D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: "New Rogue"

"Even tricksier than it was before".

New Rogue video --


The last version of the rogue we saw as in the UA Playtest 6, last September. There's not many changes being announced here, the biggest being that the Soulknife gets to use Psychic Blades on opportunity attacks (so you don't need to have a knife as a backup weapon, and get into drawing/sheathing shenanigans), and that they now have the Vex property, and that Trip has apparently been withdrawn from the Cunning strike options.

OVERVIEW

• "our main job with the rogue was not to mess it up" -- add new twists to already wonderful design.
• Weapon mastery, such as short sword and dagger for TWF. Enough masteries to make a difference (i.e. 2).
• Cunning Strike (at 5): gives trade SA [sneak attack] dice for other effects. (Has anyone ever felt they had too many SA dice?). Poison, Trip, Withdraw [NOTE: no mention of Disarm!], with more later. Knockout at level 14.
• Steady Aim at 3, Reliable talent at 7 (as in PT6)
• Thieves Cant gives additional language too.
• Slippery Mind at 15 gives proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma (harder to banish)

SUBCLASSES

Assassin (earlier discussion here)

• benefits from Steady Aim.
• 2014 depended too much on surprise.
• Assassinate: adv on initiative, extra damage if opponent hasn't acted yet.
• NEW: You get disguise and poisoners kit with proficiency.
• NEW: Roving aim at 9: speed not reduced to zero if we use Steady Aim. (so you can move after making an attack with steady aim, but (apparently) not before
• Envenom Weapons, Death Strike (as in PT6).

Arcane Trickster

• NEW: spellcasting has no school restrictions, can now use arcane focus. more options and variety of builds.
• NEW versatile trickster at 13 lets you Trip two people (again, no mention of disarm.)
• discussion emphasizes the silliness and hijinks.

Soulknife

• "supernatural equivalent of the assassin"
• NEW: soulknife can be used on opportunity attacks ("Thank you!")
• NEW: soulknife has a mastery property (Vex -- next attack will have advantage)

Thief

• Fast Hands can activate magic item as a bonus action (as in PT6)
• Dex instead of Str for Jump and gives Climb speed. (JC claims "it technically gave you a climb speed before" -- I don't think this has ever been explicit).
• Supreme Sneak and Use Magic Device as in PT6.

I'm a little surprised at the (apparent) loss of Disarm from the options for Cunning Strike. Is this just to keep Wizards a bit safer? It was such a great option, for recreating those cinematic moments that I want a rogue to be able to do.

EDIT: SOME MORE NEW THINGS, from this video.

Some General rules revealed:

• New PHB has a sidebar for backwards compatibility and using abilities that haven’t been replaced/overwritten.
• NEW: Classes have a (class-specific) starting amount of gold – so for rogues it’s 100gp, + 50gp from background.
• In his build he takes Alert as background feat (not framed in terms of needing it to tie to Background). Possibly there is explicit permission to take any origin feat you want, and the one listed with backgrounds is exempli gratia.
• NEW: Piercer feat in the PHB (from Tasha’s, and so likely also Crusher and Slasher)
• Dazed condition from the playtest is gone.

Spoiler

More info for Rogues.

• NEW: Expertise for Rogues no longer allowed to be applied to Thieves’ tools.
• The Knock Out option at level 14 is awesome thematically, and he compares the idea of a rogue knocking someone out with a blackjack. Yes, that’s cool, and (for me) is the reason there should be finesse weapons that don’t do the stabby stabby

Info on his own build:

• If you know his builds, Colby is permissive with his exploits, allowing a lot of things that aren’t strictly RAW. In that light, it seems to me significant that he sees, even when using Variant Human in backwards compatibility, that he would only allow himself an Origin Feat (i.e. no half-feat) at level 1. That is only one person’s interpretation, but since he is generally VERY permissive in terms of his interpretations of rules, that (to me) speaks volumes.
• First Feat choice is Sentinel, lets him take an opportunity attack (to get SA again).
• Strategy: Most rounds attack with Vex, then Nick (so Bonus Action is free). In round 1, Nick first, bonus for Vex, which then would apply for any opportunity attack.
• He starts wielding Short sword and Scimitar, but later takes the Piercer feat, with which he’d want to swap the scimitar for a dagger (don’t think this was mentioned)

 

[Remathilis]

No mention of Disarm for Arcane Trickster's Versatile Trickster either. So yeah, it's looking like Disarm may be gone.

