Welcome back to the weekly Tabletop Games thread! This thread is where we can talk about all kinds of RPGs, card games, board games, etc. Whether you gather around a physical table in the real world, or use a virtual space to play with friends who may live far away from you, this is where you can discuss your favorites, ask for and/or receive recommendations, recap your recent adventures, or even find some people to play games with!
Discussion Prompt: This week I’m taking a look at the 5.5e Rogue class.
The Rogue is the class for those who rely on stealth and subterfuge, along with a well-placed dagger, to achieve their goals. In general, Rogues make up for their lack of physical strength or magical prowess in three ways.
First, they have the most skill proficiencies of any class at 1st level, which combined with Expertise and later Reliable Talent (which comes online at level 7 now, as opposed to 11), means Rogues will very rarely fail skill checks.
Second, Rogues have pretty solid defensive abilities. Cunning Action lets you Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action, so you can avoid enemy attacks altogether. If you do get take a hit, Uncanny Dodge lets you halve the incoming damage as a reaction. And if you get caught in a Fireball or a dragon’s breath, Evasion lets you take no damage at all if you succeed your saving throw.
Finally, Sneak Attack makes the Rogue’s single attack per turn hit extremely hard, especially at higher levels. This is also where the Rogue saw the biggest change in 5.5e, as they’ve added a feature called Cunning Strike. At level 5 and above, you can choose to add some extra effects onto a successful Sneak Attack by giving up some of the raw damage. These effects can range from poisoning or tripping the target (by subtracting 1d6 from the handful of dice you roll for a Sneak Attack), to blinding them (costs 3d6), to straight up knocking them unconscious (costs 6d6). Subclasses often grant new or improved ways to use Cunning Strikes, too.
Speaking of subclasses, the 5.5e Player’s Handbook includes the Arcane Trickster (to add some magic to your repertoire), the Assassin (which focuses on infiltration, poison, and getting the drop on the monsters), the Soulknife (which gives you some psionic abilities), and the Thief (which lets you use items, both mundane and magical, more easily).
Share your thoughts about Rogues in any edition of D&D, or similar characters from other games, in the comments!
If you would like to suggest a prompt or contribute a write-up or discussion topic of your own, let me know in the comments!