Hobbit Rogue - possible Winner or just a worthless try

[SaThaRiel]

After the sudden death of my last promising char i was thinking about playing a hobbit rogue (version 3.1.1). Also i tried to play cautious i made it never past level 7. Im sure that some out here will do it anyway - but i did some tries and couldnt get higher, every new char just died quickly.

Is there something that is completly stupid playing a hobbit rogue?

[Pete Mack]

Carry oil. Lots and lots of oil
Buy a longbow asap.

EDIT:
Or try it in NPP and buy a sling. That's a real killer.

[PowerDiver]

After the sudden death of my last promising char i was thinking about playing a hobbit rogue (version 3.1.1). Also i tried to play cautious i made it never past level 7. Im sure that some out here will do it anyway - but i did some tries and couldnt get higher, every new char just died quickly.

Is there something that is completly stupid playing a hobbit rogue?

I think your problem might be "cautious". The stuff you need to survive is below DL 10. Every turn you spend on a level before then is a chance to die before you get what you need. Or maybe that should be DL 30.

I am exaggerating, but only a teeny bit. Also, follow Pete's advice. Bullroarer is not so scary when he burns to death before he can hit you. Don't use your precious consumables like oil on sleeping monsters. Save for things that might kill you.

[SaThaRiel]

To be honest: I never had the idea of using oil as "primary weapon" for any char. I use it seldom also it has a really great effect.
Oh, and i think i havent seen Bullroarer - just Smeagol (or was it wormtongue?). Funny enough i could manage Grip and Fang pretty easily. The common monsters were the problem. Should have uploaded one or two AARs. Was a bit upset that day.

Atm i will look how far the HE-Rogue (3.1.1) and my Dwarf-Paladin (SVN Version - looks good, got the Gauntlets "Paurnen" with Lvl 10) will make it. If one of them dies or wins (i doubt it) i will give the Hobbit-Rogue another chance

[Derakon]

Hobbits are going to have trouble getting the strength to get multiple blows right off, so they should probably try to avoid melee as much as possible. As Pete says, that means you should stick to ranged attacks. A longbow, a stack of arrows, and a bunch of Phase Door scrolls is enough to kill just about every lone monster through to 1000' -- just avoid the yeek uniques and Gnome Mages, since they can summon. Remember to enchant up your longbow as much as possible; every +1 damage on the bow is +3 damage when you hit.

[Magnate]

Hobbits are going to have trouble getting the strength to get multiple blows right off, so they should probably try to avoid melee as much as possible. As Pete says, that means you should stick to ranged attacks. A longbow, a stack of arrows, and a bunch of Phase Door scrolls is enough to kill just about every lone monster through to 1000' -- just avoid the yeek uniques and Gnome Mages, since they can summon. Remember to enchant up your longbow as much as possible; every +1 damage on the bow is +3 damage when you hit.

I play a LOT of hobbit rogues - one of my favourite combos. You can start with 2 blows with a light weapon, and yes, getting a x3 launcher is top priority. One of the reasons it's such an interesting combo is that it gets greatly affected by decent finds (I guess every char does, but something like a dagger of westernesse is awesome ...).

Stealth is your lifeline. Look out for boots/cloaks of stealth, and later elvenkind stuff. You can have near-perfect stealth quite early on and really pick your fights.

I find that missiles remain my primary attack until quite near the endgame - but that I think is a result of the scarcity of stat potions in 3.1.x

[PowerDiver]

i will give the Hobbit-Rogue another chance

A dwarf rogue can start with 3 blows. I think that is one of the better combos if you like to melee.

[SaThaRiel]

A dwarf rogue can start with 3 blows. I think that is one of the better combos if you like to melee.

Yeah, that sounds better. But somehow i don't feel that a dwarf rogue is right. Blame my roleplaying background
But i may give it a try - actually i'm cured of my HE-Mages/Rangers. So some combinations to test out. Sadly i have the "luck" to do this often because im not a good player.

[PowerDiver]

Yeah, that sounds better. But somehow i don't feel that a dwarf rogue is right. Blame my roleplaying background
But i may give it a try - actually i'm cured of my HE-Mages/Rangers. So some combinations to test out. Sadly i have the "luck" to do this often because im not a good player.

If you expand your horizons beyond Tolkien, there are plenty of stories of dwarves creating magical weapons and armor, so mage spells are not totally out of line. Makes more sense to me than hobbits casting spells. YMMV.

If you get the most current nightly, you should be able to see blows change as you assign points to your stats, so you will see what str is needed for the third blow during character generation.

Half-trolls work too, but the dex penalty is a bit much in the mid game. If you have a strong preference for sustainStr + regen vs rBlind you could try that instead.

[Zikke]

At first I saw this thread and said "well I don't need any tips, because my new Hobbit Rogue made it past the beginning and now I'm at dlvl 40" but literally 30 seconds after that I had already died....

An enchantress summoned a Death Drake, my teleport spell failed and I got 1-shot by a nether breath. This brings me to my lesson for today:

As a rogue, you won't get the 0% fail rate on spells or devices that mages or priests are used to, so even late into the game be sure to carry scrolls of escape (Teleport, Teleport Level, *Destruction*, even Phase Door) even if you have the spells in your spell books. If you have 2 turns to escape, try the spell first. If you have only 1 turn (like I did), use a scroll.

I should have known better....

[Nick]

If you expand your horizons beyond Tolkien, there are plenty of stories of dwarves creating magical weapons and armor, so mage spells are not totally out of line.

Or not, in fact - this is from The Hobbit:

Far over the misty mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere the break of day,
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

[kurie]

Doesn't it say in the description for a dwarf, that they are terrible at stealth? They are always talking to themselves and shouting at shadows.

[Pete Mack]

The real lesson is: give enchantresses a wide birth. They will summon something nasty.

[Zikke]

The real lesson is: give enchantresses a wide birth. They will summon something nasty.

I usually beat em until they summon something nasty and then TO it or teleport myself out. I just finished winning with a mage, so I got used to 0% fail

But yeah they are a pain if you can't 1-shot them

[Zikke]

Doesn't it say in the description for a dwarf, that they are terrible at stealth? They are always talking to themselves and shouting at shadows.

Yes that's what it says. It's why I haven't made dwarf rogues. I know in the end-game the racial hit to stealth doesn't matter, but I'm scared it will in the beginning when I really need it...