Would this strength based Rogue work (Dragonborn)?

[ShirAhn]

Hey guys,

I saw this image come by the interweb the other day and it inspired me to create a new Rogue character. My goal is to make a pure rogue so no multiclassing.

https://i.imgur.com/DUMzPjw.png

The dragonborn gives the character +2 strength and +1 charisma. Making it a bit harder to quickly hit that 20 DEX.

So considering you can use strenght for sneak attack as well I figured I tried to work on Strength rogue. We usually play campaigns from lvl 5 to 12 so I have not thought about going beyong level 10.

Going for the following starter stats:



strength
17
+3


Dexterity
14
+2


Constitution
14
+2


Intelligence
8
-1


Wisdom
10
0


Charisma
10
0



These stats give me 17 strength so I only need a +1 feat to hit +4 on lvl 4 (the same as many DEX based characters). So I figure I get the Moderately Armored feat which gives:
Prerequisite: Proficiency with light armor
You have trained to master the use of medium armor
and shields, gaining the following benefits:
• Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a
maximum of 20.
• You gain proficiency with medium arm or and shields

This allows me to use medium armor, sets my strenght to 18 and allows me to use shields. At level 8 I would go +2 strength to hit the cap.

So I pick Breastplate armor (14 + dex(2)) and a shield +2 setting my AC on lvl 4 to 18.

Pro's:
- I get to be a Dragonborn Rogue which is the goal,
- decent armor
- decent hitchance
- no loss on sneak attack
- High athletics for shoving


Con's:
- lower inititive
- maybe a lower max AC?
- no second hand to use bonus attack unless you lower your shield
- a bit lower Dex save (I think this could be the biggest problem)
- a bit lower Dex skills like acrobatics, stealth and thief tools (you can compensate some of these with Expertise)

Maybe you guys can share some thoughts, tips. I'm very interested in your opinion.

[CTurbo]

I like it. I like the use of Moderately Armored which is an under-rated feat for Rogues.

But what weapon would you use and which Rogue archetype?

For Dragonborn, I'd put a little more in Cha and go Swashbuckler.

[ShirAhn]

I like it. I like the use of Moderately Armored which is an under-rated feat for Rogues.

But what weapon would you use and which Rogue archetype?

For Dragonborn, I'd put a little more in Cha and go Swashbuckler.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have not thought about it to be honest. If we go swashbuckler we might not need a shield because we do not need to disengage. Also the charisma bonus helps.

Fancy Footwork
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn how to land a strike and then slip away without reprisal. During your turn, if you make a melee attack against a creature, that creature can't make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn.

Im thinking swashbuckler is the obvious choice, as Arcane Trickster will require more points in INT which is very hard to do. I could also think of a whip+shield setup so you never have to be in melee. That seems very cool.

[CTurbo]

Shield still gives you a very nice AC boost.

Consider Spell Sniper to get Booming Blade and use it from 10ft away with a whip. It's awesome.

You don't HAVE to invest a lot in Cha as a Swashbuckler. A 12 would be doable.

[Unoriginal]

Whip would require you to spend another feat, though.

If you want to keep the shield, you could go Scout.

[ShirAhn]

Whip would require you to spend another feat, though.

If you want to keep the shield, you could go Scout.

Can you enlighten me? How does Scout help using a shield?

[MThurston]

Swashbuckler also adds you Cha mod to your Initiative.

I would take moderately armoured at level 4. Taking the Best Medium Armor you can. Dont be scared to get disadvantage on stealth roles.

Or you could dip into fighter for just one level and take defensive.

Wear plate and a shield plus a +1 AC.

[nickl_2000]

One thing to remember for a Rogue is that you still need to be using a finesse/ranged weapon when you are attacking to get sneak attack. You can attack with your strength, but it still needs to be one of those types.

[Unoriginal]

Can you enlighten me? How does Scout help using a shield?

Well it lets you do melee-combat-then-retreat without the Swashbuckler subclass (which is not good for shield users).

[Randomthom]

Expertise in athletics for hillariously OP shove actions, especially if you later take Shield Master feat.

