Tumbling and flanking are your friend. Stealth is useful, but i never find myself using it much.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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As the title says, I am currently building a rogue for the Legacy of Fire campaign, and I have no idea what I am doing really. So far all I have is that I want to be a halfling, and will likely be trying to be as sneaky as possible, and be able to steal things easily. The basic idea is something along the lines of a halfling that goes around posing as a human child, and robs people blind.
For the child disguise, you might be interested in the Childlike feat, basically designed for exactly what you're doing.
For stealing, make sure you have a good Sleight of Hand skill for out of combat, and an option for in-combat theft would be Improved Steal, though to do that as a halfling you're probably also going to want to take Agile Maneuvers, so you start looking at a lot of feats.
Staying out of combat entirely is not going to be an option. Plinking away for 1d8 may barely work at 1st level, but by 3rd you'll be killing your fellow PCs through your inaction. APs are TOUGH; there can't be much dead weight in the combats.
Sniper archetype and max out stealth. You'll be taking a lot of negatives to attempt to snipe (ie get your sneak attack at range). Also probably want precise shot so you don't take a negative when the fighter has engaged the enemy.
Shortbow is better, once you have more attacks. Hand crossbow is wimpy, but concealable for when you want to look innocent.
Childlike and a decent charisma score to help bluffing and social skills will work pretty well for you, too.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Once you get into a higher level range where a crossbow doesn't cut it anymore, you can just make sure you wear a pretty necklace.
*sneak sneak sneak*
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
*sneak sneak sneak*
Once you get into a higher level range where a crossbow doesn't cut it anymore, you can just make sure you wear a pretty necklace.
*sneak sneak sneak*
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
*sneak sneak sneak*
Unsurprisingly, an awful lot of what you fight in Legacy of Fire is... immune or resistant to fire. Because it's fire stuff.
Normally I would spoiler something like this but if it's a surprise to anyone I don't think there's much help for them.
Relatively spoiler free: I would build a character mostly with dungeon crawling in mind. A lot of the AP is in that vein even if it's not all dungeons per se.
I'm going to have to agree with what others have said. A character going through an Adventure Path needs to be fully combat capable. Roleplaying is great, but if you can't fight, you are a drain on the party's resources. Roguerouge's statement is correct. - making a character who can't fight effectively is basically the same as potentially killing the other PCs.
And Jiggy, That is NOT a viable replacement for being able to do damage on a regular basis.
It's flashy though.
Improved steal-greater steal (APG) would fit your concept. Pick up exotic weapon prof (bolas) and trip people from a distance instead.
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As much as I hate to say it, the answer really is don't do it. Being an older AP it may be easier than some of the newer ones that may use APG Ultimate Broken materials, but the rogue's been replaced in literally every aspect (aside from having 8 skill ranks a level to spend) by other classes. The Rogue's my favorite class, but in the upgrade from 3.5 to PF they were made a NPC class in all but name.
For the concept honestly I'd make a Sorcerer (any bloodline that doesn't make you look freaky), take Childlike and Lucky Halfling feats, and toss some ranks into SoH.
Or make an Alchemist, sneak attack, natural attacks, and 'extracts'... joy.
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As much as I hate to say it, the answer really is don't do it. Being an older AP it may be easier than some of the newer ones that may use APG Ultimate Broken materials, but the rogue's been replaced in literally every aspect (aside from having 8 skill ranks a level to spend) by other classes. The Rogue's my favorite class, but in the upgrade from 3.5 to PF they were made a NPC class in all but name.
For the concept honestly I'd make a Sorcerer (any bloodline that doesn't make you look freaky), take Childlike and Lucky Halfling feats, and toss some ranks into SoH.
Or make an Alchemist, sneak attack, natural attacks, and 'extracts'... joy.
I strongly disagree,
The Rouge is still an effective party member,read Rouge Eidolon guide to rouges
For an effective way to make a rouge.
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Whether paying a rogue is viable or not, depends on how your dm wants to go about running the game.
