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this ability is to be tacked onto the rogue.
it is to reassert her dominance with skills, giving her a limited control over the dice, as well as for squeezing more out of (some of) her talents, and gaining the ever-important first strike.
Streetwise Pool (Ex):
At second level, a rogue gains streetwise. Streetwise is a pool of points which the rogue may use to enhance her performance with skills and talents, and which allows her to gain the jump upon her foes. Every day, she gains a number of streetwise points equal to half her rogue level plus her Intelligence modifier. These points are recovered after an 8 hour period of rest. The following advantages are provided.
*A rogue can often act without thinking, having honed her reactive instincts. She gains a +2 insight bonus to her initiative. At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus rises by 2, to a maximum of +10 at 17th level. This ability is active so long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise.
*A rogue who finds herself under pressure can up her game. She may execute a single skill check with a +2 morale bonus. At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus rises by 2, to a maximum of +10 at 17th level. This ability is freely activated as part of the skill check and costs the rogue 1 streetwise. The rogue must declare her intent before rolling the skill check.
*A rogue always keeps a 'card up her sleeve' and can use it to refocus her special talents. She may immediately execute any rogue talent she knows that has a limited number of daily uses without impacting her daily limit - even if this limit has already been exhausted. This ability is freely activated as part of the talent normally and costs the rogue 1 streetwise (or 2 streetwise to refocus an advanced talent).
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Variant Streetwise Pool:
A rogue may instead key her Wisdom score or her Charisma score to govern her number of daily pool points. In the former case (Wis), the pool points are renamed cunning. In the latter case (Cha), the pool points are renamed panache.
(i must credit SteelDraco with these variant naming conventions)
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take two - i have been trying to find a way to implement a mechanic by which the rogue exploits enemy conditions and may employ two 'strike talents'. my thinking now may be to divorce the concept from inclusion into the Sneak Attack mechanic as a (poachable) class feature, instead grating it it's own class feature (modeled roughly after the ninja's ki pool - as well as the Guile Pool of the excellent 3rd-party book Rogue Glory, which i own/love/highly recommend), in order to make it exclusive to the rogue class:
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(Ex):
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, an extraordinary mixture of city-bred prowess and uncanny luck she can use to exploit weakness in her foes. The number of points in the rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). The rogue chooses a single set of conditions below which she may hereafter take deadly advantage of; she chooses another set of conditions at 5th level, and an additional set every four rogue levels thereafter to likewise exploit:
Fatigue: foe is Fatigued or Exhausted.
Fear: foe is Frightened, Panicked, or Shaken.
Nausea: foe is Sickened or Nauseated.
Pain: foe is under a Bleed or Pain effect.
Prone: foe is Prone or standing up from Prone.
Restraint: foe is Entangled, Grappled, or Pinned.
Sensory Deprivation: foe is Blinded, Dazzled, or Deafened.
Shock: foe is Dazed, Staggered, or Stunned.
As long as she has at least 1 point in her streetwise pool, a rogue may perform a combat maneuver against a foe who suffers from one of her selected conditions without provoking an attack of opportunity from them. She may also apply half her sneak attack dice (minimum +1d6) to all damage rolls against such a foe, even if they otherwise retain their Dexterity bonus to AC or are not currently being flanked by the rogue. This extra damage counts as a sneak attack for purposes of applying talents that modify a rogue's sneak attack, and does not stack with other sneak attack damage - apply only the greatest if multiple conditions are met.
