Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sagelyone 10-29-07, 12:19 PM	My current DM, after being fed up with a warlock able to shatter all crystaline objects and spew eldrich blasts from his hands at will and myself as an elven ranger able to launch 40 damage a turn by level 9, has started anew in an eberron campaign. After reading the campaign setting, I declared elves to suck and went with a human rogue (skill points, so many skill points!) However, I felt like breaking away from the norm and went with a more "alternative" style of rogue. After rifling through the arms and equipment guide as well as the magic item compendium, i've come across what appears to be a rather "fun" combination. My primary setup is to wield in the mainhand my heavy whipdagger (+1 magic bonus, +2 strength bonus) and wear a pair of gloves of endless knives for constant throwing knives in my offhand. The combination so far has worked spectacularly through the mobility and flexability of 15 yard range on sneak attacks and riskless trip attempts, not to mention the fact that I am in fact a very sexy scoundrel roleplaying wise. Has anyone else tried something like this? I still have a longsword and shortsword with TWF in case things go wrong.
RobbyPants 10-29-07, 12:30 PM	I haven't tried anything like that before. The TWF rogue is, of course, quite potent if done well (and if there is someone in the party to help with flanking). Just for recommendation, I would suggest dropping the longsword and getting two shortswords. You only lose one damage per round, and you gain the ability to finesse both and you only have to spend feats (like Weapon Focus) on a single weapon to get a benifit from both. Remember that as a rogue, your primary source of damage is from Sneak Attack. After a while, the weapon damage itself becomes irrelevant, and all you really want the weapon for is to deliver the Sneak Attack damage. By this point, all you want from the weapon is to be able to reliably hit (i.e. the most bonuses and fewest penalties).
Jetstream 10-29-07, 01:36 PM	I haven't tried anything like that before. The TWF rogue is, of course, quite potent if done well (and if there is someone in the party to help with flanking). Just for recommendation, I would suggest dropping the longsword and getting two shortswords. You only lose one damage per round, and you gain the ability to finesse both and you only have to spend feats (like Weapon Focus) on a single weapon to get a benifit from both. Remember that as a rogue, your primary source of damage is from Sneak Attack. After a while, the weapon damage itself becomes irrelevant, and all you really want the weapon for is to deliver the Sneak Attack damage. By this point, all you want from the weapon is to be able to reliably hit (i.e. the most bonuses and fewest penalties). Quite correct. Hell, I'd even go so far as to suggest that you take a level of Swordsage, just to get a single Shadow Hand Stance (Island of Blades FTW) and take the Shadow Blade feat. That'll let you add your dex to damage (I'm assuming your dex is better than your strength?) Then use DAGGERS, because the damage isn't much lower and you can alternately use piercing and slashing damage, depending on what kind of monsters your DM sends after you. Versatile :)
Sagelyone 10-29-07, 05:58 PM	The longsword/shortsword is not my primary weapon setup (yes, i actually have 2 full setups) and i'm only level 8 right now. Upon reaching 10 i plan to go assassin and continue to use my whip along with possibly a shortsword, maybe a dagger. 15 foot reach gives so much freedom in combat, and it doesn't suffer the same fate as reach weapons. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different.
Jaxgaret 10-29-07, 06:01 PM	That is a pretty good idea. Reach is the win. My Bards always run with Whip-Daggers.