Rogue - Fencer
Duelist, by Trung Tin Shinji
The Fencer is an update and improvement on the Swashbuckler rogue; a canny combatant who can dodge attacks for days before driving the blade home!
Now, there are plenty of folks who will say that the Swashbuckler rogue doesn't need replacing; it's fun, it plays pretty well, and scratches a good itch for people. But I've got three beefs with it that make it worth replacing:
I stole its name for my Swashbuckler class, so I need to rename it. And it eats a lot of thematic space for a relatively small concept; there's a reason I've put a whole class into its niche.
Honestly, its higher-level features are a little snoozeworthy; level 3 provides 90% of its cool stuff.
The Swashbuckler deserves to be freely available; as we move forward into the post-WotC future, it should be easy to share and republish cool content.
Design-wise: The Fencer aims to hit the fantasy of "melee-first rogue" from its own direction. Effortless Charm provides a little utility and a lighter step to initiative rolls. Swaggering Step enables your melee-forward fighting style, drawing opportunity attacks and then using Sneak Attack after the enemy misses. Deadly Eye gives you a solid enhancement to your sneak attack, and Untouchable Swagger improves your defenses even further. And Drive the Point gives you tools both to guarantee a hit, and, when the situation is right, to guarantee a Deadly Eye.
As always, you're invited to come discuss and offer feedback here or on Discord!
