Okay, so, my Wood elf Rogue/thief just hit level 8 and I'm TORN as to what feat I should take. I have a 20 (rolled well) Dex already, the skulker feat from level 4, and my other stats are either an even number, or don't matter for the character/progression. I have a bunch of neat options for feats, and I'm REALLY torn on which one I want to take, so I might as well ask the community, see if anyone has any neat insight as to what to do.
FIRST, though, some information. Our campaign isn't REALLY combat heavy. My friends and I love the roll play aspect of D&D just as much as we like the combat, so while combat is fun and happens regularly, it's never overly hard to a point where highly optimized characters are a MUST... That being said, I, as a player, do like highly optimized characters because I find pushing characters beyond limits fun and exciting for me. It's usually in a highly specialized thing, though, so I don't outshine other players when THEY want to do cool things specific to their character as well. I am playing a socially anxious sniper, likes to stay at a range and not be a target.. Though Thief doesn't exactly fit the sniper roll that well, it was something that I wanted to try, especially with the newer "Steady Aim" action. She HAS been getting close in combat, though, recently, using the thief's fast hands ability to use slight of hand as a bonus action, and her +17 to slight of hand to basically "Pants people" in combat (and other useful trick). I am also working with the DM and one of the players to create a magic item that essentially just has a range of 600/1000... that's it... That's the magic, just... massive range. That will be obtained soon.
So... What options do I have that I'm thinking about? Well, first, I want to keep the character all martial, so no feats that add magic spells and stuff. This means feats like Fey/Shadowtouched and Woodelf magic are out. But there are still a ton of options like (In alphabetical order):
Alert: Okay, I feel like this is a quintessential "Rogue feat," just by flavor alone... And it works REALLY well for my character, who's skittish and always on edge/anxious about everything, plus the benefits are just *chef's kiss.* +5 Initiative is always fun, who doesn't like going first in combat most of the time? On top of the eventual level 17 thief ability to go again, this just is that much better! Not being surprised while conscious is always nice, and not providing targets advantage on attack because I can't see them makes it just fun both in combat and kinda RP wise. It's a feat that fits the character!
Athlete: Here's a feat that doesn't get looked at often, but with my rogue kinda being a parkour/free running theme (fits for the thief archetype) To a point of putting expertise into athletics, athlete just makes a ton of sense RP wise! That being said, I'd be doubling up on a one feature, and the bonus ASI wouldn't benefit me much. But standing for 5ft of movement, and long jump/high jump at 5ft, sounds pretty fun! It's also a good, rare, non-combat focused feat, which I feel is rarely looked at/taken.
Crossbow Expert: Okay, so, this is one of those feats that kinda looks good, just for the fact that my character is a ranged character, but also likes to steal things, so I might find myself in close combat a few times... But honestly? She's not exactly opposed to pulling out a good ol' dagger if she needs to be up close and personal. Plus, she's using a longbow at the moment, but will probably switch to a weapon that's KINDA like a crossbow (It's more a bowgun, really)
Elven Accuracy: Crit fishing, but it's easier with a rogue with steady aim. So it's definitely one of the more lacking in flavor for the character, but I AM making a highly accurate character, so it would make sense. Still, I feel this feat is just that much better on a character that can get expanded critical chances (I now want to see what an elven champion fighter would look like)
Fighting initiate: Fighting style! Ranged! More accuracy! Doesn't make sense RP wise, as she's not exactly one to go seek out training like this, but I mean, hit more!
Lucky: There's already one character in the party with this, so I'm not taking it... But thought I'd mention it just to acknowledge that yes, it is a thing
Mobile: Another fun option, +10ft to the wood elves already fast movement speed on a rogue that wants to stay away, rogues do be dashing a lot, and use melee to disengage is pretty nice as well. Would make for a very good way to kite monsters and the like if need be, and synergizes well with the thieves ability to hide with advantage when moving at half speed. A very strong options here.
