Rogue Archetypes: Cragtop Archer and Spellwarp Sniper

[Grod_The_Giant]

Cragtop Archer
Cragtop archers train their eyes and minds to find targets at great distances, and to quickly compensate for wind, movement, and other factors that affect shots of such difficulty

Arcing Shot: Beginning at 3rd level, while wielding a two-handed ranged weapon you may use your action to make a ranged weapon attack with triple the normal range. If the target is struck, they must make a Dexterity save, with a DC of 8+Prof+Dex. If they fail, they are affected by your Sneak Attack, unless you have already benefited from it this turn.

Adept Climber: Beginning at 3rd level, you gain a climb speed equal to your base land speed. While climbing, you can brace yourself with your legs alone long enough to use your hands to take an action such as attacking.

Farsight: Beginning at 9th level, you can see up to 1 mile away with no difficulty. You are able to discern even fine details as though looking at something no more than 100 feet away from you. Additionally, dim light doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Mountain Skin: Beginning at 13th level, you gain resistance to cold damage and fall damage.

Horizon Shot: Beginning at 17th level, when you use your Arcing Shot ability, you may target any creature you can see, regardless of distance. You must still have line of effect, and cover still applies.

-----------------------


Spellwarp Sniper
The spellwarp sniper contorts spells, changing area effects into rays that deliver precise, devastating attacks.

Spellcasting


Cantrips: You learn three cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. At 10th level you learn another cantrip from the wizard spell list.

Spell Slots: The Spellwarp Sniper Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your wizard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You start with two 1st-level spell slots at Rogue level 3, and gain more as you gain more Rogue levels.



Rogue Level
Cantrips
Spells Known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


3rd
3
3
2
—
—
—


4th
3
4
3
—
—
—


7th
3
5
4
2
—
—


8th
3
6
4
2
—
—


10th
4
7
4
3
—
—


11th
4
8
4
3
—
—


13th
4
9
4
3
2
—


14th
4
10
4
3
2
—


16th
4
11
4
3
3
—


19th
4
12
4
3
3
1


20th
4
13
4
3
3
1



Spells Known: You know three 1st-level wizard spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the conjuration and evocation spells on the wizard spell list. The third can be from any school of magic.

The Spells Known column of the Spellwarp Sniper Spellcasting table shows when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be a conjuration or evocation spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the wizard spells you know with another spell of your choice from the wizard spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be a conjuration or evocation spell, unless you're replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level.

Spellcasting Ability: Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your wizard spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Raystrike: Beginning at 3rd level, you gain an additional way to use your Sneak Attack. When you cast a spell that targets only one creature, deals damage, and doesn't have a range of self, you can sneak attack with that spell casting as though it were an attack with a ranged or finesse weapon. All the other rules for Sneak Attack still apply to you - the spell must require a melee or ranged spell attack, and you must have advantage on the attack roll, unless 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. Your Sneak Attack damage dice are the same type of damage as the spell's damage dice.

Unconventional Ray: Beginning at 9th level, you learn one Wizard spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self. When you cast a spell that targets only one creature, you may replace the spell's initial saving throw (if applicable) with a ranged spell attack-- if you hit, the target is affected by the spell as though they had failed their saving throw. If the spell allows the target to make saving throws on subsequent rounds, they do so against your normal spell save DC.

Spellwarp: Beginning at 13th level, when casting a spell with a duration of instantaneous which affects an area, you may transform it into a single beam of energy. Make a ranged spell attack against one target in range of the original spell. If you hit, they are affected by the spell, and automatically fail any saving throws involved.

Ray Mastery: Beginning at 17th level, when you strike a target with a spell attack, you may choose to treat the spell's damage dice as if they all rolled the maximum value. Your sneak attack damage, if applicable, is not maximized. Once you have done so, you may not use this ability again until you have finished a short or long rest.

[Lord Von Becker]

Hmm. I was here for Spellwarp Sniper; I misread the title as a Ranger archetype and was delighted with how much sense it made. Oh well.

Anyway, Spellwarp needs to be patched to only work with Evocation and Conjuration spells, otherwise you dip Wizard and use no-save Hold Person, Dominate Monster, etcetera.
Fluffwise, I might make it area effects only. Maybe not, though.

