Post by StrykerOfChaos on Mar 17, 2008 10:35:57 GMT
One of my first characters here on HG, the Rogue is considered the jack-of-all trades.
I went pure because Rogues get some very nice bonuses, especially for newer players. With sneak attacks, high conceal, and mid 130s AC, the rogue is deadly in combat as well as outside of combat where they can easily handle any lock, trap, or find any hidden items.
This build uses Grey Elf, but can be used with numerous other open subraces which I have listed below. Feel free to adapt, change, and edit the build to your desire and if you have any questions please PM me or post here.
(Picture submitted by Augthail, using the Derrzagon variant listed below)
Base: Elf
Subrace: Grey Elf
+2 Int, -2Str, +2hide, +2 move silently
Personally, I would not go with Elf Base Race for a rogue. The elf subrace was used solely upon the wishes of someone new to the server who wanted an elven rogue. Please look directly below for other (and in my opinion better) open subraces options.
Other Open Subs that would be better or equally good:
Derrzagon {Dwarf)
+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
SR 18, Blind Fight Feat, resist acid -/5, resist fire -/5
(This is my favorite of the four options in this section. You get blind fight for free which I omitted due to the listen skill, but combined they are mighty nice. You also get Bullheaded for FREE which lets you get LSA Discipline. That means you can take a free level one feat such as strong soul for a bonus to your fort and will saves.)
Ghostwise Halfling (Halfling)
-1 Str, +1 Dex, +2 Int, -3 Cha and 10% Conceal
(Halfling receives the option to take Legendary Luck in LL without taking Luck of Heroes. I don't know what you would drop though.)
PT - Air Genasi (Human)
+2 Dex, +2 Int, Wis -2, Cha -2
25% Immune Electric, 25% Vulnerable Fire
(This would also get one more feat than this variaton at level 1 which I would recomment taking strong soul for the fort and will bonus)
PT - Water Genasi (Human)
+2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
25% Immune Cold, 25% Vulnerable Electrical
(Another option that could give you a nice hp boost instead of the int bonus. Also gets the free level 1 feat from being human)
These are just a few of them open subraces that can be used. One dwarf, one halfling, and two human options. Just use the !doc subraces command if you want to take a look! ^_^
Pros:
High Conceal Bonus from Self Conceal IV and Max Hide.
Saves are all 55+ for Legendary Areas and the first few Hell layers.
Okay AB, should hit without much problem.
Will be able to open any lock and find any secret just like a rogue should.
Slippery Mind should help with the low Will.
Is able to take advantage of a lot of skills.
Pure rogues ignore sneak immune on most enemies
This build receives no skill penalties in hell.
Cons:
Saves are not 60+ on all fronts.
No Dex bonus on this subrace.
Lower damage output than strength tanks
Str 8
Dex 18
Con 16
Wis 8
Int 12 (14)
Cha 8
I raised Dex to 18, Con to 16, and Int to 12 because these are your most important stats as a Rogue. Saves might be a little shoddy for hells, but this should be doable in any LL area.
Skills:
Tumble - This will give you 1 point of AC for every 5 points. Capped at +12 with 60 Points.
Use Magic Device - This will allow lots of gear flexibility in midlevels and allow the use of scrolls in later levels. Very useful.
Hide - Rogues get a boost to their Self Conceal feats based on their Hide skill.
Disable Trap - Lots of chests you will find will have a trap that you will search for and disable as a rogue.
Search - This will allow you to find hidden items in game and find traps on chests so that you may disable them.
Open Lock - Self Explanatory. This will open some locked doors, and almost all chests. Very useful and easy to raise because it's a Dexterity skill.
Parry - Parry is modified in Higher Ground to give critical hit immunity. It gives 1% for every 2 points above 20.
