You Might Be a Swashbuckler | Rogue Subclass Guide for DND 5e

hey have you ever dreamed of embodying a character whose blade and wit is honed to a Razor's Edge does your adventurous lifestyle and innate Charisma allow you to secure several types of booty well congratulations you might be a swashbuckler but what is a swashbuckler well shave down your mustache work on your rambunctious Tata Ted and get ready for multiple rounds of wind Sprints cause we're gonna make a scene so what makes a hero heroic for some it's the Devotion to a cause at the detriment to one's own health or happiness for others it's the idea of standing up for what's right even in the face of extreme prejudice and for a few it's just the Moxie to follow your own ideals no matter the circumstances that's got to be the best part I've ever seen so it would seem here we find the swashbuckler the Wiley Debonair swordsman with a tongue as quick as his blade who is as dangerous to his enemies as he is charming to his allies the swashbuckler is a character archetype beloved by generations of people from Zorro to the Pirates of the Caribbean and even The Princess Bride so naturally you'd think that translating this idea into a game focused on adventure and storytelling would be a dream come true and you'd be right in many ways the swashbuckler is really a breath of fresh air for the Rogue class in general but we'll get to that for now imagine you're a vigilante with a heart of gold or a reform criminal trying to outrun his past or a cat with really nice boots just know that there's a very high probability you're going to be played by Antonio Banderas but first do you consider the laws of physics more of a suggestion do you see time less as a constant fourth dimensional force and more like a space Highway well if so you need chronomancer's Guide to the Future Part 2 for the most precise timeline navigation the long-awaited sequel to the chronomancer's guide to the Future future allows you to patrol the timeline like an Interstellar state trooper correcting past mistakes and occasionally handing out speeding tickets you see history has a bad habit of trying to undo itself and it's up to you and your team to put it back together chronomancers is compatible with any game and setting and has created custom time travel rules Mechanics Tools and tables for both DMS and players giving you everything you need to set the timeline straight build the perfect party with unique roles and abilities and help the goddess of time the mysterious seamstress re-weave the Multiverse you can pick up part one right now but the kickstarter for part 2 will be live very soon or also right now if you're a chronomancer but for us regular folks just go to this link below and click the notify me on launch button to be the first to join the time Wars and a big thanks to the folks behind chronomancers for sponsoring the show now back to the video so it's your dream to be a swashbuckler well first you need to figure out what mind are you as edgy and borderline psychotic as Blackbeard or as jovial and upbeat is Robin Hood either way you slice it get it because anyway you start out as a rogue Rogues are good at stuff and by default gooder than you so they get a lot of skills you get four skills at level one from a big ass list I'm not gonna spell them out for you you can read however we also get expertise at this level letting you double your proficiency bonus and two of those skills and while I want you to be able to flavor up your character however you want please make sure to take persuasion it's gonna come in really handy later in general we're gonna focus on your decks and Riz stats to really play into that swashbuckler archetype and this is gonna Skyrocket your persuasion score to basically Supernatural levels you also get sneak attack for 1d6 extra damage if you meet the sneak attack criteria and this goes up by an extra D6 every two levels you take in Rogue your goal is to take advantage of an opponent's opening to deliver one very deliberate attack luckily for you your charm is enough to confuse or piss off the bad guys to get in that deadly slice I mean really nothing to me says swashbuckler more than just straight up flirting mid-fight who says every encounter needs to end in death some can end in well not death nope we also get thieves can't thieves can't what thieves can't stop complaining that I compared this to the language in SpongeBob last time fine you want the boring explanation it's a series of random words and phrases from many languages but still for some stupid reason every Thieves Guild uses the same one so more or less just replace every third word with fart and every fifth word with but and that's thieves can you mother farting dumb butts at second level we get cunning action which allows you to dash disengage or hide as a bonus action because while you might be a hero you will still often find yourself on the wrong side of the law or outrunning an angry father or two but finally all our time spent on swordplay and trash talking has paid off because at third level we become a real swashbuckler at last we can stop all this slinking in the shadows nonsense and prove to everyone who the real star of the show is your fighting style would consist of popping in and out of danger and carefully selecting targets but that makes you all the more dangerous one-on-one fancy footwork plays into this beautifully letting you lash out at an opponent and dip away without them getting an opportunity attack this saves your bonus action to kite them over to a new location or hop back and forth staying out of their reach you also get rakish audacity which not only lets you add your Riz modifier to your initiative roles but also gives you a new way to land a sneak attack if you have an opponent locked into a duel and have no other allies or enemies within five feet you now have sneak attack every turn as long as you don't have disadvantage you are an absolute menace to fight one on one and once you combine this with fancy footwork you can drop in on a Target sneak attack them Dash away and repeat this until tender be creative with it too with