Hi! I want to make a rogue wood elf who would later specialise in the assassination archetype? What would be the best skills to focus on? I was thinking deception, stealth, acrobatics, and athletics, but I'm not too sure on the last one/two? idk someone help please lol
I think you chose a good selection. Many people say rogues don't need athletics but that's the skill you use for climbing - useful to set up ambushes (climb up in a tree and use your mask of the wild to hide, and also to jump down and attack if you are not sniping)
Expertise should be stealth (obviously), and if you are in a heavily social campaign (i.e. lots of interactions with NPCs, like in an urban campaign), deception would be good. But as halfling2099 pointed out, perception is probably the most used skill ever.
Perception is always the first choice of skills. Since you are heading for an assassin, think about what an assassin would need and what skills are already going to be enhanced with a higher DEX or high attribute. Deception and stealth are seemingly required for the standard western-style assassin, but geisha-style or confidence men assassins could also be fun. Picking up investigation is also a great skill.
The rub with acrobatics vs athletics is acrobatics will help you to escape grapples and pad falling damage, but little else. Athletics pretty much covers everything you will actually need to do. Also, you will probably have a high DEX to help acrobatics rolls, but athletics runs on STR. Getting proficiency in athletics will help you out a heck of a lot more than acrobatics.
Expertise would probably be best served with stealth and perception. Heavily used skills which you will usually want to succeed on.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
I forgot that by default elves are automatically proficient with perception! Their longbow proficiency will be good too - same damage as a light crossbow but much better range.
And your 35 base speed is another great bonus.. if you have to get away quickly you can move 105 in a round (move + action to dash + cunning action to dash as a bonus action), or disengage and move 70 feet.
criminal background for first two, then: athletics, insight (lie detector), investigation (find all the traps). 4th skill: If social, persuasion. If not... whatever you can get.
Specialize in stealth (you're an assassin; you MUST be sneaky) and perception (never get surprised again by say, another assassin)
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Rogue Shadow, the DM (and occasional) PC with schemes of inventive thinking
so ive decided on stealth, deception, athletics, but should I go for investigation or insight for my last given im already proficient in perception?
Do you want to be good at finding and processing information (investigation is primarily intelligence-based, logical deduction) or good at reading others (insight is primarily wisdom-based, intuitive understanding)? Either can be valuable and useful. Investigation is probably going to be relevant a bit more often in figuring out how to gain access to a target, but Wisdom is probably a (slightly) higher stat than Intelligence (and certainly a more useful one to buff, if you can get your hands on magical items at some point) for your character.
Investigation is reading the room details vs. Insight is reading body language. I think Investigation should come up more overall, but A LOT of GMs default Perception for that check without realizing it is a completely different skill. Insight is a very direct way of asking the GM to give you NPC details they might be trying to hide.
GMs will usually have a character walk into a room and make a perception check to see if something is off, detect a trap, see something is out of place, etc... This has been my biggest beef with Investigation, a big chunk of people just sub Perception. It is kind of the same rub as Athletics and Acrobatics, some tables use them interchangeably. Find out how your GM uses the skill, then decide.
Players speaking with a NPC can ask for an Insight check to detect a minor flinch in their eye, odd phrasing, short breath... Insight can be used to barter for cheaper prices and lead to better uses of social skills. How gullible is this NPC? Are they going to read right through you? What are they holding in 3-dragon ante?
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
The rub with acrobatics vs athletics is acrobatics will help you to escape grapples and pad falling damage, but little else. Athletics pretty much covers everything you will actually need to do. Also, you will probably have a high DEX to help acrobatics rolls, but athletics runs on STR. Getting proficiency in athletics will help you out a heck of a lot more than acrobatics.
I think the usefulness of acrobatics depends partly on your DM; remember it also applies to acrobatic jumps and flips, so if you want to get onto a building's roof and there's a choice between a drainpipe and leaping from something else, I'd personally argue acrobatics for the leap on a character that has better acrobatics.
Even if you do take athletics, there's also wiggle room to argue for Dexterity (Athletics) check over Strength (Athletics) when it comes to climbing something quickly/nimbly like a tree. Squirrels climb like little lightning bolts, but you won't see them beating many weight lifting records.