[Sindeloke]

What's wrong with no-save Hold Person? They still get saves on subsequent turns, and high-level foes are more likely to have good AC than good Wisdom saves.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Spellwarp is definitely the ability I'm most uncertain about. Less because of the no save thing then because of raw damage-- at 13th level you could zap someone for Fireball+Sneak Attack damage twice per day...

EDIT: Pushed the ability back to 13th, making it even less useful for multiclassing.

[Man_Over_Game]

There are a decent number of concerns I have with the Spellwarp. Notably, Rogues deal some of the most consistently high burst damage for most characters, and the Spellwarp in particular means that no Wizard, Sorcerer or other spellcaster can really compare when the Rogue has sneak attack options for both attacking (ranged attacks in particular), scalable damage with cantrips, and sneak attack bonuses for ranged spell attacks.

For example, a level 5:

Wizard deals 2d10 damage (11 avg) with a cantrip.
Warlock, with Agonizing Blast and 16 Charisma, deals 2d10 + 6 damage (17 avg) with a cantrip.
Rogue, as a Spellwarp, deals 3d6 + 2d10 damage (21.5 avg).


The Warlock, who is considered having the best cantrip damage, deals 26% less damage than the Rogue, and the Rogue can apply that sneak attack damage to spells other than Cantrips (where the Warlock's Agonizing Blast is only applied to Eldritch Blast).

At level 20, the Warlock (18 CHA) would deal 4d10 + 16 damage (38 avg), and the Rogue would deal 10d6 + 4d10 (57 avg)

This isn't including the other features, only the level 3 feature. The only comparable thing that comes close to this regular damage output is an Agonizing Blast + Eldritch Blast + Quickened spell Sorcerer/Warlock, who spends a bonus action and a resource to deal more damage.

----------

My suggestion is changing how the Sneak Attack becomes relevant for the case of spells as more than just the base Sneak Attack damage, due to the fact that Sneak Attack is effective already as a standalone feature (A caster Rogue is already a Rogue), as are cantrips (they scale with level, not caster effectiveness). A few recommendations:


After succeeding against your Spell Save DC, the target must make another saving throw against your Sneak Attack dice as the DC or fail their Saving Throw.
Spells that attack a single creature are eligible for your Sneak Attack bonus, but instead add bonus damage equal to your number of Sneak Attack dice.
The next spell you cast is changed to target a single creature, and any saving throws from that spell have their DC increased by your number of Sneak Attack dice.

[theVoidWatches]

I agree with Man_Over_Game, Raystrike is really strong. Ray Mastery is also going to be stupidly strong since Sneak Attack is extra damage and therefore would also be maxed, although at least that's only once per rest.

My suggestion for Raystrike is that once per turn, when you deal damage to a target with a spell, you can replace the damage roll with your sneak attack damage. That will be a nice upgrade to cantrips overall (except for levels 5 and 6 where 3d6 is slightly less than 2d10) as well as being a solid bonus for stuff like scorching ray (where you can replace the damage of only 1 ray). It would allow instant damage with magic missile, so maybe restrict it to spell attacks?

Along with the power concerns, Magical Ambush feels kind of odd as the rest of the class works only with spell attacks while that works with saving throws.

[Potato_Priest]

I can't really think of any super overpowered area of effect spells to distill into spellwarp (maybe confusion?). I think it's a fine and creative feature. Hold X + Autocritical fireball sneak attack is certainly a powerful combo, but does require a lot of resource investment, and still probably pales in comparison to a sharpshooter fighter's potential damage output.


I agree with Man_Over_Game, Raystrike is really strong. Ray Mastery is also going to be stupidly strong since Sneak Attack is extra damage and therefore would also be maxed, although at least that's only once per rest.

My suggestion for Raystrike is that once per turn, when you deal damage to a target with a spell, you can replace the damage roll with your sneak attack damage. That will be a nice upgrade to cantrips overall (except for levels 5 and 6 where 3d6 is slightly less than 2d10) as well as being a solid bonus for stuff like scorching ray (where you can replace the damage of only 1 ray). It would allow instant damage with magic missile, so maybe restrict it to spell attacks?