[Unoriginal]

Expertise in athletics for hillariously OP shove actions, especially if you later take Shield Master feat.

True. Also for grappling.

[MThurston]

Rapiers do 1d8 damage and are great weapons.

[NaughtyTiger]

whip (my favorite) is out cuz rogues aren't normally proficient in it.

i am running a mountain dwarf inquisitive with heavily armored feat.
mean little critter.
i do wish that a club would do sneak attack though for the right feel.

Proficient in dex saves makes up for low dex.
whereas high wisdom/stre/con make up for no saves in those.

[MThurston]

I wanted to make a str based rogue that used clubs. Unfortunately the club doesn't get sneak attack, which I think is stupid.

[CTurbo]

I wanted to make a str based rogue that used clubs. Unfortunately the club doesn't get sneak attack, which I think is stupid.

As a DM, I would have no problem allowing Sneak Attack with clubs. 5e needs a Brutal Scoundrel.

[MThurston]

As a DM, I would have no problem allowing Sneak Attack with clubs. 5e needs a Brutal Scoundrel.

When can I join your table or screen on roll20.

[stoutstien]

As a DM, I would have no problem allowing Sneak Attack with clubs. 5e needs a Brutal Scoundrel.
Right? Very first game I ran had a player wanted to build a bruiser and asked for sneak attack with a club. Heck a gave them a mace later on that was built like a 13-14 century bar mace. They had a blast or more accurately they blasted helmets

[Trustypeaches]

I would just take a level of fighter or barbarian for medium armor proficiency and shield proficiency rather than spending an ASI on Moderately Armored.

Either of those dips are worth delaying your class features for on a Strength Rogue, IMO.

Barbarian is better for the single level dip since you get rage up front, but go Battlemaster Fighter if you’re willing to invest 3 levels. Riposte gives you a nice way to abuse sneak attack between your turns.

[Trustypeaches]

Well it lets you do melee-combat-then-retreat without the Swashbuckler subclass (which is not good for shield users).How so?

None of the Swashbuckler features proclude the use of a shield. The only difference is that they won’t have an offhand weapon to attack two enemies and nullify two opportunity attacks, but this is a really minor difference.

[CTurbo]

If you're gonna take 1 level of Barbarian, you may as well take 2 for Reckless Attack which is awesome for Rogues.

[Trustypeaches]

If you're gonna take 1 level of Barbarian, you may as well take 2 for Reckless Attack which is awesome for Rogues.Meh. If you're using Shield Master to abuse Expertise Athletics on a strength rogue, then you're going to be benefitting from advantage all the time anyways.

[CTurbo]

Shield Master is not very good on a single attack class. You attack them, knock them over, and they get up before you can attack again.

[stoutstien]

Shield Master is not very good on a single attack class. You attack them, knock them over, and they get up before you can attack again.
Or you allow the ba to happen before the attack.

[CTurbo]

Or you allow the ba to happen before the attack.

Ask the DM if he's ok with that homebrew since that's not what the feat says.

[djreynolds]

Of course. Take moderately armored at 4th, strength 18. Say breast plate, shield and rapier.

Scout, swashbuckler, and thief will work, really any rogue will.

Just leave room for maybe resilient con.

[Vorok]

I'd like to point out, that with DM's permission, Thief's 'use objects as a bonus action' feature might apply to (de)equipping shields, which can have some fun implications.

[ShirAhn]

I would just take a level of fighter or barbarian for medium armor proficiency and shield proficiency rather than spending an ASI on Moderately Armored.

Either of those dips are worth delaying your class features for on a Strength Rogue, IMO.

Barbarian is better for the single level dip since you get rage up front, but go Battlemaster Fighter if you’re willing to invest 3 levels. Riposte gives you a nice way to abuse sneak attack between your turns.

Wouldn't rage counter sneak attack?

[CTurbo]

Wouldn't rage counter sneak attack?

No not at all

[MThurston]

I would rather go fighter to get the fighting style and second wind.

Also, plate isn't out of the question with a low Dex score.

You are not playing a sneaky rogue anyway.

If the DM allows (SA), a mace and shield would be great.

