ROGUE BUILD, ToEE patch2, DUAL-WIELDER

Rogue Build ToEE

The Rogue Build is a ToEE Build for Troika's cRPG of 2003, Temple of Elemental Evil. This ToEE Rogue build is the classic dual-wielding sneak-attacker, scout and skill monkey:

Rogue Build Foundation

• Male Human Rogue
• Dual-wielding Dervish of Destruction or Assassin: Vensch Estende.
• Strength: 12 or so
• Dexterity: max 18, pump every 4 lvls for +2
• Constitution: 14 or so
• Intelligence: 14 for 11 skillups per lvl
• Wisdom: 12 or so
• Charisma: dump

Rogue Build Progression

• Rogue 1: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting, Sneak Attack +1d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 2: Evasion (Rogue)
• Rogue 3: Weapon Finesse, Sneak Attack +2d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 4: Uncanny Dodge (Rogue) / +1 Dex
• Rogue 5: Sneak Attack +3d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 6: Two-Weapon Defense
• Rogue 7: Sneak Attack +4d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 8: +1 Dex
• Rogue 9: Improved Uncanny Dodge (Rogue), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Sneak Attack +5d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 10: Improved Evasion (Rogue Special Ability)

Rogue Special Ability

At 10th level, we can choose a Rogue special ability. But we don't have to -- we could just take Dodge, Toughness or Weapon Focus: Rapier instead.

• Crippling Strike: Inflicts 2 points of Strength dmg per SA → Could be useful but SA'd enemies should be dropping under dual-wielding rate of attack and enchanted twin-blades, anyway.   
• Defensive roll: Once per day, if weapon blow would reduce HPs to 0 or less, Rogue gets Reflex save vs. Damage dealt DC for half damage → Meh, you shouldn't be getting hit so this is of limited utility.
• Improved Evasion: Like Evasion except, even on failed Reflex save (say, against Fireball), only takes half damage → This one is always nice against enemy/friendly fire.
• Slippery Mind: One round after failing a save vs. Enchantment, Rogue gets an extra chance to save against the effect → Hostile enchantment spells are not common enough to warrant choosing this. 
• Opportunist: Once per round, Rogue gets AoO on enemy that has taken damage from another party member → I've never found it do be of much use.
• Skill Mastery: It's supposed to give you a +3 bonus on certain skills. The skills it affects are based on  3 + Intelligence mod. But, in patch2, this feat is erroneously given to you regardless of whether or not you choose it, and you don't get to choose your skills regardless of whether or not you choose it. Thus, it doesn't do Jack.

Thus, with the above in mind, it might be better to forego the 10th Rogue level and sub-in one level of Fighter at second. You will still achieve Sneak Attack +5d6 and you will also get to take WF: Rapier.

• Rogue 1: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting, Sneak Attack +1d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 1 / Fighter 1: Weapon Finesse
• Rogue 2 / Fighter 1: Weapon Focus: Rapier (Cutlass), Evasion (Rogue), Sneak Attack +2d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 3 / Fighter 1: +1 Dex
• Rogue 4 / Fighter 1: Uncanny Dodge (Rogue)
• Rogue 5 / Fighter 1: Two-Weapon Defense, Sneak Attack +3d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 6 / Fighter 1: --
• Rogue 7 / Fighter 1: Sneak Attack +4d6 (Rogue)
• Rogue 8 / Fighter 1: Improved Two-Weapon Fighting / +1 Dex
• Rogue 9 / Fighter 1: Improved Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +5d6 (Rogue)

Wait. Why did we take Rogue at first level, Fighter at second, and then take the rest of our Rogue levels: wouldn't taking the first level as Fighter and then going all-Rogue be simpler? Yes, but then we miss out on Skills x4 at first level.

Weapon: Why Rapier? To wield the cutlass: finesseable, superior crit-range (18-20/x2) and well-itemized. Wear the pirate hat for flavor. With the impressive twin-blade attack rate coupled with the craft outlined below, everything just gets a new asshole ripped for it.

Armor: Padded or just robes for coolpoints.

Craft: Here is the craft we attempted: +3 enchantment + flame + frost + shock + Keen + Icy Burst + Shocking Burst.

We were unable to craft on Flaming Burst as well due to a bug or limitation. But there are three other bugs that manifested. The first is obvious: the cost is -9,000. The second was a CTD if we didn't abbreviate the name of the weapon. The third relates to dmg done:

Here we see that only fire, cold and electricity are being applied:

But when wielded by combat units with no Sneak Attack:

The conclusion then is that Sneak Attack is overriding one of those enchantment slots. Now, two additional bugs should be evident in the above, too. The first one is that Icy Burst is inflicting Negative Energy damage, and the second one is that Cutlasses erroneously inflict piercing instead of slashing.

Still, the elemental damage is good enough. And since we're dual-wielding, we'll make a Dagger like that for the off-hand, too.

cf. Craft Magic Arms and Armor ToEE and Craft Wondrous Items ToEE.

Damage output (one on-hand attack):

This Rogue gets two on-hand attacks and two off-hand ones, so the damage output is... huge.

Keen. Since the builds lack Improved Critical: Rapier, we have our Wizard craft Keen onto our cutlasses permanently.

Skill selection: While not absolutely vital for their utility, Rogue skills are pretty damn handy. Go for Appraise, Bluff, Disable Device, Gather Information, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, Search, Tumble, Use Magic Device.

Note that having Thieves' Tools equipped means our Open Lock or Disable Device skills are not penalized by two points, while having their masterwork variant equipped grants +2 bonuses to those skills.

It's interesting to note that ToEE lacks any kind of trap setting skill, which even NWN had. It's also interesting to note that it's devoid of proximity traps: there are trapped chests but no traps on the floor. The Gygax module featured the following traps: swinging scythes, explosive runes and spiked beams as well as fire, curse and poison needle traps. And pits and trapdoors. But there were barely any floor-set proximity traps in the Gygax module.

I don't like to use conventional stealth because the character moves too slowly. Instead, I prefer to infiltrate while under the effects of magical Invisibility. Your targets should be wizards or whoever the biggest trouble-maker is likely to be once battle gets underway.

Sleight of Hand

This skill is good to get some cash-flow going; it can yield enough wealth to fund a few extra crafts. Set the skill as a hotkey. To do that, hold down ctrl+q in the radial menu and assign to the a-key or something. Remove armor and buff up with Reduce Person, Cat's Grace etc. to increase your odds. Rannos in Hommlet is a prime target because he has the Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, which sells for a small fortune. In addition, you should net golden chains, platinum rings and about x20 blue sapphires, along with scrolls, weapons and keys — if you bother to thoroughly explore other people's pockets. You can also exploit oversights such as selling Burne's precious gems to Nira, stealing them back (because they go into his pockets rather than his vendor inventory), and then reselling them. Rinse repeat.

In the second build, one could eshew the Fighter level in favor of a Wizard level. This would open up the True Strike spell which grants +20 AB.

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