Author Topic: Sublime Rogue (3.5)  (Read 9116 times)

Offline sirpercival

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Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« on: July 20, 2012, 09:19:08 PM »
I've had this floating around in my head, so I decided to just bite the bullet and do it.  Yes, I know I've stolen a lot from my Magipunk homebrews.  Suck it up. ;)

SUBLIME ROGUE



This is a variant on the SRD rogue, using Tome of Battle mechanics.  Skills are the same, except add Heal and Martial Lore.

Table: The Sublime RogueHD: d6


Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Base
Attack
Bonus
+0
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
+5
+6/+1
+6/+1
+7/+2
+8/+3
+9/+4
+9/+4
+10/+5
+11/+6/+1
+12/+7/+2
+12/+7/+2
+13/+8/+3
+14/+9/+4
+15/+10/+5

Fort
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+6
+6

Reflex
Save
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+5
+5
+6
+6
+7
+7
+8
+8
+9
+9
+10
+10
+11
+11
+12

Will
Save
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+6
+6


Special
Sneak attack, trapfinding
Evasion
Skill mastery
Uncanny dodge
Versatility
Skill mastery
Skilled recovery
Improved uncanny dodge
Skill mastery, elusive dodge
Special ability
Adaptability
Skill mastery
Special ability
Greater elusive dodge
Skill mastery
Special ability
Greater adaptability
Skill mastery
Special ability
Supreme elusive dodge

Maneuvers
Known
4
5
6
7
8
8
9
10
11
12
13
13
14
15
16
17
18
18
19
20

Maneuvers
Readied
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
8

Stances
Known
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Sublime rogues are proficient with simple weapons, as well as the falchion, hand crossbow, handaxe, kama, kukri, light pick, (composite) longbow, longsword, rapier, sai, sap, siangham, scimitar, short sword, and (composite) shortbow.  They are also proficient with light armor, but not shields.

Maneuvers: A sublime rogue begins his career with knowledge of four martial maneuvers.  When taking his first level of sublime rogue, he chooses four of the following disciplines, which are then available to him for the remainder of his sublime rogue levels: Coin's Edge, Falling Star, Fortunate Assailant,
Kuji-Kiri, Oncoming Storm, Shadow Hand, Steel Serpent, and Thrashing Dragon. Once he knows a maneuver, a sublime rogue must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by sublime rogues is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. A sublime rogue's maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one.

A sublime rogue learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on the above table. He must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. The highest-level maneuvers he can learn are based on his initiator level, as normal. Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered sublime rogue level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), a sublime rogue can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes his restriction on the highest-level maneuvers he can learn; he need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level.

Maneuvers readied: A sublime rogue can ready three of his four maneuvers per encounter at level 1, and as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he is able to ready more, but still must choose which maneuvers to ready.  A sublime rogue readies maneuvers by meditating and exercising for 5 minutes; once readied, the maneuvers remain so until he spends 5 minutes to ready new ones.

A sublime rogue begins an encounter with all his maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he might have already used them since he readied them. When he initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his maneuvers can be used once per encounter unless he recovers them.  A sublime rogue can recover all of his expended maneuvers by spending a move action to move at least 10 feet.  He can't use a recovered maneuver in the same round that he recovers it, or recover a maneuver in the same round that he expended it.

Stances Known: A sublime rogue begins play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to him. At 2nd, 7th, and 14th level, he can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and he does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he currently uses as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, a sublime rogue cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

Sneak attack (Ex): If a sublime rogue can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage. As a swift action, a sublime rogue may expend a maneuver she has readied and unexpended to gain bonus damage against a single opponent equal to 1d6 times the level of the expended maneuver. Half of this damage is precision damage, which is ineffective against certain creatures, such as undead.

The bonus damage applies to all attacks she makes against her target for 1 round, for which the target is denied his Dexterity bonus to AC against her attack, for which she is flanking the target, or for any attacks of opportunity against the target. This sneak attack damage stacks with sneak attack damage from other sources. If the sublime rogue drops the target below 0 hit points with an attack which gained bonus damage from this ability, she automatically recovers the maneuver she expended.  If you activate this ability more than once for the same attack, they do not stack; instead, use the highest number of sneak attack dice when rolling damage for the attack.

Trapfinding (Ex): As the rogue class feature.

Evasion (Ex): As the rogue class feature.

