Aasimar Rogue Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with a stat spread of STR 12, DEX 15 (+2 from species = 17), CON 13 (+1 = 14), INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 8. You are an agile, analytical killer. At level 3, take the Phantom archetype. You gain Whispers of the Dead for floating skill proficiencies and Wails from the Grave, letting you splash necrotic damage onto a secondary target when you land a Sneak Attack. Crucially, choose Radiant Soul for your level 3 Celestial Revelation. This grants you flight for a minute—use it to hover 30 feet above the battlefield and rain arrows down. At level 4, take the Piercer feat to round your Dexterity up to 18, allowing you to reroll a low damage die on your shortbow or rapier attacks.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 is a massive defensive power spike. Uncanny Dodge halves incoming attack damage, which stacks beautifully with your innate Celestial Resistance if you're hit by necrotic or radiant attacks. Your Sneak Attack also scales to 3d6. At level 7, Evasion comes online, completely nullifying Dexterity save damage. At level 8, take the ASI to cap your Dexterity at 20. Level 9 brings Tokens of the Departed, giving you advantage on Death and Constitution saving throws just by holding a soul trinket—crucial for maintaining your footing when enemies try to knock you out of the sky.

Levels 11-16

Reliable Talent at level 11 ensures your Investigation and Stealth checks never roll below a 10, turning your 14 INT into an automatic 20+ on trap checks. Level 13 brings Ghost Walk, granting you a 10-foot flying speed and the ability to phase through walls. Combine Ghost Walk with Radiant Soul's flying speed, and you become an untouchable, wall-phasing specter. For your level 12 ASI, take Sharpshooter so you can ignore half and three-quarters cover while sniping from the air. At level 16, grab Resilient (Wisdom). Your 10 Wisdom is a massive liability against late-game spells like Dominate Person, and this feat saves you from turning your Sneak Attack against your own party.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 grants Death's Friend, ending the Phantom's reliance on limited Wails from the Grave uses. Now, your first Sneak Attack each turn automatically triggers necrotic splash damage without expending a use. Paired with your Radiant Soul bonus damage scaling with your Proficiency Bonus (+6 at level 17), your baseline, resource-free damage is staggering. Take the Lucky feat at level 19 to force rerolls on enemy critical hits or your own failed saving throws. By level 20, Stroke of Luck ensures that even if an ancient dragon forces a miss, you can declare it a hit and deliver your 10d6 Sneak Attack payload regardless.

Piercer

Take this at level 4. It rounds your 17 Dexterity to an 18, immediately boosting your attack bonus, AC, and initiative. Rerolling a 1 on your weapon's damage die is mathematically minor, but rolling an extra die on a critical hit synergizes perfectly with a Rogue's burst-damage playstyle.

Sharpshooter

Essential at level 12. Because Radiant Soul allows you to fly without relying on concentration spells or magic items, you want to stay airborne and out of melee reach. Sharpshooter lets you attack from maximum shortbow range (320 feet) without disadvantage, effectively making you completely immune to ground-based melee enemies while ignoring their cover.

Resilient (Wisdom)

With a 10 Wisdom, you are prime real estate for Hold Person, Fear, or Hypnotic Pattern. A Rogue that cannot take actions cannot use Uncanny Dodge or Sneak Attack. Snagging proficiency in Wisdom saving throws at level 16 is mandatory to survive Tier 3 and Tier 4 spellcasters.

Alert

If you prefer striking first over maximum range, swap Sharpshooter for Alert. Going first means enemies haven't taken their turns yet, making it easier to position yourself, activate Radiant Soul, and eliminate a high-value target before they can cast Shield or move into cover.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with studded leather armor, a rapier, and a shortbow. Secure a few Potions of Healing so you don't have to waste your one-use Aasimar Healing Hands trait on minor wounds. Since you have innate Darkvision, you can skip torches and focus on buying caltrops and ball bearings for battlefield control.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out a +1 Shortbow to ensure your attacks bypass non-magical resistance. Look for an Amulet of Health; your 13 Constitution is passable, but bumping it to 19 will retroactively give you a massive HP buffer, allowing you to survive the few hits that bypass your AC and Uncanny Dodge. A Cloak of Elvenkind is also excellent, offsetting the literal glowing lights of your Aasimar features when you need to be stealthy.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Upgrade to a +2 Shortbow and +1 Studded Leather. Your primary target item should be a Mantle of Spell Resistance. Because your Wisdom is only 10, advantage on saving throws against spells will save your life against high-DC enchanters and illusionists.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Hunt down a Bloodfury Tattoo. It allows you to deal an extra 4d6 necrotic damage on a hit and heal for the same amount, perfectly matching the Phantom's necrotic themes while compounding your burst damage. A +3 Shortbow is mandatory to ensure your 10d6 Sneak Attack actually connects against AC 25+ targets.

As a Striker, your job is to identify the highest-threat enemy on the board, activate Radiant Soul, and delete them with a combination of Sneak Attack, Wails from the Grave, and radiant damage. You lack the frontline presence of a Fighter and the control of a Wizard, so you need allies who can create engagement zones to guarantee your Sneak Attack.

Pair this build with an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian. The Barbarian forces enemies to attack them with disadvantage if they target anyone else. Since you're flying 30 feet in the air, the enemy has virtually no way to deal with you effectively. The Barbarian stays in melee, granting you the adjacent-ally requirement for your Sneak Attack.

A Twilight Domain Cleric is another god-tier partner. Their Twilight Sanctuary provides a constant stream of temporary hit points. When you combine those temporary hit points with Uncanny Dodge and Celestial Resistance, you effectively triple the value of the Cleric's shielding, making you an unkillable airborne artillery platform.

Fighter 2

A two-level dip in Fighter is incredibly potent. You pick up the Archery fighting style, giving you a flat +2 to hit with your shortbow—mathematically superior to an ASI. More importantly, Action Surge allows you to take the Ready action to attack on another creature's turn, triggering Sneak Attack twice in a single combat round.

Ranger 5 (Gloom Stalker)

If you want to lean fully into the sniper role, 5 levels of Gloom Stalker Ranger gives you the Archery style, Extra Attack, and Dread Ambusher. Dread Ambusher grants an extra attack on turn one that deals an additional 1d8 damage. Plus, you gain Umbral Sight, making you invisible in darkness to creatures relying on darkvision, stacking viciously with your Aasimar darkvision.

• Bonus Action Clutter: Celestial Revelation takes a Bonus Action to activate. If you use it on turn one, you cannot use Cunning Action to Hide or Dash. Plan your positioning before combat starts so you don't waste your turn-one Sneak Attack.
• Choosing Radiant Consumption as a Sniper: Radiant Consumption damages creatures within 10 feet of you. If you are playing a ranged Phantom Rogue, you will rarely have enemies within 10 feet, wasting the aura effect. Always choose Radiant Soul for the flight.
• Wasting Healing Hands on yourself: Healing Hands restores 1d4 + PB hit points. Using this on yourself when you have 40 HP is a waste of an action. Save it exclusively to bring a dying ally back up from 0 HP.
• Ignoring your 10 Wisdom: Players often assume Evasion and Uncanny Dodge make them invincible. They don't help against a DC 17 Wisdom save against Hold Person. If you skip Resilient (Wisdom), you will be paralyzed and killed.