Rogue: Thief Archetype
Four-Dimensional Mobility Build
The Character:
Hen of the Flock, Hen for short, was blessed with a covetous gift. She flung herself between rooftops, rolling into the shadows of chimneys and balcony rails, landing with not even a whisper. Her yellow eyes scanned the ground far below. As she suspected, the lone passersby at this hour of night were guards wholly unaware of her presence, only illuminated by the flickering torchlight of the stars. Yes, the Cat Lord gifted all of his children with one specific feline trait. Most assume those tabaxi that venture forth from their tropical homeland posses the trait of curiosity. They must, for what could lie across the frozen ocean and in the chilly taigas and tundras of the east that a cat could not obtain amongst the sand other than knowledge?
As if to answer that silent question, Hen's mark loomed along the horizon: a tower that dwarfed the tiled roofs she clambered across. There was a barren courtyard, decorated sparsely with plants, torches, and the occasional guard between where she crouched and the vertical stone wall of the minaret. Three-hundred feet with no buildings for cover. This was done to deter thieves. Hen smiled and flexed her claws, lowering herself into a familiar crouch. She was no regular thief.
With a quick tense of her legs, Hen launched herself from the rooftop, and landed in a full sprint, her footpads hammering silently across the paved street. In but a few seconds, she had crossed the expanse, no more corporeal than the wind, and leapt to the tower wall. She scrambled up its side, digging her claws into it's bricks, already 100 feet above the ground. No, Hen did not seek knowledge; she was not one of those curious cat minstrels that sniffed about, mewling songs and tales for others' amusement. Hen sought a challenge, for deep in her bones lay the ache of a storm. She had been born with the feline gift of speed, and amongst these titanic structures she found a true challenge: just how fast could she go?
As if to answer that silent question, Hen's mark loomed along the horizon: a tower that dwarfed the tiled roofs she clambered across. There was a barren courtyard, decorated sparsely with plants, torches, and the occasional guard between where she crouched and the vertical stone wall of the minaret. Three-hundred feet with no buildings for cover. This was done to deter thieves. Hen smiled and flexed her claws, lowering herself into a familiar crouch. She was no regular thief.
With a quick tense of her legs, Hen launched herself from the rooftop, and landed in a full sprint, her footpads hammering silently across the paved street. In but a few seconds, she had crossed the expanse, no more corporeal than the wind, and leapt to the tower wall. She scrambled up its side, digging her claws into it's bricks, already 100 feet above the ground. No, Hen did not seek knowledge; she was not one of those curious cat minstrels that sniffed about, mewling songs and tales for others' amusement. Hen sought a challenge, for deep in her bones lay the ache of a storm. She had been born with the feline gift of speed, and amongst these titanic structures she found a true challenge: just how fast could she go?
The Concept: Build, Character, Backgrounds
The poll that I have been using as a reference for subclass popularity (aside from my own experience) is strange when it comes to the Rogue class. Almost every single subclass is underused save for the Arcane Trickster and Swashbuckler, which are the most popular Rogue subclasses - this is known even without a poll. So, this post is based off of my own experience in regards to the popularity of the Rogue subclasses, and for now I'm limiting myself to those presented in the PHB. I may yet do another Unloved Ultimate Rogue regarding the options from XGTE; we shall see.
Many love the Arcane Trickster for its gish capabilities, and others love the Assassin due to popularity from Critical Role and its additional bonuses to damage, though I never hear much talk about the Thief and it's extraordinary bonuses to speed and sneaking. This is a shame, as one of my current campaign's biggest baddies is a Rogue with the Thief subclass, and he took on the entire party by himself at just 9th level. So, I've determined that the Thief is the least popular of the PHB Rogue subclasses, and I am therefore determined to highlight its strengths: high mobility, high stealth and high versatility.
