Arcane Trickster 3.5

[Grifthin]

Can anyone share any good feats to pick for the arcane trickster in 3.5 ? We are playing core only, but I'm stumped what to take. Is it worth investing in Still spell to cast in light armor ? Also do I take a specialist wizard or go generalist to stick with the theme ?

[Cyrion]

Improved initiative can be a good addition. Going first is always a bonus for casters and sneaky beings.

[Emmerask]

Metamagic and metamgic reducers (arcane thesis) are very important quicken spell especially (or a rods of quickening).

Also getting back the lost caster levels you want practiced spellcaster.


/edit oh and no still spell is not really worth it for the light armor if you really want to wear armor go with a twilight mithril armor or somesuch which has 0% asf or just use your mage armor /greater mage armor + shield spell which gives you decent protection.

/edit2 arg okay core only sorry no arcane thesis then or twilight armor I guess ^^

[Greenish]

Metamagic and metamgic reducers (arcane thesis) are very important quicken spell especially (or a rods of quickening).

Also getting back the lost caster levels you want practiced spellcaster.

Uhm, it's core only.

Yeah, so, don't bother with using light armour.

[aivanther]

Metamagic and metamgic reducers (arcane thesis) are very important quicken spell especially (or a rods of quickening).

Also getting back the lost caster levels you want practiced spellcaster.

Core only edit: swordsaged!



Improved initiative, quicken, extend, still/silent spells can all be useful.

[Optimystik]

In Core Only your feat options are limited. You'll want some metamagic since there aren't a lot of high-level spells you can SA with in core, so boosting what little you have (like Melf's or Scorching Ray) with Empower + Maximize is key.

Generalist might actually be a better choice for you in core, since you will need both Conjuration and Evocation to make use of your SA (and likely want Necromancy as well), plus Illusions to catch people off-guard and Abjurations to protect yourself. Enchantment is not as useful but that's only one school.

[jiriku]

In core only, your options are limited. But you do have options.

First of all, don't take Still Spell just to cast in light armor. You'd do better to take Extend Spell and cast extended mage armor every day instead, or just use your feat for something else altogether and prep two copies of mage armor.

Other good feats, as my many ninjas will probably observe, include Improved Initiative, Empower and Quicken.

I'd also encourage you to take Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot, and purchase/create a wand of enervation and a wand of scorching ray. Ray spells can deliver sneak attack damage against flat-footed targets, and with greater invisibility you can ensure that most targets are flat-footed against you.

Regarding your spell selection: your save DCs and caster level checks will be poor for your level, so look for spells that don't offer saves and/or spell resistance, or that have a useful, long-lasting effect even if the target saves successfully. Any spell that requires an attack roll to hit is worth a look too, since you can sneak attack with it.

[AvatarZero]

I'd always go for a metamagic rod before spending a feat on metamagic. They're usable earlier (you can't cast Silent Invisibility if you just got the spell Invisibility, you'd need a higher level spell slot). Of course, if your DM is willing to let you use a feat like Easy Metamagic to lower metamagic level adjustment to +0 (forbidden under RAW), then trading two feats for the ability to cast all your spells silently might be worth it.

I'm with the rest of the posters about Still Spell. You're better off with Mage Armor. Alternatively, there's the ever popular mithral t-shirt (+1 Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt, +5 AC, +6 max DEX, no check penalty or spell failure, 5100gp).