Bannan_mantis
2019-01-08, 02:05 AM
I was looking at the mastermind and before looking at it, what I heard made me very excited to look at it. A subclass that specialises the social and mental abilities was what I thought it might be from the name but what I saw was something that I felt was missing some things. I personally decided that maybe some changes could be more interesting and making a subclass that makes the rogue more viable as a wisdom, charisma or intelligence based rogue could be pretty fun. I hope this is good and somewhat more balanced compared to the IMO buzz kill that was the mastermind subclass.
Master of Intrigue
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the disguise kit, the forgery kit, and one gaming set of your choice. You also learn two languages of your choice.
Additionally, you can unerringly mimic the speech patterns and accent of a creature that you hear speak for at least 1 minute, enabling you to pass yourself off as a native speaker of a particular land, provided that you know the language.
This ability is fine, it's one of the main abilities I liked a lot from this class so no changes here
Master of Tactics
At 3rd level, you have gained the ability to use wit and knowledge in combat as much as speed and power. You choose one stat out of Intelligence and Wisdom. You can use that stat on any weapon with the finesse property instead of dexterity, so you can calculate the attack bonus as intelligence or wisdom modifier + proficiency bonus instead and use intelligence or wisdom modifier for your attack's damage bonus as well.
This is something that I feel fits a more mental rogue more and it opens the doors to a much more utility based rogue who can use intelligence and wisdom in more ways than dexterity. The only thing I am wondering is maybe should making it also use INT and WIS for AC make it better and more rounded or too much?
Powerful Mind
At 9th level, your mind has become something which can work out any problem and control anyone or thing. You gain the ability to add a extra d8 to any skill check that uses charisma, intelligence or wisdom. You can use this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.
This is something where I am mixed on the power but it also reinforces the themes I am trying to go for with this rogue, someone who excels in mental skill checks more than almost anyone in the party.
Unbreakable Mind
At 13th level, your mind has become stronger and more powerful than any piece of magic or psychic power. You gain the ability to add a d8 to any wisdom, charisma or intelligence saving throw you make, you can choose to do this after you see the roll but before you know if you have succeeded or not. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses on a long rest.
This was touched on a bit with the official manipulator but not expanded on enough and you gained something like it at too high level IMO. This is different to the ability to got from the official version and a little more balanced compared to other rogue abilities.
Forceful Manipulation
At 17th level, you have gained the ability to mentally overpower anyone and force them into your control. Whenever you are in combat you can attempt to make a target do your bidding, you choose one target who can hear you and they must perform on a wisdom saving throw equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + charisma modifier. If they fail they have to do everything you command for 30 seconds, the effect instantly fails if you ask them to attack themselves or if one of your allies attack the creature. You can use this once per long rest
This is something I'm super weird about but it's also something I'd love to see in play. Being able to make enemies your pawn? That's as close to the definition of a manipulator as you can get. If this is OP please say why and also maybe making a CR restriction or stat restriction would make this more balanced?
I have tried to make a subclass that rewards a more mental based rogue over a DEX based one and I believe I have been able to do that but I just wanna check to see if this is balanced or not. Please say where you feel this is overpowered and suggestions on how to tweak abilities.
Master of Intrigue
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the disguise kit, the forgery kit, and one gaming set of your choice. You also learn two languages of your choice.
Additionally, you can unerringly mimic the speech patterns and accent of a creature that you hear speak for at least 1 minute, enabling you to pass yourself off as a native speaker of a particular land, provided that you know the language.
This ability is fine, it's one of the main abilities I liked a lot from this class so no changes here
Master of Tactics
At 3rd level, you have gained the ability to use wit and knowledge in combat as much as speed and power. You choose one stat out of Intelligence and Wisdom. You can use that stat on any weapon with the finesse property instead of dexterity, so you can calculate the attack bonus as intelligence or wisdom modifier + proficiency bonus instead and use intelligence or wisdom modifier for your attack's damage bonus as well.
This is something that I feel fits a more mental rogue more and it opens the doors to a much more utility based rogue who can use intelligence and wisdom in more ways than dexterity. The only thing I am wondering is maybe should making it also use INT and WIS for AC make it better and more rounded or too much?
Powerful Mind
At 9th level, your mind has become something which can work out any problem and control anyone or thing. You gain the ability to add a extra d8 to any skill check that uses charisma, intelligence or wisdom. You can use this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.
This is something where I am mixed on the power but it also reinforces the themes I am trying to go for with this rogue, someone who excels in mental skill checks more than almost anyone in the party.
Unbreakable Mind
At 13th level, your mind has become stronger and more powerful than any piece of magic or psychic power. You gain the ability to add a d8 to any wisdom, charisma or intelligence saving throw you make, you can choose to do this after you see the roll but before you know if you have succeeded or not. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses on a long rest.
This was touched on a bit with the official manipulator but not expanded on enough and you gained something like it at too high level IMO. This is different to the ability to got from the official version and a little more balanced compared to other rogue abilities.
Forceful Manipulation
At 17th level, you have gained the ability to mentally overpower anyone and force them into your control. Whenever you are in combat you can attempt to make a target do your bidding, you choose one target who can hear you and they must perform on a wisdom saving throw equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + charisma modifier. If they fail they have to do everything you command for 30 seconds, the effect instantly fails if you ask them to attack themselves or if one of your allies attack the creature. You can use this once per long rest
This is something I'm super weird about but it's also something I'd love to see in play. Being able to make enemies your pawn? That's as close to the definition of a manipulator as you can get. If this is OP please say why and also maybe making a CR restriction or stat restriction would make this more balanced?
I have tried to make a subclass that rewards a more mental based rogue over a DEX based one and I believe I have been able to do that but I just wanna check to see if this is balanced or not. Please say where you feel this is overpowered and suggestions on how to tweak abilities.