a cat by anyother name is still a rogue.

[Rtgamer]

hello fellows of the forum, I've been invited to join some friends in a game of DnD 5e. its been a while and I think it was called AD&D but it was a fun. 5e has this tabaxi race that sounds like a lot of RP fun. we all rolled stats last night and were given 2 weeks to create a backstory and have a character ready to go. I don't have any books of my own and I don't really want to play a random generated whatever; so I am hoping some of you kind folks would offer your thought or opinions...thank you in advance.
so I'm liking the tabaxi and will be starting this adventure as a rogue 1st level. if he survives to archetype i'd go with swashbuckler. others talk about planned out to level 20 characters they have all multiclassed and feated out. does it make sense to anyone that this cat would have a slightly higher charisma19 than dexterity17 and a decent wisdom score14 to boot planning to multi as early as first leveling opportunity into just one level of bard before going on the rest of the way with rogue?

[CTurbo]

I have played a Tabaxi Swashbuckler and it is a very very fun character. I highly recommend this combo. I'd put Dex higher than Cha though, and Con would be the third priority, Then Wis with Str and Int being dumped. I think I'd go Rogue 5 before considering any Multiclass. Uncanny Dodge is worth it as well as the 3rd sneak attack damage die. I'd want Dex maxed asap so bump it at level 4 if you have to.

Now about multiclassing. Multiclassing is fun, but not necessary if you don't want. The Rogue class is really strong and full of features at almost every level. That being said, if you want to multiclass, ANY of the Charisma based classes would work extremely well with Swashbucklers, as well as the Fighter and Ranger.

What is it about Bard that interests you? Bard offers some fun stuff like even more expertise, spells, and Inspiration dice, but Bard would probably be my last choice.

I love a few levels of Draconic Sorcerer on a Swashbuckler. You get better than Light Armor unarmored AC(13+Dex so should be 18AC), some good spells and cantrips like Shield and Booming Blade.

A few levels of Warlock are also really strong. Pretty much any Patron or Pact works. Depends on how you want to play. I prefer Fiend for it's temp hit points. Hexblade is really strong and gives you the option to use Cha for attacks and damage, but on a Rogue, this is less "good" as Dex is still too important for you. It still offers extra crits, extra damage, and a shield for 20 AC. Pretty much all of the Pacts work too. Pact of the Chain gives you a super familiar most of which can stay invisible which is almost OP for a Rogue to have. Pact of the Blade gets you an extra attack if you want, and eventually Cha mod to damage if you take enough levels. Pact of the Tome is the ultimate utility Pact that offers you Ritual Casting an several more Cantrips. You can also get a regular familiar this way which is still very strong for Rogues. Warlocks also get you the Darkvision spell AND a way to see through it(Devil's Sight) which is awesome for Rogues. Also Booming Blade!

Paladin works if you want to RP a PallyRogue lol, but you get a Fighting Style, some healing, some great buff/debuff spells, and SMITES. If you take Paladin 6, you get to add your Cha mod to ALL saves and you buddies get the benefit too if they're close to you.

Fighter is obvious, Fighting Style, Second Wind, Action Surge, Champion or Battle Master, extra attack, extra ASI/feat, etc... effective but maybe boring.

Ranger meshes well with Rogues. Hunter gets you Fighting Style, Natural Explorer, Favored enemy, Hunter's mark, and either Horde Breaker which is a free extra attack, or Colossus Slayer which is an extra 1d8 damage per turn. Gloom Stalker makes you even more stealthy and makes you have an overpowered first turn. Good Stuff here.

I'd try to get Booming Blade for sure. It's too awesome on Swashbucklers.

I love setting up a reliable reaction attack with my Rogues because sneak attack(and Colossus Slayer if you get it) works again with reaction attacks. The Sentinel feat is one way to get a reliable reaction attack. The Battle Master's Riposte maneuver is another.

I like my Rogues to be a tad tougher than most people so hanging around close to melee is no issue for me.

TWF works very well with Swashbuckler. It gives you 2 chances to land sneak attack. Having a familiar would net you advantage on most of your attacks though making this less important.

[MephitBlue]

Tabaxi's make purrefect Swashbuckers *grins*. I'm currently playing a Tabaxi Swashbucker / Hexblade Pact of the Chain myself.

