Ah, so this is Baby Gronk.

Quote Originally Posted by Gronk Tongle
Gronk Tongle, the Dwarf Gecko
Making better use of Soulchilling Strike than you'd ever have thought possible

NE Chameleon Wild Dwarf Rogue 10 / Umbral Disciple 9

Spoiler: Crime Scene
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"Reporting for duty, sarge!"

"Took you long enough: I sent out the order for a diviner what, two hours ago? Well, never mind, have a look at our stiff."

"I've seen worse, frankly. Anything you've been able to figure out so far?"

"Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Standard anti-raising precautions, quite professionally done actually, but all inflicted after death. I'd buy the guy just keeled over in an alley, if it wasn't someone half the gangs in town wanted dead."

"Alright, let's have a look... no magic, no lingering magic auras either, no layered obfuscations - little trick you learn to watch out for. Cause of death is obviously suffocation, but I'm not seeing any damage to the airways, and no signs of a struggle, not even signs of blind panic. There's some of the muscle tears and bruising you'd expect if someone suddenly went completely slack, seems like they just covered his mouth after that. Not that I know how they got him incapacitated."

"Poison?"

"...No, hm. Some trace marks, actually. Not enough to kill someone, probably just residue on the assassin's clothes."

"Does this town have any assassins that don't use poison? I need something I can use."

"No paralytics, no energy drain, no desiccation, no missing slivers of brain..."

"What?"

"String of mystery murders from four years ago. Turns out a psion had found a way to disintegrate a two-millimeter cross section of someone's spinal chord, instant loss of function of anything below the neck. No way to figure it out unless you were looking for it."

"Great Tyr, how'd you figure that one out?"

"I didn't; he tried to pull it on a town councilor who was secretly a vampire. Ah, here we go!"

"Got anything?"

"Slight discoloration at the nape of the neck, seems like... a soft object with quite some force behind it, followed by suction? Barely anything, had to refine my divinations for it to register."

"I'm paying you to figure out what killed the bloke, why are you telling me about his hickeys?"

"No, no, I feel like there's something to it. See, the muscle tears are all radiating out from here, like he lost control of the muscles closer to his neck first. Hm, seems like it did do something to the spine, even subtler this time. No actual damage, but it's... disturbed?"

"So this guy got a peck on the neck and dropped just like that? Are we dealing with some kind of hyper-attractive murder vamp?"

"Who knows, sarge? You might just be right."


Spoiler: Description and backstory
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Gronk is short even by wild dwarf standards, measuring two feet and ten inches. He lacks the beard and belly that most dwarves boast, instead possessing a slender frame covered head to toe in patchwork scales, soft to the touch yet dry and flaky. This skin changes color with regularity, and typically matches that of Gronk's surroundings, giving the impression of a blurry blob with two bulging independently-moving eyes poking out from it.

Gronk is a citizen of the state of Tashalar, whose merchant-lords are quick to call upon the various thugs, assassins, and never-do-wells that lurk in the streets of its cities. One source thereof is a sept of umbral adepts dedicated to the dwarven god Vergadain, who are more than happy to remove 'obstacles' to the free flow of trade, as long as their god gets his cut. Over the years, Gronk's aptitude for quickly incapacitating foes have left him one of their foremost members.


Spoiler: Ability scores and build table
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Ability scores (racial modifiers)
STR 16
DEX 14
CON 16 (14 + 2)
INT 16
WIS 8
CHA 6 (8 - 2)
First two ASIs in dex, second two in con.

