The Arcane Trickster is a powerful archetype in Dungeons and Dragons 5e, offering a unique blend of magic and utility. With a number of known spells, including enchantment and illusion spells from the wizard spell list, Arcane Tricksters are always prepared. This includes leveled spells like Dimension Door, Polymorph, Stoneskin, Wall of Fire, and any 4th-level summon.
The best 4th-level Arcane Trickster spells are Dimension Door, Polymorph, Stoneskin, Wall of Fire, and any of the 4th-level summons. To create an Arcane Trickster, players must prepare a list of level 1+ spells, starting with Charm Person. The Arcane Trickster’s ability to combine magic with stealth and thievery is a powerful combination that complements their natural stealth and penchant for skullduggery.
The number of spells gained from Arcane Trickster is determined by the number in the “Spells Known” column. Some classes do not prepare spells but have a list of known spells that are always prepared. For example, bards, eldritch knights, rangers, arcane tricksters, sorcerers, or warlocks do not prepare spells and can cast any spell they know.
The Arcane Trickster Spellcasting table has a “Spells Known” column, where each spell counts as a cleric spell for the player and is always prepared. Prepared casters can modify their list of prepared spells on-the-go, and this guide will teach you how to do so.
In conclusion, the Arcane Trickster is a versatile and useful class in Dungeons and Dragons 5e, offering a unique blend of magic and utility.
📹 How to Play an Arcane Trickster in D&D 5e
This is my guide for building an effective Arcane Trickster. This build focuses on doing damage effectively in combat while giving …
Does Arcane Trickster need to prepare spells?
Arcane Trickster Rogues are endowed with a fixed number of known cantrips and spells at each level. Additionally, they are permitted to substitute a single spell for another each time they gain a level, thus obviating the necessity for a spellbook.
Do Arcane tricksters know all spells?
You have three 1st-level wizard spells of your choice, two of which must be chosen from the wizard spell list. The Spells Known column in the Arcane Trickster Spellcasting table indicates when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher. Each spell must be an enchantment or illusion spell and have a level slot. At the 7th level, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. The spells at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic.
How do Arcane tricksters cast spells?
The Arcane Trickster Spellcasting table displays the number of spell slots available for casting wizard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast a spell, one must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. All expended spell slots are regained after a long rest. For instance, if you know the 1st-level spell Charm Person and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level slot available, you can cast it using either slot.
You know three 1st-level wizard spells, two of which must be chosen from the wizard spell list. The Spells Known column shows when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher, each of which must be an enchantment or illusion spell of your choice and have spell slots available.
Can Arcane tricksters have a familiar?
The Arcane Trickster spell enables the caster to cast the “find familiar” spell, which can provide assistance to any player selected by the caster in the next attack. It should be noted, however, that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by an extension, and that your browser does not support cookies.
Do arcane tricksters need a spell focus?
In this text, the player learns to cast spells as an Arcane Trickster, following the rules outlined in the Player’s Handbook. They have three cantrips: Mage Hand and two other cantrips of their choice from the Arcane spell list. As they gain a Rogue level, they can replace one of their cantrips with another from the Arcane spell list. When reaching 10th level, another Arcane cantrip is learned.
The Arcane Trickster Spellcasting table shows the number of spell slots needed to cast spells of 1st level and higher. To cast a spell, one must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. All expended spell slots are regained after a Long Rest.
A list of prepared spells of 1st level and higher is prepared for the player. This includes three 1st-level spells from the Arcane spell list, two of which must be from the Enchantment and Illusion schools of magic. The number of spells on the list increases as the player gains Rogue levels.
When a player gains a level, they can replace one of their known spells with another spell of their choice from the Arcane spell list. The chosen spells must be of a level for which they have spell slots.
The 17th level of spell casting allows the player to magically steal the knowledge of how to cast a spell from another spellcaster. After a creature casts a spell that targets them or includes them in its area of effect, the player can use their Reaction to force the creature to make a saving throw with its spellcasting ability modifier. If the save fails, the player negates the spell’s effect against them and steals the knowledge of the spell if it is at least 1st level and of a level they can cast.
