Here’s how the DnD 2024 Rogue class works

Along with fans of imaginary backstabbing everywhere, we were excited to see Wizards of the Coast’s early reveals on how the DnD 2024 Rogue will roll in the brave new world. But, like all good sneak-thieves, Wargamer has been one step ahead: we’ve been playtesting with a copy of the 2024 Player’s Handbook for weeks – so we can now lift the lid on exactly how your One DnD Rogue is going to work. The TLDR? It’s faster, deadlier, and has significantly more tools to play with.

Compared to the major refits to some other DnD classes, the core nuts and bolts are staying much the same as the Rogue 5e version (the juicy new bits come later):

The only changes to note from 5th edition here are that you can no longer pick proficiency in Performance – that’s moved to the new Entertainer background – and that you no longer have proficiency with longswords (which, let’s be honest, was a bit iffy for Rogues).

In the 2024 rules, your Rogue will start the game with either a purse of 100 GP to spend, or:

• Leather armor
• Two daggers
• Shortsword
• Shortbow
• 20 arrows
• Quiver
• Thieves’ Tools
• Burglar’s Pack
• 8 GP

You no longer get the option of a Rapier in your starting loadout – but that rather generous option of a 100 GP budget (twice as much as the DnD 2024 Cleric gets, for example) gives you more than enough cash to sub in a Rapier or Scimitar if you so choose.

DnD 2024 Rogue traits

The upgraded One DnD Rogue keeps almost all its trademark features from 5th edition, and gains several powerful new ones that add breadth and depth to the class. Here’s a full list, followed by a breakdown of how every ability works, what’s new, and what’s remained from 5e:

Right off the bat, we can tell that Rogues’ core dice-rolling numbers haven’t changed – your DnD level ups will give you the same step-by-step upgrades to proficiency bonus and sneak attack damage as they did in 5e. The real meat and potatoes are in the new abilities – so let’s get into those.

Expertise

Level: One and Six

Choose two of your skill proficiencies and gain Expertise in them – meaning you’ll double your proficiency bonus when testing that skill (unless it’s already being doubled by another effect).

This remains much the same as it was in 5th edition. Rogues are, famously, good at doing stuff – often the dedicated ‘Skill Monkey’ of the party, called upon to deal with tricky non-combat challenges – and that’s more the case than ever in DnD 2024.

The only slight change is that you’re no longer able to take Expertise on a proficiency with DnD tools – only skill proficiencies – so you can no longer give yourself the doubled bonus with your Thieves’ Tools to become ridiculously good at picking locks from day one.

Sneak Attack

Level: One

The Rogue’s foundational Sneak Attack ability works just as it did in 5e: you deal bonus damage on a hit, as per the table above, as long as one of the following is true:

1. You have Advantage on your attack
2. A non-incapacitated ally is currently within five feet of the target enemy and you don’t have Disadvantage on your attack

The fun part is in the extra ways you can use your Sneak Attacks for more versatility in combat, from level five onwards – read on to find out about that.

Thieves’ Cant

Level: One

As before, as a Rogue, you know Thieves’ Cant – the secret underground language of criminals and ne’er-do-wells – but, unlike in 5e, the DnD 2024 version of this feature also teaches you one of the other DnD languages, of your choice.

Weapon Mastery

Level: One

One of the big, shiny new features introduced in this new player’s handbook, Weapon Mastery lets you pick two types of DnD weapons each Long Rest, and gain a specialized extra ability when attacking with those weapons.

For example, your daggers and scimitar have the Nick mastery, which lets you count the extra attack you do with them thanks to the Light keyword as part of your main attack, instead using your Bonus Action as usual – leaving you free to use that all-important Bonus Action for another Light weapon attack, or some other additional skulduggery.

Alternatively, hit first with a Shortsword and you’ll trigger the Vex mastery, giving you Advantage on your next attack at that target this turn – the perfect setup for your Light weapon bonus attack, perhaps loaded up with some lovely poison.

It’s a real gift for the Rogue, especially at low levels, as you now have more options to chain your attacks in a way that maximizes both your effectiveness and the narrative of what your character’s doing in the fight – something Martial classes had been crying out for in 5e.

Our editor Alex Evans is currently playing a 2024 Tiefling Assassin butler in our playtest games, and has been thoroughly enjoying being able to stab a troll’s shins more frequently and flexibly than ever before.

