Note: I will be revamping this build based on MP2 shortly!
(Preliminary notes are below in red)
To fill a hole in our all-dwarf party I built a dwarven rogue. Dwarves do not normally make great rogues, so I am interested in opinions from the community.
With benefits to Con, there is a slight advantage to being in melee. However, because the main abilities are Dex, Str, and Charisma, there aren't too many synergies otherwise. A ranged dwarven rogue could use the Superior Crossbow for D10 damage, but it would be harder to gain sneak attack at range. A melee dwarven rogue could use a double-sword/rapier.
After evaluating options, and with the firm understanding that I have other stronger PCs and this is a chance to try something different...
The current build: Keldra Chainbreaker, Dwarven Superior Crossbow Rogue Rogue Tactics: Brutal Scoundrel(Considering Cunning Sneak, which lets us regain our level 2 Utility and lets us move 3 or more and hide if we have any concealment/cover). Rogue Talent: Sharpshooter Talent (+1 to attack with crossbows is fantastic and a no-brainer compared to a bonus with shuriken/daggers) Abilities STR 16 CON 13 DEX 17 INT 8 WIS 12 CHA 10 (Int is useful for powers, so this bears some consideration for rebalancing with a sharpshooter build) (Notes: I'm choosing abilities to qualify for Steady Shooter at 11th. You could also start with DEX 18 and STR 14) AC: 17 Fort: 14 Reflex: 16 Will: 12 HP: 35 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 8 (HP and Surges are plenty given your being a ranged combatant that often is behind cover)
Trained Skills at 1st level: Acrobatics (+9), Dungeoneering (+8), Intimidate (+5, used for Rattling powers), Perception (+6, +10 vs Traps), Stealth (+9), Thievery (+9, +15 vs Traps).
(Note: I have hurt myself striker-wise by starting with my flavor feat, Dwarven Trapsmith. This is a poor choice given the current way traps often play in 4E. For a stronger build, delay this feat, starting with Weap Prof:Superior Crossbow.) 1 Dwarven Trapsmith (+4 perception/thievery vs traps/locks.) 2 Weapon Prof: Superior Crossbow (take this at level 1 for greater optimization) 4 Distant Advantage (CA when target is flanked by allies) 6 Backstabber (d8 instead of d6 for sneak) 8 Weapon Expertise(Initially, I was considering retraining at 10th level to MC Feat: Bravo [Multiclass Bravo] (+2 attack and damage until EoNT once per encounter on one target that you term your prey) -> Dragon 373, Art of the Kill. However, with MP2 we now have options other than using Deft Strike. Weapon Focus is better and we free up two feats.) Also consider MC Feat: Warrior of the Wild - Multiclass Ranger (Athletics, gain quarry 1/ectr) 10 Redoubled Efforts (+2 attack until end of next turn when use second wind - easy as a dwarf and great with our bursts/blasts!) (Originally considering Novice Power (Bravo Novice, replaces Enctr 3 with Death’s Messenger power instead. Use Deft Strike against your prey, but Rattling and +1 damage die (+1d10). Plus your sneak, of course. And, if you do it as you name them your prey, you are at +2 attack/dmg. Doing this once per encounter, and possibly twice once/day with a Power Jewel (the description still calls it an attack power). And, at 11th level, you gain 2 dice of damage for an extra 2d10.) Can also consider Novice Power (Scattering Volley?) if you went with MC Ranger. ) Paragon: 11 Steady Shooter (Prerequisite: 11th level, Con 15. You gain a +3 bonus to damage rolls with crossbow attacks if you haven’t moved since the end of your last turn.) 12 Weapon Focus (+1 dmg/tier) (Was Weapon Expertise: Superior Crossbow (Could also be taken at 6th instead of Backstabber, depending on whether you need the accuracy) 14 Unerring Ambush ? (roll twice in first round, great with bursts or big dailies) (Was Weapon Focus (+2 feat bonus to damage; +3 at Epic) 16 Adept Power (Bravo Specialist) (substitute a 9th level Daily for this and use Deft Strike as a daily, gaining 2 dice (+2d10) and daze (save ends)... pretty cool. At 15th it is 3 dice and at 25th you stun and then have the daze aftereffect. And this is reliable.) Also consider MC with ranger for Adept Power (Attacks on the Run) 18 Slaying Action (Deal sneak attack second time per rnd with AP... could consider this earlier for use with Bravo powers or later as APs only happen periodically) 20 Whirling Sneak Attack (Crack Shot) (Power is 23rd level. Also considered Steel Entrapment. Can retrain from another feat at 23rd or take a lower level power such as Cloud of Steel) 21 Bow Mastery (When you make a ranged attack with a bow or a crossbow, you can score a critical hit on a roll of 19–20.) 22 Martial Mastery (When you spend an action point to take an extra action, you also regain the use of a martial encounter power you have used during this encounter) 24 Brutal Advantage (When you have combat advantage against a target but don’t use Sneak Attack against it, add your Strength modifier to the damage roll.)
