20 point build
Rogue 3/ Evoker(admixture) 3/ Arcane Trickster 10
Elf
Str: 7
Con: 10
Dex: 18
Int: 18
Wis: 10
Cha: 12
Progression; Rogue 1-2, Wizard 3, Rogue 4: Wizard 5-6.
Traits: Magical Knack; Campaign Trait
Feats:
1: Point Blank Shot
2: Precise Shot (Rogue Talent slot)
3: Toughness
5: Arcane Armor Training
7: Weapon Focus (Ray)
9: Heighten Spell
11: Preferred Spell (Scorching Ray)
13: Quicken Spell
15: Extra Rogue Talent (Surprise Attack)
Ability Score increases:
4: Int
8: Int
12: Cha
16: Cha
Not really sure about that Preferred Spell. The feat allows spontaneous casting of Scorching Ray with any desired metamagic added without increasing the casting time. On the other hand between pearls of power, a wand, and lesser quicken spell rods I'm wondering if that might be a trap. Dasterdly finish become available at level 13 and a target is much more likely to be stunned or cowering when your spells put them in that state (then again full round action, have to be adjacent to the target).
Hum I wonder if there is something I could take off the list to get sickening spell on. I suppose I could dump Cha, and put it into Con and loose Toughness. On the other hand UMD. Arcane Armor training also looks a bit questionable but it does allow casting a Mithril Shirt.
I'm also worried that the HPs are going to be low. On the other hand even if I put the level 4 and level 8 increase into Con the HP increase wouldn't kick in until 8th level. I'm thinking a belt of Physical Might +4 Dex, +4 Con would work very well with this character, but that is also a high level item.
It looks about right.
A few suggestions:
1) Raise Str to 10, increase Con to 12, and drop Cha to 10; also, put all advancements in Int. Str penalties apply to damage with bows, so you want to avoid that, and the +1 hp per level is more significant than a +1 Cha mod. Also, it allows you to take Magical Aptitude (+2 Spellcraft and Use Magic Device) or Skill Focus (Use Magical Device; +3/+6) instead of Tougness; both give better bang for the buck than investing two advancements to raise a 12 Cha to a 14. Or you could just decide that the +3 class skill bonus is enough considering that you have access to all the sorcerer/wizard spells (especially if there is a divine caster or a bard in the party).
2) Take the sniper rogue archetype. Accuracy helps when using a bow during low-mid levels and Deadly Range lets you Sneak Attack up to 40 ft (instead of 30) until you can afford sniper's goggles. Fast Stealth, Sniper's Eye, and Surprise Attack are probably your three best choices for rogue talents.
3) Once you start reaching higher levels, consider taking 2-4 levels in arcane archer. You lose one more level of spell progression, but gain BAB and several options with Imbue Arrow and possibly Enhance Arrows and Seeker Arrow.
My recommendation would be for elf rogue (sniper) 3/wizard (admixture) 3/arcane trickster 6/arcane archer 2/arcane trickster +4/arcane archer +2. 20-point buy: 10 Str, 18 Dex (16 +2 race), 12 Con (14 -2 race), 17 Int (15 +2 race), 8 Wis, 10 Cha; note that Elven Immunities and Keen Senses compensate nicely for the -1 on Will saves and Perception checks.
Favored Class: Wizard
Traits: Magical Knack (Wizard), Campaign Trait
Rog1- Point Blank Shot
Rog2- Talent (Surprise Attack)
Rog3- Precise Shot
Wiz1- +1 Int; +1/2 use of Versatile Evocation
Wiz2- Arcane Armor Training; +1/2 use of Versatile Evocation
Wiz3- +1 hp
AT1- Craft Wand
AT2- +1 Int
AT3- Intensified Spell
AT4
AT5- Weapon Focus (Longbow)
AT6- +1 Int
AA1- Empower Spell
AA2
AT7- Quicken Spell
AT8- +1 Int
AT9- Maximize Spell
AT10
AA3- ?
AA4- +1 Int
Alternately, if you don't mind a slightly lower AC from mage armor (or bracers of armor) instead of a +X mithral chain shirt, you can take Craft Wondrous Item in place of Arcane Armor Training. This will allow you to make your own protective items (and sniper's goggles), as well as many other "must haves." Craft Wand is essential for always having a wand of acid arrow, wand of gravity bow, wand of scorching ray, and wand of true strike (so that you can almost always be effective with ranged touch or bow attacks). Another option is to take Reach Spell in place of Empower Spell; this will let you cast corrosive touch and shocking grasp as ranged touch attacks (if they are Intensified as well, then they do up to 10d4 acid and 10d6 electricity damage, respectively... before counting Sneak Attack; not a bad choice for an arcane trickster, even in a 3rd-level slot).
