I just started playing Arcane Trickster this weekend (after previously playing a Lore Bard and a Wizard). So far, I'm having fun with minor illusion for so many different uses and occasionally fire bolt (when I need to do magical damage). I've also tried hideous laughter but my save DC is still a bit low so it didn't go off.
The Arcane Trickster in our group gets massive mileage out of Booming Blade with sneak attack. The party recently reached level 5, so his sneak attack is 3d6 and Booming Blade does 1d8 damage even if the enemy doesn't move. Combine this with the fact that the rogue has advantage nearly every round because of his owl or if someone else is in combat with the chosen enemy and you have a very powerful attack indeed.
As a 5th level gnome rogue, I really like silent image for its incredible variety: walls and other sight-blocking things, fake persons escaping in the direction you want your target to go, fake objects etc..
I also took color spray because it really fits my character character :)
The non illusion-enchantment spell I took is feather fall for nice parkour around cities but I discovered I don't get a lot of chances to use it and my party don't trust me when I tell them to jump, so when I get the chance I'll replace it with find familiar and flavor it to fit my character BG (instead of a real beast familiar I'll build a mechanical construct infused with magic that resembles the animal I want - a rat).
A Githyanki with their invisible magehand combined with the tricksters improvements and the sleight of hand feat can have you picking pockets, looting and otherwise being a menace with few the wiser. (also moving bee hives and stealing honey without getting stung because honey is money, tasty tasty money)
The Arcane Trickster that I DM for gets tooooons of use out of silent image. If you foresee a campaign with a good amount of intrigue/stealthing it's a wonderful way to try and trick enemies and avoid conflict.
The non illusion-enchantment spell I took is feather fall for nice parkour around cities but I discovered I don't get a lot of chances to use it and my party don't trust me when I tell them to jump, so when I get the chance I'll replace it with find familiar and flavor it to fit my character BG (instead of a real beast familiar I'll build a mechanical construct infused with magic that resembles the animal I want - a rat).
Technically RAW you can't replace your 3rd level any-school spell choice with another of any school. As the player's handbook states in the replacing spells paragraph for the arcane trickster: "it must be an enchantment or illusion spell, unless you're replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level." However, I am sure most DMs would not be too strict on this ruling and allow one to replace the 3rd level choice.
I'm surprised to find that few people mention Shadow Blade as a good arcane trickster spell. A 2d8 psychic damage finesse weapon that gets advantage in dim light and darkness? Seems made for rogues. I suppose it can be a gamble with concentration, but AT typically doesn't make use of in-combat concentration spells anyway, and rogues in general have great means of avoiding damage that would force them to make concentration checks above DC 10.
I will second that! Shadow Blade is an excellent spell for basically everyone! My current character uses it, and it's honestly one of my favorite spells. It drops off at later levels due to concentration, but it's really great!
I've got shadowblade and love it - its a great 2nd level spell as you're not gambling with your 2nd level spell slots (i'm currently level 8 and 4d6 + 2d8 can do some mean damage). I prefer to get close and personal with my rogue and use bonus action for a second dagger attack BUT I am suuuper squishy so I've just taken Shield as my 8th level any-school spell to try and mitigate some of my time spent unconscious.
Lvl 1 - find familiar: free advantage for for you or an all you everyturn with and owl. Also advantage on perception and an amazing scout tool.
Lvl 1- silent image: in the hands of a competent player this is one of the best spells in the game. Create cover via a ninja smoke bomb for stealth, mimic the cave opening so you can sneak up behind it and ambush the bandits to ambush you at its mouth, etc.
lvl 1- charm person - handy for interrogations and works better than intimidate.
lvl 2- shadow blade: essentially advantage on all attacks and magic weapon. Play a ranged user an use this when forced into melee. Pair with elven accuracy for awesomeness.
Lvl 3- haste: two sneak attacks per turn (on your turn haste action attack, bonus action hide, your action to ready an attack at end of x opponent turn so that attack gets sneak attack again). Another reason why ranged rogues are king.
