How to Play an Arcane Trickster Rogue in Dungeons & Dragons 5e

[@sadstrangelittleman0]

I was playing a halfling arcane trickster. I took expertise in Athletics, intimidation, stealth and thieves tools. upon receiving 2nd level spells, and being able to choose one outside of enchantment or illusion, I took Enlarge/reduce. Another party member had a set of gauntlets of ogre power, at about that point, they acquired another magic item that required attunement which required them to ditch the gauntlets. Yoink, thank you! We were involved in a large combat in a chamber with a volcanic chasm, in which one of the more fearsome foes we faced was a minotaur. My halfling snuck up on the minotaur, and cast enlarge on himself. Then he proceeded to grapple the minotaur, dragged him to the edge of the chasm, and shoved him in. The combination of the 19 strength, +6 proficiency,(for a total of +10 to athletics) and advantage from enlarge made it an almost foregone conclusion the minotaur was going for a swim in the lava. and thats exactly how it went down.

[@pockets8548]

Wow!

[@shanemccausland958]

Halflings are small creatures that weigh about 40 pounds. Reduce yourself and you should be able to ride your mage hand for a ghetto flying speed.

[@mariusberg6379]

Y

[@ramonharzer8838]

At witch Point you can use 2level spells?

[@yesmaybe7466]

Athletics is a strength based check.. why would you not take acrobatics

[@robinkunzel9547]

"This week's episode of our show is sponsored by hair styling products! Seriously, how did we not know about those, look at our fabulous hair!"

[@swimothy]

For sure, the new haircuts look good guys.

[@ElionMars]

Thank God I'm not the only one who thought that. Quarantine has been "I notice when KZbinrs get haircuts" long.

[@rickycatta5152]

I'm playing an arcane trickster in Ravnica right now, just hit level 5 and I'm loving it

[@killfear]

check out "5 color mana spell point variant rule knights and tricksters".. built for Ravnica.

[@adamkaris]

Just wait till you can grab shadow blade!

[@justinmullins551]

I as well just started the Ravnika module and it has been a blast dimir/orshov is the combo I went with for it and its helped out quite a bit.

[@knyx9913]

Dimir?

[@Caelreth15]

@@knyx9913 a Ravinican guild

[@Zacharadus]

My Arcane Trickster picked up Find Familiar (a raven for scouting and mimicry) and Dragon Breath. I can confirm, a fire breathing raven is in fact very awesome and quite effective in battle.

[@TheTdroid]

Owl is also an amazing choice, since they are immune to Attacks of Opportunity.

[@alaster555]

I just though of an interesting way to use Spell Thief, what if you stole a spell from a friendly person ahead of time to have more options. Example, steal a lower leveled healing spell from your cleric to have access to some backup healing, or perhaps something comes up and the arcane trickster has to go it alone and so one of your party members lets you barrow one of their spells to take with you. One idea that I have is that you barrow your wizard's spell, then while he gives himself (and possibly the trickster) an air tight alibi, you sneak in and use his spell to commit some kind of crime witch can't be easily traced back to him or you. (ie you know the evil king has a magic plant giving him power, give blight to the trickster and have him use his advanced stealth skills to sneak in and assassinate the plant)

[@samuelevans738]

That is a hilarious scenario that I instantly want to copy. XD

[@KazumiKiguma]

Remember that you're basically making it so that the original caster can't cast that spell for 8 hours, so your "backup healing" isn't backup anymore, you've taken their heal from them, and they have more spell slots.

[@normal6483]

@@KazumiKiguma They also have higher level spells to be healing with, such as Heal, Healing Spirit, Prayer of Healing, and so on. And since you have better use of your bonus action while they have better spell slots to be using, it means that this still has a net positive gain on your party's action economy.

[@randomlygeneratedname]

@@KazumiKiguma taking a first to second level cire wounds of a high level cleric iss worth so much more for the rouge then thw cleric losing a low level cure woubds

[@SuperNiels91]

The cleric wouldn't lose "a low level Cure Wounds", he would lose Cure Wounds altogether. It's an interesting scenario but would probably prove itself detrimental rather than advantageous in many cases.

[@thomasjenkin26]

When you permeantly stop the final wizard boss from casting counterspell for 8 hours

[@KazumiKiguma]

That'd be a pretty unique situation. It requires you to be the target of the spell, meaning the boss has to be counterspelling you, and you really have to wonder what all you could possibly do within 1st through 4th level spells that they'd want to spend a counterspell on other than, possibly, a counterspell of your own.

[@thomasjenkin26]

@@KazumiKiguma here's a solution, have the rogue open with suggestion or a similar spell, and maybe a divination wizard ally to force certain rolls

[@hugofontes5708]

@@thomasjenkin26 that would be an awesome duo right out of the arcane academy: nerd and jock take the world

[@corwyncorey3703]

The Great Goblin Wizard Kazamaraz being the target of an arrogant wizard counterspelling isnt hard.. just by being vocally obnoxious!

[@ODDnanref]

@@KazumiKiguma I think someone mentioned in the comments about casting banishment. That would certainly get someone trying to counterspell.

[@Neutral_Tired]

I would absolutely recommend the blade cantrips for an arcane trickster, it's flat extra damage on top of sneak attack, since it's still a weapon attack

[@FreeRangeDice]

Trickster. You are not a martial subclass. Kind of missing the point taking attack spells.