For a full explanation, read our guide to the DnD weapon mastery system.

Cunning Action

Level: Two

As a bonus action on your turn, you can take a Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Unchanged from 5e, Cunning Action is a Rogue staple, giving you extra flexibility to move nimbly in and out of combat without getting thumped by opportunity attacks.

Steady Aim

Level: Two

A brand new addition for DnD 2024, Steady Aim lets you use a bonus action to give yourself Advantage on your next attack roll this turn, at the cost of all your movement (you can’t move before or after using it).

It’s a welcome boost to your ranged capability, and gives a bit more incentive to sometimes stay of the melee, firing in sneak attack arrows – rather than piling in with your daggers every single combat.

Rogue subclasses

Level: Three

The 2024 Player’s Handbook lets you choose from four overhauled Rogue subclasses:

• Arcane Trickster
• Assassin
• Soulknife
• Thief

Arcane Trickster

Rogues who’ve learned magic to aid their underhand dealings, Arcane Tricksters are a splicing of Rogue and Wizard, and see a few changes in 2024.

The big update here is that your level 13 ability Versatile Trickster has changed completely. In 5e, this let you use Mage Hand to gain Advantage on an attack roll; now, it enhances the ‘Trip’ option of your Cunning Strike level five ability, so you can attempt to knock two enemies within five feet prone, rather than one.

Additionally, your Magical Ambush – giving you advantage on a spell attack against an unwitting target – now requires you to be invisible to the enemy in question, rather than simply hidden, as in 5e.

Arcane Trickster spellcasting

Your spellcasting works mostly the same in DnD 2024 – Arcane Tricksters still take their spells from the Wizard spell list; your numbers of prepared spells and spell slots remain the same; and you still get five Wizard cantrips, rising to six at level ten – see the full 2024 spell table below.

The key change, however, is that you can now rotate out any one of your learned cantrips (except Mage Hand) each time you level up, and exchange it for a different Wizard cantrip of your choice, allowing a bit more flexibility for your character.

For the real sticklers who require players to collect components for their spells, Arcane Tricksters can also now use an Arcane Focus to negate that requirement.

Assassin

The simplest and most explicitly violent Rogue subclass, the Assassin has had a pretty straightforward, if not explosive, glow-up in DnD 2024.

Assassins are all about getting in fast and striking a quick, devastating blow in combat – which gets significantly easier in the new rules, as you now get Advantage on initiative rolls. That makes it much more likely you’ll be able to get your Assassinate ability off, giving you Advantage on your first attack against an enemy that’s not acted yet in the first round.

On top of which, your initial Assassinate attack now gets bonus damage equal to your current Rogue level, in addition to your Sneak Attack damage. Your level 17 ability Death Strike takes that to the next level, doubling the total damage of that first-round attack unless the target passes a Con saving throw. That’s arguably a buff from the 5e version, which required the target be Surprised.

The new Envenom Weapons feature, at level 13, is a nice colorful addition – adding 2d6 irresistible extra poison damage when you use the ‘Poison’ variant of your Cunning Strike, so long as the target fails the save.

It replaces the 5e feature Impostor, which let you study another person in order to mimic them perfectly, but never fear – that ability has merged into Infiltration Expertise, at level nine, and now only requires one hour of study, rather than three hours.

Infiltration Expertise also now includes the Roving Aim feature – which lets your Assassin use Steady Aim to get advantage on a ranged attack without reducing your movement to zero as usual. And, in a useful quality of life change, your free proficiencies with the Disguise Kit and Poisoner’s Kit now actually give you those tools, so you can use them right away.

Soulknife

The psychic dagger-throwing Soulknife has had perhaps the most celebrated glow-up of the DnD 2024 Rogue options.

Most of your abilities work the same as before, but the core combat skill – your Psychic Blades – have had a serious power-up. Instead of a 60-foot range and no long range, they now also have a 120-foot long range option, can be used for Opportunity Attacks, and have the Vex Weapon Mastery – giving you Advantage on your next attack on the target that turn.

Your higher level subclass features function much the same as in 5e, except that the Psionic Energy dice you use to fuel them now work a little differently. You can no longer restore one die using a bonus action – but you’ll get significantly more of them overall, scaling up by level, as per the table below.