The character is a tabaxi gifted with the rare boon of feline speed, akin to the cheetah (seriously, the speeds she reaches with this build are comparable to the cheetah's 88 mph sprint). She has traveled far from home, to the enormous human cities of the east, in order to put her speed to a true test - she could only run across flat sand so many times before seeking something more. Could she run up walls? Across rooftops? Through the skies? The answer was yes, but in a city such a gift does not remain secret for long. Rumors of a figure moving faster than an eye blink through the dark of night attract all sorts of attention, even that of a shady sort. The local thieves' guild made contact with Hen, and offered to give her more and more tests of speed should she assist them. She agreed, learned of their plans, and then abandoned them - going to accomplish the heists herself. She was not one for being held down, and was certainly not one for evil scheming. She may have made a powerful enemy in the process, though she did not care. Could a man hold the wind in his palm? If they came for her, she knew they could never catch her. She was speed itself.
Tabaxi are generally Chaotic, and rarely Evil, so I've settled on a Chaotic Good alignment for Hen. She makes her own way, and has little use for laws and regulations, but is kind and benevolent. Backgrounds that are appropriate include Criminal and Far Traveler. Both provide skill proficiencies useful to Rogues, both Dexterity and Wisdom based, and fit her backstory. As always, backgrounds are more up to preference than optimization, so this choice lies in the hands of the player.
Many love the Arcane Trickster for its gish capabilities, and others love the Assassin due to popularity from Critical Role and its additional bonuses to damage, though I never hear much talk about the Thief and it's extraordinary bonuses to speed and sneaking. This is a shame, as one of my current campaign's biggest baddies is a Rogue with the Thief subclass, and he took on the entire party by himself at just 9th level. So, I've determined that the Thief is the least popular of the PHB Rogue subclasses, and I am therefore determined to highlight its strengths: high mobility, high stealth and high versatility.
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| The City of Waterdeep |
Tabaxi are generally Chaotic, and rarely Evil, so I've settled on a Chaotic Good alignment for Hen. She makes her own way, and has little use for laws and regulations, but is kind and benevolent. Backgrounds that are appropriate include Criminal and Far Traveler. Both provide skill proficiencies useful to Rogues, both Dexterity and Wisdom based, and fit her backstory. As always, backgrounds are more up to preference than optimization, so this choice lies in the hands of the player.
The Race: Tabaxi
This was ... a difficult choice. I actually had to pull out a pencil and paper and do math to figure out exactly how fast the two races I'd narrowed it down to (Bugbear and Tabaxi) could go with all of the build's benefits. Before I begin discussing why I chose one over the other, I would like to say both are very realistic options for this build, and the choice really comes down to playstyle preference. That being said, let's dive in:
The Bugbear is an excellent choice in that their stat boosts are perfect for this build which prioritizes both Dexterity and Strength. Their Surprise Attack trait also meshes perfectly with the build, in that our Thief will be a ranged bow-using ambusher, and an additional 2d6 to the first sneak attack of combat is very useful. This race prioritizes damage over mobility, and that is perfectly valid.
However, while the Tabaxi only gains a stat boost to one of our preferred stats (Dexterity), the other stat boost actually going to our dump stat (Charisma), the racial traits Feline Agility and Cat's Claws are just too good to pass up. Feline Agility doubles movement speed for the round (though it requires a turn of no movement to recharge), and Cat's Claws grants a climbing speed - both invaluable for this build. We'll get more into just how good these racial traits are later in the post, but for now, know that Feline Agility ultimately makes this build the fastest climber/runner of any class in D&D.
The Stat Spread (Standard Array):
DEX 16 (+3), CON 15 (+2), STR 13 (+1), INT 12 (+1), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 9 (-1)
This is going to be a weird one. We prioritize Dexterity for our AC, damage output, stealth, acrobatics, lock-picking and other Rogue-y skills, or course, but our secondary stat (not including Constitution, which is up there for HP reasons) is Strength which is solely for our parkour. No, really. Our Strength is our secondary stat only for the Athletics skill which regulates climbing. Battlefield maneuverability is everything for this build, so the higher the Athletics score the better. Intelligence is high for Investigation checks and character appropriateness - the Thief subclass is an expert on magical items, and we plan on taking a feat-based dip into Wizard (see the Feats section of the post).