Skill mastery (Ex): At 3rd level, and every 3 levels after, a sublime rogue chooses one skill in which she has ranks.  When making a skill check with one of these skills, she may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so.

Uncanny dodge (Ex): As the rogue class feature.

Versatility (Ex): Surviving as a sublime rogue requires a certain amount of versatility that many others never master.  A sublime rogue of 5th level or higher gains an insight bonus equal to her class level which she can apply to her skill checks.  She may divide the bonus between her skills however she likes, but cannot apply a bonus to any one skill larger than the number of ranks she has in that skill.  A sublime rogue can reassign her bonuses after spending 1 hour practicing.

Skilled recovery (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, whenever a sublime rogue succeeds at a skill check for the associated skill of one of his chosen disciplines, she may automatically recover one expended maneuver from that discipline.  She can't use a recovered maneuver in the same round that she recovers it, or recover a maneuver in the same round that she expended it. This ability cannot be used when making a skill check as part of a maneuver.

Improved uncanny dodge (Ex): As the rogue class feature.

Elusive dodge (Ex): At 9th level, a sublime rogue learns to evade physical attacks with uncanny skill.  Once per round, whenever the sublime rogue is successfully hit with a melee or ranged attack that does damage, he may make a Reflex save (DC equal to the damage dealt) to take half damage.  This ability does not work against attacks that do not deal hit point damage (such as many ray spells), or attacks that already allow a save for a reduced effect.  Evasion and elusive dodge cannot be used on the same attack.

Special Ability (Ex): As the rogue class feature, gained at 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th levels.  The sublime rogue may not choose the Skill Mastery option.

Adaptability (Ex): A sublime rogue is a multipurpose tool, useful in almost any situation.  Whenever he makes a skill check for a skill with which he has Skill Mastery, a sublime rogue of 11th level or higher may roll 4d6 instead of 1d20 (achieving a result between 4 and 24).  The sublime rogue may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Intelligence modifier.

Greater elusive dodge: At 14th level, whenever a sublime rogue uses her elusive dodge ability and succeeds on the Reflex save, she takes no damage from the attack.

Greater adaptability: Beginning at 17th level, a sublime rogue may use his Adaptability ability on any skill.

Supreme elusive dodge: When a sublime rogue reaches 20th level, she can avoid damage almost without a thought.  Whenever she uses her greater elusive dodge ability, she takes half damage even if she fails her Reflex save.
 
« Last Edit: June 14, 2013, 01:05:14 PM by sirpercival »
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Offline Prime32

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2012, 09:31:02 PM »
An interesting way to handle sneak attack, but using it to refresh maneuvers could also be interesting. Maybe if your sneak attack kills/KOs an enemy, the maneuver isn't expended?

Also: a potential alternate discipline.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2012, 09:33:32 PM by Prime32 »

Offline sirpercival

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2012, 09:34:14 PM »
An interesting way to handle sneak attack, but using it to refresh maneuvers could also be interesting. Maybe you refresh one maneuver whenever you kill/KO an enemy who's denied their Dex bonus to AC?
That's pretty cool... but would it be giving them too many recovery mechanisms?  I don't want that to be the only one, since it'll be useless in (for example) BBEG battles... Maybe make the standard recovery mech only get you one, and then have Skilled Recovery and this one as extra class features?

Quote
Also: a potential alternate discipline.
Oh, cool.  Hmm... I had kept away from a couple other ninja-y disciplines, since this was supposed to be less of a ninja than a swordsage is.  You know?  But let me take a look.

EDIT: okay, your edit makes the sneak attack thing much more integrated.  I'll add that.

EDIT2: I like that discipline.  I'll include it as an option.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2012, 09:51:40 PM by sirpercival »
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Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2012, 11:56:23 PM »
You might want to include sap proficiency.

Otherwise, the mechanics look quite nice.  Well done!
« Last Edit: July 20, 2012, 11:58:47 PM by Jackinthegreen »

Offline Garryl

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2012, 12:57:49 AM »
You've got a little gender confusion in Sneak Attack, Skilled Recovery. Also, Elusive Dodge uses a different gender from the greater version, but that's less of an issue.

An intriguing take. Odd that you have so many maneuvers known (~halfway between Warblade and Swordsage) but so few disciplines available (only 3).

