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Alternate Rogue: Expanded v2.0.1 - Update!
🕑 Added 2023-12-03 17:30:40 +0000 UTCHappy Sunday all!
Today I’ve got an update for my Alternate Rogue: Expanded, a compendium of eighteen additional Devious Exploits, three Roguish Feats, and nine additional Roguish Archetypes!
As always, I'm open to any constructive criticism or feedback you may have!
~laserllama
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ALTERNATE ROGUE: EXPANDED v2.0.1
Devious Exploit Updates! The 18 Devious Exploits included with the Expanded doc have been updated to match the updates for my Alternate Fighter and Alternate Barbarian.
"Skill Exploits” have been standardized across all classes (goodbye gambler’s ploy), some have had their degree adjusted, and consumables you produce with an Exploit Die (ie: smoke bomb, flash bomb, etc) prevent you from regaining your Exploit Die until the consumable is expended.
Roguish Feats. No new Feats here, but the three have been adjusted to be in line with the design of my other “Alt Martial” Feats. The biggest change is Roguish Initiate only lets you increase Dexterity.
Avenger. The artists formerly known as the Justicar has had an almost complete makeover! I’m testing out a new(ish) spellcasting system for divine magic that I’m calling Anointed Magic. You’ve also got some fun Channel Divinity options - Shout out to all my fellow 4e veterans/fans!
Bloodknife. Reworked the higher-level features to synergize with Dread Strike, Cunning Strike from the base class, and Hellish Curse.
Daredevil. As one of the first subclasses I ever created, the Daredevil needed some QoL updates to help it fit in better with the rules of the game. Flying Strike should make a lot more sense now!
Gambler. One of my favorite archetypes so not a lot of changes here. However, you now get the quick draw Exploit and can use it with your thrown weapons (ie: playing cards).
Ruffian. Added some nice synergy with Cunning Strike from the base class, and reworked their 7th-level feature (Intimidating Blow) around scaring your enemies.
Saboteur. Another one of my early designs, this Archetype has been reworked in the vein of my Alchemist Specialization for the Alternate Artificer. Notably, your Explosives are not spells, so you don’t need to worry about them being dispelled. Also, they scale with your Sneak Attack! If I ever make a stand alone Alchemist Class it’ll probably look something like this.
Seeker. A completely NEW Roguish Archetype based on a very very old precursor to my Savant Class. This class cobbles together cantrips, rituals, Channel Divinities, and Eldritch Invocations. Is is broken? Is is wildly underpowered? You tell me (please tell me).
Skinchanger. Another one of my favorites - the Rogue with Wild Shape! Only a few changes here, though if I ever do an Alternate Druid it’s Wild Shape will probably work something like this one.
Surgeon. Solid subclass, no huge changes here!
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ALTERNATE ROGUE: EXPANDED v2.0.1 CHANGE LOG:
- Exploits // CUT // Gambler’s Ploy, Steady Aim
- Exploits // 1st // Counter // Renamed (Underhanded Strike). Moved to 1st-degree.
- Exploits // 1st // Flaming Shot // Moved up to 1st-degree.
- Exploits // 1st // Lightstep // CUT (moved to base class).
- Exploits // 1st // Oil Bomb // Now creates difficult terrain. DEX save upon entering area. You can’t regain your Exploit Die until you use the Oil Bomb.
- Exploits // 1st // Smoke Bomb // You can’t regain your Exploit Die until you use the Bomb
- Exploits // 1st // Streetwise // Renamed (Street Smarts) reworked.
- Exploits // 2nd // Flash Bomb // You can’t regain your Exploit Die until you use the bomb. Saving throw to end is now at the end of a creature’s turn.
- Exploits // 2nd // Heroic Will // NEW Exploit (for Alt Rogue).
- Exploits // 2nd // Ringing Strike // Renamed (Blunt Strike). Added Strength prerequisite.
- Exploits // 3rd // Bewildering Blow // Reworked - Now requires a Wisdom saving throw, but the damage gets applied before the save happens.
- Exploits // 4th // Clandestine Source // Time limit is 2 minutes.
- Exploits // 4th // Quick Draw // BA attacks can be made when you use the Exploit.
- Feats // Alternate Skulker // Now works with any attack (not just weapons).
- Feats // Roguish Initiate // Can only be used to boost your Dexterity score by 1. Removed Disengage as one of the Actions you can take to use as a bonus action.
- Avenger // Renamed (Justicar). Shoutout to fans of D&D 4e!
- Avenger // Anointed Magic // Totally reworked - testing out a new Divine Favor system!
- Avenger // Avenger Exploits // CUT (too many subsystems with magic and CD).
- Avenger // Channel Divinity // NEW feature (Divine Awareness is now a CD option).
- Avenger // Consecrated Strikes // Moved critical hit range increase up to this level.