Powers through level 7 1, At-Will: Deft Strike 1, At-Will: Disheartening Strike (considering Gloaming Cut if Cunning Sneak is not selected) 1, Encounter: Unbalancing Shot 1, Daily: Blinding Barrage 2, Utility: Fleeting Ghost (considering Fast Hands if take Cunning Sneak) 3, Encounter: Fleeting Spirit Strike (shifting before and after the power makes this at least a 2W version of Deft Strike and better than Enforced Threat) (Fleeting Spirit Strike is fantastic if take Cunning Sneak. Shadow Steel Roll would be great if we had higher Int.) 5, Daily: Bloodbath (1W as an effect plus mods, and then another 1W plus mods if we hit plus ongoing damage equal to sneak? That is a pretty nice amount of damage and worth giving up the benefits of Trick Strike (level 1) or Staggering Assault (level5). Go For the Eyes, however, is an attractive alternative.) 6, Utility: Quick Fingers (some may like Chameleon)(Blind Spot Advantage is better than Ferret Out Frailty and does not require Insight! No question, assuming we need ways to gain CA... if we don't take Cunning Sneak.) 7, Encounter: Cloud of Steel (Killer's Ambush is also nice, for 3W and hiding on a hit) 9, Daily: Burst Fire (Bewildering Assault is strong on a single target and retains stealth; Raining Death is interesting but unlikely to out-damage Burst Fire) 10, Utility: Executioner's Mien (applies rattling for the encounter. Uncanny Instincts is strong too, allowing you and an ally to use Passive Perc for init as a daily - 23 at level 10.) (Daring Gamble is pretty good, but would require planning to get enough worthwhile targets)
(I have not updated this section) Powers at Level 1:
Deft Strike (At-Will, allows CA ranged with superior cover)
Disheartening Strike (At-Will, Rattling, a good choice whenever you have a target that already grants CA, or if no CA can be found)
Unbalancing Shot (2W, slow instead of Push, useful as your first attack to keep a melee combatant away from the party). Also consider Impact Shot (Encounter, 2W, push 1)
Fleeting Ghost (Utility, Allows move without stealth penalty. Can also consider Reap the Rattled. Sneak in the Attack sadly has a range of Melee 1).
At 2nd level, attacks with at-wills are +7 attack, 1d10+3 with +2d6+3 sneak attack.
Level 3:
Enforced Threat (Encounter, Rattling. There are few optimal choices here, so another 2W rattling power is as good as we can get for a ranged attack.
Level 5:
Trick Strike (Daily 1, 3W and they slide1, for encounter when you hit they slide 1. The benefit of Trick Strike is that it guarantees 3W damage. And, in some situations, slide is better than slow (which Staggering Assault would provide). With slide, you can move them into traps, over cliffs, away from squishy targets, into a flank so you get CA on an AP with Distant Advantage, etc. Another option is to take Staggering Assault (Daily 5, Until EoE, target is slowed when you hit it. You gain an extra 1[W] (total 3d10) if it is not bloodied, which is ideal anyway for the power. Theoretically, can keep the target away from everyone for the encounter, if everyone stays more than 4+reach away from the target. This is particularly awesome for any melee Elite or a strong soldier/brute.) But, it can be hard to coordinate this with the party. If you play in a party that will use these types of tactics, then Staggering Assault can be better.