That said, you may want to multi-class. I know one friend who played a ranger, took 1 level of rogue just for some stuff like Disable Device, a touch of sneak attack and the boost to skill points. Now he is a versatile attacker, good in both range and melee and can hold his own in battle in the front lines and can do pretty much anything a rogue can do. (Stealth, find traps, get rid of traps... etc.)
And with THAT said, do have a look at the selection of Rogue Archetypes, or better yet wait for Ultimate Combat to come put before rushing to make any decisions. :P
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I strongly disagree,
The Rouge is still an effective party member,
I could've written that guide, and it still comes out with rogues getting short changed. With an 8th lv Rogue, roughly 5k above WBL, and working out an upper 20's AC, perception (on traps), and disable device still next to worthless in combat, but, destroys traps with a glance (not that they're common, or exclusive to Rogues anymore).
Combats go as such: Enemy units determine Rogue can only do threatening amounts of damage when getting sneak attack, and has AC high enough to be a coin flip. Enemy units move from flank into positions impossible to flank from. Rogue pulls CLW wand as to not be completely useless.
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Whether paying a rogue is viable or not, depends on how your dm wants to go about running the game.
Well, sure, if your GM wants to run some skill intensive campaign with low magic and no archetypes (or Alchemists, or Summoners) a Rogue could be a great member of the party! I just don't see many campaigns like that.
After seeing Ultimate Broken I have few, if any, hopes for Ultimate Disappointment. The previews of UD so far have not given me any hope.
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Whether paying a rogue is viable or not, depends on how your dm wants to go about running the game.Well, sure, if your GM wants to run some skill intensive campaign with low magic and no archetypes (or Alchemists, or Summoners) a Rogue could be a great member of the party! I just don't see many campaigns like that.
After seeing Ultimate Broken I have few, if any, hopes for Ultimate Disappointment. The previews of UD so far have not given me any hope.
*Cast Calm Emotions
Seems like you were given the short end of the stick by the most of the DMs you played under.
How a DM runs his/her game will heavily influence how well you enjoy your character. Some DMs like Role-Play, and don't care much about CHA scores if you can "speak" well. Some just want to screw around with their players' minds. Others make sure that each player has their time in the spot light.
Oh course, playing the right kind of class for the adventure is important too. (For example, playing a urban druid/ranger in a heavy nature/forest/jungle themed adventure is just plain silly.)
Just remember to pick the right archetype or, if you want to try another class for the adventure, the right class and most importantly contribute to the party. Hiding each time there is combat and leaving your party to do the dirty work is a big no-no. Try going stealthy and getting range combat feats to make sure you can do your best in combat.
AND if for any reason you feel that the rogue is really weak, get your DM to allow you to become a half-celestial or half-dragon. With the HUGE stat boost, ability to fly, tons of resistance, you can't possibly be bad. :P
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Whether paying a rogue is viable or not, depends on how your dm wants to go about running the game.Well, sure, if your GM wants to run some skill intensive campaign with low magic and no archetypes (or Alchemists, or Summoners) a Rogue could be a great member of the party! I just don't see many campaigns like that.
After seeing Ultimate Broken I have few, if any, hopes for Ultimate Disappointment. The previews of UD so far have not given me any hope.
It seems you either suffer from GMs who won't let you use class abilities, I know I have felt the same, or can't build a rogue properly. I'm sorry if this seems insulting, ti's not meant as such, but giving up a class like that bespokes of some mistakes in previous rogue character builds.
APG gave rogues plenty of tools to succeed and the Core had nearly as many options as well. You have Step Up to deal with people avoiding flanking, Offensive Defense(+1 armor/sneak attack die) to squeeze out more armor class and Gang Up to take advantage of your party members. Menacing enchantment gives you even more attack bonus to your favorite past time and teamwork feats are the for the team players.
Don't knock down the rogue, he's still a worthy combatant. Could do with a higher attack bonus, but buffers can solve that easily. They have to buff up a fighter's saves anyway, so why not the accuracy of the rogue.