Listen - This will help fight concealed mobs. ( you can only raise this after 40 because rogues receive 1 extra skill point per 10 rogue levels in legendary levels)
Discipline - This will save you lots of grief such as slag mobs and abilities that are based on your discipline skill. A tank must have this to function. You can take this skill as a class skill after you take Legendary Skill Affinity Discipline at Level 42.
Lvl 1: Bullheaded
Bullheaded allows you to take Legenday Skill Affinity Discipline in Legendary Levels. What this means is at any level at 40 that you receive a feat, you can choose LSA Disc. to raise Discipline as a class skill. This is very useful for rogues because discipline is important for almost every character.
Lvl 3: Weapon Finesse
This will allow you to hit things due to your low strength and high dexterity. The good thing is rogues get to level 3 for free using the Rowan Guardian Tree, so you don't have to suffer.
Lvl 6: Shield Proficiency
I chose to take this as early as possible due to the ac boost it will give you as a rogue.
Lvl 9: Toughness
This gives bonus hp retroactively. Maxes at 60 extra hp at lvl 60. This is very good for rogues who don't get lots of hp.
Lvl 10: Opportunist*
At level 25 this will add your base intelligence modifier to your attack bonus (+2) and at 30 will add an additionnal +1 attack bonus. This is only applied if you wear a light weapon.
Lvl 12: Weapon Focus
I would recommend a light weapon or morningstar for this character. See: Crippling Strike and Opportunist.
Decided that Dagger might be a good choice for this build with the threat range and the fact that it is a light weapon for medium sized characters.
LVl 13: Slippery Mind*
Slippery Mind allows a reroll on all failed will saves for mind-affecting spells. At level 30 this improves to a reroll on ALL failed will saves.
Lvl 15: Improved Critical
This will improve the threat range of your weapon by one.
Lvl 16: Crippling Strike*
At Rogue level 30, Crippling Strike raises the crit range of a light weapon or morningstar by 1. At Rogue level 35, it has a chance to increase the multiplier by 1 on light weapons. These only apply in light armor or robes.
Lvl 18: Great Fortitude
Blind Fight improves your chances of hitting mobs with conceal. This can also be heightened with the use of the Listen skill.
Lvl 19: Skill Mastery*
Skill Mastery decreases the amount you skills are decreased in hells, and also allows you to open locks and traps as if you always rolled a 20. Not necessary but useful.
Lvl 21: Armor Skin
Grants the user 2AC, very nice.
Lvl 24: Epic Weapon Focus, Improved Evasion*
Epic Weapon Focus adds +1 to your attack bonus and allows you to take Legendary Weapon Focus.
Improved Evasion: When a reflex save is allowed for half damage, if they succeed the save they receive no damage. If they fail the save, they still take half damage.
Lvl 27: Epic Prowess
This add +1 to you attack bonus and also raises the bonus give by Leg. Wpn Focus from 2 to 3.
Lvl 28: Defensive Roll*
If a rogue is struck by a potentially lethal blow, they make a reflex save of DC - Dmg dealt. If they succeed they take half damage. Automatic use but limited to once per day, no useable when caught flat footed.
Lvl 30: Iron Will
This adds +1 to your Will save.
Lvl 32: Epic Dodge*
Rogues dodge the first attack directed at them each round. This feat is very nice, especially for things like Dragon Breath or monsters who get lucky with critical hits.
Lvl 33: Great Dextery I
This will raise your Dexterity by 1 point. You can take this feat up to ten times. You receive 1AB and 1AC for every 2 Dexterity points.
Lvl 36: Great Dextery II, Epic Skill Focus Search*
ESF Search raises your Search skill by 10 above the +50 magical cap from gear, song, and spell buffs. This feat is necessary for you to be able to access all the locks and traps in the game.
Lvl 39: Epic Skill Focus Disable Trap
Allows you to get the necessary Disable Trap for the game chests by raising your Disable Trap by 10 outside the magical cap.
Lvl 40: Self Concealment I
Offers 10% concealment for each feat you take up to SC V. You also get to add 4% of the hide points you've added per feat in Self Concealment.