Avoid melee. An arcane trickster is not designed to be a flanker or a secondary front-line combatant; it's designed to be a magical sniper and problem solver. You should stay in the back (possibly using Stealth and/or invisibility) and provide ranged attacks/spellcasting support. Use detect magic when looking for traps and dispel magic (you don't really need Trapfinding) and Ranged Legerdemain when disarming them; or simply avoid them with other spells like dimension door.
Um I'm not sure I understand your advice. Why would I want craft wand when arcane bond(wand) lets me craft my bonded item as a wand? Wouldn't I be better off taking Wizard at 3 and spend a level with cl = character level?
Why would I want to use a mundane sniper setup? Sneak attacking a ranged touch spell is rolling against 10+deflection bonus. With a quickened scorching ray that's six attacks per round and all of them are likely to hit. Also you build loose the AT capstone which can put five sneak attacks on a magic missile in the surprise round. (Though it would be nice to also be able to get that trait that drops the level of metamagic on a spell by one, 5 th level quickened scorching rays being so much handier than sixth.)
I'm wondering if a better idea might ot be human AT initial stats:
Str 7
Con 12
Dex 18
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 12
Pimp all ability increases into Int
1. Point Blank Shot
1h. Toughness
2. Precise shot
3. Arcane armor training
5. Weapon focus (Ray)
7. Heighten spell
9. Preferred spell
11. Rime Spell
13. Quicken Spell
15. Surprise Attack
Though I am beginning to doubt the usefulness of Arcane armor training compared to either improved initiative or another metamagic feat or use with preferred spell.
here is my suggestion if you go human
Str 12 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 17 (15+2) wis 14 Cha 7
drop the bow entirely, that is what acid splash is for. you can use it all day, it's a less common resistance than the other 3 main ones, it ignores SR, and it becomes really nasty with sneak attack.
for your bond, i reccomend an avian familiar with a decent fly speed and decent racial modifiers in stealth and perception. a falcon, hawk, or eagle is good for this. use it not as a combatant, but for short range scouting intead.
opting not to use a bow will save you a great deal of money on weapon enhancements and ammunition. you don't have the base attack bonus to guarantee a hit against level appropriate AC with your bow.
the heightened strength lets you carry all those arcane trinkets.
Um I'm not sure I understand your advice. Why would I want craft wand when arcane bond(wand) lets me craft my bonded item as a wand? Wouldn't I be better off taking Wizard at 3 and spend a level with cl = character level?
Why would I want to use a mundane sniper setup? Sneak attacking a ranged touch spell is rolling against 10+deflection bonus. With a quickened scorching ray that's six attacks per round and all of them are likely to hit. Also you build loose the AT capstone which can put five sneak attacks on a magic missile in the surprise round. (Though it would be nice to also be able to get that trait that drops the level of metamagic on a spell by one, 5 th level quickened scorching rays being so much handier than sixth.)
The recommendations above are for playing a character from 1st level. At low levels, your bow is going to get a lot more use because your spells are limited; with a +6-7 attack bonus (+2 from rogue, +1 from wizard, +4 from Dex), you will still be able to hit many opponents at levels 4-6. Also, gaining the extra +1d6 and +10 ft for Sneak Attacks helps tremendously with acid splash/ray of frost (which is the only spell you can use with Sneak Attack to any great extent until you reach Wizard 3). Arcane Bond with a wand only lets you create one wand (pick a single spell), rather than several. Also, because Versatile Evocation only applies to spells cast, rather than spell-trigger items, there will be times when opponents will be resistant/immune to the energy type for the spell in the wand (and, at higher levels, multiple energy types); better to have different options. There are also other non-attack spells that are useful in wands (enlarge person, resist energy, haste, etc.); a good selection of wands increases the entire party's effectiveness.
You still gain the arcane trickster capstone, just at 18th level instead of 16th. However, you also gain a little extra BAB and the ability to do arrow damage (with Sneak Attack, hopefully) plus the effect of an area spell in the same round (also with Sneak Attack when you gain Surprise Spell); Quickened true strike + Imbue Arrow (Intensified, Maximized fireball, possibly using Versatile Evocation to change energy type) = arrow damage + 7d6 (assuming sniper's goggles) to one target and 90 + 7d6 damage to all within a 20 ft radius (save for half), including the target hit by the arrow, at the range of your (distance) bow. Or you can go with Quickened, Empowered scorching ray and Empowered scorching ray and shoot six rays doing 6d6 + 7d6 each at Close range.
The character I presented can do everything a normal arcane trickster can do, but also has more options at low and high levels.
Hum, I remember people talking about putting multiple enchants on a focus ring. Am I remembering wrong? Also am I remembering right that you can't empower sneak attack damage. Empowering 12d6 fire damage seems like a bit of a waste for an 8th level slot.
Since many APs cap out at or around 16th level, the chances of taking a character to 18th level seem limited.