Rogue (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Perceived as a weak class, the rogue has been spruced up.

Rogue Class Features

Many agree that the rogue class is under-powered. The original class had 3 main issues; it was weak in combat, it suffered from needing a good score in every ability, and new classes infringed on the rogue's mastery of skills. The unchained rogue got a major combat boost, but the multi-attribute dependency and skill infringement was only touched upon and not really solved. The revised class features here are intended to solve these problems.

Alternate Skill Bonuses

Rogues benefit from having alternate attribute modifiers to all skills they are trained in; choose either one. This ability is free for rogues and available as the Alternate Skill Technique talent to others.

This should allow the rogue to focus more on a few attributes, reducing multi-attribute dependency.

Skill (Subskill)	Normal Key Ability	Alternate Key Ability
Acrobatics	Dex	Str
Appraise	Int	Wis
Bluff	Cha	Int
Climb	Str	Dex
Craft (Smith of any kind)	Int	Str
Craft (Fermenting)	Int	Wis
Craft (Any other)	Int	Dex
Diplomacy	Cha	Wis
Disable Device	Dex	Int
Disguise	Cha	Wis
Escape Artist	Dex	Con
Fly	Dex	Con
Handle Animal	Cha	Wis
Heal	Wis	Int
Intimidate	Cha	Str
Knowledge	Int	Wis
Linguistics	Int	Wis
Perception	Wis	Int
Perform (comedy, dance, keyboard, string)	Cha	Dex
Perform (act, percussion, oratory, wind, sing)	Cha	Con
Profession (courtesan, gambler, innkeeper)	Wis	Cha
Profession (farmer, miner, soldier, woodcutter)	Wis	Str
Profession (other)	Wis	Int
Ride	Dex	Cha
Sense Motive	Wis	Cha
Sleight of Hand	Dex	Cha
Spellcraft	Int	Wis
Stealth	Dex	Con
Survival	Wis	Con
Swim	Str	Con
Use Magic Device	Cha	Int

1. You can't add the same ability score to a particular skill twice. This limits the combinations with effects like the Intimidating Prowess feat.
2. A skill that changes what attribute it is connected to is counted as a skill of the new attribute when making skill checks, but not for other purposes. See Paizo errata. Note that a skill that has a primary key attribute that is Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution suffers from armor check penalties, even if used with another attribute as an alternate key ability. An effect (such as rage) that prevents the use of skills tied to a certain attribute always refers to the original attribute of the skill.
3. Skills with several subskills (Craft, Knowledge, Perform and Profession) have certain subskills with different alternate key abilities. If a specific subskill has a different alternate key ability, you cannot use it with the common alternate key ability.

Sneak Attack (Ex) (Clarification)

When a rogue makes a sneak attack, the additional damage is of the same type as that of the attack used. When using an attack that inflicts several different types of damage, such as a torch, the rogue decides what kind of damage the sneak attack does, selecting any of the damage types the attack already does. Total the damage of each type before applying reductions for hardness, damage reduction, or energy resistance.

Rogue's Retraining (Ex) (New)

Rogues are adaptable and focus their training on the skills and abilities they actually use. At level 2 and every level after, the rogue can move around a number of skill points allocated to skills equal to her class level. Reduce the skill ranks the rogue has and redistribute these skill ranks along with those gained from advancing in level. No skill can ever have more ranks than the rogue's Hit Dice. At level 4, and every two rogue levels thereafter, the rogue can replace one rogue talent she knows with another rogue talent she fulfils the prerequisites for. She cannot replace a rogue talent with an advanced rogue talent. At level 12, she can replace an advanced rogue talent with another advanced rogue talent. If the rogue uses retraining so that she no longer fulfils the prerequisites of some other ability, she cannot use that ability until she once again fulfils the prerequisites.

Rogue’s Edge (Ex) (Modified)

In addition to the other benefits given by the unchained rogue's edge ability, a rogue gains a number of virtual skill ranks equal to half her rogue level in each skill she has rogue's edge in. These virtual skill ranks are not restricted by Hit Dice and their only function is to calculate the abilities of skill unlocks. Rogues edge also adds half the rogue's class level to skill checks with each skill it applies to. The skill bonus does not stack with the benefits of trapfinding and similar rogue abilities or talents that add half the rogue's class level to skill checks. These benefits apply to rogue's edge gained as a class feature or from the Signature Skill feat, but only to the rogue class.