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Seems like you were given the short end of the stick by the most of the DMs you played under.
Nothing shorter than what the game gave me. I enjoy the character well enough, he does the 3 things he's built to do fairly well (discounting the horrible luck I have when I hear the words 'roll initiative'). My problem is being a dungeon delving Rogue when traps, aberrations, and oozes are rare, Initiatives under 20 (with a 12 bonus), and being ignored in combat (unless they're walking from a flank).
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APG gave rogues plenty of tools to succeed and the Core had nearly as many options as well.
Step up's a bad choice since it (at best) gets you back into a flank that the 5' step you sacrificed could have done anyway, you lose the step your next turn, and if you chose to move you lose 5' of movement. AC isn't an issue (28 standing around, and I've 16k to add to AC if I choose to), and Gang up only helps if you have a minimum of 3 front line characters (and you're one of them).
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My thief uses this. It's a character concept from Ultimate Character Concepts. Each PC is allowed one concept. It doesn't eat up a feat slot or anything...you just get it for free.
"Lapdog
Benefits: Rather than learning how to be unnoticed, the lapdog learns to look beneath notice. During combat, no one will target the lapdog with an attack until he shows he is part of it. He can move around the battlefield unhindered, suffering no attacks of opportunity even if crossing threatened areas. The moment that he does anything that would negate his image as a worthless piece of flesh, like attacking, casting a spell, or helping an ally in any way, even pulling a fallen friend away from combat, the lapdog becomes fair game and anyone may attack him. Note that walking around with a drawn weapon also marks him as a combatant and cancels this ability.
Penalties: The same pathetic appearance that helps the lapdog walk around in the battlefield proves detrimental to him when he interacts with others. He suffers a -2 penalty to all Charisma based skill checks except Bluff; Intimidate cannot be used untrained by a lapdog. If the lapdog is a spellcaster, the DCs for all Enchantment and mind-affecting spells are reduced by 2. Bards are also punished in their bardic music abilities, with the effects of their song lingering only three rounds after he stops singing. Whenever he gains a level, the lapdog can learn to stand tall and proud, leaving his servile ways behind and losing the penalties, but also losing the benefit to remain unnoticed in battle."
Since you're planning on being a hippie, you don't need sneak attack. So you can use the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana option of trading out your sneak attack for fighter bonus feats (FBF) (i.e. combat feats). I do the same thing with my thief. I use the FBF to increase initiative, speed, AC, hit points, things like that.
There are lots of other options you can do, but those would be two of the biggies. My thief uses both of the options above and is basically a skill monkey. I make sure he's good at Stealth, Perception, Bluff, Sense Motive, Pick Pockets, and Disable Device. My thief never uses Disguise, but sounds like you'd want to max that out.
As the title says, I am currently building a rogue for the Legacy of Fire campaign, and I have no idea what I am doing really. So far all I have is that I want to be a halfling, and will likely be trying to be as sneaky as possible, and be able to steal things easily. The basic idea is something along the lines of a halfling that goes around posing as a human child, and robs people blind.
I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level. Also, being small you can only use small weapons and do less damage. I have recently cerated a rogue for the Rune Lords adventure and her concept is using two weapons. Stealth is useful if you are that type of Rogue. Someone said tumble earlier? Did they mean Acrobatics? Use your skill points for disable device, acrobatics, disquise. Also, at 4th level I switched over to fighter to get weapon proficiencies and extra feats. I hope that helped!
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I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level.
Absolutely disagree -- the TWF halfling rogue (especially rogue/fighter multiclass) is one of the most versatile and damaging "war of attrition" archtypes in d20. Being DEX+ human instead of halfling means AC-1, att-1, stealth-4, ALL SAVES -1, UMD-1, all social skills -1, etc. I.e., everything a rogue uses constantly.
No single extra feat and +1dmg is worth all that nerfage.
Show me a dead rogue, and it's almost always a human trying to do a halfling's job.