The Class: Notable Features
Expertise: this is one of the best class features in the game and we're going to be using it to our advantage. At 1st level, the character gets to choose two skill proficiencies to double their numbers in. We will be choosing Athletics and Stealth. The reason being that, as stated previously, battlefield maneuverability is everything for this build, so being able to climb and sneak better gives the Rogue complete access to the field without alerting enemies. At 6th level when the character receives the feature again, we will choose Acrobatics and Perception: Acrobatics being for the second half of climbing and jumping (landing), and Perception being for our sniping abilities. This is a ranged, bow-using rogue -- being able to spot the enemies before they spot the character is a necessity.
Second-Story Work: this is the feature that I centered this entire build around. This feature makes it so that climbing no longer costs extra movement, meaning should the player make a climb check they can move their full walking speed. Now, our Tabaxi already has a climb speed, true, so we can, guaranteed, climb for 20 feet with no check necessary, but this is only on easily climbable surfaces. The rules state that "at the DM's option, climbing a slippery vertical surface or one with few handholds requires a successful Strength (Athletics) check." Just having a climb speed doesn't quite get us out of the clear. All this feature guarantees is that on a successful Athletics check, the player will not receive a speed penalty while climbing.So, what does this feature mean for us, since there is no longer a penalty to our speed, and we are no longer confined to using our climbing speed? To find that out, we're going to have to do some math which will include the use of feats discussed later in the post. Scroll down to the Feats sections for further reading on those. So, let's assume we've made a successful climbing check. Exactly how far can we go up a vertical surface in 6 seconds? The answer is 400 feet. We have the capacity to move 400 feet in 6 seconds vertically if we use everything at our disposal. To put that in perspective that's the equivalent of 66 feet per second, or 45mph/72kph. Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive, set the world record of human speed at 28mph/45kph and has not been able to beat it, and that was running across flat ground. So, how do I reach the number 400? Let's see:
30ft. Speed + 10ft. Speed (Magic Initiate Feat) + 10ft. Speed (Mobile Feat) = an effective 50ft. Speed for our Tabaxi both vertically and horizontally thanks to Second-Story Work, but it doesn't end there.
50ft. Speed x 2 (Feline Agility doubles speed for a round) = our Speed is considered 100ft.
100ft. Speed x 2 (the Rogue's Cunning Action feature's bonus action Dash) = a 200ft. movement
200 feet of movement + 100ft. Speed x 2 (taking the Dash Action as well) = a 400ft. movement and with Second-Story work that includes along vertical surfaces. For reference, taking into account the 6-second (1 turn) pauses required between uses of Feline Agility, our Thief could scale the Empire State Building, which stands at around 1200 feet, in 54 seconds -- just under a minute. Ever seen a cat flee up a tree? Yeah, something like that.
If the character was playing it safe and using the climb speed of the Tabaxi so as to not make Athletics checks, the movement caps out at 320ft. This requires no pauses, though, so using this speed our Tabaxi actually scales the Empire State Building in about 22 seconds -- less than half a minute. 'Oh no.'
Supreme Sneak: conditional advantage on Stealth is great even for those poor Rogues whose Speed is a measly 30ft., so in the hands of our lightning fast Tabaxi it becomes almost unfair. This feature grants advantage on Stealth so long as the Rogue only moves half of their movement speed on their turn. Using both of our feats and Feline Agility, our movement speed is considered 100ft. So, in any given round, we have advantage on Stealth checks if we only move 50ft. in the turn: hardly a handicap. Without Feline Agility, but still using our two feats, we gain advantage on Stealth if we move only 20 feet. Once again, 'oh no.'
