Here we come to the final class review of this UA. The Rogue I think has been hardest-hit by the reversion to old subclass levels - while they still get four levels to gain subclass features, you have to wait until level 9 to get your second. That said, Rogues get the new Cunning Strikes feature, which I do think is very cool.
Let's get into it.
1st level:
Rogues actually aren't limited to Simple Weapons. They also get any Martial Weapons with the Finesse property (so, Rapiers, Scimitars, Shortswords, and Whips).
Expertise is basically the same.
Sneak Attack notably has been reverted to only requiring you to hit with a Finesse or Ranged weapon attack - none of this "attack action only," so you can once again Sneak Attack with Booming Blade or an opportunity attack. Basically, this works like it always did.
Thieves' Cant now lets you learn an additional language of your choice from among the Standard and Rare languages.
So, nothing crazy here.
Rogues also get Weapon Mastery. Like most classes, you get two at a time, and can swap them out on a long rest.
Now, the Vex mastery will, I think, be a game-changer for Rogues, as the most consistent way to ensure they get Sneak Attack. I think a very solid loadout for a Rogue will be to grab a Shortsword for their main hand and a Scimitar for their off hand - getting more chances to get Sneak Attack thanks to the extra attack that, thanks to Nick, no longer prevents the use of Cunning Actions. For ranged weapons, your best bet is a Shortbow. I'm a little bummed you can't get Pistols, but you might be able to get them with a feat.
2nd level:
Cunning Action works the same.
3rd level:
In addition to your subclass, you get Steady Aim, which works as it did in Tasha's, letting you basically forgo movement to get advantage on an attack.
I think the intent, at this point, is basically to make sure the Rogue is getting sneak attack as consistently as possible. Which is great, because that's kind of their whole thing.
4th level:
ASI/Feat
5th level:
Now, the big one: Cunning Strikes is a new feature. Once per turn when you land a sneak attack, before you roll damage, you can subtract d6s from the sneak attack damage to get various bonus effects to the attack. The DC to resist these effects is based on your Dexterity (by the usual formula). The options are:
Disarm (1d6): The target makes a Dex save and drops one item of your choice it's holding on a failure.
Poison (1d6): The target makes a Con save and becomes poisoned for 1 minute on a failure, though it can repeat the save on each of its turns. You have to have a Poisoner's Kit on your person to use this (and it is not part of the standard starting equipment, so you'll need to purchase it in-game).
Withdraw (1d6): Immediately after the attack, you can move up to half your speed without drawing opportunity attacks.
So, I love this feature. Most only cost 1d6, which is significant but not a huge amount of damage. One interesting question is whether you have to spend 2d6 on a crit - I think as written you don't. With the DC based on your Dexterity, it'll be keeping pace with spellcasters and the like, so your foes will stand a good chance of failing them.
Also at 5, you get Uncanny Dodge, which works the same (and now specifies you round the attack's damage down).
6th level:
Once again, you get two more Expertise skills.
As a note, tool proficiencies now work in tandem with skills, so if you want to be great at lockpicking, you will want to grab Sleight of Hand as your expertise, and you'll now get advantage on the check thanks to the thieves' tolls proficiency (assuming you have them on you).
7th level:
Evasion, like with the Monk, works the same but doesn't do anything if you're incapacitated.
But also, Reliable Talent has been bumped up to 7th level. It works the same, but of course is now coming four levels earlier. The wording is slightly different - it's when you make an ability check that uses your skill or Tool proficiencies, not just any that uses your proficiency bonus, but that's probably gong to cover most circumstances.
Given how many campaigns really only go into tier 2, this is a big deal. This is one of the Rogue's most powerful features.
8th level:
ASI/Feat
9th level:
Subclass feature
10th level:
ASI/Feat - Rogue still get this extra one.
11th level:
Here, you get Improved Cunning Strike. You can now use up to two Cunning Strike options on a single sneak attack, paying for each in d6s.
This is pretty cool, and if you choose to go with non-Vex/Nick weapons, you might be able to put a lot of different debilitating effects on your foes. But also, you'll still be able to do a lot even if your masteries are focused on increased damage and more reliable sneak attack.
12th level:
ASI/Feat
13th level:
Subclass feature.
14th level:
Devious Strikes adds new Cunning Strike options.
Daze (2d6) makes the target succeed on a Con save or be Dazed until the end of its next turn.
Knock Out (6d6) forces a Con save, and on a failure the creature is Unconscious for 1 minute or until it takes damage. It can repeat its save on the end of each of its turns.
Obscure (3d6) forces a Dex save or the target is Blinded until the end of its next turn.
So, all of these are powerful. Dazed is a new condition that makes the creature choose between taking a Move or and Action on their turn, not both, and they can't take bonus actions or reactions. These, of course, cost more, but something like Knock Out could potentially make a fight way easier - losing 21 damage now to take someone out of a fight. The cheaper ones are also pretty powerful.
The real strength of Cunning Strike is that it's basically an unlimited feature, and I think is a cool tactical decision to make that will sometimes be worth it, but not always.
15th level:
Slippery Mind now grants both Wisdom and Charisma saving throw proficiency.
Charisma saves are very rare, but this is still a buff.
16th level:
ASI/Feat
17th level:
Subclass feature.
18th level:
Elusive works the same way.
19th level:
ASI/Feat
20th level:
Stroke of Luck has been changed, but I might need some clarification here. If you fail any d20 test, you can turn the roll into a 20. Now, is that the final result, or the roll on the die? The way it's worded suggests the former.
Obviously, this is a buff to saving throws, as you previously couldn't use this on those. But for ability checks and attacks, this might be a nerf. The old version let you simply hit with an attack you had missed, and it let you treat the d20 roll as a 20 on any ability check you failed.
But if you're fighting a foe with an AC that is greater than 20, or if you need to make a check or save with a DC that is higher than 20, this won't actually help you, I think. By level 20, it's not unusual to have things like an Ancient Red Dragon calling for a DC 24 saving throw, or which has an AC of 22.
Now, if the intent here is that you treat it as if you rolled a 20 on the die, then we're fine - and in fact, that means turning a miss into a crit, which is awesome. But I don't think that's how it's phrased here.
So, thought overall?
The only huge change to the class here is Cunning Strikes, which I love. And I suspect Weapon Mastery will have a bigger impact on Rogues than even other martial classes. So you've got my endorsement for this change. All that said, after being tantalized by the prospect of getting subclass features at 6, 10, and 14, it's a bit of a heartbreaker to see them pushed back to 9, 13, and 17. Admittedly, this allows them to be more powerful, and I do think Cunning Strikes adds a lot of tactical gameplay.
So, I think the Rogue comes out a winner here.
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