Observant: This is KINDA like Alert, but more passive. Still fits the "Kinda always on edge, anxiety" type of character, but it feels a lot more chill. Still, the ability to read lips and have a higher passive perception and investigate makes a ton of sense on a thief rogue (though, usually our wizard is the one to investigate things)
Poisoner: Really only here because it's new and interesting. Anyone play with this? Is it any fun? While I don't think it fits my character, perse, it's still an option
Sharpshooter: THE quintessential "sniper" feat. This one seemed like a no brainer at first, right? But then I started to think. Range hasn't exactly been much of an issue honestly, so the ability to shoot at max range without disadvantage isn't THAT useful except in fringe cases. The ability to hit things kinda behind cover is what I'd REALLY be looking at this feat for, finding a nice spot, and then not having to worry about allies or rubble or anything other than full cover is always fun. Then the capstone of the feat isn't exactly the most useful for a rogue who already gets a ton of extra damage from sneak attack, and only gets one shot per round.... Though, the point is to get one powerful shot per round, it's still much better on, say, a fighter or range who gets more then one shot, making the +10 to damage hit that much harder!
Weapon Master: Okay, this is kinda a joke, but kinda not. There are a FEW weapons rogues can't use that I think would be absolutely wonderful for them to be able to use. Whips, nets, blowguns, and scimitars all come to mind, but honestly, might as well take a fighter level at that point.
So yea, TONS of options here, I'm LEANING towards Alert or Sharpshooter, they fit the character by way of idea and stuff very well, but things like Observant and Mobile are also REALLY good as well. I'm really struggling, so does anyone have any fun stories of their rogue using a feat that just made the situation a ton more dynamic and interesting?
Just as an aside, your Wood Elf starts with four weapon abilities that are duplicated by the Rogue (except for longbow) so you could trade out the other three for a tool proficiency (because shortbow is a simple weapon so it can't be traded for a martial weapon) and two other martial weapons. I usually pick scimitar and double-bladed scimitar since both are proficiencies Rogues don't have, and with the Revenant Blade feat that Elves can take the double-bladed scimitar becomes a finesse weapon so you can use it with sneak attack. Whip is another possible option. That does make Weapon Master redundant though.
Sharpshooter is, as I understand it, generally better on characters that get multiple attacks, which Rogues do not. Since you want to land one massive hit the penalty to hit is an impediment even if the +10 damage is nice.
Although Crossbow Expert is an obvious choice it might be the best one there. Alert does appear to be quite good though.
Thanks for the feedback! Yea, I didn't really care about the weapon proficiencies that Wood elves get when compared to rogues, as all I was looking for at the time of creation was the longbow proficiency. This is why I don't particularly care for weapon master, just seemed like an interesting choice as I was going down the feats.
I agree with Sharpshooter being better on characters with multiple attacks, I really am only looking at it for the ability to shoot at max range and shoot at targets behind partial cover. I envisioned my character to be a sniper, so it seems silly to not take that feat, but I agree that it would be suboptimal... That being said, maybe I could convince my DM to allow me to make called shots with Sharpshooter, not add damage, but shoot specific things, like hands and loose coin purses and stuff like that. Why isn't that a mechanic?
Crossbow Expert does seem obvious, but I'm nowhere near a front-line rogue, and I'm not using a crossbow, much less a hand crossbow, so it really makes it less desirable in my case. Honestly, one of the best feats for any other rogue, but my character would rather stay as far away from the enemy as possible.
Alert, though... Alert is one of those where it just seems to hit all of the marks. A jumpy character, bonus to initiative. It really is "Do I go with Sharpshooter to play into the sniper character, or Alert to play into the jumpy, paranoid character?"
Lucky and Elven Accuracy are always strong options.
Magic Initiate for Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade and a defensive spell like Shield can really up your damage and give you some more defense. You might even role play it as a sword style you've developed rather than full on magic.
I agree with Sharpshooter being better on characters with multiple attacks, I really am only looking at it for the ability to shoot at max range and shoot at targets behind partial cover.
Those benefits alone are often worthwhile for a sniper rogue. (Even better, if you're usually the only ranged-attack PC, you're even saving your DM the trouble of needing to think about partial cover for their characters and creatures.)