Thief's Reflexes: aside from this being the absolute best capstone of any of the Rogue subclasses (an entire extra turn in the first round of combat is insanely good) this feature has two very useful options for our Thief:
Option 1) Didn't move quite enough (somehow) the first go-round? No problem. Now the maximum our Thief can move in a round is 720ft. if we use Feline Agility, both of our feats, and both bonus actions and actions to Dash. 720ft. in 6 seconds, or 120ft. per second, is around 81mph - we've finally achieved full cheetah mode ... while also going straight up a wall. Now we scale the Empire State Building in about 15 seconds (2 and 1/2 rounds).
Option 2) We get the Thief into a valuable sniper's nest some 400 feet above the ground and use our second action to begin sniping right away, and with advantage on Stealth checks from Supreme Sneak and our Hide bonus actions thanks to the Rogue's Cunning Action feature, I'd say that's a good Sneak Attack every single hit of combat. A potential extra 10d6 per hit at higher levels? Yes, please.
Feats: Swift As an Arrow
These feats should be taken in the following order. At 4th level, take the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat. At 8th level, take the Sharpshooter feat. At 10th level, boost Constitution and Strength each by 1. At 12th level, take the Mobile feat. At 16th level, boost Dexterity, and at 19th level max it out.
Magic Initiate (Wizard): the Thief is a master of magical items. This is explained in their Use Magic Device feature, which allows them to use any magical item regardless of class, race or level requirements. I suppose if one steals magical things enough they'd pick up on how to make 'em work. So, it makes sense thematically for our Thief to have picked up a few arcane tricks throughout their heists. The two cantrips to take would be Mage Hand (for thievery purposes and other utility) and Message (for silent scouting reports), but the real prize is the first level spell Longstrider. This boosts our movement speed by 10ft. for 1 hour and does not require concentration. Score!
Sharpshooter: Seeing as how our ideal situation for our Thief is to be set up in a Sniper's nest 400ft. above the combat, we need to have an effective range of at least, well, 400ft. With this feat, disadvantage from using a ranged weapon's maximum range is removed, and with the Rogue's preferred ranged-weapon being the Shortbow, we can reach up to 320ft. without disadvantage. I think we can compromise with a sniper's nest only 300ft. above the combat. The ignoring of enemy cover and a potential to boost damage by 10 are also excellent additions for our sniper.
Magic Initiate (Wizard): the Thief is a master of magical items. This is explained in their Use Magic Device feature, which allows them to use any magical item regardless of class, race or level requirements. I suppose if one steals magical things enough they'd pick up on how to make 'em work. So, it makes sense thematically for our Thief to have picked up a few arcane tricks throughout their heists. The two cantrips to take would be Mage Hand (for thievery purposes and other utility) and Message (for silent scouting reports), but the real prize is the first level spell Longstrider. This boosts our movement speed by 10ft. for 1 hour and does not require concentration. Score!Sharpshooter: Seeing as how our ideal situation for our Thief is to be set up in a Sniper's nest 400ft. above the combat, we need to have an effective range of at least, well, 400ft. With this feat, disadvantage from using a ranged weapon's maximum range is removed, and with the Rogue's preferred ranged-weapon being the Shortbow, we can reach up to 320ft. without disadvantage. I think we can compromise with a sniper's nest only 300ft. above the combat. The ignoring of enemy cover and a potential to boost damage by 10 are also excellent additions for our sniper.
Mobile: an extra 10ft. to our movement speed lets our "scale the Empire state building in a quarter of a minute" dreams finally come true. Well, it grants the potential for it. Also, should a wall be covered in thorny vines or other conditions that might brand it difficult terrain, which would cut our speed in half, no worries! This feature allows our Thief, as long as they're Dashing, to completely ignore difficult terrain. Our mobility is officially at its peak after taking this feat.
