Well, it has been some time since I made any characterbuilds at all so forgive me any mistakes I've made. In this build I've tried to alter the Rouge Archer epic build.

The Rogue Archer had its focus in making an archer with huge sneak attack damage. But it lacked some in defense.

What I wanted to try was to integrate Self Concealment 5 as early as possible in the build, but also move the Epic Weapon Specialization and HiPS so they would be gained a little earlier than in the original build, to make leveling easier for those trying to play this build from level 1 to 40.

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Here it is, the Ethereal Archer
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Race Halfling

Class Rogue(31), Fighter(8), Shadowdancer(1)

Abilies STR: 10
DEX: 20 (33)
CON: 12
WIS: 8
INT: 14
CHA: 8

Halfling: (Fearless, Good Aim, Lucky, Skill Affinity: Listen, Skill Affinity: Move Silently, Small Stature)

1: Rogue(1): Luck of Heroes
2: Fighter(1): Point Blank Shot
3: Fighter(2): Weapon Focus: Shortbow, Dodge
4: Rogue(2): DEX+1, {Evasion}, (DEX=21)
5: Rogue(3): {Uncanny Dodge I}
6: Fighter(3): Mobility
7: Fighter(4): Weapon Specialization: Shortbow
8: Rogue(4): DEX+1, (DEX=22)
9: Rogue(5): Blind Fight
10: Rogue(6)
11: Rogue(7)
12: Rogue(8): DEX+1, Improved Critical: Shortbow, (DEX=23)
13: Rogue(9)
14: Rogue(10): Improved Evasion
15: Rogue(11): Toughness
16: Rogue(12): DEX+1, (DEX=24)
17: Rogue(13): Defensive Roll
18: Shadowdancer(1): -UNUSED FEAT-, {Hide in Plain Sight}
19: Rogue(14)
20: Fighter(5): DEX+1, (DEX=25)
21: Fighter(6): Great Dexterity I, Epic Weapon Focus: Shortbow, (DEX=26)
22: Rogue(15)
23: Rogue(16): Epic Dodge
24: Fighter(7): DEX+1, Great Dexterity II, (DEX=28)
25: Fighter(8): Epic Weapon Specialization: Shortbow
26: Rogue(17)
27: Rogue(18): Great Dexterity III, (DEX=29)
28: Rogue(19): DEX+1, Self Concealment I, (DEX=30)
29: Rogue(20)
30: Rogue(21): Self Concealment II
31: Rogue(22)
32: Rogue(23): DEX+1, (DEX=31)
33: Rogue(24): Self Concealment III, Self Concealment IV
34: Rogue(25)
35: Rogue(26)
36: Rogue(27): DEX+1, Self Concealment V, (DEX=32)
37: Rogue(28): -UNUSED ROGUE BONUS FEAT-
38: Rogue(29)
39: Rogue(30): -UNUSED FEAT-
40: Rogue(31): DEX+1, (DEX=33)

There are three unused feats where you can choose whatever feat that you need at the point, one at level 18, one at level 37 and one at level 39.

I could recommend:
Iron Will, Called Shot or Rapid Shot at level 18.
Improved Sneak Attack, Skill Mastery or Slippery Mind at level 37.
Improved Sneak Attack, Armor Skin or Epic Will at lvl 39.

Hitpoints: 354
Skillpoints: 380
Saving Throws (Fortitude/Will/Reflex): 21/16/35
Saving Throw bonuses: Traps: +5, Fear: +2
BAB: 25

I haven't tried this build yet and didn't want to bother with the calculations, so I don't know what the total AB with a Shortbow is or what the naked AC is. But it shouldn't be too bad.

How to put the skill points is up to the player, but 354 points should cover mostly anything.

Just remember to max out Hide and Move Silently since they are needed for self concealment, also putting 40ranks in tumble will net you +8 AC which shouldn't be forgotten with a build like this either.

Note:
This build only got 16d6 sneak attack, 18d6 if the unused feats at lvl 37 and 39 are used to get the improved sneak attack epic feats. Compare to the original Rogue Archer that had 27d6 sneak attack this might seem small, but it would still hurt your enemies a fair amount. Considering you get SC5 instead I don't think it's a bad trade-off.