The prepared spells for the rogue level are listed in the table.
Do arcane tricksters use a focus?
In this text, the player learns to cast spells as an Arcane Trickster, following the rules outlined in the Player’s Handbook. They have three cantrips: Mage Hand and two other cantrips of their choice from the Arcane spell list. As they gain a Rogue level, they can replace one of their cantrips with another from the Arcane spell list. When reaching 10th level, another Arcane cantrip is learned.
The Arcane Trickster Spellcasting table shows the number of spell slots needed to cast spells of 1st level and higher. To cast a spell, one must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. All expended spell slots are regained after a Long Rest.
A list of prepared spells of 1st level and higher is prepared for the player. This includes three 1st-level spells from the Arcane spell list, two of which must be from the Enchantment and Illusion schools of magic. The number of spells on the list increases as the player gains Rogue levels.
When a player gains a level, they can replace one of their known spells with another spell of their choice from the Arcane spell list. The chosen spells must be of a level for which they have spell slots.
The 17th level of spell casting allows the player to magically steal the knowledge of how to cast a spell from another spellcaster. After a creature casts a spell that targets them or includes them in its area of effect, the player can use their Reaction to force the creature to make a saving throw with its spellcasting ability modifier. If the save fails, the player negates the spell’s effect against them and steals the knowledge of the spell if it is at least 1st level and of a level they can cast.
The prepared spells for the rogue level are listed in the table.
Why is Arcane Trickster so good?
The Arcane Trickster subclass allows rogues to infiltrate hard-to-access areas with the best loot, often undetected due to their useful spells. There are various ways to build an Arcane Trickster, but players need to consider certain factors to maximize their potential. The 2024 Player’s Handbook is expected to incorporate all of D and D 5e’s current content, providing up-to-date information on the best build options for Arcane Rogues. Key factors include dexterity, intelligence, constitution, wisdom, intelligence, and strength. This information can be used in campaigns to enhance the effectiveness of the Arcane Rogue.
Does Arcane Trickster need high intelligence?
In D and D 5e, Intelligence and Dexterity are crucial for an Arcane Trickster. They get fewer spells that don’t rely on their Spellcasting Ability, so a high Intelligence score is needed to ensure enemies fail their saving throws and make their illusions harder to spot. Intelligence is also useful for the Arcana skill, which helps identify various arcane elements. Constitution boosts an Arcane Trickster’s hit points and concentration saving throws, allowing them to use powerful melee D and D Cantrips more easily.
Wisdom should be leveled just enough to avoid negative penalties. Perception and Insight rolls are useful, and any leg-up a character can gain will go a long way. Rogues can improve skills through their Expertise feature at level 1 and 6, so a lower Wisdom score doesn’t feel as strong as other classes. An Arcane Trickster Rogue’s Ability Scores are spread too thin, so Charisma should be dumped along with Strength.
How does Arcane Trickster work?
Arcane Tricksters can use Wizard spells to enhance their abilities, trick enemies, and defend themselves more effectively. They learn three cantrips: Mage Hand and two other cantrips from the wizard spell list. Class features include saving throws, dexterity, and intelligence. Hit points are 1d8 per rogue level, with higher levels having 1d8 or 5) plus your Constitution modifier. Armor is light armor, and weapons include simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, and shortswords.
What race is best for Arcane Trickster?
Arcane tricksters are skilled in perception and darkvision, which can be utilized by any rogue. High elves can choose a free cantrip from the wizard spell list, while wood elves are ideal for sneaky rogues with blades. Gnomes have darkvision and resistance to magic, while forest gnomes receive the Minor Illusion cantrip for free. Halflings can use the Lucky feat, making arcane tricksters versatile and suitable for any play style.
Do Arcane tricksters automatically get mage hands?
