Recommend a race

[WarKitty]

I'm going for Rouge 2/Fighter 1 starting out with TWF and Improved Feint. Basic idea of the build is to sneak attack anything I can find as often as I can. Medium size preferred. LA +1 or +2 races are allowed, although these usually end up being adjusted out (i.e. removing special abilities in exchange for losing the LA).

So...here's the deal. SRD and online linkable splat only. Homebrew allowed. Interesting preferred, it's a RP/rule of cool group. Humans are just boring. I want something interesting that doesn't involve me giving up skill points and a free feat for not that useful abilities.

[Greenish]

Humans are probably your best bet for medium size, but I have a soft spot for xephs.

Whisper gnomes are a staple sneakers in small size (but 30' speed!). Kobolds with RotD web enhancement come with Natural Weapons, which are superior to TWF on lower levels (and still in higher ones with Rapidstrike). The environmental variants allow for nice customization.

[WarKitty]

I doubt I'll be the only sneaky person, so actual sneakiness isn't a biggie. Small races are allowable. I'm basically making a tank with sneak attack/UMD abilities.

[Greenish]

I doubt I'll be the only sneaky person, so actual sneakiness isn't a biggie. Small races are allowable. I'm basically making a tank with sneak attack/UMD abilities.

Kobolds get Natural Armor on top of being harder to hit due being Small.

[WarKitty]

Kobolds get Natural Armor on top of being harder to hit due being Small.

Oooo I like. I'm the only one in my group who is even remotely an optimizer, so it doesn't have to be that good. Kobold would be fun.

[PersonMan]

Kobolds get stuck with -4 Strength and Small weapons, though. You'll have to Sneak Attack just about all the time to deal real damage.

[Greenish]

Kobolds get stuck with -4 Strength and Small weapons, though. You'll have to Sneak Attack just about all the time to deal real damage.

Yeah, you'll want Underfoot Combat and Confound the Big Folk. You can find them with google.

[mabriss lethe]

maybe goblin lancer on top of that. goblins can easily have an absurd ride check. Get a couple of dogs as Handle Animal flanking buddies. You could pick up the big 3 mounted combat feats at your level (MC, Ride-by attack, spirited charge). with this build, you get your dogs to position themselves for the flank then charge to deal triple lance damage +SA. If mounted on a riding dog, don't forget to make the skill check to get him to make an attack as well, going for the free trip while you're at it.

If you swapped Rogue2/fighter1 for Rogue 1/fighter 2, you'd free up an extra feat for other shenanigans.

[Devils_Advocate]

Kobolds get stuck with -4 Strength and Small weapons, though. You'll have to Sneak Attack just about all the time to deal real damage.

That's already implied by the fact that we're discussing a Rogue build. And that the character will "Sneak Attack just about all the time" is implied by "Basic idea of the build is to sneak attack anything I can find as often as I can". No, wait. It's not implied; it's outright stated.

[Machiavellian]

I actually suggest using Rogue 1/SA Fighter (UA) and comboing it with Either Desert Kobold (-2 STR instead of -4), Dromite (free ray attack), or Half-Drow (use LOTS of Drow feats)

[Greenish]

comboing it with Either Desert Kobold (-2 STR instead of -4),

Arctic Kobolds have -2 Str, Desert Kobolds have -4. Arctic Kobolds have -2 Con, too.

Dromite (free ray attack),

The ray 1/day isn't that good, and Dromites come with +1 (undeserved) LA.

or Half-Drow (use LOTS of Drow feats)

Eww, elves.

[Machiavellian]

Arctic then. Arctic Kobold is a better option than Core kobold

[Greenish]

Arctic then. Arctic Kobold is a better option than Core kobold

I would go with Desert Kobold. -4 Str isn't that bad for finesse fighter, no Con penalty, no Light Sensitivity.

[Machiavellian]

I would go with Desert Kobold. -4 Str isn't that bad for finesse fighter, no Con penalty, no Light Sensitivity.

Either or. and then finish off in Swashbuckler. P'WN them with you koboldy intellect!!

[Escheton]

Tasloi from shining south. -2 str +2 dex -2cha, Climbspeed 20ft. 30ft base speed, small. Lowlight vision, light sensitivity (get darklenses), +4 racial to hide and move silent (on top of size), in thickly forested area it becomes +8 even. +8 racial to climb, can always take 10 and uses dex for it.
And they look wicked. Well, in the shining south pic. There is an earlyer one that just plain sucks.
+0 LA, fave class rogue

edit: that is all there is to them, except location on fearun and some fluff no need to buy anything....

edit after green-ish ninja(tasloi?): well, that does the trick...

[WarKitty]

If I may reiterate: Non-SRD stuff needs to come with an online link, because I don't own books outside of the basic. If I would have to buy another book to get it, it's out of consideration.

