Hi Board,
I was planning on trying out an arcane trickster eladrin, and is considering skills to be proficient in. Reading up on previous editions (4e) of eladrin and my own general idea of the elven race, I really wanted him to be proficient in arcana and history. I also think arcana especially goes really well hand in hand with the arcane trickster. When you can live to be 750 years old, it seems weird not knowing a thing or two about history.
With the four skills from Rogue, two from background and perception from elf, I can pick a total of seven. If I want arcana and history, the only pre-made background available to me is Sage, and it fits fine with my idea of the character.
Proficient skills
Perception (Elf)
Arcana (Sage)
History (Sage)
Stealth
Sleight of Hand
Deception
Investigation
Acrobatics
I consider stealth essential, and the 'Mage Hand Legerdemain' from the arcane trickster archetype seems a bit lackluster without sleight of hand. Deception, investigation and acrobatics all seem very useful, but I kinda need to leave one out.
Keep in mind I'm planning to go past 11th level in rogue, so 'Reliable Talent' is a thing.
The one I consider skipping is acrobatics. It's not used for climbing anyway, and the Fey Step feature from the eladrin race can assist with escaping grapples in combat, and not falling off rooftops or rocking shipdecks out of battle.
Will I miss acrobatics a lot? In the few games I've tried so far, it has rarely come up. Still, a dexterous elf without acrobatics seems a bit... odd.
Could you give me examples of situations where acrobatics have helped you out?
Well, acrobatics is good for crossing bridges and tight ledges next to pits. It's also good for dancing and dodging (out of combat).
You could always skip on Acrobatics now and work with your DM to get training in it later, maybe gaining the Skilled feat (which grants three skill proficiencies) or using Downtime days for training a skill.
Question: how deceptive do you see this character being? Deception is based on CHA, for which you are not getting any racial support. Meanwhile, Acrobatics is based on Dexterity, of which you get a +2 racial bonus from being an Elf. Investigation is based on INT, to which you get a +1 racial bonus. So, of those three, if you are going by which skills to have immediate stat support for, I would say Deception would be the one to dump; however, that is just me looking at the numbers. If your character is a liar and a scamp (a la Rincewind from Discworld), then go for Deception and drop Acrobatics all day long.
Also, take the lucky feat for when Death has those near-Rincewind experiences...... 
Undrhil wrote: