Kobold Assassin

[tchntm43]

So I usually DM but I have the opportunity to play a character coming up soon. I want to play a Kobold Rogue (assassin). I have looked a bit and this is my base plan:
Alert Feat: to make sure I go before most enemies, essential
Skulker Feat: general stealth boost, less important since my stealth is already going to be good and I'm planning to mostly be in combat with my non-stealthy allies present
Piercer Feat: damage booster for my shortsword, less important since the extra damage isn't really that much

Take 15 in DEX, +2 from racial bonus, +1 from Piercer Feat, just need one ASI to get to 20.

2 more ASIs, probably use one for Tough, one to get CON to 16.

So the plan is generally that I go first in combat, triggering assassinate meaning that I get a critical if I hit. I should be under stealth here so I would expect to have advantage in most cases on the first attack. In other turns, I rely on pack tactics to give me advantage. This triggers sneak attack, and since I have assassinate, the dice rolled are doubled (for the first attack).

Is it worth it to take 1 level as Wizard to get access to Fog Cloud (for pesky sunny outdoor encounters) and Find Familiar (to make sure I can put an ally next to my intended target if for some reason PCs aren't doing that for me)? Lose access to Stroke of Luck but honestly getting access to Fog Cloud and Find Familiar seems stronger.

Has anyone played a kobold assassin? Does it work?

[strangebloke]

one level of wizard is almost always worth it. Its a very very good class with a very very good spell list at level 1. Find familiar? Shield? Silvery barbs? Yikes. Remember, you can barbs the enemy's initiative.

with that said I'm a little unclear. Assassinate only gives crits if the enemy is surprised, and with your noisy teammates that seems unlikely.

[animorte]

Fog Cloud is awesome, but I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to accomplish with it. I don't think blinding yourself to the enemies will help you to gain advantage. Of course the Find Familiar concept is awesome and provides even more utility. The most important thing you would be gaining from the Wizard is ritual casting, but I'm not terribly fond of Wizards so I don't have much input on that class specifically.

[tchntm43]

with that said I'm a little unclear. Assassinate only gives crits if the enemy is surprised, and with your noisy teammates that seems unlikely.

Whoops, yes, I misread that. Still, the "advantage on any creatures that haven't taken a turn yet in combat" works very well with both Alert and Sneak Attack, especially if my allies aren't yet next to the target.

Fog Cloud is awesome, but I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to accomplish with it. I don't think blinding yourself to the enemies will help you to gain advantage.

You cast it targeted 30 ft above the head of your target. You aren't in it so your vision isn't obscured, but it puts you and the target in enough shade to not be in bright sunlight.

Then again, if I am a spellcaster it might just be better to commit myself when in sunlight to casting helpful spells on my allies and staying out of the way. I get to pick 6 first level spells and 3 cantrips. That's a lot of options.

[tchntm43]

Put a lot more thought into my spell selection. I get 6 1st-level spells and 3 cantrips. The cantrips should primarily be for use when either the target or I am in sunlight, so that I can do something useful instead of make attacks with disadvantage. Since I won't be getting stronger spells or 2nd level spell slots, I want to pick spells that have use long into the game. This is what I came up with:

1st Level
- Find Familiar (obvious choice #1)
- Shield (obvious choice #2)
- Feather Fall
- Comprehend Languages
- Longstrider (could be good with a strategy of moving in to attack next to an ally and then disengaging with a bonus action)
- Jump (Could be useful for this type of character)

I'm thinking... prepare Shield and Feather Fall. No reason to ever prepare Find Familiar.

Cantrips
- Mage Hand (obvious choice)
- Blade Ward (seems decent, even works against magic weapons. If it's sunny and weapon-carrying enemies seem dangerous)
- Acid Splash (doesn't need an attack roll, so I have a damage option in sunlight)

The bigger question now is, when is it right to take a level in Wizard?