[@ARatherDapperTapir]

@@FreeRangeDice you are still a rogue, and still have sneak attack. Booming blade stacks, so it's completely valid.

[@maid_of_heart3261]

Booming Blade on a rogue is amazing. If you're not an arcane trickster I recommend taking it from Magic Initiate. And if you take it from the warlock spell list you can also get Hex and stack even more damage and a debuff

[@jeffadams9807]

Sneak Attack With Shadow Blade...

[@Kylora2112]

Yup. Rogues never get that second attack without multiclassing, so rather than 1d8 (rapier) and some d6s for your Sneak Attack, Booming Blade adds more d8s on top of your bucket of d6s, and Booming Blade will always out-damage the possibility of an offhand attack (since you can't dual wield with a rapier baseline).

[@VICHEL1]

Honestly, I have really fond memories of a last boss fight with several opposing mages which was turned upside down by my arcane trickster. I used banishment out of the shadows, with my opposing mage at a disadvantage on the save. Then, on the counterspell that was used, I decided to steal that with spell thief and suddenly not only one of the mages was banished, but another could no longer use counterspell anymore, whichgave us a huge upper hand. Extremely fun.

[@thegingergod3122]

A friend of mine played an Arcane Trickster in the last campaign I ran for my group, she wound up being the party leader and having a 22 intelligence by the end

[@unwithering5313]

How'd she get 22 Intelligence?

[@thegingergod3122]

@@unwithering5313 started with 16, put 2 ASI's into it (20), and read a Tome of Clear Thought from a Thieves Guild contact who was her on-again-off-again lover and a procurement specialist

[@unwithering5313]

@@thegingergod3122 breaking the 20 limit on a stat is always nice, I bet those items are usually a pain in the butt to find though

[@thegingergod3122]

@@unwithering5313 the specialist, Micky Middle-Finger, works for the largest guild on the continent in my homebrew world. He only sells to guild members, the rogue was training to become the next Guildmaster before she got amnesia several years earlier. He always has access to all common and mundane items, 1d10 uncommon items, 1d8 rare items, 1d6-1 vary rare items, and 1d4-2 legendary items. There is a 20% chance he knows the location of an artifact, but it may not be on your plane of existence, he is a Planeswalker but he doesn't tell anyone that info.

[@ramzajp]

Can we get timestamps on vids moving forward? Would help a lot in coming back to in the future as we play our character

[@UncleTrog]

Just taken up Arcane Trickster for my Tabaxi rogue, you guys changed my mind about Booming Blade - I was against it because it's "noisy" and might nerf stealth. But the idea of sneak attacking then using disengage and getting the hell out of dodge with Feline Agility AND then doing another d8 to the potential pursuer sounds really good.

[@meerkhat6123]

Would be awesome if when you guys talk about classes like this or any in general you should create a Character sheet for them! Would be awesome! Keep up the great work!

[@darkrider3126]

I love this subclass. I made my Arcane Trickster a ninja and it was awsome.

[@konstantinemarkelia759]

lets guess they were a kenku

[@darkrider3126]

@@konstantinemarkelia759 No he was an Elf.

[@pockets8548]

@@konstantinemarkelia759 I sence a unexpectables watcher

[@knaveofsouls6080]

Tsk tsk, not a kenku. . You miss your chance

[@beanspud88]

Deep gnome is fun for arcane trickster

[@natangelmen]

Y'all got haircuts! Looking fabulous either way, gentlemen.

[@Lazerscythe]

The same day I decide to take Magic Initiate for my Swashbuckler next level up, this video comes out. Basically a budget Arcane Trickster with that combo.

[@pharrigan-hikes]

I was thinking about doing the same thing with my thief rogue.

[@Jerzzylo]

@@pharrigan-hikes Do it. Just find familiar makes it worth it but you also get cantrips on top to sweeten the deal.

[@79AlienFinger79]

The (hopefully) high Charisma score a Swashbuckler has really combines well with Disguise Self as a Bard spell, although you miss out on the damage cantrips.

[@wifiwhizz]

The Dungeon Dudes? More like The Fresh Trim Dudes, my god

[@hossman170495]

Just started watching the dungeons of drakkenheim and man I gotta say I'm loving it! Just finished up episode six.

[@talongreenlee7704]

I’m rewatching it and I’ve made it to episode 16. I still have a long way to go...

[@hossman170495]

@@talongreenlee7704 I'm just starting episode 12 at 3am haha, I'm addicted now.

