Help me build a character

[Viconus]

A new player is joining our campaign n Friday and he's not used to 3.5. He would like to be a rogue. I was hoping someone had a ready made character or suggested class for what we need.

We don't need lock picking/trap disarming. We could use a charmer - someone with diplomacy. And we could use one that's good in melee. Any suggestions? The duelist feats look pretty useless to me.

[Preston Hudson]

The bard might be the way to go with this character request. Bards can take on more of a support role. Bardic Knowledge allows for Knowledge checks to be made untrained and makes this class a definite skill monkey.

[Preston Hudson]

Sorry I missed the part on the good melee. The bard may not work on the melee side o this equation.

[TBA]

What level are you introducing him at? And what parts of the rogue is he interested in? (I'm assuming it's the sneaking and burst damage parts)

And how loose are you on splat books? Core rules don't have lots in the way of options in my opinion...

[Viconus]

I think he's more interested in the concept, which means perhaps we could just make him a fighter with the same scoundrel personality traits. Eloquent speech looks cool though.

He's starting at level 3. I don't think sneak attack matters much.

[Loup Blanc]

Well, you could go with a scout archetype on the rogue for a little more combat ability--lets him sneak attack whenever he charges starting at level 4, and whenever he moves at least 10 feet at 8. You could do some pretty interesting things with that to make him very combat-able.

Surprisingly enough, you could probably make a pretty good rogue without using Dex, if you're focusing on melee, which'll free up feats for more important stuff. I'll think about it and let you know if I've got anything. In the meanwhile, you may want to check out different guides to rogues, like this one. They offer sound advice.