The Arcane Trickster Rogue must learn Mage Hand at level three, along with two other Wizard cantrips. They gain several Mage-Hand-related perks from level three, including the ability to control the hand with a bonus action, making their handy pal invisible, and three additional actions: stashing an object in a container, fetching an object from another creature’s container, and picking locks and disarming traps on their behalf. These actions can be performed without detection if a Slight of Hand check against a character’s Perception is successful.
📹 BG3 – ASTARION Arcane TRICKSTER Build: SNEAKS, SPELLS & DICE TRICKS – HONOUR & Tactician Ready
Learn how to build ASTARION or the MC into an ARCANE TRICKSTER! For great versatility, which access to almost ALL the best …
Ritual Caster is amazing for an Arcane Trickster: Comprehend Languages – You are a better scout if you can understand what enemies are saying. Detect Magic – You are a better thief if you know what items are magical. Find Familiar – You are a better spellcaster if you can regain the familiar your DM just killed without spending a spell slot and if you can choose one more wizard non-restricted school spell. Illusory Script – You are a better infiltrator if you can fake that royal party invitation. Leomund’s Tiny Hut – You are a better spellcaster if you can sleep safely for 8 hours. Water Breathing – You are a better thief if you can access that chamber filled with water. Rary’s Telepathic Bond – You are a better scout/infiltrator if you can speak if your party while scouting ahead/infiltrating the enemy camp. On a side note, I recommend choosing sleight of hand as one of your expertises. This will improve your mage hand ledgerdemain.
One of the less known merits of daggers over shortswords is the ability to dual wield at range. The offhand attack rules only specify that you’re attacking with light weapons in each hand, it says nothing aboot melee attacks, just melee weapons, which daggers are. Edit: This is what I get for skimming the rules: It explicitly says you can throw them. PHB pg. 195.
Sleep seems like a mandatory pick at L3. You’ll want to replace it in a couple levels but for now it is far above the rest. Suggestion + Magical Ambush is powerful both in and out of combat. You should swap it in when you reach L9 if you don’t already have it. Hold Person is especially awkward on an AT because they will normally get two saving throws before you can attack with your melee weapon. Magical Ambush will not impose disadvantage on the second one. Mirror Image is overrated. Who has time to cast it on the first round of combat? Mostly you are looking at the niche use where you can cast buff spells before combat. I can understand taking it eventually but at L7? Shield is a better L8 choice than any second level spell. Most of your first level spell slots are going begging at this point. At this level spells like Tasha’s Hideous Laughter are usually a poor alternative to using your weapons. Teleport spells like Misty Step, Thunder Step, and Dimension Door are always useful no matter what level you are. You should take one of them. As a rogue the extra mobility will help you in so many ways. By the time you learn spells like Slow and especially Banishment your full-caster party members will have much more effective ways of dealing with creatures that can’t make saving throws. Be wary of picking spells that compete with your wizard, sorcerer, or bard. Your low-level spells and limited slots cannot possibly keep up with them. Prefer spells like Disguise Self, Shield, Find Familiar, Misty Step, Shadow Blade, and others that make you a better rogue.
Personally I’m a big fan of silent image on arcane tricksters. Firstly it often works to your advantage for it to be silent, as you can make a copy of yourself cross enemy vision while being “sneaky”. Or otherwise creating fake scenery that’s more believable than minor image, like a bush swaying lightly in the wind while you stand behind the fake wall it’s in front of. Secondly, and what I often do, is use it as a fog cloud in practice. If you’re DM is reasonable (and this is a reasonable thing) you can have it obscure just the same as fog cloud, but in a more controlled area. What it does even better, is let your allies see through it when the enemies can’t. Some DMs might let you see through it without a check because the caster tells you it’s an illusion. But if they don’t and you have a turn or two waiting in ambush, they can try and beat it with assistance. Making enemies blind while you can see.
