As a new D&D player I'm still finding my bearings, but researching the most interesting build for my Rogue - both RP-wise and from a mechanical standpoint - has been incredibly fun.
For RP reasons I've chosen the Assassin Archetype (she be majorly broody, y'all), even though the Swashbuckler seems to have more useful/interesting features. But this made me wonder what Feats, taken instead of Ability Score Improvement, could work best to enhance the Rogue experience. So far I'm thinking Alert (for +5 to Initiative, useful for Assassinate + Sneak Attack) and Mobile (if you attack in melee, you don't provoke opportunity attacks, irrelevant of whether you hit or miss; plus I'm playing a halfling with 25 speed so the +10 speed would also help). I've also been thinking that Sentinel might be good for Rogues that fight in melee, while Sharpshooter and Skulker for Rogues that prefer ranged attacks, while remaining hidden.
What has been your experience? Or do you perhaps find that investing into higher Ability Scores is ultimately more profitable than taking out various Feats?
For Rogues, unless you're going for Hand XBow, its generally best to pump DEX first, considering how much we get out of it. We get +1 AC, Attack, Damage, Initiative, and skills
Skulker is a really good feat for Rogues, as it allows you to "hide in plain sight" in areas that are dimly lit because dim light counts as being lightly obscured. This means that you can bonus action to hide right in front of the enemy, so that you get advantage because you are attacking from stealth. Additionally, since you have advantage, you get sneak attack even if a party member is not within 5 feet of the target!
Skulker:
You can try to hide when you are lightly obscured from the creature from which you are hiding. (PHB 170)
Dim light:
Dim light, also called shadows, creates a lightly obscured area. An area of dim light is usually a boundary between a source of bright light, such as a torch, and surrounding darkness. The soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as dim light. A particularly brilliant full moon might bathe the land in dim light. (PHB 183)
Magic initiate? Minor illusion would possibly allow ur halfling yo create an illusory image to hide behind. Message useful for relaying scouting info to the party. Many other cantrips useful for utility or RP. Actor could dovetail nicely with assassin features. Skilled, if u wanna go skill monkey route. Resilient is always nice to bump a stat and gain prof in that stats save.
Don't let people make you feel like a good mechanic choice is a bad rp choice. Just acknowledge that your character wants to be the very best! Like no one ever was........ xbowxpert sharpshoiter are better then stat bump if you go shooter. You can really reach out and sneak some one. But close quarters your more capable then a two weapon rouge.
I think the alert feat is pretty important for an assassin. Your first round advantage only works on creatures who haven't acted yet, so doing everything you can to go first is a benefit.
As an Assassin, Alert and Skulker are the ones with the most synergy to your rogue abilities.
If you are a ranged sneak attacker, Sharpshooter is pretty much a requirement. It help avoid situations that would take away your advantage for sneak attacks, and since you don't get a lot of attacks like fighters, the added damage bonus on easier-to-hit enemies is huge. Mobile is also VERY handy because it allows you to maintain a range which melee enemies with the typical 30' movement cannot swing at you. Simply disengage as your rogue bonus action, move away 40' (or 35' in the case of your little guy), and fire. They will never be able to move to you and swing, because they will always be taking their dash action just to keep up.
If you plan on staying in melee, Defensive Duelist and Dual Wielder are very good. The first helps keep you alive, while the second is great because it allows you to use rapiers in each hand for 1d8 damage instead of 1d6. Dual Wielding with or without the feat is required, because if you miss your first hit, your offhand could still give you sneak attack... making your damage a LOT more consistent than if you only had one weapon. My experience with Sentinel is that it is not the best for rogues, because it tends to make the enemy focus on hitting you, rather than the tank (because if he swings at anyone but you, you get to stab him again) and being the enemy's first target is not something rogues tend to like.
@FinleyFair The advantage on Deception checks of the Actor feat could come in handy with a rogue that has to lie a lot, but I'm not sure how its overall benefits compare to more battle-oriented feats. Having Message as a Magic Initiate would be very helpful - since rogues are often the scouts and need to relay information back to the party - and you've definitely made me consider it (even though I sort of want to multiclass into cleric in the future, so will have access to various spells through that). Illusory magic could come in handy as well, though halflings already can hide behind creatures of a size larger (ie. other party members) thanks to their diminutive form.
