Post by Micteu on Apr 22, 2010 22:43:53 GMT -5
One of my characters is an intelligence-based rogue. I decided I'd share some of my experiences with him, for those of you who might think this type of character would be useless. This is also a partial guide to rogues.
Skill points. When you get 14+ skill points per level, you quickly become a happy little jack-of-almost-all-trades. Heck, you can even start investing in some cross-class skills and not feel horrible about wasting your points, unlike you would if you played a stupid character with eight intelligence and one skill point per level.
Survivability. Okay, so if you start out with an 18 intelligence, you probably won't have the greatest other abilities. You can make this up by starting with 16 intelligence instead of 18 to round your character out better. Surviving combat is going to be tough. If you thought you were a weakling as a dexterity-based rogue before, you'll be scarcely better than a wizard without spells now if you try to solo. Your attack bonus will be horrible. Your hit points will be dreadful. Your damage will be pitiful. But this is why the gods gave you friends and bows, so the former can stand in front and do all the work while you hide behind your robust companions and fire arrows randomly into the cloud of dust rising in front of you, hoping you might hit something... anything.
Combat: Suppose one of those orcs actually felt the breeze of an arrow whistling past his ear as he fought your stocky dwarven friend. Uh, oh, now he sees a guy (or gal or thing) wearing lightweight, darkcolor armor and thinks, "Oog! If one of arrow hit me, it hurt! Me no read common, but me know white text over wimpy enemy is no good." Immediately he charges you. What do you do? You can switch to a melee weapon, but knowing you, that orc will do a lot more damage to you than you will do to him. Heck, from what you remember with those stinky kobolds, you had to run for your life lest one kill you with a sling. Your best chance is to run. Which way? Naturally as a coward, the correct answer is, "Directly away from the orc!"
Think twice. Try to maintain distance from the orc, but circle around towards your dwarven drinking buddy whose money you won fair and square in a perfectly honest card game. Your friend will likely run directly at the orc like the orc is running directly at you. If you time it just right, your small companion will thud an axe into that orc and make his walnut-sized brain think about the pain in his rear rather than you. The orc will turn around. Although that exposed back might make you salivate, don't try to plant an arrow in it just yet! Mr. Beard can survive for the six seconds or so that it will take you to run back behind his furry but protective back. Now you can shoot at the orc again. In combat, keep your enemies close, but your friends closer.
Orcs are dead? Time for treasure. Oh, boy, this is where you shine!
All those skill points mean you can probably disarm any trap and open any lock with one hand while sending charming smiles towards the cutest member of your party, which hopefully isn't that dwarf. Now that you've saved the party from certain death due to electric or gas traps, you can let someone else do the carrying because you need your speed in combat more than they do (remember the circling with the orc).
You somehow managed to survive a whole adventure without anyone using a Raise Dead scroll on you. Congratulations, you get to sell stuff. With enough intelligence to leave an illithid drowning in a pool of Lovecraftian saliva, you should be a prime candidate for having a nice Appraise score. This is where your buddies will really love you. Besides, you need a high Appraise for yourself, too. There's no way you'll be rolling in the dough, since it's pretty hard to survive an adventure without at least two other people in your party. Heck, you can even make purchases for your friends and charge a couple percent per purchase. They'll be happy and you'll have a few more shiny coins jingling in that dreadfully-empty coin pouch.
To sum it up: you may not be deadly or sturdy in combat, but when it comes to out-of-combat utility, you're a pro. There's more to this game than battles.
Skill points. When you get 14+ skill points per level, you quickly become a happy little jack-of-almost-all-trades. Heck, you can even start investing in some cross-class skills and not feel horrible about wasting your points, unlike you would if you played a stupid character with eight intelligence and one skill point per level.
Survivability. Okay, so if you start out with an 18 intelligence, you probably won't have the greatest other abilities. You can make this up by starting with 16 intelligence instead of 18 to round your character out better. Surviving combat is going to be tough. If you thought you were a weakling as a dexterity-based rogue before, you'll be scarcely better than a wizard without spells now if you try to solo. Your attack bonus will be horrible. Your hit points will be dreadful. Your damage will be pitiful. But this is why the gods gave you friends and bows, so the former can stand in front and do all the work while you hide behind your robust companions and fire arrows randomly into the cloud of dust rising in front of you, hoping you might hit something... anything.
Combat: Suppose one of those orcs actually felt the breeze of an arrow whistling past his ear as he fought your stocky dwarven friend. Uh, oh, now he sees a guy (or gal or thing) wearing lightweight, darkcolor armor and thinks, "Oog! If one of arrow hit me, it hurt! Me no read common, but me know white text over wimpy enemy is no good." Immediately he charges you. What do you do? You can switch to a melee weapon, but knowing you, that orc will do a lot more damage to you than you will do to him. Heck, from what you remember with those stinky kobolds, you had to run for your life lest one kill you with a sling. Your best chance is to run. Which way? Naturally as a coward, the correct answer is, "Directly away from the orc!"
Think twice. Try to maintain distance from the orc, but circle around towards your dwarven drinking buddy whose money you won fair and square in a perfectly honest card game. Your friend will likely run directly at the orc like the orc is running directly at you. If you time it just right, your small companion will thud an axe into that orc and make his walnut-sized brain think about the pain in his rear rather than you. The orc will turn around. Although that exposed back might make you salivate, don't try to plant an arrow in it just yet! Mr. Beard can survive for the six seconds or so that it will take you to run back behind his furry but protective back. Now you can shoot at the orc again. In combat, keep your enemies close, but your friends closer.
Orcs are dead? Time for treasure. Oh, boy, this is where you shine!
All those skill points mean you can probably disarm any trap and open any lock with one hand while sending charming smiles towards the cutest member of your party, which hopefully isn't that dwarf. Now that you've saved the party from certain death due to electric or gas traps, you can let someone else do the carrying because you need your speed in combat more than they do (remember the circling with the orc).
You somehow managed to survive a whole adventure without anyone using a Raise Dead scroll on you. Congratulations, you get to sell stuff. With enough intelligence to leave an illithid drowning in a pool of Lovecraftian saliva, you should be a prime candidate for having a nice Appraise score. This is where your buddies will really love you. Besides, you need a high Appraise for yourself, too. There's no way you'll be rolling in the dough, since it's pretty hard to survive an adventure without at least two other people in your party. Heck, you can even make purchases for your friends and charge a couple percent per purchase. They'll be happy and you'll have a few more shiny coins jingling in that dreadfully-empty coin pouch.
To sum it up: you may not be deadly or sturdy in combat, but when it comes to out-of-combat utility, you're a pro. There's more to this game than battles.