[NaughtyTiger]

Ask the DM if he's ok with that homebrew since that's not what the feat says.

That's a ruling, not homebrew.

The RAW is arguable at best (ie, we have argued it)
The RAI is now clear after tweets and rulings, but not game breaking the other way.

[Trustypeaches]

I would rather go fighter to get the fighting style and second wind.

Also, plate isn't out of the question with a low Dex score.

You are not playing a sneaky rogue anyway.

If the DM allows (SA), a mace and shield would be great.You can't have a low Dex score if you're multiclassing into or out of rogue. Minimum 13 dexterity.

Second Wind is very underwhelming and won't do nearly as much for your survival as Rage does. A Fighting Style is nice, but since you have to use a Rapier to make use of Sneak Attack with Strength, you're basically limited to Defense or Dueling, the latter of which is very underwhelming on a single-attack class.

[MThurston]

You can't have a low Dex score if you're multiclassing into or out of rogue. Minimum 13 dexterity.

Second Wind is very underwhelming and won't do nearly as much for your survival as Rage does. A Fighting Style is nice, but since you have to use a Rapier to make use of Sneak Attack with Strength, you're basically limited to Defense or Dueling, the latter of which is very underwhelming on a single-attack class.

A +1 Dex isn't worth taking any amour but plate.

No use for dex at all but to be a rogue.

Take the double prof in Athletics and Intimidation.

I could be wrong but do you have to have a 13 in sex to start put a rogue?

[Trustypeaches]

A +1 Dex isn't worth taking any amour but plate.

No use for dex at all but to be a rogue.

Take the double prof in Athletics and Intimidation.

I could be wrong but do you have to have a 13 in sex to start put a rogue?No, but you do need a 13 in DEX to multiclass out of Rogue.

In addition, decent dex is still nice since you expertise stealth and be better at it than any other class short of a traditional Dexterity Rogue. Dex saves are also nice.

[MThurston]

No, but you do need a 13 in DEX to multiclass out of Rogue.

In addition, decent dex is still nice since you expertise stealth and be better at it than any other class short of a traditional Dexterity Rogue. Dex saves are also nice.

Still, a 13 Dec is only a +1. Still making plate an option.

Not sure what your thoughts are on Str rogues but they are basically thugs.

Think the two guys from the Disney movie Rapunzo.

Just need str and cha.

[Trustypeaches]

Still, a 13 Dec is only a +1. Still making plate an option.

Not sure what your thoughts are on Str rogues but they are basically thugs.

Think the two guys from the Disney movie Rapunzo.

Just need str and cha.Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean having 14 Dexterity over 13 is a bad investment or un-thematic. You can easily have 14 Con, 14 Dexterity, and 16 Strength.

[MThurston]

Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean having 14 Dexterity over 13 is a bad investment or un-thematic. You can easily have 14 Con, 14 Dexterity, and 16 Strength.

Better to put that 14 in Cha. Intimidate, deception, performance are all great.

If you roll every stat then you could put whatever you want.

13 Dex to multi class and then take Swashbuckler to get the cha bonus to init.

[MThurston]

Race: Dragonborn, Black
Class: Rogue
Background: City Watch

S 16, D 13, C 12, I 8, W 10, Ch 16
Init +1, A.C. 12

Athletics ×2 = 7, Insight = 2, Persuasion = 5, Intimidation ×2 = 7.

You will also know locations if thieves dens and constables.

2nd level take Fighter with Defensive Fighting Style.

Buy a Shield and Chain Mail and your A.C. jumps to 19.

Take the remaining levels in rogue taking Swashbuckler to add Cha mod to init. Init now +4.

You can also solo people with your 19 A.C. and still get sneak attack.

Very strong build.

[NaughtyTiger]

Race: Dragonborn, Black
Class: Rogue
Background: City Watch

S 16, D 13, C 12, I 8, W 10, Ch 16
Init +1, A.C. 12

Athletics ×2 = 7, Insight = 2, Persuasion = 5, Intimidation ×2 = 7.
Buy a Shield and Chain Mail and your A.C. jumps to 19.