@Haeze Thanks for the write-up - it is very much in line with my train of thought. Good call on the Sentinel raising the chance of provoking enemy attacks - I did not think of that and really appreciate the heads up. I would love to go into a ranged rogue, but for RP reasons I'm staying away from bows/crossbows, so I'm left with daggers and unfortunately picking those up after each encounter is a real chore (not to mention when you run out of stuff to throw). So I'm sticking to melee. And I've definitely considered both Defensive Duelist and Dual Wielder -I fight with rapier&dagger combo and would love the AC bonus - but with choosing Mobile and Alert that doesn't leave much room for ASI (bumping up DEX would be useful). Maybe multiclassing into Fighter for a level or two (for Two Weapon Fighting style + Second Wind, maybe Action Surge) would be a good idea?
"...I've also been thinking that Sentinel might be good for Rogues that fight in melee..."
The only downside I see to Sentinel is that it puts that enemy near you if you stop them. If you're killing them outright with an additional sneak attack, that's a different story. But an Ogre with 1hp still hits as hard as one at full health.
I really like the idea of grabbing Martial Adept for the Superiority dice and two maneuvers. Additionally, Lucky is thematic and fits the archetype, in my opinion.
Who doesn't love a guaranteed sneak attack? I say magic initiate Assassin is something amazing- if you properly capitalize on one of the most overlooked cantrips in the game.
TRUE STRIKE!
For a low level Rogue who cannot guarantee advantage on their every roll, a party could do very well to cast true strike before charging or sneaking into a room, just incase they are seen- the rogue can still sneak attack.
Who doesn't love a guaranteed sneak attack? I say magic initiate Assassin is something amazing- if you properly capitalize on one of the most overlooked cantrips in the game.
TRUE STRIKE!
For a low level Rogue who cannot guarantee advantage on their every roll, a party could do very well to cast true strike before charging or sneaking into a room, just incase they are seen- the rogue can still sneak attack.
Unfortunately true strike only works for your next attack, with illusions you can have something to give you advantage for a duration or until it get hits/perceived which I believe is an action in itself or an an attack, either way there are other cantrips that give a longer advantage then true strike and require an action from an opponent to deal with which may give you an opportunity to SA again
Who doesn't love a guaranteed sneak attack? I say magic initiate Assassin is something amazing- if you properly capitalize on one of the most overlooked cantrips in the game.
TRUE STRIKE!
For a low level Rogue who cannot guarantee advantage on their every roll, a party could do very well to cast true strike before charging or sneaking into a room, just incase they are seen- the rogue can still sneak attack.
Unfortunately true strike only works for your next attack, with illusions you can have something to give you advantage for a duration or until it get hits/perceived which I believe is an action in itself or an an attack, either way there are other cantrips that give a longer advantage then true strike and require an action from an opponent to deal with which may give you an opportunity to SA again
Doesn't adjacent ally (find familiar) or swashbuckler's rakish audacity give free sneak attack?
Magic initiate has some perks that lend itself to the Rogue class. The wizard spell-caster class has some very useful options. I think the Bladeward and True Strike cantrips are pretty solid, depending on what you're going for. mage hand could be a useful one as well or maybe Green Flame Blade. Though there are some decently potent level 1 spells, I feel the most useful spell for a rogue is Find Familiar.
The summoned familiar cannot attack but can take other actions as normal. The help action can be taken to give your rogue advantage on the attack and it can also count as an ally within 5" of target. The Owl familiar has a very helpful advantage in that it can move away from an enemy without initiating an opportunity attack.
It can increase the situations in which you can use sneak attack damage and gain advantage on the attack roll.
Alert: These perks are useful for any class, really, but the +5 to Initiative is pretty much mandatory for Assassins.
Crossbow Expert: Lets you ignore the loading property so you can draw ammunition as part of the attack. Taken with the feat's third property, a rogue armed with a hand crossbow can fire twice in one turn, although you need one hand free to handle the ammo. One of the few ways a rogue can get multiple attack rolls (without multiclassing for 5 levels).
Defensive Duelist: This can potentially be one of the best defensive feats at high level, but note that it competes with Uncanny Dodge for your reaction, it only protects against one melee attack per round, and it also doesn't protect against critical hits. If your DM rolls dice in the open and you don't mind the overlap, you can use this for regular hits and Uncanny Dodge for crits to save a lot of damage.
Dual Wielder: Remember, if you take this to optimize melee damage, you won't be able to use Cunning Action to disengage behind your meatshield. Better for Swashbucklers as they can use Fleet of Foot instead.
Lucky: Another feat that's universally useful for any class. Note that this doesn't grant advantage, just an extra d20, so it doesn't work with Sneak Attack.