I will eventually have my Charisma higher than my Dexterity, but right now they are at both 18 with my character. As a Rogue, you will have lots of Dex based skill checks where you take damage if you fail. Something to consider on where you place your stats.

I'm interesting in hearing why you want to take just one level of Bard. Multiclasssing with Bard should work well, but do you get that much out of Bard from just a one level dip? It may be worth the dip just for the Booming Blade cantrip, but you could always take Magic Initiate to get that as well, without slowing down your Rogue progression.

[Rtgamer]

Thanks everyone, this Cats gross rolls were 18 15 14 12 11 11 so a 20 dex then a 16 cha 14 con 12 wis and 11 each remaining. 1 lvl of bard early only cost 300xp and affords 2 each cantrips and spells. Not looking to be the caster in our group. It more for RP.. oh and we don't have a cleric. So healing up (licking wounds) feels important.

[ZenBear]

Thanks everyone, this Cats gross rolls were 18 15 14 12 11 11 so a 20 dex then a 16 cha 14 con 12 wis and 11 each remaining. 1 lvl of bard early only cost 300xp and affords 2 each cantrips and spells. Not looking to be the caster in our group. It more for RP.. oh and we don't have a cleric. So healing up (licking wounds) feels important.

If 2 cantrips and spells are all you’re interested in, just take Magic Initiate as Mephit suggested. It’s not worth delaying Rogue progression for one more spell. Booming Blade should definitely be your first pick. Any time you attack as a Swashbuckler you can disengage that opponent without taking an attack of opportunity, and if they try to chase you they take more damage from BB. Green Flame Blade would be good for AoE, but not necessary so feel free to be more utilitarian or fun with tour second choice. Spell is on you.

[CTurbo]

Yeah is still don't understand what it is about Bard that interests you.

Draconic Sorcerer immediately gets you an 18AC and Booming Blade.

Take the Inspirational Leader feat for some great temp hit points which is better than spending a spell on healing.

[Speely]

Thanks everyone, this Cats gross rolls were 18 15 14 12 11 11 so a 20 dex then a 16 cha 14 con 12 wis and 11 each remaining. 1 lvl of bard early only cost 300xp and affords 2 each cantrips and spells. Not looking to be the caster in our group. It more for RP.. oh and we don't have a cleric. So healing up (licking wounds) feels important.

Awesome rolls lol. Also imo, 1 level of Bard is not worth it. Delays Evasion (AMAZING feature) and your SA damage, which Swashbucklers can utilize more than any other rogue.

I would go to at least 3 for College of Swords if you are going to MC at all. Blade Flourishes synergize really well with your mobile focus and give you a fighting style. You still get the Bard goodies, too, for a little off-healing and useful cantrips. Healing Word is an almost brokenly-useful 1st-level spell.

Another option is Battlemaster. You lose the cantrips/spells but gain Maneuvers, which also synergize so well with Swashbucklers. Riposte in particular is amazing. Between that and Uncanny Dodge, you often have a reaction to use when attacked, hit or miss.

Ultimately, pure Swashbucklers are also great, and Tabaxis are amazing for it. Going for at least 9 levels is advised whatever the case. Depending on how long the campaign is, I would consider going to Battlemaster 5 or Swords Bard 6 for the extra attack after this if you are multiclassing.

Most importantly: have fun!!

[MrStabby]

Just so it's clear... the xp chart is for total levels not for levels in a given class. Sure a level of bard is 300 xp but it also pushes up the cost of each of your subsequent rogue levels.

[ImproperJustice]

I heartedly congratulate you for rolling / creating:

Puss N’ Boots


Seriously, that’s awesome. I dip my hat to you sir.
Bonus points if you speak like Antonio Banderas at every opportunity :)

[Rtgamer]

Y'all are great. Thank you.
Your suggestions and questions have helped me find the way for this stray cat.. that is to not MC after all. The race class combo is spot on. A far traveller; stealthy and perceptive. Magic initiate seems the efficient path to some RP flash... if ' this one' will survive to gain a feat. Our DM asked everyone in our group if we had our back up characters named yet..? LOL

[Rtgamer]

Yeah is still don't understand what it is about Bard that interests you.

