Rogue

Overview

Rogues rely on skill, stealth, and their foes' vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, demonstrating resourcefulness and versatility that is the cornerstone of any successful adventuring party.
When brute force won't get the job done, or when magic isn't available or appropriate, the rogue rises to the fore. With skills tied to stealth, subterfuge, and trickery, rogues can get into and out of trouble in ways that few others can emulate.
Some rogues who turn to adventuring are former criminals who have decided that dodging monsters is preferable to remaining one step ahead of the law. Others are professional killers in search of a profitable application of their talents between contracts. Some simply love the thrill of overcoming any challenge that stands in their way.
On adventures, a rogue is likely to mix an outwardly cautious approach - few rogues enjoy combat - with a ravenous hunger for loot. Most of the time, in a rogue's mind, taking up arms against a creature is not about killing the creature but about becoming the new owner of its treasure.
There are those whose abilities lie not with sword or the Art, but with quiet motion, dexterous action, and stealth. Such talents often lead to illegal endeavors, which plague most major cities, but can be placed to good use in dealing with dangerous monsters and lost treasure.
Most large cities in Faerûn have a number of thieves' dens that compete with one another. A few places, such as Baldur's Gate, have an organized group of rogues that controls all such activity. Most thieves' dens are secret gathering spots, often beneath the city, and move after they're discovered.
The city of Waterdeep had once been home to the most powerful guild of thieves in Faerûn: the Shadow Thieves. The Lords of Waterdeep smashed that guild, forcing its leaders to flee the city (the group still operates out of Amn). There are still thieves and even assassins in Waterdeep, but they are broken into innumerable small groups or operate alone.
The most common respite for such robbers is what they call the Honest Trade - adventuring, where roguish abilities may be used without censure and are later lionized in song and legend. Many thieves take to this life, adhering to a code that keeps them out of trouble in civilized areas but still keeps them rich; they vow to burglarize ancient tombs and monstrous lairs instead of the homes and businesses of the wealthy in civilized lands.
Some rogues have learned it is easier to pick someone's pocket when you have a royal writ, which is to say many rogues are diplomats, courtiers, influence-peddlers, and information-brokers, in addition to the better-known thieves and assassins. Such rogues blend more easily into civilized society, more often acting as grease in the wheels than a wrench in the works.

Skill and Precision

Rogues devote as much effort to mastering the use of a variety of skills as they do to perfecting their combat abilities, giving them a broad expertise that few other characters can match. Many rogues focus on stealth and deception, while others refine the skills that help them in a dungeon environment, such as climbing, finding and disarming traps, and opening locks.
When it comes to combat, rogues prioritize cunning over brute strength. A rogue would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for avoiding danger.

A Shady Living

Every town and city has its share of rogues. Most of them live up to the worst stereotypes of the class, making a living as burglars, assassins, cutpurses, and con artists. Often, these scoundrels are organized into thieves' guilds or crime families. Plenty of rogues operate independently, but even they sometimes recruit apprentices to help them in their scams and heists. A few rogues make an honest living as locksmiths, investigators, or exterminators, which can be a dangerous job in a world where giant rats - and wererats - haunt the sewers.
As adventurers, rogues fall on both sides of the law. Some are hardened criminals who decide to seek their fortune in treasure hoards, while others take up a life of adventure to escape from the law. Some have learned and perfected their skills with the explicit purpose of infiltrating ancient ruins and hidden crypts in search of treasure.

Guilty Pleasure

Most of what rogues do revolves around obtaining treasure and preventing others from doing the same. Little gets in the way of attaining those goals, except that many rogues are enticed away from that path by a compulsion that clouds their thinking - an irresistible need that must be satisfied, even if doing so is risky.
A rogue's guilty pleasure could be the acquisition of a physical item, something to be experienced, or a way of conducting oneself at certain times. One rogue might not be able to pass up any loot made of silver, for instance, even if said loot is hanging around the neck of a castle guard. Another one can't go through a day in the city without lifting a purse or two, just to keep in practice.

Adversary

Naturally, those who enforce the law are bound to come up against those who break it, and it's the rare rogue who isn't featured on at least one wanted poster. Beyond that, it's in the nature of their profession that rogues often come into contact with criminal elements, whether out of choice or necessity. Some of those people can be adversaries too, and they're likely to be harder to deal with than the average member of the city watch.

Benefactor

Few rogues make it far in life before needing someone's help, which means thereafter owing that benefactor a significant debt.

Features

As a rogue, you gain the following class features.

Level	Sneak Attack
1st	1d6
2nd	1d6
3rd	2d6
4th	2d6
5th	3d6
6th	3d6
7th	4d6
8th	4d6
9th	5d6
10th	5d6
11th	6d6
12th	6d6
13th	7d6
14th	7d6
15th	8d6
16th	8d6
17th	9d6
18th	9d6
19th	10d6
20th	10d6

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d8 per rogue level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per rogue level after 1st[/li

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
• Tools: Thieves’ tools
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose four from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth

Equipment

• A rapier or a shortsword
• A shortsword or a shortbow, 20 arrows, and a quiver
• A burglar’s pack, a dungeoneer’s pack, or an explorer’s pack
Leather armor, two daggers, and thieves’ tools

1st Level - Expertise

Choose two of your skill proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves’ tools. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.
At 6th level, you can choose two more of your proficiencies (in skills or with thieves’ tools) to gain this benefit.

1st Level - Sneak Attack

You know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the table above.

1st Level - Thieves' Cant

During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.
In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.

2nd Level - Cunning Action

Your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

3rd Level - Roguish Archetype

Rogues have many features in common, including their emphasis on perfecting their skills, their precise and deadly approach to combat, and their increasingly quick reflexes. But different rogues steer those talents in varying directions, embodied by the rogue archetypes. Your choice of archetype is a reflection of your focus - not necessarily an indication of your chosen profession, but a description of your preferred techniques.
You choose an archetype that you emulate in the exercise of your rogue abilities. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

3rd Level - Steady Aim

As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.

4th Level - Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

5th Level - Uncanny Dodge

When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.

7th Level - Evasion

You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

11th Level - Reliable Talent

You have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

14th Level - Blindsense

If you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.

15th Level - Slippery Mind

You have acquired greater mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

18th Level - Elusive

You are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren’t incapacitated.

20th Level - Stroke of Luck

You have an uncanny knack for succeeding when you need to. If your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit. Alternatively, if you fail an ability check, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.