tenshiakodo
2010-09-22, 02:14 AM
Friend of mine is starting up his old 4E campaign, and asked me to create a level 17 character. This is what I came up with:
"Bonesnap", level 17
Bugbear, Rogue, Blade Bravo
Build: Cutthroat Rogue
Rogue Tactics: Ruthless Ruffian
Rogue: Sharpshooter Talent
Sharpshooter Talent: Sharpshooter Talent (Crossbow)
Background: Geography - Forest (+2 to Perception)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 11, Dex 24, Int 11, Wis 9, Cha 12.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 10, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 11.
AC: 32 Fort: 23 Reflex: 27 Will: 19
HP: 103 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 25
TRAINED SKILLS
Stealth +22, Thievery +20, Athletics +18, Perception +14, Intimidate +16, Acrobatics +20
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +8, Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Dungeoneering +7, Endurance +8, Heal +7, History +8, Insight +7, Nature +7, Religion +8, Streetwise +9
FEATS
Level 1: Two-Fisted Shooter
Level 2: Impending Doom Style
Level 4: Underhanded Tactics
Level 6: Deadly Draw
Level 8: Bloodhound Style
Level 10: Strike and Shove
Level 11: Defensive Advantage
Level 12: Vigilante Justice Style
Level 14: Disheartening Ambush
Level 16: Expert Sneak
POWERS
Rogue at-will 1: Disheartening Strike
Rogue at-will 1: Riposte Strike
Rogue encounter 1: One-Two Punch
Rogue daily 1: Hounding Assault
Rogue utility 2: Adaptable Flanker
Rogue encounter 3: Enforced Threat
Rogue daily 5: Downward Spiral
Rogue utility 6: Sidestep Stance
Rogue encounter 7: Spring the Trap
Rogue daily 9: Profit from Weakness
Rogue utility 10: Daring Gamble
Rogue encounter 13: Daunting Attack (replaces Enforced Threat)
Rogue daily 15: Mind-Boggling Onslaught (replaces Hounding Assault)
Rogue utility 16: Denying Stance
Rogue encounter 17: Excruciating Reminder (replaces One-Two Punch)
ITEMS
Quenchquiver Hand Crossbow (Large) +4, Repulsion Feyleather Armor +4, Staggering Mace (Large) +4*
*I'm not sure what other items I'll be able to get, or want at this time.
Tactics-
Like any rogue, Bonesnap functions best when he has combat advantage against an enemy; he can gain this in
the following ways, in addition to the standard methods for doing so.
-Expert Sneak gives him CA if an enemy is deafened, immobilized, slowed, or weakened.
-Deadly Draw gives him CA until the end of his next turn when he pulls or slides an enemy to a square
adjacent to him.
-Adaptable Flanker, Profit from Weakness, Daring Gamble, Daunting Attack, Mind-Boggling Onslaught,
Excruciating Reminder, and Vicious Parry powers can help gain CA.
Once he has established Combat Advantage, Bonesnap can use his Disheartening Strike (thanks to Bloodhound
Style) to slide his opponent to a space adjacent to him for continuing CA with Deadly Draw. He can also
get his Deady Draw by pulling a target with Threatening Flourish+Taunting Barb.
Most of Bonesnap's attacks are Rattling, which impose a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of his
next turn, unless the target is immune to fear. Further, by reducing his Sneak Attack damage by one die,
he can impose a further -2 penalty to a target's attack rolls until the end of his next turn. Cocksure
Menace allows him to mark an enemy, giving them a further -2 to attack someone other than himself.
His Denying Stance can impose a -2 penalty to atacks if an enemy misses, and his Sidestep Stance gives him
a +2 power bonus to AC versus melee and ranged attacks, thus for at least two encounters per day, he can
boost his AC (note he also gets +2 AC from attacks made by enemies he has CA against).
Putting this all together, Bonesnap can negatively modify attacks made against either himself (rattling,
underhanded tactics, stance) or his allies (rattling, underhanded tactics, mark) by 6 points!
The majority of his attacks will add his strength bonus to damage. Not to mention his 1/turn sneak attack
(although he will only use 2d6 bonus damage), thus allowing him to fulfill his striker obligations.
He has several counterattack options: Riposte Reaction, Profit from Weakness, Vicious Parry, and Riposte Strike (although to
give Riposte Strike the Rattling Keyword will require either -1d6 Sneak Attack unless Mind-Boggling
Onslaught is in play). Riposte Strike is modified with Vigilante Justice and Impending Doom to be usable
on enemies who hit an ALLY, as well as giving an enemy a further -2 to attacks (!), although since Riposte
Strike doesn't slide enemies, CA may have to be reacquired the following turn.
Note that Disheartening Strike, Mind-Boggling Onslaught, and Excruciating Reminder can all be used with
Bonesnap's hand crossbow; his Two-Fisted Shooter Feat allows him to use the hand crossbow as an off-hand
weapon, as well as to reload it as a free action while carrying his mace. Further, whenever he scores a
critical hit, he gets a free RBA with the hand-crossbow; his Strike and Shove feat pushes the target 1
square away, which lowers the possibility of him drawing an AoO.
When everything is working properly, Bonesnap functions as a pseudo-tank/controller, placing enemies in a
Catch-22 situation where they are penalized for attacking either him or his allies! If it's not necessary
to try and lock down his opponents, he can simply un-nerf his Sneak Attack to deliver more damage.
I'm curious if this build will actually work the way I think it will, or if it's worth the effort in the first place to try and make a rogue into a secondary tank/controller. Suggestions/critiques/comments/advice are welcome!
