Hi! A mate and I have been thinking of a dynamic (A-Team like) duo focused on using the combat maneuver Dirty Trick to debuff enemies and set them up for Sneak Attacks. Fighter/Rogue would give the necessary BAB and feats to give the characters their core at level 5. Where I need help is improving the damage output and or keeping their armor class up to par!
Human Fighter2/Rogue3
With 25 point buy and no stat below 10:
STR 14
DEX 19 +2 racial / +1 lvl4
CON 14
INT 13
WIS 12
CHA 10
feats
h Combat Expertise
1 Improved Dirty Trick
3 Gang-Up
5 Weapon Finesse
F1 Two-Weapon Fighting
F2 Improved Shield Bash
Shield Wall and Saving Shield are feats for later levels - we got a third party-member who is a TWF paladin with a shield, so if he also takes Shield Wall we could really crank up one anothers AC.
skills
-the standard sneaky stuff with a big focus on craft
traits
1 Improvisational Equipment
2 Threatening Defender
rogue talent
1 Offensive Defense OR Canny Observer OR a combat feat/weapon finesse. The first would be a nice buff to AC. The second would turn the duo into great trapfinders. The third would relieve the pressure on feat slots.
archtypes
fighter - cad, rogue - normal or swashbuckler (undeclared as of yet)
They'll use a chain shirt, a heavy shield (I know, no finesse!) and a short sword. Now where I run into troubles is that CMB and damage goes on STR. Swapping STR with Dex would go at the cost of AC and TWF. Another alternative is going for STR16/DEX16, but then we'd still need to pump dex at higher levels for future TWF feats, while pumping STR is more effective for damage and CMB reasons.
The idea is that we blind the enemy whenever possible through Dirty Trick. This sets up SA, steals actions from the enemy to remove the condition and debuffs their to hit. Outside of combat we'd both sport tons of skills for trapfinding and to craft stuff to deal with problems. The improvisational equipment helps limit the penalty for not having the appropriate tools and adds to the A-Team vibe.
Giving up TWF and going for a high STR instead would open up Power Attack and the Shield Wall/Saving Shield feats. Going for TWF without a shield would come at the cost of AC, but open up a feat for now. Greater Dirty Trick requires BAB6, but lets you substitute an attack for a Dirty Trick maneuver, letting you weave it into an attack routine instead of having to spend a standard action on it. Because of that, I'm inclined to go for a high STR and shield build. Alternatively, one could go for a shield and STR while the other goes for TWF and dex.
Any feedback, tips and or advise? I got the feeling the pieces of the puzzle are there, they just need to be put in the right place.