Big Stick Rogues!

4Oct/100

Big Stick Rogues!

So here’s something from the latest issue of Dragon: Staff Rogues?! Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the idea, adding weapons to the Rogue’s list is always nice, but..Staff Rogues? I remember a few years back when World of Warcraft added support for Mace Rogues and everyone was like “WTF Mace Rogues?!”*. The iconic Rogue has always been a Light Blade guy. Oh sure, I guess the idea of a thug with a club exists, but the Rogue/Thief in RPG’s has always been a sly, agile, Artful Dodger sort of guy, who lives by his wits and uses daggers, short swords, and the like.

*I’m not going to comment on the later dominance of the Mace Rogue, or the later addition of the Axe Rogue, other than: it happened.

So let’s see what the class has been given.

Sneaky Staff

In trained hands, a staff can be used for jabs and quick strikes which allow the wielder to hit vulnerable areas when the opportunity presents itself.

Prerequisite: Sneak Attack
Benefit: You can gain the benefits of Sneak Attack and your Weapon Finesse class feature when you make a weapon attack with a quarterstaff, and you gain proficiency in the quarterstaff. In addition, you can use a quarterstaff with rogue powers that require a light blade and are not ranged or area powers.

I know what you’re saying. “Weapon Finesse? What’s that?” A stroke of genius, really. The Essentials Rogue can use their Dexterity instead of Strength for Melee Basic Attacks with light weapons. I hope that’s something we can expect to trade Rogue Weapon Talent for, because it’s sorely needed!

Now while this is an Essentials Feat, there’s no reason it cannot be used for non-Essentials characters. We may not have Weapon Finesse, but everything else works. So now the question is: why Staves?

Rogues get a two-handed weapon. This is of questionable value since a Rogue has a few Versatile weapons laying around, and could spend a Feat to use Heavy Blades. A Longsword held in two hands is better than a Staff!
Rogues get a double weapon. Again, not really worth a Feat, especially since modding the Staff into a double weapon already requires a Feat, and 13 Wisdom.
Rogues can get Hafted Defense, and other Staff Feats. This is a little better, but again, two Feats to get a +1 AC/Reflex? Hm. There are a bunch of new Staff Feats in Dragon, however, so this may be worth it. Not sure just yet. I’ve heard that there’s an Eberron Staff Feat that grants increased Crit range, and there’s also supposedly an Essentials Feat that lets you use a Staff as a reach weapon. Those would be welcome benefits to any Rogue!
Staff of Ruin. A popular choice for Staff of Defense Wizards and some Sorcerers, the Staff of Ruin’s Property simply reads:

“Whenever you make an attack using this staff, you gain an item bonus to the attack’s damage rolls equal to the staff’s enhancement bonus.”

Similar items exist already, such as the Radiant or Summerblessed Weapon, but the Staff of Ruin is several levels below them. Of course, the benefit of waiting the few extra levels is being able to have a Radiant Bastard Sword instead of a lousy stick! But it’s an option, and a hybrid Rogue/Sorcerer could be an interesting build regardless. Or even Rogue/Wizard, although that would take some stat juggling.

Nothing game-breaking yet, but this is something Rogue players should keep an eye on. You never know, with the right support, you may be seeing a Big Stick Rogue at a gaming table near you!

As a complete aside, the Essentials Rogue has apparently also re-discovered the ability to use the Short Bow as a weapon. Sure beats a shuriken, doesn’t it?