Level 6:
I've retrained to Quick Fingers, the level 2 utility, as this build has Dwarven Trapsmith and thus is pretty good at disarming traps. And, traps in DMG2 and Dragon Magazine make it more likely that you could want to disarm a trap. Disarming as a minor is pretty fun. It is honestly more likely to come up that Chameleon.
Chameleon (At-will, if were hidden and lose cover/conceal, make a stealth check to remain hidden until end of next turn). This is the more obvious choice, but it requires a really unusual circumstance to trigger. Because your range is so long, the chance that a foe will really go behind all other allies and come find you is low. You could trigger it on purpose by having an ally slide you out (a Preserving Invoker does this easily), but it is just too hard to use to be much use.
The best choice at this level is Ferret Out Frailty, but requires Insight to be trained. Ferret Out Frailty is an encounter minor to gain CA for this turn, or until the end of the next if they have been hit by one of your Rattling powers. This is huge. But, to get that, you either have to drop a useful skill and take Insight or take the right multiclass or skill training feat. Another option is to sacrifice Intimidate, failing to get rattling powers, and then at level 6 take the Bravo feat instead of Backstabber. But, assuming you don't have insight, Chameleon is a decent way to handle the situation where you are behind complete cover and a foe comes around the corner. Now you stay hidden and actually can't lose CA during your next turn. Nice! But, in most combats this won't see much use. The other options aren't so great.
Threatening Glare is decent, but you would need to provoke to ensure CA. It is better not to get hit, though this build could take it.
Fortuitous Dodge can be strong, but is a Daily and we probably will either not be a target or will be hit, so we can gain more by ensuring CA through other powers.
Some of the skill utilities can be strong, depending on your play stile. Fast Hands can be a fun way to switch crossbows, as you can drop one as a free action and use Fast Hands to retrieve one for free. Next round, drop that one and pick up the other with Fast Hands.
Level 7:
Cloud of Steel is an easy choice, given the size of our W and the fact that you will usually have little to fear from using a blast 5. Use this as soon as you can when you think you have the sweet spot of as many foes as are likely to be in a close blast 5 for the encounter. This most often happens in the first two rounds as foes close but ranged foes have not yet run away and nothing has died. If you have allies that can force movement, work with them to get others into the area. At 14.5 average non-sneak damage at level 8, you can do a good amount of damage with this power if you get sneak in on one of them and roll well on the others. You can use an AP with this power to first Deft Strike, gaining sneak on one target and moving closer to position (overcoming the dwarfness of your move 5) or even move and then use Blinding Barrage and an AP for Cloud of Steel if the foes merit such treatment. That combo can produce a huge amount of damage.
Paragon Path: Cloaked Sniper. Lacking the drow capabilities to ensure stealth, this is likely the most useful PP for us. Comments? (Multi-classing Ranger opens up some possibilities, including the new Darkstrider in MP2. Master of Poisons is actually very cool if we had an Int and poison weapon... it saddens us greatly that Verdant Stalker does not allow superior xbows!)
Items: One nice thing about this class is that you will avoid being hit in combat. This is because you will spend a lot of time behind cover and hidden. You will also be far away, usually farther away than move+charge distance. Thus, we can afford to focus on weapons and combat-enhancing magic and postpone defensive items such as armor and neck items. This is a huge boon in LFR, where you free up several item picks. You really can walk around without magical armor of a neck item and be fine in the 4-7 mods! Once you get to the 7-10 mods, pick a +3 item when you can.
Armor: Battle Harness is my pick, though Screaming is also nice. You can delay your armor as you should not be taken damage too often.
Screaming Armor (2+, 520g, bonus to intimidate, Ectr power minor to give -2 attack penalty; great when used along with Rattling powers for a -4 penalty. This is a nice choice if you really want to buy +1 armor)
Sylvan Leather Armor +x (the easy choice, provides stealth and athletics bonus)
Displacer Armor (14th; Daily minor to force two rolls to hit you)
Battle Harness +x (This allows you to draw a crossbow as a free action. This is really nice, for example to allow you to attack with a different crossbow's daily power.
