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I have a thought for a character (possibly a goblin in an all goblin campaign) but am unsure how to go about it.
I would like to figure out how to make an arcane trickster who uses his bloodline abilities and low level spells to do nice sneak damage. I thought about a Crossblooded sorc to get 2 different missile attacks based off of 3+ charisma bonus. I am not worried about getting high-level spells, just lots of things to hit with sneak attack, and trying to get some decent damage out of it to keep damage contribution for the party reasonable.
Sorry my thoughts are scattered and I can't seem to organize them to give any extra clarity....
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I have a thought for a character (possibly a goblin in an all goblin campaign) but am unsure how to go about it.
I would like to figure out how to make an arcane trickster who uses his bloodline abilities and low level spells to do nice sneak damage. I thought about a Crossblooded sorc to get 2 different missile attacks based off of 3+ charisma bonus. I am not worried about getting high-level spells, just lots of things to hit with sneak attack, and trying to get some decent damage out of it to keep damage contribution for the party reasonable.Sorry my thoughts are scattered and I can't seem to organize them to give any extra clarity....
Nuttin'? I thought you guys could handle dis! Seriously though, I can't wait to see what you guys think of....
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I have a rogue-ish character who I'm thinking of taking the Minor Magic rogue talent with, just so I can use Acid Splash 3 times per day as a spell-like ability. With high initiative and perception, I should be able to catch enemies flatfooted with it in the surprise or first round, so it'll be good for sneak attacks from within 30 feet, and it ignores both damage reduction and spell resistance.
If you're going sorcerer or something, Acid Splash is a cantrip, so you'll be able to cast it unlimited times per day.
I built an arcane trickster npc for my campaign, but his focus wasn't on max sneak dice it was on casting so take it for what it's worth. He was also human, so you would need to change that aspect. I went with wizard levels rather than sorcerer, so this build may not be much help to you, sorry.
Rogue 1-3
Wizard 1-3 (evocation specialist)
Arcane Trickster 1-5
Wizard 4-7 (Rogue 3, Wizard 7, AT 5)
Arcane Trickster 6-10 (Rogue 3, Wizard 7, AT 10)
Took additional traits feat (since he is an npc) to get magical knack (and reactionary) so he casts as 19th level wizard and gets +7d6 sneak attack.
Other feats include spell focus (evocation), elemental spell (cold), intensified spell, and rime spell plus the standard metamagic feats. He looks okay on paper.
If you're looking for ways to get lots of sneak attacks with spells, though, then what fromper said works. Just be sure to give them the requisite ranged attack feats (point blank shot, precise shot, etc.). Good luck!
Give it a day or two, honestly. Bumping your own post every 2 hours isn't going to be terribly effective. There are alot of people who post who aren't even awake right now- keep in mind Paizo forums are global not just local to where you are.
It hasn't even been 24 hours since you posted and you've bumped it 3 times :)
Give it some time.
-S
In general, the force bolt/ray 1st level bloodline powers are not worth much. Remember, your damage with those will stop at 1d6+2, because you'll only have 4 sorcerer levels, and they're spell-like, which means you'll still have to concentrate and overcome any spell resistance. Whereas Acid Splash is just a cantrip you can use all day, bypassing SR -- sure, it's 3 less damage on average... but you want to stack d6s on that, anyway. Some of the 3rd level bloodline powers include things like Resist 10 energy and natural armor -- much better than a second set of rays if you do go Crossblooded.
Still if I were building a sorc-based AT, I'd probably go with Aberrant (they do get an acid ray) for the reach -- it would max out at 10', but that's 15' with Lunge, which is pretty funny for a goblin. The Arcana for Aberrant increases the duration of your polymorph spells, which might be useful -- if you find something that's easy enough for you to hit, some of the monstrous humanoids have quite a few natural attacks, all of which would get sneak attack. (It would be sort of a cheap, spell-based way of doing TWF.) The elemental body series are also nice buffs/mobility spells, especially for a sorcerer who gets Eschew Materials.
Crossblooded Draconic/Orc/Primal would give you 1 or 2 extra points of damage per die of the spell -- at 11th level, your Intensified Shocking Grasp (a 2nd level spell) would be 10d6+20+4d6 for an average of 69 damage. (Orc gives the best bonus -- ANY elemental type -- but makes you light sensitive, and you wouldn't stay in Sorcerer long enough to get rid of the light sensitivity.)
The Wild Sanguine bloodline might be fun -- it would give you a bit of extra healing in an evil game where healing might be hard to come by. It also increases your caster level for Necromancy spells, of which Vampiric Touch is one. VT is usually a bit meh on the damage side (though rarely resisted) but those sneak attack dice really help it shine, and again, you'll be getting that damage -- including the sneak attack -- as temporary hit points. (Chill Touch isn't bad as a free spell, either -- the multiple touches make it economical.)
Lastly, Empyreal sorcerers cast with Wisdom instead of Charisma, which makes an Arcane Trickster less MAD since Wisdom is useful for trapfinding, although an Empyreal goblin is just too silly.
There really isn't any big trick to getting sneak attack with spells for an AT. Just get your DC as high as you can and then use any of your attack spells. As a Sorc you will be a little limited on spells, but the CHA will help have a very nice UMD skill.
Bloodlines that would work well are draconic, elemental, abyssal, etc. Aberrant could be interesting for the reach sneak attack options with touch based spells.
Other than that just try and stay alive until you can get to Surprise Spell for those very nice Fireball or Cone of Cold AOE sneak attacks for major dice. ;)
There really isn't any big trick to getting sneak attack with spells for an AT. Just get your DC as high as you can and then use any of your attack spells.
I'm not sure I'd worry much about save DCs unless I were starting out a character at high levels. Surprise Spells comes awfully late (17th level for sorc-based ATs), and even then, enemies have to be flat-footed, not just denied their dexterity. Overall, most of your sneak attacks will be single-target touch attacks, which rarely offer saves.
Of course, if you want to play a sneaky wizard, that's cool -- but save DCs aren't too useful for a magical rogue.
One thing to consider if you're going to be sorcerer-based is that Ninja also gives sneak attack, and has a ki pool based off Charisma, for some interesting abilities, including being able to make an extra attack. (Also, it greatly expands your options for ninja tricks/rogue talents.) I'm not sure if it's worth giving up Evasion, but it might be.