Along with the power concerns, Magical Ambush feels kind of odd as the rest of the class works only with spell attacks while that works with saving throws.

If your cantrips dealt only sneak attack damage, then why would you ever use them when you have access to weapons? A shortbow deals 1d6+dex (usually at least +3)+sneak attack damage, making it competitive with firebolt at level 1. In accompaniment with the extremely small number of spell slots and spells known, changing raystrike would basically make this another version of an eldrich knight with only evocation spells, or in other words a character that can cast spells but should almost never actually do so.

[Grod_The_Giant]

The thing about Raystrike is that you shouldn't be comparing it to caster damage output. Casters are designed to have low at-will damage and powerful spikes, which is pretty much the opposite of the Rogue. Sure, a 5th level Spellwarp Sniper does an average of 21.5 with a Firebolt sneak attack... but they do an average of 19 with a light crossbow (1d8+4+3d6). Cantrips don't pull ahead of weapon damage until level 11, and that's only if you don't find a magic weapon somewhere along the line.

Spellwarp...a Spellwarp Fireball sneak attack, about the scariest thing I can find, does 15d6 at level 13 (avg 52.5). Which is a lot...unless you compare to a 13th level Wizard throwing out a Disintigrate (10d6+40, avg 75) or Finger of Death (7d8+30, avg 61.5, save for half).

[Vogie]

Cragtop Archer
Cragtop archers train their eyes and minds to find targets at great distances, and to quickly compensate for wind, movement, and other factors that affect shots of such difficulty

Arcing Shot: Beginning at 3rd level, while wielding a ranged weapon you may use your action to make a ranged weapon attack that ignores the penalty for long range. If stuck, the target must make a Dexterity save, with a DC of 8+Prof+Dex. If they fail, they are affected by your Sneak Attack, unless you have already benefited from it this turn.

Adept Climber: Beginning at 3rd level, you gain a climb speed equal to your base land speed. While climbing, you can brace yourself with your legs alone long enough to use your hands to take an action such as attacking.

Farsight: Beginning at 9th level, you can see up to 1 mile away with no difficulty. You are able to discern even fine details as though looking at something no more than 100 feet away from you. Additionally, dim light doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Mountain Skin: Beginning at 13th level, you gain resistance to cold damage and fall damage.

Horizon Shot: Beginning at 17th level, when you use your Arcing Shot ability, you may target any creature you can see, regardless of distance. You must still have line of effect, and cover still applies.


I'd limit the Arcing shot to ranged weapons with the 2-handed ability (giving proficiency with them as well), and triple the normal range instead. That way, the player still gains full benefit of Sharpshooter, while not necessarily needing it - a heavy crossbow would have a normal range of 300, and a long range of 400.

The 13th level feature doesn't hold up to things like Ambush master, Versatile trickster or any of the other 13th level features in the subclasses.




Spellwarp Sniper
The spellwarp sniper contorts spells, changing area effects into rays that deliver precise, devastating attacks.

Spellcasting


Cantrips: You learn three cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. At 10th level you learn another cantrip from the wizard spell list.

Spell Slots: The Spellwarp Sniper Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your wizard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You start with two 1st-level spell slots at Rogue level 3, and gain more as you gain more Rogue levels.



Rogue Level
Cantrips
Spells Known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


3rd
3
3
2
—
—
—


4th
3
4
3
—
—
—


7th
3
5
4
2
—
—


8th
3
6
4
2
—
—


10th
4
7
4
3
—
—


11th
4
8
4
3
—
—


13th
4
9
4
3
2
—


14th
4
10
4
3
2
—


16th
4
11
4
3
3
—


19th
4
12
4
3
3
1


20th
4
13
4
3
3
1



Spells Known: You know three 1st-level wizard spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the conjuration and evocation spells on the wizard spell list. The third can be from any school of magic.

The Spells Known column of the Spellwarp Sniper Spellcasting table shows when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be a conjuration or evocation spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the wizard spells you know with another spell of your choice from the wizard spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be a conjuration or evocation spell, unless you're replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level.

Spellcasting Ability: Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your wizard spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Raystrike: Beginning at 3rd level, you may use your Sneak Attack ability with spell attacks, as well as with ranged and finesse weapons.