Shadowflow Armor (23rd; Property: Gain an item bonus to Stealth checks equal to the armor’s enhancement bonus. Power (Encounter): Minor Action. Gain concealment until the start of your next turn. )
Weapon: Probably your most important pick. Swiftshot is a nice way to make up for a failed attack once you have CA through Distant Advantage or similar means, granting a second attack to regain CA. Flaming and Lightning have strong daily effects. Once you are high enough in level for +3 items, Mind Iron is the way to go.
Swiftshot +x Superior Crossbow (3rd+, 680g for +1; property: load is free, Dailypower as minor to make a ranged basic attack. Consider multiples with quickdraw.) (Even with the change to a Daily power, this isn't bad as a low-level choice. Once you have the ability to take the load free feat, then it makes sense to choose a different weapon)
Mind Iron Superior Crossbow (14th, +3; makes dmg psychic; enctr power to target will. Pairs well with the Headband of Intellect (10th; +1 attack with powers that are psychic). Use Quickdraw to swap to it once fired encounter power from swiftshot)
Others, such as flaming or lightning or thunderburst, are strong choices as well for their damage potential. Combined with Battle Harness armor, you can use dailies as you refresh milestones to good effect. Wounding and Vicious can also be good. You should not need Distance.
Frost, along with Lasting Frost feats. This has some delays, since you have to hit once on each new target to get the future benefits, but some still like this combo.
Radiant is always strong, especially against undead.
Elukian Clay Weapon is interesting, allowing you to quickdraw it and also a Daily to re-roll a miss with a bonus.
Transposing / Transporting (depending on book vs database) is a really fun weapon. Lvl 14, +3. Power (Encounter - Teleportation): Free Action. Use this power when you hit a target with the weapon. You and the target switch locations. (Very cool to move enemies into zones, out of advantageous positions, into flanks, onto pits as a free action while you jump over them, to get to cover, etc.).
Ammunition The key to ammunition is that you can buy it in any form regardless of title. A Surprise Bullet can come in bolt form. In addition, the cost can be really low for the effect. When using ammunition, you take the lower of the enhancement bonuses between weapon and ammo, but that is seldom an issue...
Surprise Bullet (30g). Simply amazing. You get CA on a target, which gives you +2 to attack, making this the same to-hit as using a +3 weapon on a non-CA-granting target! Thus, you can pay 30g to sneak something even when still normally using a +3 weapon and not lose any accuracy but gain your sneak damage! Huge! Don't leave home without these. Buy 5 at least and restock anytime you use them.
Lightning Arrow (30g). Property: When you hit an enemy with an attack using this ammunition, that enemy takes 1d6 extra lightning damage per plus and is dazed until the end of its next turn. (Great for using on a foe that grants CA, such as during the surprise round, so you and allies get CA now and before its init on the actual first round. Also useful when you have a CA-granting effect that will end, such as from Blinding Barrage, and want to sustain having CA).
Neck: You can delay this slot, since you should not be subjected to too many attacks. Distortion is a strong choice given how easy it is for you to be far away from foes.
Cloak of Distortion (Lev 4 +1 (840g), lev 9 +2). Property: A ranged attack against you from more than 5 squares away takes a –5 penalty to the attack roll.
Amulet of Scales (DRMG 365; Gain 5/10 resist as daily immediate interrupt to a keyword, lasts until end of encounter!)
Arms: You want to desperately buy/find Bracers of Archery.
Bracers of Archery (Lev 6 (1800g)). Property: Gain a +2 item bonus to damage rolls when attacking with a bow or crossbow. Power (Daily): Minor Action. Ignore cover on your next attack this turn when using a bow or crossbow.
Bracers of Archery (Lev 16 (45000g)). Property: Gain a +4 item bonus to damage rolls when attacking with a bow or crossbow. Power (Daily): Minor Action. Ignore cover on your next attack this turn when using a bow or crossbow.
Bracers of Perfect Shot (3rd, 680g; Property: When you hit with a ranged basic attack, you gain a +2 item bonus to the damage roll.)