all your cunning action abilities you are the Swiss army knife of being annoying to pin down just try not to be swarmed by enemies crowds aren't the best for you who knew your biggest weakness would be multiple swords you also get Steady Aim for free advantage and snake attack as long as you don't move or do anything else but unless you plan on dual wielding a sword in a hand crossbow this ability isn't something you're going to use that often fifth level gets us uncanny Dodge to shrug off damage by burning your reaction just in case your opponent gets in a lucky shot but sixth level gets us expertise and two more skills if you didn't take persuasion Now's the Time because nothing says Rogue and swashbuckler like getting yourself into trouble and then fight talking your way out of it are you fight like my sister I your sister that's a compliment seventh level gets US invasion letting you take half damage on failed deck saves and no damage unsuccessful ones meaning you can just cartwheel out of a dragon's fire our breath and then stab them in the toe you'd be surprised how often that works but at Ninth level we get panash now here's where things get real good by this point you've become so Charming or so distracting that even the bad guys can't ignore your Flair letting you use your action to force them to make an inside check against your persuasion check or take a fat debuff I mean come on that's not even fair even if you only have a measly plus one in Charisma your bonus to this check is a plus nine and just going up when they fail not if when they fail the enemy has disadvantage against any other Target and can't make an opportunity attack unless it's against the swashbuckler for a minute combine this with fancy footwork and you've completely eliminated opportunity attacks for that enemy but wait there's more yeah if you can believe it you can also do this check to non-hostile creatures to just straight up charm them for a minute instead so you can infiltrate hostile businesses by Florida with the front desk girl or make sure you always get the best seats at the Local Tavern you basically have a better and more consistent version of Charmed person with your high Charisma that's just dangerous 11 level gets you reliable Talent making sure you never roll below a 10 on an ability check you're proficient with which is just a stupid ability for a skill monkey especially for us meaning the lowest we can roll on a persuasion check is a 19 if we only have that plus one Charisma your DM better have rolled up some insightful cause your Panache ability is gonna steamroll through any situation you need to talk your way out of at 13th level we get elegant maneuver to spend a bonus action to gain advantage on an acrobatics or Athletics check you make during that turn more ways to use your bonus action are always super cool but I'm just imagining all the cliffs you can shove your enemies off of 14th level gets us blind sense to hear any invisible creature within 10 feet of you somehow and 15th level gets a slippery mine for proficiency and wisdom saved but it's 17th level we become a master duelist once per day if we fail to hit a creature with an attack roll we can just do it again but with Advantage not only does this give a sneak attack if we didn't already have it it allows you to make sure you get that fancy footwork and a time you need it most or deliver that huge 96 sneak attack to finish off the big bad Target finally at 18th level you get elusive guaranteeing no attack roll ever has advantage on you and 20th level gets a stroke of luck to turn a Miss into a hit or treat a failed ability check into a flat 20 once per day as far as capstones go they're not the worst I've seen but it's level 20 guys can we spice it up make it to where every single stroke gets snake attack or something rad man we stuck with Rogue for 20 levels you gotta help me out here but anyway does the swashbuckler live up to its dramatic reputation I certainly think so Panache is so great of an ability that I could almost make an entire video just on the hundreds of uses it has by itself but like the best subclasses we've seen the swashbot buckler sticks to a theme and does it really really well while building upon itself with each new subclass ability while personally I think the weakest Rogue abilities actually come in the later levels the swashbuckler gets most of what they need right out the gate which is much appreciated the entire concept of the swashbuckler is such a relief too while most of the Rogue subclasses focus on the dark underbellies of the DND world the swashbuckler forces you to play right out in the open to take advantage of all its abilities in fact I think the swashbuckler is the departure from convention that the Rogue class needed I mean how many of them actually attempt to hog the spotlight instead of run away from it and I can't miss talking about multi-classing either we haven't made it to the swords Bard yet but what an absolute match made in heaven those two are but fighter blade singer hexblade hell even lore bar to really Hammer home the insult game the options are incredible especially when focusing those combos that highlight the Run and Gun play style and put this subclass in a League of its own so if you aren't at your best unless you're the absolute center of attention can flirt so effectively it basically counts as magic and have ever forced someone to chase you so long they'd rather just be stabbed guess what you might be a swashbuckler thank you hey guys big thanks for making it this far and watching the video If you like this one make sure to share it especially if you know somebody who's playing this subclass more subs are coming up on the poll very soon so check that out and until next time have a good one and I'll see you soon

Channel: You Might Be A DND

Views: 80,663

Keywords: dnd, 5e, guide, dnd one, dnd 5e, dungeons and dragons, ymba, you might be a, swashbuckler, rogue, errol flynn, zorro, zoro, the princess bride, robin hood, musketeer, fancy footwork, rapier

Id: 61WGvNcaZ38

Length: 11min 6sec (666 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 25 2023