Psychic Rogue [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTimePost
The_Shaman

06-11-07, 11:48 AM
Hi, I'm thinking of rehashing a rogue I made for a PBP game as a psychic rogue (from Mind's eye) character, and I wanted to know a little more about the class. Is there a handbook or something similar, and what are your impressions if you have played it?

I'm particularly interested in what ways it compares and how it can compete with a regular rogue, and what opportunities for multiclassing or PrCing are worth it.
carnivore

06-11-07, 12:13 PM
here is a link to an Archived thread on it:

http://boards1.wizards.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-622533


but i belive that it is actually a poor choice.... try this:

Rogue(Feat Variant (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#rogue)) 2/ Psion 6/ Elocator 7/ Slayer 5

BAB +14
ML 15(17 with Practiced Manifester)
8th lvl Psion powers(Teleport and Plane Shift as 3rd lvl powers)

it will far outperform the Psychic Rogue in almost every area



Simple Variant
The rogue who favors martial training over stealth and cunning can profit if she chooses her fights carefully.
Gain
Bonus feats (as fighter).
Lose
Sneak attack.
Rary_the_Traitor

06-11-07, 02:41 PM
here is a link to an Archived thread on it:

http://boards1.wizards.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-622533


but i belive that it is actually a poor choice.... try this:

Rogue(Feat Variant (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#rogue)) 2/ Psion 6/ Elocator 7/ Slayer 5

BAB +14
ML 15(17 with Practiced Manifester)
8th lvl Psion powers(Teleport and Plane Shift as 3rd lvl powers)

it will far outperform the Psychic Rogue in almost every area


How would that build contribute to combat, though? Poor BAB, few good combat abilities such as Sneak Attack... wouldn't he basically be a psion with lots of skills who can float above the ground? :)
RealSorceror

06-11-07, 02:56 PM
Why not just use the Lurk from the Complete Psionic? :confused:
InkBlot

06-11-07, 03:50 PM
The one time I saw a psychic rogue in action, he was slaughtered by an abject lack of teamwork (and a big monster). Like all rogues, a psychic rogue lives or dies by his party.

it will far outperform the Psychic Rogue in almost every area
Not really. It has fewer skills, lower BAB, lower manifester level, and no sneak attack.

And besides, he didn't ask how to replace the psychic rogue with a patchwork of classes. He also didn't ask how the psychic rogue compares to other variant rogues.
The_Shaman

06-11-07, 04:35 PM
I don't have CPsi, but didn't the lurk have lower SA and less skill points per level? It might be a worthy class, but I'm looking for something that can at least try to fill the skillmonkey role of the rogue class as well as the backstabbing.
InkBlot

06-11-07, 04:58 PM
Lurks have worse sneak attack. Their SA caps at 4d6, and they can only perform a sneak attack while psionically focused. They also get 2 less skill points per level. In exchange, they get Lurk Augments, 27 extra pp, 5 extra powers known, and a higher level of powers known (6th).

A Lurk Augment takes a swift action to use, costs power points, and augments your next attack. The first augment you get is Additional Sneak Attack, which gives you +1d6 sneak attack dice for every 2 power points you spend. So a 20th level Lurk could spend 20 power points to bump her SA up to 14d6.

Other Lurk Augments are more interesting, like one that bestows negative levels, one that lets you SA undead, and one that drains power points. The cost of Lurk Augments is capped by your manifester level, like a power. Unlike a power, you automaticaly know all the lurk augments you meet the minimum level requirement for (e.g., once you hit 5th you automaticaly get Ignore Concealment and Mental Assault).

Lurks aren't skillmonkies. They're assassins.

The Ebon Saint is a 5-level PrC from ComPsi. It gets 3/4 BAB, d6 hd, good ref and will, 4 skillpoints/level, adds a single SA die, and gets something similar to Lurk Augments. A single-classed psychic rogue can qualify for Ebon Saint at 5th level. Don't let the name fool you, it's just a non-evil assassin class. Nothing to do with religion.

