Im making a ranger/rogue for an all dungeon campaign. Only 1 level is going to rogue for access to some nice skills and trapfinding(hes gonna be the finder/disabler etc.). The rest of my levels is was thinking about the deepwalker archetype because of its boost towards dungeons. Im taking vagabond child to get disable device as a class skill and otherwise im going full archery. Starting at 3rd level, 20 point buy, 2 traits. So here goes, feel free to critque etc.
Human Ranger 2(Deepwalker), Rogue 1
str 14
dex 16+2human
con 15
int 10
wis 12
cha 7
feats
PBS -1st
Precise shot -human
Rapid shot -combat feat
Iron will -3rd
skills 26 total
max
disable device
knowledge dungeon
perception
stealth
knowledge nature
survival
and basically spread my remaining across serveral skills
gear
+1 comp longbow (+2str)
chain shirt
mwk thieves tools
falchion
and other mundane items etc
Are there any feats I should try different at this level, or perhaps a different archetype even.. The deepwalker seems to mesh with what i wanna do, but im open to any suggestions.
rogue already gives you disable device as a class skill, so you don't need a trait for that.
you can invest in skills whether or not you have them as a class skill, it's just +3.
i'm pretty sure there is a ranger archetype that has trapfinding, not sure what it's called though.
Both the Urban Ranger (Advanced Player's Guide) and Trapper (Ultimate Magic) are ranger archetypes that have Trapfinding.
Ok thanks for the info. Would it be legal to take traper archetype just for 2 levels to get trapfinding and then switch to reg. ranger as to not loose spellcasting? The traps doesnt seem close to being on par with the rangers spells..
Or 1 level for that matter..
Urban Ranger gives you trapfinding and keeps spells.
Urban Ranger doesn't get trapfinding until 3rd level, and I would not suggest it as its abilities aren't ideal for a dungeoneer, which is what OP wants.
OP's instincts are good -- Deep Walker works for the concept just right.
OP, what appeals to you more-
1. Having more class skills useful in dungeons, like Acrobatics, Appraise, and Use Magic Device. An extra die of precision damage in certain circumstances. Keeping your ranger spellcasting.
2. Keeping ranger class skills + Disable Device only, sacrificing spellcasting for the ability to lay all kinds of cool traps.
If 1, follow your instincts and multi into rogue. You lose nothing but 1 hit point and +1 to hit, which you can make up for in other ways, and gain a more well-rounded dungeon crawling expert. In fact, I'd suggest considering taking a 2nd rogue level down the line, as you'll get Evasion earlier than as a ranger and there are some rogue talents that might suit your concept. But that's just a thought, there's also advantages to just sticking with the ranger as much as possible.
If 2, yes, you can stack your Deep Walker and your Trapper archetypes just fine. Moreover, one advantage to this is your trapfinding bonuses will increase. If you take only one rogue level, the only thing you really get out of trapfinding is the ability to find magic traps with Perception--which is nice, and I'm sure that's why you want it, but in a pinch there are other ways around that. Your bonus to Disable Device and finding traps will always be +1. But if you do the Deep Walker/Trapper, your trapfinding ability will increase as you level (giving you for example a +5 to Disable Device and to Perception when finding traps by level 10). Now, that may not be considered necessary either, but just something to take note of.
You can find traps without trapfinding oddly enough. You just don't get a bonus. You're better off with skill focus: perception till level 6.
You can find traps without trapfinding oddly enough. You just don't get a bonus. You're better off with skill focus: perception till level 6.
But you can't find magical traps with the Perception skill unless you have trapfinding. I imagine that's what he wants the ability for. Yes, there are ways around finding magical traps without trapfinding (detect magic for one) but for a dungeoneering focused character I can understand why he'd want it.
Also, as an add to my earlier post -- were I playing a multi Ranger/Rogue dungeoneering specialist, I would not dump Charisma and I would put some skill points into Use Magic Device (and maybe take Dangerously Curious Trait for the +1 bonus). That's got to come in handy. Just my preference though.
indeed i was dipping into rogue for the ability to disable magis traps. i looked at urban ranger but it doesnt mesh with a dungeon crawl at all so that was out of the question. my thoughts on the trapper archetype are that the traps do minimal damage and the few that are nice control are not as a whole better than the ranger spells recieved (Esp. Intant Enemy).. although the 1/2 level to perc/disable would be nice my build could easily have a mid +20 to disable 15th level and im not sure id need it any higher than that.. with that said im still leaning towards the rogue dip.. Any other suggestions would be helpful though.. Also what are yalls thoughts on the tengu race for this toon over human?
Lowlight vision would be usefull, as would be sneaky, but the human bonus feat is just to good, you can start out with the most important archery feats. Also i have to say a birdman doesn´t really fit underground, IMO. You might consider half-elf, if you want to take more than one level rogue.
Ányways, i´d recommend adding the guide archetype, so you can share your terrain bonus with your party, exspecially stealth-wise. The Rangers Focus is also good, unless the campaign is pretty specific against one race. No animal companion, though, a badger or wolverine with rage, scent and low-lightvision would be helpfull, too. Take also into account the make-up of your party.
The Stats i would do more like this:
str 14
dex 15+2human +1 4th Lvl
con 14
int 10
wis 13 +1 8th Lvl - for earlier second level spell
cha 10
Furthermore i suggest getting a buckler and a one-handed back-up weapon, plus something for throwing, as underground tends to restrict two-handed weapon use, as well as longbows, i have to say.
Ask your DM for advice.
Thanks for all the advice! After consideration i think ill switch my stats ard abit to look more like red's.. Although i wont be the only one usin umd it might be a bad idea to dump charisma afterall.. ntm if i get an animal comp itd be nice for it to listen to me lol.. So after considering all yalls info i think im go with the deepwalker/rogue combo.. i considered the guide archetype as suggested, but im really not liking the whole extremely limited number of focus uses per day.. Im pretty sure no matter what the dungeon is like pickin FE undead and the magic beast or evil outsider will get me way more uses per day. i do like the feel of a wolverine animal comp with the deepwalker.. It seems to mesh well so if i got that route itll be my comp..