Lvl 3- haste: two sneak attacks per turn (on your turn haste action attack, bonus action hide, your action to ready an attack at end of x opponent turn so that attack gets sneak attack again). Another reason why ranged rogues are king.
Unfortunately you only get on sneak attack per turn (not per action), so no double sneak attack RAW. Until your next round comes around you don't get any extra sneak attack hits.
Still pretty darn handy spell just for all around utility. Lets you potentially make three dash actions in a round, or dodge dash disengage(and dodge). Still a good spell though.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
It does work per RAW. You get one sneak attack per turn, not per round. So the haste attack is on your turn, the reaction is on a different turn. Same thing applies to an attack of opportunity, sentinel attack, commander’s strike attack, etc. because all those are occurring on a different turn from yours so you can apply your sneak attack.
Well I'll be damned, you are correct. My apologies, Haste gets a super bonus to awesomeness for the lowly rogue.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
So, i'm looking at making one of these for a few sessions, at least 2, possibly up to 5. It's going to start at level 3. Standard stat array/pointbuy.
I'd like to make it a Tiefling, i love the bonus spells they get, plus the aesthetic appeals to me for the style of character.
I'm thinking, conniving trickster, loves to stealth, will likely get a familiar (did i read they can help you with SA dmg? either way i want one), spell choices at level 3:
Cantrips: Mage Hand, Firebolt, Prestidigitation or Minor Illusion, i think with the auto tiefling cantrip i can drop prest and choose minor illusion instead.
Stat wise, i'll probably make str and con my dump stats, as i want to be charming, so high CHA, nimble, so high DEX, have a decent chance at hitting with firebolt and having spells resisted, so decent INT.
Play wise in combat i plan to remain out of melee and range SA into combat with either thrown daggers or with firebolt if i can do that
So, i'm looking at making one of these for a few sessions, at least 2, possibly up to 5. It's going to start at level 3. Standard stat array/pointbuy.
I'd like to make it a Tiefling, i love the bonus spells they get, plus the aesthetic appeals to me for the style of character.
I'm thinking, conniving trickster, loves to stealth, will likely get a familiar (did i read they can help you with SA dmg? either way i want one), spell choices at level 3:
Cantrips: Mage Hand, Firebolt, Prestidigitation or Minor Illusion, i think with the auto tiefling cantrip i can drop prest and choose minor illusion instead.
Stat wise, i'll probably make str and con my dump stats, as i want to be charming, so high CHA, nimble, so high DEX, have a decent chance at hitting with firebolt and having spells resisted, so decent INT.
Play wise in combat i plan to remain out of melee and range SA into combat with either thrown daggers or with firebolt if i can do that
I'm currently doing a character in Tomb of Annihilation that's extremely similar, and it's definitely the most fun I've had in 5th edition so far. Went feral tiefling from the Swords Coast guide, in part for the int bonus since i'd be doing arcane trickster and in part because the devil's tongue tiefling racial spells seemed more appropriate for a social oriented character. I did point buy and ended up with 16 dex/int, 14 cha, 10 con/wis, and 8 str. Took expertise in stealth (which I kinda of regret - haven't needed hide for sneak attack) and persuasion (amazing! would recommend!).
You might consider dropping firebolt as you can't sneak attack with it. The bow's lower damage + dex + sneak attack should really overcome firebolts straight d10 fast. Plus you can have your familiar assist to give you sneak attack every round (or just fire at ones that are in melee with your party's tank). But if you stay just behind the melee folk, you can also dart in and sneak attack with a rapier, then use your cunning action to disengage and back up out of range without provoking opportunity attacks. Consider adding the booming blade cantrip too. Lets you use it with a melee attack, and if they move before your next turn they take bonus damage. Really great against melee only enemies that get stuck trying to decide if they want to take extra damage to move into range to fight back. So depending on situation it can be helpful for damage output or battlefield control, and either one as an added thing no top of your normal attacking with sneak attack. And if you play till level 5, it'll add another d8 to your attack up front.
