Ranger / Rogue?

[Snig]

I'm considering playing an archer ranger and I was wondering what you guys think about adding 5 levels of assassin rogue into the mix?

Going to be a small mounted archer, haven't decided yet between hunter with regular mount or beast master with animal companion mount.

[CNagy]

Depending on when you think you are going to go from Ranger to Rogue, going 7 levels instead of 5 will get you Evasion much sooner than a straight Ranger, let alone a MC Ranger(or it'll be your only chance, if you're making a beastmaster archer). You'll also get an extra 1d6 sneak attack and Expertise for 2 more skills. What you give up depends on how high the character is going to level, but generally speaking you don't give up anything grand unless you aren't going to level 12 (in which case you miss out on Extra Attack).

[djreynolds]

I'm sure you guys played NWN, I always found those two a great synergy. But now you must ask why? To skill-monkey, outlander background gives you access to survival and bard lore and rouge you can cover all outdoor skills. For sniper, assassin, fighter, ranger is cool. But I think you start off fighter that build with for con save to at least level 2, then rouge to 3, then ranger... so it's a while til you are the woodsman. I think the question is do you want volley or whirlwind attack. If that is yes, I would start ranger til 5th level, grab rouge and expertise til 3rd (assassin), then ranger and you're not worried about evading and dodging.

[djreynolds]

You don't need beastmaster for a mount, think gladiator, you got a horse and an attack dog buddy.

[ChubbyRain]

I'm considering playing an archer ranger and I was wondering what you guys think about adding 5 levels of assassin rogue into the mix?

Going to be a small mounted archer, haven't decided yet between hunter with regular mount or beast master with animal companion mount.

I made a build that was Ranger (Hunter) 5/Rogue (Arcane Trickster) 10 for a one shot.

Very very fun. Being able to impose disadvantagr on a save for being hidden? Yes please.

[Person_Man]

I think its a good combo, though I would suggest Assassin/Hunter instead of BM. Just note that it won't be that great at high levels, since you're denying or delaying access to your superior high level spells/abilities. It'll probably work best around ECL 6-13ish.

[coredump]

I'm considering playing an archer ranger and I was wondering what you guys think about adding 5 levels of assassin rogue into the mix?

Going to be a small mounted archer, haven't decided yet between hunter with regular mount or beast master with animal companion mount.

Doing it now, having a blast.

Ranger(hunter)5/Rogue(assassin)5 in whatever order (but try to get to Ranger5 by level 7 or 8)
Then going battlemaster 3-4 (depending on ASI
Then rest in Rogue (like I will ever get that far...)

[CNagy]

I think its a good combo, though I would suggest Assassin/Hunter instead of BM. Just note that it won't be that great at high levels, since you're denying or delaying access to your superior high level spells/abilities. It'll probably work best around ECL 6-13ish.

I didn't see much evidence of this when playing a high level Hunter/Assassin (11/7, campaign started at 9th with a 6/3.) It plays like a martial blaster. Human variant with Sharpshooter and Alert to start, +4 Dex from ASIs during play. Archery style, Horde Breaker, Escape the Hoard, and Volley.

Now, Assassin always depends on your DM and how familiar/comfortable they are with surprise rounds. But with a +15 to Stealth, there can be a lot of opportunity to get the drop on entire groups of people--especially at long range.

So cutting straight to the chase: your big gun is a surprise attack from as far away as you can. Bonus action to cast Lightning Arrow, then action to use Volley. Aim your first arrow at the guy you want to take the most hurting. That becomes a bolt of lightning that deals 4d8 on a hit and 2d8 on a miss, but because it is an attack roll, Assassin makes it an automatic critical if it hits: 8d8 lightning, sneak attack for 8d6 (whether you get to add your Dex mod to damage is DM's call.) Everyone within 10' takes 2d8, Dex save for half. Then they all take an arrow from Volley, attacks made with advantage, critical if hit and Sharpshooter's -5/+10 to damage (-3 with Archery style) can be applied to each. If any of them are within 5' of one another, Horde Breaker gives you a free attack. It's not a bad way to start a fight.

Otherwise, it acts as a Ranger. You miss out on 4th and 5th level spells, but honestly that's not a huge loss (and taking 2 more levels of Ranger would have gotten me a 4th level slot.) Swift Quiver is a good spell, but you have Volley for groups and Hunter's Mark for single targets. Conjure Volley is an army-class spell, capable of hitting over 100 foes in formation--nice but unnecessary. Conjure Woodland Beings can be a game-breaker, but you can still get it at 20th level (8 pixies tossing around Confusion, Phantasmal Force, and Polymorph? A squad of sprites peppering people with poisoned projectiles?)

Anyway, this has gotten a little longer than I intended, but long-story-long, Hunter/Assassin doesn't much suffer for not hitting high levels in either of its classes.

[PoeticDwarf]

3 levels in assassin is ALWAYS nice to have, especially with archers. 5 levels in assassian is not bad too. A ranger assassin is not optimal but a good choice, all I can say about this.

[Gwendol]

Ranger/Rogue in the variants recommended above, using a wood elf for ranged, or a halfling for melee is quite good. You will want to stealth it out and do a lot of damage often.