My current idea for an Arcane Trickster is going Tiefling lineage of Glasya and using the variant feral option for +3 dex ASI (yes, this is possible in the rules if the DM allows variant tieflings, you won’t be able to do it AL because of the multiple book rule thought), so start with 18 dex and 14 int, get minor illusion for free, disguise self for free at lvl 3, and invisibility for free at lvl 5(2 levels earlier than you could normally as an AT), yes I know that these are just one time a day each, but you probably will not need to use them more than once each day and it gives you one cantrip and 2 top choice spells for AT for free and opens up more choices for you, so you can get Mage Hand, Booming Blade and Message as your cantrips and still have minor illusion, the only other thing I think I would probably say is certain is picking Shadow Blade and Mirror Image at lvl 7.
At 1st level, you should almost certainly be favoring ranged combat over melee combat!. You are way too squishy to stand on the front lines, and you don’t have access to bonus action Disengage yet. Making the switch to melee at level 2 is far less risky in my humble opinion. At level 1, stay in the back ranks and use a short bow or light crossbow to plug away at enemies that are adjacent to your allies. Arcane Trickster Rogues are extremely versatile in that they can be just as effective at range as they are in melee. This allows them to alter their tactics depending on the types of opponents that they are facing.
Been perusal your arcane trickster articles and illusions cause me and my friends are doing a slightly homebrewed version of Rise of the Runelords (we’re doing it with dnd5e skill checks and whatnot as that’s what our dm is most familiar with, but we’re allowed to use pathfinder classes and races) and I’m planning on building a Kitsune as an Arcane Trickster. Illusions and trickery are a major Kitsune thing, so it definitely seems like a fun match rp wise. These have been very helpful with trying to figure out what to expect with the class ^^
There are some additional options I think are important to consider: The High Elf is a really good alternative to Gnome that deserves special mention imho. Access to SCAG cantrips from level 1 and Elven Accuracy are valuable assets. I do like the advantage on saves from Gnome though, it is one of the weak points of Rogues. The way I read the rules you can trade in a 1st level spell known to get both Shadow Blade and Mirror Image at level 7. I would highly recommend doing this, especially if you went with Elven Accuracy. Speaking of first level spells, I think getting Shield at level 8 is preferable to something like Web. The other 1st level spells are kind of circumstantial and we have 4 slots to fill. Web on the other hand is fighting with Mirror Image and Shadow Blade for slots.
Mobility is very important for a rogue, I would always choose a spell to improve it. Both Levitate and Spider Climb are good choices, in fact playing through CoS, my arcane trickster’s spider climb was key to reaching Strand through the walls, also it opens you in the exploration roles the rogue is usually expected to be lead. Once you got a magic items to help you in this, you could change for other combat focused spell.
I plan to make Kobold variant noble Knight to justify the reason why 4 Kobolds would join the party. Either one of the player is Noble or some Noble gave them to assist them saying “You can use them as you see fit, they will be loyal to you as long you treat them with respect” I would consider at levels 2 to 4 taking 3 levels Bard on Lore, Sword or Whisper based on if party needs healing. -Healing word is useful. Bonus action so you can still attack while healing -Song of rest raises the healing 1d6. If party has fighter, warlock, druid or monk they could spend their resources take some dmg and then your party takes short rest to heal and gain thous back. -Sleep is super effective spell, using it to knock something like 1 to 3 orcs based on lukcy (13hp, average of 20 so 1 orc should always sleep) or 2 to 5 Kobolds with hp 7… -You also gain 2 more expertise this way -3 levels still let you take 17th level sub class feature, for me it would be arcane trickster’s as I value Find familiar so much Kobold -The “Direct Sunlight” is up to DM and best case scenario you must see the sun for it to count. Fighting under a tree or in streets should leave you in shadows so this is not a problem. -Pack Tactics means you always attack with advantage and Find Familiar being next to you or on your solder will allow you to use sneak attack and pack tactics even if the familiar did nothing. This means you can help action other people like Sorcerer using Firebolt . . . -Grovel, Cower, and Beg gives everyone advantage so using this is neat.
@Treantmonk: In your previous Arcane Trickster build guide, I believe you chose Color Spray at level 3 instead of Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Would you care to explain the change of heart? I think Tasha’s Hideous Laughter is quite good starting at level 9 once you get Magical Ambush, but it’s far less reliable at level 3 relative to Sleep or Color Spray, neither of which allow a saving throw.