There’s a minor change to your Psychic Whispers, too – you’ll need to share a common language with the target in order to psychically speak with them.

Thief

Your bog-standard, sneaky burglar type, the Thief is just as straightforward as ever, theme-wise – but its key abilities have changed wildly from the 5e version.

Your level three feature Fast Hands – letting you use your Cunning Action to make a Sleight of Hand check, use thieves’ tools, or use an object during initiative – now also allows you to use a DnD magic item with a magic action.

Supreme Sneak no longer gives you Advantage on a stealth check if you’ve used less than half your movement – instead, if you’re already hidden, at the cost of one sneak attack die, you can use the Stealth Attack Cunning Strike option to attack while Invisible and remain Invisible, as long as you end your turn in three-quarters or total cover.

Use Magic Device is now significantly crunchier and more impactful than its 5e version, which merely let you ignore class, race, or level requirements for using magic items. For the DnD 2024 Thief, it instead:

• lets you attune up to four magic items at once.
• gives you a chance to use a magic item without expending one of its charges, on a roll of six on 1d6.
• Allows you to use any spell scroll, using your Intelligence stat to cast it. Cantrip or level one spell scrolls cast normally – anything higher, and you’ll have to pass a DC 10 + spell level Arcana check, or else the spell fails and the scroll turns to dust.

Ability Score Improvement

Level: Four, Eight, 12, 16

This works exactly as it does in the 2014 rules. You can:

Cunning Strike

Level: Five

The new Cunning Strike feature is the core of the DnD 2024 Rogue – it turns your Sneak Attack damage dice into a flexible resource with which to apply a variety of flavorful, tactical effects in combat.

When you go to roll your Sneak Attack damage after a successful attack, you can choose to forgo a set number of your extra damage dice, in exchange for applying one of a range of special effects (additional Cunning Strike options are unlocked at level 14, and yet more are available within specific subclasses).

Some Cunning Strikes force the target to make a saving throw – in all cases this is DC 8 plus your Dexterity modifier and Proficiency bonus.

The three options open to all Rogues at level five are:

With 3d6 Sneak Attack dice to play with already at level five, your Cunning Strike immediately becomes a constant companion, giving you new options for both softening up enemies, and nipping nimbly around the battlefield.

Uncanny Dodge

Level: Five

This works exactly as it did in 5e – when an enemy you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your Reaction to halve the damage you take, rounding down.

Evasion

Level: Seven

This also works mostly the same as in 5e. When you’re targeted with an attack that allows a Dexterity saving throw, a successful save lets you ignore all the damage instead of half of it, and on a failed save you still only take half damage.

There’s just one small tweak in the DnD 2024 player’s handbook: Wizards has clarified you can’t use the feature if your character is Incapacitated.

Reliable Talent

Level: Seven

If you roll a nine or lower on a D20 check for a skill or tool you have Proficiency in, you count that roll as a ten.

This works exactly the same as in 5e – except you now get it at level seven instead of level 11.

Improved Cunning Strike

Level: 11

You can now use up to two Cunning Strike effects each time you deal Sneak Attack damage, instead of just one – paying the dice cost each time.

Devious Strikes

Level: 14

Replacing the highly situational 5e feature Blindsense – which let you know the location of nearby hidden or invisible creatures – Devious Strikes unlocks three additional, stronger uses for your Cunning Strike, as follows:

Slippery Mind

Level: 15

You now have proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saving throws, as well as the Rogue’s basic proficient saves of Dexterity and Intelligence.

This is a boost from the 5e version, which only granted you proficiency in Wisdom saves.

Elusive

Level: 18

This remains unchanged from 5th edition – no attack roll against you can have Advantage unless you are currently Incapacitated.

Epic Boon

Level: 19

Your Rogue gains one of the new Epic Boon feats. See our DnD 2024 feats guide to learn what your options are.

Stroke of Luck

Level: 20

Your capstone ability Stroke of Luck remains the same from 5th edition, except for a the wording being slightly simplified: once per short or long rest, if you fail any kind of D20 roll, you can change the die result to a 20.

If you’re still on the fence about whether to give the new version of DnD a go, check out our 2024 Player’s Handbook review for a full picture of what’s changed, what we like, and what we don’t. We also have brand new guides to the DnD 2024 backgrounds and the expanded rules for DnD tools, key parts of the new core rulebook.

Source: Wargamer