These are, of course, the optimized feats and stat boosts, but should the player seek other options these are also situationally useful: Alert (the +5 initiative ensures that our Thief reaches their sniper's nest early, and that they will always be able to use the Thief's Reflexes feature which states that it does not function if the character is surprised -- but, with this feat, the character can no longer be surprised), Athlete (for stand-still long jumps that receive an additional bump from Second-Story work), Lucky (to reroll those failed Athletics checks so the Thief doesn't plummet off of the D&D equivalent of the Empire State Building and wind up a pancake), Skulker (a bonus to hiding and no disadvantage on picking out foes in the dark is quite nice) and Weapon Master (to pick up Longbow proficiency and turn our damage from a d6 into a d8, and our effective range from 320ft. to 600ft.).
Play Style: "There are Two Lines One Should Never Cross: Horizontal and Vertical"
Pre-Battle: most of this character's usefulness lies outside of, or right before/after, battles. The BBEG wizard's tower needs scouting? No problem - send the thief that can scale it in less than half a minute and report back to the party through telepathy (the Message cantrip). The city's under attack, but the party holds the key to the battle's success and are a ways away? Send the Thief ahead and she'll be there in the blink of an eye. The BBEG is fleeing because the party has outpowered them; they can't let him get away! Well,they're not going to outrun this character. Such high mobility has infinite use in the hands of a creative player outside of combat. However, we do have a formula to follow for battles: before battles, use the Longstrider spell and scout ahead for the party. Then, find a sniper's nest high above or well out of harm's way and begin the combat.
Early Battle: once nestled onto a rocky ledge, a crevice in the wall, or high up on a castle's parapet, use the Hide bonus action and begin unleashing those dangerous Sneak Attacks. Should the Thief become discovered, use that high mobility to find another vantage point, and use Supreme Sneak to arrive there undiscovered.
Mid-Late Battle: honestly, follow the same patterns from the Early Battle section. Some classes lend themselves to being repetitive combatants and find their strengths outside of battle. The Rogue is one of those classes. When it comes to combat, it's generally either stab-stab with a dagger, or shoot-shoot with a crossbow/bow, rinse and repeat until the boss is dead. It helps that they gain a bunch of extra damage via Sneak Attack, but other than that, follow the patterns and improvise when the boss throws a wrench into the plan, as they're want to do.
Roleplay: Catch Me if You Can!
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| Symbol of the Shadow Thieves |
Not only did she anger them, she doesn't seem to care. Some might assume that because she's a foreigner she doesn't understand the true danger of her actions. Hen is not stupid - she knows what she did - she just also knows that they'll never be fast enough to catch her. She came to this cold frontier to truly put her legs to the test. The call for speed is in her blood, in her very creation, as ordained by her deity, and so who would she be to not push it to its very limits?
When it comes to adventuring in a party, Hen does so only if she feels their exploits will be an additional test of her capabilities, or so she would say. Deep down inside that Olympian's slow steady heartbeat rests a conscience. Tabaxi are not hoarders of wealth, often finding it trivial, so what she acquires in her "tests of speed" she likely gifts to the poor or needy. She might even return the goods after stealing them if they belonged to good folk -- just having been curious if she could pull off the heist. Should her quickened steps lead her to a group of friends, perhaps that's what the Cat Lord intended all along -- he gifted her a hastened pace so that she might meet her destiny all the sooner.
Conclusion:
Not every class excels in combat, but the Thief Rogue certainly does not suffer either. It just so happens that their specific skills lend themselves to being more utility-based than damage-oriented. I would also like to point out that gods help the DM that grants this character the Boots of Speed. I did the math on that one, and during the first round of combat, with Boots of Speed active and all her other feats, our Thief could reach speeds of 1020ft. in her two first-round turns granted by Thief's Reflexes, meaning she could scale the entirety of the Empire State Building in about 9 seconds. If a player can't find a use for that skill, then they aren't thinking broadly enough. As always, I wish those future Thief Rogues luck in their adventuring and that they have as much fun playing Hen as I had building her, or whatever character they choose to make with the race, stats, and abilities of the build!
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