I want to play a Drow Rogue, but I want the quintessential “magical ninja” experience, maybe like a Nightblade from Elder Scrolls Online.
Highlights would be:
Stealth
Invisibility
Dual-Wielding and Ranged
Teleportation
Huge Burst/Nova
My initial instincts were Assassination Rogue 14/ Way of the Shadow Monk 6 for the Shadow Teleport but while it looks great on paper seems to be clunky in execution. You wouldn’t get Shadow Teleport until level 9 if you hit Rogue 3 and went immediately for it, and I’m just not sure it would be a fun experience the entire way through from level 1 to whenever.
How would you go about building your favorite version of our Japanese Assassin with mystical powers, suddenly appearing behind you from the shadows?
I don't know anything about the intended campaign, but most campaigns don't make it anywhere near to level 20, so I caution against looking too much at level 20 builds and encourage you to focus more on the level that you'll be starting play and the levels immediately after that.
As you identified, the Way of the Shadow monk is clearly designed to play on the "hollywood style" ninja and would be my personal choice for such a character, though as with all monks, they mostly rely on martial arts for damage, rather than weapons, though it's worth noting that monks start off with proficiency in "unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property."
The monk ability to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action is mostly superior to dual-wielding weapons, as it gain the stat bonus to damage (something that duel-wielding doesn't unless you take the "Two weapon fighting" fighting style from fighter/ranger class).
A totally different direction could be to multiclass Rogue & Warlock, with the ninja powers coming from some dark patron.
I don't think you're not going to find a build that checks off every single element on that list; "huge burst/nova" usually requires very specialized builds and trying to grab the other bullet points will usually lower your nova potential.
The closest to what you want is probably going full Hexblade with Pact of the Blade. You'll have access to Invisibility and Misty Step, early on, though using either one will cut into your burst damage. You can nova with smite spells and Eldritch Smite once you're high enough level. Relentless Hex lets you teleport, but only against the target of Hexblade's Curse and you have to teleport within 5 feet of them. At 15th level, you can cast Invisibility at will with Shrowd of Shadow. You can use TWF with your pact weapon and a different weapon you touch with the Hex Warrior feature. You could add 3 Rogue levels for Assassinate, but you'd be delaying access to Shrowd of Shadow if you do it before 15th level, and access to higher level spell slots if you do it before 9th level.
You can go full Rogue for consistently high damage every round and the occasional nova when you surprise enemies, but you won't have invisibility or teleporting and every level you spend on another class lowers your Sneak Attack potential. Going Shadar-Kai or Eladrin would let you teleport once per short rest.
You can go Way of the Shadow for constant teleporting and awesome stealth, but won't have Invisibility, TWF will be inferior to Martial Arts unless you take 1 level in Fighter, and your burst damage will be limited.
To get what you want the "fastest" you may want to start with monk for 6 levels--you'll get Shadow Step and 3 possible attacks per round. You still get that ninja feel and won't feel left behind as the rest of your party gets their higher level powers. The rogue's sneak attack damage, however much you want to invest in that, later on is like icing on the cake.
A bunch of the subclasses would help do some of the things you want to do. Assassin for critical hit potential (giving you that burst damage on surprise attacks), Swashbuckler for added mobility and more ways to use sneak attack (as in you can use it vs targets without nearby allies. Teleport across the battlefield and still use sneak attack). Arcane trickster could be a way to get invisibility and other spells if you don't mind investing at least 7 levels in rogue.
Gloom stalker 5 and Shadow Monk 6=level 11. Pretty realistic to get there. After that scout (or what ever suits your play style) rouge the rest of the way up. Paying that right now, damn my dude is a beast... in dim light/darkness. In lighted close quarters.. he holds his own. A “nova” on this first round of combat. But decent after that. However extremely useful in social interactions and exploration.
Altogether a well rounded character. Couldn't be happier playing threw as him. As far as progression. It seems every level i gain some sort of awesome and unique (thing) and never really a dead level.