Great insights. Few comments suggestions. While forest gnome brings much to the table move of 25 gimps them a bit. I would prefer going the same route described in the vid but use high elf with choice of cantrip and full 30 move. With extra mobility thinking mobile at some point (10th or 12th) for maximum battlefield movement without having to burn bonus action as disengage.
I’m two sessions deep into Out of the Abyss with a drow arcane trickster. We start our campaigns at level 3 (appropriately scaled) and having a once daily Faerie Fire as innate drow magic is a huge boon. Yes, it takes an action to cast it if needed, but being able to give yourself advantage for sneak attacks is awesome, assuming at least something fails a relatively low DC check. I usually get one failure in there.
I like what you have done. But from the perspective of someone has played this before i want to point out that in standard array or point buy stat calculations your intelligence is not super high so your spell dc suffers and your spell progression takes forever. So don’t count on getting all these spells mentioned, especially when the average campaign doesn’t get past 12th level. Also several feats were discussed but remember unless you play human variant you get 1 at 4th level and 1 at 8th level and then you get around level 12 and the campaign usually crumbles. I hope yours doesn’t – but it happens.
I think a really good backround for this class would be a custom one that’s mostly a criminal spy, but replaces a proficiency and equipment with cobbler’s tools and the skills to use them. With find familiar and the forest gnome’s speak with small beasts you have a lot of ways to get info from the local wildlife so it’s a unique way to play as a spy. Being a cobbler gives you a great excuse to be hanging around places or comping out on the street near a place you want to watch. The xanathars option for cobblers tools is also amazing fun. Making a secret compartment can hide secret documents, poisons, small stolen objects, and if your DM is generous maybe even a dagger.
7:00 That’s the cool thing about rogues The damage they do with attacks is not really based on the weapon damage die. Wether you roll a D4 or a D8, you still roll your 5D6 sneak attack. Rogues profit even more from light weapons to increase the chance of hitting at least once a turn with that bonus action attack (if the first attack hit, they still have other options with cunning action).
I find it interesting that you don’t switch out a spell at level 7 so you can get 2 second level spells. Are there really no second level spells that are better than silent image / disguise self / Tasha’s once you hit level 7? Earlier shadowblade, invis, hold person for tashas, etc? Same with level 13, is there no 3rd level spell that is better than one you already know?
Interesting take on the AT rogue. I built mine more like an allrounder. High-Elf rogue with elven accuracy and longbow. It can dish out damage or control the field the spells, whatever is needed. Get bladelock or champion fighter for 19-to-crit if needed. Or you can go 2 lvl in sorcerer for the metamagic fun.
You didn’t mention the Sentinel/Mirror Image synergy. You can attack as a reaction when an enemy hits the Mirror Image. What I haven’t wondered about up until now is whether the Mirror Image counts as an “another enemy of the target that is within 5 feet of it and that enemy isn’t incapacitated,” for the purpose of Sneak Attack. I assume it isn’t. I think taking Sentinel on a rogue is still pretty risky anyway. Unless you have some really obvious squishies that must be better targets than you.
I know point buy is used to give an example of hierarchy of abilities but… never point buy. Always roll. If you DM ain’t a dick he’ll let you roll multiple sets and you can pick the one best suited for your class. Having 1 negative modifier is “fine” i guess, for most people. But having 2 is just suicide. This characters aren’t common folk, they are adventurers, they are supposed to be better than common folk and that’s why they go on missions. I’ll never buy into “negative scores are awesome for roleplay” if you need stats for actual roleplay you are doing it wrong. You can play a +5 INT wizard that’s just plain dumb for anything that’s not magic. My favorite rolled-stat method is munchkin. Roll 24 dice, take out the lower 6 (you keep 18) and combine the rest in groups of 3 to determine your stats. That way you can almost always guarantee a 18 for your main stat, 20 with racial bonus.