[@seandonnellan5980]

I wish they’d make the connection from their other campaigns back to Dungeons off Drakkenheim cuz I wanna know how their story goes. They stopped at tier 3 :/

[@SilverFoxR]

My most recent DnD character was an Arcane Trickster con man kind of character. Since our DM allowed us to take a starting feat, I took a variant human for two starting feats to really play out his preferred con. I took the feats Ritual Caster and Keen Mind. The whole gimmick he was going to have was being able to look at spells (rituals, naturally), then having remembered them with Keen Mind, he'd write them into his own book of rituals when it was safe to do so. This would give my clever con man the ability to learn ritual spells through social engagement and the cost of magic ink. The plan was to have him disguise himself as a noble's vassal under the guise of his noble patron being a collector of interesting magic scrolls. Then, he'd look over the scroll for "authenticity" and say he'd return later after speaking to his employer. Naturally, he'd already now memorized the scrolls' contents and could transcribe them into his book on his own time. What got even funnier was that one of the other party members eventually turned out to be a Wizard... so after giving him some attitude at one point, he pickpocketed her spellbook, flipped through the pages to find the ritual spells, memorized them and then slipped the book back into her bag without her ever noticing, learning her ritual spells too. Sadly the game was cut a bit short, but I was having so much fun playing this guy that I want to play him again =p

[@wizardgradstudent]

I’m playing an arcane trickster right now and I want to give my two cents on some build ideas: I multiclassed into wizard and it’s been a huge benefit. Like they said in the video, the final ability of the arcane trickster is kinda lackluster, so the benefit of just a few levels in wizard is good for two things: first, access to defensive level one spells, specifically shield and absorb elements (I’ve got a flame/thunder blade for you with absorb elements and booming blade). Second: faster access to other great second level spells like misty step. This can be helpful if you’re playing a shorter game, since the arcane trickster gets leveled spells slowly. This does lead you to get spell slots higher than you can learn, but that just means more absorb elements and invisibility for multiple people.

[@M0ebius]

wizardgradstudent I have similar thoughts about arcane trickster’s late game features, but I would as far as to say that you get nothing worthwhile after lvl 9 Magical Ambush. The way I multiclass my AT is to go Divine Soul Sorcerer 1 Hexblade 2 before going Rogue. I use Shield of Faith + half plate + shield to get to 21 AC (26 AC with Shield spell), take Greenflame Blade/Booming Blade from Sorcerer and Eldritch Blast from Warlock, dump INT and max out my charisma. This way you have a very tanky frontline Rogue that also have a very respectable range attack option in Hex+EB. Then when tier 3 comes you can jump right back into Sorcerer with maxed out casting stats AND disadvantage to saves. For my personal build I also take one level of Bard for Faerie Fire (not worth casting for fullcasters at this point but very good for AT with Magical Ambush), Hideous Laughter, Dissonant Whispers, Healing Word, and a bunch of inspiration dice.

[@TheHornedKing]

If I ever play a rogue, it will definitely be an arcane trickster. I already know what character to draw inspiration from; Grimalkin from The Last Apprentice novels (aka The Wardstone Chronicles). She is a witch and an assassin who basically is a straight up arcane trickster, though she prefers to fight her targets head on rather than assassinating them. I especially love this one time were she informs a cult that she is coming for them, their boastfull leader decides to head out and face her on his own (after being buffed by the other cultists), and returns with Grimalkin's head. But then that head starts to morph and shift into the severed head of the cult leader, while the cult leader holding it morphs into a still living Grimalkin, who smiles wickedly (and she has sharpened her teeth btw), draws her blades, and goes to town.

[@samuelevans738]

Good story! * smashes mug of beer * another!

[@lucinatrash3063]

Playing arcane trickster in my first campaign right now. It’s such a fun class.

[@freman007]

With a High Elf you can start with 8/17/13/16/10/10 which is enough if you use your expertise on persuasion and deception. Resilient (Constitution) and Elven Accuracy (Dexterity) will fill up the uneven numbers. The extra cantrip is nice too.

[@frankrobinsjr.1719]

Am I the only person who doesn't try to "out-magic" a wizard? Mage Hand combined with sleight of hand and I've just stolen the wizard's belt/sash. No magic components for their spells means no higher level spells and, maybe, only a quarter of their mid-range and lower level spells.

[@GracefulxArcher]

That's great until they use a spell casting focus.

[@meschneb]

@@GracefulxArcher steal that too?

[@noahbond007]

I’ve been researching this subclass, so this is very timely! I’ve been looking to make a whip-based Arcane Trickster with a two level Wizard dip for Bladesinger to obtain whip proficiency, pairing that with Booming Blade and Spell Sniper (either variant human or an ASI) to effectively do the same strategy with Mobile you mentioned in the video.

[@unwithering5313]

One homebrew thing I've started to implement into my campaign is different variants of Arcane Trickster, players can choose Wizard, Cleric or Sorcerer for their spellcasting list (they use the same ability modifier as the spellcasting class), additionally, healing spells count as enchantment and illusion for the purpose of which spells you can learn

[@a.z.pantera5577]

I find it amazing that Arcane Tricksters can learn Shadow Blade and Find Familiar. These are staples for any Tricksters I make.

[@fabioassuncao6547]

Question how can the arcane trickster have find familiar if the spell it's not in the illusion or enchantment school?

[@a.z.pantera5577]

@@fabioassuncao6547 you get a few freebie spells from any list. One of which is right as you become an Arcane Trickster.

[@fabioassuncao6547]

@@a.z.pantera5577 ohh ok TKS I'm still new to dnd tks

[@nimawhe]

Played my Arcane Trickster in 3.5. Made it to level 20 playing Tomb of Elemental Evil. By the end he was unstoppable. Frustrated the DM to no end.

[@samuelevans738]

Any specific stories?