Take the remaining levels in rogue taking Swashbuckler to add Cha mod to init. Init now +4.


In this build you are starting as Fighter (for Heavy Armor prof), so you don't have Dex save.
TrustyPeaches point about 14 Dex stands. +1 to Dex, -1 to Cha means your intimidation is still 6, but your dex save is +1, your init is the same.

[MThurston]

In this build you are starting as Fighter (for Heavy Armor prof), so you don't have Dex save.
TrustyPeaches point about 14 Dex stands. +1 to Dex, -1 to Cha means your intimidation is still 6, but your dex save is +1, your init is the same.

Dex is useless to a Strength rogue.

You are not sneaking around.

Plate doesn't give you any Dex to your A.C.. chain mail is to get you started.

Your goal is plate where your A.C. is 21.

With Standard Array and Point Buy you have to pick and if you are going Str, then no need to throw points into Dex.

I just read that multiclassing into fighter doesn't give heavy armour. You will have to take the feat at 5th level to get heavy armor use.

You can take half plate for an A.C. of 19. If that is ok for you then you can put that feat into something else.

[NaughtyTiger]

Dex is useless to a Strength rogue.

Dex saving throw.
Wisdom saving throw. (level 15?)
These are the 2 most important saving throws in the game for a PC.

Your 7th level ability is based on your Dex saving throw.

For your multiclassed rogue/fighter, 19AC either requires a FEAT (expensive) or Dex 14.
For your multiclassed fighter/rogue, your Dex saving throw requires a FEAT to still suck at saving throws.

[MThurston]

Dex saving throw.
Wisdom saving throw. (level 15?)
These are the 2 most important saving throws in the game for a PC.

Your 7th level ability is based on your Dex saving throw.

For your multiclassed rogue/fighter, 19AC either requires a FEAT (expensive) or Dex 14.
For your multiclassed fighter/rogue, your Dex saving throw requires a FEAT to still suck at saving throws.

But you are playing a Strength rogue like the OP asked. And he suggested Dragonborn.

What does this mean to us?

1. Str
2. Cha

Now what is going to be our 3rd stat? Dex or Con.

Now if you want to stay Rogue and not multiclass then you can go Con. But if you want to multiclass you have to go Dex. But you are not wasting points into it because of Str and Cha.

What do you think he wants a Cha bonus? My guess is Intimidation. The OP wants a muscle character and not a hide in the shadows kind of guy.

Let's be honest, most rogues are hide in the shadow kind of people.

Not this dude, he wants to be out in the open Intimidating and pushing them around.

Enter my suggestion build.

Going fighter at 2nd level will get you medium armor and a shield. Getting a Breast Plate will get you to 18 AC. Very respectable.

Taking a feat later on to wear Heavy armor will get this build to 21 A.C. and is not a waste at all. You are a Str rogue!

With Swashbuckler you can solo and still get your sneak attack dice.

I'm not sure why you think this is not a good build for the OP. Unless you are in the box that says Rogues must have max Dex.

But with a Str build it is pretty silly to load up on two stats to attack with. And with Med armor only allowing 2 from your dex.

As for saving throws, you get your prof bonus for Dex. It will always be decent.

**** If you roll stats and get 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 14 then I would go 18 Str, 18 Cha, 18 Dex, 15 Con, 14 Int, 14 Wis. *****

But we have to assume point buy or standard array which means we have to pick our battles.

[NaughtyTiger]

like the OP asked. And he suggested Dragonborn.
...
But we have to assume point buy or standard array which means we have to pick our battles.

Don't invoke the OP. You have completely strayed from the OP.


My goal is to make a pure rogue so no multiclassing.

Additionally, the OP stated his stats in his very first post
S17, D14, C14, I8, W10, C10 (should be C11 if point buy)


What do you think he wants a Cha bonus? My guess is Intimidation. The OP wants a muscle character and not a hide in the shadows kind of guy.

I think you read a lot more into the Cha bonus than the OP intended.
Someone suggested increasing Charisma to take advantage of Swashbuckler. OP responded "the Charisma bonus helps".
Reasonably the Cha bonus helps with Init. OP did mention stealth.


