Advice for a Gnome Ninja / Sorcerer / Arcane Trickster

[Marco Picone]

Hello everybody.

I am starting a Jade Regent campaign as a gnome ninja. However, I was thinking about taking a few sorcerer levels and then the arcane trickster prestige class. I have read A Highly Regarded Expert's Guide to the Arcane Trickster but I am still looking for a few suggestions...

1) Which sorcerer bloodline should I choose? I would say draconic, as the Copper Dragon heritage would fit my prankster quite well. Any advice in terms of optimization?

2) Considering my first level will be ninja, should I take a second ninja level first, or should I go sorcerer as soon as possible?

3) Could anybody suggest a nice "gninja" picture for my avatar?

Thanks a lot!

[Marco Picone]

Anybody out there?

[Xethik]

1) I've always liked the Shadow/Umbral Bloodline for this combo, but if you want to do spell blasting, Draconic is probably strong. I believe it might include the +1 damage onto the sneak attack dice, too. Not sure, though. Umbral is a wild blooded option

2) I prefer getting the spell casting class ASAP so that the character doesn't suddenly find magic powers at X point in the game. In terms of strength, getting ninja 2 is probably stronger.

[nate lange]

draconic is a good option- both for the mentioned RP reason, and because you would gain the +1 damage/die on sneak attack dice as well (when sneak attacking with a spell of the appropriate element). when you multi-class is a matter of personal preference, but taking ninja 2 before picking up sorc is definitely safer/more advantageous.

[ArmouredMonk13]

1.)I recommend going Draconic also because of the Natural Armor bonus if you take 3 levels before you go trickster. It helps survive if you ever enter melee (though thinking about it this is probably a ranged character).
2.)I say take another level of ninja because of the Ki pool so you can qualify for This feat and you could take something like Pressure Points to do additional effects.

Also, you may want to get this Item When you can so you can use long range spells from more than 30 ft.

[ArmouredMonk13]

3.)There is a female Gnome Rogue named Chaos Arrow in the avatar selection.

[Marco Picone]

Thanks everybody for the answers. I've read about the shadow/umbral bloodline but it doesn't seem to fit my RP idea, so I'll stick to draconic.

However, I was wondering if the Linnorm bloodline (from Ultimate Magic) would suit my character better than the normal Draconic one.

As far as I see, Draconic would grant two melee claw attacks. Since my Str score is 9 and I'm Small, they would deal 1d3-1 damage each (plus sneak attack damage), on a successful melee attack roll. Provided they both hit, at 3rd level I could deal 2x(1d3+1d6-1) damage, for an average 9 damage. Even if I used the Weapon Finesse feat, I'd still have to hit twice, though.

If I take the Linnorm bloodline, I could shoot ranged touch acid rays. At 3rd level I woul deal 1d6+1d6+1 damage (average 8 damage), but hitting would be much easier (it's a touch attack).

This would definitely mean Linnorm is better... but Draconic gives +1 damage per die rolled if you cast a spell of your energy type. This would mean that a sneak attack level 0 Acid Splash could deal 1d3+1+1d6+1 damage (average 7.5 damage again), with an infinite number of these available...

Overall, I'm confused! Any thoughts? Draconic or Linnorm?

Thanks!

[Marco Picone]

P.S. Thanks for pointing out the presence of Chaos Arrow, but she's a (rather disturbing) female gnome! ;-)