[@nimawhe]

@@samuelevans738 Man, that was a loooong time ago. I remember generally my character was a Gnome with a hedgehog familiar. Modus Operandi was to be invisible and/or intangible for a great deal. Some illusion spells were partly real so they could do damage. He basically walked ahead and scouted with not much to worry about. I remember creatures like Ropers and Cloakers coming into play and the DM being annoyed of how much they were not a threat to me. Then add in the broken sneak attack, which would be applicable 90% of the time....We had planned to go beyond level 20, but that never happened.

[@GunnerM60]

Rogues are the class DM's love to love & love to hate. They like us because we come up with clever solutions to difficult problems. But they also hate us because we're great @ foiling their plans!

[@Samuel_Kabel]

@@GunnerM60 i would just like to point out that pressing the A and T keys takes exactly as much effort and time as pressing the SHIFT and 2 keys. thank you for listening to my TED talk, have a nice day. bye.

[@jackdizzy123]

@@Samuel_Kabel lol

[@dakotagaar7666]

I’m surprised they didn’t mention sentinel among the strong feat choices. Especially once you have mirror image, sentinel regularly grants you the opportunity to trigger sneak attack a second time that round.

[@randomjunk1977]

My only full campaign character was an Arcane Trickster conman that helped take down Strahd. It's a great combination of my favorite archetypes: tricky magic user and rogue abilities

[@Flip4Crypt]

Arcane Trickster was my first character, such a special class thank you for this video!

[@Showu99able]

I once saw someone use a variation of spell thief where you could use it on spells of 5th level or higher, but casting that spell after stealing it would require you to expend slots of a combined level that was equal to the stolen spells level, say you just stole a 6th level spell, you would have to expend a 4th level slot and a 2nd level slot to cast it etc. I thought that was a pretty good way of handling it, since it would essentially equate to you expending a great amount of effort to use magic that you essentially shouldn't be able to cast

[@LemanRussVanquisher]

I have an arcane trickster in a campaign I've been DMing for almost 2 years now. Two of his greatest accomplishments are stealing an enemy cleric's satchel which had a diamond in it she was going to revivify a boss with. And more recently taking a McGuffin away from a Balor causing it to lose all the special abilities I had given him and probably preventing a TPK.

[@TomWDW1]

Nott the Brave!!! Also, damn Kelly -- looking good in your new cut :-)

[@persephonehades7547]

Okay, they didn't mention it in the 3rd level spell selection section, but haste is a wonderful spell for Arcane Trickster, especially if you grab resilient con or warcaster. You get an additional action that lets you dash, disengage, hide, use an object, or attack once. You can also add your sneak attack dice to one attack per turn rather than only on your turn. You can bonus action use mage hand to help your booming blade attack, hold your hasted attack until after your familiar uses the help action, and then attack again on your familiar's turn, effectively ensuring you sneak attack twice per turn. You also get boosted speed, advantage on dexterity saving throws, and +2 to AC. This all really compares nicely to other rogue abilities, such as evasion and cunning action. The fact they didn't mention it as of 21:21 is mind boggling. Editing note: It is concentration, which means no invisibility nor shadow blade during this. However, the benefits seriously outweigh the cons for this.

[@grizzlednerd4521]

Personally, i feel like Rogues best capture the essence of an "adventurer", and Arcane Tricksters even more so.

[@aaronshead9666]

Hugely enjoy the constant content, always fun and informative, great work guys

[@andreaspersson5639]

Perfect timing, I'm most likely rolling up an Arcane Trickster on Saturday (even more excited to do that, now). Let's see how I manage to mess it up :p

[@jelte3754]

Take care of your DM x)

[@kingcoheed1208]

Forest Gnomes make awesome AT Rogues

[@illoney5663]

One thing worth noting, Shadow of Moil is Warlock exclusive, thus not an option for Arcane Tricksters.

[@M0ebius]

Yeah I was wondering how they pick that spell up.

[@shadowkahn9415]

@@M0ebius magic initiate lets you take spells from any class plus 1 cantrip

[@mernix]

@@shadowkahn9415 Magic Initiate lets you pick only 1st-level spell. Shadow Moil is 4th-level spell.

[@M0ebius]

Shadow Kahn Magic Initiate gets you a 1st level spell that you can cast ONCE per long rest.

[@waynesmith6325]

Probably House ruled

[@grahamn311]

Since starting my D&D adventure about 6 weeks ago, I feel like I've been playing in the dark. I feel much more well equipped to fully enjoy this class after watching this video. Thank you SO much!

[@Audentia11]

Great video! I'm playing my first campaign as an arcane trickster and I love it. I often flank with my familiar and have it take the dodge action during battle (owls don't provoke opportunity attacks and have so much movement!). I also like charm person as a spell. I once charmed a guard who helped me avoid his colleagues and led me straight to the treasure!

[@henryblackburn3856]

My favorite DnD character was an Arcane Trickster Kenku with a homebrew origami cantrip (summons 1 of 6 little origami creatures/vehicles) and a homebrew self-destruct spell(requires a willing target).

[@a.spirit8408]

My forest gnome arcane trickster is my favourite character. And a lot of it follows along your recommendations. I went Shield at lvl 3 and took Ritual Caster at lvl 4 to get that familiar (and because we don't have a utility caster in the party). All in all, it's nowhere near a broken character (technically a little underpowered in combat). But it really makes up for in the breadth of options in both combat and RP. The real Jack of All Trades. I'm still in low level but I can't help but theorycraft - at level 20, Stroke of Luck gives one guaranteed Counterspell per short rest 🤩

[@adriangalan29]

Just the video I was waiting for, Thanks for your Job.