Hands:
Rogue’s Gloves (12th; Property: Gain a +3 item bonus to Thievery checks. Power (Daily): Minor Action. Each time you make a Thievery check during this turn, roll twice and take the higher result.)
Caustic Gauntlets (6th; daily to do 1d6 to adjacent to target, 2 extra dmg until end of enctr). Consider using with Black Dragon Bile(vuln acid 5/10/15 till end next turn, reagent) at high levels
Head: There are a lot of fun options, but Headband of Intellect is the winner if you get a Mind Iron crossbow.
Eagle Eye Goggles (2nd +1, 520g; 12th +2. Property: gain +1 item bonus to ranged basic attack rolls)
Headband of Intellect (10th; +1 to psychic keyword attacks) if using Mindiron Crossbow
Trickster's Mask (20th, roll thievery/stealth twice; Daily to treat stealth or thievery as a 20 instead of rolling)
Phoenix Helm (23rd; bonus to perception, daily to get bonus to an attack plus fire dmg.
Iron of Spite (27th; +6 bonus to Intimidate, any enemy striking you with melee takes 1d10 necrotic as a property!
Feet:
Elven Boots (4th, Enctr power as minor to gain +2 speed and +2 to Stealth until end of turn)
Boots of Eagerness (9th, Enctr free to take additional move action)
Zephir Boots (av 131, lvl 24, gain fly=speed)
Light Step Slippers (AV, 21st, +5 item bonus to Stealth and do not activate traps/hazards by stepping into a square, nor detectable by tremorsense)
Rings:
Chameleon Ring (16th, +2 stealth, +4 if moved since start of last turn; Daily minor to not require cover/conceal to make stealth, lasts until EoE if reached milestone)
Preemonition Ring (15th, +2 initiative and PP; Daily to not be surprised and if milestone gain move 3 and minor)
Shadow Band (27th, gain concealment, Daily minor to gain total concealment until end of next turn or until end of encounter with a milestone)
Nullyfing Ring (30th, +3 saves; Daily interrupt to add +6 to all defenses and any crit is a normal hit)
Ring of Invisibility (18th/23rd +2/+5 item bonus to stealth, Daily to be invis as a minor with milestone)
Waist:
Backbone Belt (11th, Prop: Second Wind provides +4 bonus to defenses)
Shielding Girdle (10th, Daily interrupt to gain +4 AC until end of next turn)
Dynamic Belt (9th, +2 Acrobat/Athletic, Daily to reroll acrob/athlet check)
Baldric of Valor (av 164, lvl 21, on AP: +1 item to hit, +3 item saves, +1 item def/end next turn)
Belt of Mountain Endurance (DR365, Add Str to healing surge value, daily to add 2 to all defenses when spend AP)
Wondrous/Consumables:
Unfettered Thieves' Tools (11, Power (Daily): As part of the action required to make a Thievery check, you can make the check on an object up to 5 squares away. You must have line of sight to the object.)
Whetstones at high levels (add 2 dmg for encounter, cost around 100 to 200g. Caustic and Frost are good)
You probably go before some foe in initiative. Use one of your encounter powers to gain 2W damage, sneak, and place an effect. Use Unbalancing Shot if it is a melee foe that won't be able to close with the party and there are other foes for your melee party members. Use Enforced Threat otherwise to apply the Rattling penalty on a target that may pose problems (monsters tend to use their strongest powers early, so a -2 in round 1 is often very effective).
Locate cover. Often, this is the entry into the room (either side of the doorway, bend in passageway) but other times the cover is inside the room. You want something you can dart behind with Deft Strike. Move to the cover if necessary. If there is no cover, glare at your DM as a free action and if your party lacks means of granting CA then plan on using Swiftshot and Action Points early on to spike your damage up front. (Unless the combat is one where you will use Blinding Barrage, see below).
In the second round, use Deft Strike and movement (with Fleeting Ghost) to hide and fire at the target, then ideally end behind the superior cover. While it may seem cowardly, it is good for the party to reduce the need for healing early on. And, just to be painfully clear, your sneak attack is more damage than another W of damage, even including the effects on hit of your encounter powers. Thus, Deft Strike is worth working for!
