Arcane Trickster optimization build

[Blas_de_Lezo]

We're starting a new campaign at 5th level.

I want to play an arcane trickster because it seems the most fun and versatile class to me.

I haven't played before to 5th edition, could you help me?

Standard point array.
Races allowed: Players Handbook
Classe:Rogue (arcane trickster)

The PC will be a skilled rogue who uses magic to aid in his profession. Combat is secondary. His main goal is infiltration, thievery, sabotage, wire of contacts, deception and manipulation. So my feats, skills and spells should be reflecting that.

I don't want Intelligence to be a primary stat, not even secondary, i prefer Charisma. So I won't be using any DC spell.

Thanks in advance!

[Finieous]

Have you considered bard? He doesn't have to be a foofy musical bard. He can get all the "thief" skills you want, Charisma-based, full caster.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Yes, bard could be a good option, but I don't like singing/playing/whistling at things. It's very lame.

[KorvinStarmast]

Yes, bard could be a good option, but I don't like singing/playing/whistling at things. It's very lame.W.S. Shakespeare was referred to as The Bard and he mostly did poetry and prose.

You can use poetry as your vehicle of Bardishness, or even skillful prose.

[CantigThimble]

Bards are not always musical. Be a storyteller, a historian, an inspirational speaker, an action hero, any or all of the above! Be Cyrano de Bergerac!

[Finieous]

Yes, bard could be a good option, but I don't like singing/playing/whistling at things. It's very lame.

I don't blame you. See if your DM is cool with the true names/secret words of creation angle. Swap out your three musical instrument proficiencies for Celestial, Infernal, Primordial...maybe you're not fully proficient in these languages, you just know a handful of important Names and Words (you have to capitalize them because they're secret and special).

When you use Vicious Mockery and Cutting Words, don't take the Monty Python angle. Be vicious and cutting. "Your comrades secretly despise you and don't like to go raiding with you because you're so weak." "You're incapable of satisfying your mate, but she's found someone who can."

[Corran]

We're starting a new campaign at 5th level.

I want to play an arcane trickster because it seems the most fun and versatile class to me.

I haven't played before to 5th edition, could you help me?

Standard point array.
Races allowed: Players Handbook
Classe:Rogue (arcane trickster)
Is SCAG allowed? Or is it only PHB? That could determine to a great extent if you will be a melee or a ranged arcane trickster. Unless of course you prefer one over the other for thematic reasons.


The PC will be a skilled rogue who uses magic to aid in his profession. Combat is secondary. His main goal is infiltration, thievery, sabotage, wire of contacts, deception and manipulation. So my feats, skills and spells should be reflecting that.
A rogue is a rogue. His profession can range from being a scout for an army, or an investigator for the city watch, to being an expert burglar, spy, blackmailer, assassin, and many more things. To accomplish most of those things, you dont necessarily have to play a rogue. You can do it in a lot of different ways.

Infiltration: stealth (expertise), invisibility, disguise self (actor feat), alter self, dex, cha.
Thievery: thieves' tools (expertise), sleight of hand (expertise), dex.
Sabotage: Dunno. Dynamite? Alchemist tools and a good DM to allow you create some black powder?
Wire of contacts: Choose the background with the relevant feature. Other than that create more contacts during the game. Your fellow PCs are your best contacts by the way.
Deception: well...the skill decetion to start with (expertise), a good charisma score, and lots of good and creative roleplaying to go with it.
Manipulation: Friends, charm person, disguise self (actor), alter self, and at higher levels more powerful stuff if you are a caster. Also roleplaying.




I don't want Intelligence to be a primary stat, not even secondary, i prefer Charisma. So I won't be using any DC spell.
Thanks in advance!
Be a ranged AT with a good dex and cha score then. Spread the rest of the points in con, wis and int as you see fit. Dump str.

Or, play a bard, as most people suggested. Bards dont have to be entertainers, they can be cold blooded thugs that make bad puns after a kill. Bards sure offer you with many stuff you need. Shape the character to how you envision him, dont limit yourself to just one bardic theme.

[JellyPooga]

If you prefer Charisma, then Bard might well be your bag instead of Arcane Trickster.

If it's Rogue goodies you're after specifically, though...

Race: Forest Gnome
- Whilst you aren't looking to use Int a lot, the +2 from Gnome lets you put it at 14 with relatively little investment.
- The Dex bump means you can get your Primary stat to 16.
- Minor Illusion from level 1...hooray! This is a fairly big deal.
- Gnome Cunning means you don't need much investment in Wis/Cha to boss out on your Saving throws.
- Darkvision. Humans and Halflings don't get it. You want it.