Lvl 42: LSA Discipline
You can now put all spare points into discipline after level 42. You should have enough to max discipline now for base 63 at level 60.
Lvl 45: Self Conceal II
Lvl 48: Self Conceal III
Lvl 51: Self Conceal IV
Lvl 54: Legendary Weapon Focus
This will add 3 to your attack bonus. It will give 2 if you didn't take Epic Prowess.
Lvl 57: Legendary Will
This will add +7 to your Will saves.
Lvl 60: Legendary Fortitude
This will add +7 to your Fortitude saves.
Lvl 60 Stats:
Str 6 (18)
Dex 44 (56)
Con 16 (28)
Wis 8 (20)
Int 14
Cha 8
Saves:
Fort 63= 25 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels) +7 (Legendary Fortitude)
Reflex 63 = 32 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels)
Will 56 = 18 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels) + 7 (Legendary Will)
Attack Bonus 87 = 39 (Base) + 7(+14 Ability Points) + 6(Gear) + 3(Leg. Wpn Focus) + 20(Weapon Buffs) + 12 (Tier 2 LL BAB)
Armor Class 131 = 10 (Base) + 22 (Dex Mod) + 15 (Armor Bonus) + 20 (Dodge) + 17 (BUR Deflection) + 17 (Natural) + 16 (Shield) + 12 (Tumble) +2 (Armor Skin)
Tips to play:
You never want to attack the same thing that is attacking you. It is very important to focus on something that you can sneak for max damage. This may mean that you are constantly changing targets, but in the long run you are being more useful.
The skill Use Magic Device will allow the use of Black Blades of Disaster, Greater Sanctuary, Stone to Flesh, Mind Blank, and Clarity Scrolls. These are all very useful in their own ways. BBoDs can be used to distract groups of mobs if used correctly.
Greater Sanctuary will allow you to protect yourself in a tough fight and perhaps save the party with some handy Ressurection packs. The other scrolls are all used to cure some form of problematic status found in Legendary Levels.
I went pure because Rogues get some very nice bonuses, especially for newer players. With sneak attacks, high conceal, and mid 130s AC, the rogue is deadly in combat as well as outside of combat where they can easily handle any lock, trap, or find any hidden items.
This build uses Grey Elf, but can be used with numerous other open subraces which I have listed below. Feel free to adapt, change, and edit the build to your desire and if you have any questions please PM me or post here.
(Picture submitted by Augthail, using the Derrzagon variant listed below)
Base: Elf
Subrace: Grey Elf
+2 Int, -2Str, +2hide, +2 move silently
Personally, I would not go with Elf Base Race for a rogue. The elf subrace was used solely upon the wishes of someone new to the server who wanted an elven rogue. Please look directly below for other (and in my opinion better) open subraces options.
Other Open Subs that would be better or equally good:
Derrzagon {Dwarf)
+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
SR 18, Blind Fight Feat, resist acid -/5, resist fire -/5
(This is my favorite of the four options in this section. You get blind fight for free which I omitted due to the listen skill, but combined they are mighty nice. You also get Bullheaded for FREE which lets you get LSA Discipline. That means you can take a free level one feat such as strong soul for a bonus to your fort and will saves.)
Ghostwise Halfling (Halfling)
-1 Str, +1 Dex, +2 Int, -3 Cha and 10% Conceal
(Halfling receives the option to take Legendary Luck in LL without taking Luck of Heroes. I don't know what you would drop though.)
PT - Air Genasi (Human)
+2 Dex, +2 Int, Wis -2, Cha -2
25% Immune Electric, 25% Vulnerable Fire
(This would also get one more feat than this variaton at level 1 which I would recomment taking strong soul for the fort and will bonus)
PT - Water Genasi (Human)
+2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
25% Immune Cold, 25% Vulnerable Electrical
(Another option that could give you a nice hp boost instead of the int bonus. Also gets the free level 1 feat from being human)
These are just a few of them open subraces that can be used. One dwarf, one halfling, and two human options. Just use the !doc subraces command if you want to take a look! ^_^
Pros:
High Conceal Bonus from Self Conceal IV and Max Hide.