Draconic Sorcerer immediately gets you an 18AC and Booming Blade.

Take the Inspirational Leader feat for some great temp hit points which is better than spending a spell on healing.

I didn't know enough about what I was typing about. Bard isn't for me. Going neat

[CTurbo]

I didn't know enough about what I was typing about. Bard isn't for me. Going neat

Both Tabaxi and Far Traveller get you Perception so you're kinda losing out on a skill. Just saying.

Going full Rogue is great though.

[xanderh]

Both Tabaxi and Far Traveller get you Perception so you're kinda losing out on a skill. Just saying.

Going full Rogue is great though.

Nah, that lets him choose whatever skill he wants for the background

[ImproperJustice]

Are you sure it’s not the “Fur Traveler” Background?

It seems like a Purrrfect fit!

Eh? Eh? *crickets*

[Crushgrip]

Love it. Lots of good advise/suggestions. As far as backstory goes I wanted to give you the backstory we came up with for the Tabaxi Tempest Cleric that is currently in my game. A Tabaxi with a Pirate Background! Hopefully it will give you some idea's!

Wrock is from Maztica. He was captured by the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA “Raugh Thorden” which means Death and Bones in Dwarvish. Usually used in reference to both the Captain and his Ship) during a raid on his village to kill and skin Tabaxi furs. As a “Black Cat” Wrock’s life was spared as the Pirate Captain decided to use Wrock as his “monster pet” and would often threaten his crew to feed them to the “Hell cat” as a disciplinary action. The Tabaxi spent most of the time on the ship chained up in the galley but would be allowed to scale the crow’s nest as a lookout/scare tactic. The Dwarf, Veit Whitebeard was the First Mate for the ship. Veit was very charismatic (even for a dwarf) and was good for the morale of the crew. Veit took a liking to Wrock and would often sit with Wrock to learn about the Tabaxi. In turn, Wrock learned to speak but not write in Dwarven. Veit rarely was involved with combat and would take control of the ship during any raids…kind of the “diet coke” of evil. Wrock’s time on the ship was not pleasant as he was treated as an inferior “animal” by most of the crew but he did manage to learn and pick up some skills by watching other crew members and with the few times he was allowed use of the crow’s nest.

The Pirate Captain, Ironihrbrek Bonemane, gave Wrock a small idol of a kraken with some markings on it as a “play toy” for the cat. It was the only possession Wrock was allowed to have on the ship. This is Wrock’s trinket from the Pirate background.

For months the Pirate ship Deladaraugh (pronounced Deladarag) (Dwarvish for literally, “to go down to the Death”) completed a significant number of raids and heists in which Wrock was used in the crow’s nest. In so doing, he became known as the Norogh Thudul (pronounced Noro Thuduul) (translates into the “Monster of Doom”) due to the fact that few ships survived seeing the “Black Cat/Monster Ship”.

This will be Wrock’s Background Pirate Variant: Bad Reputation. In any town/city that has a port or significant nautical population, all Wrock has to do it show himself and mention Norogh or Norogh Thudul and he can get away with small crimes (petty) or choose to use an Intimidation check (with advantage) against sailors or all others that have heard of him.

After months of travel on the ship, Deladaraugh puts into port near Waterdeep. The ship and most of its crew is at port to spend the spoils of their conquests and the ship stays for two and a half days. The ship leaves port in the middle of the second day with the full crew and in a bit of a hurry. Wrock does not know what has happened but manages to gather that there will be a celebration that evening. He has not seen Veit since before they made port (not entirely unusual, but maybe Veit was busy with the celebration?) as he was kept below deck and in chains while in port. From what Wrock can recall, the celebration involved most, if not all, of the crew and had a sense that it was a dark revelry…certainly not something he would likely have enjoyed. That night, after the party had died down, the ship has sailed into a mighty storm. The storm is so strong that Wrock figures that the gods must be playing in the ocean. Lightning strikes the side of the ship that his chains are secured to, fracturing a large piece of ship hull to which his chains are attached. Wrock leaps off the ship into the open ocean during the storm and washes up on the shore. He only survives due to the piece of ship hull that he floats on.

