Build the fifth!

Quote Originally Posted by Taelan d'Thuranni
Taelan d'Thuranni
CN Dragonborn(Mind) Elf Rogue 1/Scout 4/Fighter 1

Spoiler: Introduction
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Sairee d'Phiarlan peered into the dark alley suspiciously. She had suspected this was a trap the moment she received the message, but the information her contact had offered was too tempting to pass up. Still, she was an hour early, and the alley looked empty. She took a tentative step forwards, and then another, and then the darkness rushed towards her. Before she could react, there was an arrow in her chest.


Spoiler: Ability Scores
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Ability Score Modifiers Final Score
Strength 8 - 8 (-1)
Dexterity 18 +2 (elf) -2 (dragonborn) +1 (level 4) +1 (Mark of Twelve Moons) 20 (+5)
Constitution 14 -2 (elf) +2 (dragonborn) 14 (+2)
Intelligence 10 - 10 (+0)
Wisdom 12 - 12 (+1)
Charisma 12 - 12 (+1)


Spoiler: Build
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Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Rogue 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Disable Device +4, Hide +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Search +4, Sense Motive +4, Spot +4, Tumble +4 Least Dragonmark of Shadow(darkness) Trapfinding, sneak attack +1d6
2nd Scout 1 +0 +0 +4 +0 Disable Device +5, Hide +5, Listen +5, Move Silently +5, Search +5, Sense Motive +5, Spot +5, Tumble +5 - Skirmish +1d6, trapfinding
3rd Scout 2 +1 +0 +5 +0 Disable Device +6, Hide +6, Listen +6, Move Silently +6, Search +6, Sense Motive +6, Spot +6, Tumble +6 At Home in the Deep Battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge
4th Scout 3 +2 +1 +5 +1 Disable Device +7, Hide +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +7, Search +7, Sense Motive +7, Spot +7, Tumble +7 - Fast movement +10ft., srkimish(+1d6, +1AC), trackless step
5th Scout 4 +3 +1 +6 +1 Disable Device +8, Hide +8, Listen +8, Move Silently +8, Search +8, Sense Motive +8, Spot +8, Tumble +8 Swift Ambusher
6th Hit-and-Run Tactics Sneak Attack Fighter 1 +4 +3 +6 +1 Disable Device +8, Hide +9, Listen +8, Move Silently +8, Search +8, Sense Motive +8, Spot +8, Tumble +8 Blend into Shadows

E6 Feats:
  1. Intensify Darkness
  2. Darkstalker
  3. Lesser Dragonmark (shadow conjuration)
  4. Mark of Twelve Moons (Dexterity)
  5. Improved Skirmish
  6. Dragonfire Strike
  7. Fade Into Darkness
  8. Instinctive Darkness
  9. Dragonmark Prodigy
  10. Dragonmark Adept


[SPOILER=Level by Level Breakdown]
Spoiler: Level 1
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Taelan is a fairly typical Rogue, for now. I really dislike Dragonborn, but Taelan needs Darkvision and does not have feats to spare. Anyway, he'll spend his turns in combat plinking with a shortbow and looking for opportunities to trigger Sneak Attack. Outside of combat, he's a fairly typical scout/trapfinder.

Spoiler: Level 2
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And now he's a fairly typical (uppercase) Scout, too. Skirmish is a lot easier to trigger than Sneak Attack, helping him output consistent damage. It's not really feasible for him to trigger both, except during surprise rounds and when his not-insignificant initiative lets him act before an enemy.

Spoiler: Levels 3, 4, 5
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Not much changes through these levels. Numbers go up, darkness becomes a bit more usable, but not enough to reliably use in combat.

Spoiler: Level 6
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This is where Taelan picks up his signature trick. Hiding as a swift action allows him to move (triggering skirmish damage), hide (triggering sneak attack and hit-and-run damage), then attack (delivering said damage. He doesn't have enough darkness uses to do this often, but remember that in surprise rounds and the first round of combat, he hopefully shouldn't need to.

