Let's Dance with Rogues - 47 - Divided We Stand (Finished)

OK. We're getting closer to our next Cleric level up. Which is packed with goodies. Second Circle spells are unlocked, and so are the domain spell 'Knock' (Auto Lockpick) for those high DC locks.

Bull's Strength for To Hit & Dmg Bonus
Summon Creature II for Dire Boar
etc.

Anyone with comments on second circle cleric spells to aid me is welcome. I've only got 3 slots BTW.
Should I make a try for 3rd circle somewhere in the future? There's some goodies in there like Darkfire, but I don't feel like sacrificing two levels just to unlock 3rd circle.

I'm usually adverse to multiclassing spellcasters with 3/4 BAB progression classes, simply because it leaves you with an atroscious BAB, and a spellcaster's power is quadratic as it increases in levels. That is to say that a wizard/rogue or cleric/rogue doesn't match up well against a pure wizard or cleric, and will have less BAB than a pure class rogue.

Spellwise, you should consider using hold person against the Dhorne, I doubt very much that their will save is anything to boast about. It'll make them flat footed while they're held so you'll be able to sneak attack to your heart's content while it's in effect.

BAB is a good point, I notice I'm hitting air like crazy even with +7 to Hit. That's with Bless on, mind you. Weapon Finesse will kick it to +9...but I'm still wary of fighting things head on. Which is why I'm torn between the Assassin or the Shadowdancer.

I'll leave it up to voters starting today till I hit level 8.

Hold Person might be a really good spell : most of the guards and bandits that we can fight probably don't have very good Will saves.

Resist Elements is a nice spell, but I don't remember a lot of elemental damage being thrown around so far.

I don't see many level 3 spells that would be really useful to Aisha (unless we suddenly start meeting a lot more spellcasters). Level 4 spells include Divine Power and Hammer of the Gods, but it would take a long time to gain access to them.

Are you having any difficult fully utilising your sneak attacks when it comes to open combat? There's a number of methods you can use as a rogue to make your opponent flat-footed or otherwise prone to sneak attacks, although some of them depend on what items the module makes available to you. A wand of colour spray (Needs Use Magic Device), tanglefoot bags, as well as knockdown with more than one attack per round are often the best ways to fight an opponent with sneak attacks one on one as a low level rogue, although granted you'll have a lot of difficulty with your BAB.

The Assassin's death attack won't do you too much good against fighters unless you find a way to boost your intelligence, your DC won't be high enough for it to be reliable. First level of it will be DC 13, high level fighters will just shrug that off. So go Shadowdancer for the HiPS abuse.

Breaking Axe said:

Are you having any difficult fully utilising your sneak attacks when it comes to open combat? There's a number of methods you can use as a rogue to make your opponent flat-footed or otherwise prone to sneak attacks, although some of them depend on what items the module makes available to you. A wand of colour spray (Needs Use Magic Device), tanglefoot bags, as well as knockdown with more than one attack per round are often the best ways to fight an opponent with sneak attacks one on one as a low level rogue, although granted you'll have a lot of difficulty with your BAB.

The Assassin's death attack won't do you too much good against fighters unless you find a way to boost your intelligence, your DC won't be high enough for it to be reliable. First level of it will be DC 13, high level fighters will just shrug that off. So go Shadowdancer for the HiPS abuse.

Click to expand...

Fox's Cunning?

I miss a lot on these regular Dhorn. It's depressing. Even the thief I killed in my apartment took around 10 rounds to kill. That's terrible. Their AC has gotta be at least 20. And that makes rolling 1d20 with +6 BAB a bitch. 14 or higher is a stretch. 30% chance to land normal attacks. Grrr.

I know Sneak attacks ignore Dex bonus right? But it doesn't seem to help much once they spot me and the badger dies or something. I'm looking for artifacts for sure to stun or disable. Not to worry. I'll get something for sure.