Build: figh3/rogueX; Weapon Training +3 w/weapon master and dueling gloves.
STR-10 (20pt halfling)
DEX+19 (all bumps)
CON:14
INT:12 (or 08 w/20 DEX)
WIS:12
CHA+10
01 bab1 figh1 WF:dagger
02 bab1 rogu1 SA+1d6
03 bab2 rogu2 Finesse, TWF, Evasion
04 bab3 rogu3 SA+2d6, DEX>20
05 bab4 figh2 Quickdraw, Combat Reflexes
06 bab5 rogu4 TALENT, Uncanny Dodge
07 bab6 figh3 I-TWF, Weapon Training:Light Blades, (buy gloves of dueling)
08 bab6 rogu5 SA+3d6, DEX>21
09 bab7 rogu6 TALENT, FEAT
10 bab8 rogu7 SA+4d6
11 bab9 rogu8 TALENT, FEAT, Improved Uncanny Dodge
12 bab9 rogu9 SA+5d6, DEX>22
13 ba10 rog10 ADVANCED TALENT, FEAT
14 ba11 figh4 or rog11, ...etc
Rogue archtype: none -- you're the "full package" rogue.
Tactics: you can mix stabs and throws in a full-attack sequence with daggers. Quickdraw makes it all work. You should be magically buffed (ideally Greater Invisibility by mid-level.
"Traps" to avoid: don't bother with Improved Critical or keen because most of your damage comes from dice, not numeric bonuses. Dodge and Mobility are a waste because your DEX and Acrobatics will be so jacked you won't need them. Recommend owning lots of daggers (which you sharpen with wetstones -- these are for throwing), several made of special materials, and a pair of +1/wounding (one silver, one cold-iron).
Other weapons: MW adamantine lucerne hammer, +1/Bane (aberration) light mace, +1/Merciful sap, +1/Menacing scorpion whip (for roleplaying flavor, take Heirloom Weapon for proficiency in the scorpion whip).
I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level.Absolutely disagree -- the TWF halfling rogue (especially rogue/fighter multiclass) is one of the most versatile and damaging "war of attrition" archtypes in d20. Being DEX+ human instead of halfling means AC-1, att-1, stealth-4, ALL SAVES -1, UMD-1, all social skills -1, etc. I.e., everything a rogue uses constantly.
No single extra feat and +1dmg is worth all that nerfage.
Show me a dead rogue, and it's almost always a human trying to do a halfling's job.
Wow, this guy is building a 1st level Rogue and you have nerfing into the next 10 levels. Why carry dozens of daggers and not a bow? That's because your halfling can only use a short bow? Daggers 1d4 damage, am I missing something from 1D4? Rapier crits 18-20, halflings, now that's thinking small! Take the extra feet and advantage of not needing a dozen daggers and being able to use bows large as well as crossbows. Check out the range of daggers as well, no comparrison.
I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level.Absolutely disagree -- the TWF halfling rogue (especially rogue/fighter multiclass) is one of the most versatile and damaging "war of attrition" archtypes in d20. Being DEX+ human instead of halfling means AC-1, att-1, stealth-4, ALL SAVES -1, UMD-1, all social skills -1, etc. I.e., everything a rogue uses constantly.
No single extra feat and +1dmg is worth all that nerfage.
Show me a dead rogue, and it's almost always a human trying to do a halfling's job.
Wow, this guy is building a 1st level Rogue and you have nerfing into the next 10 levels. Why carry dozens of daggers and not a bow? That's because your halfling can only use a short bow? Daggers 1d4 damage, am I missing something from 1D4? Rapier crits 18-20, halflings, now that's thinking small! Take the extra feet and advantage of not needing a dozen daggers and being able to use bows large as well as crossbows. Check out the range of daggers as well, no comparrison.
I can only speak for myself, but I rarely get more than 20-40 feet of range in combat. Getting farther away than that requires climbing out a winder or wasting turns. Personally, I would go with shurikens, less damage, lower crit, but they can be drawn and enchanted as ammunition. Greater magic weapon anyone?