Ebon Saint's Dire Augments work pretty much exactly like Lurk Augments. The difference is in what they do. For example, one lets you read the target's mind, and another makes the target forget that you ever attacked him.
The_Shaman

06-11-07, 05:03 PM
Heh, that sounds nice: a bit like the Shadowmind capstone ability. I actually thought about that one, but it seems better for a rogue/psion or a psyrogue/psion than for a pure psyrogue. I also thought about a dip in Elocater, but it seems psychic rogue is hard to find a leave point in. Though, mind you... it would look impressive if it could work for daring outlaw ;)
RealSorceror

06-11-07, 05:05 PM
Right, what InkBlot said. :)

Anyways, if you want a psionic skillmonkey, there are plenty of psionic prcs that rogues can take, and many of them continue sneak attack progression.
carnivore

06-11-07, 05:38 PM
How would that build contribute to combat, though? Poor BAB, few good combat abilities such as Sneak Attack... wouldn't he basically be a psion with lots of skills who can float above the ground? :)

Psionics make up for any Martial Deficencies ...... he could contribute just as well as a Psychic Rogue.... as he would have a lot more powers to choose from and the PP to use them

Not really. It has fewer skills, lower BAB, lower manifester level, and no sneak attack.

compare Psychic Rogue to my Build :
Psychic Rogue 20
skills:138+Int mod

compared to Rogue 2/ Psion 6/ Elocator 7/ Slayer 5
Skills:114 + Int mod

Psychic Rogue has 24 Skill points more

............
BAB

Psychic Rogue 20: BAB+15
Rogue 2/ Psion 6/ Elocator 7/ Slayer 5: BAB+14

Psychic Rogue has +1 better BAB....... both still get 3 attacks/ round

Psionic Power(because its not just ML)
Psychic Rogue 20:
20th ML
100 PP + Int mod
15 powers Known
5th lvl Max(3@5th, 3@4th, 3@3rd, 3@2nd, 3@1st)

Rogue 2/ Psion 6/ Elocator 7/ Slayer 5:
15th ML(19th with Practiced Manifester)
195 PP + Int mod
28 Powers Known
8th lvl Max(1@8th, 3@7th, 3@6th, 5@5th, 4@4th, 4@3rd, 4@2nd, 5@1st)...+ TELEPORT and PLANE SHIFT as BONUS 3rd lvl Powers

Psionic Power goes to my build.....almost DOUBLE the PP and Powers Known rule....... its hard for a Psychic Rogue to keep up with 6th,7th and 8th lvl powers , or all the extra variety of the additional lower level powers...or the great FREE powers(Teleport and Plane Shift as 3rd lvl Powers)

conclusion: Even with the Win in Skills and BAB(barely).... Psionics more than make up for those... and there is no way to match..... as anything the Psychic Rogue tries, mine can duplicate(UMD/UPD)..... i would say this goes to my build

And besides, he didn't ask how to replace the psychic rogue with a patchwork of classes. He also didn't ask how the psychic rogue compares to other variant rogues. yes he did......my build works with the regular Rogue just as well(i just dont like SA, and would rather have the feats)...notice:
I'm particularly interested in what ways it compares and how it can compete with a regular rogue, and what opportunities for multiclassing or PrCing are worth it.
basicly im saying that the regular Rogue is better with levels of Psion and with PrC to boost the Psion side than straight Psychic Rogue

i would rather play a: Rogue 9/ Psion 11 than a Psychic Rogue...... the bottom line : Psionics Win.....and the Regular Rogues abilities dont require Focus

the things that the Psychic Rogue does have that i like...:
Special Abilities: On attaining 11th level, and at every three levels thereafter (14th, 17th, and 20th), a psychic rogue gains a special ability of his choice from among the following options.


Decoy (Ps): Once a day, the psychic rogue can create an illusionary duplicate of himself. The illusion functions as a project image spell with a caster level equal to his psychic rogue level, except that it lasts as long as he maintains concentration, to a maximum of 1 round per caster level.

Enhanced Sneak Attack (Su): When the psychic rogue has psionic focus, he adds psionic damage to his sneak attacks. This ability increases his sneak attack damage by +1d6. (For example, an 11th-level psychic rogue would deal +5d6 damage with a sneak attack instead of +4d6). This ability may be selected up to three times.


Mind Cripple (Su): A psychic rogue with this ability has learned to focus psychic energy into his sneak attacks, which disrupts the mental capability of his foe. An opponent damaged by one of his sneak attacks also takes 2 points of Intelligence damage. Ability points lost to damage return on their own at the rate of 1 point per day for each damaged ability.