I also went with silent image to pair up with minor illusion for sound effects. Cast silent image, hide inside, and make it move as you walk with it to get past watchful situations. Also useful for some of the social deceptions. But honestly, illusions can be kind of DM dependent. Or at least, I've seen a lot of DMs straight up hate on them.
Well, the DM shut down much of what i wanted to do as it was far more evil than the rest of the party, so i'll store this concept in mind for a future game with a more liberal DM and for now i've gone with a druid.
But thanks for the advice, definitely useful stuff.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
What are your favorite or must-have spells for the Arcane Trickster?
In my group, at least, Find Familiar and Hideous Laughter are go-to spells for the Arcane Trickster in the group. He's also a fan of Booming Blade.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I've always liked fog cloud and web.
I just started playing Arcane Trickster this weekend (after previously playing a Lore Bard and a Wizard). So far, I'm having fun with minor illusion for so many different uses and occasionally fire bolt (when I need to do magical damage). I've also tried hideous laughter but my save DC is still a bit low so it didn't go off.
The Arcane Trickster in our group gets massive mileage out of Booming Blade with sneak attack. The party recently reached level 5, so his sneak attack is 3d6 and Booming Blade does 1d8 damage even if the enemy doesn't move. Combine this with the fact that the rogue has advantage nearly every round because of his owl or if someone else is in combat with the chosen enemy and you have a very powerful attack indeed.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
As a 5th level gnome rogue, I really like silent image for its incredible variety: walls and other sight-blocking things, fake persons escaping in the direction you want your target to go, fake objects etc..
I also took color spray because it really fits my character character :)
The non illusion-enchantment spell I took is feather fall for nice parkour around cities but I discovered I don't get a lot of chances to use it and my party don't trust me when I tell them to jump, so when I get the chance I'll replace it with find familiar and flavor it to fit my character BG (instead of a real beast familiar I'll build a mechanical construct infused with magic that resembles the animal I want - a rat).
A Githyanki with their invisible magehand combined with the tricksters improvements and the sleight of hand feat can have you picking pockets, looting and otherwise being a menace with few the wiser. (also moving bee hives and stealing honey without getting stung because honey is money, tasty tasty money)
The Arcane Trickster that I DM for gets tooooons of use out of silent image. If you foresee a campaign with a good amount of intrigue/stealthing it's a wonderful way to try and trick enemies and avoid conflict.
Technically RAW you can't replace your 3rd level any-school spell choice with another of any school. As the player's handbook states in the replacing spells paragraph for the arcane trickster: "it must be an enchantment or illusion spell, unless you're replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level." However, I am sure most DMs would not be too strict on this ruling and allow one to replace the 3rd level choice.
I'm surprised to find that few people mention Shadow Blade as a good arcane trickster spell. A 2d8 psychic damage finesse weapon that gets advantage in dim light and darkness? Seems made for rogues. I suppose it can be a gamble with concentration, but AT typically doesn't make use of in-combat concentration spells anyway, and rogues in general have great means of avoiding damage that would force them to make concentration checks above DC 10.
I will second that! Shadow Blade is an excellent spell for basically everyone! My current character uses it, and it's honestly one of my favorite spells. It drops off at later levels due to concentration, but it's really great!
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
Check out my Expanded Signature
I've got shadowblade and love it - its a great 2nd level spell as you're not gambling with your 2nd level spell slots (i'm currently level 8 and 4d6 + 2d8 can do some mean damage). I prefer to get close and personal with my rogue and use bonus action for a second dagger attack BUT I am suuuper squishy so I've just taken Shield as my 8th level any-school spell to try and mitigate some of my time spent unconscious.
Silent Image > Fog Cloud.
Lvl 1 - find familiar: free advantage for for you or an all you everyturn with and owl. Also advantage on perception and an amazing scout tool.
