Wyld Knave - A Sorcerer/Rogue Multiclass Archetype PEACH

[TheYell]

The Wyld Knave

Some orphaned bastards have a hidden destiny that will uplift them from their desperate origins. These hardy few come to regard their tough childhood as a training ground that prepared them to employ their magic powers to the fullest. Raised in the gutter, they know something of combat, but prefer to rely on their developing arcane powers to get by.


Primary Class: Crossblooded Sorcerer
Secondary Class: Unchained Rogue
Alignment: Any nonlawful
Race: Any nonhuman humanoid
Hit Dice: D6

SKILLS: The wyld knave's class skills are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

SKILL RANKS PER LEVEL: 4 + INT modifier.

STARTING GOLD: 4D6 x 10 gold - Average 140 gold; and an outfit worth 10 gold pieces.

WEAPONS AND ARMOR: Wyld Knaves are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light armor. They are not proficient with medium or heavy armor or any shields.

SECOND SKIN: A wyld knave does not suffer an arcane spell failure probability while wearing light armor.

ROBUST FRAME: A wyld knave gains Toughness as a bonus feat at 1st level.

SPELLS: Wyld Knaves have Instinctual spells learnt by observing the operation of magic and recovering inherent bloodline arcana. These spells are drawn from the wizard/sorcerer spell list. The number of spells known is set by the Table Instinctual Spells Known. It is not altered by the wyld knave's CHA modifier.

The wyld knave has a limited number of spells per day. The TABLE SPELLS PER DAY gives the number, which is modified by the wyld knave's CHA score. Wyld knaves do not need to prepare their spells in advance.

To cast a spell, the Wyld Knave must have a CHA score at least equal to 10+ spell level. The DC of an wyld knave's spell is 10 + spell level + CHA modifier.

Wyld Knaves do not replace spells as they advance in level.

SIMPLE MAGIC : Wyld Knaves have Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at first level.

MIXED BLOOD: Wyld Knaves have two bloodlines drawn from the sorcerer's bloodline list.
They earn the bonus class skills and bloodline arcana of both bloodlines.
At the appropriate level they must choose one bloodline power and bloodline spell from either one of their chosen bloodlines.
Wyld knaves do not gain access to bloodline feats at all.
Wyld knaves do not take on the crossblooded sorcerer's drawbacks as their known spells and will save have already been adjusted.

DASHING MELEE: Wyld Knaves have Weapons Finesse as a bonus feat at first level.

SNEAK ATTACK: Beginning at 2nd level, a wyld knave gains a sneak attack ability. The wyld knave's attack deals extra damage anytime his target would be denied a DEX bonus to AC (whether or not the target actually has a DEX bonus or not), or when the wyld knave flanks his target. This extra damage is 1D6 at 2nd level, and increases by 1D6 every four wyld knave levels thereafter. Ranged attacks count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet. This additional damage is precision damage and is not multiplied on a critical hit.

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (such as a sap, unarmed strike, or whip) or unarmed strikes, a wyld knave can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. He cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage, or natural weapons, to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack.

The wyld knave may use scent, tremorsense, blindsense, echolocation, or thoughtsense to make a sneak attack on an unseen target. Such an attack does not deal extra damage, but deals normal damage, and the target is shaken for 1D4 rounds.

LONE WOLF: Wyld Knaves may not take the Noble Scion, Leadership or Recruits feats. They may not take the Rich Parents or Well-Provisioned Adventurer traits.


aaand I can't post tables. But the Wyld Knave has the same Spells per Day as a Sorcerer, a -1 penalty to Spells Known, and -2 to a sorcerer's Will save bonuses.

EDIT Removed Arcane Talent which seems OP after sleeping on it and Animal Cunning which is awkward; I would replace it by giving the Wyld Knave the Reflex saves of a rogue, which would give it SOME advantage to save rolls after reducing the Will save by 2.