Magical Ambush: Beginning at 9th level, if you are hidden from a creature when you cast a spell on it, the creature has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against the spell this turn.

Spellwarp: Beginning at 13th level, when casting a spell with a duration of instantaneous which affects an area, you may transform it into a single beam of energy. Make a ranged spell attack against one target in range of the original spell. If you hit, they are affected by the spell, and automatically fail any saving throws involved.

Ray Mastery: Beginning at 17th level, when you strike a target with a spell attack, you may choose to deal maximum damage. Once you do, you may not use this ability again until you have finished a short or long rest.

I'd reword the raystrike ability to something like


Ray Strike: You also gain an additional way to use your Sneak Attack; When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can sneak attack with that spell casting as though it were an attack with a ranged or finesse weapon. All the other rules for Sneak Attack still apply to you - the spell must require a melee or ranged spell attack, and you must have advantage on the attack roll, unless 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.
That way you never have to argue with anyone who wants to sneak attack 2 targets with acid splash. I think it's a great idea to be able to sneak attack with an Ice Knife & Acid Arrow

Unless this subclass is a full replacement for Arcane Trickster, lets swap out this feature for something closer for this subclass... Spellwarp sniper is actively avoiding spells with saving throws, even transforming those with them into rays, so this is a non-bo for the rest of the subclass abilities. Some ideas:

Transforming spell damage types into a thematic type.
Allowing a single (or small number of) thematic concentration spell, such as Mind Spike, Sleep, Web, Hold Person, et cetera.
Expertise in Arcana and ability to shoot other rays out of the air as a reaction, a sort of Deflect Missile/Counterspell Combo
Do some update to an alternate rogue ability, such as Upgrade Thieves' Cant to something like Tongues and Comprehend Languages combo.
EDIT: Like MOG said - creation of Spell Traps (Explosive Runes meets MacGuyver)

I really like spellwarp - you are gambling your limited spellslots with a huge payoff if that hits. Super amusing trying to visualize things like a Spellwarped Ice Storm or Vitriolic Sphere

For Ray Mastery, I'd clarify if the maximized damage is just the spell damage, or if it includes the sneak attack damage as well - and if it does, it's a bit overtuned. Just using Fireball, and only fireball using your Spellwarp ability, you're looking at Power Word: kill levels of damage. Not 19d6 damage, it's a flat 114 fire damage once per long rest, followed by 3 more fireballs of 18d6 fire damage.

[Man_Over_Game]

The thing about Raystrike is that you shouldn't be comparing it to caster damage output. Casters are designed to have low at-will damage and powerful spikes, which is pretty much the opposite of the Rogue. Sure, a 5th level Spellwarp Sniper does an average of 21.5 with a Firebolt sneak attack... but they do an average of 19 with a light crossbow (1d8+4+3d6). Cantrips don't pull ahead of weapon damage until level 11, and that's only if you don't find a magic weapon somewhere along the line.

Spellwarp...a Spellwarp Fireball sneak attack, about the scariest thing I can find, does 15d6 at level 13 (avg 52.5). Which is a lot...unless you compare to a 13th level Wizard throwing out a Disintigrate (10d6+40, avg 75) or Finger of Death (7d8+30, avg 61.5, save for half).

That's a fair point about burst damage, but a level 13 Spellwarp Fire Bolt would deal 41 avg damage. I'd probably save most of my spell slots for utility whenever possible, and just deal damage with cantrips if my big spell deals only 25% more damage than my cantrips.

I definitely see where you're coming from when you say that the Spellwarp's high slot casting isn't worth being worried about, but my concern is the fact that just the level 3 feature alone is enough to justify the class. Honestly, though, due to the fact that sneak attacks are already scaling with Rogue level, and the idea to change a Saving Throw spell to be defended as an attack vs. a saving throw is a unique enough mechanic. It feels like an alternate form of metamagic, but I'd like to see it having something that uniquely stands out about the class, even if that was something like using Arcana checks or creating spell traps, or something minor that stands out more than metamagic/numbers.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'd limit the Arcing shot to ranged weapons with the 2-handed ability (giving proficiency with them as well), and triple the normal range instead. That way, the player still gains full benefit of Sharpshooter, while not necessarily needing it - a heavy crossbow would have a normal range of 300, and a long range of 400.
Good call, yeah.


