Character Builds: Build me a combat rogue/sneak attack machine

[Bryin]

Try a 10rog/3ftr/3wiz or clc with a +1-4 distance, returning, wounding dagger. I havent played in a while but the weapon was always good for me
The fighter for all the weapons and armor, the spell caster for aditional fun

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

You are kinda limited as an elf. Any base class outside of 1 level of rouge levels will give you 20% XP penalty, except wizard - which isn't going to help a great deal with melee rogue-ishness...

I reckon the best bet might be a 16th level Rogue (7 Rogue/9 Assasin?) with charisma. If you're allowed leadership, select a 14th level cleric, druid or wizard - have them buff you seven ways from sunday. Ring of spell storing with transfomation, righteous might or divine power.

In lieu of the cohort, take a high level of UMD and buff yourself via scrolls, staffs and wands. Expensive, but could be effective.


And now for something completely different:

The Woodlands Killing machine.

I'd consider Rogue 8ruid 8.

6 feats - Multiattack, Improved Multiattack, Natural Spell, dodge, mobility, spring attack.

You can transform into large creatures with up to 8 HD. Take on Tiger form, giving you a pounce attack and reasonable stats.

Arguably, you can pounce in, getting 6 attacks - 1 bite, 2 claws, 2 rakes, 1 extra attack from haste. That's a lot of hitting. I say arguably, because AFAIK whether you can charge (to get the pounce) and spring out is a somewhat muddy issue.

You can buff yourself with natural attack improving items and/or spells, 'wild' armour and so on. If you can, buy a #day item of animal growth - preferably one another party member can use on you - as you won't be able to use it on yourself while transformed and can't cast it yet, but it's mean! (if a little questionable as well).

A slight problem is that greater dispels at this level will tear right through your spells like they weren't there. Diverse talents from complete divine would really help, if only you had the feats to spare!

Figure it feels quite 'Elfish', IMO. And at Rogue 9/Druid 9 - you'll be a lot meaner.

To twink this a little further:
Rogue 5ruid 5: Assasin 3: Shapeshift enhancing PrC - 3.

 

[Thanee]

A completely different option would be the Arcane Trickster (focussing on buff spells).

Rogue 3 / Wizard 5 / Arcane Trickster 8.

You'll have lower hit points and base attack and weaker armor, but you have a lot of great spells to make up for this loss (False Life, Greater Invisibility, Blink, Displacement, Stone Skin, Greater Magic Weapon, Polymorph, etc).

Feats: Improved Initiative, Quicken Spell, Practiced Spellcaster, and four more to increase your melee capabilities (i.e. TWF, Weapon Finesse, etc - or go for bow (hey, you are an elf) with Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot).

And keep a lesser metamagic rod of empower handy for those False Life spells.

Bye
Thanee

 

[ruleslawyer]

Does it have to be a melee rogue?

I know that you have a character concept and all, but the fact is that elves are not well-suited for melee rogues for the simple reason that a -2 Con penalty and d6 hit die, in combination, do not make for a survivable combatant. Elves can make fine archer-rogues, but that's a different archetype.

That said, if you absolutely must, your key is to "min" the heck out of your multiclassing handicap by taking beaucoup PrCs, while maxing the heck out of BAB and SA. The basic build I'd suggest is:

Shadow-walker elf Rog3/Ftr2/shadow thief of Amn 5/Telflammar shadowlord 6

If you can use FR (which is required for the above PrCs anyway), take a wood elf for the +2 Str (although you lose out on Con, Int, AND Cha, who cares?).

This build isn't mine, BTW; the full build can be found at:

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1836335#post1840967

In general, the following thread contains several rogue builds:

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132214<br />

 

[Darklone]

I second the Arcane Trickster with the bow.

 

[orangefruitbat]

May I suggest combining Invisible Blade with T. Shadowlord - bluff as a free action, wounding ability AND the ability to Shadow Pounce as a free action? IE, you can perform a full action sneak attack even when you don't start within 5' of your foe. Oh, the ability to avoid dying by making a reflex save is jextra gravy.

