D&D 5E PC wants to be a Nature Rogue

[DOBImanzarentevil]

TL;DR, PC wants Shillelagh modified so he can use sneak attack with it. His question is if he can get Magic Stone and Shillelagh for his rogue/Druid build should allow him to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity if he used wooden daggers so he could use sneak attack with Shillelagh. She just wants to use Wisdom and doesn’t care if it doesn’t get become a d8 or counts as magical.

So I am going to be DMing a prewritten and one of the players wants to play a rogue/druid build. They plan on taking 1 level of Druid to get Druidic and some spells. They asked if he could have Shillelagh and Magic Stone to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity. She asked if he could use a wooden dagger to use Shillelagh on. He only wants to be allowed to use there Wisdom modifier and don’t care if it doesn’t count as magical for Shillelagh. So as the DM would this break anything? I see it as there bonus action is taken away and so no dual wielding on the first round and with ranged he loses his bonus action every 4th round for Magic Stone.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I dont think it would as far as ''break'' anything, but I'm always reluctant to let a character use a single stat for everything his class needs. But yeah, bonus action to increase the damage to 1d4 and uses Wis instead of dex should be ok (I'd let the damage be magical).

 

[Charlaquin]

I think requiring Finesse for sneak attack is a silly rule anyway.

If you want a more by-the-book way to do it, cast magic stone, load one of the rocks into a sling, and use the sling to make (improvised) melee attacks. That still wouldn’t technically allow you to use Wisdom by RAW, but I’d absolutely allow it.

 

[DOBImanzarentevil]

I dont think it would as far as ''break'' anything, but I'm always reluctant to let a character use a single stat for everything his class needs. But yeah, bonus action to increase the damage to 1d4 and uses Wis instead of dex should be ok (I'd let the damage be magical).

They would still need Dexterity for AC, initiative, Acrobatics still.

 

[pukunui]

It's no more broken than letting a monk/rogue sneak attack with their unarmed strikes would be really (which is a combo that the rules were nevertheless specifically written to avoid). That said, I personally wouldn't allow it. However, it's your call as DM. How do you feel about it?


As an aside, your "tl;dr" is almost as long as your full post, which kinda defeats the purpose of it being a"tl;dr", don't you think?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I completely removed the Finesse Weapon requirement from Sneak attack, and have not seen any issues with it yet. That might be worth considering since it would allow shillelagh-usable weapons as well as wild shapes (if the character ever gets the ability) to use sneak attack.

 

[jgsugden]

You're not going to break the game. It sounds like they have a unique character build, and want to have the force of nature guiding their strikes to sneak attack damage rather than the dexterous finesse of a typical rogue. They're paying a level to get access to the druidic magic, and you note the bonus action overlap. I'd allow it, but make sure they build a story around the PC explaining why they have this unique ability so that I can work it into the game.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

TL;DR, PC wants Shillelagh modified so he can use sneak attack with it. His question is if he can get Magic Stone and Shillelagh for his rogue/Druid build should allow him to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity if he used wooden daggers so he could use sneak attack with Shillelagh. She just wants to use Wisdom and doesn’t care if it doesn’t get become a d8 or counts as magical.

So I am going to be DMing a prewritten and one of the players wants to play a rogue/druid build. They plan on taking 1 level of Druid to get Druidic and some spells. They asked if he could have Shillelagh and Magic Stone to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity. She asked if he could use a wooden dagger to use Shillelagh on. He only wants to be allowed to use there Wisdom modifier and don’t care if it doesn’t count as magical for Shillelagh. So as the DM would this break anything? I see it as there bonus action is taken away and so no dual wielding on the first round and with ranged he loses his bonus action every 4th round for Magic Stone.

It is...not really a significant power bump. I’d just allow it. Full stop. Better than them using a rapier and hand crossbow just because they’re the best options.

 

[Quickleaf]

TL;DR, PC wants Shillelagh modified so he can use sneak attack with it. His question is if he can get Magic Stone and Shillelagh for his rogue/Druid build should allow him to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity if he used wooden daggers so he could use sneak attack with Shillelagh. She just wants to use Wisdom and doesn’t care if it doesn’t get become a d8 or counts as magical.

So I am going to be DMing a prewritten and one of the players wants to play a rogue/druid build. They plan on taking 1 level of Druid to get Druidic and some spells. They asked if he could have Shillelagh and Magic Stone to use Wisdom instead of Dexterity. She asked if he could use a wooden dagger to use Shillelagh on. He only wants to be allowed to use there Wisdom modifier and don’t care if it doesn’t count as magical for Shillelagh. So as the DM would this break anything? I see it as there bonus action is taken away and so no dual wielding on the first round and with ranged he loses his bonus action every 4th round for Magic Stone.

Shillelagh makes a club temporarily magical, meaning it overcomes resistances/immunities of many monsters (e.g. constructs, fiends, lycanthropes, etc). The cost is a 1st level spell slot (cast as a bonus action). But it doesn't work with Sneak Attack or several other "rider" effects.

Whereas Magic Weapon turns any weapon magical, including weapons that can be used with Sneak Attack. Plus it follows the normal weapon rules, i.e. it's a Melee Weapon Attack, or Ranged Weapon Attack. The cost is a 2nd level spell slot (cast as a bonus action) and Concentration.

I think that illustrates the rules intent: allowing a magical weapon to apply Sneak Attack damage is more valuable than just a 1st level spell slot. And further, that it's worth more than just a 2nd level version of Shillelagh, hence the Concentration requirement on Magic Weapon.

Something to consider for your own balancing act.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Shillelagh makes a club temporarily magical, meaning it overcomes resistances/immunities of many monsters (e.g. constructs, fiends, lycanthropes, etc). The cost is a 1st level spell slot (cast as a bonus action). But it doesn't work with Sneak Attack or several other "rider" effects.

Whereas Magic Weapon turns any weapon magical, including weapons that can be used with Sneak Attack. Plus it follows the normal weapon rules, i.e. it's a Melee Weapon Attack, or Ranged Weapon Attack. The cost is a 2nd level spell slot (cast as a bonus action) and Concentration.

I think that illustrates the rules intent: allowing a magical weapon to apply Sneak Attack damage is more valuable than just a 1st level spell slot. And further, that it's worth more than just a 2nd level version of Shillelagh, hence the Concentration requirement on Magic Weapon.

Something to consider for your own balancing act.

Shillelagh is a cantrip. So, it costs one of your limited cantrip spots.