Playable from level 1 to 40... PvM

With the recent melee/archer builds ( Heraldic Highlander, The Bladed Archer V. 1 and The Bladed Archer v. 2 ), I figured I'd toss one of my own in for your consideration. Surprisingly, I had a ton of fun playing this one. It isn't uber, but it reminded of Shadowrun character I had who dual wielded knives and liked to sneak around with 50 calibre sniper rifle. I must say that with the addition of cloaks rogues look so much better now. The character has an AB of 42 with a bow or a mace, which is okay for an epic rogue (but not great). He has all of that rogue goodness, epic dodge, sneak attack, UMD, trap setting, etc. plus he has Hide in Plain Sight. Against enemies who are immune to sneak attacks he inflicts pretty good damage thanks to EWS and the bludgeoning damage of the mace. The build should do well solo or as team scout in PvM, he doesn't have the chops for PvP.

There are other Fighter/ Rogue/ Shadowdancers, too numerous to list, the closest would be pulse cap's Sneaky Sniper.

Advantages

-Hide in Plain Sight. I know, one level of shadowdancer is cheap, but why would a rogue ever need more than one?
-12D6 Sneak Attack with Crippling Strike. With Hide in Plain Sight and Knockdown he can generate critical hits against pretty much anything vulnerable to critical hits.
-Epic Dodge. It comes in a bit late, but without a racial modifier to dex you can't expect to get it too soon. His AC isn't stellar for a dex build, but it's still good to have the first attack miss.
-Able to set epic traps and disable epic traps. He can't recover epic traps, without an item that grants a +10 to disable trap, but he can set them if he gets them and he can recover all the other traps. With a 45 search he won't miss too many traps either.
-40 Use Magic Device. He can use magical equipment and scrolls from other classes.
-42 AB with a mace or a longbow. Not the greatest AB, about average for an epic rogue, but it is pretty good to have it both ranged and melee weapons that do different damage types. HiPS can also help you catch an opponent flat footed which helps a bit.
-Improved evasion with a good reflex save.

Disadvantages

-Low Hit Points. Just shy of 400, which isn't bad for this type of build, but it is compounded by the lowish AC.
-Lowish AC. For a Strength build it would be a great AC, for a dex build it leaves a lot to be desired.
-Low Fortitude and Will saves. Even with the spellcraft bonus they aren't great, he should be on the look out for items that can grant mind spell and death magic immunity.

Percussion and Strings

Race Human

Alignment Any

Base Attributes
STR 14
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 8

Attribute Bonuses
All 10 increase Dexterity

Final Level Distribution
Fighter 16
Rogue 23
Shadowdancer 1


Level Distribution and Feats
Level 1: (Rogue 1): Dodge, Knockdown
Level 2: (Fighter 1): Weapon Focus (Longbow)
Level 3: (Fighter 2): Weapon Focus (Mace), Weapon Finesse
Level 4: (Rogue 2)
Level 5: (Rogue 3)
Level 6: (Rogue 4): Point Blank Shot
Level 7: (Rogue 5)
Level 8: (Fighter 3)
Level 9: (Fighter 4): Weapon Specialization (Longbow), Weapon Specialization (Mace)
Level 10: (Fighter 5)
Level 11: (Fighter 6): Rapid Shot
Level 12: (Rogue 6): Ambidexterity
Level 13: (Fighter 7)
Level 14: (Fighter 8 ): Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 15: (Rogue 7): Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 16: (Fighter 9)
Level 17: (Rogue 8 )
Level 18: (Fighter 10): Mobility, Blind-Fight
Level 19: (Fighter 11)
Level 20: (Fighter 12): Improved Knockdown
Level 21: (Shadowdancer 1): Epic Weapon Focus (Longbow)
Level 22: (Rogue 9)
Level 23: (Rogue 10): Improved Evasion
Level 24: (Rogue 11): Epic Weapon Focus (Mace)
Level 25: (Fighter 13)
Level 26: (Rogue 12)
Level 27: (Rogue 13): Great Dexterity I, Defensive Roll
Level 28: (Rogue 14)
Level 29: (Rogue 15)
Level 30: (Fighter 14): Epic Weapon Specialization (Mace), Epic Weapon Specialization (Longbow)
Level 31: (Rogue 16): Crippling Strike
Level 32: (Rogue 17)
Level 33: (Rogue 18): Great Dexterity II
Level 34: (Rogue 19): Epic Dodge
Level 35: (Fighter 15)
Level 36: (Rogue 20): Great Dexterity III
Level 37: (Rogue 21)
Level 38: (Rogue 22)
Level 39: (Fighter 16): Epic Prowess, Great Dexterity IV
Level 40: (Rogue 23)

Final Attributes
STR 14
DEX 30
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 8

AB and Damage
(no buffs, mundane composite longbow)
42/37/32/27 8+1D6 (20 x3) +12D6 Sneak Attack
(40/40/35/30/25 8+1D6 (20 x3) +12D6 Sneak Attack with Rapid Shot)

(no buffs, two mundane maces)
40/35/30/25 8+1D6 (20 x2) +12D6 Sneak Attack
40/35 7+1D6 (20 x2) +12D6 Sneak Attack

(+12 to dexterity, +5 composite longbow, haste)
53/48/43/38/53 8+1D6 (20 x3) +12D6 Sneak Attack
(51/51/46/41/36/56 8+1D6 (20 X3) +12D6 Sneak Attack with Rapid Shot)

