Thank you. At the time of asking I was starting anew. Since then I have got as far as Emerald Grove and I am about to get help from Nettie. I realise now that as a Rogue character it is very much more a tactical game than it is as a fighter in my other BG 3 game I am also doing.
I am enjoying my Astarian game but I am not used to playing tactical. It is a whole new experience and so far I am doing okay ish. Somebody recommended I sub class as a thief. Is that correct or should I leave it as Arcane Trickster?
I would recommend Thief for the extra bonus action.
Perhaps lean into having two hand crossbows for your first experience with this class.
Also, it helps to understand how sneak attack works. First, make sure sneak attack is on "ask" in your reactions. Once you've done this, you no longer have to click on the "sneak attack: ranged/melee" icons to make a sneak attack happen. Instead, rely on regular attacks and then the game will ask you if you want them to count as a sneak attack if your attack hits. At this point, you can click yes.
Sneak attack will trigger if you have an ally next to an enemy you're attacking, as long as your ally is threatening the enemy... meaning as long as they have a melee weapon in hand while standing next to the target. If they have a ranged weapon, they aren't threatening the target, so that won't count. It has to be a melee weapon.
You can also trigger sneak attack if you have advantage against the target... while not having any disadvantage. For example, if you're hiding and you attack a target, you can trigger a sneak attack prompt. However, if you're hiding *and* outside your normal range, you will not be able to trigger a sneak attack, because the distance will count as disadvantage, negating your ability to sneak attack.
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I would recommend taking at least two levels of a Fighter dip to get a fighting style and action surge. This will help you as your progress. I suggest waiting until you have four levels of Rogue to take the dip.
For your fighting style, I suggest Two Weapon Fighting. This is not only for melee, but it's also to ensure that you're getting your dex bonus for offhand crossbow attacks. This damage will start to add up nicely because you have two bonus actions as a Thief.
Try to pick up +1 hand crossbows as soon as you can. Dammon will have them in his inventory from time to time. Pick them up when you can until you have two, one for each of Astarion's hands.
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This is a great class to utilize poisons. You have those two bonus actions. Meaning you can use a bonus action to coat your hand crossbows (or short swords) in poison, then attack with your action *and* your remaining bonus action. Take advantage of the poison.
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Another multiclass option, if you don't want to take a dip into Fighter, is to consider a few levels of Ranger to get the gloomstalker subclass. It synergizes nicely with the Rogue. If you do this, I would suggest going at least five levels of Ranger to get extra attack.
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Feats to consider: ability increase to get your dex to 20 ultimately. sharpshooter to get a lot more damage from your ranged attacks. alert to make sure you always go first. --you can't go wrong with any of these. note, someone above suggested getting moderately armored for the proficiency and the +1 to your dex. I don't think that's necessarily bad, but I would suggest taking the Fighter dip which would get you the armor proficiency without have to rely on a feat.
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This is something to keep in mind: there's a toggle on your UI band that lets you determine whether your making a single attack or not. If it's set to single, for instance, your attack will only use your main hand, then you can make your offhand attacks separately.
Most folks will recommend that you set this to a single attack so that you don't accidentally waste offhand attacks. That happens when you're attacking an enemy that only has a few hp's left... when one attack will finish the enemy. If, in that case, you're set to use both attacks (which is the default), then you will waste the offhand attack by using it after the enemy has already died. This is understandable advice.
However, I suggest leaving it at the default and instead paying attention. If you start by using your offhand attacks on those "low hp" targets, then you can still be in control of your actions and bonus actions.
The benefit to leaving the setting to dual attack is twofold:
1. When you initiate an attack against an enemy before initiative has started: in this case, you will get both attacks in rather than just one.
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2. When you use your attack of opportunity against a target, you will get two attacks instead of just one. Which is great because attacks of opportunity can trigger a sneak attack. Meaning if your first attack of opportunity misses, you have a second one coming that can possibly trigger your sneak attack.
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I think you'll find Astarion to be a powerful member of your team. Good luck and let us know how things go.
