Rules scope: This guide pairs the legacy Aarakocra from Elemental Evil Player’s Companion with the 2014 Rogue and spell rules. Optional multiclassing and feats require DM permission. The 2024 Rogue and revised species use different rules and are outside this build.
First decide how your Rogue gets spells
A standard Rogue does not gain spellcasting from its base class. In the 2014 rules, the direct subclass route is Arcane Trickster, chosen at Rogue 3. Other routes—multiclassing or an optional feat—trade away some Rogue progression or an Ability Score Improvement. A spell list is not automatically available just because a spell would suit an aerial scout.
Arcane Trickster: limited Wizard magic
The 2014 Arcane Trickster learns Wizard spells and uses Intelligence for its spellcasting. Mage Hand is a required cantrip for the archetype; its other cantrips and spells are limited. At Rogue 3, two of the three 1st-level spells known must be from Enchantment or Illusion, while the third can come from any Wizard school. Later, most new spells must still be Enchantment or Illusion; the archetype adds a small number of unrestricted-school choices at specified Rogue levels. It is a narrow spell repertoire, not full Wizard preparation.
Good early choices depend on the character’s job. Disguise self supports a disguise plan, silent image can create a visual distraction, and charm person or sleep can help in the right low-level scene. These spells do not guarantee infiltration or remove the consequences of witnesses, failed saves, or concentration. Once 2nd-level spells become available at Rogue 7, Illusion spells such as invisibility and mirror image can help with positioning or defense; invisibility does not make you automatically undetected, and it ends for its target when that creature attacks or casts a spell. Misty step is Conjuration, so an Arcane Trickster needs an unrestricted-school choice to learn it.
Find familiar is also a Wizard spell outside the archetype’s two favored schools. An Arcane Trickster can use an unrestricted-school choice to learn it, then cast it using a spell slot. Although the spell has the ritual tag, Arcane Trickster does not by itself grant the Wizard’s ritual-casting feature; without another rule that permits ritual casting, the spell still costs a slot. Its one-hour casting time makes it a between-scenes tool, not a quick combat summon.
What a familiar can—and cannot—do
A familiar acts on its own initiative and can take actions other than the Attack action. It can use Help, but to aid an ally’s attack, the target must be within 5 feet of the familiar when it takes that action. An owl’s Flyby trait can keep its movement from provoking opportunity attacks, but it does not make the familiar durable or ensure that a useful target is always in reach. The familiar can be attacked, driven off, or lost; plan for those limits instead of counting on advantage every round.
Multiclassing: check prerequisites and delayed features
The 2014 multiclassing rule requires you to meet the prerequisites for both your current class and the new class. A Rogue already needs Dexterity 13; adding Wizard also requires Intelligence 13, Sorcerer or Warlock requires Charisma 13, Cleric requires Wisdom 13, and Ranger requires Dexterity 13 and Wisdom 13. You delay Rogue features such as Sneak Attack increases, Uncanny Dodge, and Evasion whenever you take levels elsewhere. If your Rogue is an Arcane Trickster and you multiclass into another spellcasting class, the multiclass slot calculation counts one-third of your Rogue levels, rounded down; it does not change which spells you know from each class.
- Wizard: Opens Wizard cantrips, a spellbook, and Wizard spellcasting. Intelligence is the casting ability. A dip does not grant higher-level spells before the Wizard class level allows them.
- Sorcerer: Adds Charisma-based spellcasting at Sorcerer 1. Metamagic arrives at Sorcerer 3, not from a one-level dip.
- Warlock: Pact Magic begins at Warlock 1; invocations begin at Warlock 2. An Eldritch Blast build needs the relevant cantrip and invocation choices rather than receiving them automatically.
- Cleric: Adds Wisdom-based prepared spells at Cleric 1. A domain can add features and domain spells, but the exact benefits depend on the selected 2014 domain and its source.
- Ranger: The 2014 Ranger gains Spellcasting at Ranger 2, not Ranger 1. Its 2nd-level spells—including pass without trace—also require sufficient Ranger levels to unlock those spell levels. Do not import the optional Tasha’s Ranger feature Canny as though it were part of the original 2014 class.
For classes with the Spellcasting feature, the 2014 multiclass rules calculate shared spell slots, but spells known and prepared remain tied to each class and that class’s level. Extra slots do not automatically teach you higher-level spells. Warlock Pact Magic is a separate slot pool, although the rules let those slots cast spells known or prepared through another Spellcasting class, and vice versa. A spell uses the casting ability associated with the class through which you know or prepare it.
Optional feats as a smaller investment
If your DM uses the 2014 optional-feats rule, Magic Initiate can grant two cantrips and one 1st-level spell from a chosen class list, with the feat’s stated limit on casting that spell. Ritual Caster can add two 1st-level ritual spells from one eligible class list and a way to learn more eligible rituals. These are alternatives to an Ability Score Improvement, not free additions; check each feat’s prerequisites and casting rules. Neither feat makes every spell available or removes its casting time, material components, or other limits.
Use spell effects precisely
Pass without trace grants the creatures affected by it a +10 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks for its duration. It does not make the party invisible, bypass every observer, or remove the need to make checks where the rules call for them. It also requires concentration, so the caster cannot maintain a different concentration spell at the same time.
Likewise, flight does not make an attack have advantage, misty step does not itself enable Sneak Attack, and invisibility is not a guarantee that enemies cannot locate you. To deal Sneak Attack damage under the 2014 rule, hit with a finesse or ranged weapon and meet the once-per-turn advantage or nearby-ally condition without disadvantage. Talons remain unarmed strikes, not Sneak Attack weapons.
Build for the campaign, not a spell list
For a low-complexity magical Rogue, stay single-classed and choose Arcane Trickster. If you want a broader spell list, select a multiclass only after checking ability scores, spell-level access, and which Rogue features you are willing to delay. If the concept needs only a couple of utility options, an optional feat may cost less progression—but it still competes with improving Dexterity.
For the underlying species, weapon, and combat interactions, see the Aarakocra Rogue build guide and the Rogue guide.
Official rules sources
- Elemental Evil Player’s Companion: legacy Aarakocra traits.
- 2014 Player’s Handbook and the 2014 class rules: Rogue spellcasting, class progression, and spell access.
- 2014 spell rules and spell descriptions, including find familiar.
- 2014 combat rules: Help, movement, Sneak Attack conditions, and opportunity attacks.
- 2014 optional multiclassing and feats.
- Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: optional revised Ranger features, including Canny.
