Playable from Lvl 1 - 40, PvM Build,
also makes for excellent NPC


Rogue Tiger.......Rogue19/Ranger9/Monk12

Due to the nature of their training, only Halflings and Elves can be a Rogue Tiger. However, it is rumoured that the leader of this group is actually Human, but this rumour cannot be substantiated.

Roleplaying
The Rogue Tigers were a little known group outside of the Harpers and those who they employed (sub-contracted) them against. They were first recognized in Ravensbluff, and they helped to establish the uneasy peace with the Orc Tribes that dwealt in the mountains. There were 12 such individuals, and they were sent to the four corners of Faerun to gain wisdom, prowess and information, and to train tirelessly in various forms of combat. They acted as emissaries, diplomats, councilors or war, and even bartered trade disputes. What distinguishes the Rogue Tigers from ordinary adventurers and mercenaries is their ability to adapt and improvise to any situation. If required, they could scout a future battlefield, or negotiate treaties, or go undercover as a Red Wizard, or win hands at the poker table, or even command a legion of men into combat. They are equally at home in forest, city or dungeon. When the Harpers found a situation that needed resolving and needed immediate results, the Rogue Tigers were always called upon. Rarely would they be seen traveling in more than groups of two, and if more than two were together, then the mission was highly perilous, and involved the fate of entire nations. Lately, however, there has been a shift in fundamentals and ideology, either between the Harpers, the Rogue Tigers, or both, and consequently the Rogue Tigers have gone "rogue." They are no longer addressing the needs of the Harpers, and serve their own "agenda."

Rogue Tigers are quiet, exclusive, and prefer their own company to that of others. However, they are by no means lacking in social skills, and there are several Rogue Tigers who sport a 10 Charisma with 5 in persuade!

Combat
In combat, the Rogue Tiger strikes from everywhere and from nowhere. Silent, unseen, he can tumble, dodge, roll, evade, deflect, duck, sidestep, and then pounce, like a tiger, drawing forth deadly kukris, delivering 10d6 and 2 pts of strength loss, 1d4+str and enchantment, with 15-20/x2 on Critical threat roll, on each successful sneak. Hasted, he can do this 7 times per Round. He can further improve his AB/AC with his self-buffed Cat's Grace, turn on Improved Expertise, and slowly cripple his opponents into mewling little mama's boys. And for those who are focused on bringing down the Rogue Tiger, no matter which way you turn your back, you will get sneak attacked, for there is a High Dex, Finessed Black Panther with 6d6 sneak dice lurking unseen. The Rogue Tiger is notorious for casting Magic Fang/Cat's Grace on this fell feline to make him even more deadly.

The Rogue Tiger also never fights fair. With both Deadly Set Traps and a high UMD, he can win most battles without ever drawing his Kukris. In fact, the Rogue Tiger's challenge is to win every battle without drawing his deadly Kukris. They enjoy playing games within games, so to speak.



Race: Halfling, Elf
Alignment: Lawful/Neutral (Any Lawful)

Str: 10
Dex: 19 (32)
Con: 10
Int:13
Wis: 14
Chr: 8

Naked AC: 33
Max Hit Points: 300
AB w/rusty kukris: 37/32/27/22 +2 offhand attacks
Fortitude: 25
Reflex: 35
Will: 23


Highlights:
Self-Concealment V: 50% permanently concealed, always.

Epic Dodge: Always avoid the first attack, each round

Improved Expertise: +10AC whenever the call arises
Dualwields w/ Improved 2-Weapon Fighting: 4+2=6 attacks per round, 7 if Hasted

Weapon Focus/Finessed Kukris with Improved Criticals: 15-20 Threat Range. Not too shabby for a non-weapon master.

Crippling Strike: for those Damage Resistant and Quick Healer opponents, -2 Str per successful sneak.

Sneak Attack: 10d6

Improved knockdown: to gain more 10d6 sneak dice

Ranger/Monk Synergy: both Wisdom AC and 1st/ 2nd level Ranger spells available (Cat's Grace, Prot. from Elements, etc.)

Stalwart Companion: summon a grim black panther with 19 Dex, Weapon Finesse, and 6d6 sneak damage

Two Favored Enemies: +2 hit/damage vs Undead and Elementals (or whomever you want)

Halfling Bonuses: +1 to all saves; in addition, +2 vs magic saves and effects; more unspecified bonuses against large peoples

Very Decent Saves: in addition to the base and Halfling modifiers,also receives a further +3 vs Magic by crossclassing Spellcraft (15), and +2 Mind saves (Monk)

Excellent Skill Points: 300+, enough to make Tumble 40, Disc 24, UMD 25, Spellcraft 15, Set traps: 40, Hide/MS=42, Search 20, Open Locks: 20, Disable Traps 30

