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

[Destil]

How about just a straight Rog16?

Five feats: Weapon Focus (Shortsword), Weapon Finesse (Shortsword), TWF, ITWF, Improved Initiative. Take Crippling Strike as one of your three Rogue special abilities (Slippery Mind and Improved Evasion are also nice abilties, but not so relevant to the Sneak Attack discussion.)

Wear a Cloak of Displacement - you won't be able to get your AC up high enough to matter against big foes, so just make half their attacks miss.

If you surprise an opponent and win initiative you can get half a dozen Sneak Attacks in before they can even act (and with II and, say, 28 Dex based on starting Dex 18 with racial modifier, 4 stat raises and a +6 item you'll have a +13 Initiative modifier....) Each Sneak Attack can deal 1d6 + strangth + magic + 8d6, or about 35-40 points of damage + 1 point of Str damage per strike.

You will need flanking partners to deliver Sneak Attacks against opponents who are aware of you, but other party members or even summoned creatures can serve that purpose.

I'd be sure to take oppertunist, as well. That's an extra sneak attack each round when you're flanking, typically. Mabye even trade out something for combat reflexes or take a fighter level (won't cost you a sneak attack die at 16).

 

[danielinthewolvesden]

Rogue 15, Shadowdancer 1. Simple. Deadly. Fun.

TWF, Imp. Toughness, Luck of heroes(1st level regional feat), Wpn Finesse. All "must do's". (If you're not in FR, you might not be able to get LoH, of course)

Then two other feats. dodge & mobility, Imp init & Iron will, Close Quarters fighter... heck there are many.

 

[Thanee]

Yep, HiPS is very good for a rogue, even if you use it properly and without cheesy, ridiculous and silly stuff like hiding while full attacking or being undetectable by True Seeing, like some people propose.

Bye
Thanee

 

[ruleslawyer]

Spring Attack and Shadowdancer? Or is there anything else? At least I can't really think of anything right now.

Telflammar Shadowlord, of course! [/quote]

What's wrong with Improved Grapple?

I'm guessing that sledged is suggesting that the Improved Grab special attack possessed by many superior wild shape forms obviates the need for Improved Grapple, just as natural weapons obviate the need for IUS?

 

[Alpha Polaris]

Spring Attack and Shadowdancer? Or is there anything else? At least I can't really think of anything right now.

Well, Elusive Target, for one: protection against power attack and high level rogue flanking in one package, plus free trips when moving inside threatened areas, as a bonus. As a rogue 16, he doesn't mind being flanked, and whenever he is, he can redirect the first attack of one of the flankers into the other one, which is then considered flat-footed, not too bad, especially against the proverbial "rogue 4 level higher", who can flank and sneak him to death.

 

[Remathilis]

Thanks for all the advice...

The character is ACTUALLY a pseudo-conversion of an old 2e character (hence the pre-picked race, level, and ali) but I'm allowed to pretty-much change most of the other details (my scores stay the same: S 15, D 18, C 14, I 13, W 10, Ch 14).

Before, he was kinda a swashbuckler/melee type (until higher levels, of course). My new vision for him was a definite support fighter type.

My DM is not running Realms (he's proud of his homebrew), but I DO have access to Extra Favored Class (from Unearthed Arcana) if I so choose.

Any additional suggestions?

 

[the_bruiser]

Any additional suggestions?

Well, if you can get an extra favored class, you could do something like my suggestion with elf - wouldn't take much changing, really.

Err.. if you don't have excel, I don't really know how to show you. I could turn it into PDF at work tomorrow I guess.

 

[Remathilis]

Hmmm... Like the idea of the rogue/swashbuckler....


Thanks for all the help and suggestions

 

[Arc]

I'm surprised. Last state of the art IIRC was that ghost touch does not help you to hit while you're ethereal, just into the other direction?

Huh, guess I read it wrong. The FAQ doesn't say anything about blink + ghost touch, but it does say that Ghost Touch weapons act in the manner most favorable to the creature weilding them. To me, this means a creature in the prime can use them to hit ethereal creatures, and an ethereal creature can manipulate the weapon on the prime.

Is there anything more specific on this? I'd love to see a more specific FAQ entry, even if it does mean the Sage is contradicting his own rules, or better yet, making up new ones

 

[Rashak Mani]

Ghost Touch only mentions incorporeal creatures... not sure it works against ethreals...