I've read that one's first priority should always be to get their character's most important stat(s) to 20. My first ASI will max my arcane trickster's dex, and int to 18; I'll probably max out int as well. But the sooner I add the Resilient feat to my 13 con, the sooner I get proficiency, and a few extra hit points than if I wait until later. Is it worth getting the feat first?
Both are pretty good. Might depend on your play style and the type of enemies in your campaign. If enemies force CON saves a lot (usually against poison), then you might do better with resilient. Getting +1 to 2 stats (especially when you will be boosting your AC, weapon attacks, and spells with it) is usually the better option in a vacuum.
Math majors working with point buy/standard array for Adventure League and discarding any situational circumstances are the ones doing most of the advocating for maxing your critical stats first. The idea is that a character makes more rolls for its critical stats than it does most anything else, and any additions you get to those rolls are more likely to help than not.
If you're working with rolled stats to the point where the level 4 ASI maxes your Dex and 18's your Int, then you currently have a +4 to DX and a +3 to INT. Those are fine for level 4, and will hold until level 8 without issue. As DJC said, it also depends on your particular campaign circumstances. Lots of poison in whatever you're playing, or necromantic tossers throwing Con saves? The extra HP and improved save would be a much higher priority than endgaming your DX and INT by level 4, before the game figures you'll have anything higher than +3.
I would plan on expending your level 8 ASI on securing those stats, however. By that point the game is definitely starting to throw curveballs at you and you want fast hands to catch them.
I'm not that familiar with Arcane Trickster, but do you cast a lot of concentration spells ? If so, that [feat]Resilient[/feat] would translate to a net +3 to your concentration checks (and +4 as soon as you hit level 5), which will help you keep your spell going, and help with the efficiency of your spell slots.
Especially since, as mentioned, you're already ahead of the curve when it comes to stats, so that delay isn't a big deal.
I'm making this character for a Critical Role (campaign 1) fanfic, not a game; but of course, planning the character is half the fun. She's melee, so she'll probably need those concentration saves. That said, she doesn't really need to worry about it until she gets into those level 2 spells. I'm leaning toward getting even numbers first, then Resilient. There's also flavour to consider: ASI from training, feat from combat experience, for example.
I'm tempted to wait on final decisions until Treantmonk does his AT video, heh.
If you're doing fanfic I would lean more toward whichever one contributes to story and character motivations over the other. In a game, it is much more tempting to lean towards mechanical optimization over roleplay and for me, I have to fight my min/max instincts to choose alternate builds.
In a non-game story you can say "this character is definitely more resilient early on, but will grow to become more dexterous/intelligent later" or, conversely, "this character is definitely more agile and a quick study early on, but will grow to improve their overall health later." And whether or not that has any mechanical effect becomes moot since there is no game present (aside form inspiration) where the mechanics matter.
I've read that one's first priority should always be to get their character's most important stat(s) to 20. My first ASI will max my arcane trickster's dex, and int to 18; I'll probably max out int as well. But the sooner I add the Resilient feat to my 13 con, the sooner I get proficiency, and a few extra hit points than if I wait until later. Is it worth getting the feat first?
Both are pretty good. Might depend on your play style and the type of enemies in your campaign. If enemies force CON saves a lot (usually against poison), then you might do better with resilient. Getting +1 to 2 stats (especially when you will be boosting your AC, weapon attacks, and spells with it) is usually the better option in a vacuum.
Math majors working with point buy/standard array for Adventure League and discarding any situational circumstances are the ones doing most of the advocating for maxing your critical stats first. The idea is that a character makes more rolls for its critical stats than it does most anything else, and any additions you get to those rolls are more likely to help than not.
If you're working with rolled stats to the point where the level 4 ASI maxes your Dex and 18's your Int, then you currently have a +4 to DX and a +3 to INT. Those are fine for level 4, and will hold until level 8 without issue. As DJC said, it also depends on your particular campaign circumstances. Lots of poison in whatever you're playing, or necromantic tossers throwing Con saves? The extra HP and improved save would be a much higher priority than endgaming your DX and INT by level 4, before the game figures you'll have anything higher than +3.
I would plan on expending your level 8 ASI on securing those stats, however. By that point the game is definitely starting to throw curveballs at you and you want fast hands to catch them.
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I'm not that familiar with Arcane Trickster, but do you cast a lot of concentration spells ? If so, that [feat]Resilient[/feat] would translate to a net +3 to your concentration checks (and +4 as soon as you hit level 5), which will help you keep your spell going, and help with the efficiency of your spell slots.
Especially since, as mentioned, you're already ahead of the curve when it comes to stats, so that delay isn't a big deal.
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As a somewhat side note, it doesn't matter when you raise your con in 5e, the bonus to hp applies to levels you have already gained.
I'm making this character for a Critical Role (campaign 1) fanfic, not a game; but of course, planning the character is half the fun. She's melee, so she'll probably need those concentration saves. That said, she doesn't really need to worry about it until she gets into those level 2 spells. I'm leaning toward getting even numbers first, then Resilient. There's also flavour to consider: ASI from training, feat from combat experience, for example.
I'm tempted to wait on final decisions until Treantmonk does his AT video, heh.
If you're doing fanfic I would lean more toward whichever one contributes to story and character motivations over the other. In a game, it is much more tempting to lean towards mechanical optimization over roleplay and for me, I have to fight my min/max instincts to choose alternate builds.
In a non-game story you can say "this character is definitely more resilient early on, but will grow to become more dexterous/intelligent later" or, conversely, "this character is definitely more agile and a quick study early on, but will grow to improve their overall health later." And whether or not that has any mechanical effect becomes moot since there is no game present (aside form inspiration) where the mechanics matter.