Hi, I want to preface this by saying that we play with a house-rule point-buy where we have 33 points to spend instead of the average 27. DM likes giving us more stats to start with.
So I am playing a Kobold Rogue and am currently lvl 2. I am planning on going Thief as it fits his character and backstory. I've been thinking ahead to lvl 4 when the ASI comes in. My current stats are as follows:
8 STR; 18 DEX; 14 CON; 8 INT; 16 WIS; 8 CHR
How important is it really that I get the +2 DEX and go to 20? I was thinking about taking a feat instead (mainly Mobile) so I can hone my hit-and-run melee playstyle that I plan on even more. We're doing an Underdark campaign and I've mainly been dual-wielding so far and have been enjoying it but found that I can't get 2 attacks in as well as cunning action so either I swing once then run, or swing twice and put myself in more danger than I would like. I realize that Swashbuckler gets this built-in, but it doesn't fit my character's background, skills, or personality really.
Skulker is also a great option, but my DM is not very favorable with in-combat hiding and especially since most creatures in this campaign aren't affected by dark\dim-light.
Thoughts? Any other great feats or advice for me on this build? I am still a relatively inexperienced player and this is my first time playing this class (or any melee role for that matter).
Getting your DEX up to 20 will give you +1 to your initiative, AC, to hit and damage bonuses, your DEX saving throw, and all DEX related skills (like Stealth). That bonus has quite a large spread.
Mobile does give you a chance to run when you make a melee attack. Taking Sentinel might also be useful to get a Sneak Attack bonus on an enemy's turn in addition to your turn. You may also want to look at Martial Adept for some lovely maneuver options.
Thanks for the response Branoc. Upping my DEX is what my DM suggested I do too, but I wasn't really sure how big of an impact 18 to 20 would be over a feat. Though mobile is really tempting for the hit and run melee playstyle. My idea was with mobile I can swing twice without worrying about needing to cunning action disengage.
That's what I was thinking too. Though now my character has a touch of madness now so not sure how much longer he will survive in the underdark. Not sure how I feel about the madness rules haha it definitely does make things interesting though.
I had several bad rolls on madness checks despite having the best wisdom, but my character gained the 'permanent' effect of “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”
It doesn't really effect combat, but it effects RP quite a bit.
I had several bad rolls on madness checks despite having the best wisdom, but my character gained the 'permanent' effect of “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”
It doesn't really effect combat, but it effects RP quite a bit.
My friend just got that dealt with in our Out of the Abyss game! It was fun while it lasted, but it can be a pain in the ass when you're trying to be a bit more tactful.
As far as the feat vs ASI issue, it sounds like you have an idea of what you want to do, and a way to make it work. An 18 DEX isn't terrible by any means. Having that other option to make your sneak attack hit should you miss is pretty handy, so I'd maybe go with the Mobile feat here if that's how you want your character to run. "Better" doesn't always equal "more fun" also.
My friend just got that dealt with in our Out of the Abyss game! It was fun while it lasted, but it can be a pain in the ass when you're trying to be a bit more tactful. As far as the feat vs ASI issue, it sounds like you have an idea of what you want to do, and a way to make it work. An 18 DEX isn't terrible by any means. Having that other option to make your sneak attack hit should you miss is pretty handy, so I'd maybe go with the Mobile feat here if that's how you want your character to run. "Better" doesn't always equal "more fun" also.
It's been one session and I'm already annoyed at it. Our DM is adamant about having the effects played up a lot. Personally I hope we can find someone with greater restoration in the near future to cure it. We don't have a cleric in the party..
Thanks! Another thing that came up in discussions with other players at my table and the dm is if I want to go Scout rather than Thief as they think I will be better as a Scout and it would be better for the campaign. My character does have great scouting skills with his high wisdom, but his backstory lends him more towards being a thief but I can make some backstory tweaks to fit it. I'm still on the fence about it though. We are still lvl 2 for now.
I'm currently playing a Lvl 4 Scout variant human - good for sneaky ranged fighter with good mobility and expertise in outdoor skills. I enjoy it greatly but I always knew I'd be a Scout with this character and it fits with my backstory.
My advice is to stick with what you want to do and what's right for your character. Don't go for a class to compliment 'gaps 'in your party and don't let other teammates choose for you.
Finally, if you're not enjoying the madness affliction, speak to your DM and let them know. If you're not enjoying it as a player I'm sure he'll come round to doing something for you in the next game or so.
Thanks for the advice, the players I play with tends to like to more or less optimize and fill gaps quite a bit. I talked about it with them Saturday during this off week and they are really starting to convince me to go Scout and thinking about it, it would make just as much sense as thief with my character since he was more of a hunter/gatherer for his clan albeit, he worked with the thieves' guild and did heists and petty theft to get those resources. They really just want someone with high survival since we are playing a survival campaign.
We'll see about the madness, I will give it another session or two and see how it goes. From talking to the other players, they really like the madness feature but they haven't had their characters get anything permanent yet. Though we just had two of our most beloved NPCs go mad permanently and they have pretty bad ones at that. I still don't know how I feel about it. It does shake things up quite a bit, but I dunno...I feel like you spend all this time making a character and rping their personality only to have them go mad and change.
As long as you're happy playing a Scout, then that's all good! I think they're very much built for surviving the wilds and being a ranged fighter that can kite. I can't wait for the Lvl 13 skill though - that's when a Scout comes into his own for sure.
I agree, re: having an affect imposed on your character that changes how they are roleplayed. My character - from the very first game we played - has been cursed by this magic item that has slowly been making him evil, more paranoid, and a little crazy. Also, he's sprouted goat ears, eyes and horns over time. As fun as this has been, I'm looking forward to my character being released from this condition (which my DM has promised will be resolved at the next session as it's been affecting all characters very dramatically recently!).