[@justinmullins551]

Awesome vid fellas I started my very first arcane trickster and this has been a huge help in deciding my spells and just learning more of the versatility the arcane trickster has, keep up the great work yall.

[@ollep0lle]

I LOVE the Arcane Trickster. Instant thumbs up to you sirs.

[@joelforeman1187]

Arcane trickster can take magic initiate to fill in on things the DM maybe doesn't want to give you. Like Magic leather armour. Swap it out for a tank top and cast mage armour. Maybe take a little shield too, who knows might be useful. Maybe just pick up greenflame blade too in case you need to deal with some extra mobs while hitting things. Its such a versatile archetype, and adding on magic initiate can give almost too much choice.

[@Maken-X]

Woo!~ I've been waiting for this one for a while. I've started an Arcane Trickster not too long ago and learned some things from this vid. Thanks again Dudes!

[@magistertome2930]

Just wanna say how much I appreciate you guys. Relatively new to D&D and trying to share what little I know with a group of new players. Your videos are an incredibly good resource. Thank you. *edit: grammar is fun

[@k_geokin]

Love all your videos Dudes! They've been very helpful to my games overall, but I think having chapters or time stamps of the topics you discuss would be really nifty. Vids are always chock full of info and advice but I often rewatch your content in search of a certain detail you talk about that i forgot or didn't jot down (there's just too much!). And instead of having to listen to multiple 30 minutes videos, it'd be very helpful to know where to start looking. THANKS AGAIN!

[@armchairgravy8224]

I'm running a half-orc dandy arcane trickster. One of the most fun characters I've ever played.

[@hakonatli]

I just love how consistently good these videos are. Thank you friends 💜

[@Ty-yy7zr]

When you pick the subclass at 3rd level, for choosing your first level spells, 2 of the the 3 spells must be illusion and/or enchantment. The other one can be of any school, as well as the spells you get at 8th, 14th, and 20th.

[@Galbotorix78]

I've waited for the Dungeon Dudes to do this video for a year and a half. Thank you!

[@drowbane2259]

I am having a lot of fun with my Rogue (Arcane Trickster) Warlock (Fey). The ability to do a ranged sneak attack from behind a wall you create using Misty Visions is a lot of fun. It also leads to a lot of "I thought this room was bigger" moments.

[@lucasramey6427]

The greater thing about that ability that gives disadvantage on saves is that it specifies hidden instead of stealthed so all you really need is to be not seen like being behind cover or being invisible (speaking of which greater invisibility is definitely the arcane tricksters greatest spell since it will make it so either you have advantage on your attacks or the enemy will have disadvantage on your spell saves just make sure to move from where you are after you cast so they can't target you with an attack roll)

[@SergioLeRoux]

You move the mage hand "each time you use it". Moving it doesn't cost a bonus action, it's doing something with it that costs the bonus action (for the trickster). Distracting is replacing the action itself (grabbing things, picking locks), so it moves as a consequence of doing the distraction.

[@TheDreamburner]

I've been playing an AT for a while and just reached level 11! Figli the Useful, a plucky Halfling with Indiana Jones inspirations, is a blast to play. He's an excellent damage dealer, and at level 9, I found Ray of Sickness to be a fantastic spell for Magical Ambush, given that my owl familiar is usually providing the help action for the attack rolls. Magical Ambush imposing disadvantage on the saving throw often means the target winds up poisoned, Figli can use Cunning Action to hide behind a nearby ally, then dart back out next turn for a Sneak Attack assault. So far, 2 different BBEG fights have been dramatically foiled by this tactic! Great call on using Shadow Blade, I bought the book just to make sure I had that for when I level up!

[@dylanfooler]

I got to play a arcane trickster tiefling and it was a Lot of fun: I started a gang fight by flipping a guys hood over his head with mage hand to goat him on, I snuck into a generals house while he was on a 'date' with another character to steal a magical blade/quest item and when my noisy butt made a racket and guards showed up I disguised myself As him and told them I was worried of theft and practically walked out with the blade, I used my mage hand for Everything- especially to unlock possibly trapped items, I also did a visual light show with the help of other casters for a town mayor on his birthday Honestly it was a lot of fun to play when I was able to utilize the uniqueness of my arcane trickery.

[@Zilegil]

The reason tricksters don’t use char for their casting is because it’s wizardly magic, like most spallcasters in dnd settings. Char based casters are menna be rare. It ain’t often that people have sorcerous bloodlines or are able to start a pact. Just a mild pet peeve when people focus on stats rather than the lore behind it

[@rodemir_yanus]

On top of that I'd say: - Fog Cloud (For the hit and hide thing) - Blindness/Deafness (Magical Ambush helps it shine, ensuring its hit, making both casters/non-caster cry hard while blinded) - Elven Accuracy (Those sneak attacks are not going to miss ever) - Artificer Initiate (What about having Guidance for skill supremacy, Faerie Fire for aoe advantage on attack rolls and invisibility denial, and another artisan's tool proficiency, which you can use as spellcasting focus? Sounds good to me) For sure there are more other good options to consider!

