Best Rogue Special Ability
- Thread starter Ogre Mage
- Start date
Slippery Mind, all the way. I don't think we need Elder-Basilisk to come along and give us percentages, but will saves can often be the most deadly in the game (esp if you dont have a good will save!). That extra save is huge.
I agree with others about Imp. Evasion. By the time you get it, you aren't likely to ever fail a reflex save, Imp. Evasion just lets you take half-damage even if you roll a 1 or 2, otherwise its the same old evasion.
Skill Mastery would be next for me, its fairly powerful for rogues with high search scores (minimize search times), or of course for the stand-bys - Move Silently, Hide, Spot, and Listen. Of course it also comes in handy for breaking locks and snapping devices, and for just about anything else the rogue does often.
I think the new Crippling Strike is about tied for Skill Mastery. 2 point of strength damage every sneak attack can add up fast. If you have 2 attacks, thats 4 chances for a TWF or 3 chances for a ranged rogue (assuming they both find a way to sneak) which is about 8 Str, or the difference between an 18 Str fighter and a 10 Str fighter! Either way, after a couple rounds that Str damage will be quite telling to even the strongest monster.
I also like Opportunist, but in play the rogue in our party didn't get to actually use it much. Still, when it does happen, its very nice. I place it below Crippling Strike only because C.S. works EVERY sneak attack, its very dependable.
1. Slippery Mind
2. Skill Mastery
3. Crippling Strike
4. Opportunist
Technik
I agree with others about Imp. Evasion. By the time you get it, you aren't likely to ever fail a reflex save, Imp. Evasion just lets you take half-damage even if you roll a 1 or 2, otherwise its the same old evasion.
Skill Mastery would be next for me, its fairly powerful for rogues with high search scores (minimize search times), or of course for the stand-bys - Move Silently, Hide, Spot, and Listen. Of course it also comes in handy for breaking locks and snapping devices, and for just about anything else the rogue does often.
I think the new Crippling Strike is about tied for Skill Mastery. 2 point of strength damage every sneak attack can add up fast. If you have 2 attacks, thats 4 chances for a TWF or 3 chances for a ranged rogue (assuming they both find a way to sneak) which is about 8 Str, or the difference between an 18 Str fighter and a 10 Str fighter! Either way, after a couple rounds that Str damage will be quite telling to even the strongest monster.
I also like Opportunist, but in play the rogue in our party didn't get to actually use it much. Still, when it does happen, its very nice. I place it below Crippling Strike only because C.S. works EVERY sneak attack, its very dependable.
1. Slippery Mind
2. Skill Mastery
3. Crippling Strike
4. Opportunist
Technik
Last edited:
Hackenslash
First Post
Improved Evasion.....
I voted for Improved Evasion as it is definitely the best ability from the special abilities available. The ability compliments the initial Evasion ability and seems to be a natural progression for a rogue type character of that level. The automatic Half Damage is excellent and would help any character on poor hitpoints. And on a successfull save vs reflex (a rogues best save!) no damage at all !!! Buzzzin !!! Beam me up Scotty !!!
I voted for Improved Evasion as it is definitely the best ability from the special abilities available. The ability compliments the initial Evasion ability and seems to be a natural progression for a rogue type character of that level. The automatic Half Damage is excellent and would help any character on poor hitpoints. And on a successfull save vs reflex (a rogues best save!) no damage at all !!! Buzzzin !!! Beam me up Scotty !!!
Sounded like you were describing the part that the rogue already has with regular evasion as the really cool part. As a rogue, how many reflex saves did you fail? Maybe around levels 1-3, but coming into the mid-levels I imagine it was a very rare occurence (maybe you rolled a 1). All Imp Evasion lets you do is take half on those rare occurences. Compared to Crippling Strike, Slippery Mind, or Skill Mastery, it fades to barely worth a feat (remember, you already have Evasion).
Technik
Ogre Mage
Hero
Best rogue special ability
The poll thus far shows improved evasion to be by far the most chosen with more than half the vote. Opportunist is a distant second. However, it more than a few people have posted that improved evasion is not as good as it looks.
I am a little surprised slippery mind is not more popular, considering that around 10th level (when you get your first special ability) is just about the time that failing a will save becomes very, very bad. But perhaps some rogues find they don't have to make will saves very often?
The poll thus far shows improved evasion to be by far the most chosen with more than half the vote. Opportunist is a distant second. However, it more than a few people have posted that improved evasion is not as good as it looks.
I am a little surprised slippery mind is not more popular, considering that around 10th level (when you get your first special ability) is just about the time that failing a will save becomes very, very bad. But perhaps some rogues find they don't have to make will saves very often?
I also voted for Slippery Mind.
Failing a Will save can be really nasty. On the other hand, if you're taking this you should probably also take Strong Will to improve the save.
Getting a second chance against a Dominate Person can also be really interesting if you wait until the person has you guard them against your friends. If you can make the second Will save, it can create a really nasty surprise for the opponent.
It depends a lot on the campaign type which is my second choice. It would be either Improved Evasion or Skill Mastery depending mostly on how often Reflex saves turn into Save or Die. If there are a lot of dragons in the campaign, Improved Evasion starts looking really good.
In my opinion, the worst would be Defensive Roll. Yes, it might save your life. On the other hand, there is nothing that says it moves you out of melee range. If the critter has multiple attacks on you (quite common against CR10 and above critters), you're dead anyways. I might feel a little differently if it wasn't limited to once a day.
Failing a Will save can be really nasty. On the other hand, if you're taking this you should probably also take Strong Will to improve the save.
Getting a second chance against a Dominate Person can also be really interesting if you wait until the person has you guard them against your friends. If you can make the second Will save, it can create a really nasty surprise for the opponent.
It depends a lot on the campaign type which is my second choice. It would be either Improved Evasion or Skill Mastery depending mostly on how often Reflex saves turn into Save or Die. If there are a lot of dragons in the campaign, Improved Evasion starts looking really good.
In my opinion, the worst would be Defensive Roll. Yes, it might save your life. On the other hand, there is nothing that says it moves you out of melee range. If the critter has multiple attacks on you (quite common against CR10 and above critters), you're dead anyways. I might feel a little differently if it wasn't limited to once a day.
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
Nothing in the rules to support that.
An AoO is a melee attack. If you are making a melee attack and an ally directly opposite threatens your opponent, you are flanking.
-Hyp.
Dark Jezter
First Post
I'd vote Improved Evasion. Once your rogue has that ability, they can dodge fireballs, lightning bolts, and other spells all day long without breaking a sweat. 
The runner-up would have to be opportunist. Slippery mind is a nice ability to have as well.
The runner-up would have to be opportunist. Slippery mind is a nice ability to have as well.
tetsujin28
First Post
I have damn poor luck on saving throws (just lost two characters in two weeks). Give me improved evasion, anyday.
Liminal Syzygy
Community Supporter
My initial call before reading any of the responses was Slippery Mind. I was surprised to see it ranked fourth, and was even further surprised at how many people go for Improved Evasion. Do you guys who like Improved Evasion really play Rogues?
We are talking about 50% less damage only in very rare circumstances: 1) You were targeted by a ref save based damaging spell, and 2) you failed the ref save.
We are talking about 50% less damage only in very rare circumstances: 1) You were targeted by a ref save based damaging spell, and 2) you failed the ref save.
