Help me brainstorm my "Smart Rogue"

[zero skill LPB]

yup, go strongheart and THEN

consider Cosmopolitan to pick up a skill that would normally be denied to your (rather expansive) Rogue skill list. Something magick-y.

Yeah. Educated & Cosmopolitan to start. This will allow you to throw in a mix of Knowledge skill ranks (Educated) and ... maybe Alchemy (Cosmopolitan)? Couple these with ranks in Use Magic Device and you have a little near-mage that can identify potions and make use all sorts of doo-dads. Heck, with enough ranks of Bluff you should be able to convince everyone that you actually ARE a mage.

 

[Rel]

Thanks for the further replies.

Although we are allowed to use feats from FRCS, I'm not sure if the other races are open as PC choices. I'll have to check on that. If so, the strongheart halfling sounds like a promising possibility.

One problem I've got is that even though I have access to the FRCS feats, only one person in our group has the book. Is there anywhere online that I can find a list of those feats?

 

[Darklone]

Rel, some new ideas over here.

I know that halfling is the best choice for a rogue, but in your situation check out the GNOME. You'll have more Con (very important for melee, better be able to take some hits instead of dodging a few more... though I like high dex guys), some nice cantrips, at least low light vision and multiclassing with about 3 levels of illusionist later would provide a rogue with A LOT of possibilities (think spiderclimb, a colour spray to stun enemies, then sneak attack, shield comes in handy now and then... and the scribe scroll feat fits an educated character)

Featswise: KoK Players Guide. Buy it, Buy it, Buy it
It rocks.

Edit: think toad for more CON ... but I don't have to tell you about the advantages of a familiar (love ravens)

 

[Darklone]

Ah well... who is going to play what ?

 

[Rel]

I've got a bit of new data to throw into the mix.

It now appears that the other two characters will be as follows:

One will be a Cleric/Wizard (Darklone, this is the guy who played Rhys and Scar in my campaign - The Lone Corndog as he is known on the boards). I don't know how he is planning on splitting his levels but I've cautioned him about splitting them evenly.

The other player (The guy who played Krase and Raven in my campaign) will either go with a Cleric/Monk with only 1 or 3 levels of Cleric or he will make a Fighter/Wizard type of "Warrior Mage". At last check he was still undecided.

So it sounds like I'm going to have a good deal of magical support but that we are going to be a little "Fighter Lite". This shouldn't be a big problem because I have faith that our GM will be able to adjust encounters accordingly.

It does mean that I might take a small step away from my "Total Skill Monkey" concept and try to lean a tiny bit more in the direction of combat effectiveness. The first way I'm going to do this is by dropping my Int from 18 to 16 and boosting my Str, Dex and Con by 2 points each.

As before, the real challenge is picking out a first level feat. I'm still strongly considering either Educated or Skill Prodigy (and a special thanks to Darklone for sending me some KoK feat information). Most of the combat feats that seem like they would work well for this character are either unavailable or useless until later levels.

Weapon Finesse - gotta have a +1 BAB
Weapon Focus - gotta have a +1 BAB
Expertise - available but useless since I have no BAB

Any further thoughts on possible feat selections at 1st level?

 

[Darklone]

Perhaps Dodge? If you step back from a small size, what about a weapon with reach later? (Movement check ... another nice feat from KoK).

 

[Rel]

I think I'm going to stay firm on the Halfling idea. Just the straight up halfling from the PHB. I figure that I've got a better chance of convincing the GM to let me take a feat from a non-core book if I at least have a core race.

Darklone, I like your Gnome Rogue/Illusionist idea. But there is already the possibility of two other Wizards in the party. Plus, a couple of the 3E characters I've played so far have already been Wizards and the other was a Cleric. I thought I'd try a non-spellcaster for a change.

 

[Darklone]

Ok then, try this:

Halfling Rog/Rgr/Fighter.

At lvl3, you'll be able to throw three daggers per round at a good BAB and nice damage (as soon as you reach fighter, IF you have lax multiclass rules).

If not, stick to the pure Fighter/Rog (start with rogue due to minmax procedures, keep Dex at 16 (enough for mithril breastplates) get a good strength (14 should do for a halfling) and boost your dagger damage (perhaps throwing axes too?) with PBS, Rapid Shot and Weapon Specialisation... Raise Fighter till level4, then stick to rogue.

Feats for that:
Rog1: Point Blank Shot
Rog1/Ftr1: Rapid Shot.
Rog1/Ftr2: Weapon Focus (dagger or whatever), Quickdraw

Next feat: Ambidex, then later TWF? Skip those if you don't get hurt XPwise for one level of ranger

 

[Darklone]

If you don't like the rogue at first... start with Ranger/fighter multiclass at first level. Favored enemy humans? And buy a wand of CLW. (Cure Least wounds )

At second level with nice dex, you'll throw three daggers a round at a +5 or so...

Let's see... Assuming a dex of 20 (ok, that's high), you'll need Quickdraw, PBS, Rapid Shot... That's more feats than you have. Ok, let's add another fighter level... you'll have two more feats (Weapon Focus Dagger anyone?)

BAB +3, racial +1, size +1, ranged +5 (dex), Weapon Focus +1, PBS perhaps +1... Makes a nice +12. You'll have -6 for making three attacks (TWF does not help with ranged weapons). Still a +6/+6/+6. Perhaps throw some throwing axes later when you have more feats... but take care to use a light weapon in the "off"hand.

I could live with that. Ok, where are my mistakes?

 

[Zhure]

I recommend all rogues invest in five ranks of Spellcraft (cross-class) and Disable Device. Both give a +2 each synergy on Use Magic Device regarding scrolls. Coupled with "Skill Focus: Use Magic Device" you can be almost as reliable using scrolls as the wizard is.

Greg