Offline sirpercival

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2012, 06:48:55 AM »
You've got a little gender confusion in Sneak Attack, Skilled Recovery. Also, Elusive Dodge uses a different gender from the greater version, but that's less of an issue.
Sneak attack is actually completely gender-consistent... it's just confusing.  That's not my fault, though -- blame the SRD.  Skilled Recovery shall be fixed.

Quote
An intriguing take. Odd that you have so many maneuvers known (~halfway between Warblade and Swordsage) but so few disciplines available (only 3).
Is it a problem?  If so, would it be better served by adding another discipline or reducing the maneuvers known?  You'll still know nowhere near all the maneuvers in your disciplines...
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Offline Bozwevial

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2012, 10:36:51 AM »
Minor nitpick: The rogue skill list doesn't include Heal, but Steel Serpent has it as a discipline skill.
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Offline sirpercival

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2012, 10:46:39 AM »
Minor nitpick: The rogue skill list doesn't include Heal, but Steel Serpent has it as a discipline skill.

Oh, thanks -- I'll add it.
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Offline Garryl

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2012, 10:48:36 AM »
If you're creative enough, you can probably trigger Skilled Recovery as fast as you can spend your maneuvers. Many maneuvers require skill checks, and many skills have uses that can be done as part of other actions or as free actions. For example, Hide and Jump on a 5' step, Sleight of Hand is a free action if you take a -20 penalty, Spot and Listen are nonaction reactions when you first have the chance to become aware of something or essentially anything happens, etc.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2012, 10:55:38 AM »
If you're creative enough, you can probably trigger Skilled Recovery as fast as you can spend your maneuvers. Many maneuvers require skill checks, and many skills have uses that can be done as part of other actions or as free actions. For example, Hide and Jump on a 5' step, Sleight of Hand is a free action if you take a -20 penalty, Spot and Listen are nonaction reactions when you first have the chance to become aware of something or essentially anything happens, etc.
There is also a feat that lets you make Spot (and Listen?) checks every round as a free action, IIRC. I don't think burning a feat to let you recover a single maneuver every round is a problem, though.

This class looks very interesting. I think the skill bonus possible from Versatility is a bit too high for my tastes. In a game where that stupid web spell that gives you a +20 bonus to a skill check (Guidance of the Avatar?), I guess it would be OK, though.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2012, 10:58:23 AM by phaedrusxy »
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Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2012, 10:58:44 AM »
If you're creative enough, you can probably trigger Skilled Recovery as fast as you can spend your maneuvers. Many maneuvers require skill checks, and many skills have uses that can be done as part of other actions or as free actions. For example, Hide and Jump on a 5' step, Sleight of Hand is a free action if you take a -20 penalty, Spot and Listen are nonaction reactions when you first have the chance to become aware of something or essentially anything happens, etc.
There is also a feat that lets you make Spot (and Listen?) checks every round as a free action, IIRC.

Quick Reconnoiter.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2012, 10:59:23 AM »
If you're creative enough, you can probably trigger Skilled Recovery as fast as you can spend your maneuvers. Many maneuvers require skill checks, and many skills have uses that can be done as part of other actions or as free actions. For example, Hide and Jump on a 5' step, Sleight of Hand is a free action if you take a -20 penalty, Spot and Listen are nonaction reactions when you first have the chance to become aware of something or essentially anything happens, etc.

Yes... this is true.   :plotting
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Offline Prime32

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2013, 03:42:22 PM »
That feat suggestion I was talking about:

Sublime Feint [General]
Prerequisites: Sublime rogue lv1
Benefit: When you make an attempt to feint in combat, as part of the same action you may expend one of your readied and unexpended maneuvers. Add the level of the expended maneuver as a bonus to your Bluff check. If your feint attempt succeeds, then in addition to denying the target its Dex bonus to AC, the attack which gains the benefit of the feint also gains the benefit of your Sneak Attack class feature (using the level of the expended maneuver to determine its effects), as do all further attacks against that target for 1 round, even if the target is not flanked or denied its Dex bonus to AC.
Special: Sublime Feint can be used in place of Improved Feint to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. You can take both this feat and Improved Feint.

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: Sublime Rogue (3.5)
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2013, 09:57:39 PM »
I dunno if you care enough to fix it, but it looks like you have an extra [new_line] character in the Maneuvers section when you list the discipline choices.