The 13th level feature doesn't hold up to things like Ambush master, Versatile trickster or any of the other 13th level features in the subclasses.
Those are kinda the exceptions, though-- Imposter, Unerring Eye, Misdirection, Elegant Maneuver, and Use Magic Device are much more towards the situational/ribbon end of things.



I'd reword the raystrike ability to something like

That way you never have to argue with anyone who wants to sneak attack 2 targets with acid splash. I think it's a great idea to be able to sneak attack with an Ice Knife & Acid Arrow
Holy crap yes, good call. I knew my wording on the ability wasn't quite right, but I think you nailed it.


Unless this subclass is a full replacement for Arcane Trickster, lets swap out this feature for something closer for this subclass... Spellwarp sniper is actively avoiding spells with saving throws, even transforming those with them into rays, so this is a non-bo for the rest of the subclass abilities. Some ideas:

Transforming spell damage types into a thematic type.
Allowing a single (or small number of) thematic concentration spell, such as Mind Spike, Sleep, Web, Hold Person, et cetera.
Expertise in Arcana and ability to shoot other rays out of the air as a reaction, a sort of Deflect Missile/Counterspell Combo
Do some update to an alternate rogue ability, such as Upgrade Thieves' Cant to something like Tongues and Comprehend Languages combo.
EDIT: Like MOG said - creation of Spell Traps (Explosive Runes meets MacGuyver)

Yeah, you're right. Some good ideas there for sure...


I really like spellwarp - you are gambling your limited spellslots with a huge payoff if that hits. Super amusing trying to visualize things like a Spellwarped Ice Storm or Vitriolic Sphere
Heh.


For Ray Mastery, I'd clarify if the maximized damage is just the spell damage, or if it includes the sneak attack damage as well - and if it does, it's a bit overtuned. Just using Fireball, and only fireball using your Spellwarp ability, you're looking at Power Word: kill levels of damage. Not 19d6 damage, it's a flat 114 fire damage once per long rest, followed by 3 more fireballs of 18d6 fire damage.
Good point.


That's a fair point about burst damage, but a level 13 Spellwarp Fire Bolt would deal 41 avg damage. I'd probably save most of my spell slots for utility whenever possible, and just deal damage with cantrips if my big spell deals only 25% more damage than my cantrips.
At which point you're 7 points up on a light crossbow (d8+5+7d6, avg 34), on par with Crossbow Expert + Hand Crossbow (2d6+10+7d6, avg 41.5), and behind Booming Blade (1d8+5+7d6+2d8 +- 3d8, avg 43 or 56.5). You've also had to spread your stats a bit thinner, since you need Int for spell attacks. Rogues just... do consistent medium-high damage; it's how they roll.


I definitely see where you're coming from when you say that the Spellwarp's high slot casting isn't worth being worried about, but my concern is the fact that just the level 3 feature alone is enough to justify the class. Honestly, though, due to the fact that sneak attacks are already scaling with Rogue level, and the idea to change a Saving Throw spell to be defended as an attack vs. a saving throw is a unique enough mechanic. It feels like an alternate form of metamagic, but I'd like to see it having something that uniquely stands out about the class, even if that was something like using Arcana checks or creating spell traps, or something minor that stands out more than metamagic/numbers.
I'll swap out the 9th level ability, yeah.

[jiriku]

Cragtop Archer arcing shot: Should read "if the target is struck..."

Spellwarp Sniper:
I don't see a problem with the damage curve. I've done theoretical level-by-level damage calculations for a variety of classes, and your cantrip+sneak attack is good but not the most amazing thing since sliced bread. Also, past 13th level it is significantly outpaced by an arcane trickster running haste, so this is not even the best way to build a DPS rogue.

I was a little uncomfortable at first with bypassing saving throws since I come from a 3.5 background where that would be really good. But after some consideration, you're only gaining a benefit against creatures with high saving throws but poor AC, while you disadvantage yourself against any monster that was not proficient in the save but has appropriate AC for its CR. Most creatures are not proficient with most saves, so unless you choose your targets very carefully I think you're actually disadvantaging yourself most of the time. To say nothing of the extra impact lost by converting area spells into single-target spells and converting spells with a guaranteed effect on a successful save into spells that do nothing if you miss. Although it does have some niche advantages like being able to use charm person in combat without granting the defender advantage on the saving throw.