I have been playing with a design based on things only in the PHB. It seems that Eldritch Knight8/Arcane Trickster12 might fit much of your needs, and you can pick up Misty Step at level 8 for teleportation (with a cloud of mist) in addition you have expertise, cunning action, fighting style(two weapon if you want) uncanny dodge, evasion, and with war magic at level 7 fighter, you can cast a cantrip and make a melee attack as a bonus. With abilities like ray of frost (target move -10 ft), chill touch (Target can't heal) shocking grasp (target can't take reactions, and fire bolt (flammables catch fire) The build seems very versatile. You even end up with 7 stat boosts by level 20 (Fighter 6 and Rogue 10 give added boosts).
For a build I'm planning to run I picked to use the rabbitfolk race with a bonus to dex and cha, although invest some points in wisdom. I started with Monk until level 6 then multiclassed into warlock with the Shadow patron (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-Ld0sDsKkakch8JTMWAA) for my next 6 levels, and then I haven't decided from there. I picked Devil's Sight and Armor of Shadow's for my first two invocations and then picked Thirsting Blade because I had Pact of the Blade. (devil's sight-see though magical darkness and other darkness for 120ft, Armor of Shadows-mage armor at will(flavor it as if it's a shroud of shadow around you), Thirsting Blade I believe still pairs with extra attack from monk5 due to different names meaning when you attack with your pact weapon(i flavored it as if it was a blade of shadow, weaving itself into your hand) you also then get to attack two more times with it because of thirsting blade and extra attack followed by either flurry of blows or bonus action unarmed strike. However the reason for Devil's sight is to cast Darkness with ki points instead of warlock saves and then see through the darkness in order to hit them and teleport and whatever you want while within the shadows. I think I would finish out with more monk for the level 11 ability Cloak of Shadows, but you could go more warlock and take One with Shadows invocation instead, they both do the same thing anyways. But I personally like level 9 monk being able to walk on walls, ceilings, and water. Imagine being in a dark room, looking out the window, when you hear a thump behind you, you turn around and see a 4ft tall rabbit-man shrouded in shadow as a blade of pure shadow weaves itself into his hand(think venom symbiote almost) and then you can see nothing before everyone outside hears you scream only to go in to investigate and find nothing but your body!! Sounds cool huh!
If you want a more historically accurate ninja character, I'd recommend checking out this video from Gaijin Goombah on youtube. He does a great job of giving options for such a character, as well as explaining how those options will bring the character closer to a proper ninja archetype.
Human Variant Gloomstalker Ranger. Take the Fey Touched half feat at level 1, there's your teleportation. Gloomstalker will give you darkvision. Take the Shadow Touched half feat at level 4. There's your invisibility, and now your Dex is 18. You'll have to choose between the the Two-Weapon Fighting or Archery fighting style. A hard choice because they are both really good for whichever you're doing. I would go with whichever you think you'll use the most.
Speaking of invisibility, Gloomstalkers are essentially invisible to everyone in complete darkness, even creatures who have darkvision, and you can see normally. It's like having the greater invisibility spell active.
I would say this checks all the blocks, and you haven't sacrificed effectiveness for flavor. Perhaps pick up the fighting style you missed at level 8 as a feat, since your Dex is already 18 anyway.
Human Variant Gloomstalker Ranger. Take the Fey Touched half feat at level 1, there's your teleportation. Gloomstalker will give you darkvision. Take the Shadow Touched half feat at level 4. There's your invisibility, and now your Dex is 18. You'll have to choose between the the Two-Weapon Fighting or Archery fighting style. A hard choice because they are both really good for whichever you're doing. I would go with whichever you think you'll use the most.
Speaking of invisibility, Gloomstalkers are essentially invisible to everyone in complete darkness, even creatures who have darkvision, and you can see normally. It's like having the greater invisibility spell active.
I would say this checks all the blocks, and you haven't sacrificed effectiveness for flavor. Perhaps pick up the fighting style you missed at level 8 as a feat, since your Dex is already 18 anyway.
My fiance had an Assassin/Gloomstalker Rogue and she made Undead creatures afraid of the dark...that they couldn't see her in. Expertise in Stealth, let the Vampire Spawn creep by, Zap! and they're dead-er. No teleport but I'd look into the Fey Touched things SeanJP mentioned.
