Rogue/Swordsage

[FocusWolf413]

I have a githzerai unseelie fey. I want to be a rogue/swordsage, leaning towards more swordsage. Should I do R3/SSx?

What feats? I have 2 bonus feats at some level. I'm focusing on sneak attack. Do craven and shadow blade sound like good feats? I know I need adaptive style and weapon finesse. Quick draw? I'll be 8th lvl (Ecl 10th lvl).

What items? I can follow the item creation rules, so items like a ring of invis or a cloak of blur are cheaper. I kind of want an adamantine sword of subtlety (+1/+4 sneak attack) but again, idk.

Str 11 Dex 26 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 14 Cha 10

Any and all help will be appreciated.

EDIT: My feats are Improved Init, Craven, Shadow Blade, Adaptive Style, and Weapon Finesse. What future feats (lvls 9-18) should I get?

[sideswipe]

no quick draw, ever...

craven is good. is shadow blade the feat that adds dex to damage as long as you are in a shadow hand stance? then yes take it.

assassin stance is good, i would consider rogue 4 just so that you start swordsage with an IL of 3. able to pick up 2nd level maneouvers at level 1. also uncanny dodge.

[Red Fel]

I have a githzerai unseelie fey. I want to be a rogue/swordsage, leaning towards more swordsage. Should I do R3/SSx?

Well, before you go any further, I want to ask: Why do you want Rogue? Is it for the SA progression? Because for 3 levels, you're only getting +2d6, which is what Assassin's Stance gives you by default. Is it for Evasion? Because Swordsage gets that (admittedly later than Rogue). Trap Sense and Trapfinding? They're kind of meh, really.

Because that's the bottom line. If there's something specific Rogue gives you that Swordsage doesn't, I can see why you'd want the dip, but if not, why even use Rogue levels?

[FocusWolf413]

I'm doing improved initiative. It's awesome.

I really want rogue because of the flavor and penetrating strike acf. I'd even go 4 to get uncanny dodge, which is lovely. I don't know, though. Is it worth it? Can I get uncanny dodge via items? If I can get uncanny dodge with an item, I might skip the rogue stuff. I know I can get truedeath/demolition/etc crystals.

[Rebel7284]

Because Craven requires Sneak Attack as a class feature, having Rogue 1 is probably optimal for extra skills and damage. Barbarian gives uncanny dodge at level 2 and you can pick up pounce and rage/whirling frenzy at first level!

I would recommend the following:
Rogue 1/Cloistered Cleric 1/Barbarian 2/Swordsage X

Rogue 2/Barbarian 2/Swordsage X works if you also want evasion early.

Ruby Knight Vindicators play a dark knight/batman role pretty well, so you can go with that class too and pick up a few spells. :)

[Red Fel]

I'm doing improved initiative. It's awesome.

I really want rogue because of the flavor and penetrating strike acf. I'd even go 4 to get uncanny dodge, which is lovely. I don't know, though. Is it worth it? Can I get uncanny dodge via items? If I can get uncanny dodge with an item, I might skip the rogue stuff. I know I can get truedeath/demolition/etc crystals.

An easy (?) way to get Uncanny Dodge is to take the Shape Soulmeld (Impulse Boots) feat. Bam, instant Uncanny Dodge. One level of Incarnate can also get you that, plus the ability to invest essentia in it (which gives you a bonus to Reflex saves, like you need that). If you're interested in an alternative dip, Warblade 2 gets it for you. There's also the Primal Hunter line of spells from Dragon Magic. Each gives a bonus, but if you have Primal Hunter and at least one other, you also gain Uncanny Dodge. In theory, if you had a magic item that duplicated those spells, you'd also get the Uncanny Dodge effect.

Take a peek at this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?321224-Uncanny-Dodge) for more sources of Uncanny Dodge.

Keep in mind, though, that Uncanny Dodge is fairly situational. Unless you expect to run into a lot of flankers, swarms, or invisible opponents, it's not likely to come up much.

Frankly, a Swordsage with a 1-level Incarnate dip is a bit of amazing. For one level, you can have two soulmelds shaped at a given time (no binds, though), which you can choose from any on the Incarnate list, and switch them out on a daily basis. It also shores up your Fort save a bit, which Swordsage is lacking. And you can grab some weapon crystals to supplement the loss of Penetrating Strike.