Comments?

Edited By Kail Pendragon on 03/21/09 16:21

Just took a quick glance, but looks pretty good, considering what you're trying to achieve.

A couple points:

1) You're ending with an odd numbered DEX score, which is pretty much a bad idea. So use that level 39 feat for Great DEX to end up with 34 DEX in the build.

2) I'd suggest grabbing Rapid Shot. Never hurts to have another opportunity to land a sneak attack in the round.

3) Since you're getting your SD level late anyway, I'd suggest moving it into epic levels and taking your 15th Rogue level pre-epic. This will make your character FTR 5/Rogue 15 at level 20, which gives you +16 BAB and 4 attacks.

4) When 1.69 comes out, your build will be illegal, as you'll require 30 ranks in Tumble for Epic Dodge, which means the earliest you can take it will be level 27. No big deal right now, but it's something to consider.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!
Quote: Posted 06/10/08 15:01 (GMT) -- Sten 87
I haven't tried this build yet and didn't want to bother with the calculations
Which is against the posting rules *points to the announcement above no tto say to the link in the acceptance message*

Please do test the build and PM me or one of the moderators the missing info so we can edit it in. Thank you.
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Epic Character Builds Posting Rules
Quote: Posted 06/10/08 18:01 (GMT) -- Cinnabar Din

Just took a quick glance, but looks pretty good, considering what you're trying to achieve.

A couple points:

1) You're ending with an odd numbered DEX score, which is pretty much a bad idea. So use that level 39 feat for Great DEX to end up with 34 DEX in the build.

2) I'd suggest grabbing Rapid Shot. Never hurts to have another opportunity to land a sneak attack in the round.

3) Since you're getting your SD level late anyway, I'd suggest moving it into epic levels and taking your 15th Rogue level pre-epic. This will make your character FTR 5/Rogue 15 at level 20, which gives you +16 BAB and 4 attacks.

4) When 1.69 comes out, your build will be illegal, as you'll require 30 ranks in Tumble for Epic Dodge, which means the earliest you can take it will be level 27. No big deal right now, but it's something to consider.

Ah yeah, I was thinking about putting in another point to dex, but since it can be boosted by items I choose to leave it optional. I rarely play any build to level 40 anyway, thats also the reason why I want my builds to be quite strong earlier in the game.

As you say I missed the fact that my BAB dropped by one when I put the SD level pre-epic. Which lost me the 4th attack. Putting the SD level on level 22 instead of on level 18 will fix that.

Rapid shot was in the original Rogue Archer and it is undoubtedly a good feat, I always forget to use it though so I left it optional. Not to mention that this builds weakest point is its low willsave, so Iron Will wouldn't be too bad either.

About this character becoming illegal after 1.69 I had completely no idea. It isn't a too big problem though since it only mean a switch of the lvl 23 and lvl 37 feats. Getting an optional feat at level 23 and epic dodge at 37. Its a pain to have to wait 14 more levels to get epic dodge, but i guess thats how it works

Anyway, big thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it a lot.
Quote: Posted 06/10/08 18:18 (GMT) -- Kail Pendragon

Quote: Posted 06/10/08 15:01 (GMT) -- Sten 87
I haven't tried this build yet and didn't want to bother with the calculations
Which is against the posting rules *points to the announcement above no tto say to the link in the acceptance message*

Please do test the build and PM me or one of the moderators the missing info so we can edit it in. Thank you.

oops!
sorry, I'm planning to test it, just haven't got NWN installed on my computer at the moment, planning on installing it tomorrow. If I don't I will crack the numbers and send them to you... Didn't mean to break the rules...

EDIT:
I've now tested the build in Kamiryn’s Character Build Calculator spreadsheet which gives me this result:
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AB (max, naked): 27 (melee), 41 (ranged)
AC (naked/mundane armor/shield only): 30/32
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that ranged AB is not with a bow though since I can't put a weapon in the hand of the character in that document. Still it's better than nothing.

The build seems to be legal for now, I've swapped the SD level at 18 with the rogue level at 22 to keep it legal after the 1.69 patch.

Edited By Sten 87 on 06/10/08 18:58