He wanders for some time inland (for fear of being spotted on the shore by the pirates) and eventually passes out due to exhaustion. He is rescued by followers of a small temple of Valkur. The temple followers often search the beach and surrounding area for sailors or other unfortunate beings that may have felt the wrath of Umberlee (Goddess of the sea, CE) as ships can wreck on the rocks west of the Valkur Temple. Two human followers of Valkur; a Damaran (Human from NW Faerun) by the name of Marsk and a Tethyrian (Human from all over the sword coast) by the name of Romaeo, observe Wrock travel from the beach to where he succumbs to the exhaustion. They usually would have rescued any sailor that washed up on shore chained to the hull of part of a ship, but they did not know what to make of this “Cat-Man” and weather or not he was a monster. They finally decided to rescue him after Romaeo noticed that the ship hull that Wrock was chained too looked like a sign from their god, Valkur. There were three splinters or fractures in the piece of ship hull that not only appeared to be caused by a lightning strike but were also in the symbol of their god.

Wrock was nurtured back to health and appears to have been spared from the machinations of Umberlee and the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA Raugh Thorden). He has clearly been “chosen/spared” by Valkur and trained as a Tempest Cleric of Valkur. The small temple is known as The Grey Temple or Greyfort due to its complete lack of color and location near the base of the mountains. This location causes the area to almost always be cloudy and raining. Wrock has ventured forth from The Grey Temple to help those that are lost and to also champion Valkur, the Captain of Waves.

Idol of a Kraken

Minor ability – Waterborne – The item floats on water and other liquids. Its bearer has advantage on Strength (athletics) checks to swim.
Quirk – Muttering – The item causes bad dreams as the item grumbles and mutters to the user when they sleep.

[Rtgamer]

Love it. Lots of good advise/suggestions. As far as backstory goes I wanted to give you the backstory we came up with for the Tabaxi Tempest Cleric that is currently in my game. A Tabaxi with a Pirate Background! Hopefully it will give you some idea's!

Wrock is from Maztica. He was captured by the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA “Raugh Thorden” which means Death and Bones in Dwarvish. Usually used in reference to both the Captain and his Ship) during a raid on his village to kill and skin Tabaxi furs. As a “Black Cat” Wrock’s life was spared as the Pirate Captain decided to use Wrock as his “monster pet” and would often threaten his crew to feed them to the “Hell cat” as a disciplinary action. The Tabaxi spent most of the time on the ship chained up in the galley but would be allowed to scale the crow’s nest as a lookout/scare tactic. The Dwarf, Veit Whitebeard was the First Mate for the ship. Veit was very charismatic (even for a dwarf) and was good for the morale of the crew. Veit took a liking to Wrock and would often sit with Wrock to learn about the Tabaxi. In turn, Wrock learned to speak but not write in Dwarven. Veit rarely was involved with combat and would take control of the ship during any raids…kind of the “diet coke” of evil. Wrock’s time on the ship was not pleasant as he was treated as an inferior “animal” by most of the crew but he did manage to learn and pick up some skills by watching other crew members and with the few times he was allowed use of the crow’s nest.

The Pirate Captain, Ironihrbrek Bonemane, gave Wrock a small idol of a kraken with some markings on it as a “play toy” for the cat. It was the only possession Wrock was allowed to have on the ship. This is Wrock’s trinket from the Pirate background.

For months the Pirate ship Deladaraugh (pronounced Deladarag) (Dwarvish for literally, “to go down to the Death”) completed a significant number of raids and heists in which Wrock was used in the crow’s nest. In so doing, he became known as the Norogh Thudul (pronounced Noro Thuduul) (translates into the “Monster of Doom”) due to the fact that few ships survived seeing the “Black Cat/Monster Ship”.

This will be Wrock’s Background Pirate Variant: Bad Reputation. In any town/city that has a port or significant nautical population, all Wrock has to do it show himself and mention Norogh or Norogh Thudul and he can get away with small crimes (petty) or choose to use an Intimidation check (with advantage) against sailors or all others that have heard of him.