Treantmonk confirmed it's gone

 

[Gladius Legis]

Treantmonk confirmed it's gone

So did the official write-up: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1752-2024-rogue-vs-2014-rogue-whats-new

 

[Kobold Stew]

The write-up also says the Psychic blades now have a range of 60/120 (as opposed to 60/-). That means that Soulknife Rogue benefit significantly from the sharpshooter feat* -- no range penalties up to 120', attacking with advantage (if using Steady Aim), and able to bypass half- and 3/4-cover, using a weapon that leaves no material trace but can inflict the poisoned condition (through Cunning Strike).

* as revised in UA-Expert Classes.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Loving a lot of the changes to the Rogue.

I think I may homebrew the Assassin to hit a little harder. Current plan is to double the Assassinate bonus, so twice level instead of just level, since it is once per combat. I've also considered giving them +prof to all hits, but that is likely far too much.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I think that is quite probable.

So far, for the main splash pages, I have seen:

• Goliath Barbarian, female
• Human (?) Druid, IIRC, it was a blink and you miss it one
• Dwarf Fighter, male
• Elf Ranger, male
• Halfling Rogue, female
• Orc Paladin, female
• Tiefling Sorcerer, female
• Aasamir Wizard, female

I saw a Dragonborn Monk that may be the main Monk, which would make sense with the lore about Bahimet teaching martial arts to mortals from Fizban's.

I don't recall seeing anything for Bard, Cleric or Warlock that is the big main one yet. We have seen art for the Fiend Warlock being a Tiefling, so the main one won't be a Tiefling.

Pretty good mix so far.

Well 10 species vs 12 classes means 2 species gets 2 classes.

I'm betting the doubles are Goliath (none stone) and a Drow female. Just a guess.

Also unlike the other splash pages I have noticed Aasimar Wizard has 3 different pictures, could it be a sign that she will be a character of importance going forward? And why is she dressed like a Strixhaven member of Silverquill?

 

[Chaosmancer]

I think that is quite probable.

So far, for the main splash pages, I have seen:

• Goliath Barbarian, female
• Human (?) Druid, IIRC, it was a blink and you miss it one
• Dwarf Fighter, male
• Elf Ranger, male
• Halfling Rogue, female
• Orc Paladin, female
• Tiefling Sorcerer, female
• Aasamir Wizard, female

I saw a Dragonborn Monk that may be the main Monk, which would make sense with the lore about Bahimet teaching martial arts to mortals from Fizban's.

I don't recall seeing anything for Bard, Cleric or Warlock that is the big main one yet. We have seen art for the Fiend Warlock being a Tiefling, so the main one won't be a Tiefling.

Pretty good mix so far.

There was a Tiefling bard with golden strings on their lute, shows up again with the Tiefling Sorcerer in the hag image in this video. They may be the main bard, but I can't remember if they had the table for the main class beside the image or not

 

[Parmandur]

Well 10 species vs 12 classes means 2 species gets 2 classes.

I'm betting the doubles are Goliath (none stone) and a Drow female. Just a guess.

Also unlike the other splash pages I have noticed Aasimar Wizard has 3 different pictures, could it be a sign that she will be a character of importance going forward? And why is she dressed like a Strixhaven member of Silverquill?

We have seen statements from people who have the books that a lot of the Class portrait characters show up in multiple pictures throughout the books. So she is jot alone in that respect.

I predict we will see a Gnome Bard (and probsvly a Gnome Illusionist Wizard, to boot), and Cleric and Warlock will be a Human and an Elf (being the two Species to get double representation as the most popular choices).

 

[Parmandur]

There was a Tiefling bard with golden strings on their lute, shows up again with the Tiefling Sorcerer in the hag image in this video. They may be the main bard, but I can't remember if they had the table for the main class beside the image or not

Saw a couple of Bards, not sure what the main is yet.

 

[Tonguez]

this is the first update I've actually liked (the others all seem too overpowered and disneyfied).

Maybe Disarm is just a standard combat action?

 

[Zaukrie]

poison, so boring in 5e. so very boring.