Tell me about the essentials rogue

[Voadam]

My six year old son asked to play D&D last night and we determined he wants to play a halfling rogue. I printed out the pregen halfling rogue from Keep on the Shadowfell's quickstart on Wizards website and we did a short scenario where he fought and defeated a skeleton then he played some monsters who eventually defeated my pregen dwarf from KotS.

I've got the PH 1 but not essentials and I'm no longer a subscriber to DDI.

Tell me about the essentials rogue and wether it is worth it to get the essentials book.

In particular does the essentials rogue do away with daily powers? Eliminating daily resource management would be a plus enough for me to make the plunge on it instead of just using the PH 1.

Thanks.

 

[WalterKovacs]

The Essential rogue does away with dailies, has reduced encounters (it gets an encounter power called backstab that gives a bonus to hit and damage, and gets more uses as it levels), and it's at-will powers are all move actions, so his attacks are all basic attacks (but they use dex). Those at-will moves let the rogue climb, hide, and set-up their attacks, basically turning their basic attack into something comparable to an at-will power. They still get utilities as normal.

 

[OnlineDM]

If you're interested in looking at a Thief character sheet, this page on the Wizards of the Coast web site has a zip file that contains pre-made characters for D&D Encounters - March of the Phantom Brigade. One of the characters, Keira, is an elven rogue (Thief) - the Essentials version.

The sheet is in the pre-gen format (a half page, printed in full color front and back) rather than a regular character sheet, but it should still give you a good idea of what the character is like.

 

[Neverfate]

In my opinion the Thief is one of the most well designed subclasses in Essentials. It also probably has the better of the inter-class compatibility with the original Rogue builds (with the exception of some fighting "Style" feats that need specific At-wills to activate) as most class feats serve them pretty well seeing as they mostly work the exact same way as an old Rogue (they'll want combat advantage and to maximize their Sneak Attack damage).

They have less of a dependency on a secondary skill (though some powers still see the need of Strength or Charisma). They pick up another trained skill spot in heroic and can earn double successes in skill challenges if they crit. Many of the rogues Paragon Paths also cross over well (unlike Slayers who can't mark or Scout's that cannot Hunter's Quarry) if you don't care for the Thief specific PP.

All around, they are a very solid class. One of larger complaints of the class is that they lost the ability to add status effects (Daze, Stun, Ongoing, Blind etc.) though their damage and to-hit (which can get ridiculously high) remain very strong and if not higher than the parent class. Also, while you may not have DDI, I THINK the latest feat support that came out is free. It helped mitigate a Thief's lack of Encounter power options. You could trade a use of your static Backstab encounter power for an encounter power of your level or lower from the Rogue class as a whole. It costs a feat but can add some depth.

 

[Aulirophile]

Thieves basically hit as long as they don't roll a 1.

They have utility powers, those could be dailies, but don't have to be.

Otherwise, they are dead simple. Pick your "Trick" so you always have CA, so your hit/damage are always the same except tossing on Backstab.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Not much to add. The Theif is basically the Rogue on 'easy mode.' All you need for stats is DEX and you have two tricks (IIRC, it's Ambush Trick and Tactical Trick) that trivially get you CA every round. There's not much else to it. You get the usual rogue skills and some features or utilities that enhance them (again, in a generally 'easy' way).

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

The one thing I dislike about the Thief is that it doesn't, well, do anything other than Stab.

You lose a lot of the cool handy encounter and daily attacks that do things like shove people around the battlefield, fling out clouds of daggers, and the like, in exchange for pouring out more damage per hit.

Granted, what I did on my rogue was mostly Stab with my rapier, but still, i think the thief could get boring.

Brad

 

[Zaphling]

WotC claimed that Essentials will be the new starting line for people who haven't tried playing DnD in their lives. I find it very true. The simplistic approach actually helped 2 of my very new players understand the basics of dnd. So it would really help you with your kid.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

The one thing I dislike about the Thief is that it doesn't, well, do anything other than Stab.

I know what you mean, but in the case of Skills at least, it is quite untrue. A Human or Eladrin Thief with a skill-granting multiclass feat can have *NINE* trained skills at level 3. I'm even enamored of the Jack of All Trades PP, which grants 3 more at level 16 AND a +2 bonus to all skills. The Thief has serious skill potential.