EDIT Made some suggested changes. Left the Crossblooded Sorcerer as the primary class because the Will save and Spells Known will be adjusted for the drawback, and, the use of a Crossblooded Sorcerer is mainly why there is a racial and alignment limitation to the class. Crossblooded Sorcerers are weaker sorcerers, they are improved with a level dip of rogue, but you interrupt their level advancement and skip a level of favored class unless you're a half-elf doing it that way. The Wyld Knave archetype lets you have the best of both worlds in one class package.

EDIT: Please look at the whole class with tables here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qs3l7lSferi-9mOLUwPx5qPy0zPpgjd50Y7WGuTC7m0/edit

EDIT: Made most recent changes, please go to the google doc for tables of abilities and spells known and spells per day.

[aimlessPolymath]

Quick look:

-Would cut out unarmed-strike-related abilities; either they pick up natural attacks off a bloodline or not, and unarmed attacks are not a part of the Unchained Rogue afaik.
-You don't need to include the Crossblooded stuff, tbh; if you want a crossblooded knave, you can just stack the archetypes. Crossblooded is easy to stack anyway since it doesn't specify replacing anything except that you get bloodline powers at the relevant levels; as long as you don't replace
-Second Skin probably shouldn't have the upgrade at level 15, since it lets you just take the armor proficiency feats to bring your AC up massively and suddenly. I would just rework the whole feature to "you do not suffer spell failure chance while wearing light armor".
-It's not clear to me what class features you lose compared to a regular crossblooded sorcerer on first reading. I would specify at the top of the class that you do not gain bloodline feats, and in, uh, sneak attack that "this feature replaces bloodline feats".
-Sneak attack increases dangerously fast; as a spellcaster, this class gains ray spells and such that are extremely accurate; would cut it down to 1d6 + 1d6/4 levels. I would clarify that spells that deal damage of an energy type deal sneak attack damage of that type (it's official rules, but should be reiterated).
-Skill ranks are always an even number + Int. Wording: "A Wyld Knave gains an additional 2 skill points per level and adds the X, Y, and Z skills to their class skills. They do not gain A, B, or C as class skills."

[TheYell]

Would cut out unarmed-strike-related abilities; either they pick up natural attacks off a bloodline or not, and unarmed attacks are not a part of the Unchained Rogue afaik.

Yes that was just an extra fluff, it could be cut.


-Second Skin probably shouldn't have the upgrade at level 15, since it lets you just take the armor proficiency feats to bring your AC up massively and suddenly. I would just rework the whole feature to "you do not suffer spell failure chance while wearing light armor".

That would be simpler.


It's not clear to me what class features you lose compared to a regular crossblooded sorcerer on first reading. I would specify at the top of the class that you do not gain bloodline feats, and in, uh, sneak attack that "this feature replaces bloodline feats".

-Sneak attack increases dangerously fast; as a spellcaster, this class gains ray spells and such that are extremely accurate; would cut it down to 1d6 + 1d6/4 levels. I would clarify that spells that deal damage of an energy type deal sneak attack damage of that type (it's official rules, but should be reiterated).

Had not realized rays would count, that means you are right and it could be slowed down a bit. Especially since they can become invisible.


-Skill ranks are always an even number + Int. Wording: "A Wyld Knave gains an additional 2 skill points per level and adds the X, Y, and Z skills to their class skills. They do not gain A, B, or C as class skills."

I will make that change to 4+INT and clarify that the wyld knave only gains Perception as a class skill on top of what a sorcerer possesses.

[TheYell]

Edited to freeze the sneak attack at 1d6.

The archetype is really about making it easier to take crossblooded sorcerer with a dip of rogue. So it's got some of the advantages of a rogue, the reflex save progression of a rogue, some enhanced skill points per level, a major advantage in not having arcane spell failure with light armor, and I'll give it one die of sneak attack damage, which is what you get with 1st level rogue.

Aimlesspolymath pointed out that wyld knaves could sneak attack with rays, which I hadn't considered, and many of those ray spells do scale with level advancement.

