Feat builds for rogues

[johnsemlak]

would like some advice on essential feats for rogues to take at early, and later levels.

Is it worth it for Rogues to burn a feat on something like weapon focus?

In particular, I'm builidnig a character who will be using his shortbow for sneak attacks, so I figure Point Blank is a no-brainer.

To build the stealth side, how useful are feats like dodge, stealthy, etc. Is it worth it to burn a feat on something like Stealthy when I"m putting make ranks in Hide and Move Silently anyway?

 

[Tessarael]

Re: Rogue feats

To build the stealth side, how useful are feats like dodge, stealthy, etc. Is it worth it to burn a feat on something like Stealthy when I"m putting make ranks in Hide and Move Silently anyway?

Personally, I'd say no to skill bonus feats. There's more useful feats to take, but if the character will only ever be low level it might be worth it.

Feats to take (I'll ignore missile feats, other people can cover those - I have a Rogue that is melee oriented):
- Weapon Finesse (assuming your DEX >> STR)
- Improved Initiative (helpful to get your Sneak Attack in)
- Dodge (+1 AC can save your butt, you have less HP) ... I wouldn't bother with Expertise or Mobility, just get Tumble up high ASAP
- Weapon Focus (+1 to hit never goes astray) ... but take it in the right weapon or not at all (i.e. the weapon you'll use most of the time)

Just my quick thoughts on the subject ...

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I'm a fan of TWF for rogues who want to get the most from melee sneak attacks.

Improved initiative, plus the obvious missile feats, are probably key for the ranged sneak-attacker.

I'd only use a feat for Stealthy if that was the defining characteristic of the character, and wanted ninja-like stealth.

 

[diaglo]

the player's advantage rogue from MEG has some nice ideas.



improv init is a must.

 

[Thanee]

Anything involving Improved Initiative is good, especially if you go ranged.

Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot. Those are the ones you want from the bow tree, so that's already a considerable amount of feats. No room for Weapon Focus or other such stuff, really.

Maybe you might want to consider Rogue/Wizard/Arcane Trickster. Some great spells out there to enhance your ability to sneak attack, like Blink or Improved Invisibility. I had great fun with my archery based elven arcane trickster.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Chris Parker]

Well Im not a big rogue player, but Ill say this, at later levels (ie-Epic) Lingering Damage and Sneak Attack of Oppurtunity are absolutely neccessary.

Theres also some nasty feats you can find laying around (largely Combat Reflexes, and a feat that lets you make an Attack of Oppurtunity when someone hits you in melee (take penalty of 4 to AC, though)). Oppurtunist is also nice.

And if you want to be half decent with a bow (outside of the one BAM! sneak attack, your already dead) Id say rapid shot is another must have.

Epic Dodge, Improved Toughness (you get one extra HP per level or hitdie, for all past and future levels, doesnt have Toughness as a prereq) are both very handy in the 'not dying' department.

Knew a friend who swore by Manyshot, but the whole standard action thing makes it a turn off to me (most of combat will be spent in a surprise round, or using full round actions to drop the enemy before they can get through the tanks to the casters).

Yeah, bonus to skills feats are generaly a waste of your time. Remember you can get + to skill items at a cost of bonus^2*20... meaning a +20 to slight of hand costs you 8K, while +10 is only 2K.

Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess. Sneak attacks dont mean anything if they dont hit.

Also, there are some interesting prestige classes Rogues can go into. I believe Master Throwers can pick up an ability that lets them make a Slight of Hand vs Spot check for a sneak attack in combat.

And an epic rogue should always go into Void Incarnate. Everyone is always flatfooted? Sounds like a good idea to me! (its on the wizards site)

Most of this was babbling, hope I gave you some good ideas.

~Chris.

 

[MerricB]

Improved Initiative is the feat every Rogue should have.

After that, it depends on what you want to do.

A sniper should have Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot. Precise Shot is likely to prove helpful as well.

Feats that provide a bonus to Hide are better than you might expect - one manuever you can make is to shoot when hidden (thus gain the invisibility bonus), and then stay hidden. It requires a Hide check at -20 to stay hidden, so every bonus helps!

I'm not a big fan of Dodge unless you really want that feat tree. For a sniper... not worth it.

I would recommend becoming a multiclass rogue/fighter or rogue/ranger if you're serious about the sniper role. The bonus feats are nearly essential (or you can take something like Order of the Bow Initiate).

Cheers!

 

[Klaus]

If you're not playing solo, I'd go with Point-Blank Shot, then Precise Shot. That avoids the -4 to hit into a melee when a friend is holding back the enemy.

After that, Improved Initiative (which adds to your repectable Dex bonus to almost ensure you act first in a combat) and Rapid Shot (when you act first in a combat, making two shots and getting sneak damage twice can stop most foes in their tracks).

 

[Piratecat]

There's a non-psionic feat in the XPH that lets you reroll any ones rolled for sneak attack damage. Not a bad feat!

 

[wighair]

There's a non-psionic feat in the XPH that lets you reroll any ones rolled for sneak attack damage. Not a bad feat!

i just looked it up in the SRD now you pointed it out...

DEADLY PRECISION [GENERAL]
You empty your mind of all distracting emotion, becoming an instrument of deadly precision.
Prerequisite: Dex 15, base attack bonus +5.
Benefit: You have deadly accuracy with your sneak attacks. You can reroll any result of 1 on your sneak attack’s extra damage dice. You must keep the result of the reroll, even if it is another 1.

What on earth is this doing buried in the XPH? Seems a tad strange. Now I'm going to have to read it.