By spending 1 point from her streetwise pool, a rogue can give herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll; this bonus rises by +1 every four rogue levels, to a maximum of +5 at 18th level. In addition, upon scoring a hit that deals sneak attack damage against a foe, she can immediately apply the effects of a second rogue talent she possesses which modifies her sneak attack by spending 1 point from her streetwise pool. Finally, a rogue can spend 1 point from her streetwise pool to use a rogue talent she possesses that has a limited number of uses per day without taxing that limit, immediately gaining a free single use of that ability. Each of these powers is activated as a free action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
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take three:
the main function of this mechanic as a rogue 'add-on' is interactivity with other class features, many of which are available to other class archetypes - like trapfinding, sneak attack, and rogue talents.
so, in order that the rogue stays on top with all of these abilities, that the abilities essentially find their best chassis in the rogue class, i propose that this feature be added to the core rogue.
it serves four functions to this effect:
1) it expands situations in which sneak attack dice apply
2) it gives a modest boost to key skill checks and attack rolls
3) it squeezes more utility out of limited resource (1/day) talents
4) it expands situations in which 'strike talents' apply
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess and to exploit weakness in her foes. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). The rogue chooses a set of conditions (below) which she may hereafter take deadly advantage of; she may choose another set of conditions at 6th level, and an additional set every four rogue levels thereafter (at 10th, 14th, and 18th level) to likewise exploit:
Confusion: foe is confused or fascinated.
Fatigue: foe is fatigued or exhausted.
Fear: foe is shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering.
Nausea: foe is sickened or nauseated.
Pain: foe is under a pain or bleed effect.
Prone: foe is prone or standing up from prone.
Restraint: foe is entangled, grappled, or pinned.
Sensory Deprivation: foe is deafened, dazzled, or blinded.
Shock: foe is dazed, disabled, staggered, or stunned.
As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she may apply her sneak attack damage dice to one successful attack per round against a vulnerable foe, even if her foe otherwise retains his Dexterity bonus to AC, is not currently being flanked by the rogue, or has concealment relative to her, so long as he suffers from one of her selected conditions. This effectively counts as (and does not stack with) a regular sneak attack, such as for the purposes of applying strike talents (which add effects a rogue’s sneak attack - see Rogue Talents), and for the purposes of determining immunity (it is considered precision damage and does not multiply on a critical hit).
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll; this bonus rises to +2 at 6th level, to +3 at 10th, to +4 at 14th, and to +5 at 18th level. In addition, a rogue can spend 1 point of streetwise to immediately use a rogue talent she possesses that has a limited number of uses per day without taxing that limit - doing this more than once per talent per day costs her a cumulative +1 streetwise each time (2 for a second use, 3 for a third, etc.). Finally, a rogue may apply strike talent effects to any attack action by spending 1 point from her streetwise pool - for 1 round, all of her attacks are treated as if they were sneak attacks, even though no extra damage dice are rolled. Each of these powers is activated as a free action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
I like it small editting nit picks
*A rogue can often act without thinking, having honed her reactive instincts. She gains a +2 insight bonus to her initiative. At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus rises by 2, to a maximum of +10 at 17th level. This ability is active so long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise.
This to strong cap it +5. I would +2 at level 5. Then +3 at 10, +4 at 15 and +5 at 20.
*A rogue who finds herself under pressure can up her game. She may execute a single skill check with a +2 morale bonus. At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus rises by 2, to a maximum of +10 at 17th level. This ability is freely activated as part of the skill check and costs the rogue 1 streetwise. The rogue must declare her intent before rolling the skill check.
This need to be Rogue class skill only. And then I think cut even more to total number equal to INT MOD.
Prone: foe is Prone or standing up from Prone
You are prone till you stand up. Once you stand up you are not prone.
Sensory Deprivation: foe is deafened, dazzled, or blinded
You can sneak attack a blind person all day they are denied DEX.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll; this bonus rises to +2 at 6th level, to +3 at 10th, to +4 at 14th, and to +5 at 18th level.
A rogue who finds herself under pressure can up her game. She may execute a single skill check with a +2 morale bonus. At 5th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus rises by 2, to a maximum of +10 at 17th level. This ability is freely activated as part of the skill check and costs the rogue 1 streetwise. The rogue must declare her intent before rolling the skill check.
One or the other not both.
I would also look use add a bonus to CMB for Steal and Dirty Trick.