Also:


Hit Die d6
Perks:
Level 1
Death Attack +1d6 dmg
Automatically triggered when attacking an opponent out of combat. Enemy must roll save or be paralyzed. Failing that, a torrent of sneak attacks will follow on the helpless victim.

Apply Poison
Dexterity checks when applying poisons are always successful

Level 2
Ghostly Visage
Once per day, the Assassin can cast Ghostly Visage on self. This is a damage reduction ability.

Poison Save
Save +1 vs Poison

Level 3
Death Attack +2d6 dmg
Further improvement to the Death Attack damage bonus.



Hit Die d8
Perks:
Level 1
Hide in Plain Sight
Guaranteed success when attempting to hide from enemies in plain sight, as long the Shadowdancer disengages from combat.

Level 2
Darkvision

Level 3
Summon Shadow
Once per day, conjure a Shadow to fight by her side.

Shadow Daze
Once per day, dazes an enemy with a spell-like ability.

Take note that the Assassin class skills include Open Lock and Disable Traps while the Shadowdancer class doesn't. This allows pure Assassins to remain capable of picking locks as they advance in ranks while Shadowdancers may have to yield a level to Rogue to keep their lock and trapping skills up to date.

Play Crysis not AssCreed.

Well if you went Shadowdancer you'd be taking a one level dip if you're after optimization. HiPS is the only thing of worth, and yet extremely overpowered.

You want 1 level of Shadowdancer. Hide in plain sight is the most hilariously broken ability ever. After that, go back to rogue or continue into assassin.

Chapter 23: Descent



Morning comes, I stand next to the town fountain, pondering my next move. I must wait till nightfall before I can practice my crafts. I dip my hand into the water, recalling the clues. An oil smell? Sounds like a trip to Carla's beauty palace is in order.


Greetings, girl. What can I do for you?
I'm looking for somebody. A man. The only thing I know about him is that he often smells of oil and sweat. I was wondering if you could help me, perhaps?
We don't do men here. I'm sorry. Try the bath house next door?
Oh, of course! Thank you.

He must need to clean those oil sometime, and the baths is the place to do it!


Using the bath will cost 2 gold coins, girl.
I'm looking for someone. A man. He smells of oil and sweat. I was wondering if you could help me, perhaps?
Oil and sweat, you say?
Yes.
Hmm. We do apply oils here, but then scrape them off afterwards, thus removing the accumulated deposits. I would certainly hope that our customers do NOT smell of oil, and more importantly sweat, after visiting us. Even after heavy exertion, you would likely smell only the fragrant herbs we infuse our oils with.
Darn..
I think the man you are looking for must be a fighter of sorts.
Why do you say that?
Many warriors apply oil to their skin. Not to clean themselves, but to make it more difficult for their opponent to grapple them.
I see. Thank you.

The arena, then. Tonight. The sun sets that night, and I resume practicing my prowess at the harbor district.






It's not enough...




LP Comment: Hey, Art of Love is level 2! Yay?

The sky turns dark as I serve my third customer.


I want you to ride me, little bitch.
Okay, 10 gold coins.

Suddenly the man pushes me against the wall, and I feel the tip of a blade pressed against my neck!

Ouch! Hey now!

Is he trying to rob me?

Shut your dirty mouth, whore! I'm Special Agent Tanners, of the Dhorn Empire. And you're hereby under arrest.

He fumbles under my clothes, probably searching for weapons. Damn! Just my luck! I reacted quickly, tumbling away so he cannot hurt me. I manage to dive to the left just in time before he can react! I quickly put on my armor and drew my weapon.


I'll kill you, Dhorn!

As we traded blows, the door to the warehouse opens, and a figure approach. I risk a glance at the newcomer...it's...



Vico?



Without a word, his longsword slashed at my assailant. Blood spurted from the wound. The Dhorn collapsed instantly.



I stare at him for a long moment, speechless. Was he following me? He gave me an angry stare and shouted.


I didn't ask for your help!