Magic Initiate: Get hex and don't look back. The target won't know you've placed a hex on it (pg. 204) so casting this from hiding won't break surprise, and since initiative counts as a dexterity check this is great for Assassins to set up assassinate/death strike! Hex can also last multiple encounters (as long as you don't travel or take a short rest) because you can re-target it anytime after the initial target dies within the 1 hour duration. If you prefer a divine flavor, guidance, resistance and bless are solid selections from the cleric list; you don't even need any Wis to make them work. There's also find familiar; choose an owl to get a flying scout and the flyby help actions.
Resilient: Choose Con and by 15th level you will be proficient in all 3 big saves. This works best if your character starts off with an odd Con stat.
Sentinel: On paper, more opportunity attacks = more Sneak Attacks (as long as SA conditions are met), however this is quite risky as monsters will probably just end up focusing on you. Great if your party has a way of directing who your enemy attacks (ie Goading Attack maneuver, etc). Remember that Sentinel attacks resolve after the triggering attack (DMG p. 252) so you can only avenge your friend's death, not prevent it.
Sharpshooter: Excellent when paired with Crossbow Expert to extend the hand crossbow's paltry range. Also works well for Assassins with Skulker. This way your assassinate/death strike will do plenty more damage with less risk if you miss.
Skulker: Pretty decent for sniping. There's a bit of overlap though for Wood Elves and Lightfoot Halflings. I'd usually just take Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter, unless I was playing an Assassin - missing with an assassination opener is frustrating, but at least they won't know where you are, and you might even get to try again if they didn't hear the arrow.
I also play a halfling rogue, though I went the Arcane Trickster route. Since I rolled really well, I went with a feat instead of ability score increase and took lucky, which with a halfling's normal luckiness, gives me even more chances to succeed (I can, three times per long rest, basically give myself advantage on a roll or the enemy disadvantage on an attack roll after rolling but before knowing the outcome). Defensive duelist lets you add your proficiency to your AC when you are attacked while wielding a finesse weapon. Skulker is goes for sneaking, Dungeon Delver is fantastic if you face a lot of trapped areas. Dual Wielder would also be a good one, since it would let you use two rapiers, and gives you a +1 to AC when dual wielding.
Nobody taking the party-oriented Bountiful Luck? Taking critical failures off of your party members when they are near you and letting them reroll is a game changer for party combat and RP dynamics.
Lucky. It lets you reroll initiative when you have to, reroll hit when you have to (assassin really like to hit in first round), and it gives you a boost to any save you have to make when you really need to.
for a prepared assassin, anything that reduces uncertainty is great - lucky does.
This is dependant on whether you have put expertise into these or not but "Observant" is one I always have on my Rogue, as the buff to the passive perception and investigation is crucial when scoping out a location/dungeon. With expertise and no ASI, your passives can get crazy high, about 25-30. This lets you notice most "hidden" doors upon entering a room.
Plus, being able to lip-read is nice when at planning for a target.
I like the Magic initiate Couple Mold Earth with Minor Illusion and you have the makings of an excellent trap. That minor illusion can be an excellent way to create a distraction while your Rogue goes the other way too.
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As a new D&D player I'm still finding my bearings, but researching the most interesting build for my Rogue - both RP-wise and from a mechanical standpoint - has been incredibly fun.
For RP reasons I've chosen the Assassin Archetype (she be majorly broody, y'all), even though the Swashbuckler seems to have more useful/interesting features. But this made me wonder what Feats, taken instead of Ability Score Improvement, could work best to enhance the Rogue experience. So far I'm thinking Alert (for +5 to Initiative, useful for Assassinate + Sneak Attack) and Mobile (if you attack in melee, you don't provoke opportunity attacks, irrelevant of whether you hit or miss; plus I'm playing a halfling with 25 speed so the +10 speed would also help). I've also been thinking that Sentinel might be good for Rogues that fight in melee, while Sharpshooter and Skulker for Rogues that prefer ranged attacks, while remaining hidden.
What has been your experience? Or do you perhaps find that investing into higher Ability Scores is ultimately more profitable than taking out various Feats?
For Rogues, unless you're going for Hand XBow, its generally best to pump DEX first, considering how much we get out of it. We get +1 AC, Attack, Damage, Initiative, and skills
Skulker is a really good feat for Rogues, as it allows you to "hide in plain sight" in areas that are dimly lit because dim light counts as being lightly obscured. This means that you can bonus action to hide right in front of the enemy, so that you get advantage because you are attacking from stealth. Additionally, since you have advantage, you get sneak attack even if a party member is not within 5 feet of the target!