If a foe grants CA for some reason at range (usually due to something an ally did, such as applying daze), use your remaining Encounter power(s)
If you don't have a way to gain CA, or if the tactical situation calls for Rattling or slowing, use your remaining encounter power or Disheartening Strike
If you miss on an attack that would grant sneak attack, and the target still grants CA, use the Swiftshot crossbow (now a Daily, not Encounter power) or an Action Point with an encounter power or Disheartening Strike to keep up the sneak attack per round
If several foes clump together, consider Blinding Barage. Unlike many dailies, the power does not necessarily need to be applied early in the encounter to be optimal. If you have not used your Action Point or Swiftshot power, consider saving them for gaining sneak attack immediately after the power.
At later levels, consider a different +2 and later +3 crossbow, but still starting the day with your Swiftshot. Two attacks at +1 is still a strong start, especially with CA. You should be accurate enough, especially in the (generally) easier first combat.
When you get Cloud of Steel, look to use it early in the encounter on as many foes as possible, potentially with an AP first for sneak.
You will usually not take much damage. This is a good thing, reducing the need for healers/leaders to worry about you. But, if other party members are taking damage and spending their healing surges, consider going out in the open to draw fire and then use your Second Wind to heal. This reduces pressure on other party members and saves other's healing surges. Plus, it gives the DM a chance to get some payback... probably payback you can handle due to your being a dwarf!
Comments welcome. (This has benefited greatly from the guide by Faytte, intended for Drow)
I like 18 12 12 12 10 8 for a Brutal Scoundrel - 12 Str, 12+2 Con, 12+2 Wis or 18 14 11 10 10 8 for an Artful Dodger - 14 Cha, 11+2 Con
The 8 goes into Intelligence for both builds.
Personally I think any race can make a decent rogue - they can all afford to pay for a starting 18 (after racials) in Dex, and the rogue is so Dex-focused that it demands an 18.
Str and Cha are very secondary on a rogue. The best a brutal rogue can realistically manage is an 18 Dex, 16 Str. If you start with a 12 Str, you'll be two points of damage lower, and -2 (10%) less accurate on opportunity attacks, which aren't great to begin with. You can pretty much rule out multiclassing into fighter, but that just limits one option, not necessarily the best option.
That -2 damage can kind of sting when you're just looking at a stat sheet, but it only makes up a fraction of your damage, and doesn't affect your accuracy at all (excepting basic melee attacks, which you shouldn't be using). Accuracy is really more important than a +1 or +2 to damage. Losing two damage is most noticeable at level 1, and becomes less and less important as you level. The daggermaster paragon path also means that rogues don't have to worry about pre-req feats in order to get weapon mastery (improved crit range) with their weapon. In exchange, you get a character with more surges, better surges, a second wind as a minor, better perception and dungeoneering, and hopefully something you like roleplaying more.
If you go with an artful dodger, you'll lag behind a halfling or drow, who are custom built for the role, but you'll still be very hardy and fairly damaging.
Here is the build I am currently considering. The party/Adventuring Company (all dwarven) could use some perception, so I am therefore aiming to have a high perception as part of the build. While I recognize 4E traps are lame, my DMs are fun and happy to implement houserules to make trap disarming much more useful.
Concept: Dwarven ranged rogue with high Dex and Char, Superior Crossbow at level 2, great perception and good at a variety of skills.
Attributes: Str 10, Con 13, Dex 17, Int 8, Wis 14, Char 15. I would advance Dex and Char every chance I get.
Region: Durpar (+2 Perception). She is an escaped slave, returning to the East Rift per a promise made to her dying father, who won her freedom.
Feat: Alertness, bringing passive perception to 21.
Defenses (Leather armor): AC 15, Fort 11, Ref 15, Will 12
Comments: I hate not having an 18 Dex, but dropping to 17 makes me much more well-rounded and allows my Wisdom to reach the PP of 21. I would like a higher Str, but that just makes Artful Dodger make more sense. Artful dodger is useful with our Paladin. I play with a good group, so finding ways to create combat advantage even without melee should be possible, especially at higher levels.
Defenses are a bit low, particularly Fort and Will.