(+12 to dexterity, two +5 maces, haste)
51/46/41/36 13+1D6 (20 x2) +12D6 Sneak Attack
51/46 12+1D6 (20 x2) +12D6 Sneak Attack

AC
29 (no buffs, no equipment)
32 (no buffs, tower shield)
59 (+12 to dexterity, +5 Clothing, +5 Ring of Protection, +5 Amulet of Natural Armor, +5 Boots of the Sun Soul, Haste)
67 (As above with +5 tower shield)

Final Saves (Vs. Spells)
Fortitude 22 (26)
Reflex 30 (34)
Will 16 (20)

Hit Points 386 (max. every level)

Skillpoints 375
Disable Trap 34 (38) [DT]
Discipline 42 (44) [D]
Hide 43 (53) [H]
Move Silently 43 (53) [M]
Open Lock 20 (30) [O]
Search 43 (45) [S]
Set Trap 33 (45) [ST]
Spellcraft 18 (20) [SC]
Tumble 40 (50) [T]
Use Magic Device 41 (40) [U]


Skillpoint Distribution
Level 1: DT 4, H 4, M 4, O 4, S 4, ST 4, SC 2, T 4, U 4, Save 8
Level 2: D 5, Save 8
Level 3: D 1, SC 1, Save 10
Level 4: DT 3, H 3, M 3, O 2, S 2, ST 2, T 3, U 3
Level 5: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 1, S 1, ST 2, SC 1, T 1, U 1
Level 6: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 2, S 2, ST 1, T 1, U 1, Save 1
Level 7: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 1, S 1, ST 1, SC 1, T 1, U 1, Save 2
Level 8: D 5, Save 2
Level 9: D 1, SC 1, Save 4
Level 10: D 1, Save 8
Level 11: D 1, SC 1, Save 10
Level 12: H 5, M 5, O 1, T 5, U 5
Level 13: D 2, SC 1, Save 1
Level 14: D 1, Save 5
Level 15: DT 1, H 3, M 3, ST 1, SC 1, T 3, U 3
Level 16: D 2, Save 3
Level 17: DT 1, H 2, M 2, O 1, S 1, ST 1, SC 1, T 2, U 2
Level 18: D 2, Save 3
Level 19: D 1, SC 1, Save 5
Level 20: D 1, Save 9
Level 21: H 4, M 4, S 4, T 4, SC 1
Level 22: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 1, ST 1, T 1, U 5
Level 23: DT 2, H 1, M 1, O 1, ST 2, SC 1, T 1, U 1
Level 24: DT 2, H 1, M 1, O 1, ST 2, T 1, U 1, Save 2
Level 25: D 5, SC 1
Level 26: DT 1, H 2, M 2, O 1, ST 1, T 2, U 2
Level 27: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 1, S 2, ST 1, SC 1, T 1, U 1
Level 28: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 2, S 2, ST 2, T 1, U 1
Level 29: DT 1, H 1, M 1, O 1, S 2, ST 1, SC 1, T 1, U 1
Level 30: D 5
Level 31: DT 1, H 2, M 2, SC 1, T 2, U 2
Level 32: DT 2, H 1, M 1, S 3, ST 2, T 1, U 1
Level 33: DT 2, H 1, M 1, S 2, ST 1, SC 1, T 1, U 1
Level 34: DT 2, H 1, M 1, S 3, ST 2, T 1, U 1
Level 35: D 5
Level 36: DT 1, H 2, M 2, S 1, ST 1, T 2, U 2
Level 37: DT 2, H 1, M 1, S 3, ST 2, T 1, U 1
Level 38: DT 3, H 1, M 1, S 2, ST 3, U 1
Level 39: D 4, Save 1
Level 40: H 2, M 2, S 8
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Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do. Very nice!! Dual maces AND longbows!! You should have a high Intimidate for this one! Imagine seein this guy comin at you with 2 bludgeonin wpns then when you turn to run in fear you get arrows up your back! Thanks for puttin this out there!
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Quote: Posted 07/24/06 22:47:54 (GMT) -- FinneousPJ

You should listen to avado

As long as this guy can sneak-attack, he kills quickly. It's almost a masterpiece I think. I really liked this guy.
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Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG nicely done, as per your usual builds. something i thought of. you aren't too happy with the ab, ac and the saves. if one were so inclined one could drop dual wielding, pick up a shield (away when sneaking) and move around the pre-epic feats to fit in luck of heroes, great fortitude and toughness. this ups hp, melee ac, melee ab, fort +3 and others +1 at the expense of 2 attacks. probably not worth it due to the SA damage from the extra hits, but it was just a suggestion. I like it Mith. Looks good to me.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!! Me likes it, too (well done, Mith

Edited By TyrTemplar on 08/20/06 07:05

Well done Mith, a really nice build.

One could go FTR 18/Rogue 21 and grab AS as a FTR bonus feats together with +8 HPs at the cost of -12 skill points and -1d6 sneak attack.


Cheers,
Kail
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Unto to the darkness
I commend my soul
Never shall I repent
Never shall I be saved

I'll go into the House of Death
Before my last breath
My enemies all shall die! Thanks for all the feedback *blushes*.

@Christian: Good suggestions, but this build really needs around a +8 to fortitude and +12 to will.

@Kail: I had considered that very change. It would probably be worth it, because of the offensive focus of this character I had wanted as much sneak damage as I could get which was the reason I didn't take the extra fighter. Good eyes.
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Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.