Does tunnel fighter work with sneak attack, virtually allowing you to make an extra sneak attack per enemy’s turn that leaves your threatened area, and potentially they’re all booming blades cuz warcaster, and they’re all running away in the first place cuz we chose fallen aasimar and spent our turn 1 transforming for the fear effect?
While I love mirror imagine, I do have issues about when to cast it. Ideally you would do it just before initiative starts. However not all DMs really allow that. So then it is a choice between mirror image and a sneak attack, which is a hard one imho. In what situation if you are already in initiative would you use it?
Great analysis. But I’d like to point that Fog cloud is a god tier spell for rogue. Most importantly here is that you can hide each turn in a fog cloud or behind it, and it lasts up to an hour. Attack with booming blade, run and hide, since opportunity attacks don’t work and you don’t need to disengage. We’ve discussed with my DM that, if they are bumping into me, I stop being hidden. But anyway I am rarely being attacked, so I won’t take Mirror image. I’ve taken Variant human with Magic initiate to have Find familiar too. There is a problem with darkvision. So I’m keeping asking for Goggles of Night from my dm 🙂 But it’s fine to use Dancing lights or Light cantrips. Familiar can deliver Light 100 feet away from you (it’s a touch spell).
I’ve made a somewhat similiar build for an Arcane Trickster who is… kind of like Indiana Jones, but with magical kung fu. He “retrieves” enchanted items and other treasures for a university, but his personal quest is to recover lost knowledge of his ancestors’ Bladesinger magic. From 5th level onward, I would start taking up to 3 levels in Wizard and then Bladesinger, when the story progression maked it possible. That means to unlock his Wizard abilities, the character would need to obtain a spell book (he lost his before the start of the campaign), and to become a Bladesinger he would need to first find information on how to use Bladesong and then take some time to train himself in it. This was meant to be be a thematic build, not a optimized damage dealer though. Outside the spell book, he learned mostly spells that help him locate valuables (or enemies), pinch them and then get away safely, because that’s what he does and would naturally want to be as good as possible at.
I’m currently playing a level 6 Arcane Trickster we are on the same page for the most part with spell selection; I’ve acquired a Rapier sword of wounding, a plus 2 long bow and bracers of archery. Two questions: is shadowblade still necessary in this scenario, and should I consider optimizing my range game?
one big misconception about Invisibility. Invisibility does NOT enhance your stealth. it doesn’t give you an advantage (unless the DM judges it to be appropriate) and doesn’t give you +10. Invisibility allows you to use stealth where normally you couldn’t. Do you want to enter the courthouse without being noticed? sure, you need to enter by the main door and there is 4 guards guarding it. and nothing offering heavy obscurement or blocking line of sight. you got 2 options left, go around town, really a crowd who will storm the courthouse and you can hide within the crowd, or you can cast invisibility Invisibility is not mandatory sure, but it does allow you to you what you are good at more often
Tired of always using an owl familiar? By RAW, here is how you can use any type of familiar to grant you Advantage on your Booming Blade attack every round without incurring opportunity attacks or leaving your familiar adjacent to the target. For purposes of illustration, I will assume that you are using a weasel: – Since the weasel is a Tiny creature, it can treat your rogue as an independent mount, riding on the rogue’s shoulder. – On each of its turns, the weasel Readies an Action to use the Help Action in order to grant the rogue advantage on his next attack. The readied action is set to trigger as soon as the weasel comes within 5 feet of the rogue’s target. – The rogue darts in with his rapier, gains advantage on his Booming Blade attack due to the weasel’s Help Action, does Sneak Attack damage as well because of advantage and the fact that the weasel counts as an adjacent ally, uses a bonus action to Disengage, and then darts back out of range again, taking the weasel with him. – The rules for mounted combat state that “if the mount provokes an opportunity attack while you’re on it, the attacker can target you or the mount.” Also by RAW, “you don’t provoke an opportunity attack when … someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction”. In this case, the rogue is the weasel’s mount and he is moving the weasel without using its movement, action, or reaction. The rogue does not provoke an opportunity attack for moving away thanks to the Disengage action, therefore neither does the weasel on his shoulder.