I'm not sure why you think this is not a good build for the OP. Unless you are in the box that says Rogues must have max Dex.
multiple reasons.
1. it violates the first requirement of the OP, multiclassing
2. it uses different Stats than the OP identified.
3. you stated that you would rather ..., and proceeded to build the roue YOU would play. (again)
4. I was responding to your statement, "Dex is useless on a strength rogue", wherein I pointed out how a +2 Dex on a Rogue is quite useful.

[MThurston]

The only thing is the multiclass.

Everything else is spot on to what the OP asked, hence the Dragonborn build.

You are just hung up on Dex.

[NaughtyTiger]

The only thing is the multiclass.

ah, that's cute.
even you state, the "only" thing wrong with your suggestion is the one thing the OP was completely against, even put in BOLD.

[MThurston]

ah, that's cute.
even you state, the "only" thing wrong with your suggestion is the one thing the OP was completely against, even put in BOLD.

LOL. You can take a feat to get you medium armour use OR you can take Fighter that gives you the armor use AND Second Wind.

Then if you really wanted to double down you could take a feat that lets you take up to a +4 in dex and no disadvantage to sneak.

I will take the 1 level of fighter please.

[Deliverance]

LOL. You can take a feat to get you medium armour use OR you can take Fighter that gives you the armor use AND Second Wind.

Then if you really wanted to double down you could take a feat that lets you take up to a +4 in dex and no disadvantage to sneak.

I will take the 1 level of fighter please.
As is your right.

Your preference and advice with respect to the multiclassed rogue is, however, irrelevant to the topic of this thread, which is building a strength-based dragonborn pure rogue with no multiclassing.

[MThurston]

As is your right.

Your preference and advice with respect to the multiclassed rogue is, however, irrelevant to the topic of this thread, which is building a strength-based dragonborn pure rogue with no multiclassing.

It is relevant, just not preferred.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Cost vs reward.

[stoutstien]

Meet rarark the clanless.
Race dragonborn(black)
Background criminal
Class rogue
Using standard point buy
Str. 15
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 14
At lv one
Prof - deception, stealth, acrobatic, athletics, intimidation, perception, and thieves tools
Expertise- stealth and athletics
AC- 13 or 14 If bought studded.

You are surprisingly quick and nimble for a near 7 foot tall hulking scaled behemoth. Foes that think they can outrun you soon find out that it nearly impossible to escape your iron grip.

At third lv go thief. With your Athletics and acrobatic abilities you are at home from the sewers to the roof tops.

4th lv take moderately armored to take your AC up to 16/18 with shield and even out str.

Or take lizard-folk and fluff it as a low content dragonborn.

[NaughtyTiger]

At third lv go thief. With your Athletics and acrobatic abilities you are at home from the sewers to the roof tops.

Thief? didn't see that coming.



lizard-folk and fluff it as a low content dragonborn.

that made me smile.

[stoutstien]

Thief? didn't see that coming.

honestly I think it's the only rogue subclass it takes full advantage of a high-strength score.

Fast hands is just a ton of fun also. You are actually strong enough to pull the rug out from under them.





that made me smile
My great grand pappy was bout quarter dragun'.

[MThurston]

Meet rarark the clanless.
Race dragonborn(black)
Background criminal
Class rogue
Using standard point buy
Str. 15
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 14
At lv one
Prof - deception, stealth, acrobatic, athletics, intimidation, perception, and thieves tools
Expertise- stealth and athletics
AC- 13 or 14 If bought studded.

You are surprisingly quick and nimble for a near 7 foot tall hulking scaled behemoth. Foes that think they can outrun you soon find out that it nearly impossible to escape your iron grip.

At third lv go thief. With your Athletics and acrobatic abilities you are at home from the sewers to the roof tops.

4th lv take moderately armored to take your AC up to 16/18 with shield and even out str.

Or take lizard-folk and fluff it as a low content dragonborn.

Not really a Str Build and a low init for a rogue. For me, having below a +5 to hit at first is under the power curve.

[NaughtyTiger]

Not really a Str Build and a low init for a rogue. For me, having below a +5 to hit at first is under the power curve.