In my group at least we'd use athletics for climbing a sheer rock-face that's going to take some time, but Jackie Chan'ing your way up somewhere should absolutely allow Dexterity and/or Acrobatics.
You might want to consider expertise in thieves' tools, also. In case the person you need to assassinate is on the other side of a locked door. Personally, I'd go that and stealth.
Even if you do take athletics, there's also wiggle room to argue for Dexterity (Athletics) check over Strength (Athletics) when it comes to climbing something quickly/nimbly like a tree. Squirrels climb like little lightning bolts, but you won't see them beating many weight lifting records.
In their own weight category they might. ;-)
Most DMs I know are usually quite flexible on Dex/Str and Athletics/Acrobatics if it at least makes some sense. I try not to undervalue certain skills and stats too much though - Str in particular is one of the most often picked dump stats in games I run. Doesn't mean I deliberately include a lot of Str-based challenges, but if the players come up with a plan that would benefit from being burly and athletic I'm not going to use other stats just because they happen to not be very good at what they want to do.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
You might want to consider expertise in thieves' tools, also. In case the person you need to assassinate is on the other side of a locked door. Personally, I'd go that and stealth.
If you're a ranged Rogue/Assassin, I'd say Expertise in Stealth and Perception would be the most pressing for lvls 1-5, since ensuring that single Sneak Attack goes off is key. If you have melee intentions, Stealth and Deception would best help you make use of that Disguise Kit proficiency to get in close for the kill. Things become more flexible at lvl 6, where you get to pick another pair of skill proficiencies with which to gain Expertise.
If you're a legend though, you could ask your DM for permission to put your Expertise in Disguise Kit and Poisoners Kit, then later Deception and Performance to all but ensure unnoticed infiltration and deployment of Poison, controversially ignoring Expertise in Stealth altogether.
Ultimately you will want to have a conversation with your DM about expectations on where the campaign/oneshot will go – A Disguise Kit might have little use in a campaign that takes place almost exclusively in the Underdark, while a sporty, stealthy killer of few words might struggle to blend into a campaign of largely courtly intrigue. Similarly, you'll want to make sure your DM is aware if you want to make extensive use of poisons and plan contingency for this, since player-useable poisons seldom make an appearance in DnD 5e and are rarely effective on the occasions that they do appear!
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Hi! I want to make a rogue wood elf who would later specialise in the assassination archetype? What would be the best skills to focus on? I was thinking deception, stealth, acrobatics, and athletics, but I'm not too sure on the last one/two? idk someone help please lol
Also, which two should I specialise in!?
Perception is my most used skill in campaigns I've played in. I also like insight for determining who is lying.
I think you chose a good selection. Many people say rogues don't need athletics but that's the skill you use for climbing - useful to set up ambushes (climb up in a tree and use your mask of the wild to hide, and also to jump down and attack if you are not sniping)
Expertise should be stealth (obviously), and if you are in a heavily social campaign (i.e. lots of interactions with NPCs, like in an urban campaign), deception would be good. But as halfling2099 pointed out, perception is probably the most used skill ever.
Perception is always the first choice of skills. Since you are heading for an assassin, think about what an assassin would need and what skills are already going to be enhanced with a higher DEX or high attribute. Deception and stealth are seemingly required for the standard western-style assassin, but geisha-style or confidence men assassins could also be fun. Picking up investigation is also a great skill.
The rub with acrobatics vs athletics is acrobatics will help you to escape grapples and pad falling damage, but little else. Athletics pretty much covers everything you will actually need to do. Also, you will probably have a high DEX to help acrobatics rolls, but athletics runs on STR. Getting proficiency in athletics will help you out a heck of a lot more than acrobatics.
Expertise would probably be best served with stealth and perception. Heavily used skills which you will usually want to succeed on.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
I forgot that by default elves are automatically proficient with perception! Their longbow proficiency will be good too - same damage as a light crossbow but much better range.
And your 35 base speed is another great bonus.. if you have to get away quickly you can move 105 in a round (move + action to dash + cunning action to dash as a bonus action), or disengage and move 70 feet.
criminal background for first two, then: athletics, insight (lie detector), investigation (find all the traps). 4th skill: If social, persuasion. If not... whatever you can get.