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Tom S 820,
check out the spoiler under take three for my current language.
the boost is now +1/+2/+3/+4/+5 at 2nd/6th/10th/14th/18th, and applies to skill checks and attack rolls (not initiative). much more modest. this allows rogue to maintain both breadth and depth of skill mastery (compared to 6+INT classes and 2+INT casting-stat classes), and to get better mechanical mileage out of sneak attack at key moments (compared to, say, a class that gets sneak attack and natural attacks - ouch!)
prone: i just wanted it to be unequivocally clear that someone who is provoking an attack of opportunity by standing up from prone is vulnerable.
blinded: i include this explicitly, as well as pinned and stunned (no DX there either) because the new wording allows the sneak attack dice to cut through even if the vulnerable foe has concealment (which would normally confound a would-be sneak-attacking rogue against a blind/pinned/stunned opponent)
thanks for the feedback.
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take four (approaching final):
Streetwise Pool (Ex):
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she gains the benefit of the Improved Initiative feat.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll; this bonus rises to +2 at 6th level, to +3 at 10th, to +4 at 14th, and to +5 at 18th level. In addition, a rogue can spend 1 point of streetwise to immediately use a rogue talent whose per-day limit has already been exhausted - doing so more than once per talent per day costs her a cumulative +1 streetwise each time (2 for a second use, 3 for a third, etc.). Finally, a rogue may increase her base land speed by +10 feet for 1 full minute by spending 1 point of streetwise. She loses this extra speed if she wears medium or heavy armor or carries a more than a light load. Each of these powers is activated as a swift action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
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most of explanation above remains (i will reiterate anyhow below), except that i have exported the need for the pool to broaden the situational utility of the sneak attack class feature by proposing Exploitation as a new class feature to function to that effect - it remains a critical piece for the rogue having her sneak attack feature be truly central to the class by having other features work to synergize it.
one primary design precept i am sticking to is that if a rogue wants to beef up her defenses (AC, saves), she must do so mostly via outside customization, rather than having class features grant her various bonuses to the effect. instead, i have focused on offensive and utility abilities.
summary of pool changes:
1 (passive) Improved Initiative
2 (active) bonus to attack roll or skill check
3 (active) refresh one exhausted rogue talent
4 (active) +10 bonus to speed for 1 minute
5 (all active abilities swift actions now - not free)
1 - because going earlier in the round not only enables the sneak attack class feature, it gives the rogue positional options, and as many rogues take this anyway, covering this base enables further customization
2 - the monk and ninja gain an extra attack, the rogue makes it so her one attack counts - this is not only a thematic ability, but one that interacts with her sneak attack ability and further helps to push key skill checks over the top
3 - though other classes can gain rogue talents, this ensures that the rogue gains the most mileage out of them. besides, many of the talents are so restricted in daily use that they are not that enticing to take. this makes them more so, only impacting them against eachother as a way to maintain but laxen the per-day restrictions
4 - the monk and ninja gain +20 for one round, the rogue gains a more modest bonus for a longer time - perfect for a chase scene! also, as a rogue is all about position and using skills that cause her to move at half speed or less (acrobatics, climb, stealth, swim), this facilitates sneak attack as well
5 - it was a mistake of earlier versions of this ability to break the precedence of ki pools by having the activated powers be free actions. this has been fixed.
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thoughts?
cheers
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take five
(inspired by Kelazan's Deadly Critical ability - i have decided to rework the rogue talents myself rather than have the 'pool' try to cover for the weak ones, opening up more interaction with our main/iconic rogue feature - sneak attack!)
(Ex):
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she gains the benefit of the Improved Initiative feat.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll. This bonus rises by +1 every four additional rogue levels (to a maximum of +5 at 18th level). In addition, a rogue may increase her base land speed by +10 feet for 1 full minute by spending 1 point of streetwise. She loses this extra speed if she wears medium or heavy armor or carries a more than a light load. Each of these powers is activated as a swift action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
is it too much?
what happens with a critical sneak attack?
should there be scaled synergy with greater critical damage multipliers compared to greater critical threat ranges? (if so, how can that be written without being too verbose?)
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take 6
shifting back to Charisma as key score. it makes the most sense and parallels the ninja.
also, adding a no-double-sneak-attack restriction on critical trigger so as to be conservative:
:
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her modifier (minimum 1). As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she gains the benefit of the Improved Initiative feat.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single skill check or attack roll. This bonus rises by +1 every four additional rogue levels (to a maximum of +5 at 18th level). In addition, a rogue may increase her base land speed by +10 feet for 1 full minute by spending 1 point of streetwise. She loses this extra speed if she wears medium or heavy armor or carries a more than a light load. Finally, a rogue can spend 1 point of streetwise before she rolls to confirm a critical hit. If the confirmation roll succeeds, she may apply her sneak attack dice to the damage roll, . Each of these powers is activated as a swift action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
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there is nothing like a fistfull of 6-sided dice.
inspired by Inspiration (a la Investigator), the following is a thought experiment:
A 2nd level rogue gains a of points equal to half her rogue level plus her INT modifier (minimum 1). she chooses a number of skills equal to her INT mod to subsidize. she may freely add +1d6 to any skill roll to any subsidized skill at any time, so long as she retains at least one point in her pool. to any other skill, she may burn a point to add +1d6 to the skill check. she may burn her entire pool to add a +1d6 to any attack roll or saving throw. these bonuses rise to +2d6 at 6th level, +3d6 at 10th level, to +4d6 at 14th level, and to +5d6 at 18th level.
rogue talents allow her to add other themed skill subsidies.
thoughts?
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take 7
scrap the idea immediately above. (wtf!?!). anyhow, i am changing the +1 to attacks and skills to +1 to any die roll. as i already have a mechanic to address skill parity explicitly (see Skill Execution), this change importantly allows a modest boost to choice saving throws - say, if the DM targets your 'worst' save, and you really want a better chance to stay in the fight. consequently, as this muffles what kind of action these abilities are (swift? immediate?), i am changing them all back to 'free' actions. if a rogue wants to burn up all her precious 'luck' in one round (boosting her speed, her acrobatics check, a single attack roll, playing crit roulette, and dodging the fireball = 5 pts), i say that's ok:
:
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she gains the benefit of the Improved Initiative feat.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single roll. This bonus rises by +1 every four additional rogue levels (to a maximum of +5 at 18th level). In addition, a rogue may increase her base land speed by +10 feet for 1 full minute by spending 1 point of streetwise. She loses this extra speed if she wears medium or heavy armor or carries a more than a light load. Finally, a rogue can spend 1 point of streetwise before she rolls to confirm a critical hit. If the confirmation roll succeeds, she may apply her sneak attack dice to the damage roll, if she hasn't already. Each of these powers is activated as a action.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.
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cheers.
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take 8
adding 10th level ability full surprise round actions
changing pool abilitiy activations back to swift/immediate actions
:
At 2nd level, a rogue gains a pool of streetwise points, a measure of extraordinary luck and sheer cunning she can use to execute incredible feats of prowess. The number of points in a rogue's streetwise pool is equal to 1/2 her rogue level + her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). As long as the rogue retains at least 1 point of streetwise, she gains the benefit of the Improved Initiative feat. A 10th level rogue who retains at least 1 point of streetwise may take a full round of actions during a surprise round she is active in.
By spending 1 point of streetwise from her pool, a rogue can grant herself a +1 luck bonus to a single die roll. This bonus rises by +1 every four additional rogue levels (to a maximum of +5 at 18th level). In addition, a rogue may increase her base land speed by +10 feet for 1 full minute by spending 1 point of streetwise. She loses this extra speed if she wears medium or heavy armor or carries a more than a light load. Finally, a rogue can spend 1 point of streetwise before she rolls to confirm a critical hit. If the confirmation roll succeeds, she may apply her sneak attack dice to the damage roll, if she hasn't already. Each of these powers is activated as a swift or immediate action as appropriate.
The streetwise pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or relaxation (playing cards, shooting dice, counting silver, etc); these hours do not need to be consecutive.