He doesn't respond. He sheathes his weapons and leave the building without ever looking back. I ignore him and examine the Dhorn's body.



Some coins, potions, a kukri..and a strange short sword.



This looks valuable. I make my way to the hideout to report my sexploits to Paurie. Perhaps he's willing to assign me his top secret mission afterwards.



I paused a moment upon entering the sewer and was overcame with dizziness. I took a moment to wipe the sweat from my brow...It must've been one of the sailors. Damn...I spent a few minutes attempting to vomit away the giddiness to no avail. I have to rest....



Paurie grins at me as I make my way to the bunk beds in the hideout.

Back already?
I have done what you told me.
Tell me more.
I've slept with a couple of guys at the harbor.
And you've taken their money for it?
Little as it was.
And you've really fucked them? The sailors?
I told you I did. Now, what's this secret mission about?
Nothing.

He grins widely.

Nothing?
There's no special mission. I just wanted to see if you'd really fuck those sailors. *He laughs.*
You..!
Hey, I'm a rogue. Never trust a rogue.

He grins and shrugs. I will kill him.

You'll pay for this.
Heh, I, for one, won't pay for your services, darling.

I attack without reservation. This bastard's gone too far! I'm still weak from the disease, but I might just be able to pull it off...I emptied a bag of caltrops on his face and summoned my badger servant to attack him.



The bastard smiles as he drew his daggers.



I could barely parry his blows, let alone hit him. Things begin to look grim as he tore a piece of my armor with his dagger. I could feel myself weakening.



Suddenly another rogue approached Paurie from behind and gave him a punch!

Hey, what's the idea!
We've overheard your little conversation, Paurie. Don't you know the girl is off limits by order of Master Nathan?
Fuck you, bitch! She attacked me!
Get him.



The whole Family rogues gather around Paurie, surrounding him and pointing their blades. Paurie screamed obscenities as he fend off a few blows before several strikes meet their target.

Fuck yo-

He gasped as Jacia finishes him off with another stab to his back.


The Family looks after their own. What's his is now yours. Rest, you look like you need it.

She snaps her fingers and the rest return to their duties. A pair of rogues watch over me as I loot Paurie's lifeless corpse. Once I am finished, they drag the corpse to the sewers for disposal.

LP Comment: This is all self-narrated by me, I have no idea why the whole Family suddenly turned against Paurie with no scripting by Valine of the sort. But it was a really welcome help, the Princess was in no shape to win that fight.



Paurie's dagger is a remarkable piece of blade. It's sharp, to be sure. But it possess a strange stunning property that renders its victims helpless. A fine addition to my arsenal.



His ring is also enchanted. I slip it on my finger before settling down on the hard, bunk bed, trying to suppress the disease that ravages my body.

DAT UPDATE.

Hehe... I didn't attack Paurie, but instead reported him to Master Nathan. I would say the punishment was far more interesting, as Nathan ordered Paurie to endure the same thing my princess had to do on his little quest and screw some sailors on the docks, or else be killed.

That sounds fucked up as well, but man the dagger and ring is awesome shit at low level!

If your Charisma and stuffies is high enough you can actually seduce the special agent guy to let you go, which is kind of obligatory with character builds that can't wear good armor and stuffies, or if you have low HP as sometimes you don't actually manage to get free before he slashes at you. In that case, however, two or three Dhorn soldiers will arrive, accuse both you and the guy, and then proceed to try and execute you right there. In that situation Vico's arrival is kind of awesome, as there's no way the princess will face off three Dhorn soldiers by herself.

It's kind of awesome in how many different ways some situations can play.

Yup, men have women prostitute themselves as a joke all the time, Valine. That's how life works!

At least you got phat loot.

I vote for what I believe it's maximum powergamimg: 1 point on Shadowdancer and the rest on the Assasin class. Also, that update was quite cool.

Unfortunately, you cannot have more than 3 classes in D&D

Quad-Classing is available in the 10th Edition though, around 2030 AD. Stay tuned.