Saves are all 55+ for Legendary Areas and the first few Hell layers.
Okay AB, should hit without much problem.
Will be able to open any lock and find any secret just like a rogue should.
Slippery Mind should help with the low Will.
Is able to take advantage of a lot of skills.
Pure rogues ignore sneak immune on most enemies
This build receives no skill penalties in hell.
Cons:
Saves are not 60+ on all fronts.
No Dex bonus on this subrace.
Lower damage output than strength tanks
Str 8
Dex 18
Con 16
Wis 8
Int 12 (14)
Cha 8
I raised Dex to 18, Con to 16, and Int to 12 because these are your most important stats as a Rogue. Saves might be a little shoddy for hells, but this should be doable in any LL area.
Skills:
Tumble - This will give you 1 point of AC for every 5 points. Capped at +12 with 60 Points.
Use Magic Device - This will allow lots of gear flexibility in midlevels and allow the use of scrolls in later levels. Very useful.
Hide - Rogues get a boost to their Self Conceal feats based on their Hide skill.
Disable Trap - Lots of chests you will find will have a trap that you will search for and disable as a rogue.
Search - This will allow you to find hidden items in game and find traps on chests so that you may disable them.
Open Lock - Self Explanatory. This will open some locked doors, and almost all chests. Very useful and easy to raise because it's a Dexterity skill.
Parry - Parry is modified in Higher Ground to give critical hit immunity. It gives 1% for every 2 points above 20.
Listen - This will help fight concealed mobs. ( you can only raise this after 40 because rogues receive 1 extra skill point per 10 rogue levels in legendary levels)
Discipline - This will save you lots of grief such as slag mobs and abilities that are based on your discipline skill. A tank must have this to function. You can take this skill as a class skill after you take Legendary Skill Affinity Discipline at Level 42.
Lvl 1: Bullheaded
Bullheaded allows you to take Legenday Skill Affinity Discipline in Legendary Levels. What this means is at any level at 40 that you receive a feat, you can choose LSA Disc. to raise Discipline as a class skill. This is very useful for rogues because discipline is important for almost every character.
Lvl 3: Weapon Finesse
This will allow you to hit things due to your low strength and high dexterity. The good thing is rogues get to level 3 for free using the Rowan Guardian Tree, so you don't have to suffer.
Lvl 6: Shield Proficiency
I chose to take this as early as possible due to the ac boost it will give you as a rogue.
Lvl 9: Toughness
This gives bonus hp retroactively. Maxes at 60 extra hp at lvl 60. This is very good for rogues who don't get lots of hp.
Lvl 10: Opportunist*
At level 25 this will add your base intelligence modifier to your attack bonus (+2) and at 30 will add an additionnal +1 attack bonus. This is only applied if you wear a light weapon.
Lvl 12: Weapon Focus
I would recommend a light weapon or morningstar for this character. See: Crippling Strike and Opportunist.
Decided that Dagger might be a good choice for this build with the threat range and the fact that it is a light weapon for medium sized characters.
LVl 13: Slippery Mind*
Slippery Mind allows a reroll on all failed will saves for mind-affecting spells. At level 30 this improves to a reroll on ALL failed will saves.
Lvl 15: Improved Critical
This will improve the threat range of your weapon by one.
Lvl 16: Crippling Strike*
At Rogue level 30, Crippling Strike raises the crit range of a light weapon or morningstar by 1. At Rogue level 35, it has a chance to increase the multiplier by 1 on light weapons. These only apply in light armor or robes.
Lvl 18: Great Fortitude
Blind Fight improves your chances of hitting mobs with conceal. This can also be heightened with the use of the Listen skill.
