Is the Arcan Trickster (T&B) a playable prestige class?

[RogueJK]

Erm - unless you're playing with a house rule, this is incorrect. Because Decipher Script is an EXCLUSIVE skill, only the Rogue levels count towards the max rank, NOT the character level (as would be the case if it wasn't exclusive). This means that you MUST have a minimum of 4 levels of Rogue to acquire the PrC.

This is correct.

I've also seen people who suggest taking a level of a Prestige Class, such as Assassin or Loremaster, instead of another level of Rogue for that final point(s) of Decipher Script. You could also take levels in Divine Seeker, Fang of Lolth, Royal Explorer, Spymaster, Harper Mage, Shadowdancer, Daidogi Bodyguard, or even Bard.

The above are all taken from WotC books. There might be more, in non-WotC products, which have access to Decipher Script.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

This is correct.

I've also seen people who suggest taking a level of a Prestige Class, such as Assassin or Loremaster, instead of another level of Rogue for that final point(s) of Decipher Script. You could also take levels in Divine Seeker, Fang of Lolth, Royal Explorer, Spymaster, Harper Mage, Daidogi Bodyguard, or even Bard.

The above are all taken from WotC books. There might be more, in non-WotC products, which have access to Decipher Script.

I've got an abjurer/rogue who's aiming for Arcane Trickster, and I looked into doing just that...

It's doable (I planned out both Rogue/Wizard/Loremaster/Arcane Trikster and Rogue/Wizard/Shadow Dancer/Arcane Trickster just to see if they could be done), but the huge amount of prereqs needed for two PrCs greatly prohibits your character, in terms of both skills and feats. There won't be much room for customization, and you don't get to AT much faster than a straight Rogue/Wizard.

 

[RogueJK]

I've got an abjurer/rogue who's aiming for Arcane Trickster, and I looked into doing just that...

It's doable (I planned out both Rogue/Wizard/Loremaster/Arcane Trikster and Rogue/Wizard/Shadow Dancer/Arcane Trickster just to see if they could be done), but the huge amount of prereqs needed for two PrCs greatly prohibits your character, in terms of both skills and feats. There won't be much room for customization, and you don't get to AT much faster than a straight Rogue/Wizard.

True... your best bet would probably be to take the level of Rogue, a level of Bard, a level of Assassin, or a level of Divine Seeker. All 4 of these don't require any feats, and the skill prerequisites for the Prestige Classes ought to be easy to fulfill, because you have 3 levels of Rogue (that's at least 40 skill points right there, if you take your first level as a Rogue), plus a (hopefully) high Intelligence.

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Grand Total: 4 levels, no BAB

True... your best bet would probably be to take the level of Rogue, a level of Bard, a level of Assassin, or a level of Divine Seeker. All 4 of these don't require any feats, and the skill prerequisites for the Prestige Classes ought to be easy to fulfill, because you have 3 levels of Rogue (that's at least 40 skill points right there, if you take your first level as a Rogue), plus a (hopefully) high Intelligence.

 

[StealthyMark]

Skillpoint-wise and BAB-wise, its best to get the 4th level of rogue, because you'll need every skill point you can get. These 14 not-that-useful-skill ranks (Decipher Script, Escape Artist) are quite hard, at least for your rogueish abilities.

BTW, why is Use Magic Device not on the AT's skill list? That's very sad.

Another interesting AT combination is Bard7/Rog3. At least, he could have 10 ranks UMD.

 

[jontherev]

One of the PCs in the campaign I run is an Arcane Trickster (Sor/Rog) and manages to pull thier weight without being too powerful, and a PC I play in another campaign is ramping up to it in a few more levels (Wiz8/Rog2/Barb1/with 2 levels in another pClass that grants +1 spellcasting); basically I need to take another level of Barb to avoid XP penalties and then another level of Rogue before getting into Arcane Trickster for my last 5 levels of progression.

You'll need 4 levels of rogue to get 7 ranks in Decipher Script, as has been pointed out. So, to not lose exp, you'll need 2 more levels of barb and 2 more levels of rogue before going AT. That is, unless that other PrC you took has Decipher Script, in which case you don't.

 

[Darkness8Me]

Erm - unless you're playing with a house rule, this is incorrect. Because Decipher Script is an EXCLUSIVE skill, only the Rogue levels count towards the max rank, NOT the character level (as would be the case if it wasn't exclusive). This means that you MUST have a minimum of 4 levels of Rogue to acquire the PrC.

Any chance someone could point out where this rule is listed in the books? I couldn't find any mention of it in the SRD (don't have the books handy at the moment).

 

[bret]

The rules for maximum ranks in an Exclusive skill are on PHB Pg 56, second paragraph of Skills.

If a skill is unavailable to a class (that is, if it's an exclusive skill that a multiclass character's other class doesn't have access to), then levels in that class don't increase the multiclass characters's maximum ranks.

If you check PHB Pg. 66, the Decipher Script skill is listed as Bard, Rogue only.

 

[Gez]

Yes, but that's because the PHB didn't include the material from the DMG, T&B, FRCS, OA and company. Among the classes in the PHB, Decipher Script is exclusive to Rogue and Bard (and frankly, I find it sad Wizards can't get it, as it is so much a scholarly skill...). But other classes, notably prestige classes, have it.

Actually, the prestige class with the harsher prerequisite is the True Necromancer. Minimal character level: 10 (5th cleric, 5th wizard).

 

[RogueJK]

Grand Total: 4 levels, no BAB

Um... no.

I wasn't saying to be a Rogue1/Bard1/Divine Seeker1/Assassin1. I was saying that to get that last point in Decipher Script, take a level of Bard or a level of Rogue or a level of Assassin or a level of Divine Seeker.

One level. 4 choices. So the final 9th level character would be a Rogue3/Wizard5 with one level of Assassin, Divine Seeker, or Bard, or a Rogue4/Wizard5.