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I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level.Absolutely disagree -- the TWF halfling rogue (especially rogue/fighter multiclass) is one of the most versatile and damaging "war of attrition" archtypes in d20. Being DEX+ human instead of halfling means AC-1, att-1, stealth-4, ALL SAVES -1, UMD-1, all social skills -1, etc. I.e., everything a rogue uses constantly.
No single extra feat and +1dmg is worth all that nerfage.
Show me a dead rogue, and it's almost always a human trying to do a halfling's job.
Build: figh3/rogueX; Weapon Training +3 w/weapon master and dueling gloves.
STR-10 (20pt halfling)
DEX+19 (all bumps)
CON:14
INT:12 (or 08 w/20 DEX)
WIS:12
CHA+1001 bab1 figh1 WF:dagger
02 bab1 rogu1 SA+1d6
03 bab2 rogu2 Finesse, TWF, Evasion
04 bab3 rogu3 SA+2d6, DEX>20
05 bab4 figh2 Quickdraw, Combat Reflexes
06 bab5 rogu4 TALENT, Uncanny Dodge
07 bab6 figh3 I-TWF, Weapon Training:Light Blades, (buy gloves of dueling)
08 bab6 rogu5 SA+3d6, DEX>21
09 bab7 rogu6 TALENT, FEAT
10 bab8 rogu7 SA+4d6
11 bab9 rogu8 TALENT, FEAT, Improved Uncanny Dodge
12 bab9 rogu9 SA+5d6, DEX>22
13 ba10 rog10 ADVANCED TALENT, FEAT
14 ba11 figh4 or rog11, ...etcRogue archtype: none -- you're the "full package" rogue.
Tactics: you can mix stabs and throws in a full-attack sequence with daggers. Quickdraw makes it all work. You should be magically buffed (ideally Greater Invisibility by mid-level.
"Traps" to avoid: don't bother with Improved Critical or keen because most of your damage comes from dice, not numeric bonuses. Dodge and Mobility are a waste because your DEX and Acrobatics will be so jacked you won't need them. Recommend owning lots of daggers (which you sharpen with wetstones -- these are for throwing), several made of special materials, and a pair of +1/wounding (one silver, one cold-iron).
Other weapons: MW adamantine lucerne hammer, +1/Bane (aberration) light mace, +1/Merciful sap, +1/Menacing...
If going the knife-throwing route, consider aquiring 8-10 Scabbards of Vigor. First get your properly enchanted weapons, and then start getting these one at a time. Works with mundane daggers, and if you're throwing them anyway, it's not really worth enchanting up a bunch of weapons.
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Wow, this guy is building a 1st level Rogue and you have nerfing into the next 10 levels.IMO it's always a good idea to extrapolate your character forward to see what he can do later on.
Why carry dozens of daggers and not a bow? That's because your halfling can only use a short bow? Daggers 1d4 damage, am I missing something from 1D4? Rapier crits 18-20, halflings, now that's thinking small!Per the build, +3/+3 att/dmg from Weapon Training:Light Blades. I-TWFing at BAB6 means four attacks, and they can be any combination of melee or thrown attacks via Quickdraw. (The reason we're not shortsword+dagger long-term is because Weapon Focus:Dagger is on our list of eventual feats -- until then, SS+D is just fine). BTW, small characters use small longbows just fine -- except while mounted (that's what shortbows are for).
Check out the range of daggers as well, no comparrison.
As in in-close specialist who wants to apply his sneak-attack all the time, we don't want to be far away from our target. Aside from that, the type of weapon and numerical bonuses don't matter; what matters is piling on sneak-attack dice with many, many attacks which are likely to hit. Around 8th or 9th level or so, allies cast Greater Invisibility on you, and you flit around stabbing and spitting daggers out of nowhere.
