BerzerkerUnit
2021-03-13, 11:47 AM
Rogue Archetype: Lord of the Underworld
Not content to merely make your bones you've set your sights on the throne of the underworld. The criminal underbelly is never without connections to sinister forces and you'll cut every deal, twist every arm to bend them to your will.
I wrote this up because I'm trying to find a way to represent archetypes for characters at different stages of their lives. That and I know folks love Batman. That first subclass feature is basically "Preparation+Money the superpower." I think this could work very well if the player likes to get involved with the NPCs. Having some story beats that involve the their eventual minions in the sessions leading up to the levels where they can be called up can create some good continuity and cast building... Have a look.
Make the World Go Round
Beginning at 3rd level after selecting this archetype you can use gold pieces or other valuable items such as gems to gain certain advantages. While the loss of this currency is represented by an immediate deduction from the character's purse, it represents previous expenditures to prepare for the circumstance, such as acquiring a clue to the evidence of a politician's corruption for leverage in a negotiation, even if the clue isn't completely understood out of context, hearing the name of a place, victim, or accomplice will give them pause. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses after a long rest. Additional options for this feature are gained at levels, 9, 13, and 17.
Grease the Wheels. A Bribe is always an option if you know how to present it. Reroll a Persuasion check and choose the result you prefer. The cost of this option varies depending on the Lifestyle of the creature the check is being made against. 1gp for Wretched to Poor, 1d10 x 10 gp for Modest, 1d10 x 100gp for Comfortable, 1d10 x 1000gp or more for the wealthy or Aristocratic.
Leverage. Intimidation is a blunt instrument, it won't win any friends but dropping the name of someone's child, where they live, what they've done or who they've done it to can get the weak willed to comply readily enough. Reroll an Intimidation check and choose the result you prefer. The cost of this option varies depending on the Lifestyle of the creature the check is being made against. 1gp for Wretched to Poor, 1d10gp for Modest, 1d10 x 10gp for Comfortable, 1d10 x 100gp or more for the wealthy or Aristocratic.
Rumor Mill. You've spent a fair amount of coin seeding the area with rumors that you can capitalize on later. Gain advantage on a Deception check.
Golden Karma. You sanctify your blades to Bhaal in the blood of the wicked or innocent, you hire the best smiths to hone their edges, and when the time comes, it's all worth it. Change a sneak attack die's result to a 6. You can use this on additional sneak attack dice, multiplying the cost by 10 for each additional die. So two dice would cost 100gp, 3 would cost 1000gp and so on.
The Goons
By 9th level your fame among those in the shadow of polite society has earned you the loyalty of a few that want to hitch their wagon to a rising star or just want to stay on your good side. At the end of a short rest you can spend 10 or 20gp to summon one or two Thugs (Basic Rules, pg 165). The creatures are Charmed by you and friendly to your allies. They roll their own initiative in combat and will fight until death to carry out your orders. If they die you must spend 200gp over the course of 2d10 days to recruit new Thugs that can be summoned with this feature.
Eyes Everywhere
At 13th level you recognize the role of information is paramount and pick up a few tricks. You learn the Find Familiar and Arcane Eye spells. You can cast each spell once without expending a spell slot and regain the ability to do so after a long rest. Alternatively, you can use your Make the World Go Round feature to have a Mage (Basic Rules, pg 164) appear at the end of a short or long rest and cast a divination spell of 5th level or lower for you. This use of the feature costs 1500gp. If the Mage is caught in a conflict during this time they will defend themselves if attacked but will generally refrain from casting other spells unless paid commensurately for spellcasting services as outlined in the Player's Handbook. If the Mage dies, they can be brought back to life with the usual methods.
The Boss
By 17th level you are the undisputed ruler of the Underworld. With an army of assassins ready to fight, kill, and die for you at a moment's notice your words can carry far greater weight than those of others. No one is beyond your reach and even the lords of hell may hesitate to act without your consultation. You can cast Command or Suggestion without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. Each spell cast in this way consumes a use of this feature and you can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.
Additionally, you can now use your Make the World Go Round feature as an action to order an Assassin (Basic Rules, pg 396) to reveal themselves with a surprise attack at any time. The Assassin will appear within 30 feet of their target and make an attack. They then roll their own initiative in combat. The Assassin will defend themselves from other creatures but remain only until the target they were ordered to attack is dead then disappear. This use of the feature costs 2000gp. If the Assassins die they can be brought back to life with the usual methods but this is not required to continue using the feature.
The level 17 feature means you've created a Red Room Academy somewhere that's constantly spitting out top tier Assassins. That's probably evil, but if you're good maybe it's something you do to try and maintain political stability in a region? Maybe you sell their services to governments and nobles so messy wars aren't fought over stupid things like verbal offenses or infidelity. And maybe only a handful of the students are assassins and the rest are orphans given top tier educations in the arts and vocational skills. The real measure though is whether or not you bother resurrecting your Assassins. If you treat them all like Scud, then you're definitely the bad guy.