Languages: Common, Dwarven, Draconic, Goblin, Tashalan

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
2nd Rogue 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Climb 4, Concentration 2cc, Craft (Poisonmaking) 4, Disable Device 4, Gather Information 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 2cc, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Tumble 4 Darkstalker Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding
3rd Rogue 2 +1 +0 +3 +0 Climb 4, Concentration +1cc (2.5), Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (5), Disable Device +1 (5), Gather Information +1 (5), Hide +1 (5), Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Listen +1 (5), Move Silently +1 (5), Search +1 (5), Tumble +1 (5), Listen to This 2 - Evasion
4th Rogue 3 +2 +1 +3 +1 Climb 4, Concentration +1cc (3), Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (6), Disable Device +1 (6), Gather Information +1 (6), Hide +1 (6), Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Listen +1 (6), Move Silently +1 (6), Search +1 (6), Tumble +1 (6), Tumbling Crawl 2 Indigo Strike Sneak Attack +2d6, Spell Sense +1
5th Rogue 4 +3 +1 +4 +1 Climb +1 (5), Concentration +1cc (3.5), Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (7), Disable Device +1 (7), Gather Information +1 (7), Hide +1 (7), Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Local) +1 (1), Listen +1 (7), Move Silently +1 (7), Search +1 (7), Tumble +1 (7) - Disruptive Attack
6th Rogue 5 +3 +1 +4 +1 Climb 5, Concentration +1cc (4), Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (8), Disable Device +1 (8), Gather Information +1 (8), Hide +1 (8), Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (8), Move Silently +1 (8), Search +1 (8), Tumble +1 (8), Speedy Ascent 2 - Sneak Attack +3d6
7th Umbral Disciple 1 +3 +1 +6 +3 Balance +3 (3), Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (9), Disable Device 8, Gather Information 8, Hide +1 (9), Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (3), Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (9), Move Silently +1 (9), Search 8, Tumble +1 (9) Bind Vestige Sept Knowledge, Step of the Bodiless
8th Umbral Disciple 2 +4 +1 +7 +4 Balance +2 (5), Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (10), Disable Device 8, Gather Information 8, Hide +1 (10), Knowledge (Arcana) +2 (5), Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (10), Move Silently +1 (10), Search 8, Tumble +1 (10) - Sneak Attack +4d6
9th Umbral Disciple 3 +5 +2 +7 +4 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (11), Disable Device 8, Gather Information 8, Hide +1 (11), Jump +2 (2), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (11), Move Silently +1 (11), Search 8, Tumble +1 (11), Collector of Stories 2 - Embrace of Shadows
10th Golden Hand of Vergadain Rogue 6 +5 +3 +8 +5 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 11, Disable Device +4 (12), Gather Information +3 (11), Hide 11, Jump 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Search +4 (12), Tumble 11 Underfoot Combat Urban Tracking
11th Umbral Disciple 4 +6/+1 +3 +9 +6 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +2 (13), Disable Device 12, Gather Information 11, Hide +2 (13), Jump 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (12), Move Silently +2 (13), Search 12, Tumble +2 (13) - -
12th Rogue 7 +7/+2 +3 +9 +6 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (14), Disable Device +2 (14), Gather Information +3 (14), Hide +1 (14), Jump 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen 12, Move Silently +1 (14), Search +2 (14), Tumble +1 (14) - Sneak Attack +5d6
13th Umbral Disciple 5 +7/+2 +3 +9 +6 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (15), Disable Device 14, Gather Information 14, Hide +1 (15), Jump +3 (5), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen 12, Move Silently +1 (15), Search 14, Tumble +1 (15), Acrobatic Backstab 2 Confound the Big Folk Sneak Attack +6d6
14th Rogue 8 +8/+3 +3 +10 +6 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (16), Disable Device +2 (16), Gather Information +2 (16), Hide +1 (16), Jump 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (13), Move Silently +1 (16), Search +2 (16), Tumble +1 (16) - Uncanny Dodge
15th Umbral Disciple 6 +9/+4 +4 +11 +7 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (17), Disable Device 16, Gather Information 16, Hide +1 (17), Jump 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +3 (16), Move Silently +1 (17), Search 16, Tumble +1 (17), Extreme Leap 2 - -
16th Rogue 9 +9/+4 +5 +11 +8 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Disable Device +2 (18), Gather Information +2 (18), Hide +1 (18), Jump 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen 16, Move Silently +1 (18), Search +2 (18), Tumble +1 (18), Wall Jumper 2 Shadow Striker Sneak Attack +7d6, Spell Sense +2
17th Umbral Disciple 7 +10/+5 +5 +11 +8 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +2 (19), Disable Device 18, Gather Information 18, Hide +1 (19), Jump 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +2 (18), Move Silently +1 (19), Search 18, Tumble +1 (19), Leaping Climber 2 - Sight of the Eyeless
18th Rogue 10 +11/+6 +5 +12 +8 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (20), Disable Device +2 (20), Gather Information +2 (20), Hide +1 (20), Jump 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (19), Move Silently +1 (20), Search +2 (20), Tumble +1 (20) - Special Ability (Crippling Strike)
19th Umbral Disciple 8 +12/+7/+2 +5 +13 +9 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (21), Disable Device 20, Gather Information 20, Hide +1 (21), Jump +3 (8), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +2 (21), Move Silently +1 (21), Search 20, Tumble +1 (21) Savvy Rogue Sneak Attack +8d6
20th Umbral Disciple 9 +12/+7/+2 +6 +13 +9 Balance 5, Climb 5, Concentration 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) +1 (22), Disable Device 20, Gather Information 20, Hide +1 (22), Jump +4 (12), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Listen +1 (22), Move Silently +1 (22), Search 20, Tumble +1 (22) - Soulchilling Strike

Final Skill Tricks: Listen to This, Tumbling Crawl, Speedy Ascent, Collector of Stories, Acrobatic Backstab, Extreme Leap, Wall Jumper, Leaping Climber



Spoiler: Spotlights
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ECL 5
Let's start off by explaining our race. Wild Dwarf is chosen for being one of the few small-sized dwarves, getting Poison Use, and shoring up our middling fortitude save with a Constitution bonus, +3 on saves against poison, +2 against magic, and +4 against disease. We also get some fire resistance, which is never bad.

The Chameleon template, meanwhile, gives +10 to Hide, +4 to Move Silently, a tongue attack (more on that later) and a climb speed, which with our current ranks and the ability to take 10 gives us a result of 25 (10+8+3+4); enough to scale natural rock walls, brick walls, or ceilings. It's rather reminiscent of the Dark template, but given that we're already going to be obtaining HiPS, I'd argue it's much better for us.

Your Hide is monstrous at these levels; on a roll of 1, you get a result of 24 (1 +10 chameleon, +4 size, +7 ranks, +2 modifier), or 26 with a masterwork tool: even wisdom-focused characters won't be able to notice you, ever, unless they invested in Spot. Combined with your climbing speed, Listen To This and Darkstalker, you're an insanely reliable scout, and Trapfinding + maxed Search ranks + solid intelligence prevent you from encountering any unpleasant surprises while roaming ahead. You also have dwarf-standard darkvision, so unlike all those halfling rogues you don't have to worry about visibility. Tumbling Crawl mostly serves to give you movement (and thus the opportunity for a Hide check) even if you're prone for some reason; it'll get more useful when we get HiPS.

In combat you're doing basic rogue things for now; tumble around, flank, craft some poison, hit people with 2d6+2 sneak attack, whatever, point is you're solid both in and out of battle. Undead and constructs are troublesome at these levels, as they are for all rogues, but out-of-combat support, your choice of gadgets, and Disruptive Attack prevent you from being wholly useless. Note that you're a strength-based attacker, so your damage will be decent even when you can't get sneak attack. We also trade Trap Sense away for Spell Sense, adding to our natural magic resistance and making us even less fragile (I think frailty is a big problem for most rogues, so getting to tackle it from many directions is nice).

ECL 10
We're in the SI! The two first-level class features might seem underwhelming, but we get use out of them in a multitude of ways. When we encounter the occasional slippery rough wall (climb DC 30) we can simply reassign essentia to Step of the Bodiless to become capable of scaling it normally, without having to invest five ranks for such a niche situation. The Jump bonus is going to help us as soon as we get some jump-based skill tricks, and Tumble of course needs no explanation. Only balance is a bit neglected, but I'd like to note that with our 5 ranks, our +2 dexterity modifier, and our +2 synergy bonus, the Step of the Bodiless bonus makes a lot of checks go from 'doable' to 'near-guaranteed'.