Rogue Talents

Talents are supposed to give a rogue that extra edge that allows them to excel, but rogue talents often compare poorly to similar abilities of other classes. For classic rogues, ignore the list of heritage talents and use all original talents, but the at-will and advanced talents turned into regular talents are just as relevant to classic rogues.

When the unchained rogue class was made, some talents were updated, but not all. All talents from outside the core books were ignored. Here is an inventory of rogue talents from all 1st party sources that are suitable for use by unchained rogues. Any talent published in 2016 or later should work with the unchained rogue.

Some rogue talents have been moved down from advanced talents to regular talents. Others have had their limitation on daily uses removed. There is also a list of vigilante talents that can be used as rogue talents. Finally, there are a number of new rogue talents.

As before, a * means that the talent is used with sneak attack. Only one talent marked * can be used with any one sneak attack.

Heritage Talents

These are pre-unchained rogue talents that work well with unchained rouges. This replaces the list of heritage talents given with the unchained rogue class.

Careful stab, climbing stunt, cloying shades, dampen presence, demand attention, disabling stunt, eerie disappearance, eldritch conduit, emboldening strike*, expert cypher, extra earthcraft, face in the crowd, false attacker, false friend, fast picks, feint from shadows, focusing attack*, gloom magic, greater gloom magic, green tongue, guileful polyglot, hairpin trick, heads up, innocent facade, mien of despair, obscuring blow*, occult dungeoneer, occult mysticism, offensive defense*, one of those faces, papercraft tools, pierce the darkness, poison use, quick scrounge, rapid perception, riding stunt, sacred sneak attack, scavenger, scry slip, scrying familiarity, shadow duplicate, shadow’s chill*, shove aside, sleight of hand stunt, snap shot, spell storing, steal the story, stealth stunt, stem the flow, surprise attack1, superior sniper, swift tracker, the whole time, umbral gear, unbalancing trick, underhanded trick, wild magic, without a trace, escaping stunt, extinguishing strike*, silencing strike*, dance of disorienting shadows, fast tumble, frugal trapsmith, rumormonger, slippery mind, stealthy sniper, and weapon snatcher.

At-will Talents: Escaping stunt, extinguishing strike, obscuring blow, positioning attack, silencing strike, and underhanded have their limitation on daily uses removed. They can be used at will.

Demoted Talents: Dance of disorienting shadows, fast tumble, frugal trapsmith, rumormonger, slippery mind, stealthy sniper, and weapon snatcher were originally advanced talents, but have been made ordinary rogue talents.

Vigilante Talents: The following vigilante talents can be picked as rogue talents. The rogue counts as a vigilante of her rogue level and her sneak attack counts as hidden strike when learning and using these talents: blind spot, close the gap, cunning feint, living shield, nothing can stop me, perfect fall, rooftop infiltrator, shadow’s sight, shadow’s speed, silent dispatch, sniper, strike the unseen, sure-footed, surprise strike, throat jab*, unexpected strike, up close and personal, whip of vengeance.

New Talents

Here are a number of new rogue talents. These often replace earlier talents that were too weak or simply cumbersome to use.

Additional Magic (Ex)

Prerequisite: Minor magic rogue talent, Int 13.

The rogue can choose a number of spells for the minor magic talent equal to her Intelligence modifier. This includes the spell gained from the minor magic talent in the first place. If she has the major magic talent, she can also select an additional spell for that talent, but gains no additional daily uses; both her spells share the same pool of daily uses.

Additional Specialization (Ex)

The rogue can choose one of the specialist rogue's specializations. She cannot choose a specialization she already has, or the burglar specialization if she has the trapfinding ability. She gains the specialist focus of the chosen specialization. This rogue talent can be selected several times, each time selecting a different specialization.

Adroit Skill (Ex)

The rogue chooses one skill that is a class skill for her. When making skill checks using this skill, she can roll two dice and uses the best result. If the rogue is under the effect of a spell or ability that forces her to roll two dice and take the worse result, she only needs to roll 1d20.

