Help with a Drow PC

[Gwic]

I'm currently DMing a campaign, but I'm about to (temporarily) hand the DMing reins over to another player for a few levels. I'm rolling up a lvl 4 PC to join the group, and I'm thinking a Drow Rogue.

My backstory:

An adventuring band of humans and elves, bearing the symbol of Corellon, killed my whole settlement and my Matriarch when I was a small child. The humans trapped me and took me back to their city, but I eventually escaped. Growing up alone on the streets of human cities, I learned to disguise myself as an Elf and Bluff my way through life, relying on petty theft for basic survival. I never forgave the adventurers who killed my family, though, and still bear a deep grudge against Corellon's followers.

I keep my Drow heritage secret as a matter of life and death, using my Drow abilities (Cloud of Darkness and Darkfire) sparingly. Anytime I am forced to use them in combat, I disguise their true source, making it appear that the Cloud of Darkness emerged from some kind of smoke bomb, and that the Darkfire is something like Alchemist's Fire.

I need help with a few things to flesh out this character, both in terms of fluff and mechanics:

Books: I currently have PHB 1-3, MM 1-3 + MV, DMG 1-2, AV 1-2, and Primal Power. Any specific suggestions on where to look for detailed fluff and/or mechanics? Is there a specific FR book I should look in? Also, are there any especially interesting things in the Martial Power 1 or 2 book that I should check out?
Disguise: How would you roll out the Bluff check for disguising myself as an elf? Should I only have to roll it once per day vs. passive perception? Is there suggestion on disguise mechanics in any of the books? Or a Disguise Self item somewhere?
Feats: Although I can make the character work with non-racial feats, is there any book containing Drow-specific feats? Would it be problematic to just use Elf feats? I'm probably going to ask the new DM for permission to homebrew an "Enlarged Cloud of Darkness" (like "Enlarged Dragon Breath") that would make it burst 2 (instead of burst 1). Is that overpowered?
Build: Debating between Brutal and Trickster. Trickster fits better thematically, but I feel like I'll be spending all my time running and hiding, not stabbing hard like a striker should. Thoughts?
Miscellaneous?: Have you built a Drow PC? How did it play? Was it enjoyable? Any tips?


Thanks for all the help!

[artstsym]

Feats: Although I can make the character work with non-racial feats, is there any book containing Drow-specific feats? Would it be problematic to just use Elf feats? I'm probably going to ask the new DM for permission to homebrew an "Enlarged Cloud of Darkness" (like "Enlarged Dragon Breath") that would make it burst 2 (instead of burst 1). Is that overpowered? Clutch of Darkness from the Forgotten Realms players guide makes the burst 2 instead of 1 and your Darkfire range becomes 15.

I'd recommend you pick up (or at least look at) the FR Player's Guide if you want Drow fluff and feats.

[Gwic]

Clutch of Darkness from the Forgotten Realms players guide makes the burst 2 instead of 1 and your Darkfire range becomes 15.

I'd recommend you pick up (or at least look at) the FR Player's Guide if you want Drow fluff and feats.

Thanks for the tip! Just curious, is that a Heroic Tier feat? I'll head down to the shop later this week...

[Hidden Sanity]

Yeah, books you might be interested in are the FRPG and the martial power books, which increase rogue options. None of those books are needed to make your rogue a good character, but a drow rogue with a light-blade in one hand and a hand-crossbow in the other can be fun times with the right feats.

[Fallbot]

Dragons 367 and 382 have some fluff and feats, if you can get hold of them.

On a drow disguising herself as a member of another race, Dragon 382 says

When considering the second choice, if masks and hoods are not your style, you could instead train in Bluff for the purposes of perfecting a physical disguise. Disguising your race to make yourself appear either as an eladrin or elf is your best bet. A little make-up and hair dye will do the trick, though the test comes when your Bluff check is opposed by a creature’s Insight. A magic item that provides functionality similar to the wizard’s Disguise Self utility power, such as the hat of disguise, would be useful.[...]Sometimes simple checks suffice, and other times your DM might wish you to succeed at a skill challenge involving Diplomacy, Insight, and Bluff.

...So not especially helpful since it doesn't give DCs, but it demonstrates a precedent for what you're doing. I guess it comes down to how much trouble the DM wants to make for you at any given time?

[Emongnome777]

Disguise: How would you roll out the Bluff check for disguising myself as an elf? Should I only have to roll it once per day vs. passive perception? Is there suggestion on disguise mechanics in any of the books? Or a Disguise Self item somewhere?

This isn't RAW, but in this case, if it's a daily "throw the make-up on" thing, you could just use "take 10" for your bluff check (10 + all modifiers) relating to your disguise and the DM will compare it to anyone's passive insight (or perception?) check. If someone is suspicious or you just have to interact with a particularly perceptive individual, then you roll.

[Drglenn]

Artful Dodger rogue fits the stats you get as a drow best.
Also I remember there being a feat for drow that makes hand crossbows deal d8 damage and high crit. Also another one that gives you some sort of bonus when you wield a dagger and a hand crossbow. You should probably check those out

[mathewt]

For the disguise thing, I don't have access from work, but wasn't there a Martial Practice (martial rituals basically) that covered disguises in Martial Power 2?

[Gwic]

Thanks for the help everyone! All very much appreciated.

[Mando Knight]

Do note that the FRPG's Drow stats are officially out of date: the newest version can be found in Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms, the second player's book in the Essentials series, or in the updates available for free from WotC's website if you dig around enough (don't have time to right now). The biggest changes that I can recall are that Drow change their Cha bonus into a flexible stat bonus with Wis (choose at character creation) and they must pick between Darkfire and Cloud of Darkness at creation. (They can't choose each time they use the power)