Ability Scores
[0]Str: 8 [You don't need it]
[9]Dex: 15+1=16 [Primary Stat]
[7]Con: 14 [Everyone wants Con]
[4]Int: 12+2=14 [Solid Secondary]
[3]Wis: 10 [not that important]
[4]Cha: 13 [See Feats]

Background: Charlatan
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Sleight of Hand
Tools: Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit
Feature: False Identity

Class Features
Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Investigation, Perception, Stealth

Expertise:
- Level 1: Deception, Perception
- Level 6: Investigation, Stealth

Cantrips:
Lvl.1: Minor Illusion (Racial)
Lvl.3: Mage Hand (required), Dancing Lights, Friends
- Dancing Lights is preferable to Light because it only ever produces Dim Light (which you treat as Bright Light, thanks to Darkvision) and for more light, other magic users in the party can provide that. Dim Light is less noticable.
- Friends is an awesome substitute for a higher Charisma. Most people you need to Deceive are people you're not going to be hanging around long anyway, so don't sweat them turning hostile.
Lvl 10: any one, it's not that relevant at this point)

Spells Known
Level 1: Charm Person, Disguise Self, Protection from E/G, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Level 2: Invisibility, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force, Alter Self
Level 3: Major Image, Gaseous Form, Fear
Level 4: Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door

- Prot from E/G is a powerful defensive buff
- Tasha's Hideous, Phantasmal Force and Fear are powerful debuffs and well worth having a respectable Intelligence for.
- Gaseous Form will get you into places you might otherwise be unable to access.

Feats/ASI
4th: Actor - Bluff your way through the game. Also bumps Charisma up to a respectable 14.
8th: Ritual Caster - AT's can't naturally and there's some handy Rituals
10th: +2 Dex = Dex 18
12th: Lucky - Insanely good Feat
16th: +2 Dex = Dex 20
19th: +2 Int OR +2 Cha= Int OR Cha 16

Grab yourself a Shortsword and a Hand Crossbow and your golden!

[Sir cryosin]

If you prefer Charisma, then Bard might well be your bag instead of Arcane Trickster.

If it's Rogue goodies you're after specifically, though...

Race: Forest Gnome
- Whilst you aren't looking to use Int a lot, the +2 from Gnome lets you put it at 14 with relatively little investment.
- The Dex bump means you can get your Primary stat to 16.
- Minor Illusion from level 1...hooray! This is a fairly big deal.
- Gnome Cunning means you don't need much investment in Wis/Cha to boss out on your Saving throws.
- Darkvision. Humans and Halflings don't get it. You want it.

Ability Scores
[0]Str: 8 [You don't need it]
[9]Dex: 15+1=16 [Primary Stat]
[7]Con: 14 [Everyone wants Con]
[4]Int: 12+2=14 [Solid Secondary]
[3]Wis: 10 [not that important]
[4]Cha: 13 [See Feats]

Background: Charlatan
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Sleight of Hand
Tools: Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit
Feature: False Identity

Class Features
Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Investigation, Perception, Stealth

Expertise:
- Level 1: Deception, Perception
- Level 6: Investigation, Stealth

Cantrips:
Lvl.1: Minor Illusion (Racial)
Lvl.3: Mage Hand (required), Dancing Lights, Friends
- Dancing Lights is preferable to Light because it only ever produces Dim Light (which you treat as Bright Light, thanks to Darkvision) and for more light, other magic users in the party can provide that. Dim Light is less noticable.
- Friends is an awesome substitute for a higher Charisma. Most people you need to Deceive are people you're not going to be hanging around long anyway, so don't sweat them turning hostile.
Lvl 10: any one, it's not that relevant at this point)

Spells Known
Level 1: Charm Person, Disguise Self, Protection from E/G, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Level 2: Invisibility, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force, Alter Self
Level 3: Major Image, Gaseous Form, Fear
Level 4: Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door

- Prot from E/G is a powerful defensive buff
- Tasha's Hideous, Phantasmal Force and Fear are powerful debuffs and well worth having a respectable Intelligence for.
- Gaseous Form will get you into places you might otherwise be unable to access.

Feats/ASI
4th: Actor - Bluff your way through the game. Also bumps Charisma up to a respectable 14.
8th: Ritual Caster - AT's can't naturally and there's some handy Rituals
10th: +2 Dex = Dex 18
12th: Lucky - Insanely good Feat
16th: +2 Dex = Dex 20
19th: +2 Int OR +2 Cha= Int OR Cha 16

Grab yourself a Shortsword and a Hand Crossbow and your golden!

What would you recommend for a more damage base AT with int and dex any material available

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Forest Gnome Rogue 4 (AT)/Wizard 16 (Diviner or Illusionist)

Or some combination of that.

[miburo]

What would you recommend for a more damage base AT with int and dex any material available

Forest Gnome or High Elf for Dex/Int and extra cantrip. Grab a rapier and either the Booming Blade or Greenflame Blade cantrips from SCAG. Get "Find Familiar" as a 1st level spell and use an Owl's Flyby Attack + Distraction to get Advantage on a single opponent per turn. Come in, use the cantrip for damage, Cunning Action-Disengage to get out. The cantrip damage scales, and you get Advantage + Sneak Attack damage to boot. Even better if you dash out and your opponent has to trigger Booming Blade's extra damage to come after you.

If your DM frowns on (ab)using your familiar this way, you'll have to find other ways to get advantage (or just hit opponents being flanked by your friends). Once you get your level 13 AT ability to gain advantage using Mage Hand, you can also grab the Mobile feat so you can dash in and out without needing Cunning Action.