Welcome back to the weekly D&D and Tabletop Gaming thread! Here’s a place where we can talk about Dungeons & Dragons or any other tabletop games that you nerds might be into. Tell us about the games you’re playing, speculate about future expansions, recruit your fellow Avocados into new groups, whatever you want.
This week, I’m shining the spotlight on the Swashbuckler Rogue. The Swashbuckler is a Rogue that focuses on swordplay and single combat, with flair and style to boot. 
They’ll most likely use their Expertise for Acrobatics rather than Stealth.
Starting at level 3, your Rakish Audacity gives you a boost to your initiative rolls, allowing you to add your CHA modifier as well as your DEX. This ability also allows you to apply your Sneak Attack damage without needing to have advantage on your attack roll, as long as you’re within melee range of your target and no other creatures (allies or enemies) are within melee range of you.
Also at 3rd level your Fancy Footwork allows you strike and slip away from your enemies quickly. If you make a melee attack against a creature, that creature can’t take opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn. Note that it doesn’t matter whether your attack hits or not. This skill allows you to get away from enemies without using your Cunning Action to disengage, freeing up your bonus action for off-hand attacks.
At level 9, you can use your Panache to influence other creatures around you. Provided that you share a language with your target, you can use your action to make a Persuasion check contested by the target’s Insight check. If you succeed and the target is not hostile to you, the target is charmed for 1 minute and treats you as a friendly acquaintance. If you target a creature that is hostile to you and succeed, the creature has disadvantage on all attacks against creatures other than you, and can’t make opportunity attacks against creatures other than you. This effect ends if any of your companions attacks the target, or you and the target are more then 60 feet apart.
At level 13 you can make an Elegant Maneuver, using a bonus action on your turn to gain advantage on the next Acrobatics or Athletics check you make in the same turn. This can be super helpful in escaping from a grapple, or when you really want to swing on a chandelier to get over an obstacle of some kind.
Finally at level 17, you’ve become a Master Duelist. Once per rest, when you miss with an attack roll, you can choose to make the roll again with advantage.
The Swashbuckler is a great alternative to the standard sneaky thief or assassin Rogue, prefect for a nautical campaign but also fits nicely into just about any adventure. Who wouldn’t want to play as Inigo Montoya or Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood?
We’re taking a break from D&D to try a new game, Kids on Bikes! Otto took over GM duties, to give The Wasp a chance to play her own character.
- The Hayes Code, as Monica McCoy, the Laid-Back Slacker
- Wafflicious, as Mindy Drake, the Brilliant Mathlete
- The Wasp, as Susie Quince, the School Reporter
- TheCleverGuy, as Artie Gillespie, the Brutish Jock
- Josephus Brown, as Dino Kass, the Weird Loner
We didn’t actually play this week, for no particular reason. Check back next time to see what these crazy kids get up to next.
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