Tips for a Ranger/Thief

[Astafas]

I've created a Half-Elven Ranger and plan to make him a Thief later on. I probably won't switch class before getting to Level 6 (want my Animal Companion).

I use a Rapier and a Long Bow. My plans are to dual wield Rapiers later on while still relying heavily on my Bow.

Tomi is my Henchman for now, but Sharwyn seems very... nice.

So, a few questions for those who have grasped the rules better than I:

1) When "should" I go multi? Does it matter if switch back and forth or is it better to change class only once?

2) The manual states that I should have chosen my future Animal Companion upon creation. I can't recall being given this option... And what Animal would you recommend?

3) What Feats and Skills do you recommend? And this dualwielding part seems utterly confusing. Anyone care to enlighten me on the subject?

4) Which Henchman would go nice with my Ranger/Thief?

Thanks!

[Mathurin]

1) With a half-Elf it doesn't matter when you multiclass

2) Only druids choose their animal companion at creation, upon reaching 6th level ranger you will be prompted to choose one from the list. My favorite is the brown bear.

3) Weapon finesse would be a biggie since the penalties for 2 medium size weapons is pretty stiff, if you plan on using them a lot weapon focus would also be good, as would improved critical. Improved 2 weapon fighting is also good. You can either wait until 9th level ranger and get it for free or take it earlier since your levels in rogue will put you getting the feat later than a single class ranger. Any of the rogue skills are good, I use parry quite a lot but you have to enter parry mode to make use of it, I absolutely love set trap, pick locks and disarm traps are both useful as well as search.

4) If you stick with the bow, Daelan is good as a frontliner or perhaps Linu for decent fighter and healing. If you go forward with the rapiers a lot then Boddynock or Sharwyn are both good as they use ranged weapons and spells, as well as bard song with Sharwyn. Since you are going rogue yourself you wont likely need Tomi.

[Astafas]

Thanks for your reply!

1) That's what I though, what with my highest class being the favoured one.

2) What about the Movement Rate of the Bear? I want no Animal Companion that I have to wait for... In battle, which does best of the Dire Wolf and the Bear?

3) I have Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting and am using a Light Weapon in my offhand. This should give me a -2/-2 penalty and two attacks per round, if I've understood it correctly. I also have Weapon Finesse as my Dexterity is pretty high (which gives me bonuses when using my Long Bow). The Improved Two-Weapon Fighting will give me three attacks per round, no?

4) Yeah, I was thinking of either Sharwyn or the Sorceror. How many Theif levels do you think I need before being able to ditch Tomi? Does Sharwyn or Boddyknock throw the Knock spell? Are there any nasty traps in the beginning/middle of the game?

[Mathurin]

2) if you get too far ahead of him the bear, or anything else will appear beside you so dont worry about the movement. As for dire wolf/bear I think the wolf has higher str but I believe the bear has more HP and its attack might do a little more base damage. I prefer the bear since the dire wolf looks stupid, looks like it has scales on its back. All the animal companions are useful. The dire wolf and the bear are tanks, the panther can go invis at higher levels, the falcon can disarm and taunt at hjigher levels, the regular wolf can scare at higher levels, so they are all useful for different things. Id stick with the dire wolf or the bear for a while though.

3) You always gain extra attacks when your Base Attack Bonus goes above multiples of 5, and since improved 2 weapon requires a BAB of +9 you will already have 3 attacks, 2 with your on hand and one with the off hand. Improved 2 weapon fighting will give you a second attack with your off hand bring you up to 4. You will also continue gaining attacks with your on hand whenever your BAB raises beyond a multiple of 5.

4) depends entirely on how many skill points you put in search, disarm trap and pick lock, not what level rogue you are.

[Astafas]

Would it perhaps be better to start off as a Thief in order to get the extra Skill points? Then I could go Rogue right away as soon as I level up and get the Ambidexterity and Two-Handed Fighting feats.

[Mathurin]

I think you mean start off as a Rogue and then go Ranger. From a metagame standpoint that works perfect. From a roleplaying standpoint take whichever class you think your character would have first had training in. I personally try to steer away from metagaming because Ive played tabletop roleplaying so long, but Im not in any way going to tell someone else not to. If you want the extra skill points then taking rogue first is probably the best way to go.

[Astafas]

Originally posted by Mathurin
I think you mean start off as a Rogue and then go Ranger. From a metagame standpoint that works perfect. From a roleplaying standpoint take whichever class you think your character would have first had training in. I personally try to steer away from metagaming because Ive played tabletop roleplaying so long, but Im not in any way going to tell someone else not to. If you want the extra skill points then taking rogue first is probably the best way to go.

You're perfectly right of course - I was in a hurry. And you're perfectly right in your opinion regarding powergaming (metagaming?) as well - I suppose I got carried away by the all the possibilities...