SMH. Power gamer :P

[MThurston]

SMH. Power gamer :P

More like, I'd like to not need advantage to hit someone. :P

[NaughtyTiger]

More like, I'd like to not need advantage to hit someone. :P

Meh, a +4 for 3 levels, then +5 after the Med armor half-feat.
only a 5% difference
+1 isn't a big deal.

I saw this all the time in Adventure League, where folks would pass up a +1 weapon cuz why be stuck at +1 for T1 play, when you could be +2 or more in T2 play.

But yeah I get it, I totally get irked by odd number stats cuz you are so close to the +1...

[Meichrob7]

The thing is, you working with a less than perfectly optimized character concept so I think its more important in this case to fully embrace the character concept and not worry as much about the few mechanical negatives.

Based off that picture I'd say that Thief would probably be the most true to the image you're basing this off.
Thief also:
1) Plays into some of your 'strengths' because both parts of second story work benefit from higher strength:athletics checks.
2) The fact that you can't use a bonus action to attack is somewhat negated by the fact that the thief gets two additional uses for bonus actions with Fast Hands, along with the three you already would have from Cunning action.
3) Thief's level 9 ability would let you negate the disadvantage from some of the higher base AC armors.

The most beneficial combo here would be using shield master to knock them down first and then getting advantage on attacks. Last year Jeremy Crawford said on twitter that you had to take the entire action before taking a bonus action triggered by said action. I'm honestly not a fan of a lot of his rulings (I could rant for an hour about how if we use his interpretation of passive perception we get absurd things like someone standing around being just as likely to find something as someone actively looking for an hour), and by the literal RAW you could easily argue being able to take the attack action and before you make the attack itself take a bonus action for shield master. If you have a regular DM talk to them and I'd guess they would be okay with you using the bonus action in this way. In my experience if I'm playing a non optimized/powergaming build the DM is more inclined to let me bend the rules because he isnt afraid that I'll break the game.

If you do end up using a shield theres some slight advantages you get. Since you aren't a swashbuckler and as a rogue your weapon's dice is the minority of your damage, you can use the d4 weapons without taking much of a hit. Normally this means using the dagger, its a melee weapon and a light weapon meaning using it to attack gives you the ability to make an off hand attack, and the light property lets you hold a second dagger in the off hand.

However because your second hand is using a shield the offhand attack benefits don't matter so you can use darts instead, which cost like 2.5% as much as a dagger (5c vs 2g). Additionally if you're using only one thrown weapon you don't have to worry about throwing them faster than you can draw them. Without some heavy rules lawyer-ing its hard draw two weapons every turn, so you can just use your free object interaction to replace the one dart you've thrown.

Personally if I'm going to prioritize Style> Power on a character I go all in, so I'd use one of the interesting racial feats for dragonborn instead of moderately armored, but most of my table is full of powergaming little gremlins who can pick up the slack if I'm not hitting for 30 damage every turn. The Dragon hide will give you the +1 str you need and a nice 13+dex ac, letting you deck your rogue out in whatever disguises or costumes you want without worrying about your defenses. The retractable claws arent mechanically useful like at all. However from a flavor/story perspective the retractable claws would explain any extra climbing ability that a Thief would have, you could maybe convince your dm to let you use them as thieves tools or even reflavor dagger attacks as claw swipes. Dragon fear isnt as useful imo because having an emergency 'get off me' action once a day isn't as useful for a class that can dash and disengage on the same turn as it is for someone else. Although it isn't totally useless, because you can use healers kits and potions as a bonus action (again assuming you do pick a thief) you'd often be helping up downed allies so being able to get enemies away from them might be nice.

