Thief, Nd205e

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Overview & Creation

Thieves are characters who best represent the archetypical ninja and shinobi. Augmented with their vast arsenal of skills, a thief can sneak, bluff, and charm their way into the enemy stronghold to deliver a decisive blow, or surprise enemies with a devastating blade in the back out of stealth. Most ninja are thieves, especially ones that are well-rounded skill-wise, taking jutsu that augment their skill set. Thieves represent most ninja, hunter-nin, rogues, and spies.
 

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Class Features

Expertise

At 1st level, choose two of your skill proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves’ tools. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies. At 6th level, you can choose two more of your proficiencies (in skills or with thieves’ tools) to gain this benefit.  

Sneak Attack

Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can treat your attack as if a wounding strike (-1 wound penalty) to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. 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. If you choose the weak point wound, you deal 1d6 extra damage as normal, but the damage increases as you gain levels in this class, +1d6 per odd-numbered class level, up to a total of 10d6 at level 19  

Thieves’ Cant

During your training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code in any language that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly. In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run. Such marks are usually found with a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check in an area.  

Thief Talents

Starting at 2nd level, you may gain one thief talent, abilities that represent your ability to function under pressure or perform specialized tasks, either by quick thinking, good use of skill, special aptitude towards magic, or by lightning-fast reflexes. Whenever you qualify for another talent (at levels 2, 5, 7, 11, 15, and 18, you can choose another talent or gain another use of an existing talent. All abilities have DCs of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice) if they allow a saving throw. You may also choose to gain a hunter or warrior talent you qualify for.  

Thief Talents

Agile Leap

(Requires proficiency of +3 or higher). You may use a bonus action to leap, moving at half your total speed. This movement does not provoke reactions. If you have the ability to glide, hover, or fly (via jutsu or ability), you may choose to use this ability in mid-air (effectively changing your trajectory as a double-jump). This jump also counts as a dash for the purposes of other abilities. You are also treated as if you always benefit from Chouyaku no Jutsu (Jump Technique).

Cunning Action

Your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat to use the following action: Dash, Disengage, or Hide. Only thief may take this talent.

Cloak of Shadows

You may dispel one active Jutsu effect on you as a reaction. This acts as the Hodoku no Jutsu (Unraveling Technique) of a Jutsu Rank equal to half your Thief level. After being used a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, this cannot be used again until after a short rest.

Elusive

(Requires proficiency +6 or higher). You are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren’t incapacitated. Only thief may take this talent.

Evasion

(Requires proficiency of +3 or higher). You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a dragon’s fiery breath or a Goukakyuu no Jutsu (fireball technique). When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail. Only thief may take this talent.

Insightful Fighting

You gain the ability to decipher an opponent's tactics and develop a counter to them. As a bonus action, you can make a Wisdom (Insight) check against a creature you can see that isn’t incapacitated, contested by the target’s Charisma (Deception) check. If you succeed, you can use your Sneak Attack against that target even if you don’t have advantage on the attack roll, but not if you have disadvantage, so long as you spend your bonus action to maintain this effect. This benefit lasts for 1 minute or until you successfully use this feature against a different target. Only thief may take this talent.

Insightful Manipulator

(Requires proficiency of +4 or higher). If you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with another creature outside combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:   ⦁ Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma scores   ⦁ Class levels (if any) or Challenge (in comparison to your class level)   ⦁ Current chakra pool   At the DM’s option, you might also realize you know a piece of the creature’s history or one of its personality traits, if it has any. Only thief may take this talent.  

Master of Intrigue

You gain proficiency with the disguise and forgery kits, and one gaming set of your choice. You also learn two languages of your choice. Additionally, you can unerringly mimic the speech patterns and accent of a creature that you hear speak for at least 1 minute, enabling you to pass yourself off as a native speaker of a particular land, provided that you know the language.

Master of Tactics

You can use the Help action as a bonus action. Additionally, when you use the Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature, the target of that attack can be within 30 feet of you, rather than within 5 feet of you, if the target can see or hear you.

Misdirection

(Requires proficiency of +5 or higher). You can sometimes cause another creature to suffer an attack meant for you. When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.

Reliable Talent

(Requires proficiency of +3 or higher). Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. Only thief may take this talent.

Slippery Mind

(Requires proficiency of +4 or higher). You have acquired greater mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. Only thief may take this talent.

Swift Slash

Whenever you use the Dash action, you may make one free melee attack with a finesse weapon, made at any point during movement. This attack is treated as a normal melee attack for all purposes, but is resolved with a -2 penalty to hit. If you reduce a creature to 0 hit points as part of this attack, you benefit from the Dodge action as if you used it. You can use this talent only once per round, even if you had an ability that allowed multiple Dash actions in one round (such as Cunning Action or were quickened).

Tricks of the Trade

You may cast the Kyoyo no Jutsu (coercion technique) once before a short rest. This talent can be taken multiple times, each time adding another use of this ability before a short rest.

Uncanny Dodge

(Requires proficiency of +3 or higher). When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you. Only thief can take this talent.

Unerring Eye

(Requires proficiency of +5 or higher). Your senses are almost impossible to foil. As an action, you sense the presence of illusions and genjutsu, creatures not in their original form (such as shapechangers), and other magic and techniques designed to deceive the senses within 30 feet of you, provided you aren’t blinded or deafened. You sense that an effect is attempting to trick you, but you gain no insight into what is hidden or into its true nature. This ability can be used a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier before replenishing after a long rest.    

Roguish Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you emulate in the exercise of your thief abilities. All archetypes are detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 9th, 13th, and 17th level.  

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.  

Blindsense

Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.  

Stroke of Luck

At 20th level, you have an uncanny knack for succeeding when you need to. If your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit. Alternatively, if you fail an ability check, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.        
 

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:   ⦁ (a) A rapier or (b) a wakizashi   ⦁ (a) A Hankyuu and Quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a wakizashi or (c) 5 shuriken   ⦁ (a) A burglar’s pack, (b) a dungeoneer’s pack, or (c) an explorer’s pack   ⦁ Leather armor, two kunai, and thieves’ tools or poisoner’s tools