Our group recently had our fighter die. He re-rolled as a Aarokocra Circle of Dream Druid with the intent of flying about the battlefield and casting down. Needless to say, I'm a little irritated. Suddenly my squishy Arcane Trickster is the only melee-capable character (never mind that I'd taken Crossbow Expert). I'm trying to think of how to deal with no longer having a reliable source of sneak attack while also being the primary frontline.
My initial thought was to see about see about a switch to a swashbuckler sublcass. Maybe I'll just re-roll a barbarian or something. This is more of a frustration post than anything, but if anyone has tips or suggestions, I'm open to it.
Invest in spells that incapacitate opponents, make you invisible, distract enemies etc. Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Hold Person and even Sleep are all good spells for an Arcane Trickster that can distract, incapacitate or make you able to stealth easier. Throw an Invisibility up, get into a concealed position, do your crossbow attacks, then next turn try for a Sleep or Hold Person to get into stealth again. If you really want to, then Swashbuckler is definitely the best subclass for an upfront Rogue.
There are a few spells that can let you keep using your sneak attack without needing much setup. Find Familiar is a good option for Rogues help guarantee sneak attack, allowing a familiar to take the 'help' action and grant you advantage. Shadow Blade is also a very powerful option, once you hit level 7, granting your a damage increase and also granting you advantage in dim light.
I'm coming at this from a gamist perspective. It looks like no-one in your group is willing to play a tank, and that leaves you stuck in that position.
I'd check in with your fellow players (which includes the DM), telling them about how this affects your play and enjoyment of the game, and see if you can come up with a solution.
There are ways you can get out of the front line, but ultimately, someone will end up facing the opposition in combat. If it turns out no-one enjoys combat, the DM may need to change the campaign to a different theme, engaging more in social encounters.
Additionally, try and work with your team to set up ambushes now. If you have to 'tank', that means you guys need to start working on being able to do damage from range before the enemy closes. With an areal caster and a crossbow master rogue, you're already doing well. Work on kiting the big bad uglies, use illusion spells to disorient them.
The DM should be able to work with a group that doesn't want to have a traditional 'Tank', and your team should be able to work up a few plans to 'hand off' who's taking the damage if possible. Your companions need to invest in serious buff spells if they want you to be the tank. False Life, Bless, Mage Armor, etc. And they should prioritize getting good melee armor for your characters.
I play a Melee rogue, but toe to toe is not sustainable. I'm usually dead or almost dead after two rounds of full contact, so I have to duck in and out of combat a lot.
A rogue as a frontliner, and a druid who takes no hits has all the hallmarks of a TPK waiting to happen.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
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Our group recently had our fighter die. He re-rolled as a Aarokocra Circle of Dream Druid with the intent of flying about the battlefield and casting down. Needless to say, I'm a little irritated. Suddenly my squishy Arcane Trickster is the only melee-capable character (never mind that I'd taken Crossbow Expert). I'm trying to think of how to deal with no longer having a reliable source of sneak attack while also being the primary frontline.
My initial thought was to see about see about a switch to a swashbuckler sublcass. Maybe I'll just re-roll a barbarian or something. This is more of a frustration post than anything, but if anyone has tips or suggestions, I'm open to it.
Invest in spells that incapacitate opponents, make you invisible, distract enemies etc. Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Hold Person and even Sleep are all good spells for an Arcane Trickster that can distract, incapacitate or make you able to stealth easier. Throw an Invisibility up, get into a concealed position, do your crossbow attacks, then next turn try for a Sleep or Hold Person to get into stealth again. If you really want to, then Swashbuckler is definitely the best subclass for an upfront Rogue.
There are a few spells that can let you keep using your sneak attack without needing much setup. Find Familiar is a good option for Rogues help guarantee sneak attack, allowing a familiar to take the 'help' action and grant you advantage. Shadow Blade is also a very powerful option, once you hit level 7, granting your a damage increase and also granting you advantage in dim light.
I'm coming at this from a gamist perspective. It looks like no-one in your group is willing to play a tank, and that leaves you stuck in that position.
I'd check in with your fellow players (which includes the DM), telling them about how this affects your play and enjoyment of the game, and see if you can come up with a solution.
There are ways you can get out of the front line, but ultimately, someone will end up facing the opposition in combat. If it turns out no-one enjoys combat, the DM may need to change the campaign to a different theme, engaging more in social encounters.
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Additionally, try and work with your team to set up ambushes now. If you have to 'tank', that means you guys need to start working on being able to do damage from range before the enemy closes. With an areal caster and a crossbow master rogue, you're already doing well. Work on kiting the big bad uglies, use illusion spells to disorient them.
The DM should be able to work with a group that doesn't want to have a traditional 'Tank', and your team should be able to work up a few plans to 'hand off' who's taking the damage if possible. Your companions need to invest in serious buff spells if they want you to be the tank. False Life, Bless, Mage Armor, etc. And they should prioritize getting good melee armor for your characters.
I play a Melee rogue, but toe to toe is not sustainable. I'm usually dead or almost dead after two rounds of full contact, so I have to duck in and out of combat a lot.
A rogue as a frontliner, and a druid who takes no hits has all the hallmarks of a TPK waiting to happen.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha