Fun fact about ranged attacks: If you are within 5 feet of a creature that can't see you, your ranged attack doesn't have disadvantage since it specifies "that can see you."
But he's prone, which is disadvantage to a ranged attacker anyway, if they are farther than 5ft away. Like you said, only being hidden actually sorts this gordian knot.
Proned enemies give you disadvantage to hit unless you are within 5 feet, and using range gives disadvantage within 5 feet. So yeah there was no scenario there where he was going to get advantage (without crossbow expert or the UA fighting style Close Quarters Shooter) but he did have a friendly in 5 feet so there was also no scenario where he was going to not have sneak attack.
@@exturkconner "You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and *you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll*." Doesn`t matter if there is an Ally near the enemy. He got disadvantage so no Sneak Attack. It`s automatically canceled out
I love the idea of a medieval dnd setting where the thieve's Cant code is actually a set of modern real world memes that are updated regularly by some mysterious individual with a gate open and an internet connection.
That “uncanny dodging a cliff” sketch reminded me of the 3.5 Iron Heart Surge, a Warblade ability that “ends the source of an effect.” By rules as written, it lets you turn off the sun because the sunlight is bright light that affects your ability to see.
It lets you do a lot more than that as written... You can turn off an enemy's life, or turn off an elemental plane, or turn off time... Or turn off the DM since they're the real source of all effects.
Its far funnier to use this while drowning - The ecological consequences are less damning but more fun than the sun disappearing, such as a bunch of Aboleths suddenly being upset.
The Rogue is my favorite class and yet my friend created my favorite concept for the class. He made a rogue who wanted to be the best rogue had a normal backstory very happy go lucky, but he heard all rogues had tragic backstories so for the entire campaign he was trying to murder his family.
Love that flavour. I on the other hand personally think of swashbucklers as more of the bard rogues. Not so much the usual musical kind of bard but more the seductive, charming criminal who’s able and prefers to talk their way out of trouble, using violence only as a last resort.
The amount of fun stuff in this vid while still remaining clear and relevant to teaching people how to build a rogue really shows how far your editing/video concepts have come. Well done, dude.
I am thinking about dropping out of school to focus on my career as a star on UA-cam. I already make a lot of money on UA-cam. School bores me so much. I need more opinions and since I don't have any friends, I gotta ask you, der
I genuinely think this might be one of if not the best video you've ever made. It includes everything that makes people love your videos, especially the original "How to play..." series but turned up to 11, with everything that you've learned over years since. And the music bit, absolute FIRE. Really hope this reboot series continues, its great to see how your channel has grown over the past few years. (P.s. your Gravity/falling bit you did? Unironically the line of thought Einstein had when formulating general relativity, have fun with the knowledge you are a modern day ultra-geek D&D einstein)
@@XPtoLevel3 I just started playing w/my brother last week (we are in our 40's/using roll20) and your video (the first one) on how to play a rogue is the reason I chose it.... so this will be my second game and now I'm pausing the screens like crazy, reading up and your LARP examples helped prompt even more discussions. Thank you so much for your work!
@@XPtoLevel3 I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about the Armorer Artificer subclass if you revisit it, as it wasn't released at the time of the original two videos.
@@matthewtompkins4338 wasn't going: "The purple dragon Knight is the best at this". Was just saying they could do it. I also don't know if the battle masters is a straight upgrade though.
Except it only works when an enemy *ends* it's turn within 5 ft of you meaning you've probably already been hit by the time you even use it and combined with steady aim you only move 15 feet meaning they're just gonna hit you again next turn. Now compare that with riding a mount which still has it's full movement which is way faster than yours and probably your enemies and you can still use steady aim on it. Yeah that shit is trash compared to just using a mount or taking a better subclass.
@@Tupadre97 If you think mounts are practical it's probably the type of campaign you are in (or you play a tiny race and have a cute mount that the DM doesn't have the heart to kill, if so that's cool too). Otherwise, it's like arguing that beastmaster is a good subclass (and beastmaster companions easily have tipple the hitpoints of a horse). Any AOE at a level beyond 5th, and your horse turned to glue. If you are a paladin, that's fine, otherwise you have to wait till you get back to town to use aim. As for Scout, sure there are more powerful options, but nothing wrong with optimizing around something that's actually reliable.
That said, a mount is another way to do it! but that doesn't make the scout method bad. I just personally wouldn't go scout past level 3, or level 5 if you want uncanny dodge.
@@robocart9253 I mean... It's obviously a guitar... unless "you"/the viewer Is blind... and I'm pretty sure it sounds different, but whatever. If we are going to be like this, I call it Westernized Japanese Koto. 😅🤣
@@Petq011 yeah that was the joke lol, making fun of a correction with an over correction. Might be a strummed version of a freedom filled Egyptian Lyre though. Can't be sure.
scout rogue is just non-magic ranger, which I've definitely been wanting for a while and it has a unique fighting style thanks to skirmisher, making a hit and run melee rogue or even just using it to keep out of reach as a ranged rogue, especially since it can be used with steady aim since it's a reaction movement. Frankly all the scout abilities are pretty dope and importantly very different from other subclasses
Yes!! I've been looking for some scout support! It's one I currently play and I love it! (Also have a ranger Gloomstalker in another game, similarities are spot on but just different enough to take you from that tanky ranger feeling to the sleek shadow walker of a rogue Scout. I love my scout rogue! And she's so good at everything that when she does fail it's epic and fricken hilarious!
It's unfortunate that skirmisher requires an enemy to END it's turn next to you as opposed to just moving next to you. You have to take a round of attacks for skirmisher to trigger.
@@exqueue3813 that it is. And since it's a reaction I've found myself saying, should I skirmisher or just stay here and uncanny dodge? I use both quite frequently but it would be pretty cool if you could skirmish just as they enter melee range (well 5 ft, in case you're a bugbear or have an extended reach melee weapon)
I tried scout in some adventure league games I played last weekend. The Skirmisher feature worked well with the Steady Aim feature. I used a heavy crossbow. Skirmisher usually got me out of melee so no disadvantage for being in melee. Steady Aim gave me advantage so I could attack whatever target I pleased on the battlefield, and if skirmisher didn't do the job to get me out of melee then steady aim backup sword works. Elven Accuracy feat at 4th level made that single attack per round very likely to hit. I had fun with it.
I fricking love scout rogue. I played it exactly as a non-magic ranger, and taking 2 levels of ranger when I was higher level. You get more feats so I had skilled, sharpshooter and skulker. You get 2 extra expertises in nature and survival, it's easy to stay out of melee range, and it's lvl 17 ability is *AMAZING*.
0:24 you pick scout for when you make a half-elf who multiclasses in Scout Rogue and Lore Bard and taking the "Skilled" feat at level 4, then the "Prodigy" Half-Elf racial feat from Xanathar's at level 8 (Prodigy gives one proficiency and one expertise). At level 1 in Rogue and level 3 in Bard you get expertise in 2 skills, and the Scout subclass makes Nature and Survival innately into expertise skills. Past level 8, you could then put 3 more levels into Rogue getting another 2 expertise skills, then get to Bard level 10 for another 2 expertise skills. So that means you have proficiency in everything, then 11 skills in which you have expertise. Scout, at minimum in this one specific situation, is hilariously OP -- basically a "King of All Trades" as opposed to a Jack of All Trades
@@dephony5648 just needs level 8 to have proficiency in all skills; more of a mid-level than high-level build, and is definitely for a specific type of playstyle that's optimized for one specific thing as opposed to being "good"
For the scout I’ll be honest I split from the party pretty often so being good at exactly that seems like an alright choice. I always take the rule of “never split the party” as being specifically in the context of dungeons and other dangerous areas where strong foes could be around any corner, but in a low-risk area where most encounters can be avoided or talked your way out of or say if you’re doing an infiltration mission it makes sense.
I'd still say his homebrew suggestions for the scout are a step up. Especially when looking at 9th level you can say that what he suggests would be more fun to play.
I vibe with the description of rogues as particularly human. My first DND session, I made a human rogue because relying on skill and deliberate action felt more relatable to me than tossing fireballs. Relating to my character is important to me in RPGs.
Fun fact! Scout's level 3 doesn't specify walking speed. So get yourself a burrowing/flying speed, and just say no to any further attacks for the turn!
Burrowing is hard to get, though. I think the only way is to wildshape or polymorph. But a rogue who is also a badger makes sense to me You'd think Harengon would get a burrowind speed, like, you know, rabbits
The issue is that even if you cant get attacked any more, you took the full attack damage, and then the rest of the damage went to another, probably squishier, party member instead. Even if the ability avoids you getting attacked for an entire turn, you probably burnt your reaction to get zero benefit and maybe make shit worse. Its HORRIBLE.
@@Siennarchist What you described is an awesome opportunity to make a choice in a potentially dire situation. Dramatic, dangerous... I'd say you've just invented role-playing. Dropping the sarcasm, you literally explained why it's an AWESOME ability :) But that also depends if you're in for the "winning" or for the "role-playing" part of this table-top *role-playing* game. If it's not obvious, I prefer to be presented with difficult and interesting choices, but it's okay to be into other aspects of the game. You do you.
@@borofreak my roleplaying ability generally isnt dependent on flushing me and my party's hitpoints down the drain for zero benefit. Using a bad ability to roleplay doesn't make it a good ability. Also theres a ton of choices and flavour you can make with any subclass. Adding an option that is nearly always terrible to your toolkit isnt any more roleplay enabling that an actually good ability
"The ground rolls to dodge you." *rolls* "The ground fails. You both take 500 damage, but the ground's gravity skill negates most of that." "Wait! I roll to steal the concept of gravity!" "Can't, you're already stole the concept of Pigeons, and there's a hard limit of one concept stolen per game." "Oh, right. Darn."
While playing 3rd edition years ago my rogue was knocked off a Mesa by an attack. I jokingly asked the DM if I could declare the ground for my +1 AC dodge bonus. Laughs were had by all; I took full damage.
I honestly prefer the Scout over the assassin, its abilities are a lot of fun when you use them right and can be pretty handy. Other the Assassinate ability, the Assassins abilities are useless
I'm a Scout, and while he's right about it being the best archetype to wander off alone that's kind of why I wanted it. Scout almost has a ranger_esque type of feel to it while also being proficient in so many things.
@@MapleToaster i really like it for infiltration missions, I have a scout rogue multiclassed with an Echo Knight Fighter so instead I can send my duplicate over 1000 feet away from me while getting all of the features of Scout, without ever being in harms way
A half-elf scout, at level 3, has ten skill prof. with expertise in 4 of them (although nature and survival have to be two of those four). At that point you're not just looking for skills you want, just looking for skills to add just because you can. I like it just fine.
5:00 - Actually, you can do that. You have a non-incapacitated ally (or at least an enemy of your target) adjacent to your target. While the Disadvantage of making a ranged attack in melee still exists, it is canceled by the Advantage you would use from Steady Aim (and from the adjacent target being prone). Thus, this attack would have _neither_ Advantage nor Disadvantage* and would still allow you to Sneak Attack a target that is adjacent to a non-incapacitated enemy of itself (e.g. an ally of yours). *"If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage." - PHB p.173
The coolest feat for Rogue is the Mobile feat. Extra movement speed, ignore difficult terrain and don't provoke opportunity attacks when you leave their melee range after making an attack. Excellent for that slippery, hit-and-run playstyle. My absolute favorite rogue feat.
🎶Ain’t no one gonna hit my fleshmeat, prepare for your defeat: I’m taking the mobile feat.🎶 “Oh no” 🎶Sneak attack, run away. I can dash, it’s okay. No reaction attacks, I’m too fast, that’s a fact.🎶
Theif is my favourite subclass for Rogue, because I love using items in combat. So something I like is when the Dm allows using an item interaction against another creature to count as an attack for the purposes of Mobile and other features. It makes me feel like my Rogue is able to do a lot more with what they have, like using a Piton as a knife and stabbing a prone creature, then using a Hammer to hammer it into the ground, pinning the creature....LOVE Thief.
Theif is my favourite subclass for Rogue, because I love using items in combat. So something I like is when the Dm allows using an item interaction against another creature to count as an attack for the purposes of Mobile and other features. It makes me feel like my Rogue is able to do a lot more with what they have, like using a Piton as a knife and stabbing a prone creature, then using a Hammer to hammer it into the ground, pinning the creature....LOVE Thief.
An easier way for me as an Eldritch Knight is... Use my Action Surge Teleport, a Teleport Spell or Scoll, or Telekinetic Feat a target (Familiar) upward (away from me) while holding onto it in order to reset the 10ft Fall Distance. ... Game mechanics...
Jacob, scouts are hella fun. They're _excellent_ at skirmishing within a party, and as far as not splitting the party goes - _that's what scouts of any class are supposed to do._ It's a _lot_ more dangerous to bring everyone along on a stealth mission to gather information than it is to go alone. It always goes wrong with all of the people in it, and rogues are _designed_ to get away safely even if they get caught somehow.
quote: "It's a lot more dangerous to bring everyone along on a stealth mission to gather information than it is to go alone." I once build an infiltrator-type character (years ago, in a Pathfinder/d20 3.5 hybrid D&D campaign), a Warlock/Factotum/Rogue multiclass, who was great at sneaking & perception, could turn himself invisible at will (from his Warlock powers), basically I wanted to see if I could use D&D to emulate the Spy from Team Fortress 2. And the character itself worked; he could get in and out undetected (he had a Ring of Spiderclimb as well), deliver info to the rest of the group, or take out guards ahead of the rest of the group moving in. He would have been great in an urban campaign, too, not just in a dungeon. Unfortunately, herein lay the problem: My character was _too skilled._ Very quickly, the other players started complaining that my spy scouting ahead meant they were forced to sit and wait while the gamemaster gave "solo adventures" to me. Even if it was just 5 minutes... they were getting bored. (Note: They were adults, 30+ year old players, not teens!) One player in particular was deliberately sabotaging me. (He was a power-gamer who was good at coming up with the most broken class/feat combos to build absolute monsters, be it warriors, psions, rogues or whatever... I had learned combo-maxing from him.) In that specific jungle-dungeon/pirate campaign he played a fighter, and if my infiltator was scouting ahead for more than a few rounds, the player would complain he was "bored now" and his fighter would "insist" on going in to "look for our rogue", proceeding to loudly break down doors to deliberately alert every enemy in the area. (And yes, he even admitted to me he was storming in after my character to force the group into frontal fights, something in which his character would be better at than mine.) After a few game sessions, the gamemasterask me to scrap my infiltrator-spy character and make a new one, specifically citing the "splitting the group" thing. I was pretty pissed off, because I had spent a lot of time on building and fine-tuning that character, writing a background story to fit the campaign etc. I had thought I was making a character who was useful to the group... but from the point of view of the other players, this wasn't a team game, this was about screentime, and my character getting (in their mind) too much of it from the GM.
I feel like Jacob's take on the Scout kind of solves the problems laid out by you guys. It focuses on turning the _entire group_ into a scouting party, able to gather information ahead of fights and plan engagements undetected; whilst still remaining the clear outstanding expert in that particular field. It's like if Pass Without Trace was an entire subclass.
@@TF2CrunchyFrog There's definitely something to say about that, that the player experience across the table matters. Of course, _I'd_ be the one asking for the interrupting player to scrap, because that's an incredibly impolite thing todo. None-the-less, that's certainly a event which is made by the tastes of the players in question. If players can't handle 5 minutes without something to do, than it's not a game in which individual character time is appreciated, and therefore scouting characters aren't good for it. There are many ways to change that though, including giving the other players the chance to control (or at least narrate) creatures that the rogue sneaks past... estimating where the rogue goes during the scouting mission silently, followed by relaying only the key pieces of information so a plan can be hatched, then giving additional info _as it is needed or relevant_ during the ensuing party infiltration (this is a very effective and fun gameplay choice).
@@Zappygunshot I think it comes down to how DM's and players expect and choose to handle Scouting events in a game. Splitting the party is fine, but isolating a lone character for exclusive gameplay time _can_ be a problem, depending on the patience and the shared-interest that players have for others' characters. See my response to @crunchyfrog about how to run scouting easier. The game needs to be fun, so if one tactic in our story-telling game isn't being fun, don't remove or punish the tactic, change how you tell the story.
That's so true, other members flip over rogues getting sneak damage but they can blow up a whole fricken room or have 5 more to their AC! Drives me batty
Sneak Attack + Luck = 3d20... Luck is its own d20. But usually... Sneak Attack should be applied very often in combat, in RAW, but the DM will decide if the enemies are smart enough to keep taps on the player Characters' locations... Especially NPCs who can see without sight.
You should really bring back this series with your new outlook and experience. I think it would be cool to see how you have evolved over the years and your opinions on the classes along side it.
You can sneak attack if you have both Advantage and Disadvantage if the enemy has a hostile entity within 5 feet of them at that time. You just get only one die to roll. Dan Dillon (Game designer for DnD 5E.) confirmed this on Twitter. So yes, on both of those prone sneak attack skits, Jacob could have used sneak attack as he had both, used a finesse weapon and the enemy had a hostile entity within 5 feet of them.
Awesome video that explains all the details a player should know about the rogue. Can't wait to see this a third time when the inevitable 5.5 hits the shelves
I will not tolerate this Scout slander! By far my favorite rogue subclass, I love the extra expertise and movement-based abilities. I really like that it provides the flavor of an entirely martial ranger, which 5e was otherwise lacking!
I mean u can just multiclass into something like fighter (which is a good multiclass) and go battlemaster. And then get the brace maneuver from Tasha’s. That allows u to make an attack of opp against a creature that comes within 5ft of u. Which means another chance to do sneak attack (and u add the superiority dice as well). And just pick your expertise to be what scout gets (skill expert feat as well). Theirs also maneuvers from Tasha’s that allow u to add to ability checks. And if u go swashbuckler u get something like the mobile feat when u attack on your turn. The main problem (which I found out not that long ago) is the moving ability scout gets is at the end of the enemy turn which means they get to attack u first. But with being able to attack when the enemy comes within u can maybe kill them before they can attack and even if u don’t u can just move away on your turn (which is like what the scout did but u got a lot more dmg out of it). Now I’m in no way saying your not allowed to like it and I’m definitely not saying it’s terrible but it could definitely be better and theirs better subclasses. Anyways sorry if this was kinda long.
@@davidstratton696 The movement you get at the end of their turn works *very* well when you've already created plenty of distance with your 40' base movement and cunning action dash. They'll likely have to dash just to reach you, and then you skitter away untouched because they can't even take a swipe with their opportunity attack. Now that you're away from them again, guess you can just rinse and repeat. The other nice thing about getting survival and nature for free is that you've still got your base proficiencies and expertise. You don't have to sacrifice on the usual suspects, and can take your stealth, thieves' tools, maybe investigation and arcana. or perception and acrobatics... you get the idea. Those other two are added on as a bonus. Plus, the scout's features are very reliable and passive most of the time. When I played an assassin rogue, I'd find almost every battle was against enemies with crazy high initiative or when we were ambushed. I think I actually got my assassinate ability off *one* time. Or you've got stuff like inquisitive's eye for detail, where unless you're fighting enemy rogues that are hiding on their turns, you'll almost never make use of the feature at all. Scout is far from the worst rogue subclass.
@@Schmeethe88 The thing is if your a swashbuckler or get the mobile feat (or u can find some other way to get more movement) then u can do that too. So it’s nothing special here. And the extra expertise is nice but u get 4 expertise and can get the skill expert feat (u also get another skill proficiency and +1 to an ability score so it’s half of an asi and since rogues get an extra asi it’s not a big deal). Again nothing special. Also as I mentioned before if u multiclass into fighter u can go battlemaster and get maneuvers that apply to ability checks so your a lot better at ability checks (one of which is initiative which is pretty cool). Did u have alert on your assassin? That helps. And your party must not have had a anyone with good perception if u kept getting surprised (if u have the alert feat u also can’t be surprised). Again the biggest problem with the scout is their ability to back away without an attack of opp is after the enemy ends theirs turn within 5 feat of u so the enemy gets to do everything they were to do and they have to stay within 5 ft of u (which is dumb). It should be as soon as they come within 5ft which is what I thought it was until not that long ago. I don’t see y that would be any more helpful then u just waiting till your turn and just backing away with either the mobile feat or being a swashbuckler (or just disengaging with a higher movement speed). And with any of those u can keep your reaction so in a way it’s better most of the time. Since u can use uncanny dodge or if u do what I said and went battlemaster u can use brace and easily get another sneak attack (along with adding the superiority dice to the dmg). Since if u kill the enemy u won’t have to worry about being hit from that enemy anymore. Like I said it’s not really terrible it just could be better.
@@Schmeethe88 Idk I think compared to all the other subclasses it’s the worst (again not terrible). Cause all of it’s features (at least not in the way later lvs) u can either go without or can just get it in a different way. Where as something like fast hands, being able to sneak attack 1v1, auto crit, being able to give allies advantage at range as a bonus action, and spell casting r things u can’t really replace. I’m gonna be honest when 5e came out I thought thief was pretty bad (I still don’t think it’s anything special) but u can build it around using items like a potion or a healers kit (if u have the healer feat) or some other way idk. Idk my favorite subclass is the arcane trickster (that and swashbuckler I’m gonna say r the 2 best and I’m not even that big on swashbuckler). Really tho the subclasses overall for the Rogue seem kinda limiting in a way. Like I wish their was a rogue subclass that purely focused on range attacks like the swashbuckler with melee (from my knowledge their isn’t). The closest we have is scout but it’s kinda disappointing for being the only thing that can be considered a purely range rogue subclass. It’s just nothing special is all.
@@davidstratton696 just get sentinel and get a side kick or use the melee character as a partner. double sneak attack at level 4 plus stealth is a shit skill so you don't even need medium armour master so just dip cleric for the armour
I'm playing an inquisitive rogue in my next campaign and I'm so excited for her! She's an Investigative Journalist though so she's very much going to need that expertise in Persuasion
A cool idea that our rogue came up with was to use a whip and, when making a sneak attack with it, could initiate a grapple check to try and wrap it around an enemy's arm or legs. This made combat a lot more fun for everyone, because he got to be more strategic in fights, and when he successfully entangled someone it was fun for the party to just wail on them
Just wanted to say, I absolutely adore!!! the little skits and visualisations you did in this video, it’s funny, changes the pace of the video, explains well and is just plain awesome.
Jacob discovered the theory of relativity while trying not to die from fall damage. Fact: You are being pulled towards the earth, but the earth is also being pulled towards you. (But the earth pulls much much much much much much much much harder.)
The most powerful Rogue still not super magical would actually be a Wood Elf Rogue. Fleet of Foot and Mask Ability thing so has an additional chance of hiding when lightly obscured. Plus starts with some weapons training.
There are actually a few uses for scout but my favorite was a build for a character I called Skii Mon-Kee (Skill Monkey) where I was designing a character who had every proficiency and as many expertise skills as possible. Scout was used because it gives 2 more expertise. Funnily enough, it's also probably the only build where human +1 in everything is actually useful.
In the first situation you would still have sneak attack even if the enemy is prone since there was an ally within 5ft. Remember you have neither advantage or disadvantage since they cancel out.
@@DetectiveInspectorMe. exactly. You don't need advantage for sneak attack if you have an ally within 5ft of the enemy and you don't have disadvantage which you don't since in that situation it was canceled out and you are considered to have niether advantage or disadvantage. Therefore sneak attack applies.
12:40 Everyone's so focused on stealth, but what about Deception? Arcana? Investigation? A rogue who knows more than most wizards? The ultimate speaker (better than bard mostly)? Genius investigator?
Exactly. I played a soulknife rogue with expertise in History and Arcana, whom was basically a mad scientist. He turned himself into a dhampir by accident and spent centuries continuing to study. Basically like Dracula from Netflix's Castlevania, he had a whole wealth of knowledge that most people had forgotten.
While I love the concept, and basically played it, I'd say be careful and talk to other players/GM before going this route on some other character's turf. Some players might be a bit disapointed/salty their wizard ain't the true arcana expert for example, and can ruin their fun because that's basically the only thing their character is good at outside of throwing fireballs.
And I'll add, it can even be disapointing for you when the GM decide that it's too overpowered or want to please the other players. You can be in a situation where they tell you that only spellcaster can do this arcana check on anything related to magic, or transform athletics checks into strength checks for example so that the barbarian still outclass you while it wouldn't have happen if you weren't that good.
I love playing rogue in DnD 5e. It has a lot of flavor I get to mess around with. Campaign 1: Kleptomaniac Gambler Gnome Rogue with expertise in deception/sleight of hand. I loved to gamble/wage at opportunities that didn't call for it including rolling dice against a god (He cheated of course). I was a trickster rogue so this added to my persona. Campaign 2: Sword College Bard/Swashbuckler tabaxi rogue that did alchemy in my downtime. Made modern medicine muscle relaxers, had a tavern band, and hunted giant weasels. I wanted a mix of rogue with sword bard cause flourishes are super cool and I wanted the feeling of dashing in the battle engaging opponents with disengage available.
Scout's my favorite rogue subclass, god I love having 6 expertise skills and moving faster than everybody else. Take the Mobile feat and your typical speed is 50, and you *dash* as a bonus action, truly ridiculous. The 17th level upgrade is a little underwhelming, until you consider you're rolling an extra 9d6 (that's an average of almost 30!) damage per turn thanks to it. If you've been playing a dual-wielder the whole time, it's just a massive damage output upgrade for free every turn.
I've been having far more fun playing a scout then I ever did as an assassin tbh. I like to reflavour abilities, and my scout, being a bounty hunter who doesn't fight fair and is an expert on surviving and tracking down targets, has had more personality than the only thing I could think of to be interesting as an assassin, and that's a state sponsored assassin. What's more fun and flavourful, having a fake identity that can be bought via backgrounds, or throwing sand in people's eyes, backing off, and firing a well placed shot through their hand into their eyes (Both campaigns had guns in them. A scout with a sniper rifle was a total joy. The assassin wouldn't use them because they were too loud. Fair but still.)
yo jacob. did you know? the ability to move half your speed using your reaction is pretty rad. A melee focused rogue could position themselves to give advantage to them and allies (though I know you don't use this rule, regardless it would be helpful in your personal flanking rules too). In general its a powerful tactical option. Also I agree, take the mobile feat so you will be faster and even harder to pin down as a scout, making you super maneuverable as you have multiple options to essentially dash and disengage. That extra 10 ft at 9th level? means you could move 20 ft at least (if you're not a small race) when you use your reaction to move. Hey thats 25 ft with mobile. advantage on initiative rolls? Do you know how important going first is dude? You have a significant tactical advantage and could drop a weak enemy early, or since you grant advantage against a single target, even if you miss that significant boost to accuracy you just gave your party for a turn is going to turn the tides in your favor if it can be followed up on, especially against a strong foe. an extra attack as a bonus action that can apply sneak attack against a second opponent? sure its spread out damage but that means you could potentially drop 2 weaker minions or do damage to the big bad and a minion. Oh wait you missed that first attack? Well that attack applied advantage to the enemy so guess what? you have advantage on that second attempt and are guaranteed sneak attack. Is the big bad alone? that means on that first turn when you go first and you didn't get sneak attack on that first attack you get it on the second attack on that first turn. scouts dope you're just being a hater yo. i love you though.
As a scout. You have two extra expertise included in your kit... If we took everything officially. No multiclass. The scout rogue can be a non magic replacement for ranger. Have the most skill proficiencies and expertise of all the other rogue subclass. Sure assassin have the highest damage ever. But it only applies to a surprise round. 1 round.
I started playing dnd this year, joining an existing campaign that some friends have had for numerous years. I didn’t know much about the game so when the DM gave me a summary of the plot so far I decided to play a rogue, as I felt it fit the campaign the best. After roughly 100 hours of playing I’m still pretty insecure when it comes to abilities and such but videos like this helps a lot. In addition they help to relieve some of the pressure related to knowing all the rules.
I LOVE your explanation of Thieves' Cant. It's how my brother and I ran it back in the day, but before the global phenomenon if internet memes we never had the language to elegantly convey our interpretation of what it meant in-game
Another point in defense of Reliable Talent: Rogues are supposed to be skill monkeys, it's their thing. Yes, Bards get that too but at this level they can also reshape memories and see what's happening on the other side of the globe and summon magic food that makes your mind stronger, so maybe it's reasonable for Rogues to... be consistent in doing something skillfully after putting effort into learning that something.
The Scout has one simple but effective role-play feature: Survivalist. It gives them proficiency and expertise in the Nature and Survival skills, which not only are on brand for a brigand whose jobs often bring them out into the wilderness but can also save their party's bacon in a pinch. Skirmisher does sacrifice your reaction but it can make some distance between you and your opponent, which is really good especially if using hand crossbows or even firearms as primary weapons. Superior Mobility also kind of feeds into that, increasing the Skirmisher distance from 15 to 20 or to 25 when combined with the Mobile feat. Ambush Master is another synergistic Rogue feature for the party in combat, since if you're facing off against a single large target, simply by hitting them do you grant everyone else in your party advantage to hit them. Good for the resident Barbarian or Paladin but even better if, for some reason, you decided to be in an all-Rogue party for the lolz and memes. In that party, if you went first, you'd be automatically guaranteeing everyone else's Sneak Attack provided no other detrimental disadvantage dealing effect is active. Sudden Strike, whilst a late-game feature, is a grand reward for sticking with the class for so long that you can pop Sneak Attack as a bonus action against an enemy creature as long as it's not the same creature you attacked prior. Compared to Thieves' Reflexes, which applies once per combat, since Sudden Strike is a bonus action, you get to do this TWICE on all of your turns, which can help lighten the load for the frontline combatants if you and the party got yourselves into a fight against a large horde of goblins, for example. "Damage now is better than damage later." - Kobold from Pack Tactics
@@exqueue3813 Not to mention the hard counter to a horde of goblins is like, a single fireball. AOE attacks at this level just delete things like goblins and kobolds, and magic users are great at AOE.
Yeah,like others stated, while it's theoretically possible and cool you can attack a lot of enemies, at that level you usually fight some outsiders, archmages with powerful bodyguards, liches,really Really tanky monsters(because the DM has no imagination and thinks that lots of HP= bigger challenge), all of which are immune to sneak attacks(or so freaking tanky that it doesn't matter). So you're just a brooding fighter with less hp and darker clothes. Is it evident i'm not a fan of higher level play?
lol just play ranger and good berry juggle for that plus ranger's have entangle and spike growth not to mention conjure woodland creatures. Hunter's mar is also a awful spell btw
I love this class so much, it makes you feel like a phantom thief and John Wick combined into one. The sheer bonus to skills makes you think about doing some really interesting maneuvers and counters to monsters. (Like shooting a wizard from the rafters of his own tower.) I can't wait to see how the class continues on.
What I like about getting Thieves' Cant with Linguist is that it's flavored to be you understanding how language works, and being able to decode the cyphers left by others with relative ease
I actually made a Rogue who's expertise was Investigation and Perception(private eye style character) he wasn't even proficient in thieves' tools. He was a blast.
Yeah I’m playing a Batman/ Nitghtwing inspired vigilante rogue. It is fun to have a high investigation score. The DM has this big conspiracy going on in the main plot and it’s fun to gather and put the clues together.
@@MandalorV7 I have a back up character who's a Battle Smith Artificer who is built to be a Private Investigator. A single damave cantrip and then just support spells, and focusing on using the automaton for protection.
Love how the mastermind capstone feature is being held up as good while flat extra damage from the scout is bad apparently. Like, how often in DND has your character had its mind read? Literally never for me. The ability is almost useless, which sucks.
It’s because at that level the mastermind is already cool and awesome so getting a flavouful ability is cool where as scout is still boring at that level and just gets something else kinda boring
@@chase7629 An extra attack that can apply a second sneak attack in the same turn might be "boring", but it is very powerful and definitely tops anything the Thief subclass brings to the table. The subclass is designed around an archer build and ambush tactics, and is meant to be played similar to an archery ranger, but with sneak attacks instead of extra attacks. So if you want an archer that is focused on precision attacks and stealth (like most archers in fantasy media - Legolas, Green Arrow, Robin Hood, etc.), scout is the best fit for that.
"Scout's the same but arguably worse" Skirmisher >>> Fast Hands (Reaction movement without oppourtunity attacks is much better than bonus action object use) Suvivalist < Second Story Work (both situational but climbing and jumping comes up more often) Superior Movement >> Supreme Sneak (Movement is powerful extremely powerful, especially since it increases the reaction movement even more, there are a million ways to get advantage on stealth) Ambush Master >>> Use Magic Device (Unless you are stealing items meant for other party members, you likely aren't going to get many items made for other classes, Ambush master can make very power first turns against bosses) Sudden Strike = Thief's Reflexes (Sudden Strike is very very strong, but better for ranged characters than melee characters so limiting in that way, Thief's Reflexes is really really strong on the first round, but only the first round.) Looking at the abilities, Scout is definitively better than Thief, thief is better situationally.
@@kurtisdeakin I know! >=( Going to be playing Fighter (3)/Rogue (17) in an upcoming campaign, going Echo Knight and Scout. I will NEVER be pinned down.
The problem with the reaction movement once you get past early levels is that you get it after they’ve attacked… which, if they hit, you may well want to use uncanny dodge on. I just don’t see that much benefit in reaction moving ten feet, unless it will stop another enemy reaching you. But rogues have enough mobility that you should generally be able to avoid this anyway. I like fast hands for the combat medic thief build, but it is pretty situational outside of that usage. Advantage on stealth rolls isn’t super easy to come by imo, but pass without trace exists, which is better than advantage, so definitely agree supreme sneak isn’t great
@@lexolotlgod i would recommend taking Fighter to level 7. You can possess your echo and use it for reconnaissance while having all of the abilities of scout
Aw come on man Scout has a lot of utility and can help out the party. It's totally does have plenty of flavor! It's super fun and not a bad subclass ;0;
14:19 Just like the Scout: using a shortbow and flanking (which is stupid easy to get), that’s two attacks, each dealing 10d6+dex. If both hit, that’s an average of: 80 damage (assuming +5 DEX)
If you're planning for endgame scout 17 barbarian 2 guarantees both sneak attacks and doubles the damage dice. You just have to build for STR instead of DEX.
Both of you apparently can't read. The assassin's features almost never come up and if it does, it can only happen at the start of the combat encounter (and is also tied to a saving throw in the most common save) while the scout literally just gets an extra attack WITH sneak attack.
@@94alibey And dealing 80 damage every round is much better then dealing 80 damage on the first round of 1/3rd of combat encounters. And honestly that's being generous to the assassin.
9:20 LMAO jacob literally just described einsteins theory of gravity derived from general relativity. He would be right in saying the earth is moving toward him!
man I really forgot that you did all these "how to play" videos a while ago. This one felt almost nostalgic. The song was so cool that I wanna listen to it again. Seriously even the part at the end of the video, felt like a 90s movie about adventures in oriental lands
Scout has plenty of flavor. It’s great for someone that wants to play a more realistic ranger (no magic). Sure, you could do fighter, but fighter can be pretty much anything non-magic. As for abilities, I personally think expertise is what makes the rogue. Getting more is great. Plus, skirmisher is fun to mess around with.
Man, wouldn’t it be great if you could cover all the other classes and subclasses?! :D Seriously though, I loved the original series and this was great so I hope to see more remakes covering the new content.
Rogue with sentinel feat is amazing when next to a fighter cavalier or barbarian ancestral guardian. You get to do a lot of damage somewhat safely, and it’s such a spike in efficacy you can experiment with other feats that you might not normally pick.
I love rogues so much. My longest running PC was a tiefling rogue, he was your standard "kill first talk second" arcane trickster rogue, but after an event in which the party gazed through a portal and saw the multiverse, they instantly levelled up and i made him multiclass into a paladin of redemption.
Scout was fun as a deep gnome in the Underdark. One of my favorite rogue choices. Skirmisher is an awesome movement ability. The subclass is awesome for smaller lineages for the extra movement.
We recently started up a new campaign after ending our last one and I finally get to play a Rogue. This video does a great summing up why I've always wanted to play this class.
Reaction fact to keep in mind, they don't have to be done outside of your turn, they are just done whenever a reaction is called for. For example, if you use a held action in the same turn that you set the parameter for that action you will use your reaction while it is still your turn. Another example, you take damage on your turn from a trap or a monster ability and use uncanny dodge.
I actually gave the rogue in my campaign some pretty good stuff. He gets advantage on every stealth check, and a second action. He also has two daggers that increase in damage every time he hits with them, and they can be thrown which they return to his hand after his turn ends. So don't be afraid to give your rogue a bone if they keep failing checks or don't get a high stealth roll.
For my rogues I feel like I could give enemies a weak spot that the Rogue could find with legend lore or a nat 20 investigation check that if targeted, would double sneak attack damage rolled one time per combat.
Wait, in the situation where Colton is on the ground, the rouge should get sneak attack because he has neither advantage nor disadvantage and Colton has another creature threatening him within 5 ft. "If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20"
1:02 - Sneak attack damage adds to the damage you're dealing, so it's of the same type. So if you use a dagger to deal 1d4+3 piercing damage and add sneak attack to it, the attack deals 1d4+1d6+3 piercing damage as one damage roll.
Him "shooting people up to forever away" Me who made a fighter that at level 5 could shoot his longbow with a +11 and a range of 1280 feet for an average of 16 damage per shot
Watching this video I got inspired to make a rogue character who’s like a more kind and sweet Indiana Jones, who can dodge traps and get into locked areas and who needs to warm up to the idea of murder
Tip for rogues who don't have a lot to do. Theives tools disarm, unlock, but also allow crafting of traps that can do damage equal to the check used to craft them. A few spare materials and a short rest is all it takes to turn that expertise into spicy damage
Ive only had 2 rogues: Rebel teenager half elf noble arcane trickster that only steals from his parents businesess to give it to poor people. And black widow mastermind rogue that became a noble after killin her last 2 husbands and inheriting everything from them, never got to play an edgy rogue
I am quite a fan of Jacob's videos. The parody stuff is always funny... it seems that my 3 kids (age 8,10,12) like it too, because ever since we watched this video they are are now constantly singing "what kind of rogue are you?" around my house daily. Haha. Nice work.
one homerule thing one of my DMs do is give Thieve's Cant to people with the Criminal and Charlatan backgrounds, mainly so that he can write more of these situations as plot points in the world while not *requiring* a player to take a level in Rogue, while still giving reasoning with the chosen backgrounds to know that code the idea that not only do these down-to-earth rogues know it, but the idea of giving it to other criminals of different specialties opens a lot of fun doors that keeping it tied to specifically Class doesnt, and these people are still in-the-know since, well, they're criminals!
What I love about the rogue is that it's the non-martial real person equivalent. It works hand in hand with the fighter to create all of the possible characters in the real world, and despite how limiting that may sound to have them dedicated to only two classes, and even still there are subclasses of each that aren't realistic within them, combining that with all of the different ways you can build a character means you could make a very good representation of anyone that has ever existed or ever will exist. If they're not a trained combatant, typically rogue will fill that niche better and highlight what that person has spent their life becoming good at. If they are a trained combatant, fighter highlights everything you could possibly want without ever taking away from your out-of-combat abilities
I feel very lucky, that almost every character I’ve rolled stats for had at least one 18 to start with, so most characters had a 20 in their main stat at level 1
Soulknife rogue is a lot of fun. Essentially you have a a mix of Dual Wielder/Sharpshooter feats with unlimited free daggers and very cool actions, ability that is basically a Comprehend Languages spell, teleportation, invisibility, etc. We just had our first session this week at level 3 and it has been a blast! The only issue I can see is that at higher levels you can not get bonuses to this "weapon"
I like to be a barbarian-rogue. Finesse weapons *can* use dex, but they can also use a strength. Reckless attack gives you advantage with all strength attacks.
I really like when the party splits. It can create drama and result in some fun shenanigans. Best session I ran was when the rogue wanted to sneak into the villains castle while the other players were talking with the maybe villain.
Fun fact about ranged attacks: If you are within 5 feet of a creature that can't see you, your ranged attack doesn't have disadvantage since it specifies "that can see you."
Or take crossbow expert feat and don't worry if they can see you or not!
Also there is another dude within 5 feet anyway so he would get sneak attack regardless of advantage
But he's prone, which is disadvantage to a ranged attacker anyway, if they are farther than 5ft away. Like you said, only being hidden actually sorts this gordian knot.
Proned enemies give you disadvantage to hit unless you are within 5 feet, and using range gives disadvantage within 5 feet. So yeah there was no scenario there where he was going to get advantage (without crossbow expert or the UA fighting style Close Quarters Shooter) but he did have a friendly in 5 feet so there was also no scenario where he was going to not have sneak attack.
@@exturkconner "You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and *you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll*." Doesn`t matter if there is an Ally near the enemy. He got disadvantage so no Sneak Attack. It`s automatically canceled out
I love the idea of a medieval dnd setting where the thieve's Cant code is actually a set of modern real world memes that are updated regularly by some mysterious individual with a gate open and an internet connection.
bussin frfr
this is beautiful
@@hithere4719 Bababooey
@@jenbooob “one Bababooey if they come by land and two Bababooeys if by sea”
It would be so funny! XD
That “uncanny dodging a cliff” sketch reminded me of the 3.5 Iron Heart Surge, a Warblade ability that “ends the source of an effect.”
By rules as written, it lets you turn off the sun because the sunlight is bright light that affects your ability to see.
This broke me thanks for the laughs
It lets you do a lot more than that as written... You can turn off an enemy's life, or turn off an elemental plane, or turn off time... Or turn off the DM since they're the real source of all effects.
"Oh no God is talking to me" *deletes God*
*Falls off a tiny ledge*
*Deactivates gravity*
Its far funnier to use this while drowning - The ecological consequences are less damning but more fun than the sun disappearing, such as a bunch of Aboleths suddenly being upset.
The Rogue is my favorite class and yet my friend created my favorite concept for the class. He made a rogue who wanted to be the best rogue had a normal backstory very happy go lucky, but he heard all rogues had tragic backstories so for the entire campaign he was trying to murder his family.
I like to think of the Swashbuckler Archetype as the loud and upfront variant of the rogue. Basically you make yourself more like a fighter.
Love that flavour. I on the other hand personally think of swashbucklers as more of the bard rogues. Not so much the usual musical kind of bard but more the seductive, charming criminal who’s able and prefers to talk their way out of trouble, using violence only as a last resort.
The amount of fun stuff in this vid while still remaining clear and relevant to teaching people how to build a rogue really shows how far your editing/video concepts have come. Well done, dude.
I am thinking about dropping out of school to focus on my career as a star on UA-cam. I already make a lot of money on UA-cam. School bores me so much. I need more opinions and since I don't have any friends, I gotta ask you, der
thanks :)
@@AxxLAfriku Oh, it's this guy!
I genuinely think this might be one of if not the best video you've ever made. It includes everything that makes people love your videos, especially the original "How to play..." series but turned up to 11, with everything that you've learned over years since. And the music bit, absolute FIRE. Really hope this reboot series continues, its great to see how your channel has grown over the past few years.
(P.s. your Gravity/falling bit you did? Unironically the line of thought Einstein had when formulating general relativity, have fun with the knowledge you are a modern day ultra-geek D&D einstein)
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. I had a LOT of fun making this so I think I’ll be revisiting all the classes again. Hopefully.
@@XPtoLevel3 I just started playing w/my brother last week (we are in our 40's/using roll20) and your video (the first one) on how to play a rogue is the reason I chose it.... so this will be my second game and now I'm pausing the screens like crazy, reading up and your LARP examples helped prompt even more discussions. Thank you so much for your work!
@XP to Level 3 I couldnt have said it better than this guy did
@@XPtoLevel3 I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about the Armorer Artificer subclass if you revisit it, as it wasn't released at the time of the original two videos.
@@dillpickle987 that subclass is awesome, you can literally become Iron Man
great power:
>sneak attack
overwhelming power:
>playing a class that lets the party rogue attack outside of their turn
*That moment when I realise that Purple Dragon Knight can actually do this*
Battle Master babyyyyyyyyyy!!!!
Order Cleric, ironically enough
@@quendi5557 Battle Master can do it better and sooner
@@matthewtompkins4338 wasn't going: "The purple dragon Knight is the best at this". Was just saying they could do it. I also don't know if the battle masters is a straight upgrade though.
Scout's reaction movement pairs really well with steady aim, since you can shoot with advantage AND still move
Yes! Just stand far away and pew pew or 30ft if using hand crossbow
Or you could get a horse
Except it only works when an enemy *ends* it's turn within 5 ft of you meaning you've probably already been hit by the time you even use it and combined with steady aim you only move 15 feet meaning they're just gonna hit you again next turn. Now compare that with riding a mount which still has it's full movement which is way faster than yours and probably your enemies and you can still use steady aim on it. Yeah that shit is trash compared to just using a mount or taking a better subclass.
@@Tupadre97 If you think mounts are practical it's probably the type of campaign you are in (or you play a tiny race and have a cute mount that the DM doesn't have the heart to kill, if so that's cool too). Otherwise, it's like arguing that beastmaster is a good subclass (and beastmaster companions easily have tipple the hitpoints of a horse). Any AOE at a level beyond 5th, and your horse turned to glue. If you are a paladin, that's fine, otherwise you have to wait till you get back to town to use aim. As for Scout, sure there are more powerful options, but nothing wrong with optimizing around something that's actually reliable.
That said, a mount is another way to do it! but that doesn't make the scout method bad. I just personally wouldn't go scout past level 3, or level 5 if you want uncanny dodge.
“What kind of rogue are you?”
Banjo starts
Me: immense grin knowing this channel by now
Guitar
@@samueluwanawich5518 Americanized German Harp
@@robocart9253 I mean... It's obviously a guitar... unless "you"/the viewer Is blind... and I'm pretty sure it sounds different, but whatever.
If we are going to be like this, I call it Westernized Japanese Koto. 😅🤣
@@Petq011 yeah that was the joke lol, making fun of a correction with an over correction.
Might be a strummed version of a freedom filled Egyptian Lyre though. Can't be sure.
@@robocart9253 Ah. True, true. 😅🤣
scout rogue is just non-magic ranger, which I've definitely been wanting for a while and it has a unique fighting style thanks to skirmisher, making a hit and run melee rogue or even just using it to keep out of reach as a ranged rogue, especially since it can be used with steady aim since it's a reaction movement. Frankly all the scout abilities are pretty dope and importantly very different from other subclasses
Yes!! I've been looking for some scout support! It's one I currently play and I love it! (Also have a ranger Gloomstalker in another game, similarities are spot on but just different enough to take you from that tanky ranger feeling to the sleek shadow walker of a rogue Scout. I love my scout rogue! And she's so good at everything that when she does fail it's epic and fricken hilarious!
It's unfortunate that skirmisher requires an enemy to END it's turn next to you as opposed to just moving next to you. You have to take a round of attacks for skirmisher to trigger.
@@exqueue3813 that it is. And since it's a reaction I've found myself saying, should I skirmisher or just stay here and uncanny dodge? I use both quite frequently but it would be pretty cool if you could skirmish just as they enter melee range (well 5 ft, in case you're a bugbear or have an extended reach melee weapon)
I tried scout in some adventure league games I played last weekend. The Skirmisher feature worked well with the Steady Aim feature. I used a heavy crossbow. Skirmisher usually got me out of melee so no disadvantage for being in melee. Steady Aim gave me advantage so I could attack whatever target I pleased on the battlefield, and if skirmisher didn't do the job to get me out of melee then steady aim backup sword works. Elven Accuracy feat at 4th level made that single attack per round very likely to hit. I had fun with it.
I fricking love scout rogue. I played it exactly as a non-magic ranger, and taking 2 levels of ranger when I was higher level. You get more feats so I had skilled, sharpshooter and skulker. You get 2 extra expertises in nature and survival, it's easy to stay out of melee range, and it's lvl 17 ability is *AMAZING*.
0:24 you pick scout for when you make a half-elf who multiclasses in Scout Rogue and Lore Bard and taking the "Skilled" feat at level 4, then the "Prodigy" Half-Elf racial feat from Xanathar's at level 8 (Prodigy gives one proficiency and one expertise). At level 1 in Rogue and level 3 in Bard you get expertise in 2 skills, and the Scout subclass makes Nature and Survival innately into expertise skills. Past level 8, you could then put 3 more levels into Rogue getting another 2 expertise skills, then get to Bard level 10 for another 2 expertise skills.
So that means you have proficiency in everything, then 11 skills in which you have expertise. Scout, at minimum in this one specific situation, is hilariously OP -- basically a "King of All Trades" as opposed to a Jack of All Trades
Please remember that generally this is still weaker than the energy die a soul knife gets
A level of Knowledge domain cleric gets you expertise in 2 skills between Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.
You have to be high level to make this, and it isn't as effective as just picking any other rogue subclass and going to high levels
@@dephony5648 just needs level 8 to have proficiency in all skills; more of a mid-level than high-level build, and is definitely for a specific type of playstyle that's optimized for one specific thing as opposed to being "good"
A level of Ranger also gets you perception and Expertise in it too
For the scout I’ll be honest I split from the party pretty often so being good at exactly that seems like an alright choice. I always take the rule of “never split the party” as being specifically in the context of dungeons and other dangerous areas where strong foes could be around any corner, but in a low-risk area where most encounters can be avoided or talked your way out of or say if you’re doing an infiltration mission it makes sense.
I'd still say his homebrew suggestions for the scout are a step up. Especially when looking at 9th level you can say that what he suggests would be more fun to play.
could also just use pass without trace since 90% of creatures have a passive perception of 14
@@jettlucashayes8508 Druid and Ranger are some of the least played classes, not every party has that luxury.
@@Nesto_ trickery clerics get it too and I'd say it makes it worth it, magical secrets also does the trick heck even monks get pass without trace
@@jettlucashayes8508 One subclass of the class with the most subclasses in the game. Like I get what you mean but most parties still won’t have it.
I vibe with the description of rogues as particularly human. My first DND session, I made a human rogue because relying on skill and deliberate action felt more relatable to me than tossing fireballs. Relating to my character is important to me in RPGs.
Good for you dude.
“No one uses paper character sheets anymore”
Me and my party preferring and still using paper character sheets to this day
Ditto.
Now no one uses DND beyond anymore xddddd
I am the same
WotC seem a little too hungry for microtransactions, I'm sticking to paper for now
Paper supremacy!
Fun fact! Scout's level 3 doesn't specify walking speed. So get yourself a burrowing/flying speed, and just say no to any further attacks for the turn!
Burrowing is hard to get, though. I think the only way is to wildshape or polymorph. But a rogue who is also a badger makes sense to me
You'd think Harengon would get a burrowind speed, like, you know, rabbits
The issue is that even if you cant get attacked any more, you took the full attack damage, and then the rest of the damage went to another, probably squishier, party member instead. Even if the ability avoids you getting attacked for an entire turn, you probably burnt your reaction to get zero benefit and maybe make shit worse. Its HORRIBLE.
@@Siennarchist What you described is an awesome opportunity to make a choice in a potentially dire situation. Dramatic, dangerous... I'd say you've just invented role-playing.
Dropping the sarcasm, you literally explained why it's an AWESOME ability :) But that also depends if you're in for the "winning" or for the "role-playing" part of this table-top *role-playing* game. If it's not obvious, I prefer to be presented with difficult and interesting choices, but it's okay to be into other aspects of the game. You do you.
@@borofreak my roleplaying ability generally isnt dependent on flushing me and my party's hitpoints down the drain for zero benefit. Using a bad ability to roleplay doesn't make it a good ability. Also theres a ton of choices and flavour you can make with any subclass. Adding an option that is nearly always terrible to your toolkit isnt any more roleplay enabling that an actually good ability
@@Siennarchist Whatever suits you, mate. You can play any way you want :)
"The ground rolls to dodge you."
*rolls*
"The ground fails. You both take 500 damage, but the ground's gravity skill negates most of that."
"Wait! I roll to steal the concept of gravity!"
"Can't, you're already stole the concept of Pigeons, and there's a hard limit of one concept stolen per game."
"Oh, right. Darn."
While playing 3rd edition years ago my rogue was knocked off a Mesa by an attack. I jokingly asked the DM if I could declare the ground for my +1 AC dodge bonus. Laughs were had by all; I took full damage.
@@philliptivis3082 lmao
Reading that first line made me dizzy
What sort of fae fuckery is this?
Bro what
I honestly prefer the Scout over the assassin, its abilities are a lot of fun when you use them right and can be pretty handy. Other the Assassinate ability, the Assassins abilities are useless
I'm a Scout, and while he's right about it being the best archetype to wander off alone that's kind of why I wanted it. Scout almost has a ranger_esque type of feel to it while also being proficient in so many things.
@@MapleToaster i really like it for infiltration missions, I have a scout rogue multiclassed with an Echo Knight Fighter so instead I can send my duplicate over 1000 feet away from me while getting all of the features of Scout, without ever being in harms way
A half-elf scout, at level 3, has ten skill prof. with expertise in 4 of them (although nature and survival have to be two of those four). At that point you're not just looking for skills you want, just looking for skills to add just because you can. I like it just fine.
You think assassinate is useful?
But I like the Scout subclass lmao
5:00 - Actually, you can do that. You have a non-incapacitated ally (or at least an enemy of your target) adjacent to your target. While the Disadvantage of making a ranged attack in melee still exists, it is canceled by the Advantage you would use from Steady Aim (and from the adjacent target being prone). Thus, this attack would have _neither_ Advantage nor Disadvantage* and would still allow you to Sneak Attack a target that is adjacent to a non-incapacitated enemy of itself (e.g. an ally of yours).
*"If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage." - PHB p.173
The coolest feat for Rogue is the Mobile feat. Extra movement speed, ignore difficult terrain and don't provoke opportunity attacks when you leave their melee range after making an attack. Excellent for that slippery, hit-and-run playstyle. My absolute favorite rogue feat.
🎶Ain’t no one gonna hit my fleshmeat, prepare for your defeat: I’m taking the mobile feat.🎶
“Oh no”
🎶Sneak attack, run away. I can dash, it’s okay. No reaction attacks, I’m too fast, that’s a fact.🎶
Theif is my favourite subclass for Rogue, because I love using items in combat. So something I like is when the Dm allows using an item interaction against another creature to count as an attack for the purposes of Mobile and other features. It makes me feel like my Rogue is able to do a lot more with what they have, like using a Piton as a knife and stabbing a prone creature, then using a Hammer to hammer it into the ground, pinning the creature....LOVE Thief.
Theif is my favourite subclass for Rogue, because I love using items in combat. So something I like is when the Dm allows using an item interaction against another creature to count as an attack for the purposes of Mobile and other features. It makes me feel like my Rogue is able to do a lot more with what they have, like using a Piton as a knife and stabbing a prone creature, then using a Hammer to hammer it into the ground, pinning the creature....LOVE Thief.
@VakovoSheggorri Thats awesome, bu Now I'm afraid of the folk at the climbing gym! 😱
It's easy to avoid falling damage. Just fall and miss the ground.
That's how you fly
Didn't work for Keyleth
Thanks Arthur
An easier way for me as an Eldritch Knight is... Use my Action Surge Teleport, a Teleport Spell or Scoll, or Telekinetic Feat a target (Familiar) upward (away from me) while holding onto it in order to reset the 10ft Fall Distance.
... Game mechanics...
this is literally what orbiting is, you just move to the side so fast you miss the earth
Jacob, scouts are hella fun. They're _excellent_ at skirmishing within a party, and as far as not splitting the party goes - _that's what scouts of any class are supposed to do._ It's a _lot_ more dangerous to bring everyone along on a stealth mission to gather information than it is to go alone. It always goes wrong with all of the people in it, and rogues are _designed_ to get away safely even if they get caught somehow.
quote: "It's a lot more dangerous to bring everyone along on a stealth mission to gather information than it is to go alone."
I once build an infiltrator-type character (years ago, in a Pathfinder/d20 3.5 hybrid D&D campaign), a Warlock/Factotum/Rogue multiclass, who was great at sneaking & perception, could turn himself invisible at will (from his Warlock powers), basically I wanted to see if I could use D&D to emulate the Spy from Team Fortress 2. And the character itself worked; he could get in and out undetected (he had a Ring of Spiderclimb as well), deliver info to the rest of the group, or take out guards ahead of the rest of the group moving in. He would have been great in an urban campaign, too, not just in a dungeon.
Unfortunately, herein lay the problem: My character was _too skilled._ Very quickly, the other players started complaining that my spy scouting ahead meant they were forced to sit and wait while the gamemaster gave "solo adventures" to me. Even if it was just 5 minutes... they were getting bored. (Note: They were adults, 30+ year old players, not teens!)
One player in particular was deliberately sabotaging me. (He was a power-gamer who was good at coming up with the most broken class/feat combos to build absolute monsters, be it warriors, psions, rogues or whatever... I had learned combo-maxing from him.) In that specific jungle-dungeon/pirate campaign he played a fighter, and if my infiltator was scouting ahead for more than a few rounds, the player would complain he was "bored now" and his fighter would "insist" on going in to "look for our rogue", proceeding to loudly break down doors to deliberately alert every enemy in the area. (And yes, he even admitted to me he was storming in after my character to force the group into frontal fights, something in which his character would be better at than mine.)
After a few game sessions, the gamemasterask me to scrap my infiltrator-spy character and make a new one, specifically citing the "splitting the group" thing. I was pretty pissed off, because I had spent a lot of time on building and fine-tuning that character, writing a background story to fit the campaign etc. I had thought I was making a character who was useful to the group... but from the point of view of the other players, this wasn't a team game, this was about screentime, and my character getting (in their mind) too much of it from the GM.
I feel like Jacob's take on the Scout kind of solves the problems laid out by you guys. It focuses on turning the _entire group_ into a scouting party, able to gather information ahead of fights and plan engagements undetected; whilst still remaining the clear outstanding expert in that particular field. It's like if Pass Without Trace was an entire subclass.
@@TF2CrunchyFrog There's definitely something to say about that, that the player experience across the table matters. Of course, _I'd_ be the one asking for the interrupting player to scrap, because that's an incredibly impolite thing todo. None-the-less, that's certainly a event which is made by the tastes of the players in question. If players can't handle 5 minutes without something to do, than it's not a game in which individual character time is appreciated, and therefore scouting characters aren't good for it. There are many ways to change that though, including giving the other players the chance to control (or at least narrate) creatures that the rogue sneaks past... estimating where the rogue goes during the scouting mission silently, followed by relaying only the key pieces of information so a plan can be hatched, then giving additional info _as it is needed or relevant_ during the ensuing party infiltration (this is a very effective and fun gameplay choice).
@@Zappygunshot I think it comes down to how DM's and players expect and choose to handle Scouting events in a game. Splitting the party is fine, but isolating a lone character for exclusive gameplay time _can_ be a problem, depending on the patience and the shared-interest that players have for others' characters. See my response to @crunchyfrog about how to run scouting easier. The game needs to be fun, so if one tactic in our story-telling game isn't being fun, don't remove or punish the tactic, change how you tell the story.
That's so true, other members flip over rogues getting sneak damage but they can blow up a whole fricken room or have 5 more to their AC! Drives me batty
Sneak Attack + Luck = 3d20... Luck is its own d20.
But usually... Sneak Attack should be applied very often in combat, in RAW, but the DM will decide if the enemies are smart enough to keep taps on the player Characters' locations... Especially NPCs who can see without sight.
You should really bring back this series with your new outlook and experience. I think it would be cool to see how you have evolved over the years and your opinions on the classes along side it.
I'd love to see Warlock and Artificer done *again* !
You can sneak attack if you have both Advantage and Disadvantage if the enemy has a hostile entity within 5 feet of them at that time. You just get only one die to roll. Dan Dillon (Game designer for DnD 5E.) confirmed this on Twitter.
So yes, on both of those prone sneak attack skits, Jacob could have used sneak attack as he had both, used a finesse weapon and the enemy had a hostile entity within 5 feet of them.
Awesome video that explains all the details a player should know about the rogue. Can't wait to see this a third time when the inevitable 5.5 hits the shelves
not called 5.5
I love this video too.
Probably because my parents were k-
Nanashi :)
@@Potatoman_-fx3gs But it's still 5.5e
couldnt agree more! also, i love your smt pfp!!
I will not tolerate this Scout slander! By far my favorite rogue subclass, I love the extra expertise and movement-based abilities. I really like that it provides the flavor of an entirely martial ranger, which 5e was otherwise lacking!
I mean u can just multiclass into something like fighter (which is a good multiclass) and go battlemaster. And then get the brace maneuver from Tasha’s. That allows u to make an attack of opp against a creature that comes within 5ft of u. Which means another chance to do sneak attack (and u add the superiority dice as well). And just pick your expertise to be what scout gets (skill expert feat as well). Theirs also maneuvers from Tasha’s that allow u to add to ability checks.
And if u go swashbuckler u get something like the mobile feat when u attack on your turn. The main problem (which I found out not that long ago) is the moving ability scout gets is at the end of the enemy turn which means they get to attack u first. But with being able to attack when the enemy comes within u can maybe kill them before they can attack and even if u don’t u can just move away on your turn (which is like what the scout did but u got a lot more dmg out of it).
Now I’m in no way saying your not allowed to like it and I’m definitely not saying it’s terrible but it could definitely be better and theirs better subclasses. Anyways sorry if this was kinda long.
@@davidstratton696 The movement you get at the end of their turn works *very* well when you've already created plenty of distance with your 40' base movement and cunning action dash. They'll likely have to dash just to reach you, and then you skitter away untouched because they can't even take a swipe with their opportunity attack. Now that you're away from them again, guess you can just rinse and repeat.
The other nice thing about getting survival and nature for free is that you've still got your base proficiencies and expertise. You don't have to sacrifice on the usual suspects, and can take your stealth, thieves' tools, maybe investigation and arcana. or perception and acrobatics... you get the idea. Those other two are added on as a bonus.
Plus, the scout's features are very reliable and passive most of the time. When I played an assassin rogue, I'd find almost every battle was against enemies with crazy high initiative or when we were ambushed. I think I actually got my assassinate ability off *one* time. Or you've got stuff like inquisitive's eye for detail, where unless you're fighting enemy rogues that are hiding on their turns, you'll almost never make use of the feature at all. Scout is far from the worst rogue subclass.
@@Schmeethe88 The thing is if your a swashbuckler or get the mobile feat (or u can find some other way to get more movement) then u can do that too. So it’s nothing special here. And the extra expertise is nice but u get 4 expertise and can get the skill expert feat (u also get another skill proficiency and +1 to an ability score so it’s half of an asi and since rogues get an extra asi it’s not a big deal). Again nothing special. Also as I mentioned before if u multiclass into fighter u can go battlemaster and get maneuvers that apply to ability checks so your a lot better at ability checks (one of which is initiative which is pretty cool).
Did u have alert on your assassin? That helps. And your party must not have had a anyone with good perception if u kept getting surprised (if u have the alert feat u also can’t be surprised).
Again the biggest problem with the scout is their ability to back away without an attack of opp is after the enemy ends theirs turn within 5 feat of u so the enemy gets to do everything they were to do and they have to stay within 5 ft of u (which is dumb). It should be as soon as they come within 5ft which is what I thought it was until not that long ago. I don’t see y that would be any more helpful then u just waiting till your turn and just backing away with either the mobile feat or being a swashbuckler (or just disengaging with a higher movement speed). And with any of those u can keep your reaction so in a way it’s better most of the time. Since u can use uncanny dodge or if u do what I said and went battlemaster u can use brace and easily get another sneak attack (along with adding the superiority dice to the dmg). Since if u kill the enemy u won’t have to worry about being hit from that enemy anymore.
Like I said it’s not really terrible it just could be better.
@@Schmeethe88 Idk I think compared to all the other subclasses it’s the worst (again not terrible). Cause all of it’s features (at least not in the way later lvs) u can either go without or can just get it in a different way. Where as something like fast hands, being able to sneak attack 1v1, auto crit, being able to give allies advantage at range as a bonus action, and spell casting r things u can’t really replace. I’m gonna be honest when 5e came out I thought thief was pretty bad (I still don’t think it’s anything special) but u can build it around using items like a potion or a healers kit (if u have the healer feat) or some other way idk.
Idk my favorite subclass is the arcane trickster (that and swashbuckler I’m gonna say r the 2 best and I’m not even that big on swashbuckler). Really tho the subclasses overall for the Rogue seem kinda limiting in a way. Like I wish their was a rogue subclass that purely focused on range attacks like the swashbuckler with melee (from my knowledge their isn’t). The closest we have is scout but it’s kinda disappointing for being the only thing that can be considered a purely range rogue subclass. It’s just nothing special is all.
@@davidstratton696 just get sentinel and get a side kick or use the melee character as a partner. double sneak attack at level 4 plus stealth is a shit skill so you don't even need medium armour master so just dip cleric for the armour
Took a Dash bonus action to be already here
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO...
I'M NOT GONNA TAKE A PLUS TWO
I'm playing an inquisitive rogue in my next campaign and I'm so excited for her! She's an Investigative Journalist though so she's very much going to need that expertise in Persuasion
A cool idea that our rogue came up with was to use a whip and, when making a sneak attack with it, could initiate a grapple check to try and wrap it around an enemy's arm or legs. This made combat a lot more fun for everyone, because he got to be more strategic in fights, and when he successfully entangled someone it was fun for the party to just wail on them
Just wanted to say, I absolutely adore!!! the little skits and visualisations you did in this video, it’s funny, changes the pace of the video, explains well and is just plain awesome.
Jacob discovered the theory of relativity while trying not to die from fall damage.
Fact: You are being pulled towards the earth, but the earth is also being pulled towards you. (But the earth pulls much much much much much much much much harder.)
Well the pull is identical for both bodies, but you have tiny mass and can accelerate much much much faster.
@@ditrixgenesis781 Basically it’s not the fall that kills you but the impact.
I think the only thing hiding is Jacob's musical talent in more of his videos
I love rogues. You're outsmarting people who are more educated than you and outlasting those who are physically stronger.
I like being the underdog.
The most powerful Rogue still not super magical would actually be a Wood Elf Rogue.
Fleet of Foot and Mask Ability thing so has an additional chance of hiding when lightly obscured. Plus starts with some weapons training.
There are actually a few uses for scout but my favorite was a build for a character I called Skii Mon-Kee (Skill Monkey) where I was designing a character who had every proficiency and as many expertise skills as possible. Scout was used because it gives 2 more expertise. Funnily enough, it's also probably the only build where human +1 in everything is actually useful.
Kenku with Knowledge Cleric, 4 or so levels in lore bard, and the rest in Scout Rogue is the ultimate Skill Gorilla.
In the first situation you would still have sneak attack even if the enemy is prone since there was an ally within 5ft. Remember you have neither advantage or disadvantage since they cancel out.
Yes but as was mentioned many times you can have 30 sources of advantage but if you have a single source of disadvantage it stops working
@@DetectiveInspectorMe. exactly. You don't need advantage for sneak attack if you have an ally within 5ft of the enemy and you don't have disadvantage which you don't since in that situation it was canceled out and you are considered to have niether advantage or disadvantage. Therefore sneak attack applies.
@@Kinuubi This is incorrect. You have to have advantage from some source in order to have sneak attack.
@@Kinuubi i think you're not ROLLING for disadvantage but its still a condition you're under so it is still there
@@bradybeers5178 Again you don't need Advantage for sneak attack if you have an ally within 5ft of the enemy and you do not have disadvantage.
12:40 Everyone's so focused on stealth, but what about Deception? Arcana? Investigation?
A rogue who knows more than most wizards? The ultimate speaker (better than bard mostly)? Genius investigator?
Exactly. I played a soulknife rogue with expertise in History and Arcana, whom was basically a mad scientist. He turned himself into a dhampir by accident and spent centuries continuing to study. Basically like Dracula from Netflix's Castlevania, he had a whole wealth of knowledge that most people had forgotten.
I'm playing a charisma rouge who is better at talking than the bard.
As a wizard and bard player, few things make me more angry.
While I love the concept, and basically played it, I'd say be careful and talk to other players/GM before going this route on some other character's turf.
Some players might be a bit disapointed/salty their wizard ain't the true arcana expert for example, and can ruin their fun because that's basically the only thing their character is good at outside of throwing fireballs.
And I'll add, it can even be disapointing for you when the GM decide that it's too overpowered or want to please the other players.
You can be in a situation where they tell you that only spellcaster can do this arcana check on anything related to magic, or transform athletics checks into strength checks for example so that the barbarian still outclass you while it wouldn't have happen if you weren't that good.
Thieves cant to me is like when someone tells you a meme and you understand the reference they're making.
I love playing rogue in DnD 5e. It has a lot of flavor I get to mess around with.
Campaign 1: Kleptomaniac Gambler Gnome Rogue with expertise in deception/sleight of hand. I loved to gamble/wage at opportunities that didn't call for it including rolling dice against a god (He cheated of course). I was a trickster rogue so this added to my persona.
Campaign 2: Sword College Bard/Swashbuckler tabaxi rogue that did alchemy in my downtime. Made modern medicine muscle relaxers, had a tavern band, and hunted giant weasels. I wanted a mix of rogue with sword bard cause flourishes are super cool and I wanted the feeling of dashing in the battle engaging opponents with disengage available.
Scout's my favorite rogue subclass, god I love having 6 expertise skills and moving faster than everybody else. Take the Mobile feat and your typical speed is 50, and you *dash* as a bonus action, truly ridiculous. The 17th level upgrade is a little underwhelming, until you consider you're rolling an extra 9d6 (that's an average of almost 30!) damage per turn thanks to it. If you've been playing a dual-wielder the whole time, it's just a massive damage output upgrade for free every turn.
Yea guaranteed extra dmg on your attacks is amazing especially if you crit you can nuke enemies.
I've been having far more fun playing a scout then I ever did as an assassin tbh. I like to reflavour abilities, and my scout, being a bounty hunter who doesn't fight fair and is an expert on surviving and tracking down targets, has had more personality than the only thing I could think of to be interesting as an assassin, and that's a state sponsored assassin. What's more fun and flavourful, having a fake identity that can be bought via backgrounds, or throwing sand in people's eyes, backing off, and firing a well placed shot through their hand into their eyes (Both campaigns had guns in them. A scout with a sniper rifle was a total joy. The assassin wouldn't use them because they were too loud. Fair but still.)
yo jacob. did you know?
the ability to move half your speed using your reaction is pretty rad. A melee focused rogue could position themselves to give advantage to them and allies (though I know you don't use this rule, regardless it would be helpful in your personal flanking rules too). In general its a powerful tactical option.
Also I agree, take the mobile feat so you will be faster and even harder to pin down as a scout, making you super maneuverable as you have multiple options to essentially dash and disengage.
That extra 10 ft at 9th level? means you could move 20 ft at least (if you're not a small race) when you use your reaction to move. Hey thats 25 ft with mobile.
advantage on initiative rolls? Do you know how important going first is dude? You have a significant tactical advantage and could drop a weak enemy early, or since you grant advantage against a single target, even if you miss that significant boost to accuracy you just gave your party for a turn is going to turn the tides in your favor if it can be followed up on, especially against a strong foe.
an extra attack as a bonus action that can apply sneak attack against a second opponent? sure its spread out damage but that means you could potentially drop 2 weaker minions or do damage to the big bad and a minion. Oh wait you missed that first attack? Well that attack applied advantage to the enemy so guess what? you have advantage on that second attempt and are guaranteed sneak attack. Is the big bad alone? that means on that first turn when you go first and you didn't get sneak attack on that first attack you get it on the second attack on that first turn.
scouts dope you're just being a hater yo.
i love you though.
As a scout. You have two extra expertise included in your kit... If we took everything officially. No multiclass. The scout rogue can be a non magic replacement for ranger. Have the most skill proficiencies and expertise of all the other rogue subclass. Sure assassin have the highest damage ever. But it only applies to a surprise round. 1 round.
I started playing dnd this year, joining an existing campaign that some friends have had for numerous years. I didn’t know much about the game so when the DM gave me a summary of the plot so far I decided to play a rogue, as I felt it fit the campaign the best. After roughly 100 hours of playing I’m still pretty insecure when it comes to abilities and such but videos like this helps a lot. In addition they help to relieve some of the pressure related to knowing all the rules.
I LOVE your explanation of Thieves' Cant. It's how my brother and I ran it back in the day, but before the global phenomenon if internet memes we never had the language to elegantly convey our interpretation of what it meant in-game
Another point in defense of Reliable Talent: Rogues are supposed to be skill monkeys, it's their thing. Yes, Bards get that too but at this level they can also reshape memories and see what's happening on the other side of the globe and summon magic food that makes your mind stronger, so maybe it's reasonable for Rogues to... be consistent in doing something skillfully after putting effort into learning that something.
Bards are jack of all trades while rogues are masters of one (or few)
“Nobody uses paper character sheets anymore”….
Me: Cries all over my beloved paper character sheet….
WAIT, YOU"LL RUIN IT!
The Scout has one simple but effective role-play feature: Survivalist. It gives them proficiency and expertise in the Nature and Survival skills, which not only are on brand for a brigand whose jobs often bring them out into the wilderness but can also save their party's bacon in a pinch.
Skirmisher does sacrifice your reaction but it can make some distance between you and your opponent, which is really good especially if using hand crossbows or even firearms as primary weapons. Superior Mobility also kind of feeds into that, increasing the Skirmisher distance from 15 to 20 or to 25 when combined with the Mobile feat. Ambush Master is another synergistic Rogue feature for the party in combat, since if you're facing off against a single large target, simply by hitting them do you grant everyone else in your party advantage to hit them. Good for the resident Barbarian or Paladin but even better if, for some reason, you decided to be in an all-Rogue party for the lolz and memes. In that party, if you went first, you'd be automatically guaranteeing everyone else's Sneak Attack provided no other detrimental disadvantage dealing effect is active.
Sudden Strike, whilst a late-game feature, is a grand reward for sticking with the class for so long that you can pop Sneak Attack as a bonus action against an enemy creature as long as it's not the same creature you attacked prior. Compared to Thieves' Reflexes, which applies once per combat, since Sudden Strike is a bonus action, you get to do this TWICE on all of your turns, which can help lighten the load for the frontline combatants if you and the party got yourselves into a fight against a large horde of goblins, for example.
"Damage now is better than damage later." - Kobold from Pack Tactics
If you're fighting a horde of goblins at level 17 something is seriously weird with your campaign.
@@exqueue3813 Not to mention the hard counter to a horde of goblins is like, a single fireball. AOE attacks at this level just delete things like goblins and kobolds, and magic users are great at AOE.
@@shuriken188 if you're fighting goblins at level 17, your DM isn't going to have them all within the radius of a single fireball.
Yeah,like others stated, while it's theoretically possible and cool you can attack a lot of enemies, at that level you usually fight some outsiders, archmages with powerful bodyguards, liches,really Really tanky monsters(because the DM has no imagination and thinks that lots of HP= bigger challenge), all of which are immune to sneak attacks(or so freaking tanky that it doesn't matter). So you're just a brooding fighter with less hp and darker clothes. Is it evident i'm not a fan of higher level play?
lol just play ranger and good berry juggle for that plus ranger's have entangle and spike growth not to mention conjure woodland creatures. Hunter's mar is also a awful spell btw
Unmatched musical entertainment while providing the necessary information. Purely genius work.
I love this class so much, it makes you feel like a phantom thief and John Wick combined into one. The sheer bonus to skills makes you think about doing some really interesting maneuvers and counters to monsters. (Like shooting a wizard from the rafters of his own tower.) I can't wait to see how the class continues on.
Why...why did 2:23 make me laugh so hard?
Im both surprised and unsurprised to see you here
Because there is no shortage of original jokes you can make about D&D logic.
...eh*
Do a how to play video at One Shot Quips!😤
Duke?!
Revisiting this series is like seeing an old friend again. Great work as always Jacob, keep up the good content
Been playing a rogue for the 1st 6 levels through a series of one-shots. This was both entertaining and informative, thank you!
What I like about getting Thieves' Cant with Linguist is that it's flavored to be you understanding how language works, and being able to decode the cyphers left by others with relative ease
I actually made a Rogue who's expertise was Investigation and Perception(private eye style character) he wasn't even proficient in thieves' tools. He was a blast.
Unless you worked something out with your DM the base Rogue Class has Proficiency in Thieves' Tools out of the box.
Yeah I’m playing a Batman/ Nitghtwing inspired vigilante rogue. It is fun to have a high investigation score. The DM has this big conspiracy going on in the main plot and it’s fun to gather and put the clues together.
@@Heyhowsitgoin999 I did.
@@MandalorV7 I have a back up character who's a Battle Smith Artificer who is built to be a Private Investigator. A single damave cantrip and then just support spells, and focusing on using the automaton for protection.
Love how the mastermind capstone feature is being held up as good while flat extra damage from the scout is bad apparently. Like, how often in DND has your character had its mind read? Literally never for me. The ability is almost useless, which sucks.
I think it's dependant on what kinda game you're playing. Mastermind's definitely for more pf a sherlock holmes or oceans 11 kinda game.
