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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lord Wyrm" data-source="post: 2580945" data-attributes="member: 36521">1st: Caster Support, just as you keep them alive and using their offensive spells they should nerf the enemy mage (who's probably hovering somewhere high above you) with Dispel Magic, Greater Dispelling, or even Epic Dispel Magic.  Then you can go nuts on the poor defenseless evil mage who's AC is now terrible cause not only do you have him flat-footed he just lost a huge number of buff spells and defensive items, and if he has fly to stay away from you he just took fallling damage too.2nd: OK, one sneak a round against a mage with terrible HP.  Remember that's a mage's main weakness, his HP and AC when he unbuffed/unequipped.  One or two solid shots, even if it takes four rounds, can knock them own and keep it that way.3rd: Grapples.  You don't have to be great cause remember, the enemy mage is worse at them than you are, and really big strong guys you can escape the grapple if the tide turns with Escape Artist.4th: Skills, correct, only a few skills are wholly useful maxed out.Sleight of Hand: It isn't great but you'll hate yourself if you really need it and are untrained, solution-take one rank in it.  Now you can use it and have made the bare minimum investment in doing so.Tumble: It's one of those skills that a +15 is more than sufficient, rings of feather fall solve that whole 10000ft drop problem so now its just moving through threatened squares.  Decent dex+gloves of Dex+ a skill ring if you can find it + 8 ranks (the most I'd be willing to put into it with firm magical support) works fine in most cases.Spot, Search, Listen: Max Search, especially if the DM owns a grimtooth's (if you don't know what I refer to then your're probably safe, BTW I own one, exceedingly deadly).  Spot or Listen maxed is probably good, but not both.  I prefer Listen myself for dungeon crawls, for more open games Spot becomes a must.Hide, Move Silently: I prefer not to max these as one of the two is usually sufficient, if nothing else you can get magical support.  If you do max both then I wouldn't take Tumble at all.Disable Device: Handy but if you have a good Use Magic Device and a decent wizard then you should be fine without maxing at higher levels.Bluff: Yeah, this is pretty handy.  Max out if your're non-Lawful.  I'm normally play LE or LN so I don't take it that often (thou shalt not lie)Sense Motive: If you have a decent paladin or cleric or UMD then your're probably fine topping out at 5 ranks.Craft(poisonmaking, traps, carpentry, stoneworking):  OK, I'm love craft and I try to always keep at least two of them maxed out on my rogues.  That's personal preference cause I get very creative with them, if you don't think you can pull off a craft then don't take it.Escape Artist: Now this all depends on your feat choices and if you did take a good Hide and Sleight of Hand.  It is the fighter's job to pull you out of grapples if you stuck.  When tied up that dagger you secreted away will help with the ropes.Gather Information: Handy, good to have, but not neccessary if you've got a bard of a divination inclined individual (not just diviners, anyone with a decant selection of divinations)Diplomacy: Not your job, ever.  Intimidate can go alot further in your hands if your're not good.  If your're good then the paladin can easily do the negotiations, heck he's even got a good reputation.Knowledge(any): One is good to have, couple ranks here, a handful there.  Makes life far better for you in the long run if and only if you are creative in your uses of the knowledge skills. Otherwise your're just a shoddy diviner and no one likes that.My standard first level picks: Knowledge(something creative and unexpected like engineering or arcana) or Survival, Craft (any one or two that fit the character background and I feel I can get creative with), Intimidate or Bluff, Listen, Search, Escape Artist or Use Magic Device, Hide or Move Silently (I lean towards hide), Sleight of Hand and Gather Info (2 ranks each)That's eight plus anymore I feel like getting based on a high Int or being Human with some priority to Disable Device</blockquote>

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