Ambush (Ex)

When a rogue with this talent acts in a surprise round, she can take a full-round action or a move action and standard action, she is not restricted to a move or standard action.

Breaching (Ex)

A rogue with this talent can inflict great harm on objects with melee attacks. When striking or sundering an object the rogue can inflict sneak attack damage to that object.

Clever Pet

A rogue with this talent gains Familiar Bond as a bonus feat, ignoring prerequisites.

Combat Talent

Prerequisite: Combat trick rogue talent, rogue level 4.

A rogue that selects this talent gains a bonus combat feat she fulfills the prerequisites for. For every four rogue levels after level 4, this trick can be taken an additional time, selecting a different combat feat each time.

Dirty Sneak (Ex)*

When the rogue hits an enemy with a sneak attack, she can as a swift action attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver. In addition to the normal conditions that can be applied with dirty trick, this dirty trick can stagger the target if the check is successful.

Evasion (Ex)

This is the same as the 2nd level rogue class ability of the same name, made available to archetypes that give up this ability.

Foster Poison Immunity (Ex)

Select one poison per rogue level that the rogue has used or been exposed to. The rogue automatically succeeds at all Fortitude saves against the selected poisons.

Hideout (Ex)

The rogue can establish a hideout with one week of preparation, abandoning any previous hideout when she starts preparing another. This hiding place must be an area no larger in volume than a cube that is a number of feet per side equal to 10 feet per rogue level. The hideout can be part of a larger structure, like a secret room or hidden cave. Objects within this hideout can’t be located by any effect that is less powerful than a discern location spell. At 7th level, this protection from being located also applies to creatures in the hideout. At 13th level, the entire area is protected from scrying effects like a mage’s private sanctum. The hideout has a one or more secret entrances (Perception DC 20 + twice the rogue's class level) but does not otherwise protect against mundane snooping.

Kneecapper (Ex)

When adjacent to a corporeal creature at least one size category larger than herself the rogue can spend a move action to enter the enemy's space. This is not a grapple and instead requires an unmodified Acrobatics check against the enemy's CMD; on a failure the rogue fails to enter the creature's space and triggers an attack of opportunity. While the rogue is within this enemy's space, she gains cover from all attacks, and she and all her allies are considered to be flanking the enemy. If the enemy moves the rogue can hang on to it and move along with it as an immediate action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. An enemy that moves 10 ft. or more can try to scrape off the rogue with a successful CMB check as a part of movement, if successful the rogue must position herself in any empty square the enemy moved from or through. If the rogue takes damage from a melee attack she is moved to a space of her choice adjacent to the creature.

Measure the Mark (Ex)

When a rogue with this talent makes a Sleight of Hand check against a creature, the target makes its Perception check before the rogue makes her Sleight of Hand check, and the rogue knows the Perception check result. She can decide whether or not to make the Sleight of Hand check based on the results of the target’s Perception check. If she tries again before the situation has significantly changed, the target's Perception check remains the same.

Outsmart Traps (Ex)

Prerequisite: Trapfinding.

A rogue with this talent can move in a way that would normally trigger a trap and avoid triggering it. She must know the trap is there to do this, including having just discovered it with the trap spotter ability. A rogue cannot use this ability on a trapped lock, door, or in other situations where the rogue needs to move any object.

When the rogue is on or adjacent to a trap trigger and an enemy or a trap or attacks the rogue in melee, the rogue can redirect the trap as an immediate action. The trap triggers in such a way that it affects the opponent but not the rogue. Creatures other than the rogue and her target are affected normally.

The rogue can use an immediate action to set off a trap within 30 ft. This requires a Disable Device check against the disarm difficulty of the trap. If the rogue has previously set or disarmed this trap, success is automatic. It is even possible to set off a trap that has been disarmed or one the rogue only suspects is there—if it isn't there, the action is wasted.

When a rogue with this talent disarms a trap using Disable Device, she can bypass it even if her check did not exceed the DC by 10 or more. If it is a magic trap that allows specific creatures to pass it without danger, she can modify which creatures it allows to pass, adding her allies and restricting enemies if she desires. She can alter the triggers of mechanical traps in similar ways, with the GMs approval.