[Greenish]

If I may reiterate: Non-SRD stuff needs to come with an online link, because I don't own books outside of the basic. If I would have to buy another book to get it, it's out of consideration.

Tasloi.

[Draz74]

Much of what has been suggested can be found on Crystal Keep (e.g. the Swashbuckler class) or the Racial Variants of Unearthed Arcana.

[Greenish]

Much of what has been suggested can be found on Crystal Keep (e.g. the Swashbuckler class) or the Racial Variants of Unearthed Arcana.

And many things from published books can be found as freebies.

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

Norker from Dragon Magazine. It is small, but still has a 30ft movement. It has +5 natural armor, Rogue is it's favored class... bonus to dex and con... +4 on move silently. Though the -2 to int is a drag for a rogue, somewhat, in terms of skill points.
EDIT: Oh, and it's LA 0, so you can still add some templates to it to mitigate some of those negatives. Though, honestly, many DMs will torpedo it outright just because of the natural armor. (It's my current favorite race.)
EDIT2: I applied Obah-blessed, from Dungeon Magazine, to it with a character that I just submitted a little while ago. Great mini-tank, and he's a spellcaster.

[Greenish]

Norker from Dragon Magazine. It is small, but still has a 30ft movement. It has +5 natural armor, Rogue is it's favored class... bonus to dex and con... +4 on move silently. Though the -2 to int is a drag for a rogue, somewhat, in terms of skill points.
EDIT: Oh, and it's LA 0, so you can still add some templates to it to mitigate some of those negatives. Though, honestly, many DMs will torpedo it outright just because of the natural armor. (It's my current favorite race.)

Kobolds are treated as tiny (due to slight build) for hide (+8) bonus, got 30' movement, and three natural attacks. Just +1 natural armor though. Anyway, Warkitty didn't want a hidey character.

[Edit]:

EDIT2: I applied Obah-blessed, from Dungeon Magazine, to it with a character that I just submitted a little while ago. Great mini-tank, and he's a spellcaster.

Uhm, that template doesn't do anything to a norker.

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

[Edit]:Uhm, that template doesn't do anything to a norker.

How not? It gives extra arms, and a bonus to STR, DEX, CON, and CHA. It makes the DEX and CON bonuses even better, gives you STR bonus and winds up not only canceling out your CHA penalty, but giving you a bonus.
EDIT: Oh, and it also eliminates your grapple penalty from being small.

[Greenish]

How not? It gives extra arms, and a bonus to STR, DEX, CON, and CHA. It makes the DEX and CON bonuses even better, gives you STR bonus and winds up not only canceling out your CHA penalty, but giving you a bonus.

The bit you posted seems to say that it gives bonuses to creatures who have extra arms. It doesn't say that it actually grants extra arms to creatures without them.

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

The bit you posted seems to say that it gives bonuses to creatures who have extra arms. It doesn't say that it actually grants extra arms to creatures without them.

Ah, I see. Sorry about the confusion, I only posted the relevant "create your own" part. When it says "Obah-blessed creatures with x extra arms" it's referring to whether you chose to give the base creature two or four extra arms.

[Greenish]

Ah, I see. Sorry about the confusion, I only posted the relevant "create your own" part. When it says "Obah-blessed creatures with x extra arms" it's referring to whether you chose to give the base creature two or four extra arms.

Hmm, that's interesting. The LA is somewhat prohibitive, but an Obah-blessed Xvart might make an interesting rogue.

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

Hmm, that's interesting. The LA is somewhat prohibitive, but an Obah-blessed Xvart might make an interesting rogue.

I'm curious about the Xvart thing actually. I saw that it was listed as a -2 LA on Crystalkeep, but I looked at the actual issue of Dragon and I don't see that anywhere. Am I just being even more blind than usual?

[Foryn Gilnith]

I saw that it was listed as a -2 LA on Crystalkeep

What gives you any impression that crystalkeep is reliable?

[Greenish]

What gives you any impression that crystalkeep is reliable?

The Power of Wishful Thinking compels you!

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

The Power of Wishful Thinking compels you!

Pretty much yes. That's why I use their Indecies as a guide rather than a source. But I have a bit of an inferiority complex, so no matter how many times I look and see that the entry in the magazine does not have a -2 LA I still feel like I must be missing something...

... and I apologize if I've threadjacked this a bit. To get back on topic some other races that (at least in my opinion) have fun things worth giving up the human bonus feat and skill points include: Goliath (gotta love powerful build, and I think there are even Goliath Rogue substitution levels), Death-Touched (bonus to Intimidate and Move Silently, Chill Touch once per day, resistance 5 to cold and electricity, plus darkvision, which is always useful eventually), and Mongrelfolk can be a lot of fun, what with their plethora of bonuses and ability to imitate any sound. Those are just a few off the top of my head, and if you decide you can trust Crystalkeep they aught to be there, if you have no way of finding the actual books for them