The fly in the ointment for me is dealing sneak attack damage with spells that don't deal damage. When I shoot someone with charm person or hideous laughter, why am I dealing damage? "Oh man, you charmed that guy right in the spleen!" I don't think non-damaging spells should be eligible for sneak attack.

In a similar vein, what is the damage type of the sneak attack damage dice when delivered through a spell?

[Man_Over_Game]

Cragtop Archer arcing shot: Should read "if the target is struck..."

Spellwarp Sniper:
The fly in the ointment for me is dealing sneak attack damage with spells that don't deal damage. When I shoot someone with charm person or hideous laughter, why am I dealing damage? "Oh man, you charmed that guy right in the spleen!" I don't think non-damaging spells should be eligible for sneak attack.

In a similar vein, what is the damage type of the sneak attack damage dice when delivered through a spell?

Interesting point. I'd think that the Spellwarp is simply capable of warping magic energy into a focused laser. It's not that its capable of adding its roguish ability to these spells, it's that it's attaching these spells into his own specialized laser for an alternate delivery format.

Force is the only inherently magical damage type (says so in the description), so I think that'd fit the most. Honestly, I'd just say that the sneak attack bonus damage does Force damage from all sources (including from normal attacks), because why not? Unlike other Rogue archetypes, it has no method of inherently creating its own scenarios for Sneak Attack eligibility (even the Arcane Trickster can create his own Advantage), so I don't think that making all Sneak Attack damage deal Force damage being an issue. As an interesting side effect, it covers up any problems with non-damaging spells.

What do you think, Grod?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Cragtop Archer arcing shot: Should read "if the target is struck..."
Thanks.


The fly in the ointment for me is dealing sneak attack damage with spells that don't deal damage. When I shoot someone with charm person or hideous laughter, why am I dealing damage? "Oh man, you charmed that guy right in the spleen!" I don't think non-damaging spells should be eligible for sneak attack.

In a similar vein, what is the damage type of the sneak attack damage dice when delivered through a spell?


Interesting point. I'd think that the Spellwarp is simply capable of warping magic energy into a focused laser. It's not that its capable of adding its roguish ability to these spells, it's that it's attaching these spells into his own specialized laser for an alternate delivery format.

Force is the only inherently magical damage type (says so in the description), so I think that'd fit the most. Honestly, I'd just say that the sneak attack bonus damage does Force damage from all sources (including from normal attacks), because why not? Unlike other Rogue archetypes, it has no method of inherently creating its own scenarios for Sneak Attack eligibility (even the Arcane Trickster can create his own Advantage), so I don't think that making all Sneak Attack damage deal Force damage being an issue. As an interesting side effect, it covers up any problems with non-damaging spells.

What do you think, Grod?
Damaging people by zapping them with Hold Person lasers was, uh... not the intent. I'll add a clause to Raystrike limiting it to spells that deal damage.

[Wildarm]

Spellwarp Sniper:

At will auto-save failure effects seem unbalanced to me. Compare it to Diviner who only get maybe 0-3 of those a day and that is already very strong. Hitting a target is pretty easy at higher levels which pretty much makes this at will - Too strong

Stacking Sneak attack onto spell damage is borderline OP. You're only a 1/3rd caster but you straight up overpower ANY other cantrip user and it only gets worse at higher levels. Perhaps limit this to non-cantrips. Then you can let MC rules balance things out. You can get more slots to use this ability by dipping a full caster but it comes at the cost of extra sneak attack dice.

Other ideas for abilities:

Instead of sneak attack stacking:

Target Vitals: When sneak attack conditions apply, you can instead add +1 to the DC per two SA dice on the save on a single target spell or +Dex to damage for spells without saves. Weaker than the Arcane Trickster ability but applicable in many more situations.

Magic Opportunist: When you hit an enemy with a melee or ranged attack, if your sneak attack could apply you can instead replace it with a spell?