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Hi, I want to preface this by saying that we play with a house-rule point-buy where we have 33 points to spend instead of the average 27. DM likes giving us more stats to start with.
So I am playing a Kobold Rogue and am currently lvl 2. I am planning on going Thief as it fits his character and backstory. I've been thinking ahead to lvl 4 when the ASI comes in. My current stats are as follows:
8 STR; 18 DEX; 14 CON; 8 INT; 16 WIS; 8 CHR
How important is it really that I get the +2 DEX and go to 20? I was thinking about taking a feat instead (mainly Mobile) so I can hone my hit-and-run melee playstyle that I plan on even more. We're doing an Underdark campaign and I've mainly been dual-wielding so far and have been enjoying it but found that I can't get 2 attacks in as well as cunning action so either I swing once then run, or swing twice and put myself in more danger than I would like. I realize that Swashbuckler gets this built-in, but it doesn't fit my character's background, skills, or personality really.
Skulker is also a great option, but my DM is not very favorable with in-combat hiding and especially since most creatures in this campaign aren't affected by dark\dim-light.
Thoughts? Any other great feats or advice for me on this build? I am still a relatively inexperienced player and this is my first time playing this class (or any melee role for that matter).
Getting your DEX up to 20 will give you +1 to your initiative, AC, to hit and damage bonuses, your DEX saving throw, and all DEX related skills (like Stealth). That bonus has quite a large spread.
Mobile does give you a chance to run when you make a melee attack. Taking Sentinel might also be useful to get a Sneak Attack bonus on an enemy's turn in addition to your turn. You may also want to look at Martial Adept for some lovely maneuver options.
Thanks for the response Branoc. Upping my DEX is what my DM suggested I do too, but I wasn't really sure how big of an impact 18 to 20 would be over a feat. Though mobile is really tempting for the hit and run melee playstyle. My idea was with mobile I can swing twice without worrying about needing to cunning action disengage.
Maybe do Mobile then? It sounds like you'll enjoy it and 18 DEX is still an excellent score. Maybe you can bump it to 20 at Lvl 8 instead?
That's what I was thinking too. Though now my character has a touch of madness now so not sure how much longer he will survive in the underdark. Not sure how I feel about the madness rules haha it definitely does make things interesting though.
Maybe Mobile will fit the madness as well? I'm not familiar with the madness rules of the top of my head - how does it affect your character?
I had several bad rolls on madness checks despite having the best wisdom, but my character gained the 'permanent' effect of “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”
It doesn't really effect combat, but it effects RP quite a bit.
My friend just got that dealt with in our Out of the Abyss game! It was fun while it lasted, but it can be a pain in the ass when you're trying to be a bit more tactful.
As far as the feat vs ASI issue, it sounds like you have an idea of what you want to do, and a way to make it work. An 18 DEX isn't terrible by any means. Having that other option to make your sneak attack hit should you miss is pretty handy, so I'd maybe go with the Mobile feat here if that's how you want your character to run. "Better" doesn't always equal "more fun" also.
It's been one session and I'm already annoyed at it. Our DM is adamant about having the effects played up a lot. Personally I hope we can find someone with greater restoration in the near future to cure it. We don't have a cleric in the party..
Thanks! Another thing that came up in discussions with other players at my table and the dm is if I want to go Scout rather than Thief as they think I will be better as a Scout and it would be better for the campaign. My character does have great scouting skills with his high wisdom, but his backstory lends him more towards being a thief but I can make some backstory tweaks to fit it. I'm still on the fence about it though. We are still lvl 2 for now.
I'm currently playing a Lvl 4 Scout variant human - good for sneaky ranged fighter with good mobility and expertise in outdoor skills. I enjoy it greatly but I always knew I'd be a Scout with this character and it fits with my backstory.
My advice is to stick with what you want to do and what's right for your character. Don't go for a class to compliment 'gaps 'in your party and don't let other teammates choose for you.
Finally, if you're not enjoying the madness affliction, speak to your DM and let them know. If you're not enjoying it as a player I'm sure he'll come round to doing something for you in the next game or so.
Thanks for the advice, the players I play with tends to like to more or less optimize and fill gaps quite a bit. I talked about it with them Saturday during this off week and they are really starting to convince me to go Scout and thinking about it, it would make just as much sense as thief with my character since he was more of a hunter/gatherer for his clan albeit, he worked with the thieves' guild and did heists and petty theft to get those resources. They really just want someone with high survival since we are playing a survival campaign.
We'll see about the madness, I will give it another session or two and see how it goes. From talking to the other players, they really like the madness feature but they haven't had their characters get anything permanent yet. Though we just had two of our most beloved NPCs go mad permanently and they have pretty bad ones at that. I still don't know how I feel about it. It does shake things up quite a bit, but I dunno...I feel like you spend all this time making a character and rping their personality only to have them go mad and change.
As long as you're happy playing a Scout, then that's all good! I think they're very much built for surviving the wilds and being a ranged fighter that can kite. I can't wait for the Lvl 13 skill though - that's when a Scout comes into his own for sure.
I agree, re: having an affect imposed on your character that changes how they are roleplayed. My character - from the very first game we played - has been cursed by this magic item that has slowly been making him evil, more paranoid, and a little crazy. Also, he's sprouted goat ears, eyes and horns over time. As fun as this has been, I'm looking forward to my character being released from this condition (which my DM has promised will be resolved at the next session as it's been affecting all characters very dramatically recently!).