I want to play a Drow Rogue, but I want the quintessential “magical ninja” experience, maybe like a Nightblade from Elder Scrolls Online.
Highlights would be:
Stealth
Invisibility
Dual-Wielding and Ranged
Teleportation
Huge Burst/Nova
My initial instincts were Assassination Rogue 14/ Way of the Shadow Monk 6 for the Shadow Teleport but while it looks great on paper seems to be clunky in execution. You wouldn’t get Shadow Teleport until level 9 if you hit Rogue 3 and went immediately for it, and I’m just not sure it would be a fun experience the entire way through from level 1 to whenever.
How would you go about building your favorite version of our Japanese Assassin with mystical powers, suddenly appearing behind you from the shadows?
Hey there KrisseyCakes,
I don't know anything about the intended campaign, but most campaigns don't make it anywhere near to level 20, so I caution against looking too much at level 20 builds and encourage you to focus more on the level that you'll be starting play and the levels immediately after that.
As you identified, the Way of the Shadow monk is clearly designed to play on the "hollywood style" ninja and would be my personal choice for such a character, though as with all monks, they mostly rely on martial arts for damage, rather than weapons, though it's worth noting that monks start off with proficiency in "unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property."
The monk ability to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action is mostly superior to dual-wielding weapons, as it gain the stat bonus to damage (something that duel-wielding doesn't unless you take the "Two weapon fighting" fighting style from fighter/ranger class).
A totally different direction could be to multiclass Rogue & Warlock, with the ninja powers coming from some dark patron.
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"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
I don't think you're not going to find a build that checks off every single element on that list; "huge burst/nova" usually requires very specialized builds and trying to grab the other bullet points will usually lower your nova potential.
The closest to what you want is probably going full Hexblade with Pact of the Blade. You'll have access to Invisibility and Misty Step, early on, though using either one will cut into your burst damage. You can nova with smite spells and Eldritch Smite once you're high enough level. Relentless Hex lets you teleport, but only against the target of Hexblade's Curse and you have to teleport within 5 feet of them. At 15th level, you can cast Invisibility at will with Shrowd of Shadow. You can use TWF with your pact weapon and a different weapon you touch with the Hex Warrior feature. You could add 3 Rogue levels for Assassinate, but you'd be delaying access to Shrowd of Shadow if you do it before 15th level, and access to higher level spell slots if you do it before 9th level.
You can go full Rogue for consistently high damage every round and the occasional nova when you surprise enemies, but you won't have invisibility or teleporting and every level you spend on another class lowers your Sneak Attack potential. Going Shadar-Kai or Eladrin would let you teleport once per short rest.
You can go Way of the Shadow for constant teleporting and awesome stealth, but won't have Invisibility, TWF will be inferior to Martial Arts unless you take 1 level in Fighter, and your burst damage will be limited.
To get what you want the "fastest" you may want to start with monk for 6 levels--you'll get Shadow Step and 3 possible attacks per round. You still get that ninja feel and won't feel left behind as the rest of your party gets their higher level powers. The rogue's sneak attack damage, however much you want to invest in that, later on is like icing on the cake.
A bunch of the subclasses would help do some of the things you want to do. Assassin for critical hit potential (giving you that burst damage on surprise attacks), Swashbuckler for added mobility and more ways to use sneak attack (as in you can use it vs targets without nearby allies. Teleport across the battlefield and still use sneak attack). Arcane trickster could be a way to get invisibility and other spells if you don't mind investing at least 7 levels in rogue.
Gloom stalker 5 and Shadow Monk 6=level 11. Pretty realistic to get there. After that scout (or what ever suits your play style) rouge the rest of the way up. Paying that right now, damn my dude is a beast... in dim light/darkness. In lighted close quarters.. he holds his own. A “nova” on this first round of combat. But decent after that. However extremely useful in social interactions and exploration.
Altogether a well rounded character. Couldn't be happier playing threw as him. As far as progression. It seems every level i gain some sort of awesome and unique (thing) and never really a dead level.