Chapter 23: Avengers Assemble



I awake on the floor, unsure of what had happened the night before. All I could remember was Paurie's death, my fever...and Jacia telling me to head home. I close my eyes and try to recall what happened the night before.



Oh. I get dressed and leave the apartment. I have to get to the Arena tonight.



Following Master Nathan's advice, I lock the apartment's door behind me before leaving.



According to the baths owner, gladiators would cover themselves with oil. The man with that oil smell must be somewhere in the arena.



I head into the front reception and was greeted by the ticketing vendor.

Greetings, Miss. Do you want to buy a ticket?
Could I visit the gladiators?

She studies me briefly, then lowers her voice.

You've got a thing for big, strong men?
Yes, I do.

Whatever. I just need to identify the informant among the gladiators.

I've got to admit, I enjoy looking at them too. *She smiles.* I know the gladiators are often visited by women who pleasure them. I never see them coming in, however, just leaving. But I know a woman named Sharita is involved. She used to run a bordello in the city, the Dhorn have closed her down, though. But I've heard she often visits the Lion's Head Inn these days. Maybe she can get you in.
That's good to know. Thank you.
Would you still like a ticket?
Yes, please.

I pay the five gold. I need to find Vald, anyway. Jacia wants the key to his house.



Somewhere inside the Gladiator Pits, the Dhorn informant is hiding. The portcullis is beyond my lock picking skills. Looks like I have to visit that Sharita later.



I hand over the ticket to the guard, who let me in after pulling the ticket stub.



The arena...I was never allowed to visit it before. Too much violence, they said. Not befitting for a girl like me. Seems like quiet a few people are watching the fights tonight. And I think they are betting money on the fighters! I just hope nobody recognizes me. I move through the crowd and spot the man Jacia mentioned.



I mutter a silent prayer for a short blessing before dipping my fingers into his pocket.



Success. I drop the key into my purse and move along the crowd. That's when the bookmaker announces the line up for tonight's match. I listen as I peeked at the arena below.




Tonight's match is between those two monsters. I wave at the bookmaker and indicate that I wish to bet on the umber hulk.



I hand him a hundred coins and watch the fight unfold.



Both fighters are evenly matched. The Umber Hulk attempts to confuse the Gray Render, but faces trouble when the Gray Render employs its massive knockdowns.



For a moment, I thought I lost my bet. But the Umber Hulk prevailed at the last minute and slaughtered the Grey Render. I collect my winnings before leaving. Once is enough. I've got an appointment to keep.



The Lion's Head Inn is just north of the Bear's Pit. That's where I met Pia. Sharita sits in one corner of the inn, sharing the table with no one. Her blue dress shimmering in the candlelight. She meets my gaze as I near her.

Yes?
Are you Sharita?
Yes I am. And who wants to know?
I'm Tina.

She eyes me from head to toes.

And what do you want from me, sweetheart?
I heard you might be able to get me a rendezvous with the gladiators in the arena.
Really.

I nod.

Why would you want to see them?
(Persuade) Doesn't really matter, does it? Just get me in. I promise, nobody will bring up your name.

She studies me again,then nods.

50 gold coins.

LP Comment: Failing Bluff/Persuasion/Intimidation check will force you to pay 1000 gold instead. Ouch.

Alright, let's go. Here's your money.

We leave the inn and walk back to the arena. We do not approach the main entrance, however, but find a small trapdoor located in an alcove in the back of the building. Sharita unlocks the trapdoor with a key of hers, explaining to me that it's an old tunnel that can be used to get into the basement. I carefully lower myself into the chute. It's just wide enough for me. There's no ladder, however. So I have to drop down into the darkness. I hesitate for a moment, but Sharita assures me that it's only a small drop and that the shaft will turn a couple of feet below me so I'll rather e sliding down than actually falling. I agree and take the dive. I slide down the tunnel, rapidly picking up speed. Then suddenly I'm falling. I got into the right stance right before hitting the fllor to absorb most of the impact. Whew!

