D&D 5E Arcane Eldritch Trickster Knight? Oh my!

[Bladebarian]

A dangerous ranged combatant, combining Eldritch Blasts and a ranged sneak attack each round, attacking from Darkness with advantage on attacks, and bestowing disadvantage on incoming attacks. I give you, the Arcane Eldritch Trickster Knight!

Half-Elf
Str 10
Dex 13 (14 with +1 from Half-Elf)
Con 13 (14 with +1 from Half-Elf)
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 14 (16 with +2 from Half-Elf)

Background: Charlatan (Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit)

Skills: Deception (Charlatan), Sleight of Hand (Charlatan), Perception (Rogue), Stealth (Rogue), Investigation (Rogue), Intimidation (Rogue), Insight (Half-Elf), Persuasion (Half-Elf)

Feats: Spell Sniper (Fighter 4), Resilient (Fighter 6), Sharpshooter (Rogue 4)

Equipment: Longbow, Daggers, Darts, Sling, maybe a Hand Axe or two. For armor, cast Mage Armor, or wear a Breastplate.

Class levels:
Rogue 1
Get Sneak Attack and proficiency in Thieves' Tools.

Warlock 1-2
Get Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight (you will fight in darkness most of the time). I prefer the Great Old One for telepathy, it makes uses of intimidation so much more compelling.

Fighter 1-7
Pick the Archery Style, and Eldritch Knight up through War Magic to combine Eldritch Blast with a weapon attack (including sneak attack). For spells I prefer Shield, Protection from Evil and Good, Alarm, Thunderwave, and Darkness (again, you will fight in darkness most of the time).

Rogue 2+
Get more Sneak Attack dice, and Arcane Trickster for additional 2nd (and possibly 3rd) level spell slots, plus access to some nice archetype features and enchantment/illusion spells. Also, of course Expertise in Sleight of Hand combined with Mage Hand Legerdemain should provide many interesting opportunities for clever players.

Optional: Take a 3rd level of Warlock to get more uses of Darkness, and pick Path of the Chain for an Imp Familiar. Cast Darkness on a stone, then have your invisible Imp move it around the battlefield (your Imp can see through the darkness too, so it's okay). Pick up the Detect Thoughts spell.

Battlefield Tactics: Cast Darkness a lot, and let Eldritch Blasts and ranged sneak attacks rain down upon your foes. For stuff that can see through Darkness, play smart and rely on your allies to set up sneak attacking opportunities, and pick other spells to cover your weaknesses.

Social Tactics: When charming or intimidating people (or otherwise causing trouble), you prefer to be disguised as 'that guy'. So 'that guy' will take the blame while you safely reap the rewards. You have a knack for influencing people and getting the things you want. Use your skills to the fullest, create a little mayhem, and have fun!

 

[brehobit]

Very nice. The warlock I built (posted in this thread) has that some option of shooting from the darkness. It's not his primary thing (no rogue dice) but it's a backup plan if needed.

 

[Quartz]

You're missing a lot of ASIs there. Would not 4 levels in Warlock and 8 levels in Fighter be better? So at 20th level you'd be War 4 / Ftr 8 / Rog 8?

 

[Bladebarian]

Thanks for the suggestion, I agree that is a very sensible breakdown of the levels. So this would result in zero 3rd level spell slots, -1 sneak attack die, but gain feats or ability points. Trade-offs, but it could work depending on what you choose to do with those ASIs. In both cases the build matures somewhat late, so it's difficult for me to argue which would be more or less viable. I still need more time with the system.

 

[kerleth]

Question. The rogue's sneak attack says it must be used with a finesse or ranged weapon (emphasis mine). Doesn't that mean that you couldn't use it with a spell attack such as eldritch blast?

 

[kerleth]

Question. Sneak attack says "The attack must use a finesse or ranged weapon​" (emphasis mine). Doesn't that mean you couldn't use it with a spell attack such as eldritch blast?

 

[kerleth]

Question. Sneak attack says "The attack must use a finesse or ranged weapon​" (emphasis mine). Doesn't that mean you couldn't use it with a spell attack such as eldritch blast?

 

[kerleth]

Question. Sneak attack says "The attack must use a finesse or ranged weapon​" (emphasis mine). Doesn't that mean you couldn't use it with a spell attack such as eldritch blast?

 

[kerleth]

Ummm, sorry about the ad nauseam posting, the computer kept saying that the communication had timed out and so I kept tinkering with things to see if something was wrong with my connection. Not a one of them showed up after I made them. But ANYWAYS

 

[WackyAnne]

Correct, [MENTION=84383]kerleth[/MENTION], sneak attack does not work with spells.