's starting at 14th, I'd definitely not recommend that route. Rather pick up Weapon Finesse and try to flank or just use some offensive spells in those situations (again, pointing at the importance of Practiced Spellcaster here). You can't always sneak attack, anyways, so you need to prepare for those situations as well.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

@Pielorinho: Don't forget Rapid Shot, an absolute must-have, if you go for the archery feats (taking those purely for ranged touch is a waste of feats, you will hit even with the -4 almost always, given the high Dex this character will most likely have).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

Re: Necromancy:

If you want to be really nasty, take a look at the Kiss of the Vampire spell in Magic of Faerûn and what it allows you to do with your touch attacks (with three attacks per round thanks to Haste, this one is just ugly, even without sneak attacks ).

Bye
Thanee