Rogue Archetype: The Ill Omen
Unwanted children, sad sacks, those crossed by black cats, and those cursed by the gods or fate itself, they know that their luck is bad. All too often their misfortune turns them to a life of crime in an effort to balance the cosmic scales. Why should they be the only ones to suffer? This malevolent and myopic way of thinking can breed a cursed power that manifests itself into the world and turns the unlucky one’s poor fortunes on others.
Herald of a Dark Star
At 3rd level you discover the misfortune that has haunted you is intended for others and you’re given gifts to pass it on. you learn the spells Find Familiar and Hex. You can cast Find Familiar as a ritual and it can assume the form of a black cat, crow, raven, or moth. You can cast Hex a number of times equal to your Constitution bonus and Constitution is your spell casting ability for the spells granted by this Archetype. You regain all uses of this feature after a long rest.
When your Familiar assists you with an attack you can forgo rolling your sneak attack dice to instead grant a similar number of d6s of Misfortune to your target instead. You can use your Reaction to trigger this Misfortune when the creature makes an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, rolling up to half of the remaining dice of misfortune and subtracting the total from the roll. You must use your reaction and decide how many dice of misfortune you will roll before the creature rolls. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and you cannot use this feature again until all the dice of Misfortune on a target have been spent.
One Man’s Treasure
At 9th level you can twist fate and render the rich poor, the prepared off balance. You use your action to force a creature adjacent to your Familiar to make a Charisma Save or lose an item of value. The DM determines what this item is depending on circumstances. Normally this would be a piece of jewelry or coin-purse, though in combat it might be a weapon or a shield. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours. You can now cast Bestow Curse or Hex with your Herald of a Dark Star Feature. Casting either consumes a use of the feature and treat both as if they are cast with a 5th level spell slot.
Random Acts of Unkindness
At 13th level the fractal coils of probability your misfortune confounds can actually protect others. You can now use your reaction to spend Misfortune to reduce the damage of a creature’s attack. If you reduce the damage below zero, the attacking creature suffers the extra damage as some form of unfortunate strain or mishap. bow strings split fingers, a loose brick lands on their head, etc.
Malign Transposition
At 17th level the universe isn’t even trying to make sense anymore, warping space and time to create as much unlikely suffering as possible. As a reaction, when a creature you can see would be damaged, you can change its position with that of a creature adjacent to your Familiar. The new target suffers all the effects of the attack, spell, hazard, or trap in the original target’s stead.
Not content to merely make your bones you've set your sights on the throne of the underworld. The criminal underbelly is never without connections to sinister forces and you'll cut every deal, twist every arm to bend them to your will.
I wrote this up because I'm trying to find a way to represent archetypes for characters at different stages of their lives. That and I know folks love Batman. That first subclass feature is basically "Preparation+Money the superpower." I think this could work very well if the player likes to get involved with the NPCs. Having some story beats that involve the their eventual minions in the sessions leading up to the levels where they can be called up can create some good continuity and cast building... Have a look.
Make the World Go Round
Beginning at 3rd level after selecting this archetype you can use gold pieces or other valuable items such as gems to gain certain advantages. While the loss of this currency is represented by an immediate deduction from the character's purse, it represents previous expenditures to prepare for the circumstance, such as acquiring a clue to the evidence of a politician's corruption for leverage in a negotiation, even if the clue isn't completely understood out of context, hearing the name of a place, victim, or accomplice will give them pause. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses after a long rest. Additional options for this feature are gained at levels, 9, 13, and 17.
Grease the Wheels. A Bribe is always an option if you know how to present it. Reroll a Persuasion check and choose the result you prefer. The cost of this option varies depending on the Lifestyle of the creature the check is being made against. 1gp for Wretched to Poor, 1d10 x 10 gp for Modest, 1d10 x 100gp for Comfortable, 1d10 x 1000gp or more for the wealthy or Aristocratic.
Leverage. Intimidation is a blunt instrument, it won't win any friends but dropping the name of someone's child, where they live, what they've done or who they've done it to can get the weak willed to comply readily enough. Reroll an Intimidation check and choose the result you prefer. The cost of this option varies depending on the Lifestyle of the creature the check is being made against. 1gp for Wretched to Poor, 1d10gp for Modest, 1d10 x 10gp for Comfortable, 1d10 x 100gp or more for the wealthy or Aristocratic.
Rumor Mill. You've spent a fair amount of coin seeding the area with rumors that you can capitalize on later. Gain advantage on a Deception check.
Golden Karma. You sanctify your blades to Bhaal in the blood of the wicked or innocent, you hire the best smiths to hone their edges, and when the time comes, it's all worth it. Change a sneak attack die's result to a 6. You can use this on additional sneak attack dice, multiplying the cost by 10 for each additional die. So two dice would cost 100gp, 3 would cost 1000gp and so on.
