Rogue striker idea

[carrdrivesyou]

So I had an idea for a rogue that deals ridiculous damage. I just want to make sure I'm looking at this right

Swashbuckler 3+ gets rakish audacity, meaning sneak attack hits as long as I don't have disadvantage, nobody else is within 5ft of me, but I have an ally within 5ft of the target.

So take magic initiate warlock to grab hex once a day, along with booming blade and +1 cantrip of choice.

So at 5th level, I swing for 1d8+Dex piercing, 3d6 sneak attack, 1d6 necrotic, and 1d8 thunder in a single hit?

[Reevh]

Correct, assuming that you're using a rapier. Of course, this means you don't get an offhand attack, so if you miss with your mainhand, you never get all that beautiful sneak attack damage on your turn.

[CheddarChampion]

So obviously V. Human is good for that but Half-Elf variant can start with a wizard cantrip instead of two skills. Something to consider.

Also, perhaps a one level dip into Hexblade is appropriate to this? You can also use hexblade's curse as a bonus action, dealing potentially more damage (if high level) than hex and improving your critical chance. Next turn add on hex and do even more. Both HC and hex will recharge on a short rest (IIRC).

[carrdrivesyou]

Correct, assuming that you're using a rapier. Of course, this means you don't get an offhand attack, so if you miss with your mainhand, you never get all that beautiful sneak attack damage on your turn.

I thought you could only get sneak attack once per turn?

[Misterwhisper]

I thought you could only get sneak attack once per turn?

They mean you only get one swing so if you miss you don’t have a backup as opposed to using a pair of short swords and having a second attack as back up.

Also hex is not worth it, you swings once a turn not worth the effort.

You could take MI wizard and get a familiar to give you advantage once per turn. Much safer.

Or if you start with a 17 in dex like as a high elder with booming blade you could take elven accuracy.

Swashbuckler also works will with sentinel. People do not want to get an opportunity attack from a rogue.

[Reevh]

If you really want a stupid high damage single attack rogue, do a wood elf Arcane Trickster/Hexblade warlock with Elven Accuracy and Mobile. Mobile lets you dance in and out (striker) like the Swashbuckler, and Shadowblade (or a familiar) allow you to to get advantage on every round, so also sneak attack every round. This means you're extremely unlikely to miss (the main issue with a single weapon striker rogue build), and very likely to crit.

At level 11 with a 9 rogue/2 lock using your shadowblade, you get 2d8+2d8+5d6+DEX damage in a single attack, and if using Hexblade's Curse, you add your proficiency as damage to boot. Plus, with Hexblade's curse up, you have a 29% chance to crit, meaning that all those lovely dice you just rolled get doubled almost a third of the time. Then if the target moves to chase you after you move away (without provoking an attack of opportunity thanks to Mobile), they take another 3d8 damage from booming blade.

On top of all that, you get Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, the ability to wear a shield, the spell, Shield... you're super tough to kill.

[dragoeniex]

So I had an idea for a rogue that deals ridiculous damage. I just want to make sure I'm looking at this right

Swashbuckler 3+ gets rakish audacity, meaning sneak attack hits as long as I don't have disadvantage, nobody else is within 5ft of me, but I have an ally within 5ft of the target.

So take magic initiate warlock to grab hex once a day, along with booming blade and +1 cantrip of choice.

So at 5th level, I swing for 1d8+Dex piercing, 3d6 sneak attack, 1d6 necrotic, and 1d8 thunder in a single hit?


Accurate, so long as you're lv 6 (5 rogue, 1 warlock) or up. Also, Rakish Audacity means you do not need an ally adjacent to the target. That's what normal rogues need. You can do it that way too, but you get the added luxury of going 1v1 with a beastie so long as they're not ganging up on you!

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Swashbuckler 3+ gets rakish audacity, meaning sneak attack hits as long as I don't have disadvantage, nobody else is within 5ft of me, but I have an ally within 5ft of the target.

Er... Sneak attack hits as long as you don't have advantage and nobody else is within 5 feet of you OR you have an ally within 5 feet of the target. So, either gang up on a foe with a friend or solo him as long as no other enemies are near you.

[Nagog]

I'd recommend dipping Warlock fot this: for one reason: Pact of the Chain. You can keep your invisible familiar within 5 feet of your intended target so you don't have to rely on your teammates ganging up on them. With that, you may lose some sneak attack damage, but at least you'll have it on-demand rather than relying on another player's decisions to activate it. Also, ChainLock familiars are straight up just useful all around.

[da newt]

Barbarian reckless attack is another way to get on demand advantage for SA, but AT familiar or pact of chain is probably better (I really like the IMP familiar and you could grab mask of many faces at warlock 2 - one of the most fun abilities in the game IMO).

[Nagog]

Barbarian reckless attack is another way to get on demand advantage for SA, but AT familiar or pact of chain is probably better (I really like the IMP familiar and you could grab mask of many faces at warlock 2 - one of the most fun abilities in the game IMO).

While technically true, Barbarians are pretty heavily typecast into Strength-based fighting, while Rogues are similarly typecast into Dexterity. You need to be using a light dex-based weapon to enable Sneak Attack, so you'd lose out on any rage damage, and without a few more levels in Barbarian than you'd need for Reckless Attack, the advantage on attacks against you could spell the end for a rogue like this.

