3.5 Eberron: Getting into Silver Key at 4th level. . .

[Amphetryon]

. . . without already having Trapfinding. How can we do it? Human Paragon seems unlikely, given Silver Key is 'Dwarf Only.' Barbarian gets the necessary Trap Sense +1, but cannot reasonably get the Skill requirements (assuming no Flaws) while still fulfilling Silver Key's single Feat prereq. I'm probably missing something obvious. Help?

[prufock]

Antiquarian Rogue (loses Trapfinding for Identify-ish) and any class that gets all knowledge skills so you can nab 4 ranks in architecture and engineering.

[Zaq]

I think Rogue and Barbarian are the only ways of getting Trap Sense early on, which means that I don't know any way of getting into Silver Key at 4th level without using feats to increase your skill list somehow. It looks like really easy prereqs, but without hacking extra skills onto your list somehow, you can't quite squeak by as early as it seems.

You can always go Factotum 1 / Rogue or Barbarian 3 / Silver Key X, of course. 5th level is still relatively early for a PrC. But without using Education (or similar) to make K:Architecture and Engineering into a Rogue class skill (or somehow making all four of the prereq skills into Barb class skills, and I don't know how to do that with a single feat), I don't think it's possible to enter it before 5th level.

[d20familiar]

Changeling Rogue 3 may get in, depending on whether you allow Racial Emulation feat to work for prerequisites or not.

You take your first level as Changeling Rogue racial substitution level (choosing K:A&E as the bonus Knowledge skill) but the other two levels as a normal PHB Rogue (because 3rd changeling rogue substitution level trades Trap Sence off). With your two feats you then take Dodge and Racial Substitution.

You have to justify being a member of House Kundarak as a changeling though.

[Amphetryon]

So far, I'm thinking Antiquarian Feat Rogue 3 with Education (A&E and History), PBShot, Precise Shot, and Midnight Dodge (just because it's an upgrade over regular Dodge) may be the most efficient 4th level entry method.

[Zaq]

Why do you specifically want to get rid of Trapfinding, anyway? It's true that Wardsense gives you the ability to find traps as though you had Trapfinding, but if you already have Trapfinding, it gives you a nice typeless bonus on trap-related checks, so it's not a total waste to have Trapfinding going into it. (Plus, if you later want to get into something that requires Trapfinding as a prereq, Wardsense technically doesn't cut it by RAW. I don't know of anything good offhand that has that as a prereq, but it might be worth mentioning.)

[Amphetryon]

Why do you specifically want to get rid of Trapfinding, anyway? It's true that Wardsense gives you the ability to find traps as though you had Trapfinding, but if you already have Trapfinding, it gives you a nice typeless bonus on trap-related checks, so it's not a total waste to have Trapfinding going into it. (Plus, if you later want to get into something that requires Trapfinding as a prereq, Wardsense technically doesn't cut it by RAW. I don't know of anything good offhand that has that as a prereq, but it might be worth mentioning.)

At our table, Wardsense does qualify as Trapfinding for prereqs, luckily. I'm asking because I like the flavor of the PrC, and because this is a Character being built as a 'floating group member' PC that can be picked up by more than one Player as needed (so I'd like a wider variety of abilities that are at least somewhat flavorful and useful, if only situationally).

[cheetobenito]

Changeling Rogue 3 may get in, depending on whether you allow Racial Emulation feat to work for prerequisites or not.

You take your first level as Changeling Rogue racial substitution level (choosing K:A&E as the bonus Knowledge skill) but the other two levels as a normal PHB Rogue (because 3rd changeling rogue substitution level trades Trap Sence off). With your two feats you then take Dodge and Racial Substitution.

You have to justify being a member of House Kundarak as a changeling though.

Be sneaky about it and play yourself off as a dwarf using your Minor Change Shape. But you lose trapfinding with Changeling Rogue 1. Instead of trapfinding, you get social intuition. Exact copypasta:

"Social Intuition (Ex): You are more aware of any social situation you may find yourself in. You gain the following bonuses:

Gather information checks to gain knowledge only takes 1d4+1X10 minutes.

Sense Motive gut reactions are done as a move equivalent action.

You can always take 10 on: Bluff, Intimidate, Gather Information, Diplomacy and Sense motive, even when distractions normally would not allow it.

This ability replaces the Rogues standard trapfinding ability."