Perplex Search (Ex)

The rogue is a master of trickery that deflects Perception checks. She can use Bluff to distract perception (see the skill chapter in this book) as an immediate action and distract multiple creatures for a full round as a move action.

Pragmatic Scholar (Ex)

A rogue with this talent may attempt a Knowledge check even when she is not trained in the relevant Knowledge skill. The rogue gains a +3 bonus on untrained Knowledge checks, and all knowledge skills become class skills.

Rogue's Reach (Ex)

The rogue increases the range of her rogue talents and rogue class features that normally have a 30 ft. range (including sneak attack) by 20 ft. This also to applies abilities gained by combat feats that have a range of 30 ft. and to using Bluff to distract perception and using Intimidate to demoralize opponents. Talent can be selected multiple times, with stacking benefits.

Slapdash Trap (Ex)

Prerequisite: Trapfinding.

The rogue can use the ranger trap ability, and she knows how to set all exceptional traps, but no supernatural ones. There is no limit on the number of traps she can set daily, but she must supply components for each. For traps that benefit from multiple uses of the ranger's trap ability, she can spend the equivalent of a number of uses on each trap equal to her Intelligence bonus (minimum 1) and each use takes a full-round action. She can also set an ordinary trap she has bought or made in the same way. She can trigger a trap she has set as an immediate action when within 30 ft. of the trap.

Small Favors (Ex)

The rogue knows how to get hangers-on to perform one task per day for her. Choose one of the following tasks each day. This help might take other forms as well, subject to GM discretion, but can never involve combat or danger. These hangers-on won't leave their home area to help the rogue, but new ones are easily recruited in any populated place.

• Make a single Diplomacy check to gather information using the rogue's skill bonus. The result is reported after 1d6 hours.
• Cover for the rogue by spreading false tales about her, increasing the DC of Diplomacy checks to gather information about the rogue by an amount equal to her rogue level for one week.
• Create a distraction that doubles the response time of guards and halves the chance of random encounters in the area for the next hour.
• Perform a minor task, such as delivering a message, purchasing a piece of gear worth 100 gp or less (with the rogue's money), or retrieving a stashed object

Sneak Maneuver (Ex)

Anytime a rogue with this talent could sneak attack an enemy but instead performs a combat maneuver against that enemy, she can use this talent. The combat maneuver does not trigger an attack of opportunity and gains a bonus of +1 per die of sneak attack damage the rogue is capable of.

Sneak Trap (Ex)

When the rogue sets, redirects, or intentionally triggers a trap, she can add her sneak attack damage to the damage of the trap. This damage is of a type the trap already deals. If the trap does not normally deal damage, this damage is nonlethal. If the trap makes an attack roll, she can add 1 to that attack roll per die of sneak attack she adds to the trap. If the trap allows a saving throw, she can increase that saving throw by 1 for every 2 dice of sneak attack she adds to the trap. 24 hours after the trap is set, it loses this bonus.

Steal Identity (Ex)

When the rogue wears an item that was worn by another creature within the last 24 hours, she can choose to assume the magical identity of the previous wearer, as misdirection. Once 24 hours have passed since the item was last worn by another creature, the rogue can no longer use this item to gain the effect.

Stealth Exploit (Ex)

When the rogue is successfully hidden using Stealth, she can exploit that condition fully. She retains the advantages of being hidden until the end of her current turn, regardless of her actions. If she did something to reveal herself during her turn, she must fulfill the normal conditions to hide again and suffers all normal modifiers on the check.

Trick the Tale (Ex)

While another individual attempts to give an account of an event, request a favor, or improve a creature's attitude, the rogue can make a Bluff check opposed against the speaker's Diplomacy to deftly interject comments to muddle important details. This will discredit, insult, and humiliate the speaker. If the check succeeds, the speaker does not get across what she was trying to say, and the attitude of anyone who heard the altered story worsens by one step. Observers are allowed a Sense Motive check (DC equal to the rogue's Bluff check) to figure out that she made deliberate attempts to confuse the story.

Trick Voice (Ex)

The rogue can mimic almost any sort of voice, animal call, or sound effect, and she can throw her voice. This functions similarly to a combination of the ghost sound, ventriloquism, and vocal alteration spells with a range of 30 ft. Instead a saving throw, the rogue must make an opposed Bluff or Disguise check (her choice) against the Perception of listeners.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex)

This is the same as the 4th level rogue ability of the same name, made available to archetypes that give up this ability.

