Gninja (Rogue Subclass)
Gnome Tinker Assassins
The Gninja are a faction of crossbow-favoring Assassins populated by Gnomes from the Tinker’s Ghetto. These stealthy little killers are fond of employing clever devices for their capers, including Thieves’ Tools employing clockwork type mechanisms. While at times they must take on contracts where they are told “not too ask too many questions,” generally their work mainly aligns more with a Robin Hood ethic – to help the poor by evening the score with the wealthy. In their dark cities, nearly all the rich are greedy, sadistic and evil and thus the opposition to this, even if murderous, aligns them toward Chaotic Good, following a code of honor regarding their professional targets. Those skills are also highly useful in adventuring, of course.
The Gninja
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Sneak Attack | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d6 | Thieves’ Cant, Sneak Attack, Expertise |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d6 | Cunning Action |
| 3rd | +2 | 2d6 | Archetype (Gninja): Assassinate |
| 4th | +2 | 2d6 | Ability gain or Feat |
| 5th | +3 | 3d6 | Uncanny Dodge |
| 6th | +3 | 3d6 | Sniper's Advantage |
| 7th | +3 | 4d6 | Evasion |
| 8th | +3 | 4d6 | Feat: Crossbow Expert or Sharpshooter |
| 9th | +4 | 5d6 | Archetype: Shadow Skulk |
| 10th | +4 | 5d6 | Ability gain or Feat |
| 11th | +4 | 6d6 | Reliable Talent |
| 12th | +4 | 6d6 | Ability gain or Feat |
| 13th | +5 | 7d6 | Archetype: Shadow Warp |
| 14th | +5 | 7d6 | Blindsense |
| 15th | +5 | 8d6 | Slippery Mind |
| 16th | +5 | 8d6 | Ability gain or Feat |
| 17th | +6 | 9d6 | Archetype: Shadow Soul |
| 18th | +6 | 9d6 | Elusive |
| 19th | +6 | 10d6 | Ability gain or Feat |
| 20th | +6 | 10d6 | Mind Over Luck |
Class Features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per gninja level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per gninja level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor
- Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, rapiers, shortswords
- Tools: Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Kit
- Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
- Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Stealth plus choose one from Deception, Insight, Investigation, Perception, and Sleight of Hand
Equipment
As Rogues plus Gnome Tinkers. (Including a Tinker's Kit for repairs and modifications to clockworks objects and devices.)
Gnome Clockworks
The clockwork devices may be used to perform activities requiring intuitive combinations of spring-loaded stored energy and gearing actuation (clockwork toy, clock, timer), valves on small liquid or pressurized reservoirs (lighter, smoke bomb, bolt-syringe), and similar pre-“steampunk” functions (music box, slow-action winch, crossbow bolt loader, water pump, etc.) Ideas should be pre-negotiated with the DM. Improvised in-game alterations should be rare.
Sneak Attack
You can strike at enemy vulnerabilities once per turn, dealing extra damage to one target if you have advantage on the attack roll and are using either a finesse or ranged weapon. If another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, and that enemy is not incapacitated, you can do a Sneak Attack even if you do not have advantage, so long as you also do not have disadvantage. The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels.
Expertise
At 1st level, you can choose two of your skill proficiencies (or one proficiency and Thieves’ Tools proficiency) and get double the proficiency bonus when using those skills.
Cunning Action
Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on your turn in combat to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action. (See also Hiding in Combat).
Archetype: Assassinate
Starting at 3rd level, you have advantage on attacks against any creature that has not yet taken its turn that combat round.
Additionally, any hit you make against a creature that is surprised will deal damage as if it was a critical hit.
Ability Gain or Feat
At 4th level (and again at 9th, 12th, 16th and 19th) you can choose to either raise an ability (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS or CHA) by +2 – or two of them by +1 – or choose one Feat. Two particularly important Feats to consider are Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter, one of which you gain at 8th level.
Uncanny Dodge
At 5th level, when an attacker that you can see succeeds in hitting you, you can use your reaction to halve the damage.
Sniper's Advantage
Beginning at 6th level, you gain advantage on any stealth check made to hide from enemies more than 30 feet away.
Evasion
At 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of area of effects (like dragon breath, ice storm spells, or explosions). Whenever you make a DEX saving throw for these situations, success means you take zero damage and failure means you take only half.
Archetype: Shadow Skulk
At 9th level, you gain the ability to use a bonus action to blend into and emerge from shadow (dim light or darkness). You have a pool of 10 feet per level for this skill before needing a long rest to replenish the pool. There are two ways to use this skill, both require dim light or darkness to activate.
Hide in Shadow
- Using 10 ft of your pool, you vanish in place into shadow, effectively becoming invisible until you attack, cast a spell or the area around you is exposed to bright light.
- As with Hide / Invisibility, you gain advantage on your first attack so long as you have remained unseen.
- While in this form of invisibility, if you move more than 10 feet on your round (even involuntarily) you must make a Stealth check against passive perceptions or be exposed.
Shadow Step
- You may instantly travel as far as 60 feet (like Misty Step) to a point you can see in a single use of this ability. The destination must also be in dim light or darkness.
- You then gain advantage on the first melee attack you make before the end of your turn, or when making a (conventional) Hide action from that new location.
Reliable Talent
At 11th level, ability checks on skills that add your proficiency bonus, treat any roll of 9 or lower as if you rolled a 10.
Archetype: Shadow Warp
At 13th level, while in dim light or darkness, you can use your Reaction to alter the flow of time once per short rest. For the remainder of that round, you gain one of the following:
Hyper-Reactions
Until the end of the current combat round, you may employ any number of reactions (e.g., for Uncanny Dodge, opportunity attacks, etc.) at the GM's discretion as sensible.
Hyper-Attacks
(As Ranger Hunter: Multi-attack): On your turn, using both your Action and Bonus Action, you may attack any number of opponents (with separate attack and damage rolls for each target). You must choose to either attack
- melee only: all targets must be within 5 ft when you use this feature - you cannot move between these attacks
- or ranged only: all targets must be within within 10 feet of each other and consider effects of range, cover (including other creatures as cover) and available ammunition.
Reminder: Sneak Attack is limited to one attack per turn.
Blindsense
At 14th level, if able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.
Slippery Mind
At 15th level your mental strength gives you proficiency on all Wisdom saving throws.
Archetype: Shadow Soul
Starting at 17th level, whenever within dim light or darkness,
- You are effectively under the effect of Nondetection (as per 3rd level abjuration) unless you choose not to be.
- You can move through other creatures and objects as if difficult terrain, so long as these are also within dim light or darkness. (If you end your turn in a space occupied by a creature or object, you take 5 force damage and get shunted to the nearest unoccupied space).
- Assassinate can be applied in any round of combat.
Elusive
Beginning at 18th level, 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.
Mind Over Luck
At 20th level, your Dexterity and Intelligence scores increase by 2. Your maximum for those scores also increases by 2.
You have an uncanny knack for succeeding when needed.
- 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've used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