This is the best I could come up with--Go with Brutal Scoudral, then go daggermaster, and get all the lovely feats that let you retain combat advantage and knock people prone on crits. I would recommend sticking with dagger, as to hit, i think is way more important, anyways.
Good feats would be, Hide Prof. Toughness Durability small shield prof Improved init the one that lets you do d8's for sneak attack
This will give you a ton of HP, a solid AC--once you get dwarven durability you will be hard to take down.
As a dwarf you are going to be more of a tank, you might as well go with what works best for you, and turn yourself into a tank/rogue.
I guess I'm not sure I understand why you've taken a 14 WIS here.
You could easily have a 10 13 18 8 12 14 array and still have a passive perception of 20; your trained skills would be slightly better overall, you'd have better defenses, you'd hit more often, do more damage, etc, etc.
Maybe better yet, how about just being a ranger and taking Sneak of Shadows to pick up Thievery? Rangers do want wisdom, and dwarves do get it...there's some synergy there.
I already did build one. Okay so she's level 12 but the experience was interesting. The point is that you have to shoot for Scale mail (which is easy with the +2 to CON, just put 10 in it, +2 at racial and +1 at level 4). Since dwarves move at 5 ANYWAY you're better off not losing any checks.
Go for a brutal scoundrel, use a dagger for the good proficiency until you have both a shield and scale mail which will make you one HARDY of a rogue. Once you got the feats for those you can pick backstabber and, my favorite, weapon proficiency Khukri (its a +2 d6 brutal 1 light blade that counts as a dagger for Rogue Weapon talent!).
I don't have the stat with me but a starting 16 in dex is plenty IMO.
Off course its best if you don't start at first level ^^;
Can you wait another week? Seriously, Martial Power will be out then, and with it, the Ruthless Ruffian, a new strain of rogue tactics that focuses on Con-related powers and using maces, AFAIK. That'll probably work best for a dwarven ranger, at least as well if not better than artful or brutal rogues. It's hard for me to do much without the actual rules to look at, but here's how I'd make a Dwarf Ruthless Ruffian Rogue: Str: 14 Con: 16 Dex: 16 Int: 8 Wis: 15 Cha: 10
That lets you have a decent chance at still landing your attacks and would get you some mileage out of secondary effects from high Con (which RR is supposed to have). Note that you also qualify for hammer rhythm in paragon tier.
I guess I'm not sure I understand why you've taken a 14 WIS here.
You could easily have a 10 13 18 8 12 14 array and still have a passive perception of 20; your trained skills would be slightly better overall, you'd have better defenses, you'd hit more often, do more damage, etc, etc.
Looks at screen, looks at paper. Nods head. Yep, no reason not too! Thanks!
runreallyfast wrote:
Maybe better yet, how about just being a ranger and taking Sneak of Shadows to pick up Thievery? Rangers do want wisdom, and dwarves do get it...there's some synergy there.
That I can't do. A fine idea, but I played 18 levels of dwarven ranger in 3.5, I can't go back there, even with a slightly different concept.
I think I will try to avoid going Brutal just to try something different. My other two LFR PCs are fairly strong and I'm happy to do something a bit less optimal. Crossbow seems plenty dwarven and should be a challenge from the sneak attack angle.
Good advice from everyone, thanks! And yes, I've made this PC on paper but will see what comes in Martial Power. My book should be arriving tomorrow.
Well, all the rogues continue to be Dex heavy with the same secondary and tertiary abilities, which according to the designers is a good idea (i agree).
The Cloaked Sniper PP is very cool. It provides a number of ways to get combat advantage at range and at 11th your load minor goes away with the Superior Crossbow.
The powers are not as useful for trying to get CA at range, but there are a few gems in there.
Anyone see anything particularly useful for ranged rogues?
Check outr the new Martial Powers and look at the new Ruthless Ruffian. Also there is a feat that lets you do sneak attack with a hammer or axe.
But if you insist on having 18 dex (which I can't blame you) I would go for the biggest crossbow you can lay you hands on, and look at the PP for rogues (in Martial Power again) that is designed for ranged rogues. IIRC it is better for a ranged rogue to go charisma (AD) than strength (BS).