Skulker:
Dim light:
Magic initiate? Minor illusion would possibly allow ur halfling yo create an illusory image to hide behind. Message useful for relaying scouting info to the party. Many other cantrips useful for utility or RP. Actor could dovetail nicely with assassin features. Skilled, if u wanna go skill monkey route. Resilient is always nice to bump a stat and gain prof in that stats save.
Don't let people make you feel like a good mechanic choice is a bad rp choice. Just acknowledge that your character wants to be the very best! Like no one ever was........ xbowxpert sharpshoiter are better then stat bump if you go shooter. You can really reach out and sneak some one. But close quarters your more capable then a two weapon rouge.
I think the alert feat is pretty important for an assassin. Your first round advantage only works on creatures who haven't acted yet, so doing everything you can to go first is a benefit.
As an Assassin, Alert and Skulker are the ones with the most synergy to your rogue abilities.
If you are a ranged sneak attacker, Sharpshooter is pretty much a requirement. It help avoid situations that would take away your advantage for sneak attacks, and since you don't get a lot of attacks like fighters, the added damage bonus on easier-to-hit enemies is huge. Mobile is also VERY handy because it allows you to maintain a range which melee enemies with the typical 30' movement cannot swing at you. Simply disengage as your rogue bonus action, move away 40' (or 35' in the case of your little guy), and fire. They will never be able to move to you and swing, because they will always be taking their dash action just to keep up.
If you plan on staying in melee, Defensive Duelist and Dual Wielder are very good. The first helps keep you alive, while the second is great because it allows you to use rapiers in each hand for 1d8 damage instead of 1d6. Dual Wielding with or without the feat is required, because if you miss your first hit, your offhand could still give you sneak attack... making your damage a LOT more consistent than if you only had one weapon. My experience with Sentinel is that it is not the best for rogues, because it tends to make the enemy focus on hitting you, rather than the tank (because if he swings at anyone but you, you get to stab him again) and being the enemy's first target is not something rogues tend to like.
@FinleyFair
The advantage on Deception checks of the Actor feat could come in handy with a rogue that has to lie a lot, but I'm not sure how its overall benefits compare to more battle-oriented feats. Having Message as a Magic Initiate would be very helpful - since rogues are often the scouts and need to relay information back to the party - and you've definitely made me consider it (even though I sort of want to multiclass into cleric in the future, so will have access to various spells through that). Illusory magic could come in handy as well, though halflings already can hide behind creatures of a size larger (ie. other party members) thanks to their diminutive form.
@Haeze
Thanks for the write-up - it is very much in line with my train of thought. Good call on the Sentinel raising the chance of provoking enemy attacks - I did not think of that and really appreciate the heads up.
I would love to go into a ranged rogue, but for RP reasons I'm staying away from bows/crossbows, so I'm left with daggers and unfortunately picking those up after each encounter is a real chore (not to mention when you run out of stuff to throw). So I'm sticking to melee. And I've definitely considered both Defensive Duelist and Dual Wielder -I fight with rapier&dagger combo and would love the AC bonus - but with choosing Mobile and Alert that doesn't leave much room for ASI (bumping up DEX would be useful). Maybe multiclassing into Fighter for a level or two (for Two Weapon Fighting style + Second Wind, maybe Action Surge) would be a good idea?
Who doesn't love a guaranteed sneak attack? I say magic initiate Assassin is something amazing- if you properly capitalize on one of the most overlooked cantrips in the game.
TRUE STRIKE!
For a low level Rogue who cannot guarantee advantage on their every roll, a party could do very well to cast true strike before charging or sneaking into a room, just incase they are seen- the rogue can still sneak attack.
For my attack I will throw my spear...two handed...for 1d8...
Free sneak attack, but not advantage.
Magic initiate has some perks that lend itself to the Rogue class. The wizard spell-caster class has some very useful options. I think the Bladeward and True Strike cantrips are pretty solid, depending on what you're going for. mage hand could be a useful one as well or maybe Green Flame Blade. Though there are some decently potent level 1 spells, I feel the most useful spell for a rogue is Find Familiar.
The summoned familiar cannot attack but can take other actions as normal. The help action can be taken to give your rogue advantage on the attack and it can also count as an ally within 5" of target. The Owl familiar has a very helpful advantage in that it can move away from an enemy without initiating an opportunity attack.
It can increase the situations in which you can use sneak attack damage and gain advantage on the attack roll.
Two pennies.
Alert: These perks are useful for any class, really, but the +5 to Initiative is pretty much mandatory for Assassins.