Specialize in stealth (you're an assassin; you MUST be sneaky) and perception (never get surprised again by say, another assassin)
Rogue Shadow, the DM (and occasional) PC with schemes of inventive thinking
Expertise in Perception and Stealth.
Also, don't forget to have some cool catchphrases to say when you assassinate someone.
*stabs in the back* You get the point.
*sniped with a longbow* Now you see the arrow of your ways.
*poison blowgun* This'll blow your mindEdit: it turns out rogues, even assassins, don't get blowgun proficiency.okay thanks guys! im still new to this so its kinda overwhelming lol
so ive decided on stealth, deception, athletics, but should I go for investigation or insight for my last given im already proficient in perception?
Do you want to be good at finding and processing information (investigation is primarily intelligence-based, logical deduction) or good at reading others (insight is primarily wisdom-based, intuitive understanding)? Either can be valuable and useful. Investigation is probably going to be relevant a bit more often in figuring out how to gain access to a target, but Wisdom is probably a (slightly) higher stat than Intelligence (and certainly a more useful one to buff, if you can get your hands on magical items at some point) for your character.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Investigation is reading the room details vs. Insight is reading body language. I think Investigation should come up more overall, but A LOT of GMs default Perception for that check without realizing it is a completely different skill. Insight is a very direct way of asking the GM to give you NPC details they might be trying to hide.
GMs will usually have a character walk into a room and make a perception check to see if something is off, detect a trap, see something is out of place, etc... This has been my biggest beef with Investigation, a big chunk of people just sub Perception. It is kind of the same rub as Athletics and Acrobatics, some tables use them interchangeably. Find out how your GM uses the skill, then decide.
Players speaking with a NPC can ask for an Insight check to detect a minor flinch in their eye, odd phrasing, short breath... Insight can be used to barter for cheaper prices and lead to better uses of social skills. How gullible is this NPC? Are they going to read right through you? What are they holding in 3-dragon ante?
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
I think the usefulness of acrobatics depends partly on your DM; remember it also applies to acrobatic jumps and flips, so if you want to get onto a building's roof and there's a choice between a drainpipe and leaping from something else, I'd personally argue acrobatics for the leap on a character that has better acrobatics.
Even if you do take athletics, there's also wiggle room to argue for Dexterity (Athletics) check over Strength (Athletics) when it comes to climbing something quickly/nimbly like a tree. Squirrels climb like little lightning bolts, but you won't see them beating many weight lifting records.
In my group at least we'd use athletics for climbing a sheer rock-face that's going to take some time, but Jackie Chan'ing your way up somewhere should absolutely allow Dexterity and/or Acrobatics.
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You might want to consider expertise in thieves' tools, also. In case the person you need to assassinate is on the other side of a locked door. Personally, I'd go that and stealth.
In their own weight category they might. ;-)
Most DMs I know are usually quite flexible on Dex/Str and Athletics/Acrobatics if it at least makes some sense. I try not to undervalue certain skills and stats too much though - Str in particular is one of the most often picked dump stats in games I run. Doesn't mean I deliberately include a lot of Str-based challenges, but if the players come up with a plan that would benefit from being burly and athletic I'm not going to use other stats just because they happen to not be very good at what they want to do.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
If you're a ranged Rogue/Assassin, I'd say Expertise in Stealth and Perception would be the most pressing for lvls 1-5, since ensuring that single Sneak Attack goes off is key. If you have melee intentions, Stealth and Deception would best help you make use of that Disguise Kit proficiency to get in close for the kill. Things become more flexible at lvl 6, where you get to pick another pair of skill proficiencies with which to gain Expertise.
If you're a legend though, you could ask your DM for permission to put your Expertise in Disguise Kit and Poisoners Kit, then later Deception and Performance to all but ensure unnoticed infiltration and deployment of Poison, controversially ignoring Expertise in Stealth altogether.
Ultimately you will want to have a conversation with your DM about expectations on where the campaign/oneshot will go – A Disguise Kit might have little use in a campaign that takes place almost exclusively in the Underdark, while a sporty, stealthy killer of few words might struggle to blend into a campaign of largely courtly intrigue. Similarly, you'll want to make sure your DM is aware if you want to make extensive use of poisons and plan contingency for this, since player-useable poisons seldom make an appearance in DnD 5e and are rarely effective on the occasions that they do appear!