Are you as destructive as a ranger or other archer, or a melee fighter? No. So why do it? -- For everything else that a rogue can do. And we're not spending every feat we have hyper-specializing in one combat direction -- look at the build submitted: half of the feats and talents are unspent. Try doing that with an archer or S&B fighter.
Are you more durable as a halfling than any other race in terms of defensive abilities playing a rogue? Yes; you are the hands-down winner as a halfling due to bonuses to saves and the highest available touch-AC
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Build error-fix - The stats submitted in my previous post add up to 22pts, so two have to be shaved somewhere. Dropping STR to 8 is obvious, but results in damage and carrying capacity penalties -- and we don't like penalties. Hmm.... <shuffle><shuffle<shuffle>
STR-10 (20pt halfling)
DEX+17 (all bumps)
CON:14
INT:12
WIS:12
CHA+14
05 bab4 figh2 Quickdraw, Weapon Focus:Dagger
...
09 bab7 rogu6 TALENT, Combat Reflexes
-- This drops DEX from 19 to 17, jacks CHA from 10 to 14, and shaves 2pts off the build cost. (This, incidentally, resolves to a 15,14,12,12,12,12 pre-racial 20pt stat-array, my favorite for non min-max as it provides for +10 in total post-racial stat bonuses at 4th level -- the highest of any array; rogues use all of their stats, so no min-maxing here). To compensate for diminished DEX, Combat Reflexes is shunted from 5th into an open feat slot at 9th (when you're more likely to be able to use it while greater-invisible'd), and Weapon Focus is taken instead at the same level as Quickdraw and likely first purchase of Scabbards of Vigor (see below).
Personally, I would go with shurikens, less damage, lower crit, but they can be drawn and enchanted as ammunition. Greater magic weapon anyone?You'll be -4 to throw them without EWP, so it's not a painless strategy versus daggers (no Weapon Training bonuses either as they're monk weapons, not light blades) -- I envisioned throwing to be of only moderate importance in the build; i.e., you're flank/TWFing some guy and he goes down halfway through your sequence, so you throw daggers at farther away targets instead of losing the rest of your attacks.
If going the knife-throwing route, consider acquiring 8-10 Scabbard of Vigor. First get your properly enchanted weapons, and then start getting these one at a time. Works with mundane daggers, and if you're throwing them anyway, it's not really worth enchanting up a bunch of weapons.
Absolutely! (Dumb things are absurdly heavy, however, so you'll have to keep the spares in a haversack).
Important note: rogues are a class heavily dependent upon lots and lots of equipment -- you definitely be wanting to check out all the kinds of Ioun stones, their resonance capacities in wayfinders, etc.
I would not suggest being a small being. I would go with human 1 extra feet at 1st level.Absolutely disagree -- the TWF halfling rogue (especially rogue/fighter multiclass) is one of the most versatile and damaging "war of attrition" archtypes in d20. Being DEX+ human instead of halfling means AC-1, att-1, stealth-4, ALL SAVES -1, UMD-1, all social skills -1, etc. I.e., everything a rogue uses constantly.
No single extra feat and +1dmg is worth all that nerfage.
Show me a dead rogue, and it's almost always a human trying to do a halfling's job.
But also -10 feet of move, and for several reasons that's not a small thing either.
I disagree about Acrobatics, incidentally -- by midlevels you basically can't have it be close to reliable without doing moderately extreme things like wearing boots of elvenkind (where pretty much every other magical boot is more useful to you) and also picking skill focus: acrobatics. CMDs of enemies you actually care about avoiding the AoO on get too high too fast.
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But also -10 feet of move, and for several reasons that's not a small thing either.UMD a 750gp wand of Longstrider pre-combat until something better comes along (e.g., Boots of Speed). This is also why we throw daggers and have a scorpion whip.
I disagree about Acrobatics, incidentally -- by midlevels you basically can't have it be close to reliable without doing moderately extreme things like wearing boots of elvenkind (where pretty much every other magical boot is more useful to you) and also picking skill focus: acrobatics. CMDs of enemies you actually care about avoiding the AoO on get too high too fast.
