Samurai rogue/possible ninja build

[moonfly7]

So I know others have probably done this already, but I just had the idea:
Combine rogue and samurai fighter subclass. You can make a sneak attack whenever you want by giving yourself advantage at will.
I was thinking of using this paired with a shadow monk, you know, jump through shadows, stab my enemies, it be a really good ninja build.
Unless I'm missing something the samurai rogue combo would have to be very useful, and I've never seen it mentioned on these forums, am I missing something in how these abilities work? Or is it possible I'm just making a mountain out of a mole hill with a combo that isn't that good?

[Bloodcloud]

I mean, it’s not useless, but having sneak attack every turn is not terribly hard. Rogue fighter builds usually try to get a second sneak on reaction with risposte.

[Blood of Gaea]

I suppose it's one way to avoid the downsides reckless attack from Rogue/Barbarian. But you'll be able to use it less often.

[Crgaston]

The Samurai Assassin!
Yet another amazing example of Fighter/Rogue synergy. The board is blowing up with them this week, and there's even a Toshiro Mifune movie with this title!

These guys make excellent archers, since getting advantage early in a fight is otherwise tough for archers.

Sample build...
Wood Elf
Acolyte Background
12/17/14/8/13/10

You get Insight, Religion, and Perception from your race and background.

Start as a Rogue for the skills and the Int Save (you'll need it with an 8 Int)
Skills are varied to taste, but I'd suggest Athletics, Acrobatics, Deception and Stealth.

Then go Fighter to level 5, taking yet another skill at F3 and Elven Accuracy at F4.

You can add a second level of Rogue in there for Cunning Action anywhere between F2-F5 if you want the extra mobility, but your goal is F5, then R3.

At Samurai 5/ Assassin 3, if you can get a Surprise action, then you can Action Surge and get 4 auto-crits (assuming they all hit).
With a Longbow and 18 Dex, that's 8d8+4d6+16, or 66 points assuming they all hit. And with triple advantage from EA, they will.

Even without surprise, you still get Advantage on any enemy who hasn't taken a turn yet, and that's not even taking Fighting Spirit into account, which you can use on the next round if needed, or save it for finishing off a particularly tough foe. Non-Surprise Action Surge is 4d8+2d6+16, or 33. Not too shabby.

You'll get another Feat at F6... Sharpshooter. With triple Advantage available twice per combat independent of allies positioning, you'll be a beast. That Surprise Action Surge goes from 66 to 106, with a follow-up round of 2d8+2d6+28. The non-surprise Action Surge averages 73.

At Character Level 10, you'll have to choose between Samurai 7 and Elegant Courtier, or Rogue 4 and another Feat. Alert is almost mandatory for an Assassin so you can get those high Initiative rolls. After that, take the whichever level you didn't choose previously, and then Rogue 5 for Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 SA.

Then at F8 (CL13), you get ANOTHER feat. Dex 20!

Levels 8-13 are really the sweet spot for Fighter/Rogue builds. They're getting great features every level.

After that it's just a matter of being more Samurai or more Assassin. Samurai 15 is amazing, but it'd be your capstone at L20. More Rogue gets you more Expertise, Evasion+ more SA, another ASI, More SA, and another ASI. And that's just to R10.

Samurai gives you one Fighting Spirit each time you roll initiative at F10, which makes this build one of the better ones to do an even 10/10 split with. Usually I'd suggest 9/11 or 11/9 if you're wanting a balanced build, but the free re-up on Fighting Spirit AFTER you've blown them all in a tough fight is pretty dang solid for an archer build. Especially since you're getting a round of Advantage from Assassin, too.


EDIT: The Samurai Inquisitive makes a fantastic archer as well. If nobody has jumped on that one by tomorrow, I'll yammer on aimlessly about that one, too. :)

I do think you're spreading yourself too thin if you try to triple class with Shadow Monk. Either Shadow Monk/Assassin or Kensamurai are solid, though.