[@richardjohns3661]

I'm playing an arcane trickster fo a 3.5 campaign. It was really weak at low to mid levels. But by level 10 she exploded with power. Now at level 11 she is insanely powerful. I'm glad to hear how they evened out the power ratio.

[@unvoicedapollo3318]

I played a high level arcane trickster in a one shot and it was so much fun. As my third level "free spell" I chose blink. Such a fun buff to an already great "hit & run" class.

[@SirStanleytheStumbler]

@23:24 Just a heads up for anyone looking to use this combo, as of Tasha's Cauldren booming blade can no longer be used with shadow blade because it's new material requirement is a weapon worth at least one silver and a shadow blade has no value because it's a temporary weapon created by a spell. This video was posted well before the change.

[@chazzle3459]

The mention of Arcane Tricksters always reminds of one of my players most iconic characters, Kolgar the Dissapointer. Kolgar was a bugbear that would disguise himself in various ways to hide that he was a bugbear. When he was making a charisma check he would cast disguise self to either become "Koolgar" with sunglasses and a leather jacket for persuasion or "Swolegar" to have huge veiny muscles, a wife beater, and fingerless gloves for intimidation checks. He was resigned to one shots and saw play 3 times. I miss Kolgar...

[@mhelvens]

I'd love to combine this with the UA feat Telekinetic. Cast your pickpocketing Mage Hand without spell components and extend its reach to 60ft. And Telekinetic Shove is a pretty useful ability to get on top of that.

[@joestark8087]

I just took it at 8th level. It also rounded my Int up to 16. It's Awesome!

[@johnfellingham6111]

Love my arcane trickster and booming blade. As a halfling his favorite trick is to be chased around a corner, create the image of a barrel around himself (minor illusion) then strike as the enemies run past.

[@agsilverradio2225]

My arcane-trickster character, is a forest-gnome, who likes to graphiti. ... She is under 5ft tall, which means she can easilly hide inside a minor illusion, which she can cast as subrace spell! ... She also likes to use the the chromatic spray spell as a distraction. ... Her favorite magic item, would be Nasto's marvilous pigments.

[@lancearmada]

Arcane trickster is one of the most versatile classes imo. Take variant human, get prodigy for more expertise, dump int and strength and max dex and charisma. Take minor illusion. Need to hide? Minor illusion a crate around you. You can see through your own illusions, but others cannot. Most rogue subclasses don’t add anything notable to damage, so you still do the boosted rogue damage with your sneak attack bonuses. Take disguise self for extra trickery. Expertise in stealth, deception, then something else you like. You can do melee with a rapier or ranged with a short bow (eventually longbow). This class gets the most option at low level, and most games tend to be level 1-5 anyway, so this class starts you off really well. One nice thing that makes this better than bard is you get expertise early, and you actually have good damage options. Get find familiar and you even get a pet scout for scouting operations. Little less good in games where your team mates aren’t patient and don’t allow you to scout ahead, and also can take the limelight from the rest of the party. At level 2 you get one of the most versatile skills, cunning action, which allows you to bonus action disengage or dash for free every round (you likely will do all your damage with your main attack after all). You can also hide with it every turn after you attack! Attack with a bow, then hide, then attack again! Sneak attack works with ranged weapons, so you likely should take a bow in all situations so you can keep your distance and let your higher go characters take the damage.

[@79AlienFinger79]

I just want to add that going Swashbuckler with Magic Initiate (Bard) can give you Disguise Self while rewarding you for a high Charisma score (which combines well with said spell). If you've only got one good roll, you can even take a level of Hexblade to make almost everything dependent on Charisma, while getting medium armour, shields, Hex, Hexblade's Curse, and more.

[@brettfischer4401]

I love Kelly’s hair here, very on point. Also it was a great video, thanks guys.

[@shaneturnes6458]

Still one of favorites in 5e. I prefer the deep or forest gnome for my Arcane Tricksters. Old video, but still excellent advice and content! Great job guys!

[@chazman1011]

Someone play dnd with me, I'm so inspired by this 😭

[@TiberiusAudley]

My main character in my group's Curse of Strahd campaign is a Kenku Arcane Trickster Rogue / Trickery Domain Cleric multiclass. I feel like the extra levels in Cleric help bolster some of the weaknesses Arcane Trickster has on its own -- especially the lack of spell slots, and running Trickery Cleric helps with your spell selection of your 1st level spells for the Trickster, since you're given always prepared Disguise Self and Charm Person from Trickery Cleric level 1. (And Mirror Image+Pass Without Trace at level 3... huge boon to the possibilities of the build.) I tend to play mine less as a damage dealer and more as a just straight up tank -- combining the possibilities of my Illusory Duplicate, Mirror Image, fairly high base AC, a choice between Bane/Shield of Faith from Cleric level 1 to even further augment monsters' chance to hit), and the Sanctuary spell. In order to attack me, an enemy has to: 1) Declare an attack and pass the Wisdom saving throw against my Sanctuary spell. 2) Hope I roll low enough that it does not instead target one of my Mirror Images. 3) Roll high enough on its attack to actually hit my AC...which may be +2'd from Shield of Faith, or prior to Sanctuary, if I cast Bane, have to roll high enough with the d4 reducing it. 4) ...be sad as even after all that effort, I use my reaction to reduce the damage by half with Uncanny Dodge.