[JNAProductions]

While technically true, Barbarians are pretty heavily typecast into Strength-based fighting, while Rogues are similarly typecast into Dexterity. You need to be using a light dex-based weapon to enable Sneak Attack, so you'd lose out on any rage damage, and without a few more levels in Barbarian than you'd need for Reckless Attack, the advantage on attacks against you could spell the end for a rogue like this.

That being said, Barb 2 makes an AWESOME capstone for Rogues.

Rogues Elusive at 18 means that foes can't ever get advantage on attack rolls against you. Reckless Attack's downside, NEGATED!

[da newt]

"While technically true, Barbarians are pretty heavily typecast into Strength-based fighting, while Rogues are similarly typecast into Dexterity. You need to be using a light dex-based weapon to enable Sneak Attack, so you'd lose out on any rage damage, and without a few more levels in Barbarian than you'd need for Reckless Attack, the advantage on attacks against you could spell the end for a rogue like this."


Not quite right:
Rage + finesse weapon = rage damage w/ STG modifier and SA too (rapier for example)
Cunning action disengage, uncanny dodge, rage damage resistance or bear totem, etc all make for a surprisingly resilient dude.

[Expected]

If you really want a stupid high damage single attack rogue, do a wood elf Arcane Trickster/Hexblade warlock with Elven Accuracy and Mobile. Mobile lets you dance in and out (striker) like the Swashbuckler, and Shadowblade (or a familiar) allow you to to get advantage on every round, so also sneak attack every round. This means you're extremely unlikely to miss (the main issue with a single weapon striker rogue build), and very likely to crit.

At level 11 with a 9 rogue/2 lock using your shadowblade, you get 2d8+2d8+5d6+DEX damage in a single attack, and if using Hexblade's Curse, you add your proficiency as damage to boot. Plus, with Hexblade's curse up, you have a 29% chance to crit, meaning that all those lovely dice you just rolled get doubled almost a third of the time. Then if the target moves to chase you after you move away (without provoking an attack of opportunity thanks to Mobile), they take another 3d8 damage from booming blade.

On top of all that, you get Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, the ability to wear a shield, the spell, Shield... you're super tough to kill.

I really like this build. Would you say the ability to use Darkness+Devil's Sight is worth losing 1d6 Sneak Attack damage and an ASI/Feat? And if I'm understanding correctly, you need dim light or darkness for advantage from Shadow Blade. Would you be relying on the Darkness spell for that? Unfortunately, both Shadow Blade and Darkness compete for concentration. I imagine this would work really well with Sentinel.

[Gignere]

I really like this build. Would you say the ability to use Darkness+Devil's Sight is worth losing 1d6 Sneak Attack damage and an ASI/Feat? And if I'm understanding correctly, you need dim light or darkness for advantage from Shadow Blade. Would you be relying on the Darkness spell for that? Unfortunately, both Shadow Blade and Darkness compete for concentration. I imagine this would work really well with Sentinel.

With shadowblade unless you’re fighting in bright environments you don’t need darkness for advantage.

In bright light situations you can always fall back to your familiar.

[Theodoxus]

My striker is a similar build, but going battlemaster for parry, granting another chance at sneak attack. Paired scimitars, up to 4 attacks (11F/9R with offhand), means you're more than likely landing that sneak damage. Of course, you can trade # of attacks for more sneak damage. I'd definitely recommend at least 6 levels of fighter for the bonus ASI. 14 Rogue is decent too.

[Gignere]

My striker is a similar build, but going battlemaster for parry, granting another chance at sneak attack. Paired scimitars, up to 4 attacks (11F/9R with offhand), means you're more than likely landing that sneak damage. Of course, you can trade # of attacks for more sneak damage. I'd definitely recommend at least 6 levels of fighter for the bonus ASI. 14 Rogue is decent too.

I think you mean riposte, but if you grab sentinel the AT can trigger something similar with Mirror Image and get off turn sneak attacks but that’s a spell and a feat instead of just a maneuver.

[Reevh]

I really like this build. Would you say the ability to use Darkness+Devil's Sight is worth losing 1d6 Sneak Attack damage and an ASI/Feat? And if I'm understanding correctly, you need dim light or darkness for advantage from Shadow Blade. Would you be relying on the Darkness spell for that? Unfortunately, both Shadow Blade and Darkness compete for concentration. I imagine this would work really well with Sentinel.

You already have two ways to get advantage through shadow blade (if in dim light or darkness) and your familiar (if in bright light). Darkness/Devil’s Sight would give you some defensive benefit, but I don’t think it’s generally worth it in part because of the concentration issue you mention.

The shadow blade option doesn’t work very well if you have other party members without dark vision bathing your enemies in bright light. The familiar option doesn’t work very well if your DM or your table hates familiars, as mine does. For those situations, Darkness/Devil’s Sight makes some sense, but it burns valuable spell slots you could be using on Shadowblades, and may also cause problems for your other party members.

Honestly the build itself is sufficiently OP that I basically only ever use it for one shots where we’re intended to be overpowered. In a campaign it just ends up annoying either the DM or the players or both because of its powergaminess