Shadow-walker elf Rog3/Ftr2/shadow thief of Amn 5/Telflammar shadowlord 6

If you can use FR (which is required for the above PrCs anyway), take a wood elf for the +2 Str (although you lose out on Con, Int, AND Cha, who cares?).



http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1836335#post1840967

In general, the following thread contains several rogue builds:

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132214<br />

 

[ruleslawyer]

Hmm; let's try it.
Elven Shadowblade

Wood elf shadow-walker Rog3/Ftr2/SToA5/TS4/Inv5
(PC acquires shadow-walker template around 6th or 7th level)

Level	Class			BAB		Saving Throws	Feats			Spells	Class Abilities
1	Rogue (1)		+0		+0/+2/+0	Dodge				Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding
2	Fighter (1)		+1		+2/+2/+0	Weapon Finesse			Fighter Feat
3	Fighter (2)		+2		+3/+2/+0	Mobility, Persuasive		Fighter Feat
4	Rogue (2)		+3		+3/+3/+0					Evasion
5	Rogue (3)		+4		+4/+3/+1					Sneak Attack +2d6, Trapsense +1
6	Shadow Thief (1)	+4		+4/+5/+1	Spring Attack			Doublespeak, Sneak Attack +3d6
7	Shadow Thief (2)	+5		+4/+6/+1	Blind Fight			Bonus Feat, Uncanny Dodge I
8	T. Shadowlord (1)	+5		+4/+8/+1				0	Shadowsight, Shadowjump
9	T. Shadowlord (2)	+6/+1		+4/+9/+1	Point Blank Shot	1	Shadowblur
10	T. Shadowlord (3)	+7/+2		+5/+9/+2				1/0	Shadow Walk
11	T. Shadowlord (4)	+8/+3		+5/+10/+2				2/1	Shadow Pounce
12	Shadow Thief (3)	+9/+4		+6/+10/+3	Far Shot				Sneak Attack +4d6, Reputation +1
13	Shadow Thief (4)	+10/+5		+6/+11/+3	Weapon Focus (dagger)	Bonus Feat, Reputation +2
14	Shadow Thief (5)	+10/+5		+7/+12/+4					Sneak Attack +5d6, Uncanny Dodge II, Rep. +3
15	Invisible Blade (1)	+11/+6/+1	+7/+14/+4	TWF		Dagger SA +6d6, Unfettered defense
16	Invisible Blade (2)	+12/+7/+2	+7/+15/+4		Bleeding wound
17	Invisible Blade (3)	+13/+8/+3	+8/+15/+5		Dagger SA +7d6, uncanny feint (MEA)
18	Invisible Blade (4)	+14/+9/+4 	+8/+16/+5		Feint mastery
19	Invisible Blade (5)	+15/+10/+5	+8/+16/+5		Dagger SA +8d6, uncanny feint (free action)

The nice thing about this build is that it gets you +16 BAB at character level 20 (ECL 21). The bad thing is that it doesn’t get you ITWF or GTWF.

So, here's one build, Remathilis! Your skills are practically pre-chosen for you, due to the PrC requirements. Max out Bluff, Hide, Move Silently, and maybe Tumble (though you don't really need it with Spring Attack and your shadowlord abilities), but otherwise you can do whatever you want.

 

[Thanee]

You guys are aware, that the Shadowlord is tied to regional feats, which are normally not available outside the FR, yes?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Arc]

Hey, this is a little bit of a tangent, but what's the legality status of Ghost Touch + Ring of Blinking. I've seen this combo tossed around a few times on the boards, and while a quick glance at the SRD seems like it might work, it's still a bit vague. Has there been a thread discussing this, or even better, a custserv or FAQ answer about it ?

 

[sledged]

You guys are aware, that the Shadowlord is tied to regional feats, which are normally not available outside the FR, yes?

As are the Telflammar Shadowlord PrC, the Shadow Thief of Amn PrC, the wood elf subrace, and the shodow-walker template. I can't see how they wouldn't be aware of the setting limitations of this build. I'm just imagining the character transversing half the continent to take levels in both PrCs. Foreign exchange thieves' guild member program?