Need help with my Ranger / Rogue progression

[SandyHill]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a ranger beastmaster with stats(16Str, 17Dex, 12Con, 18Int, 13Wis and 14 Cha and yes, I rolled well). I was thinking of switching over to a rogue and being a skill monkey that is able to do TWF. A few questions:

1) Is it worth getting the StepUp, FollowingStep feat tree or should I focus on immobilizing the badguy with the Improved Feat Tree.

My character is about the least intimidating half-orc ever with the chain fighter and rock climber alternate racial traits.

2) Should I wait till level I reach level 4, that way I can get Diehard without having to pay with Endurance or switch one level earlier and forget about getting Diehard, that way I can eventually get one more rogue trick?

In terms of group composition, we have a barbarian, a druid, an illusionist and a bard, so definitely not a typical party.

Thanks.

[Petty Alchemy]

The rogue only gets 2 more skill points than ranger. With a +4 Int and 6 base, you're already a skill monkey. Is there something else you want from rogue?

The Step feats are good if you're the mobile character that harasses archery and casters. Is that what you typically do in combats?

I don't think Diehard is really that good.

[Tinalles]

Diehard is mostly helpful at lower levels. At higher levels you're pretty likely to wind up outright dead rather than in negative hit points.

With stats like those, there's basically one reason you might want Rogue levels: trapfinding and class-skill bonuses to a wider range of skills than the Ranger has (such as disable device and social skills). You can get that with a single-level dip. If you really want to add more rogue levels you can -- maybe there's a rogue trick you want, for example -- but I wouldn't go beyond four levels of rogue at most.