Lvl 19: Skill Mastery*
Skill Mastery decreases the amount you skills are decreased in hells, and also allows you to open locks and traps as if you always rolled a 20. Not necessary but useful.
Lvl 21: Armor Skin
Grants the user 2AC, very nice.
Lvl 24: Epic Weapon Focus, Improved Evasion*
Epic Weapon Focus adds +1 to your attack bonus and allows you to take Legendary Weapon Focus.
Improved Evasion: When a reflex save is allowed for half damage, if they succeed the save they receive no damage. If they fail the save, they still take half damage.
Lvl 27: Epic Prowess
This add +1 to you attack bonus and also raises the bonus give by Leg. Wpn Focus from 2 to 3.
Lvl 28: Defensive Roll*
If a rogue is struck by a potentially lethal blow, they make a reflex save of DC - Dmg dealt. If they succeed they take half damage. Automatic use but limited to once per day, no useable when caught flat footed.
Lvl 30: Iron Will
This adds +1 to your Will save.
Lvl 32: Epic Dodge*
Rogues dodge the first attack directed at them each round. This feat is very nice, especially for things like Dragon Breath or monsters who get lucky with critical hits.
Lvl 33: Great Dextery I
This will raise your Dexterity by 1 point. You can take this feat up to ten times. You receive 1AB and 1AC for every 2 Dexterity points.
Lvl 36: Great Dextery II, Epic Skill Focus Search*
ESF Search raises your Search skill by 10 above the +50 magical cap from gear, song, and spell buffs. This feat is necessary for you to be able to access all the locks and traps in the game.
Lvl 39: Epic Skill Focus Disable Trap
Allows you to get the necessary Disable Trap for the game chests by raising your Disable Trap by 10 outside the magical cap.
Lvl 40: Self Concealment I
Offers 10% concealment for each feat you take up to SC V. You also get to add 4% of the hide points you've added per feat in Self Concealment.
Lvl 42: LSA Discipline
You can now put all spare points into discipline after level 42. You should have enough to max discipline now for base 63 at level 60.
Lvl 45: Self Conceal II
Lvl 48: Self Conceal III
Lvl 51: Self Conceal IV
Lvl 54: Legendary Weapon Focus
This will add 3 to your attack bonus. It will give 2 if you didn't take Epic Prowess.
Lvl 57: Legendary Will
This will add +7 to your Will saves.
Lvl 60: Legendary Fortitude
This will add +7 to your Fortitude saves.
Lvl 60 Stats:
Str 6 (18)
Dex 44 (56)
Con 16 (28)
Wis 8 (20)
Int 14
Cha 8
Saves:
Fort 63= 25 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels) +7 (Legendary Fortitude)
Reflex 63 = 32 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels)
Will 56 = 18 (Base at 40) + 6 (+12 to items) + 20 (Equipment) +5 (Legendary Levels) + 7 (Legendary Will)
Attack Bonus 87 = 39 (Base) + 7(+14 Ability Points) + 6(Gear) + 3(Leg. Wpn Focus) + 20(Weapon Buffs) + 12 (Tier 2 LL BAB)
Armor Class 131 = 10 (Base) + 22 (Dex Mod) + 15 (Armor Bonus) + 20 (Dodge) + 17 (BUR Deflection) + 17 (Natural) + 16 (Shield) + 12 (Tumble) +2 (Armor Skin)
Tips to play:
You never want to attack the same thing that is attacking you. It is very important to focus on something that you can sneak for max damage. This may mean that you are constantly changing targets, but in the long run you are being more useful.
The skill Use Magic Device will allow the use of Black Blades of Disaster, Greater Sanctuary, Stone to Flesh, Mind Blank, and Clarity Scrolls. These are all very useful in their own ways. BBoDs can be used to distract groups of mobs if used correctly.
Greater Sanctuary will allow you to protect yourself in a tough fight and perhaps save the party with some handy Ressurection packs. The other scrolls are all used to cure some form of problematic status found in Legendary Levels.
