Strength rogue 3.5 optimization

[zair]

So my DM wanted to run a high power optimization campaign, but my other party members were fairly green, so even with the DM helping them optimize I didn't want to run a high tier character. I've also always wanted to run a non caster mage killer in 3.5.
Thus enters the strength rogue.
Meet Xibloplt'kvalovkithip(add umlauts and such) the human. Just call her Seta. Yeah like the name of that powerful Gorgon.

at level 9 she will deal 8d6 sneak attack (rogue5 fighter1 assassin1 guildthief1 swordsage1)+ 9 damage from craven
deal 2d6 with her battlescythe(homebrew but reasonable)+2d6 if the target has spells or spell like abilities from enchant.+6 damage from strength.
now for the once a day/encounters: belt of one mighty blow+3d6, mountain strike manuever+2d6, bracers of quick strike+1 attack on full attack.

So that is 17d6+15(74.5avg) and 12d6+15(57 avg) on a full attack with the bracers. That's 131 avg damage in one round, bypassing hardness and DR. -7 against non casters, but I could also add at least 2d6 if I used a different maneuver but who knows. oh and I guess I could deathstrike for the chance of them botching the save I guess. I would like if I could frontload more into the first hit to avoid contingency shenanigans.

important feats: darkstalker(i can actually sneak!), pierce magical concealment(+blink ring for 20% miss chance), craven(of course), mageslayer, EWP for battlescythe, blindfight, and improved grapple because garrots are awesome.
penetrating strike ACF.

important items: ring of darkhidden, blink ring, belt of one mighty blow, bracers of quickstrike, garrot, leather garrot, +2 battlescythe of mageslaying(reach weapon), hopefully that blindsight blindfold.+ important miscellany like bloodspike temo, healing belt, and wands.

oh, and 18Str, 16Dex, 12Wis, the rest 10s.

So that is my build plan generally, do tell me if you think I can improve it while remaining true to theme, and maybe suggest where to go from here because I have no idea. probably just more single level dips for sneak attack but I can only think of like 3 max I would want to take. Assume my DM will allow all books and even dragon magazine, maaaaaybe even some pathfinder stuff.

[Rebel7284]

Mundane stealth + Darkstalker + Mage Slayer Line is certainly a good start. With that said, level 9 is about the time that well-played casters get VERY difficult to reliably beat. First of all, sneak attack is not guaranteed to work. Any form of concealment stops it. Any caster that happens to cast Heart of Water + Heart of Earth already has light fortification, and it goes up to heavy fortification if all the heart spells are involved. If the caster is a construct or undead or some such, you need weapon crystals or Penetrating Strike ACF to deal any damage at all. Permanencied Arcane Eye will spot any magic items you have, making it more difficult to sneak up on a caster. The caster may be Invisible/Flying/Melded with Stone. And of course, if you fail to kill outright, quickened spells or ranks in Tumble often let the caster escape.

Some things to consider:
- Witch Slayer and Occult Slayer both have abilities that focus on fighting casters. They are still aren't great at killing casters, but it's a start.
- A level of spellthief with Master Spellthief feat allows you to take away spell slots whenever you hit. Even if RAW you can't store/cast those spells, taking them away from your enemy is still good.
- Belt of Battle can give you an extra full attack once per day.
- Whisper Gnomes get Silencing Strike as a racial feat. Adding a silence debuff to your attacks may make a difference if you do manage to land a hit.

Good luck!

[Uncle Pine]

- A level of spellthief with Master Spellthief feat allows you to take away spell slots whenever you hit. Even if RAW you can't store/cast those spells, taking them away from your enemy is still good.

After stealing a spell, a spellthief can cast the spell imself on a subsequent turn. Treat the spell as if it were cast by the original owner of the spell for the purpose of determining caster level, save DC, and so forth. A spellthief can cast this spell even if he doesn't have the minimum ability score normally required to cast a spell of that level. The spellthief must supply the same components (including verbal, somatic, material, XP, and any focus) required for the stolen spell. Alternatively, a spellthief of 4th level or higher can use the stolen spell power to cast any spellthief spell that he knows of the same level or lower (effectively, this gives the spellthief one free casting of a known spell). A spellthief must cast a stolen spell (or use its energy to cast one of his own spells) within 1 hour of stealing it; otherwise, the extra spell energy fades harmlessly away.
The Master Spellthief only specifies that you can steal spells of higher level, but it's not necessary for it to mention that you can also cast or store spells of higher level as the rules regarding a Spellthief's Steal Spell ability don't impose a limit on that: if you can steal a spell, then you can cast it on a subsequent turn.

@OP: templates such as half-minotaur and Lolt-touched can greatly increase your Str. Festering Anger is also an option that exists, although you might want to refrain from it if the campaign has long downtime periods between adventures.

[ShurikVch]

How about to make Intimidation-heavy Rogue?
Because there are at least 3 different ways to get Str to Intimidation: Dread Tyranny feat (Races of Destiny, required 3rd-level Cleric of Hextor), Variant Intimidation Rules from Masters of the Wild (for Barbarians), and Fearsome Gaze (Barbarians's 7 sub lvl, Dragon #349)

Or how about a bit of good old diplomancy?
Enter the Exemplar PrC, get Persuasive Performance, swim up the waterfall, audience will go fanatical

[noce]

Don't know if you'll be any good against mages, but against warrior types...ouch.
With 10 CON and mostly d6 hit dice, they'll tear you apart.

[zair]

First of all, sneak attack is not guaranteed to work. Any form of concealment stops it. Any caster that happens to cast Heart of Water + Heart of Earth already has light fortification, and it goes up to heavy fortification if all the heart spells are involved. If the caster is a construct or undead or some such, you need weapon crystals or Penetrating Strike ACF to deal any damage at all. Permanencied Arcane Eye will spot any magic items you have, making it more difficult to sneak up on a caster. The caster may be Invisible/Flying/Melded with Stone. And of course, if you fail to kill outright, quickened spells or ranks in Tumble often let the caster escape.

Good luck!

Fortification is something I totally forgot exists outside the 36k armor enchant, is there any way to get around that at all?
concealment is not to big an issue with blindfight, pierce magical concealment, and that blindfold of blindsight I think?
undead and constructs have those spells I can get wands for, and the build is sort of based around killing outright.

one question I have is if the pierce magical protection feat is even worth getting, it only does anything based on armor class and a wand of wraithstrike and sneaking up on people should cover most of that right? mountain strike maneuver negates DR
I'm sure there is tons more to worry about but what is it? besides just warriors wrecking my squishy face in past my ring of blink.