- Avenger // Fervent Devotion // Moved CHA to specific saving throws up to this level.
- Avenger // Hand of the Gods // Reworked to allow recharging of CD and/or spell slots.
- Avenger // Avenger Spell List // CUT // ceremony, locate object, freedom of movement.
- Bloodknife // Bloodknife Exploits // Updated for Exploit changes.
- Bloodknife // Dread Strike // Only removed the need for Advantage to Sneak Attack.
- Bloodknife // Hellish Curse // Moved up to 7th level. Reworked into a curse-based Charisma save ability that works with Cunning Strike.
- Bloodknife // Siphon Vitality // No limit, but must be against a hostile creature (no bag of rats.
- Bloodknife // Vile Curse // NEW feature - Combo Dread Strike and Hellish Curse!
- Bloodknife // Touch of Death // Reworked around Hellish Curse.
- Daredevil // Daredevil Exploits // Updated for Exploit changes.
- Daredevil // Flying Strike // Renamed (Death From Above). Reworded this ability so it scales with your Exploit Die and so it works more clearly with your Sneak Attack.
- Daredevil // Nimble // Renamed (Aerialist). Same feature as the Thief.
- Daredevil // Death from Above // NEW 7th level feature (cannibalized the name)
- Daredevil // Masterful Aerialist // NEW 17th level feature.
- Gambler // Gambler Exploits // Updated for Exploit changes.
- Gambler // Strange Luck // Renamed (Lucky Streak).
- Gambler // Quickdraw // Added that you now learn the quick draw Exploit for free and you can use it with thrown weapon attacks.
- Ruffian // Ruffian Exploits // Updated for Exploit changes.
- Ruffian // Enforcer // Clarified how this interacts with Sneak Attack. Added the ability to add Sneak Attack to simple melee weapon attacks.
- Ruffian // Intimidating Blow // Renamed (Imposing Glance). Now uses Cunning Strike.
- Ruffian // Criminal Connections // NEW 13th level feature.
- Saboteur // Explosives // Totally reworked around Exploit Dice - cut Black Powder.
- Saboteur // Quick Chemistry // Reworked - Expend Dice as a BA to craft Explosives.
- Saboteur // Sabotage // Reaction on initiative to craft an Explosive.
- Saboteur // Hair Trigger // Range doubled to 200 feet.
- Saboteur // Explosives // Hand Bomb // Now a small AoE that adds Sneak Attack.
- Saboteur // Explosives // Arcane Explosive // Split up into various Explosives with spell-like effects. Cut effects redundant with Exploits (fog cloud, grease, pyrotechnics)
- Seeker // NEW Roguish Archetype!
- Skinchanger // Skinchanger Exploits // Updated with Exploit changes
- Skinchanger // Druidic Secrets // Clarified how others can read your Druidic
- Skinchanger // Limited Wild Shape // Added some new rules/restrictions.
- Surgeon // Surgeon Exploits // Updated with Exploit changes.
Comments
laserllama
Thanks for checking out the update! For the Soulknife I think the "keep the die if you don't succeed" is a clear example of power creep in 5e, but to each their own. With the Ruffian, I went back and forth between Commanding Presence and Streetwise - I'll take another look and maybe I'll shift it to Commanding Presence. Ruffians can still choose to learn that Exploit though. Streetwise allows you to do the first paragraph without expending an Exploit Die, just the second paragraph requires spending a die.
Jeff Potato
The old Justicar was basically a warlock-style 1/3-caster, right? The Avenger is a *lot* better. When you don't have much magic power, a little flexibility in how you use it makes it a lot less painful IMO. The Soulknife looks better than the previous version. Losing the "you only expend the psionic die if it helps you" clause will probably still prevent the rogue player in my group from switching to Alt-Rogue, but overall the subclass looks reasonable -- the benefits from the Psi Points seem worthwhile. The Ruffian's Shake Down ability helps with Strength (Intimidation) checks, so it seems a bit odd that they don't automatically gain Commanding Presence which would allow them to actually make those. I feel like it would fit slightly better than Streetwise, honestly. The Streetwise exploit has two paragraphs: the first simply allows the use of CHA with a couple of skills in place of INT in settlements, while the second mentions spending an Exploit Die to add it to the check. (Commanding Presence has a similar phrasing.) Is it intended that a rogue can enjoy the first benefit without spending any dice? The Devious Exploits class feature explicitly says "To use an Exploit, you expend one of these Dice," so that might be best rephrased if some exploits offer a benefit that doesn't require spending them. (IIRC, the Warlord explicitly says that SOME exploits require spending the dice, and quite a few of the staple Warlord exploits indeed don't cost dice, but most of the other exploit classes are phrased so that all exploits require spending a die.) I will probably have more feedback when I've spent more time reading the whole thing.
