Takamori's page

So I'm trying to build a Rogue enemy for a level 12 party. Despite the threat title, she's not technically a BBEG, but I want it to be a memorable encounter from which the Rogue has at least a chance of escaping to torment the PCs again.

Here are the restrictions:
15-point buy
Straight dex rogue (no greataxe etc.)
Straight rogue levels

The PCs will be returning from what they think is the end of their adventure, weary and triumphant, and they'll need to stop at a certain inn along the way. I plan to have her kill the innkeeper, pose as him, then set the inn on fire when the PCs go to sleep and wait out front with her fighter buddy. She could theoretically toss a couple flasks of inhalation poison into the main room of the inn so they'd have to run through it on their way out. Or would she be better off just trying to sneak into their rooms and CDG them one by one?

This is what I've come up with so far:

NE human rogue (poisoner) 12

hp 87 (12d8 + 24 con + 6 favored class)
Fort +6, Ref +13, Will +7

10 str, 20 dex, 14 con, 11 int, 12 wis, 10 cha

Feats & Talents
1st: Improved Initiative, Shadow Strike
2nd: Finesse Rogue
3rd: Iron Will
4th: Resilience
5th: Dodge
6th: Minor Magic (Ghost Sound)
7th: Combat Reflexes
8th: Major Magic (Vanish)
9th: Deceitful
10th: Opportunist
11th: Extra Rogue Talent (Crippling Strike)
12th: Deadly Cocktail, Lasting Poison (6 favored class)

She'll have a level 12 two-handed intelligence fighter (piledriver + greater trip) to fight alongside for flanking purposes. Her weapon will have deathblade and purple worm poison (each at a -2 DC) that will last for 2 hits. If she hits the same PC twice, duration of each poison will be extended to 9 rounds.

Vanish can be used to find cover/reapply poison to her weapon or just to run away. Rings of protection and mind shielding (since she'll be posing as an ally to the PCs for some time). Shadow Strike, Resilience, Iron Will, and Dodge are basically feat taxes to help ensure a Rogue can use her class abilities and isn't immediately splattered.

Stealth, Bluff, Disguise, Acrobatics, Perception, and UMD will all be maxed. Any ideas on what the most useful UMD scrolls/etc. are for a Rogue?

As I build this, though, I can't shake the feeling that it sucks and will get completely blown out of the water. I can make a level 12 Vivisectionist that does almost everything my Rogue can do better while also nullifying everything it does (immunity to poison and 50% immunity to SA, plus a bunch of other immunities). Also, Spontaneous Healing is so much better than Resilience it's not even funny.

But I want to make a straight Rogue useful in an ambush scenario...or at least not die without doing anything. Advice other than "Rogues suck, don't build a Rogue" is welcome.

While I was generally happy with the first issue of Rise of the Runelords, one thing seriously (seriously) irked me. The "Japanese" names.

While I'm sure "Ameiko", "Tsuto", and "Kaijitsu" sound 'Oriental' and 'Japanese' enough to satisfy most people that they are, in fact, real names, I speak Japanese and was half-horrified, half-disappointed to find the lack of effort that had gone into these names. None of them are real Japanese names; none of them mean anything, aside from sounding vaguely 'Oriental', as I've said.

What makes this all the more saddening is that there are plenty of real, cool, usable Japanese names, but the research was not done to incorporate them into Pathfinder. I understand, of course, that during the production of the first issue a number of other things (Dragon, Dungeon, Gamemastery, Gencon prep) were being undertaken and that perhaps not as much time was available for research as was necessary, but these names were for me a taint on an otherwise spotless presentation.

I would like to ask that in the future, Japanese names be researched before use (you can do so easily enough on the internet) so that they are proper, actual names. I'm perfectly willing to consult and/or create names if you were looking for a name with a specific meaning or sound, and could give you input on things like what names are peasant names and what names a lord or noble would be more likely to have.

I want to buy a PDF download, but when I look in my shopping cart, there's an "Ongoing Pathfinder Subscription" that they want to charge me for there.

I thought I was already subscribed to Pathfinder?
If I remove this "Ongoing Subscription" from my cart, will I lose my subscription?

What's up with this?

I bought the PDF version of Dragon #319, and am having problems personalizing it on the website. What happens is that I click the personalization button, then it switches to "working...check back in a minute." The first time I click the "check back in a minute" link, it reloads the page and says it is still working. The second or third time I click it, it reloads the original page, and the download part is still in grey; hence, I find myself unable to download it. I have tried waiting various amounts of time, to no avail. Any recommendations?