Shadow Jump (Ps): The psychic rogue gains the ability to travel between shadows. This ability works like the psionic dimension door power with a manifester level equal to his psychic rogue level, except as follows: The transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow. A psychic rogue can jump up to a total of 60 feet each day in this way; this can be a single jump of 60 feet or he can split the total distance he can jump each day among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot jump.

The psychic rogue can select this ability up to three times and he adds 60 feet to the daily total each time he selects it.

The psychic rogue can expend his psionic focus to use this ability as a move action.


this is just my opinion, your may be different

:D
The_Shaman

06-11-07, 05:43 PM
Yeah, I specifically liked the mind cripple and the shadow jump :) So I take it Psy-rogue is beaten by other PrCs or multiclass combos... but how can the class itself be optimized or multiclassed?
carnivore

06-11-07, 05:56 PM
with Magic.... like this:

Elf
Psychic Rogue 5/ Trapsmith 4/ Spell Singer 1/ Sublime Chord 1/ Cerebremancer 9

Trapsmith gives 3rd lvl spells to Qualify for Sublime Chord
Spellsinger gives Bardic Music to also qualify for Sublime Chord
Sublime Chord is a Fast Arcane Progression Class....it will give 9th lvl Spells...and gives Trapsmith a boost to Caster level
Cerebremancer advances Psychic Rogue and Sublime Chord

thus you end with:
9th lvl Arcane Spells
14th lvl ML(18th with Practiced Manifester)
4th lvl Powers

:D
Bacris

06-11-07, 06:03 PM
One thing I'd like to say - in games that actually play from level 1 on, the Psychic Rogue is going to be better than that end-game multiclass, since from 1st level you have the mix of rogue and psion abilities.

In a game that starts later, the line blurs, but it depends - always looking at things from a 20th level perspective isn't always a good way to judge how to make your character :) It's good to include, but shouldn't be the only basis.
Nibbler

06-11-07, 10:12 PM
I like rogue2/psion2/ranger2/elocator7/slayer7.
You give up more MLs but get better skill points and some other perks (earlier entry into PrCs, Ranger class features, some Fort save). As for giving up sneak attack, think of nailing your enemy with an empowered disintegrate. Now that's damage. Want to do it every round? Take Psionic Meditation and get Hustle. Note: You will burn through power points if you do this too often.
The_Shaman

06-12-07, 05:17 AM
with Magic.... like this:

Elf
Psychic Rogue 5/ Trapsmith 4/ Spell Singer 1/ Sublime Chord 1/ Cerebremancer 9

Trapsmith gives 3rd lvl spells to Qualify for Sublime Chord
Spellsinger gives Bardic Music to also qualify for Sublime Chord
Sublime Chord is a Fast Arcane Progression Class....it will give 9th lvl Spells...and gives Trapsmith a boost to Caster level
Cerebremancer advances Psychic Rogue and Sublime Chord

thus you end with:
9th lvl Arcane Spells
14th lvl ML(18th with Practiced Manifester)
4th lvl Powers

:D

Interesting... I was looking for a simpler build, but this could work. Where is trapsmith from, anyway? Getting lvl 3 spells in 4 levels is quite the feat.
carnivore

06-12-07, 09:02 AM
Interesting... I was looking for a simpler build, but this could work. Where is trapsmith from, anyway? Getting lvl 3 spells in 4 levels is quite the feat.

Complete Scoundrel or Dungeonscape .... i forget which..... actually you get 3rd lvl spls in 5 levels...thats why there is 1 level of Spellsinger(Races of Faerun0(to progress Trapsmith Spell Progression and Give Bardic Music)

:D
The_Shaman

06-12-07, 04:38 PM
Well, that could work for a hybrid, I guess. So overall the verdict is that, ML aside, a psion/rogue does a better job than a psy-rogue? Pity, I was really hoping to play only with a PrC or two. Well, we'll see how important optimization becomes if the game ever gets off the ground.
The_Shaman

06-15-07, 08:58 AM
Err, :bump: :blush: . Any other ideas? I was thinking of whether 14 levels might be a good drop-off point, say for sanctified mind (good BAB, smite, etc), Slayer or - if you take the shadowjump option - teflammar shadowlord (UEast).

I think it would be great if this could be expanded in a psy-rogue guide, but I'm not qualified to do it, unfortunately.