We make use of both bonuses granted from Sept Knowledge. The Gather Information boost synergizes with the Golden Hand of Vergadain's Urban Tracking ability, giving us a hefty bonus on a rather useful bit of utility. The Knowledge boost can be exploited by binding Naberius, who lets us use trained-only skills (like Knowledge) that we have no ranks in. And with how many knowledge skills there are, being able to grab any random one and answer most basic questions about it makes us a really good source of information during downtime. If necessary, we can throw on Collector of Stories to further boost our checks without requiring actual investment. Note that we can only bind naberius thanks to our ranks in Knowledge (Arcana), so that's another minor thing to thank Umbral Disciple for!

And speaking of that bind vestige feat: on days where we're expecting combat we can simply call Leraje and get a +4 competence bonus to Hide. The SI has given us HiPS, so we can now standard action attack move action hide quite reliably. With Underfoot Combat, we can even sneak into people's spaces, which is the last place people will look (or the last place they'll preventatively Fireball, at any rate). Though we're a die of sneak attack behind a normal rogue, we can help make up the difference with crafted poisons, our higher strength, and the Indigo Strike bonus.

ECL 15
Confound the Big Folk and Acrobatic Backstab add a secondary and tertiary source of sneak attacks (remember, Confound can trigger off of 5 ft. stepping into someone's space!). Extreme Leap improves your mobility and benefits from Step of the Bodiless. Class features are a bit meager in this period, but you're honestly pretty set: you get a solid amount of sneak attack, a great Hide check, some useful poisons... it's a quiet era for the character, but by no means a disappointing one.

ECL 20
Alright, here's where it gets silly. Because we're a chameleon creature, we have a natural weapon (tongue) that explicitly deals no base damage but resolves as a touch attack. We can't add sneak attack to it, because sneak attack is 'extra' damage. We can't add Crippling Strike to it, because that only affects 'opponents damaged by sneak attack'. So far, it's been nothing but useless.

We can add Soulchilling Strike to it.

So now we have a tongue attack that deals 1-4 points of strength damage. Strength damage alone is sufficient to make sneak attacks with, and because we took the poorly worded Savvy Rogue, we "can deal Strength damage even to a target that is immune to extra damage from sneak attacks". That is, if our first attack in a round is with our tongue, it deals 4+8d6+2+2 strength damage (assuming 4 essentia in Soulchilling Strike and 1 in Indigo Strike), or an average of 36. Even if the

(and Savvy Rogue's wording is vague enough to, by strict RAW, apply to all strength damage we deal, even from soulchilling strike, even to creatures immune to strength damage if they also happen to be immune to extra damage from sneak attacks: specific beats general!)

(and undead or constructs can't even cut this cycle short by blocking the initial hit, because, stupid as it is, Soulchilling Strike works on objects; there aren't a lot of objects with a strength score, but we can damage the strength of those that do because the effect only talks about 'targets' and never 'creatures')

Also, Sight of the Eyeless is a bit understated as far as features go, but notably gives us blindsight over a range of 10 ft. with a single point of essentia invested: exactly the range of our tongue! As you can't sneak attack someone you can't see (or whose vitals you cannot reach), having reach and blindsight matters a lot more than you might think.

Aside from that, what else do we get? Shadow Striker gives a few nice stealth related abilities, most notably a +5 on Hide if you standard action attack move action hide (which our new strategy of course loves). The other two abilities add yet another way to get sneak attack and a defensive tool that lets us avoid attacks if we're not taking offensive actions (useful if you ever need a standard action to get Sight of the Eyeless or Embrace of Shadow up and running). Our skill tricks help with mobility, and a lot of them combine Jump and Climb checks: perfect for Step of the Bodiless!

So there you have it: a solid, well-rounded rogue build that can do anything you'd expect a traptripping skillmonkey scout to do, while boasting a powerful OHKO-combo and a number of skill tricks.


Spoiler: Sources
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Wild Dwarf - RoF
Chameleon - Underdark

Rogue - PHB
-Golden Hand - CoV
-Spell Sense - CM
-Disruptive Attack - PHB2

Darkstalker - LoM
Indigo Strike - MoI
Bind Vestige - ToM
Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk - RotW
Shadow Striker - PHB2
Savvy Rogue - CS