Crossbow Expert: Lets you ignore the loading property so you can draw ammunition as part of the attack. Taken with the feat's third property, a rogue armed with a hand crossbow can fire twice in one turn, although you need one hand free to handle the ammo. One of the few ways a rogue can get multiple attack rolls (without multiclassing for 5 levels).
Defensive Duelist: This can potentially be one of the best defensive feats at high level, but note that it competes with Uncanny Dodge for your reaction, it only protects against one melee attack per round, and it also doesn't protect against critical hits. If your DM rolls dice in the open and you don't mind the overlap, you can use this for regular hits and Uncanny Dodge for crits to save a lot of damage.
Dual Wielder: Remember, if you take this to optimize melee damage, you won't be able to use Cunning Action to disengage behind your meatshield. Better for Swashbucklers as they can use Fleet of Foot instead.
Lucky: Another feat that's universally useful for any class. Note that this doesn't grant advantage, just an extra d20, so it doesn't work with Sneak Attack.
Magic Initiate: Get hex and don't look back. The target won't know you've placed a hex on it (pg. 204) so casting this from hiding won't break surprise, and since initiative counts as a dexterity check this is great for Assassins to set up assassinate/death strike! Hex can also last multiple encounters (as long as you don't travel or take a short rest) because you can re-target it anytime after the initial target dies within the 1 hour duration. If you prefer a divine flavor, guidance, resistance and bless are solid selections from the cleric list; you don't even need any Wis to make them work. There's also find familiar; choose an owl to get a flying scout and the flyby help actions.
Resilient: Choose Con and by 15th level you will be proficient in all 3 big saves. This works best if your character starts off with an odd Con stat.
Sentinel: On paper, more opportunity attacks = more Sneak Attacks (as long as SA conditions are met), however this is quite risky as monsters will probably just end up focusing on you. Great if your party has a way of directing who your enemy attacks (ie Goading Attack maneuver, etc). Remember that Sentinel attacks resolve after the triggering attack (DMG p. 252) so you can only avenge your friend's death, not prevent it.
Sharpshooter: Excellent when paired with Crossbow Expert to extend the hand crossbow's paltry range. Also works well for Assassins with Skulker. This way your assassinate/death strike will do plenty more damage with less risk if you miss.
Skulker: Pretty decent for sniping. There's a bit of overlap though for Wood Elves and Lightfoot Halflings. I'd usually just take Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter, unless I was playing an Assassin - missing with an assassination opener is frustrating, but at least they won't know where you are, and you might even get to try again if they didn't hear the arrow.
Taken from here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468837-A-Knife-in-the-Dark-A-Rogues-Handbook
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I also play a halfling rogue, though I went the Arcane Trickster route. Since I rolled really well, I went with a feat instead of ability score increase and took lucky, which with a halfling's normal luckiness, gives me even more chances to succeed (I can, three times per long rest, basically give myself advantage on a roll or the enemy disadvantage on an attack roll after rolling but before knowing the outcome). Defensive duelist lets you add your proficiency to your AC when you are attacked while wielding a finesse weapon. Skulker is goes for sneaking, Dungeon Delver is fantastic if you face a lot of trapped areas. Dual Wielder would also be a good one, since it would let you use two rapiers, and gives you a +1 to AC when dual wielding.
Nobody taking the party-oriented Bountiful Luck? Taking critical failures off of your party members when they are near you and letting them reroll is a game changer for party combat and RP dynamics.
If you’re playing Ranged based rouge Skulker Crossbow Expert Sharpshooter
If you’re playing a Melee based rouge I like Defensive duelist If you’re CON isn’t high. Mobile is Amazing for Assassins.
At the end of the day it’s your character and your play style is definitely different from mine.
Lucky. It lets you reroll initiative when you have to, reroll hit when you have to (assassin really like to hit in first round), and it gives you a boost to any save you have to make when you really need to.
for a prepared assassin, anything that reduces uncertainty is great - lucky does.
This is dependant on whether you have put expertise into these or not but "Observant" is one I always have on my Rogue, as the buff to the passive perception and investigation is crucial when scoping out a location/dungeon. With expertise and no ASI, your passives can get crazy high, about 25-30. This lets you notice most "hidden" doors upon entering a room.
Plus, being able to lip-read is nice when at planning for a target.
I like the Magic initiate Couple Mold Earth with Minor Illusion and you have the makings of an excellent trap. That minor illusion can be an excellent way to create a distraction while your Rogue goes the other way too.