[@stevemetcalfe6029]

Boots of Spider climb, mirror image, and crossbow expert makes a pretty killer combo. Try to take down a rogue on the ceiling with multiple images of himself dancing around while peppering the NPCs with bolts makes a great encounter.

[@Oenolicious]

Literally just started up playing again a couple of weeks ago and decided to give the Arcane Trickster a try.

[@KazumiKiguma]

One note about Crossbow Expert, while you can make two attacks with your Hand Crossbow, you still only get one Sneak Attack per turn, so the 2nd attack is just its own damage. The 2nd attack also takes up your Bonus Action, meaning you can't Hide, use your Mage Hand, etc. so keep that in mind.

[@SkuffD]

Great episode. I'll admit to always having a certain degree of hesitation when it comes to magic casting characters in DnD. I think it goes way back to my initial experiences in 2nd...but I like the breakdown here and the various ways to make this easily fit a character and that kind of sly rogue that has a little bit more to rely on. Also, Mage Hand is growing on me in 5e.

[@davidvandalsen1694]

I love playing the arcane trickster. So I want to advice you to look at shocking grasp. This cantrip can be dilivered by your familiar and the target can't take a reaction. I'm a ranged Rouge and using the shocking grasp action and dash bonus action helpt me get out of some dangerous situations.

[@KazumiKiguma]

Oh that's a good idea too, it'd allow the familiar to get away without needing to be an owl. The only issue is that since Familiars take their own turn in combat rather than sharing yours, it's a little more difficult to plan around.

[@Podsun]

One of my favourite characters I’ve played was Synth a High-Elf Arcane Trickster/Bladesinger Wizard. I played him as a master of espionage and very potent battlefield striker. Having the wizard levels greatly improved my spell selection and slots. And the rogue abilities greatly helped with making a truly sneaky spy.

[@ReconNarwhal]

I know this is an older comment, but could you answer when you decided to dip into bladesinger and for how many levels? I’m trying to do a similar build with the same multiclass

[@Podsun]

@@ReconNarwhal yeah for sure, it’s been awhile but if my memory serves me. I started out 1st level Rogue with the Criminal (Spy) background, and went High Elf so that I could start out the game with access to a cantrip. Wanted the flavour to be there from the very beginning of first level. Also starting with Rogue offers better starting level options. Then went next two levels Wizard Bladesinger in order to get bladesinging option and spells going. Then back to Rogue for three levels. First to get cunning action for more battlefield mobility options, then the arcane trickster spells and mage hand legerdemain. Finishing out 4th level Rogue for your first ASI, where I took Warcaster Feat. Then I went back to Wizard for 4 more levels to continue accessing more spells. When I hit 4th level Wizard and second ASI I took Mage Slayer Feat. I was extremely lucky with my Character creation rolls so I started game with 20’s in both Dex and Int, otherwise those ASI’s probably would have been needed to bump up stats. Synth never got past 10th level so that’s as far as I got leveling.

[@ReconNarwhal]

@@Podsun Did you ever feel underwhelmed with the multiclass by losing out on damage from sneak attack? I hear that’s a common complaint with this multiclass, but Ik second attack at 6th level BS makes up for it

[@Podsun]

@@ReconNarwhal I never really felt underwhelmed by the build. It always felt very powerful. Part of the power though was being so flexible with the use of your spells. Maybe there is a dip in sheer damage output compared to a more ‘nova’ like build where you can assassinate for one large hit a turn. But I preferred having a more toolbox oriented character that could fit multiple roles.

[@ReconNarwhal]

@@Podsun I too value the versatility offered by this multiclass. In my case I’m a lvl 4 arcane trickster right now. Would you say going the next 6 levels in BS would be the right move? Our campaign will probably end around 10-12 I’m guessing

[@nicholasholcomb7400]

Perfect timing! We just picked up a new player in my campaign and I was looking for a video on arcane trickster. You guys are the best always, keep it up

[@Cypress77]

Been playing an Arcane Trickster for 2 years now, probably 30-40 sessions. Just hit lvl 13, so excited to swap my seldom used burning hands for fireball 🔥

[@binolombardi]

Some feats that give the PC the ability to cast a spell also state that the spells are learned. If your class is a “spells known” caster, and the learned spell is on your spell list, the. You have an extra spell known. An example of this would be an arcane trickster choosing the magic initiate feat, and then selecting the wizard school for 2 additional cantrips and 1 spell learned/known. The cantrips can be chosen to further the rogues utility while conserving spell slots. The spell known is great as it can be cast once without a slot, and it’s not restricted to a particular school. Fey teleportation is a good feat for high elf arcane trickster/Eldritch Knight/warlock/bard/sorcery too. It saves slots and gives an additional spell known. Drow high magic is a great feat for spells known too and for saving spell slots, but the racial stats don’t quite benefit the arcane trickster a lot. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for the slotless cast given by the feat, but using your AT slot would use intelligence.