I Agree with op. Shadow monk 6/assassin 14
I have been playing with a design based on things only in the PHB. It seems that Eldritch Knight8/Arcane Trickster12 might fit much of your needs, and you can pick up Misty Step at level 8 for teleportation (with a cloud of mist) in addition you have expertise, cunning action, fighting style(two weapon if you want) uncanny dodge, evasion, and with war magic at level 7 fighter, you can cast a cantrip and make a melee attack as a bonus. With abilities like ray of frost (target move -10 ft), chill touch (Target can't heal) shocking grasp (target can't take reactions, and fire bolt (flammables catch fire) The build seems very versatile. You even end up with 7 stat boosts by level 20 (Fighter 6 and Rogue 10 give added boosts).
For a build I'm planning to run I picked to use the rabbitfolk race with a bonus to dex and cha, although invest some points in wisdom. I started with Monk until level 6 then multiclassed into warlock with the Shadow patron (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-Ld0sDsKkakch8JTMWAA) for my next 6 levels, and then I haven't decided from there. I picked Devil's Sight and Armor of Shadow's for my first two invocations and then picked Thirsting Blade because I had Pact of the Blade. (devil's sight-see though magical darkness and other darkness for 120ft, Armor of Shadows-mage armor at will(flavor it as if it's a shroud of shadow around you), Thirsting Blade I believe still pairs with extra attack from monk5 due to different names meaning when you attack with your pact weapon(i flavored it as if it was a blade of shadow, weaving itself into your hand) you also then get to attack two more times with it because of thirsting blade and extra attack followed by either flurry of blows or bonus action unarmed strike. However the reason for Devil's sight is to cast Darkness with ki points instead of warlock saves and then see through the darkness in order to hit them and teleport and whatever you want while within the shadows. I think I would finish out with more monk for the level 11 ability Cloak of Shadows, but you could go more warlock and take One with Shadows invocation instead, they both do the same thing anyways. But I personally like level 9 monk being able to walk on walls, ceilings, and water. Imagine being in a dark room, looking out the window, when you hear a thump behind you, you turn around and see a 4ft tall rabbit-man shrouded in shadow as a blade of pure shadow weaves itself into his hand(think venom symbiote almost) and then you can see nothing before everyone outside hears you scream only to go in to investigate and find nothing but your body!! Sounds cool huh!
If you want a more historically accurate ninja character, I'd recommend checking out this video from Gaijin Goombah on youtube. He does a great job of giving options for such a character, as well as explaining how those options will bring the character closer to a proper ninja archetype.
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You might want to think about a three way: gloomstalker 4/shadow monk 6/assassin rogue 10 you will need good stats for Dex, wisdom and con
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
How to Build a REAL Ninja in Dungeons & Dragons! – Which Ninja
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIRRoprnYG8
Rogue:
Monk:
Warlock:
Recently I created a ninja Homebrew. I would also like to receive some criticism for improvement if possible.
Human Variant Gloomstalker Ranger. Take the Fey Touched half feat at level 1, there's your teleportation. Gloomstalker will give you darkvision. Take the Shadow Touched half feat at level 4. There's your invisibility, and now your Dex is 18. You'll have to choose between the the Two-Weapon Fighting or Archery fighting style. A hard choice because they are both really good for whichever you're doing. I would go with whichever you think you'll use the most.
Speaking of invisibility, Gloomstalkers are essentially invisible to everyone in complete darkness, even creatures who have darkvision, and you can see normally. It's like having the greater invisibility spell active.
I would say this checks all the blocks, and you haven't sacrificed effectiveness for flavor. Perhaps pick up the fighting style you missed at level 8 as a feat, since your Dex is already 18 anyway.
My fiance had an Assassin/Gloomstalker Rogue and she made Undead creatures afraid of the dark...that they couldn't see her in. Expertise in Stealth, let the Vampire Spawn creep by, Zap! and they're dead-er. No teleport but I'd look into the Fey Touched things SeanJP mentioned.
I had a brain fart. I don’t know why my mind was thinking Fey and Shadow touched can raise your DEX. You would want to raise Wisdom on a Ranger.