LP Comment : 50 XP for Tumble Check and damage avoidance.


Hey, what are you doing here?

Uh, I think I've seen this man before. At the Swordfish. He was that ugly big guy who grabbed me, starting all that uproar that nearly got me raped.

Well?

The man eyes me closely. I'm not sure if he has recognized me.

(Bluff) I fell down the shaft by accident.

He smirks.

LP Comment: According to the game I succeeded, and gained 80 XP. But..does it change a damn thing?

Come here.

He reaches out for my waist. I use the opportunity to grasp his arm and gauge his strength. Looks like he would wipe the floor with me. But if I let him take me....No. I won't let him!

Sorry, no freebie for you!

I jumped back, don my leather outfit and drew Paurie's dagger.

Heh. Too funny. Cm'here!



I summon a badger servant and engage.



The dagger struck true. Drawing blood on its first strike. But the gladiator looks barely injured. I press my attack.



On the third stab, the gladiator suddenly stopped moving. It's Paurie's dagger effect! It stunned him. I gleefully seize the opportunity and unleash a series of stabs at his chest.



I must've punctured his lungs on the fifth strike. The gladiator gurgled as a fountain of blood flowed from his mouth onto the floor. I felt no pity for him. It's either him or my dignity. I've lost too much recently.



I quickly searched his pockets and seize the key out of his room. I return to the shadow and dismiss my summoned badger as a precaution.



The door opens, and I spot the Dhorn informant! There's too many gladiators for me to take on at once. I'll need to inform Master Nathan about this.



Old habits die hard, I loot a nearby chest and took a magical axe along with a gem.



It's a good thing I prepared some thieves tools, the lock is too complex for me to pick with basic tools. The 900 gold I paid for the picks is worth every penny.



As I evade detection and went past several cells of arena monsters, I inch closer to my freedom.



Finally, I'm on the main floor. I went past two gargoyle statues only to hear a strange crumbling sound behind me. The stone gargoyles are alive! It's a good thing I remain in the shadows.



The gladiator key fits the portcullis, and I'm home free.

All in all, not a bad run.




These will fetch a fine price at the black market.

Later...


Aisha.
I know where the Dhorn informants are. They are gladiators, hiding in the pits below the arena.
You are sure?
I recognized one of them as the man I overheard talking to the Dhorn officer in the sewers.

He rubs his chin thoughtfully and nod.

I see. Well, this calls for certain actions...

I held my breath. We're going to kill them, right? I watch as he makes eye contact with his bodyguard.

Get Vico.

I didn't kill the gladiator and got gangraped by about 5 guys. It was extremely funny.

Getting raped requires no skill nor combat check, and you'll still fulfill the identify informant requirement.
Guess Valine wants players to pass the mandatory content no matter what.

Shadowdancer's pretty powerful when you powergame just for the Hide in Plain Sight feat. But I'd like to RP a bit and invest a few levels in Shadowdancer, just to spice things up a bit. Because hiding, sneak attack, then hiding again gets very boring.
:/

RK47 said:

Shadowdancer's pretty powerful when you powergame just for the Hide in Plain Sight feat. But I'd like to RP a bit and invest a few levels in Shadowdancer, just to spice things up a bit. Because hiding, sneak attack, then hiding again gets very boring.
:/

Click to expand...

Only take shadowdancer for powergaming purposes, bro. Every level besides the first is extremely subpar compared to standard rogue levels. You get fewer skills and no sneak attack progression. In fact, considering you're already stuck with 2 classes with 3/4 BAB I'm not sure you can multiclass at all and still expect to hit the broad side of a barn.

Shadowdancer is usually taken by powergamers that want the hide in plain sight, there is more then that like Shadow evade that is not bad but I suppose you can offset with gear and if you have Cleric levels then you can replace the Shadow Dancer spells with better things.

Oh yeah, definitely take assassin if you're going to do more than level dip into shadowdancer.