Lvl 1- silent image: in the hands of a competent player this is one of the best spells in the game. Create cover via a ninja smoke bomb for stealth, mimic the cave opening so you can sneak up behind it and ambush the bandits to ambush you at its mouth, etc.
lvl 1 sleep-no saving throw, scales well, useful aoe options in select circumstances.
lvl 1- charm person - handy for interrogations and works better than intimidate.
lvl 2- shadow blade: essentially advantage on all attacks and magic weapon. Play a ranged user an use this when forced into melee. Pair with elven accuracy for awesomeness.
Lvl 3- haste: two sneak attacks per turn (on your turn haste action attack, bonus action hide, your action to ready an attack at end of x opponent turn so that attack gets sneak attack again). Another reason why ranged rogues are king.
Unfortunately you only get on sneak attack per turn (not per action), so no double sneak attack RAW. Until your next round comes around you don't get any extra sneak attack hits.
Still pretty darn handy spell just for all around utility. Lets you potentially make three dash actions in a round, or dodge dash disengage(and dodge). Still a good spell though.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
It does work per RAW. You get one sneak attack per turn, not per round. So the haste attack is on your turn, the reaction is on a different turn. Same thing applies to an attack of opportunity, sentinel attack, commander’s strike attack, etc. because all those are occurring on a different turn from yours so you can apply your sneak attack.
Well I'll be damned, you are correct. My apologies, Haste gets a super bonus to awesomeness for the lowly rogue.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
So, i'm looking at making one of these for a few sessions, at least 2, possibly up to 5. It's going to start at level 3. Standard stat array/pointbuy.
I'd like to make it a Tiefling, i love the bonus spells they get, plus the aesthetic appeals to me for the style of character.
I'm thinking, conniving trickster, loves to stealth, will likely get a familiar (did i read they can help you with SA dmg? either way i want one), spell choices at level 3:
Cantrips: Mage Hand, Firebolt, Prestidigitation or Minor Illusion, i think with the auto tiefling cantrip i can drop prest and choose minor illusion instead.
Level 1: Find Familiar, Colour Spray (maybe), Charm Person (maybe), Disguise Self (probably)
Stat wise, i'll probably make str and con my dump stats, as i want to be charming, so high CHA, nimble, so high DEX, have a decent chance at hitting with firebolt and having spells resisted, so decent INT.
Play wise in combat i plan to remain out of melee and range SA into combat with either thrown daggers or with firebolt if i can do that
I'm currently doing a character in Tomb of Annihilation that's extremely similar, and it's definitely the most fun I've had in 5th edition so far. Went feral tiefling from the Swords Coast guide, in part for the int bonus since i'd be doing arcane trickster and in part because the devil's tongue tiefling racial spells seemed more appropriate for a social oriented character. I did point buy and ended up with 16 dex/int, 14 cha, 10 con/wis, and 8 str. Took expertise in stealth (which I kinda of regret - haven't needed hide for sneak attack) and persuasion (amazing! would recommend!).
You might consider dropping firebolt as you can't sneak attack with it. The bow's lower damage + dex + sneak attack should really overcome firebolts straight d10 fast. Plus you can have your familiar assist to give you sneak attack every round (or just fire at ones that are in melee with your party's tank). But if you stay just behind the melee folk, you can also dart in and sneak attack with a rapier, then use your cunning action to disengage and back up out of range without provoking opportunity attacks. Consider adding the booming blade cantrip too. Lets you use it with a melee attack, and if they move before your next turn they take bonus damage. Really great against melee only enemies that get stuck trying to decide if they want to take extra damage to move into range to fight back. So depending on situation it can be helpful for damage output or battlefield control, and either one as an added thing no top of your normal attacking with sneak attack. And if you play till level 5, it'll add another d8 to your attack up front.
I also went with silent image to pair up with minor illusion for sound effects. Cast silent image, hide inside, and make it move as you walk with it to get past watchful situations. Also useful for some of the social deceptions. But honestly, illusions can be kind of DM dependent. Or at least, I've seen a lot of DMs straight up hate on them.
Well, the DM shut down much of what i wanted to do as it was far more evil than the rest of the party, so i'll store this concept in mind for a future game with a more liberal DM and for now i've gone with a druid.
But thanks for the advice, definitely useful stuff.