<shrug> -- If you think Dodge + Mobility is still necessary, there's plenty of open feat-slots in the build. (And what's wrong with SF:Acrobatics? At 10th level, you're Acrobatics+6, and the skill has uses other than AoO-avoidance -- your AC will also be through the roof by then with Celestial Armor, meaning you can become increasingly daring.)
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Halfling rogue dagger damage versus sneak-applicable target at 10th, assuming River Rat trait, two daggers drawn from Scabbards of Vigor (at +3 for 3 rounds), acquired Gloves of Dueling: d3+3(WT)+1(trait)+3(enh)+4d6 = 22.5 (31 on crit) with five Haste attacks.
-- This is the lowest end damage on a sneak; it'll usually be considerable higher factoring Bane or elemental weapons and various likely buffs from allies and items.
If you are still looking to do some ranged stuff, don't go crossbow, go sling. Extremely concealable, and halflings have a racial trait where they can reload it as a free action called Warslinger. Some GMs actually let you use all of the ranged feats that bows can use with your sling. Either way, a high dex with the feat Deadly Aim can help you maintain relevance in combat without a high feat tax. Precise shot and rapid shot are very nice too.
I recommend not deciding on being completely decided on not be an effective combatant, but keep your options open, and go with the things that you really enjoy. You may find that you will like doing well in combat on the rare occasion that you do, and want to go more that direction.
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APG gave rogues plenty of tools to succeed and the Core had nearly as many options as well.Step up's a bad choice since it (at best) gets you back into a flank that the 5' step you sacrificed could have done anyway, you lose the step your next turn, and if you chose to move you lose 5' of movement. AC isn't an issue (28 standing around, and I've 16k to add to AC if I choose to), and Gang up only helps if you have a minimum of 3 front line characters (and you're one of them).
I'm aware of those points and agree with them, though money and the ability to spent it in such amounts is an entirely campaign and dm specific factor, but all of them still make the rogue more effective at what he does. It's unfortunate you don't find them useful.
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You might want to think of going Rogue / Halfling Opportunist. This PRC incresses meny of the halfling traits along with rogue abilitys. Range attacking rogue are not somthing I recomend. They are more prone to fail then almost any other type of rogue. Going two weapon fighting with a good Int. Alowing you to support the group in combat and still do every thing you need out of combat. As a rogue your main damage is from sneak attack.
Halfling (20Point Buy)
Rogue 1 (Rogue 1-5 Halfling Opportunist 6-10 Rogue 11+ )
Str 10 - 2 = 8
Dex 17 + 2 = 19
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 10 + 2 = 12
Feats / Rogue Talents
1: Weapon Finesse
2 RT: Combat Trick: Two Weapon Fighting
3: Combat Expertise
4 RT: Follow Clues
5: Defensive Combat Training
7: Butterfly's Sting
9: Gang Up
11: Combat Reflexes
11 RT: Weapon Traning: Short Sword
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APG gave rogues plenty of tools to succeed.
I disagree. The rogue talents in the APG are mediocre at best.
The so-called "Powerful sneak" is shockingly bad. It should never be used, even if given free to a rogue character. I am appalled that a games designer invented this "talent" and it passed the company's vetting process. It is the worst class feature in the game.
I mentioned one talent. There's plenty of crap ones to go around, yeah. I don't understand why you are disagreeing with me though. Rogue talents are mediocre, yeah, but there's feats and teamwork feats and archetypes and everything and among them good things lurk. Play a scout or something and don't bother with stuff like rerolling Bluff once a day or being able to add +1 to some checks when not wearing armor(Acrobat, I'm looking at you).
Powerful Sneak is horrible, but Deadly Sneak is not. It's like Minor Magic, you pick it just to qualify for the good stuff. I wish there was some kind of top-ability in that talent tree, something like getting to pick some dice for rerolling when you sneak attack.
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Funnily enough we are just doing this campaign ourself. We are 3 books in now.