The Goons
By 9th level your fame among those in the shadow of polite society has earned you the loyalty of a few that want to hitch their wagon to a rising star or just want to stay on your good side. At the end of a short rest you can spend 10 or 20gp to summon one or two Thugs (Basic Rules, pg 165). The creatures are Charmed by you and friendly to your allies. They roll their own initiative in combat and will fight until death to carry out your orders. If they die you must spend 200gp over the course of 2d10 days to recruit new Thugs that can be summoned with this feature.
Eyes Everywhere
At 13th level you recognize the role of information is paramount and pick up a few tricks. You learn the Find Familiar and Arcane Eye spells. You can cast each spell once without expending a spell slot and regain the ability to do so after a long rest. Alternatively, you can use your Make the World Go Round feature to have a Mage (Basic Rules, pg 164) appear at the end of a short or long rest and cast a divination spell of 5th level or lower for you. This use of the feature costs 1500gp. If the Mage is caught in a conflict during this time they will defend themselves if attacked but will generally refrain from casting other spells unless paid commensurately for spellcasting services as outlined in the Player's Handbook. If the Mage dies, they can be brought back to life with the usual methods.
The Boss
By 17th level you are the undisputed ruler of the Underworld. With an army of assassins ready to fight, kill, and die for you at a moment's notice your words can carry far greater weight than those of others. No one is beyond your reach and even the lords of hell may hesitate to act without your consultation. You can cast Command or Suggestion without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. Each spell cast in this way consumes a use of this feature and you can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.
Additionally, you can now use your Make the World Go Round feature as an action to order an Assassin (Basic Rules, pg 396) to reveal themselves with a surprise attack at any time. The Assassin will appear within 30 feet of their target and make an attack. They then roll their own initiative in combat. The Assassin will defend themselves from other creatures but remain only until the target they were ordered to attack is dead then disappear. This use of the feature costs 2000gp. If the Assassins die they can be brought back to life with the usual methods but this is not required to continue using the feature.
The level 17 feature means you've created a Red Room Academy somewhere that's constantly spitting out top tier Assassins. That's probably evil, but if you're good maybe it's something you do to try and maintain political stability in a region? Maybe you sell their services to governments and nobles so messy wars aren't fought over stupid things like verbal offenses or infidelity. And maybe only a handful of the students are assassins and the rest are orphans given top tier educations in the arts and vocational skills. The real measure though is whether or not you bother resurrecting your Assassins. If you treat them all like Scud, then you're definitely the bad guy.
Rogue Archetype: The Ill Omen
Unwanted children, sad sacks, those crossed by black cats, and those cursed by the gods or fate itself, they know that their luck is bad. All too often their misfortune turns them to a life of crime in an effort to balance the cosmic scales. Why should they be the only ones to suffer? This malevolent and myopic way of thinking can breed a cursed power that manifests itself into the world and turns the unlucky one’s poor fortunes on others.
Herald of a Dark Star
At 3rd level you discover the misfortune that has haunted you is intended for others and you’re given gifts to pass it on. you learn the spells Find Familiar and Hex. You can cast Find Familiar as a ritual and it can assume the form of a black cat, crow, raven, or moth. You can cast Hex a number of times equal to your Constitution bonus and Constitution is your spell casting ability for the spells granted by this Archetype. You regain all uses of this feature after a long rest.
When your Familiar assists you with an attack you can forgo rolling your sneak attack dice to instead grant a similar number of d6s of Misfortune to your target instead. You can use your Reaction to trigger this Misfortune when the creature makes an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, rolling up to half of the remaining dice of misfortune and subtracting the total from the roll. You must use your reaction and decide how many dice of misfortune you will roll before the creature rolls. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and you cannot use this feature again until all the dice of Misfortune on a target have been spent.
One Man’s Treasure
At 9th level you can twist fate and render the rich poor, the prepared off balance. You use your action to force a creature adjacent to your Familiar to make a Charisma Save or lose an item of value. The DM determines what this item is depending on circumstances. Normally this would be a piece of jewelry or coin-purse, though in combat it might be a weapon or a shield. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours. You can now cast Bestow Curse or Hex with your Herald of a Dark Star Feature. Casting either consumes a use of the feature and treat both as if they are cast with a 5th level spell slot.
Random Acts of Unkindness
At 13th level the fractal coils of probability your misfortune confounds can actually protect others. You can now use your reaction to spend Misfortune to reduce the damage of a creature’s attack. If you reduce the damage below zero, the attacking creature suffers the extra damage as some form of unfortunate strain or mishap. bow strings split fingers, a loose brick lands on their head, etc.
Malign Transposition
At 17th level the universe isn’t even trying to make sense anymore, warping space and time to create as much unlikely suffering as possible. As a reaction, when a creature you can see would be damaged, you can change its position with that of a creature adjacent to your Familiar. The new target suffers all the effects of the attack, spell, hazard, or trap in the original target’s stead.