Fantastic article as always. It seems iffy to me that characters who primarily depend on sight just know where an invisible opponent is automatically without having to make a perception check or anything. In any case blindsense should still be useful because a reasonable DM is probably going to allow you to use it to attack an invisible creature without disadvantage (and also avoid being attacked by them with advantage) which also means you might be able to get your sneak attack in. The main argument for this is that otherwise this 14th level class feature is almost completely useless, as you pointed out, which can’t possibly be the intent of the game developers.
5e rogues are classes without a role. It’s pretty telling that the better ones are hobbyist wizards. I mean, skills are supposed to be their niche, but their inefficacy sidelines them. Because of casters and their familiars, rogues don’t scout. And if we go by WotC adventures, there’s practically never an opportunity to use your thieve’s tools. T-Monk is indeed correct to think of them first as martial; they’re basically high maintainence fighters.
for 8th level Darkness is nasty for an arcane trickster, you can cast it on a object and move that object with mage hand or a bat familiar and really interfere with casters/ranged attackers. Or for huge enemies you can move darkness over the head of the enemy while keeping it away from its body so party can still attack w/o penalty.
I don’t understand how you get to the mid 60s damage range at level 20 the average damage for a level 20 Booming Blade + Sneak Attack is = 4d8 + 10d6 + 5 = 18 + 35 + 5 = 58 (without taking into account chance to hit) Is the extra damage due the Secondary BB damage? or the reaction attack? I think these are way too unreliable to be counted as certain damage. And if we don’t count them, the damage falls dangerously close to the Baseline: 4d10 + 4d6 + 20 = 22 + 14 + 20 = 56 What’s even worse is that Booming Blade got nerfed recently and now you can’t cast it using Shadow Blade, since the material component has a cost.
no haste again. 🙁 Started off well enough focusing on being a skirmisher with a few control/illusion spells but turned into a controller again in the end. Would’ve been nice to see spell selections made to maximize dpr instead and let the spellcasters handle the controlling. I’m also a bit disappointed the feat choices were pretty defensive especially towards the end. Would’ve preferred lucky, alert and magic initiate over tough. Would’ve liked a multiclass into fighter for a few levels at least to get that action surge and extra attack.
I remember in your rogue variant article you talked about how poisons aren’t very good because they’re way too expensive, don’t do much damage for their cost and are really a pain to make thanks to the terrible crafting system. Could you make or recommend a system that fixes these problems? I’ve tried to do it myself and looked at a couple of replacement crafting systems that others have made, but they are never quite right.
video thoughts: Intro: Rogue isn’t a martial class? Who the Fck says that? Apparently rapiers aren’t martial weapons nor are short/long swords or hand crossbows. :/ Race: My current favorite for Dex characters is Kobold though if it’s a 1 shot campaign or a level 6 cap campaign V. Humans are hard to ignore. For those worried about Kobold sunlight sensitivity, I recommend looking up this amazing mundane invention called sunglasses, where the first known variations are dated back to the 12th century. I mean if there’s a magic item that let’s you see in the dark, it makes sense that something can be thrown together to do the opposite and survive the rigors of combat through an enchantment if you’re worried about it breaking. Level 4-5: While 16 AC isn’t high I find it to be a acceptable amount when you’re not planning to sit in melee and it’ll improve as your ASI’s come in. And since you’re a (1/3 level casting) MARTIAL CLASS you’ll get 6 ASI’s. xD Level 12: ASI, I’m torn between taking lucky here or capping your Dex at this point as the sooner you take lucky the more mileage you get out of it. And having a +1 to Dex related things vs 3 bonus rolls a day to increase the odds of passing said important rolls seems like a better alternative. For example: rolling a 3 on a attack and having an additional +1 to hit likely won’t be as useful as simply re-rolling the die when something needs to die. Or when you really need a caster in your group to go first in the round to drop a silence or some other CC and everyone rolls crap initiative against a important caster boss, that’s never happened before.