"Bonesnap", level 17
Bugbear, Rogue, Blade Bravo
Build: Cutthroat Rogue
Rogue Tactics: Ruthless Ruffian
Rogue: Sharpshooter Talent
Sharpshooter Talent: Sharpshooter Talent (Crossbow)
Background: Geography - Forest (+2 to Perception)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 11, Dex 24, Int 11, Wis 9, Cha 12.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 10, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 11.
AC: 32 Fort: 23 Reflex: 27 Will: 19
HP: 103 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 25
TRAINED SKILLS
Stealth +22, Thievery +20, Athletics +18, Perception +14, Intimidate +16, Acrobatics +20
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +8, Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Dungeoneering +7, Endurance +8, Heal +7, History +8, Insight +7, Nature +7, Religion +8, Streetwise +9
FEATS
Level 1: Two-Fisted Shooter
Level 2: Impending Doom Style
Level 4: Underhanded Tactics
Level 6: Deadly Draw
Level 8: Bloodhound Style
Level 10: Strike and Shove
Level 11: Defensive Advantage
Level 12: Vigilante Justice Style
Level 14: Disheartening Ambush
Level 16: Expert Sneak
POWERS
Rogue at-will 1: Disheartening Strike
Rogue at-will 1: Riposte Strike
Rogue encounter 1: One-Two Punch
Rogue daily 1: Hounding Assault
Rogue utility 2: Adaptable Flanker
Rogue encounter 3: Enforced Threat
Rogue daily 5: Downward Spiral
Rogue utility 6: Sidestep Stance
Rogue encounter 7: Spring the Trap
Rogue daily 9: Profit from Weakness
Rogue utility 10: Daring Gamble
Rogue encounter 13: Daunting Attack (replaces Enforced Threat)
Rogue daily 15: Mind-Boggling Onslaught (replaces Hounding Assault)
Rogue utility 16: Denying Stance
Rogue encounter 17: Excruciating Reminder (replaces One-Two Punch)
ITEMS
Quenchquiver Hand Crossbow (Large) +4, Repulsion Feyleather Armor +4, Staggering Mace (Large) +4*
*I'm not sure what other items I'll be able to get, or want at this time.
Tactics-
Like any rogue, Bonesnap functions best when he has combat advantage against an enemy; he can gain this in
the following ways, in addition to the standard methods for doing so.
-Expert Sneak gives him CA if an enemy is deafened, immobilized, slowed, or weakened.
-Deadly Draw gives him CA until the end of his next turn when he pulls or slides an enemy to a square
adjacent to him.
-Adaptable Flanker, Profit from Weakness, Daring Gamble, Daunting Attack, Mind-Boggling Onslaught,
Excruciating Reminder, and Vicious Parry powers can help gain CA.
Once he has established Combat Advantage, Bonesnap can use his Disheartening Strike (thanks to Bloodhound
Style) to slide his opponent to a space adjacent to him for continuing CA with Deadly Draw. He can also
get his Deady Draw by pulling a target with Threatening Flourish+Taunting Barb.
Most of Bonesnap's attacks are Rattling, which impose a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of his
next turn, unless the target is immune to fear. Further, by reducing his Sneak Attack damage by one die,
he can impose a further -2 penalty to a target's attack rolls until the end of his next turn. Cocksure
Menace allows him to mark an enemy, giving them a further -2 to attack someone other than himself.
His Denying Stance can impose a -2 penalty to atacks if an enemy misses, and his Sidestep Stance gives him
a +2 power bonus to AC versus melee and ranged attacks, thus for at least two encounters per day, he can
boost his AC (note he also gets +2 AC from attacks made by enemies he has CA against).
Putting this all together, Bonesnap can negatively modify attacks made against either himself (rattling,
underhanded tactics, stance) or his allies (rattling, underhanded tactics, mark) by 6 points!
The majority of his attacks will add his strength bonus to damage. Not to mention his 1/turn sneak attack
(although he will only use 2d6 bonus damage), thus allowing him to fulfill his striker obligations.
He has several counterattack options: Riposte Reaction, Profit from Weakness, Vicious Parry, and Riposte Strike (although to
give Riposte Strike the Rattling Keyword will require either -1d6 Sneak Attack unless Mind-Boggling
Onslaught is in play). Riposte Strike is modified with Vigilante Justice and Impending Doom to be usable
on enemies who hit an ALLY, as well as giving an enemy a further -2 to attacks (!), although since Riposte
Strike doesn't slide enemies, CA may have to be reacquired the following turn.
Note that Disheartening Strike, Mind-Boggling Onslaught, and Excruciating Reminder can all be used with
Bonesnap's hand crossbow; his Two-Fisted Shooter Feat allows him to use the hand crossbow as an off-hand
weapon, as well as to reload it as a free action while carrying his mace. Further, whenever he scores a
critical hit, he gets a free RBA with the hand-crossbow; his Strike and Shove feat pushes the target 1
square away, which lowers the possibility of him drawing an AoO.
When everything is working properly, Bonesnap functions as a pseudo-tank/controller, placing enemies in a
Catch-22 situation where they are penalized for attacking either him or his allies! If it's not necessary
to try and lock down his opponents, he can simply un-nerf his Sneak Attack to deliver more damage.
I'm curious if this build will actually work the way I think it will, or if it's worth the effort in the first place to try and make a rogue into a secondary tank/controller. Suggestions/critiques/comments/advice are welcome!