After months of travel on the ship, Deladaraugh puts into port near Waterdeep. The ship and most of its crew is at port to spend the spoils of their conquests and the ship stays for two and a half days. The ship leaves port in the middle of the second day with the full crew and in a bit of a hurry. Wrock does not know what has happened but manages to gather that there will be a celebration that evening. He has not seen Veit since before they made port (not entirely unusual, but maybe Veit was busy with the celebration?) as he was kept below deck and in chains while in port. From what Wrock can recall, the celebration involved most, if not all, of the crew and had a sense that it was a dark revelry…certainly not something he would likely have enjoyed. That night, after the party had died down, the ship has sailed into a mighty storm. The storm is so strong that Wrock figures that the gods must be playing in the ocean. Lightning strikes the side of the ship that his chains are secured to, fracturing a large piece of ship hull to which his chains are attached. Wrock leaps off the ship into the open ocean during the storm and washes up on the shore. He only survives due to the piece of ship hull that he floats on.

He wanders for some time inland (for fear of being spotted on the shore by the pirates) and eventually passes out due to exhaustion. He is rescued by followers of a small temple of Valkur. The temple followers often search the beach and surrounding area for sailors or other unfortunate beings that may have felt the wrath of Umberlee (Goddess of the sea, CE) as ships can wreck on the rocks west of the Valkur Temple. Two human followers of Valkur; a Damaran (Human from NW Faerun) by the name of Marsk and a Tethyrian (Human from all over the sword coast) by the name of Romaeo, observe Wrock travel from the beach to where he succumbs to the exhaustion. They usually would have rescued any sailor that washed up on shore chained to the hull of part of a ship, but they did not know what to make of this “Cat-Man” and weather or not he was a monster. They finally decided to rescue him after Romaeo noticed that the ship hull that Wrock was chained too looked like a sign from their god, Valkur. There were three splinters or fractures in the piece of ship hull that not only appeared to be caused by a lightning strike but were also in the symbol of their god.

Wrock was nurtured back to health and appears to have been spared from the machinations of Umberlee and the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA Raugh Thorden). He has clearly been “chosen/spared” by Valkur and trained as a Tempest Cleric of Valkur. The small temple is known as The Grey Temple or Greyfort due to its complete lack of color and location near the base of the mountains. This location causes the area to almost always be cloudy and raining. Wrock has ventured forth from The Grey Temple to help those that are lost and to also champion Valkur, the Captain of Waves.

Idol of a Kraken

Minor ability – Waterborne – The item floats on water and other liquids. Its bearer has advantage on Strength (athletics) checks to swim.
Quirk – Muttering – The item causes bad dreams as the item grumbles and mutters to the user when they sleep.

Wow great story tale.. impressed. Great stuff. If I come up with something even half as much a tale, there may be a 1st lvl feat bonus.. heard through GV.

[Rtgamer]

Love it. Lots of good advise/suggestions. As far as backstory goes I wanted to give you the backstory we came up with for the Tabaxi Tempest Cleric that is currently in my game. A Tabaxi with a Pirate Background! Hopefully it will give you some idea's!

Wrock is from Maztica. He was captured by the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA “Raugh Thorden” which means Death and Bones in Dwarvish. Usually used in reference to both the Captain and his Ship) during a raid on his village to kill and skin Tabaxi furs. As a “Black Cat” Wrock’s life was spared as the Pirate Captain decided to use Wrock as his “monster pet” and would often threaten his crew to feed them to the “Hell cat” as a disciplinary action. The Tabaxi spent most of the time on the ship chained up in the galley but would be allowed to scale the crow’s nest as a lookout/scare tactic. The Dwarf, Veit Whitebeard was the First Mate for the ship. Veit was very charismatic (even for a dwarf) and was good for the morale of the crew. Veit took a liking to Wrock and would often sit with Wrock to learn about the Tabaxi. In turn, Wrock learned to speak but not write in Dwarven. Veit rarely was involved with combat and would take control of the ship during any raids…kind of the “diet coke” of evil. Wrock’s time on the ship was not pleasant as he was treated as an inferior “animal” by most of the crew but he did manage to learn and pick up some skills by watching other crew members and with the few times he was allowed use of the crow’s nest.

The Pirate Captain, Ironihrbrek Bonemane, gave Wrock a small idol of a kraken with some markings on it as a “play toy” for the cat. It was the only possession Wrock was allowed to have on the ship. This is Wrock’s trinket from the Pirate background.

