Rogue Caster Class

[Ilium]

Maybe not, but they let you meet PrC requirements that say "able to cast 1st level arcane spells" or (I think) "Arcane caster level 1st". And you don't lose any progression in your main class. I think you could qualify for Arcane Archer with this, for example.

 

[MarkB]

What exactly do you want out of you arcane rogue, in terms of both roguely things and spellcasting? Rather than a PrC, you might want to try the Beguiler. It gets all the rogue skills, but lacks some of their class features such as sneak attack and evasion, though its own class features are oriented towards a rogue-type role. Even if you want the basic rogue features, you may find it better to multiclass with beguiler than with some of the spellcasting PrCs.

 

[Goldmoon]

What exactly do you want out of you arcane rogue, in terms of both roguely things and spellcasting? Rather than a PrC, you might want to try the Beguiler. It gets all the rogue skills, but lacks some of their class features such as sneak attack and evasion, though its own class features are oriented towards a rogue-type role. Even if you want the basic rogue features, you may find it better to multiclass with beguiler than with some of the spellcasting PrCs.

For that matter, try a level or two of Bard.

 

[Nightfall]

"I love how the Spellthief is set up for this but I don't want the class abilities." Looked pretty clear to me that he already considered and rejected this idea.

I must have missed that in my reading.

I also agree if Spellthief isn't your thing, Beguiler is another option.

 

[Greg K]

What about the Gutter Mage from Malhavoc's Book of Roguish Luck?

 

[brehobit]

I don't have Complete Arcane on me, so some of this may be wrong...

We had a player who wanted the same thing as we converted his PC from 2nd to 3rd edition. We allowed the Daggerspell mage with level 1 arcane caster/level 5 rogue as a starting point. From there you end up with a fairly good rogue and a fairly moderate (but not horrible) caster. You'll likely need/want practiced spellcaster. By level 16 you have 6d6 backstab I think (rather than 8d6) and you cast as a 10th level caster (with CL=14). It starts slowly, but gets really good by 12th level or so. It seems fairly balanced.

Mark

 

[starwed]

Maybe look at the Shadowmage from Tome of Magic? They have a lot of abilities that synergize well with rogues, and there's probably a rogue/shadowmage PrC in the book as well.

 

[Nightfall]

I believe there is!

 

[rgard]

Here is the list of Arcane Rogues from the 3.5 Rogue Optimization thread over at WOTC:

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=132214

arcane rogues
- rogue1/wizard5/guild thief1/arcane trickster10/guid thief3, by nikademus

-Rogue 3/Sorceror 6/Arcane Trickster 10/? 1 by Ranthanas

-Rogue 3/Sorceror 4/Virtuoso 3/Arcane Trickster 10 by Ranthanas

-Rogue 3/Sorceror 4/Virtuoso 9/Arcane Trickster 4 by Ranthanas

-Rogue 3/Sorceror 2/Spellsinger 5/Arcane Trickster10 by Ranthanas

Rogue 4/Barbarian 1/Assassin 8/Nar Demonbinder 1/Arcane Trickster 6 by Rathanas

If you are going outside of WOTC sources, I think the Mage Blade from Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved might be what you are looking for.

Duskblade is a bit rogue-like (from PHB II).

Agreed on the Duskblade. It has the ability to cast spells in light armor...so no arcane failure in leather. The spell list may not be what you are looking for though.

Also check out these:

1. Battle Sorcerer - light armor again. Access to any spell you want, but not as many as as Sorcerer. (Unearthed Arcana)
2. Warmage - light armor again and lots of blasting spells...but mostly only blasting spells. (Complete Arcane & Miniatures Handbook)
3. Beguiler - light armor again. Rogue-like caster with spells emphasing the Enchantment school. (Players Handbook 2 along with the Duskblade)

All the above are 20 level classes.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Artoomis]

Depending upon WHY you like the Rogue, the Bard is very synergistic with Rogue.