Advanced Talents

These legacy advanced talents are suited to the unchained rogue: Against the wall, another day, entanglement of blades*, founders’ blessing, glib facade, hamstring strike*, hard to fool, harrow strike, knock-out blow, master of disguise, opportunist, petrifying strike*, reflexive shadow shield, resonating rumbles*, shadow duplicate, shadow duplicate, shrinewalk, stony skin.

At-Will Talents: Among the legacy advanced talents, these have had their daily use limit removed, and can be used at will: another day, knock-out blow, master of disguise, reflexive shadow shield, and shadow duplicate.

New Advanced Talents: Again, a number of these are upgrades to talents that were too weak or just not written well.

Bat's Eye (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents.

The rogue has an intuitive sense for invisible creatures. Invisible creatures within 30 ft. only have concealment (20% miss chance, can use stealth but do not gain invisibility benefits) rather than invisibility against her.

Deadly Opportunity (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents.

The rogue masters the art of striking foes when they are at their most vulnerable. When making an attack of opportunity, she deals sneak attack damage even if her target is not flat-footed or otherwise denied its Dexterity bonus to AC

Duelist Rogue (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents.

The rogue can use sneak attack against an adjacent creature, as long as her target is not adjacent to any other of the rogue's allies and the rogue is not adjacent to any other enemy.

Invest Identity (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents, steal identity talent.

The rogue can cause a creature carrying an object that the rogue has worn in the last 24 hours to detect as her, as the steal identity talent in reverse. Any attempt to scry on the rogue targets the invested creature instead of the rogue.

Redirect Attack (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents.

As an immediate action when she is being attacked but before the attack is rolled, the rogue can select an enemy adjacent to her and make a Bluff check and use that as her AC to redirect that attack to miss the rogue. If the attack is successfully redirected and the Bluff check matches the AC of the target the attack is redirected against, it hits that target and adds the rogue's sneak attack damage bonus to the damage of the attack. The Bluff check can score a critical hit as if it was an attack roll, using the original attacker's crit range and multiplier.

Redirect Trap (Ex)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents. trapfinding.

The rogue can move in a way that would normally trigger a trap and avoid triggering it. She must know the trap is there to do this, including having just discovered it with the trap spotter ability.

If an enemy attacks the rogue in melee or triggers the trap when the rogue is on or adjacent to the trap trigger the rogue can use redirect trap as an immediate action. The trap triggers in such a way that it affects the opponent but not the rogue. Creatures other than the rogue and her target are affected normally.

Supernatural Traps (Su)

Prerequisite: Advanced talents, slapdash trap talent.

The rogue can use the slapdash trap talent to create any supernatural ranger trap.

Table: Rogue

This is the original unchained rogue table, with alternate skill bonuses at first level.

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Alternate skill bonuses, finesse training, sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Evasion, rogue talent
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Danger sense +1, finesse training, sneak attack +2d6
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Debilitating injury, rogue talent, uncanny dodge
5th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Rogue's edge, sneak attack +3d6
6th	+4	+2	+5	+2	Danger sense +2, rogue talent
7th	+5	+2	+5	+2	Sneak attack +4d6
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+2	Improved uncanny dodge, rogue talent
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+3	Danger sense +3, sneak attack +5d6
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+3	Advanced talents, debilitating injury, rogue talent, rogue's edge
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+3	Finesse training, sneak attack +6d6
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4	Danger sense +4, rogue talent
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4	Sneak attack +7d6
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+4	Rogue talent
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+5	Danger sense +5, rogue's edge, sneak attack +8d6
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Debilitating injury, rogue talent
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Sneak attack +9d6
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+6	Danger sense +6, rogue talent
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6	Finesse training, sneak attack +10d6
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6	Master strike, rogue talent, rogue's edge

External Links

• Revised Rogue talents - these are not in play but good inspiration.
• Rogue Eidolon's Guide to Rogues
• More swagger than you're comfortable with - A Guide to the Rogue by kcmorris
• Death from the Shadow A Guide to the Ninja by Jb200 - Ninja are almost-rogues.

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