First, here's the game info:
Low Magic/Low Wealth World
No Psionics
Core, Completes, PHB II, DMG II, ToB and DM Approval
Gray Elf okay (something I got approved)
No Able Learner (something I tried to get approved)
Invisible blade prereqs changed to just "weapon finesse and weapon focus (dagger, punching dagger, or Kukri)".
Haven't asked about Drow, but the answer will probably be 'no', and there's all the drow penalty for sunlight that he would totally use against me all of the time. I might try a compromise where the Drow keeps its racial bonuses to abilities and doesn't have teh aversion to light, but has some of its other traits modifed for balance, I don't know.
Ability distribution must be 18, 16, 14, 12, 12 10.
And here is the character at level 5:
Male Gray Elf Rogue 2 / Swashbuckler 3
Chaotic Neutral
Strength 12 (12)
Dexterity 21 (18)
Constitution 12 (14)
Intelligence 18 (16)
Wisdom 10 (10)
Charisma 12 (12)
Feats:
Two-Weapon Fighting
Weapon Finesse
Weapon Focus Punching dagger
Now, I'll be honest, part of this guy is pure flavor, namely the punching dagger focus rather than dagger. Also for flavor, I'm probably going to have him take this total progression (not necessarily straight through)
Rogue 2/Swash 3/Thief-Acrobat 5/Invisible Blade 5/Master Thrower 5 (would have to switch to Weapon Focus: Dagger for this...)
As he is meant to be a very big swashbuckler type of character, who is all nimble and uses daggers to the utmost; I would probably stagger the PrC's so that I got benefits from each of them as the campaign persisted. However, the PrC progression is subject to change, though I would like to keep the same flavor.
Other possibilities floating through my mind (for flavor involved forgetting Thief Acrobat and one of the other classes adn going (again, not straight through:
Rogue 2/Swash3/Exemplar 10/Master Thrower/Invisible Blade 5
For feats, I was going to go Invisible Blade 1 at 6th level (hopefully I can meet the special prereq by then) and take Daring Outlaw to stack the Rogue and Swash levels for Sneak attack and such, but I'm conflicted. I've also been considering Shield of Blades. However, this would require nixing the Rogue levels, forgetting Daring Outlaw and taking a skill points hit. Is that worth it?
Because I want to make him a very smooth talker, even though I can only pull off the stat distro above (meaning Cha will probably suffer) he has high ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, and 7 ranks in all the TA prereqs (with Tumble at max). I've been considering teh Seduction class skill (at 4th level, right?) this would go hand-in hand with shield of blades (above), but with the same penalties.
*shrug* I dunno, so I thought I'd ask you guys; any advice at all that would help improve the build, in any fashion are welcome, but please remember the general parameters.
Thanks a lot!As another note, I'm not entirely certain that Thief-Acrobat would be worthwhile. With both Invisible Blade and Master Thrower, you're spreading yourself very thin. I'd be tempted to drop Thief-Acrobat for more levels of swashbuckler, myself.
Daring Outlaw is something I was definitely considering, and now that I'm probably going to give up at least four levels of Thief Acrobat, it's definitely a possibility. If I took two more of Swash and two more of Rogue, along with Daring Outlaw I could get the +1 Dodge bonus, 5d6 Sneak Attack, and then an additional 3d6 of sneak attack damage from Invisible Blade, on top of the Seduction skill (swash 4), shield of blades (swash 5), Trap Sense (rogue 4), and uncanny dodge (rogue 5).... If I decide to go with Daring Outlaw, I'll ask the DM if Daring outlaw can work for Shield of blades instead (since the ACF replaces dodge).
The one level of Thief-Acrobat does give a few nice abilities, adn certainly fits the flavour of your character. Exemplar, on the other hand, I don't like at all. The requirements are rather simple, I admit, but most of its class features revolve around skill use. And Sustaining Presence wouldn't do anything for you with your current lack of Charisma bonus. I'd be tempted to pass on that option as well.
Again I'm not really good at this whole optimization thing, but here's an idea. Three levels of Streetfighter (which could be seen as your character picking up some dirty tricks) gives an initiative bonus, Stand Tough, and an extra die of sneak attack damage. The requirements aren't too bad, but would have you taking a pair of feats which you might or might not want (both are pretty good, in my opinion). If it comes down to it, you could always pick up a flaw for an extra feat. Frail would fit well with your character - he knows he can't take much punishment, so he uses reflexes to avoid being hit in the first place.
2 Rogue
3 Swash- Insightful Strike
1 IB* or 1 Rogue - Daring Outlaw/Shield of Blades, Sneak Attack +3d6
1 Swashbuckler (Seduction Skill)
1 Thief Acrobat
1 Rogue
1 Rogue
1 Rogue
1 Rogue or IB 1, Point-Blank Shot
4 IB or 5 IB, Precise Shot
4 Master Thrower
I had to fight for Daring Outlaw; the DM views most of Complete Scoundrel as rather broken, namely MANY of the Skill Tricks and pretty much all of the multiclassing feats, but it worked out just fine.
* Does anyone know if Invisible Blade 1 would allow me to qualify for Daring Outlaw? IB 1 Gives Dagger Sneak Attack +1d6, but would that count towards the +2d6 sneak attack requirement for Daring Outlaw? Part of me says that it does not, but I didn't know if there was a ruling on that or not.
This will help me out because, even though I won't get the extra bonus from sneak attack, I'll get the benefits of maneuvers and stances, especially the Shadowhand stances/shadowblade feat I'll get Dex to damage on top Int to damage from swash, which is a +9 total bonus. I'm considering also going Bloodclaw rather than Master Thrower in that case, for the potential bonuses that class provides....
Besides, just because you have levels in rogue, doesn't mean you HAVE to put ranks in hide and move silent. Max out your Bluff, Diplomacy, Tumble, UMD, and keep some points in climb, balance, swim (killer), and jump, maybe tossing a couple extra into Profession:Sailor, because if you gotta get away by boat, someone's gotta know how to drive the darn thing.
Honestly, I'd avoid IB. The prereqs, even the limited ones, are kind of meh. All you are gaining over going straight swash after 4 levels of rogue are 5 points of AC if your int is high enough, and while slightly substantial, aren't really worth it.
I'd finish Rogue4/Swash16 for the almost full BAB. This will help you with your TWF feats. I'd probably go human as well, simpley because you are a bit feat crunched. Take Martial Study and Martial Stance: Assassin's Stance, and Shadow Blade.
Wow, looking at it, it would be really hard to fit all this in to be useable at a normal level. Maybe a 1 level dip in Swordsage at about level 5 would work. Then grab Island of Blades Stance, which, while not as good as Assassin's Stance, is still pretty good. This loses you an extra point of BAB though, which could delay your TWF progression, which is bad.
As far as PrC's are concerned though, before considering the above, I was thinking about going full BAB classes from now on, rather than take Master Thrower, I was considering Bloodstorm Blade for at least five levels, and the Invisible blade level was meant to enforce the dagger-using nature of the class. I would take bloodclaw master, but that's another one or two losses of BAB.
