Ok... so my DM approved of Variant Multiclass... but added in that I must sacrifice 1 of my traits... no major issue there though... However... he is requiring me to retrain my 3rd level feat... which means I've just been dropped from 2d6 to 1d6 sneak attack >.< and now I have to figure out a familiar... was honestly hoping he'd let me skip the 3rd level ability...
So... I'm thinking about a Squirrel as my familiar for that +3 Sleight of Hand... and I'm considering giving it the Pilferer Archetype...
After looking over the spell lists for the other elemental schools I settled on Water as my opposition... and quite honestly I could actually skip opposition research and be fine with this choice, since there doesn't appear to be a single spell in the water school that my character would actually use.
Though I do question taking Eldritch Scoundrel into Arcane Trickster. Don't see any point in it. If you really wanted to use the prc Rogue 1/Wizard 3 taking Accomplished Sneak Attacker (totally legal, the Kingmaker video game even has a companion that uses this as her default build) is better.
It's primarily for the higher rate of Sneak Attack dice without sacrificing spellcasting... Eldritch Scoundrel caps at 5d6 at level 19, Arcane Trickster gives +5d6 over it's 10 level span...
I'm looking at progression wise:
Rogue:5/Arcane Trickster:10/Battlemage:5
though now that I'm only getting 5 feats instead of 10... I'm thinking about revising it some...
I now need to pick up Accomplished Sneak Attack at 5th level to get back up to my 2d6 SA for Arcane Trickster... and that leaves me with 3 feat spots left and needing to narrow down my choices from...
Weapon Finesse <- I have my reasons for not having taken this at 1st level
Arcane Strike <- Required for Battlemage
Black Cat <- Catfolk racial feat
Impressive Strike <- Sneak Attack on Criticals
Scribe Scroll <- Considering taking a level dip to get this as a bonus feat (Either Exploiter Wizard or Studious Librarian Bard... leaning towards Bard for RP reasons)
And it pretty much cuts me off from taking Prestigious Spellcaster to shore up that lost spellcasting progression from Battlemage 3rd level...
I am open to some alternative ideas on progression though... but do note, I can't change anything that I've already taken. My DM does not like retraining levels, he's allowing a single special case for the Multiclass Variant Wizard and only to replace 1 trait and my 3rd level feat with the Multiclass.
So... 3 Levels Eldritch Scoundrel Rogue are locked in place as is the Feat Catfolk Exemplar: Sharp Claws (my reason for not having taken Weapon Finesse at level 1, 1d6 claw attack instead of 1d4... plus my str is +2 and my dex is +3, negligible difference atm.)