[@GameHunterMaster]

One of the best spells for an arcane trickster to take is Shadow Blade. You get advantage on all attacks with it while in dim light or darkness, it acts as a weapon that uses finesse ( both of which allow you to use sneak attack on your attacks), and deals a not insignificant amount of psychic damage, which is one of the top 3 least resisted damage types in the game.

[@rcschmidt668]

Coming back to this video months later. These are excellent resources!

[@benjaminfrost2780]

3rd level spell - Haste is an amazing concentration spell. Increased AC. Increased Movement Speed. Advantage on Dex Saves which means not taking damage via Evasion. An extra attack to make sure you make an attack for sneak attack damage or to be able to dash or disengage on top of cunning action.

[@SirStanleytheStumbler]

Just bear in mind the round of fatigue when it wears off.

[@stevenyoung9738]

@@SirStanleytheStumbler 1 minute god mode > one turn without rounds and 3rd level spellslot.

[@Hazel-xl8in]

steven young but if you are unlucky enough to break concentration, that’s a bad round to exist on.

[@stevenyoung9738]

@@Hazel-xl8in honestly if you're playing a wizard and you're forced to break conc, you're likely to die anyway, since haste is for melee. If you casted it on an ally instead, that person loses the turn. The cost isnt steep enough for what haste gives you, if it had no stun time and was just a 4th level spell would be much more balanced.

[@XoRandomGuyoX]

Shadowblade is a nice power bump at 7th level. 2d8 damage and having advantage in dim light or darkness ensures sneak attack potential. You also get to make a straight attack roll in those conditions if throwing the weapon out to 60 feet. By the time you can upcast it at 3rd level as an Arcane Trickster though, at level 13, the 3d8 damage might be a bit lackluster if you've found interesting magical equipment.

[@Robocop2134]

I like to add 2 levels of wizard to my arcane trickster rogue. That way you can get your shadow blade and invisibility way earlier and can also choose a wizard subclass, which comes with some really strong options. You can for example boost your combat abilities with the bladesingers bladesong or choose the diviners portent ability to potentially have automatic savingthrow fails for your enemy in the back.

[@TheBierp]

Spell Thief, when combined with a divination wizard in your party, can be leveraged to much greater effect. Still requires a number of conditions to be met, but being able to potentially force a failed save from the original caster can really boost that ability.

[@Fernando_Cabanillas]

Small detail, technically, spell thief can be used supportively instead of offensively. Let's say you "steal" (aka borrow) a lower end spell from a spellcaster in your party so that both of you can have 2 different buffs (probably both of which you wouldnt have usually access to) on the party at the same time. So maybe the rogue keeps the party blessed while the cleric casts heroism, or the rogue holds the healing spirit while the ranger is using hunter's mark.

[@rathenn6959]

Just started a DND campaign recently as a deep gnome rogue, soon to be arcane trickster (currently level 2). Seems like a great class for it flavour-wise and stats/abilities, too. Not to mention "Svifrneblin Magic" is an amazing feat. Quite a few spells added to your arsenal without touching your spell slots. Can't wait to try it out at levels 3/4.

[@craigkm5303]

So I looked it up, and Legerdemain literally means “sleight of hand” in French. I just clued into this, and being from (ostensibly) bilingual Canada, I should have gotten it a lot earlier. Keep it up, guys! Love your content!

[@bskec2177]

It's also synonym for prestidigitation. Not in D&D of course.

[@Blastercadre]

Lovely video gentleman. Great topic. I don't think Sword Burst was a worthy mention. It's just too situational to be good a spell. I recommend doing some math on Haste vs. an upcasted Shadow Blade. They can be very close in damage, but haste has a strong edge from it's utility. I've got a Arcane Trickster / Bladesinger build that I'm playing and loving it soo much.

[@dragon2067]

Played one prior to Xanthar's and the other guides but still loved it. Suggestion and mirror image helped me a lot. Took the feats of Alert and Lucky. Also had crossbow expert and my DM allowed me to have two hand crossbows.

[@rorythelynchpin]

With the new feats in Tasha's, what do you think of Telekinetic? With an Arcane Trickster, it gives you +1 INT, +30 feet to your mage hand, ability to cast it without verbal or somatic components, and give you a shove bonus action option. It seems like it could be good synergy.

[@ericmeckley3490]

I find that if you’re interested more in the sneaking/illusion aspect and less the combat, taking 1 or 2 levels as rogue then finishing out in illusion wizard offers a lot more utility for a creative player.

[@tristancooney3983]

My last character was a drow Arcane Trickster, but my DM let me adjust her to an Assassin multiclassed in to Bladesinger Wizard . That is a DEADLY combination!

[@tristancooney3983]

At the end of our campaign I was a 5th level rouge, and 6th level wizard. My AC was effectively 24, and I was doing assassinate with sneak attack damage and getting 3 attacks per turn!

[@krunchyfrogg]

This class is so much fun. Thanks for doing this!

[@aunderiskerensky2304]

this is perfect for the way i played rogue in 3.5. i always ran dex int for heavy skill utility style rogues. here comes skeese the kobold arcane trickster. oh boi.

[@isaacgraff8288]

Arcane Trickster with Animate Dead, wonderful diversion if you can cast it quietly and since they are hostile to an enemy, Sneak attack. Especially if you luck out and have a zombie successfully grapple something.

[@CivilianAdams]

Skilled is my favorite feat, especially for rogues.