Illusion/Distraction Based Character

[Phaelan]

Hi all. I've been lurking here for a bit, and decided to register an account because I need a little input on a character idea I have. This is one I'm making for a modern-day d20 campaign (All of the classes from the core books and so on all exist). So far the party will consist of three people including myself; One is a fighter/wizard/eldritch knight gunslinger who focuses on ranged attacks/spells and buffs, and the other is a front-line fighter type with levels of dragon disciple and his cohort sister who is a straight healer-type cleric.

Obviously, the "rogue" gap needs to be filled in, and I would like to at least partially lean towards that. But I've also been keen on the idea of having a character who can hold his own in combat, not necessarily because he's a good fighter, but because he's very good at deceiving his enemies with illusions. Problem is, to be really proficient at illusions, the obvious choice is to be an Illusionist, and that would detract from my ability to make a good rogue/stealthy type (or vice-versa).

Do I want too much for a single character, or is there a prestige class/multiclass combo that might serve me well on both ends without being too gimped?

Edit: * By the way, this character would start at level 10. *

 

[Corsair]

Well if you want to be evil and human, you can go rogue 1 / Wizard 5 / Assassin 1 / Arcane Trickster 4. Use Able Learner to keep your key rogue skills up. You lose 2 caster levels but gain lots of skillness, sneak attack, death attack, etc.

 

[Bad Paper]

Obviously, the "rogue" gap needs to be filled in, and I would like to at least partially lean towards that. But I've also been keen on the idea of having a character who can hold his own in combat, not necessarily because he's a good fighter, but because he's very good at deceiving his enemies with illusions.

This just screams "Bard" to me.

 

[Mistwell]

I agree. Bard, with maybe Shadowcrafter Mage (Races of Stone), which both boosts illusion themed characters and also has decent skills.

 

[Phaelan]

This just screams "Bard" to me.

You're right, bard does seem to fit ability-wise; My only problem is that I don't really see him as a performer of any kind. That, and there are a couple of roguish skills that bards miss out on.

 

[Bad Paper]

You're right, bard does seem to fit ability-wise; My only problem is that I don't really see him as a performer of any kind. That, and there are a couple of roguish skills that bards miss out on.

Bards don't have to be performers. They're tricksters and jokesters, which is why WotC changed the gnomes' favored class in the first place. The Class Clown can be a bard and be totally tone-deaf. My gnomish bard tells jokes to Inspire.

If it's an issue of skills, well, there are ways to get around that: take a level of rogue, or take the Able Learner feat, or just pay cross-class penalties, or whatever. I don't think that's a killer. Sometimes you just have to bite down and pay.