I mean, how would you KNOW you had your mind read??? Think about that, FOOL. (jk)
It’s because at that level the mastermind is already cool and awesome so getting a flavouful ability is cool where as scout is still boring at that level and just gets something else kinda boring
@@chase7629 An extra attack that can apply a second sneak attack in the same turn might be "boring", but it is very powerful and definitely tops anything the Thief subclass brings to the table. The subclass is designed around an archer build and ambush tactics, and is meant to be played similar to an archery ranger, but with sneak attacks instead of extra attacks. So if you want an archer that is focused on precision attacks and stealth (like most archers in fantasy media - Legolas, Green Arrow, Robin Hood, etc.), scout is the best fit for that.
Depends a lot on the DM and the game you are playing 😸
I like how the disadvantage example would still give Sneak Attack because they cancel out and an ally is within 5 feet.
Love the music in the middle, especially the section where it's being played on your phone. Amazing editing!
According to a fun book, apparently using Uncanny Dodge on the planet when falling is called flight.
"Scout's the same but arguably worse"
Skirmisher >>> Fast Hands (Reaction movement without oppourtunity attacks is much better than bonus action object use)
Suvivalist < Second Story Work (both situational but climbing and jumping comes up more often)
Superior Movement >> Supreme Sneak (Movement is powerful extremely powerful, especially since it increases the reaction movement even more, there are a million ways to get advantage on stealth)
Ambush Master >>> Use Magic Device (Unless you are stealing items meant for other party members, you likely aren't going to get many items made for other classes, Ambush master can make very power first turns against bosses)
Sudden Strike = Thief's Reflexes (Sudden Strike is very very strong, but better for ranged characters than melee characters so limiting in that way, Thief's Reflexes is really really strong on the first round, but only the first round.)
Looking at the abilities, Scout is definitively better than Thief, thief is better situationally.
A lot of salty Scout enjoyers in these comments.
Good.
I ♥ Scout.
He already said he won't apologise lol
@@kurtisdeakin I know! >=(
Going to be playing Fighter (3)/Rogue (17) in an upcoming campaign, going Echo Knight and Scout. I will NEVER be pinned down.
The problem with the reaction movement once you get past early levels is that you get it after they’ve attacked… which, if they hit, you may well want to use uncanny dodge on. I just don’t see that much benefit in reaction moving ten feet, unless it will stop another enemy reaching you. But rogues have enough mobility that you should generally be able to avoid this anyway.
I like fast hands for the combat medic thief build, but it is pretty situational outside of that usage. Advantage on stealth rolls isn’t super easy to come by imo, but pass without trace exists, which is better than advantage, so definitely agree supreme sneak isn’t great
@@lexolotlgod i would recommend taking Fighter to level 7. You can possess your echo and use it for reconnaissance while having all of the abilities of scout
Aw come on man Scout has a lot of utility and can help out the party. It's totally does have plenty of flavor! It's super fun and not a bad subclass ;0;
14:19 Just like the Scout: using a shortbow and flanking (which is stupid easy to get), that’s two attacks, each dealing 10d6+dex. If both hit, that’s an average of: 80 damage (assuming +5 DEX)
Dealing 80 dmg to 1 guy is much better than dealing 40 to 2 guys tho
@@94alibey Ah. Didn’t notice the “can’t use sneak attack on the same target” part. Nevermind, then, it is just worse
If you're planning for endgame scout 17 barbarian 2 guarantees both sneak attacks and doubles the damage dice. You just have to build for STR instead of DEX.
Both of you apparently can't read. The assassin's features almost never come up and if it does, it can only happen at the start of the combat encounter (and is also tied to a saving throw in the most common save) while the scout literally just gets an extra attack WITH sneak attack.
@@94alibey And dealing 80 damage every round is much better then dealing 80 damage on the first round of 1/3rd of combat encounters. And honestly that's being generous to the assassin.
9:20 LMAO jacob literally just described einsteins theory of gravity derived from general relativity. He would be right in saying the earth is moving toward him!
man
I really forgot that you did all these "how to play" videos a while ago.
This one felt almost nostalgic.
The song was so cool that I wanna listen to it again.
Seriously even the part at the end of the video, felt like a 90s movie about adventures in oriental lands
Scout has plenty of flavor. It’s great for someone that wants to play a more realistic ranger (no magic). Sure, you could do fighter, but fighter can be pretty much anything non-magic.
As for abilities, I personally think expertise is what makes the rogue. Getting more is great. Plus, skirmisher is fun to mess around with.
Just had a new player decide to be a rogue and I'm sending them this
the original video is also great
Man, wouldn’t it be great if you could cover all the other classes and subclasses?! :D
Seriously though, I loved the original series and this was great so I hope to see more remakes covering the new content.
Rogue with sentinel feat is amazing when next to a fighter cavalier or barbarian ancestral guardian.
You get to do a lot of damage somewhat safely, and it’s such a spike in efficacy you can experiment with other feats that you might not normally pick.
I love rogues so much.
My longest running PC was a tiefling rogue, he was your standard "kill first talk second" arcane trickster rogue, but after an event in which the party gazed through a portal and saw the multiverse, they instantly levelled up and i made him multiclass into a paladin of redemption.
Good to hear your bard voice again Jacob. Please don't ever put down the guitar my dude, this was a pleasant tune
Scout was fun as a deep gnome in the Underdark. One of my favorite rogue choices. Skirmisher is an awesome movement ability. The subclass is awesome for smaller lineages for the extra movement.
We recently started up a new campaign after ending our last one and I finally get to play a Rogue. This video does a great summing up why I've always wanted to play this class.
GOD the thieves' cant analogy was so good. i rly loved the skits and overall style of this video - might be my favorite one yet!
those enactments of the abilities genuinely had me falling out of my seat with laughter
Spencer: Hey Jacob, did you leave the fridge open?
Jacob thinking she's speaking thieves cant: (opens mouth) *toilet flush*
I would love to see the new races.
Last I checked... The new races in DND are just reskins for the next major rule book, along with a "new" PHB coming afterward.
@@absolstoryoffiction6615 By new I just mean the races he didn't cover in his what should you play video.
Reaction fact to keep in mind, they don't have to be done outside of your turn, they are just done whenever a reaction is called for.
For example, if you use a held action in the same turn that you set the parameter for that action you will use your reaction while it is still your turn.
Another example, you take damage on your turn from a trap or a monster ability and use uncanny dodge.
I actually gave the rogue in my campaign some pretty good stuff. He gets advantage on every stealth check, and a second action. He also has two daggers that increase in damage every time he hits with them, and they can be thrown which they return to his hand after his turn ends. So don't be afraid to give your rogue a bone if they keep failing checks or don't get a high stealth roll.
Man bought an elite 2.0 blaster for one bit. Sold his soul for the joke.
For my rogues I feel like I could give enemies a weak spot that the Rogue could find with legend lore or a nat 20 investigation check that if targeted, would double sneak attack damage rolled one time per combat.
Wait, in the situation where Colton is on the ground, the rouge should get sneak attack because he has neither advantage nor disadvantage and Colton has another creature threatening him within 5 ft.
"If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20"
Yeah, that threw me off as well. He absolutely would have still had sneak attack.
1:02 - Sneak attack damage adds to the damage you're dealing, so it's of the same type. So if you use a dagger to deal 1d4+3 piercing damage and add sneak attack to it, the attack deals 1d4+1d6+3 piercing damage as one damage roll.
Yeah it says that in the video...
didn't roll high enouph on perception to spot the small text that says this
@@ShurikenSean I guess not. Also, as another Sean myself, nice name.
@@ShurikenSean Me neither but I would rule it that way anyway.
I'm sure he know's that, he plays DnD every single day
You know, I think this is one of my favorite series. From the jokes to the breakdowns, it is just a fun and informative series.
This is without a doubt, the best video you have. I love your content and i want “what kind of rogue are you” uploaded to Spotify. Time. NOW.
Brother I don’t even play dungeons and dragons anymore but if this helps support your upcoming family I am here for you.
Him "shooting people up to forever away"
Me who made a fighter that at level 5 could shoot his longbow with a +11 and a range of 1280 feet for an average of 16 damage per shot
Watching this video I got inspired to make a rogue character who’s like a more kind and sweet Indiana Jones, who can dodge traps and get into locked areas and who needs to warm up to the idea of murder
I love your (usually) little songs, they're so freaking catchy.
Tip for rogues who don't have a lot to do. Theives tools disarm, unlock, but also allow crafting of traps that can do damage equal to the check used to craft them. A few spare materials and a short rest is all it takes to turn that expertise into spicy damage
Ive only had 2 rogues: Rebel teenager half elf noble arcane trickster that only steals from his parents businesess to give it to poor people.
And black widow mastermind rogue that became a noble after killin her last 2 husbands and inheriting everything from them, never got to play an edgy rogue
I am quite a fan of Jacob's videos. The parody stuff is always funny... it seems that my 3 kids (age 8,10,12) like it too, because ever since we watched this video they are are now constantly singing "what kind of rogue are you?" around my house daily. Haha. Nice work.
Did you point buy for your kids
10:47 Nat 1s on Skill checks isn't an auto-fail like an attack roll or a saving throw.
So Nat 1s count as 10s already.
Saving throws also aren’t an auto fail either. RAW it’s only attack rolls.
Great video! Especially the end. So many people say scout sicks and propose nothing to make it better so thanks for that.
one homerule thing one of my DMs do is give Thieve's Cant to people with the Criminal and Charlatan backgrounds, mainly so that he can write more of these situations as plot points in the world while not *requiring* a player to take a level in Rogue, while still giving reasoning with the chosen backgrounds to know that code
the idea that not only do these down-to-earth rogues know it, but the idea of giving it to other criminals of different specialties opens a lot of fun doors that keeping it tied to specifically Class doesnt, and these people are still in-the-know since, well, they're criminals!
Rogue: "I fear no man, but that thing..."
*glances at cliff
"It scares me"
What I love about the rogue is that it's the non-martial real person equivalent. It works hand in hand with the fighter to create all of the possible characters in the real world, and despite how limiting that may sound to have them dedicated to only two classes, and even still there are subclasses of each that aren't realistic within them, combining that with all of the different ways you can build a character means you could make a very good representation of anyone that has ever existed or ever will exist. If they're not a trained combatant, typically rogue will fill that niche better and highlight what that person has spent their life becoming good at. If they are a trained combatant, fighter highlights everything you could possibly want without ever taking away from your out-of-combat abilities
I feel very lucky, that almost every character I’ve rolled stats for had at least one 18 to start with, so most characters had a 20 in their main stat at level 1
Is that Roll 6 drop 1? :D
Soulknife rogue is a lot of fun. Essentially you have a a mix of Dual Wielder/Sharpshooter feats with unlimited free daggers and very cool actions, ability that is basically a Comprehend Languages spell, teleportation, invisibility, etc. We just had our first session this week at level 3 and it has been a blast! The only issue I can see is that at higher levels you can not get bonuses to this "weapon"
I like to be a barbarian-rogue.
Finesse weapons *can* use dex, but they can also use a strength. Reckless attack gives you advantage with all strength attacks.
I really like when the party splits. It can create drama and result in some fun shenanigans. Best session I ran was when the rogue wanted to sneak into the villains castle while the other players were talking with the maybe villain.