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Okay, so, my Wood elf Rogue/thief just hit level 8 and I'm TORN as to what feat I should take. I have a 20 (rolled well) Dex already, the skulker feat from level 4, and my other stats are either an even number, or don't matter for the character/progression. I have a bunch of neat options for feats, and I'm REALLY torn on which one I want to take, so I might as well ask the community, see if anyone has any neat insight as to what to do.
FIRST, though, some information. Our campaign isn't REALLY combat heavy. My friends and I love the roll play aspect of D&D just as much as we like the combat, so while combat is fun and happens regularly, it's never overly hard to a point where highly optimized characters are a MUST... That being said, I, as a player, do like highly optimized characters because I find pushing characters beyond limits fun and exciting for me. It's usually in a highly specialized thing, though, so I don't outshine other players when THEY want to do cool things specific to their character as well. I am playing a socially anxious sniper, likes to stay at a range and not be a target.. Though Thief doesn't exactly fit the sniper roll that well, it was something that I wanted to try, especially with the newer "Steady Aim" action. She HAS been getting close in combat, though, recently, using the thief's fast hands ability to use slight of hand as a bonus action, and her +17 to slight of hand to basically "Pants people" in combat (and other useful trick). I am also working with the DM and one of the players to create a magic item that essentially just has a range of 600/1000... that's it... That's the magic, just... massive range. That will be obtained soon.
So... What options do I have that I'm thinking about? Well, first, I want to keep the character all martial, so no feats that add magic spells and stuff. This means feats like Fey/Shadowtouched and Woodelf magic are out. But there are still a ton of options like (In alphabetical order):
Alert: Okay, I feel like this is a quintessential "Rogue feat," just by flavor alone... And it works REALLY well for my character, who's skittish and always on edge/anxious about everything, plus the benefits are just *chef's kiss.* +5 Initiative is always fun, who doesn't like going first in combat most of the time? On top of the eventual level 17 thief ability to go again, this just is that much better! Not being surprised while conscious is always nice, and not providing targets advantage on attack because I can't see them makes it just fun both in combat and kinda RP wise. It's a feat that fits the character!
Athlete: Here's a feat that doesn't get looked at often, but with my rogue kinda being a parkour/free running theme (fits for the thief archetype) To a point of putting expertise into athletics, athlete just makes a ton of sense RP wise! That being said, I'd be doubling up on a one feature, and the bonus ASI wouldn't benefit me much. But standing for 5ft of movement, and long jump/high jump at 5ft, sounds pretty fun! It's also a good, rare, non-combat focused feat, which I feel is rarely looked at/taken.
Crossbow Expert: Okay, so, this is one of those feats that kinda looks good, just for the fact that my character is a ranged character, but also likes to steal things, so I might find myself in close combat a few times... But honestly? She's not exactly opposed to pulling out a good ol' dagger if she needs to be up close and personal. Plus, she's using a longbow at the moment, but will probably switch to a weapon that's KINDA like a crossbow (It's more a bowgun, really)
Elven Accuracy: Crit fishing, but it's easier with a rogue with steady aim. So it's definitely one of the more lacking in flavor for the character, but I AM making a highly accurate character, so it would make sense. Still, I feel this feat is just that much better on a character that can get expanded critical chances (I now want to see what an elven champion fighter would look like)
Fighting initiate: Fighting style! Ranged! More accuracy! Doesn't make sense RP wise, as she's not exactly one to go seek out training like this, but I mean, hit more!
Lucky: There's already one character in the party with this, so I'm not taking it... But thought I'd mention it just to acknowledge that yes, it is a thing
Mobile: Another fun option, +10ft to the wood elves already fast movement speed on a rogue that wants to stay away, rogues do be dashing a lot, and use melee to disengage is pretty nice as well. Would make for a very good way to kite monsters and the like if need be, and synergizes well with the thieves ability to hide with advantage when moving at half speed. A very strong options here.