Ultimately, the Rogue has been the least use of the campaign (admitedly this is likely because we have a number of high skill classes in the group) certainly if there is a Bard or Ranger in the group I would probably consider something else personally. You definitely need to be combat competant.
I have kept the spoiler below fairly general to not give too much away
Also if you have the player guide to the campaign you are probably aware of what one of the common enemies will be, I believe they are pretty good against stealth checks.
I found the AP to be quite combat heavy so far so being good at combat is quite important I think
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A skill machine is very useful for Serpent's Skull. From the top of my head, at least Survival, Knowledges Dungeoneering, History(it's a Paizo campaign, duh), Local, Nature and Religion, Handle Animal, Stealth(yeah, it will fade out of use eventually), Disable Device(not only traps, mind), Climb, Perception, Acrobatics, Linguistics(had to throw a DC 30 check a few sessions back), Disguise, Diplomacy, Heal and Sense Motive have been rolled every or nearly every session.
Compare that to Rise of the Runelords, where it was Spellcraft, Knowledges Arcana; Planes; Religion; History and Nature, Perception, Diplomacy and Fly that saw constant use.
I'm pretty use class selection influences the frequency, for instance we had no rogue last time and very few knowledges, but it's likely that SS is more skill-heavy.
Funny story, it's the only campaign, which I've played, where Craft(Traps) and Profession(miner) checks have actually been asked. IIRC Profession(sailor) too, but that's a Paizo stable. PFS does that literally all the time, along with Knowledge(religion). Undead and ships, ships and undead.
Hope this, despite the ramble, helps.
Overall, the rogue's options in the APG are weaker than in the core rules.
I don't know if I'd go that far. I like Positioning Attack a lot (but ugh, why once a day?), and Offensive Defense is pretty solid, for example.
Why not a half-orc with high strength, wielding a falchion and power-attacking away...
You can even take the swashbuckler archtype and pick up the greatsword if you want. That way you may even take two combat trick talents.
Get yourself Weapon Focus (Big nasty sword)
... Actually Power attack may not even be neccessary, but we'll see...
Dazzling display and shatter defense are nice feats as well, and half-orcs get a bonus to intimidate, so... If you pick the Rake archtype you get to demorolize an opponent as a free action as well...
You can pick up intimidating prowess and/or skill focus (intimidate).
Dazzling Display is a nice debuff.
Pick maybe dodge or improved initiative at first level... or toughness, or Ironhide... :-)
Remember to have fun!
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The so-called "Powerful sneak" is shockingly bad. It should never be used, even if given free to a rogue character. I am appalled that a games designer invented this "talent" and it passed the company's vetting process. It is the worst class feature in the game.
It's an end-loaded feat which is worthless until you have some high-level ability that lets you do sickening things with a single attack and then force a save versus DC+damage -- in which case more damage = better.
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Powerful Sneak and Deadly Sneak change the damage profile of sneak attack. Removeing the low end of the damage you can do with it. You do not recive the +2 flanking bonus to hit. With spells like hold monster Goup da Grace used to kill held monsters. The save DC is based on how much damage you do. With a Rogue the more Sneak Attack damage you do incresses the chances they die. Works the same with any hold spell.
Level 12 Rogue 6D6 Sneak Attack.
1D6 Sneak Attack avg. 3.5 W/Powerful Sneak Avg. 3.7 W/Deadly Sneak Avg. 4
6D6 Low 6 High 36 Avg. 21
6D6 Powerful Sneak Low 12 High 36 Avg. 22.2
6D6 Deadly Sneak Low 18 High 36 Avg. 24
Now the avg. damage did not change much. What did change is the min damage. This is the number you realy need to look at. With some bad rolls on a Goup da Grace you could end up with a Fort DC of Mid to low 20. VS. Cr 14 means they need a 1 to fail. On the other hand if your using deadly sneak. Your Fort DC starts in the mid 20 with out rolling and incresses as you roll better. Incressing the chances of Goup da Grace killing them.