Other feats that don't really fit the image you had going, but are still useful include:
Grappler: Especially if you don't have a shield and ignore more Crawford fun killing when he said unarmed attacks aren't weapons, you can melee as an action and since unarmed strikes are listed as weapons in the original phb, make an offhand attack with your hand and then replace the attack with a grapple check. This gets even more fun if you choose to ignore the earlier mentioned ruling from Crawford about making bonus actions triggered by the attack action before the attack itself. Even ignoring all those rules iffy interactions theres still the restrained ability you have access to which can be really nice when you're fighting a big bad evil caster and you just grab him and let the rest of the party beat him up.
Healer: Again this is somewhat thief dependent but it essentially turns healer's kits into potions of healing. lets be honest, if you're level 5 then 1 hp vs 7 hp won't make much of a difference when both let you regain consciousness and neither one will let you stay awake after a single hit from the monster. Doing this and using darts/daggers lets you play a thief whos a bit of a miser. That can be fun from an RP perspective and is just darned useful in any sort of low resource or low level campaign.
Weapon master:This one has the added benefit of giving you that oh so desired +1 str, and allows you to use some other weapons, the most immediatly useful one being the whip, which lets you save your bonus action for something besides disengage if the enemy doesnt have 10ft reach.

With just official rules and no multiclassing, thats about all you can do. UA offers a few things, there's a feat that gets powerful build so you could grapple someone, dash up a wall, and then drop them.
Multiclassing offers a ton, most notable barbarians who could give you advantage on command, and with a 3 level dip into berserker you can get two sneak attacks per round if you attack with a bonus action on your turn from frenzied rage, and a second sneak attack by readying an action to trigger on another creature's turn. The limit to sneak attack is one per turn not per round. There's some other ways to do this like scimitar of speed (although I don't think rogues get proficiency with that by default), having the haste spell, or even quickening Green flame/Booming blade. You can't however pull off this bit of cheese with off hand weapons as they're specifically triggered by the attack action and readying an attack is the ready action.

Overall its a cool character concept that has a lot of potential for real personality and character. Using some of the 'gold saving' combos and making him a thief obsessed with saving and stealing plays a bit into the hoarder nature of dragons, and the boosted jump distance from second story work could let you almost seem like you were flying, which is another tie in to your draconic half.

Final note, lot of these things are kinda not complaint with RAI and honestly could be wrong by RAW in some cases, my group has had plenty of long term misinterpretations of rules so I cant promise none of those showed up here so check with your DM before using any of the more cheesy combinations or interactions.

[ShirAhn]

LOL. You can take a feat to get you medium armour use OR you can take Fighter that gives you the armor use AND Second Wind.

Then if you really wanted to double down you could take a feat that lets you take up to a +4 in dex and no disadvantage to sneak.

I will take the 1 level of fighter please.

I would like to add, that taking one level of fighter does not give you the +1 strength you also need.


The thing is, you working with a less than perfectly optimized character concept so I think its more important in this case to fully embrace the character concept and not worry as much about the few mechanical negatives.

Based off that picture I'd say that Thief would probably be the most true to the image you're basing this off.
Thief also:
1) Plays into some of your 'strengths' because both parts of second story work benefit from higher strength:athletics checks.
2) The fact that you can't use a bonus action to attack is somewhat negated by the fact that the thief gets two additional uses for bonus actions with Fast Hands, along with the three you already would have from Cunning action.
3) Thief's level 9 ability would let you negate the disadvantage from some of the higher base AC armors.

The most beneficial combo here would be using shield master to knock them down first and then getting advantage on attacks. Last year Jeremy Crawford said on twitter that you had to take the entire action before taking a bonus action triggered by said action. I'm honestly not a fan of a lot of his rulings (I could rant for an hour about how if we use his interpretation of passive perception we get absurd things like someone standing around being just as likely to find something as someone actively looking for an hour), and by the literal RAW you could easily argue being able to take the attack action and before you make the attack itself take a bonus action for shield master. If you have a regular DM talk to them and I'd guess they would be okay with you using the bonus action in this way. In my experience if I'm playing a non optimized/powergaming build the DM is more inclined to let me bend the rules because he isnt afraid that I'll break the game.

If you do end up using a shield theres some slight advantages you get. Since you aren't a swashbuckler and as a rogue your weapon's dice is the minority of your damage, you can use the d4 weapons without taking much of a hit. Normally this means using the dagger, its a melee weapon and a light weapon meaning using it to attack gives you the ability to make an off hand attack, and the light property lets you hold a second dagger in the off hand.