Spoiler: Intensify Darkness
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Deeper darkness lasts a full day, allowing Taelan to cast it on his bow at the start of the day and surround himself with darkness or not as he pleases (by storing it inside his clothes/pulling it out).

Spoiler: Darkstalker
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Love it or hate it, if you want to be stealthy, you have to take it.

Spoiler: Lesser Dragonmark
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Shadow conjuration essentially allows Taelan to 1/day be effective in a situation where he would normally have problems. His low caster level is a problem for a lot of round/level duration spells, and his save DC is nothing to speak of, but there are still good options. His go-to choice is web, with a nice 10 minute duration and an effect that is still strong against targets who make their save.

Spoiler: Mark of Twelve Moons
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Dexterity is everything to Taelan, powering his attack, his damage, his stealth, and his initiative, and he needs every point of it he can get.

Spoiler: Improved Skirmish
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Taelan triggers skirmish by moving normally, so Improved Skirmish is effectively free.

Spoiler: Dragonfire Strike
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Squeezing a little bit extra out of being Dragonborn adds a damage boost that works anytime Taelan is skirmishing, sneak attacking, or both.

Spoiler: Fade Into Darkness, Instinctive Darkness
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Extra darkness uses, and new uses for darkness. The bonus to Hide checks offered by Fade Into Darkness isn't generally a good use of Taelan's limited darkness uses, but in the right situations it'll be extremely handy. Instinctive Darkness is primarily useful in the event that he gets dispelled, but it has defensive potential (again, situationally).

Spoiler: Dragonmark Prodigy
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One more darkness use, and a new spell. Although net of shadows isn't exactly great for Taelan, he can use it to blind mooks when sneaking around.

Spoiler: Dragonmark Adept
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A second use of shadow conjuration is extremely handy, for all the reasons the first one was. The blindsight spell will only last a minute, but it'll allow Taelan to function against invisible creatures, as well as some other defences like blur, displacement, and so on.


Spoiler: Numbers
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HP: 4d8+1d10+18 = average 41.5 hp
Initiative: 5 (Dex) + 2 (Hit-and-Run Tactics) + 1 (Battle fortitude) = 8
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 10 + 5 (Dex) + 2 (leather armor) + 1 (skirmish) + 2 (improved skirmish) = 20
Fort: 3 (base) + 2 (Con) + 1 (battle fortitude) = 6
Ref: 6 (base) + 5 (Dex) = 11
Will: 1 (base) + 1 (Wis) = 2

Attack: Longbow 4 (BAB) + 5 (Dex) = +9 to hit
Damage: 1d8 (longbow) - 1 (Str) = average 3.5 damage

Skirmish damage: 2d6 (skirmish) + 2d6 (improved skirmish) + 1d6 (Dragonfire Strike) = average +17.5 damage
Flat-footed enemy: 2d6 (sneak attack) + 1d6 (Dragonfire Strike) + 5 (Hit-and-Run Tactics) = average +15.5 damage

Total (flat-footed enemy + skirmish) : +9 to hit, 1d8 + 4 + 7d6 = average 33 damage

Skills: Disable Device +8, Hide +14, Listen +11, Move Silently +14, Search +10, Sense Motive +9, Spot +11, Tumble +13


Spoiler: Sources
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  • Least Dragonmark, Lesser Dragonmark: Eberron Campaign Setting
  • Mark of Twelve Moons: Dragonmarked
  • Dragonborn: Races of the Dragonborn
  • Scout: Complete Adventurer
  • Swift Ambusher, Improved Skirmish: Complete Scoundrel
  • At Home in the Deep, Blend into Shadows, Intensify Darkness, Fade Into Darkness, Instinctive Darkness, Hit-and-Run Tactics Fighter: Drow of the Underdark
  • Darkstalker: Lords of Madness
  • Dragonfire Strike: Dragon Magic
  • Everything else: SRD content