Best spell for a rogue?

[Joegoat]

What would the best spells be for a rogue taking the minor magic and major magic talents? At first I was thinking vanish for the major magic but the moment you attack it drops so that would situationally only give 2 extra sneak attack opportunities, besides aren't rogues supposed to be good at staying out of sight anyway?

[Corlindale]

Vanish is pretty good. I also like Silent Image - a useful spell to have without verbal and somatic components, and gives a ton of ways to distract people.

[Deadmanwalking]

As mentioned, Vanish is good.

Chill Touch is really cool, as it gives you a number of touch attacks to sneak attack with.

I'm a fan of Shield just because +4 AC is so cool, but for both this and Silent Image, Use Magic Device is probably a better option.

That said, it's usually just not worth it, IMO.

[gustavo iglesias]

Best Spell for a rogue is Use Magic Device and a 11th lvl Wand of scorching burst.
That's 24d6 sneak attack at full BAB with a touch attack :P

[james maissen]

Joegoat wrote:

What would the best spells be for a rogue taking the minor magic and major magic talents? At first I was thinking vanish for the major magic but the moment you attack it drops so that would situationally only give 2 extra sneak attack opportunities, besides aren't rogues supposed to be good at staying out of sight anyway?

Chill touch followed by the quicken spell like ability feat.

You get your level as CL, otherwise just UMD a wand into an Ioun stone for 1st level spells like shield.

-James

[CBDunkerson]

Minor magic best options;
Detect Magic - What should I pocket first?
Detect Poison - If your GM is a trap fiend
Ghost Sound - Distract the guard
Mage Hand - Trigger traps/grab loot remotely
Message - Report back if you are the party scout
Open/Close - Traps again
Prestidigitation - Most of the above
Read Magic - If you want to use scrolls you find

There are tons of good options for Major Magic, but the best would depend on what kind of Rogue you are, who else is in the party, what the campaign setting/theme is, et cetera. Favorites include Comprehend Languages, Detect Secret Doors, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Grease, Jump, Memory Lapse, Reduce Person, and Unseen Servant.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Best option is to not waste a talent on Minor or Major Magic.

Just use magic device wands. Seriously...

If your DM implement's 3E's "volley rules" for weapon-like spells and you can't use Scorching Ray like an above poster mentioned, Acid Splash (no SR = who cares it's CL 1!) and Ray of Frost (uber against anything w/ the fire subtype) are nice, very cheap (375 gp for 50 shots) wands. Disrupt Undead might be another good cantrip wand. My DMs, even back in 3E, allowed that spell to crit and SA undead (even incorporeal), since they were specifically hurt by it (and the only ones it could affect at all). See if your DM agrees.