However because your second hand is using a shield the offhand attack benefits don't matter so you can use darts instead, which cost like 2.5% as much as a dagger (5c vs 2g). Additionally if you're using only one thrown weapon you don't have to worry about throwing them faster than you can draw them. Without some heavy rules lawyer-ing its hard draw two weapons every turn, so you can just use your free object interaction to replace the one dart you've thrown.

Personally if I'm going to prioritize Style> Power on a character I go all in, so I'd use one of the interesting racial feats for dragonborn instead of moderately armored, but most of my table is full of powergaming little gremlins who can pick up the slack if I'm not hitting for 30 damage every turn. The Dragon hide will give you the +1 str you need and a nice 13+dex ac, letting you deck your rogue out in whatever disguises or costumes you want without worrying about your defenses. The retractable claws arent mechanically useful like at all. However from a flavor/story perspective the retractable claws would explain any extra climbing ability that a Thief would have, you could maybe convince your dm to let you use them as thieves tools or even reflavor dagger attacks as claw swipes. Dragon fear isnt as useful imo because having an emergency 'get off me' action once a day isn't as useful for a class that can dash and disengage on the same turn as it is for someone else. Although it isn't totally useless, because you can use healers kits and potions as a bonus action (again assuming you do pick a thief) you'd often be helping up downed allies so being able to get enemies away from them might be nice.

Other feats that don't really fit the image you had going, but are still useful include:
Grappler: Especially if you don't have a shield and ignore more Crawford fun killing when he said unarmed attacks aren't weapons, you can melee as an action and since unarmed strikes are listed as weapons in the original phb, make an offhand attack with your hand and then replace the attack with a grapple check. This gets even more fun if you choose to ignore the earlier mentioned ruling from Crawford about making bonus actions triggered by the attack action before the attack itself. Even ignoring all those rules iffy interactions theres still the restrained ability you have access to which can be really nice when you're fighting a big bad evil caster and you just grab him and let the rest of the party beat him up.
Healer: Again this is somewhat thief dependent but it essentially turns healer's kits into potions of healing. lets be honest, if you're level 5 then 1 hp vs 7 hp won't make much of a difference when both let you regain consciousness and neither one will let you stay awake after a single hit from the monster. Doing this and using darts/daggers lets you play a thief whos a bit of a miser. That can be fun from an RP perspective and is just darned useful in any sort of low resource or low level campaign.
Weapon master:This one has the added benefit of giving you that oh so desired +1 str, and allows you to use some other weapons, the most immediatly useful one being the whip, which lets you save your bonus action for something besides disengage if the enemy doesnt have 10ft reach.

With just official rules and no multiclassing, thats about all you can do. UA offers a few things, there's a feat that gets powerful build so you could grapple someone, dash up a wall, and then drop them.
Multiclassing offers a ton, most notable barbarians who could give you advantage on command, and with a 3 level dip into berserker you can get two sneak attacks per round if you attack with a bonus action on your turn from frenzied rage, and a second sneak attack by readying an action to trigger on another creature's turn. The limit to sneak attack is one per turn not per round. There's some other ways to do this like scimitar of speed (although I don't think rogues get proficiency with that by default), having the haste spell, or even quickening Green flame/Booming blade. You can't however pull off this bit of cheese with off hand weapons as they're specifically triggered by the attack action and readying an attack is the ready action.

Overall its a cool character concept that has a lot of potential for real personality and character. Using some of the 'gold saving' combos and making him a thief obsessed with saving and stealing plays a bit into the hoarder nature of dragons, and the boosted jump distance from second story work could let you almost seem like you were flying, which is another tie in to your draconic half.

Final note, lot of these things are kinda not complaint with RAI and honestly could be wrong by RAW in some cases, my group has had plenty of long term misinterpretations of rules so I cant promise none of those showed up here so check with your DM before using any of the more cheesy combinations or interactions.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a well-argumented story. I will take your suggestions into consideration.

[NaughtyTiger]

snip

FYI, if you are using point-buy your initial stats are short by 1 point. so you could have an 11 in charisma or such.

15+2, 14, 14, 8, 10, 10+1