Vendril Hits His Stride

Our D'n'D group finally retrieved our sorceress tonight. She got kidnapped back in January (though it's obviously been a lot less time in-game), and tonight we finally caught up to her and rescued her from the Solari who was guarding her. ("Solari" in this world are basically just high-level characters of any class; they're strategically important because -- given the way D'n'D scales -- they can tip a battle all by themselves. This one was a warrior of some sort.)

We're at about eighth level now, with my elvish Rogue/Ranger running a 3/5 split, and while he seemed a little weak early on (some of that was just bad rolls -- low level characters are way more dependent on the results of the dice than mid-to-high level characters are) I think he's finally caught up. I say this because in our last two games, he's managed to sneak up and perforate some bad guys, and he's finally managed to A) hit and B) deliver some real damage using two-weapon fighting. He's never going to be Drizzt and he's a bit more vulnerable than a front-line fighter should be, but he used a potion of invisibility tonight and put the first damage on the Solari with shortsword, dagger, favored enemy bonus, and sneak attack - plus the inspiration bonus from the bard. He's not using the best weapons in the game, but he's stacking all the bonuses he can find on them.

The fighter puts out more damage, of course. That's what fighters do, and this one is equipped with a guisarme and opens every fight with a trip attack. Tonight's battle... well...

Okay, so, we got to the door where the Solari was waiting. The sorceress, his prisoner, used her magic to make it look like the door had opened, so he started monologuing. This, while we were outside the door, listening to his muffled voice, and letting the bard cast buffs to strengthen us. It would have been a tough battle if we'd just charged in. Instead, well...

My character drank an Invisibility potion and used his first round to get into position. The possessed paladin charged straight in and put himself in threat range. The fighter came in and positioned himself as well.

The bad guy rolled out of the way of everyone he could see, but that put him in a position where my character could step in and make a full attack... with the sneak attack bonus for being a rogue, and the favored enemy bonus because the Solari was human, and an extra attack because the Bard had cast Haste. It didn't put him down, but it was a good opening. Then the paladin attacked, and then the fighter stepped in and attacked with a ridiculous amount of reach because he was both Enlarged and Enraged. The bad guy fell down, and while that wasn't technically the end of the battle it effectively settled the issue.

Anyway, all of that is to say that I'm actually really pleased with the way Vendril has done in play, and I'm liking the dex-based Rogue/Ranger crossover better than I probably would have liked either class alone.