Help with an Arcane Trickster build...DEEP GNOME ROGUE HELP

[Nick_Tompkins]

Hello, everyone, I have viewed a few rogue guides but all of them seem slanted towards the assassin or swashbuckler builds in the past and I would love some help with a good solid progression for a AT with possibly some multiclass involved? (IDK)

Basically, I have for now a DEEP GNOME ROGUE at level 2 and I can imagine next session will be the level I will pick AT...

Here are my questions for you.... should an AT be using melee or is a light cross bow a fine way to get good sneak attack hits?

Should an AT consider doing a multi class in general as the level 13 and above slots are kinda meh?

All in all what ways can Arcane Trickster really shine once they hit certain levels?

Thank you if you are able to provide feedback!

PS* Is the racial feat worth taking over an ability score increase?

[SharkForce]

rogues have a lot more versatility than others when it comes to fighting styles, arcane tricksters in particular more than others.

*technically* the most damage you'll get from rogue is to go with crossbow expert and use a hand crossbow. however, since the main source of damage for rogues comes from sneak attack, the main thing is a source of extra chances to hit, which can come in a variety of forms, and all will get you *close* to the same final damage values, though slightly lower (getting more attacks is generally the strongest source, because they can stack with other options like advantage quite nicely)

so, pretty much light crossbow is fine. it isn't the highest you could ever possibly get, but it's not bad. you will need to focus on gaining advantage to your attack rolls to keep your damage as high as possible, however (. in areas with decent cover or concealment, you can do that by hiding. otherwise, you may need to rely on other sources).

i do recommend that you be prepared to dual-wield in case it becomes necessary. just haul around a pair of short swords or something, you don't need to invest a feat, but sometimes they'll be extremely valuable for you.

as far as multiclassing, you can pretty much go either way (or just ignore it entirely if you prefer), depending on what you want to do.

if you want to go ranged, i recommend fighter. what you want most out of it is fighting style, action surge and battle master archetype (the ability to make extra attacks at level 5 is nice too, though you'll need crossbow expert if you want to keep using a light crossbow to make multiple attacks, but you could also switch to a short bow. you could also use a hand crossbow, and as noted, it is stronger for damage, but not by a huge margin). battle master and ranged fighting style can greatly increase your chance to hit, which will keep your damage up. it can also give you decent melee options, and can allow you to use shields at the same time if you want (the difference between two attacks per round and three is fairly small). basically just gives you a lot of handy goodies. it will also allow you to switch between melee and range fairly easily, so this is probably what i would recommend if you want to keep your options open as well. one particularly interesting trick you'll be able to do with either haste or action surge is that you can take an attack action on your turn, get your sneak attack damage (use the haste action for this), then ready an action to make another attack on someone else's turn (which you can use to sneak attack again, since sneak attack is 1/turn, not 1/round; this also works well with a battlemaster's commander's strike or whatever it's called if someone else in the party is a battlemaster, and if you're a battlemaster it also works with riposte)

if you want to go melee, i think monk has some interesting options. shadow monk in particular. again, you get a second attack, and you get some interesting spells, particularly pass without trace can be interesting for bringing the entire party along when you're sneaking around.

as yet another option, you might consider warlock. there are a lot of interesting options in warlock, especially invocations, that you might be interested in.

in any event, i do think level 14 in rogue offers you something to consider; the haste spell is tremendously powerful for a rogue, as i've mentioned above, in getting multiple sneak attacks per round. it nearly doubles your damage, which is extremely powerful. at level 15, you then gain wisdom save proficiency, which is really nice (but you may not want to wait until level 15 for it).

i'm not convinced svirfneblin magic is worth it. you can already pick those spells anyways if you really want them for the most part. an extra few slots per day aren't a bad thing either though, so if it interests you, go for it.

ultimately, though, just try and figure out what you'll have fun with.

(one other thing i'll add: arcane tricksters get mage hand control as a bonus action. use it often; carry around bags of marbles, caltrops, healing kits - which get even better with the healer feat, btw - any sort of alchemical item you can get your hands on, really, though you can't attack with it (but you *can* set traps with it, so alchemist's fire land mines are totally allowed).

[Nick_Tompkins]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I know it's a creatively bounded class and I really just wanted to understand progressions and what others have done with their AT builds!!! WE NEED A SUB-CLASS GUIDE!!!!

Quick question how exactly does a pair of hand crossbows really work with crossbow expert?

[SharkForce]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I know it's a creatively bounded class and I really just wanted to understand progressions and what others have done with their AT builds!!! WE NEED A SUB-CLASS GUIDE!!!!

Quick question how exactly does a pair of hand crossbows really work with crossbow expert?

technically, a pair of hand crossbows shouldn't work for more than one use with crossbow expert unless you have at least 3 hands (you need an empty hand to load them). however, a single hand crossbow works with crossbow expert (you're holding a one-handed weapon in your hand when you hold a hand crossbow), so i personally would allow it anyways.

you might be able to pull off some shenanigans with the assistance of an unseen servant or similar though.

[Nick_Tompkins]

I might not be so concerned with keeping deep gnome but I will keep Gnome for sure!


What about different ranged weapons... like bows and maybe even going into fight for heavy crossbow.... I wonder if that is worth it... or just running a single hand crossbow for the double shots at getting sneak attack....

[SharkForce]

I might not be so concerned with keeping deep gnome but I will keep Gnome for sure!


What about different ranged weapons... like bows and maybe even going into fight for heavy crossbow.... I wonder if that is worth it... or just running a single hand crossbow for the double shots at getting sneak attack....

as i said, with rogue you can make lots of things work. even single attack rogues (though multiple attack rogues are, as noted, a bit stronger). basically pick a weapon you like, and as long as it is possible to sneak attack with it you can make it work.

svirfneblin is fine, imo. i mean, switch if you want to, but advantage to stealth in rocky areas is handy, superior darkvision is great, and +2 dex +1 int works well for an arcane trickster.