Spell Resistance: 22

Use magic Device

High Set Traps Skill

And Much More

Progression:
1. Rogue, Luck of Heroes*
2. Ranger, Dualwield, Favored Enemy: Undead
3. Ranger, Weapon Finesse
4. Monk, Dex 20, Cleave, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist
5. Monk, Deflect Arrows
6. Ranger, Exotic Weapon: Kukri
7. Rogue, Top all skills
8. Monk, Dex 21
9. Monk, Weapon Focus Kukri
10. Ranger
11. Ranger, Favored Enemy: Elementals
12. Monk, Dex 22, Improved Crit: Kukri
13. Rogue, Top all skills
14. Ranger, Stalwart Companion (Black Panther)
15. Ranger, Expertise
16. Monk, Dex 23, Knockdown, Improved Knockdown
17. Ranger
18. Monk, Improved Expertise
19. Monk
20. Rogue, Dex 24, Top all skills

21. Ranger, Improved 2-Weapon Fighting, Great DexI (25)
22. Rogue
23. Rogue
24. Rogue. Dex 26, great Dex II(27)
25. Rogue
26. Rogue
27. Rogue, Great Dex III(28), Defensive Roll
28. Monk, Dex 29, Improved Evasion
29. Rogue
30. Rogue, Epic Dodge
31. Monk
32. Rogue, Dex 30, Crippling Strike
33. Rogue, SC I
34. Rogue
35. Rogue, SC II
36. Rogue, SCIII, Dex 31
37. Rogue
38. Monk
39. Monk, SC IV
40. Rogue, Dex 32, SC V, top out all skills

This build would be complete with some Strength gaining items and some enchanted Kukri's. He can self-buff himself with either Cat's Grace or Protection from Elements 30/-. It might be worth considering taking Slippery Mind over Crippling Strike. His Will Save is above average for a Rogue build, and he gets lots of bonuses from several sources to cover this, so I chose to go with Crippling against high DR opponents and quick healers. It might also be worth it to drop one SC feat for EWF. The +2 AB might actually be worth it.

Admittedly, the high Dex score and low everything else makes this character look very "1-trick pony". The fact of the matter is, he/she is extremely versatile. This character can crit quite often, and if you find some enchanted Kukris and some strength enhancing items, this build can do very well. Furthermore, he sneaks for 10d6 and has an animal companion that can sneak for 6d6. His AB is on par with most melee types, but his AC is way above and beyond what melee types will have. Further, his Epic Dodge and SC V will make him nigh unhittable combined with Improved Expertise turned on. In addition, his saves are way better than melee types.

Hit Points seem kind of low, and it may be something to consider taking Toughness instead of Luck of Heroes. My philosophy with Dex-types is, 'If I'm getting hit, I'm doing something wrong," so I ignored Toughness feats in the build. Saves are important to me, but figured there was a way to get good saves without having to take the obligatory Champion of Torm levels. My othe goal was to make a high defensive build without using Shadowdancer, and a good crit build that didn't rely on Weapon Master or overkill devastating critical.

Finally, I considered taking Fighter instead of Ranger. 8 levels of fighter would have netted me 5 feats. With that, I could have gained the TWF line of feats, weapon Specialization, and EWS. However, I felt this took some "colour" out of the build. The Ranger, in addition to the 3 feats it provides, gives a daily summon Panther/Dire Wolf, had good synergy with my Rogue skills, gained 2 favored enemies, and got more synergy with my Monk Wisdom opening up 2nd lvl Ranger spells. Perhaps I would get more mileage out of the Fighter, but the other goal is to have a build that isn't represented on the Epics page and, as far as I can tell, I see no Halfling Rogue/Monk/Rangers.

edited typo -- finny
_________________
Homer: Lisa, would you like a donut?
Lisa: No thanks. Do you have any fruit?
Homer: This has purple in it. Purple is a fruit.

Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/14/07 13:36

I like the build, and I like the concept and description - I cannot even come up with names for my builds, LOL!

One thing I would change is put one more point in INT to get additional skill points, this build has access to pretty much any skill available and should have a ton of skill points. Maybe pick one from STR, you won't be carrying heavy equipment anyway.

Nice.

EDIT: Hmmm.. you're missing Dodge, as far as i know thats a prereq. for Epic Dodge.

Edited By MartinJHolm on 05/09/05 15:00

Quote: Posted 05/09/05 14:46:57 (GMT) -- MartinJHolm

I like the build, and I like the concept and description - I cannot even come up with names for my builds, LOL!

One thing I would change is put one more point in INT to get additional skill points, this build has access to pretty much any skill available and should have a ton of skill points. Maybe pick one from STR, you won't be carrying heavy equipment anyway.

Nice.

Thanks MJ for the feedback. I really wanted that 14 Int, but I just couldn't gimp my Str any further. The build's weakness is damage output. If I took it from anywhere, I would take it from Wisdom, but I would lose 1 AC and 2nd level Ranger spell. No can do there either. I think the Rogue Tiger can still sleep at night with the 13 Int. He gets a crap load of Skill points anyway (another reason to take Ranger over Fighter), and I don't think I was missing those extra.
_________________
"Me fail English? That's unpossible." ---Ralph Wiggum The difference though between grabbing one from STR is that you can make up for that again with STR items, you will never be able to get the skill points later on. But then again that's just my preference. i say use kama's instead of kuri's, you get way more attacks. You lose critical threat range, get -4/-4 dualwield AB penalties as a halfling, and become a cheesey monk kama dualwielder then, however.
_________________
Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.