I’m sorry my friend, I disagree with the Sentinel choice for a Rogue. Sentinel does not provide additional uses of sneak attack. You only get one SA per round. Sentinel just provides an extra attempt to make a sneak attack, and only on rare occasion. I’ve found that Mobile is a much better feat. Not only does it boost your movement speed by a whopping 10ft, it also allows you to move away from any target you’ve attacked that round WITHOUT provoking an attack of opportunity. And for a Rogue, mobility is absolutely essential. This feat greatly improves your movement, and gives you an unrivaled ability to flit around the battlefield free of consequences. Plus, if you’ve taken booming blade, why would you take a feat like sentinel that stops your enemies movement? Sure you get an extra attack that round, but without sneak attack, and without your cantrip bonus damage. It just seems like a lose lose to me.
I built my arcane trickster pretty differently. Started with a level in Fighter for armour, whip proficiency and Blind Fighting. Then 4 levels in Rogue. Picked Fog Cloud instead of Find Familiar as my first non-enchantment spell, Sentinel as my first feat to keep my poor foe in the smoke. Two more levels in Fighter for Action Surge so I can Fog Cloud and attack in the same turn, and Battlemaster for Riposte and Precise maneuvers. Then Arcane Trickster at least until you get that disadvantage to saves. Smoke bomb warrior! Cast your smoke so it touches only you and not your enemy so not to mess up your friendly casters, attack with advantage from blind fighting, hide as a bonus action. If your enemy attacks your friend, you react with Sentinel. If you forgot to hide or had to dash and they attack you, they do so with disadvantage and you react with Riposte. If they try to move away, you let them go 5ft for Booming Blade extra damage, and react with your whip range to Sentinel block them at a distance where they can’t hit you. Super fun build
Please don’t miss out on the Band of Mystic Scoundrel ring. It lets you cast some Spells, most prominently Hold Person, as a bonus action after shooting with your regular action. Without two weapon fighting style your main hand weapon does more damage than the off hand. And you can use special arrows before casting a spell.
A variation for the dual wielding hand crossbow build is the Titanstring bow build. Given that you don’t get two weapon fighting style unless you wear the gloves of the balanced hands, putting the club of the hill giant strength in your off hand to increase the strength needed for the Titanstring is very much viable. On top of that, this frees up your bonus action to do the classic rogue stuff, like hiding first then attacking with advantage. As an aside, I’ve been trying to get into Wrath of the Righteous recently, and your articles have helped a lot, (cRPG) bro. Much appreciated.
Just started running a Pure EK build, so finding an AT build seems like the perfect partner thanks for this also on EK at least if you hit replace spell, you can choose from the wizard list not sure if that’s a helpful tip for anyone but i’m pretty sure it works the same with trickster just remember you have way more spells than you think you do if you use scrolls as they’ll scale off INT with EK and AT i use them religiously on my EK especially cone of cold, ice storm and haste as it’s built around frost
I like 4 levels of AT for party face/leader IF on balance the group is lighter on spellcasting/heavier on martial. Then 6 lore bard and 2 knowledge cleric with intelligence and strength coming from items as well as dex IF graceful cloth and gloves of dex are not needed elsewhere. All skills plus expertise in 6 of them. If party is light on martial then 2/4/5 knowledge/thief/ranger hunter 2 weapon fighting.
As someone Else said this would work even better with the TitanstringBow build where you can just use the club of Hill Giant you get from the underdark. Its more Powerful early – side note you really dont need to Do this build with it at all the more powerful version would be a Ranger/rogue or Rogue1/Ranger6 variant. But this is cool for Tactician where you can play a bit around in fights 😀
If you’re going AT, i’d say start as sorcerer to unlock shovel as a ritual spell as they can stay invisible to give you the ability to sneak attack against any enemy: then after reclass back into AT. A gith AT gets essentially one extra use of invisible mage hand per longrest and has medium armor proficiency for the yuan-ti scale mail.