The Cheat

Cloak and dagger… and dagger. The common Cheat doesn’t call herself a Cheat, of course—rather, a streetsmart rogue, a survivalist, or a liberator of unused goods. They are masters of stealth, pickpocketing, and smooth talking. Some of the more vicious ilk are masters of death-dealing as well.

Cheats can be found in every city and byway under countless different names, but they all believe something similar: It’s a cruel, merciless world, and those who aim to survive don’t have time for silly things like “morals” or “honor.” Those are luxuries of the rich and powerful. Honor gets you killed—survival is about taking what you want, when you can. As The Cheat, you can:

Break the rules! You can change the dice you roll to whatever numbers suit you best!
Sneak in and backstab enemies with devastating critical hits. Taking down even huge, heavily-armored foes with a single blow!
Fight dirty with pocket sand, low blows, and vicious blades. When things get out of hand, disappear into the night, and live to cheat another day!

Key Stats: DEX, INT
Hit Die: d6
Starting HP: 10
Saves: DEX+, WIL−
Armor: leather
Weapons: All DEX weapons
Starting Gear: 2 Daggers, Sling, Cheap Hides, Chalk

Class features

Level 1

Sneak Attack.

(1/turn) When you crit, deal +1d6 damage.

Vicious Opportunist.

(1/turn) When you hit a Distracted target with a melee attack, you may change the Primary Die roll to whatever you like (changing it to the max value counts as a crit). A target is Distracted if it is adjacent to or Taunted by an ally, or if it cannot see you.

Level 2

Cheat.

You’re a well-rounded cheater. (1/round) You may either Move or Hide for free. (1/day) You may change any skill check to 10+INT. If you roll less than 10 on Initiative, you may change it to 10 instead. You may gain advantage on skill checks while playing any games, competitions, or placing wagers.

Level 3

Subclass.

Choose a Cheat subclass.

Sneak Attack (2).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 1d8.

Thieves' Cant.

You learn the secret language of rogues and scoundrels.

Level 4

Key Stat Increase.

+1 DEX or INT.

Underhanded Ability.

Choose an Underhanded Abilities.

Level 5

Twist the Blade.

Action: Change one of your Sneak Attack dice to whatever you like.

Quick Read.

(1/encounter) Gain advantage on an Assess check. (1/day) Gain advantage on an Examination check.

Secondary Stat Increase.

+1 WIL or STR.

Level 6

Underhanded Ability (2).

Choose a 2nd Underhanded Abilities.

THAT'S Not What Happened!

(1/Safe Rest) Action: After a Distracted enemy attacks you, you may change the Primary Die roll to whatever you like (changing the die to the minimum value counts as a miss).

Level 7

Subclass.

Gain your Cheat subclass feature.

Sneak Attack (3).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 2d8.

Level 8

Underhanded Ability (3).

Choose a 3rd Underhanded Abilities.

Key Stat Increase.

+1 DEX or INT.

Level 9

Sneak Attack (4).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 2d10.

Secondary Stat Increase.

+1 WIL or STR.

Level 10

Underhanded Ability (4).

Choose a 4th Underhanded Abilities.

Level 11

Subclass.

Gain your Cheat subclass feature.

Sneak Attack (5).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 2d12.

Level 12

Underhanded Ability (5).

Choose a 5th Underhanded Abilities.

Key Stat Increase.

+1 DEX or INT.

Level 13

Twist the Blade (2).

(1/turn) You can Twist the Blade for free.

Secondary Stat Increase.

+1 WIL or STR.

Level 14

Underhanded Ability (6).

Choose a 6th Underhanded Abilities.

Level 15

Subclass.

Gain your Cheat subclass feature.

Sneak Attack (6).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 2d20.

Level 16

Underhanded Ability (7).

Choose a 7th Underhanded Abilities.

Key Stat Increase.

+1 DEX or INT.

Level 17

Sneak Attack (7).

Your Sneak Attack becomes 3d20.

Secondary Stat Increase.

+1 WIL or STR.

Level 18

Underhanded Ability (8).

Choose an 8th Underhanded Abilities.

Level 19

Epic Boon.

Choose an Epic Boon.

Level 20

Supreme Execution.

+1 to any 2 of your stats. When you attack with a blade, you do not require targets to be Distracted to trigger Vicious Opportunist.

Underhanded Abilities

Choose Underhanded Abilities as you level up.

"Creative" Accounting.
Steal up to INT actions from your next turn (Gain up to INT actions now. The next time you would gain actions, subtract the number stolen). You cannot use this 2 turns in a row.
Exploit Weakness.
Action: Make a contested INT check against an enemy. If you win, you can use Vicious Opportunist against them, even if they are not Distracted. This lasts for 1 minute or until you use this ability against another target.
Feinting Attack.
If you miss for the 2nd time in a single round, you may change the primary die roll to any result instead.
How'd YOU get here?!
2 actions: “Teleport” up to 4 spaces away, adjacent to a Distracted target, and make a melee attack against them. If you crit, you may “teleport” again.
I'm Outta Here!
When an ally within 4 spaces is crit, you may turn invisible until the end of your next turn and then move up to half your speed for free.
Misdirection.
Gain INT armor. Whenever you Defend, you may halve the damage instead.
Steal Tempo.
When you land a critical hit for the second time on a turn, your target loses 1 action and you gain 1 action.
Sunder Armor (Medium).
Action: When you crit an enemy with medium armor, sunder their armor. Until the start of your next turn, ALL melee attacks against that target ignore its armor.
Sunder Armor (Heavy).
Req. Sunder Armor (Medium). Your Sunder Armor ability now also applies to enemies wearing heavy armor.
Trickshot.
When you throw a dagger, it returns back to your hand at the end of your turn. On a hit, it ricochets to another creature within 2 spaces, dealing half as much damage to them.

Subclasses

Scoundrel

Level 3

Low Blow.

When you Sneak Attack, you may spend 2 additional actions to Incapacitate your target for their next turn on a failed STR save (DC 10+INT). Save or fail, they are Taunted by you until you drop to 0 HP.

Sweet Talk.

You may gain advantage on all Influence checks with NPCs you’ve just met for the first time. This lasts until you fail an Influence check with them or until you meet a 2nd time. You have disadvantage on Influence checks with them after you use this ability (until you get back on their good side).

Level 7

Pocket Sand.

(2/encounter—you’ve got to collect more sand!) When you Defend against a melee attack, Blind the attacker until the start of their next turn and force them to reroll the attack (Blinded creatures attack with disadvantage).

Level 11

Escape Plan.

(1/Safe Rest) When you would drop to 0 HP or gain a Wound, you don’t. Instead, you turn Invisible for 1 minute or until you attack.

Level 15

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.

(1/encounter) Attacks you make this round don’t miss, you crit on 1 less than normally needed, and you gain LVL temp HP.

Silent Blade

Level 3

Amidst All This Commotion….

If a creature dies while you Sneak Attack them, you may turn Invisible until you attack again or until the beginning of your next turn.

Leave No Trace.

Advantage on Stealth checks when you are at full health.

Level 7

Cunning Strike.

(2/encounter) When you land a Sneak Attack, you may force the target to make a STR save (DC 10+INT). On a failure, instead of rolling your Sneak Attack dice, they deal the maximum amount of damage (if your target saves, regain 1 use).

Level 11

Professional Skulker.

Gain a climbing speed and advantage on Stealth checks (replaces Leave No Trace).

Level 15

KILL.

When you crit an enemy with fewer max HP than you, it dies.