For months the Pirate ship Deladaraugh (pronounced Deladarag) (Dwarvish for literally, “to go down to the Death”) completed a significant number of raids and heists in which Wrock was used in the crow’s nest. In so doing, he became known as the Norogh Thudul (pronounced Noro Thuduul) (translates into the “Monster of Doom”) due to the fact that few ships survived seeing the “Black Cat/Monster Ship”.

This will be Wrock’s Background Pirate Variant: Bad Reputation. In any town/city that has a port or significant nautical population, all Wrock has to do it show himself and mention Norogh or Norogh Thudul and he can get away with small crimes (petty) or choose to use an Intimidation check (with advantage) against sailors or all others that have heard of him.

After months of travel on the ship, Deladaraugh puts into port near Waterdeep. The ship and most of its crew is at port to spend the spoils of their conquests and the ship stays for two and a half days. The ship leaves port in the middle of the second day with the full crew and in a bit of a hurry. Wrock does not know what has happened but manages to gather that there will be a celebration that evening. He has not seen Veit since before they made port (not entirely unusual, but maybe Veit was busy with the celebration?) as he was kept below deck and in chains while in port. From what Wrock can recall, the celebration involved most, if not all, of the crew and had a sense that it was a dark revelry…certainly not something he would likely have enjoyed. That night, after the party had died down, the ship has sailed into a mighty storm. The storm is so strong that Wrock figures that the gods must be playing in the ocean. Lightning strikes the side of the ship that his chains are secured to, fracturing a large piece of ship hull to which his chains are attached. Wrock leaps off the ship into the open ocean during the storm and washes up on the shore. He only survives due to the piece of ship hull that he floats on.

He wanders for some time inland (for fear of being spotted on the shore by the pirates) and eventually passes out due to exhaustion. He is rescued by followers of a small temple of Valkur. The temple followers often search the beach and surrounding area for sailors or other unfortunate beings that may have felt the wrath of Umberlee (Goddess of the sea, CE) as ships can wreck on the rocks west of the Valkur Temple. Two human followers of Valkur; a Damaran (Human from NW Faerun) by the name of Marsk and a Tethyrian (Human from all over the sword coast) by the name of Romaeo, observe Wrock travel from the beach to where he succumbs to the exhaustion. They usually would have rescued any sailor that washed up on shore chained to the hull of part of a ship, but they did not know what to make of this “Cat-Man” and weather or not he was a monster. They finally decided to rescue him after Romaeo noticed that the ship hull that Wrock was chained too looked like a sign from their god, Valkur. There were three splinters or fractures in the piece of ship hull that not only appeared to be caused by a lightning strike but were also in the symbol of their god.

Wrock was nurtured back to health and appears to have been spared from the machinations of Umberlee and the Dwarf Pirate Ironihrbrek Bonemane (AKA Raugh Thorden). He has clearly been “chosen/spared” by Valkur and trained as a Tempest Cleric of Valkur. The small temple is known as The Grey Temple or Greyfort due to its complete lack of color and location near the base of the mountains. This location causes the area to almost always be cloudy and raining. Wrock has ventured forth from The Grey Temple to help those that are lost and to also champion Valkur, the Captain of Waves.

Idol of a Kraken

Minor ability – Waterborne – The item floats on water and other liquids. Its bearer has advantage on Strength (athletics) checks to swim.
Quirk – Muttering – The item causes bad dreams as the item grumbles and mutters to the user when they sleep.


Are you sure it’s not the “Fur Traveler” Background?

It seems like a Purrrfect fit!

Eh? Eh? *crickets*

Very punny. I'm probably going to RP like khajit in that complaining about the cold damp air and missing the warmth of his homeland and of course he misses his mother.. also a swashbuckler (Two Llamas Running- from Maztica, NW of far away) who taught him all she could about survival in the jungle wild and how one handles themself when a hiss wouldn't do or if the skinners were around.
Only tales of adventure and Mothers assorted memories shared remain of Father. Southpaw Banks. Mother Said he was a tall walking smooth talking ranger in service to one of the seven sisters Lady Alustriel
Silverhand ... that's what I've scavenged up so far. Maybe his mom got dead so he left their den to find his father? Still working on it