So it seems a bit overpowered, and inconsistent with the archetype as I see it, to let some wyld knave launch 4 scorching rays from ambush AND claim 4 dice of sneak attack damage. I see them as rookie rogues who are learning how to sorcerer. They shouldn't get advanced rogue capabilities I feel.

[TheYell]

OK this hopefully links to the file showing the tables.

I've given the Wyld Knave the BAB progression and Reflex Saves of a rogue, and the Fort and Will saves of a crossblooded sorcerer.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qs3l7lSferi-9mOLUwPx5qPy0zPpgjd50Y7WGuTC7m0/edit

[aimlessPolymath]

I would suggest you move the sneak attack back 3-4 levels; currently, this class only gives up access to bloodline feats, but you only have bloodline feats to lose starting at level 7ish, so it's a virtually strictly better crossblooded sorcerer for levels 1-6.

[TheYell]

You mean have it start at 1d6 at level 4?

[aimlessPolymath]

Pretty much- or even later, or maybe give up something (the bloodline power) at level 1 instead to justify it- it doesn't quite matter which, but if you look at a table of this class vs. Crossblooded Sorcerer up to level 6, this is clearly better.

[TheYell]

I think I see your point.

I was thinking mainly, what if you took a level of Unchained Rogue and then Crossblooded Sorcerer?
My archetype doesn't give all the class skills or the boost to HP, it does give the starting gold and the sneak attack.
It does allow you to start the spellcasting right away and get all the bloodline powers, except bonus feats.

But you might be right, it's just too superior to a Crossblooded Sorcerer as written, so I adjusted the archetype.
Second Skin comes in at 5th level, so you have to learn your way into using armor without arcane spell failure probability.
And I capped the Spells per day at 5 instead of 6 for all levels.

So the Crossblooded Sorcerer vs Wyld Knave
1-4 suffers arcane spell failure chance with armor
7-19 loses bonus feats
4-20 loses a spell per day

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qs3l7lSferi-9mOLUwPx5qPy0zPpgjd50Y7WGuTC7m0/edit

[TheYell]

OK so after looking over the real competition, the Eldritch Trickster archetype, it seems the Wyld Knave fell short. The Eldritch Trickster has a lot more Rogue progression tricks and blends the spell power with melee attacks. It also seems very complicated.

But I rethought a core tenet of my own archetype, that it would just have a dip of rogue. It should have more rogue to it, although it is primarily a spellcaster.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qs3l7lSferi-9mOLUwPx5qPy0zPpgjd50Y7WGuTC7m0/edit

Amended this to give Second Skin immunity to arcane failure probability at 1st level for free. Simpler that way.
I'd point out that in addition to having a cap of 5 spells per day at every level, and forgoing the bloodline feats, the Wyld Knave also forgoes the Sorcerer's ability to swap out spells as he advances. I find that complicated and anyway some feel the Wyld Knave shouldn't be just a complete Sorcerer with some rogue added. That's a limitation.

I've kicked Sneak Attack to 2nd level and brought back a level advancement of 1d6 every four levels. So yeah, at some point some Wyld Knave could throw multiple rays as a ranged sneak attack and add some boosted dice damage. Again compare/contrast to the ranged touch ability of the Eldritch Trickster, which was invented from the whole cloth.

Added some class skills for the Wyld Knave -- Diplomacy, Disguise, Perform, Sense Motive as well as Perception.

The Wyld Knave has some class limitations to it in that I limit it to nonlawful alignments, so no mixing with Monk, and for the flavor I limited it to nonhuman humanoids. It also limits the feats and traits that can be taken with it, because the class is about being outcast.

I added Robust Frame granting Toughness as a first level bonus feat. This is a compromise for sticking with the D6 hit die but allowing for the boost that a Crossblooded Sorcerer would get with a level dip of Rogue. As a primary spellcaster a D6 hit die seems most appropriate instead of the D8 of the Rogue, but, a Wyld Knave will be a hardier spellcaster, which fits the image of them in my mind.