IMPORTANT:This is the old version of my Mechanic variant as a melee build. It is not being updated anymore, and is kept for reference only. For the new Mechanic build, look here
Master Mechanic (L20 Rogue)
Concept: Focus on traps, locks, and sneak, with still decent melee abilities
Original path's flaws: Str and Con too low and no Toughness, leading to too low damage and being way too squishy; also on non Human important Rogue skills are not all maxed out, particularly Search, making it weak in its supposedly strong area.
Main fixes: Increased Str and Con, swapped Weapon Focus for Toughness, ensured important skills are maxed out.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Good, Neutral, Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good
Stats and Race (28/32 pt):
........Drow.....Dwarf......Elf.....Halfling...Human...Warforged.
.Str.....12........13......12/14.....11/12.......13......12/13...
.Dex.....18......16/17.......18........18......16/17.....16/17...
.Con.....12........15......12/13.....13/14.....13/14.......14....
.Int.....16........14........14......14/15.......14........14....
.Wis.....10........10........10........10........10........10....
.Cha.....10.......6/7........8.........8.........8.........6.....
Ability increase every 4 levels: All in Dex.
Skills (except Human and Drow): At all levels, keep maxed out Search, Disable Device, UMD, Open Locks, Spot, Balance, Diplomacy, Hide and Move Silently. Split your remaining points equally between Jump and Tumble.
Skills (Human and Drow): Same, but you should be able to max out both Jump and Tumble instead of splitting points between them.
Feats (by level), except Human: Two-Weapon Fighting (1), Weapon Finesse (3), Toughness (6), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (9), Improved Evasion (10), Improved Critical: Pierce (12), Skill Mastery (13), Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (15), Crippling Strike (16), Skill Focus: Search (18), Skill Mastery (19)
Feats (by level), Human: Two-Weapon Fighting (1), Toughness (1), Weapon Finesse (3), Skill Focus: Search (6), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (9), Improved Evasion (10), Improved Critical: Pierce (12), Skill Mastery (13), Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (15), Crippling Strike (16), Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting (18), Skill Mastery (19)
For more information about picking enhancements please read this post.
Enhancements (Rogue): Cheat Death (capstone), Dexterity II, Disable Device III, Fire Trap Lore I, Haste Boost III, Improved Trap Sense II, Mechanic II, Open Lock III, Search II, Skill Boost III, Sneak Attack Accuracy II, Sneak Attack Training II, Spot I, Subtle Backstabbing II
Enhancements (Drow): Dexterity I, Enchantment Resistance I, Keen Eyes I, Melee Attack I, Melee Damage I, Perception I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Dwarf): Constitution I, Kundarak Search I, Racial Toughness II, Spell Defense II
Enhancements (Elf): Aerenal Melee Attack I, Aerenal Melee Damage I, Dexterity I, Enchantment Resistance I, Keen Eyes I, Perception I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Halfling): Cunning II, Dexterity I, Guile II, Luck (Reflex) I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Human): Adaptability Dexterity I, Improved Recovery I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Warforged): Constitution I, Healer's Friend II, Racial Toughness II
Soloability by level:
No hireling..: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
With hireling: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Tips:
- Early on, dual-wield a rapier in your main hand with a shortsword in your off-hand. Around mid levels you should be able to switch to dual rapiers without missing too much.
- Use Diplomacy to politely ask your opponents to attack someone else. This will let you land sneak attacks more reliably.
- You do not have to sneak to land sneak attacks. Read this page for more information on sneak attacks.
- If you ever get to the point (around L16) where you start running the Shroud raid regularly, consider crafting a Radiance rapier. It is a great weapon for such a build.
- Ultimately you would want to reach 39 UMD to be able to reliably use Heal scrolls. This can be achieved from 23 (base skill at L20) + 2 (Skill Mastery) + 3 (16 Cha with +6 item and +2 Cha tome) + 4 (Greater Heroism) + 1 (Voice of the Master) + 6 (exceptional bonus from Shroud raid item), which are reasonable items to obtain if you get all the way to level 20. In the meantime, accept you may fail some checks and rely on your skill boost to make it less likely.
Variants:
- You may make a Str-based version but it does not fit as well the spirit of the build (a sneaky agile trapsmith).
- The L18 feat may be replaced by Power Attack (some of the builds may need a tome for this, since it requires 13+ Str counting base and tomes only). This would help the damage output, especially against opponents who cannot be sneak-attacked.
- Although overall the Bluff skill is currently not worth investing into, it may be improved some day. And if you are planning to solo a lot, it can be somewhat useful to land more sneak attacks. To get Bluff, split some points between Balance, Jump and Tumble (instead of just Jump and Tumble) so that you can max out Bluff. Among Balance, Jump and Tumble, Balance is the most important, while you can stop investing in Jump and Tumble once you are comfortable with respectively how high you can jump, and from how high you can fall without taking too much damage. Note that a 40 Jump skill (with buffs) is the maximum you need, and at L18 you can obtain a Jump clicky that gives you +30 to it.
Color code: best to worst = green, yellow, orange, red