Observant: This is KINDA like Alert, but more passive. Still fits the "Kinda always on edge, anxiety" type of character, but it feels a lot more chill. Still, the ability to read lips and have a higher passive perception and investigate makes a ton of sense on a thief rogue (though, usually our wizard is the one to investigate things)
Poisoner: Really only here because it's new and interesting. Anyone play with this? Is it any fun? While I don't think it fits my character, perse, it's still an option
Sharpshooter: THE quintessential "sniper" feat. This one seemed like a no brainer at first, right? But then I started to think. Range hasn't exactly been much of an issue honestly, so the ability to shoot at max range without disadvantage isn't THAT useful except in fringe cases. The ability to hit things kinda behind cover is what I'd REALLY be looking at this feat for, finding a nice spot, and then not having to worry about allies or rubble or anything other than full cover is always fun. Then the capstone of the feat isn't exactly the most useful for a rogue who already gets a ton of extra damage from sneak attack, and only gets one shot per round.... Though, the point is to get one powerful shot per round, it's still much better on, say, a fighter or range who gets more then one shot, making the +10 to damage hit that much harder!
Weapon Master: Okay, this is kinda a joke, but kinda not. There are a FEW weapons rogues can't use that I think would be absolutely wonderful for them to be able to use. Whips, nets, blowguns, and scimitars all come to mind, but honestly, might as well take a fighter level at that point.
So yea, TONS of options here, I'm LEANING towards Alert or Sharpshooter, they fit the character by way of idea and stuff very well, but things like Observant and Mobile are also REALLY good as well. I'm really struggling, so does anyone have any fun stories of their rogue using a feat that just made the situation a ton more dynamic and interesting?
Just as an aside, your Wood Elf starts with four weapon abilities that are duplicated by the Rogue (except for longbow) so you could trade out the other three for a tool proficiency (because shortbow is a simple weapon so it can't be traded for a martial weapon) and two other martial weapons. I usually pick scimitar and double-bladed scimitar since both are proficiencies Rogues don't have, and with the Revenant Blade feat that Elves can take the double-bladed scimitar becomes a finesse weapon so you can use it with sneak attack. Whip is another possible option. That does make Weapon Master redundant though.
Sharpshooter is, as I understand it, generally better on characters that get multiple attacks, which Rogues do not. Since you want to land one massive hit the penalty to hit is an impediment even if the +10 damage is nice.
Although Crossbow Expert is an obvious choice it might be the best one there. Alert does appear to be quite good though.
Thanks for the feedback! Yea, I didn't really care about the weapon proficiencies that Wood elves get when compared to rogues, as all I was looking for at the time of creation was the longbow proficiency. This is why I don't particularly care for weapon master, just seemed like an interesting choice as I was going down the feats.
I agree with Sharpshooter being better on characters with multiple attacks, I really am only looking at it for the ability to shoot at max range and shoot at targets behind partial cover. I envisioned my character to be a sniper, so it seems silly to not take that feat, but I agree that it would be suboptimal... That being said, maybe I could convince my DM to allow me to make called shots with Sharpshooter, not add damage, but shoot specific things, like hands and loose coin purses and stuff like that. Why isn't that a mechanic?
Crossbow Expert does seem obvious, but I'm nowhere near a front-line rogue, and I'm not using a crossbow, much less a hand crossbow, so it really makes it less desirable in my case. Honestly, one of the best feats for any other rogue, but my character would rather stay as far away from the enemy as possible.
Alert, though... Alert is one of those where it just seems to hit all of the marks. A jumpy character, bonus to initiative. It really is "Do I go with Sharpshooter to play into the sniper character, or Alert to play into the jumpy, paranoid character?"
Lucky and Elven Accuracy are always strong options.
Magic Initiate for Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade and a defensive spell like Shield can really up your damage and give you some more defense. You might even role play it as a sword style you've developed rather than full on magic.
Observant/Alert have some roleplay potential too
Those benefits alone are often worthwhile for a sniper rogue. (Even better, if you're usually the only ranged-attack PC, you're even saving your DM the trouble of needing to think about partial cover for their characters and creatures.)