Class Acts:
The Duelist Rogue
By Mike Mearls
Illustrations by Sarah Stone
Some rogues use stealth and trickery to defeat their
enemies. Others combine agility with an unmatched
talent for the blade to overcome their foes. A duelist
rogue relies on reflexes and cunning to hone his or
her skill to a razor’s edge.
A duelist rogue focuses his or her training on melee
combat. In a duelist rogue’s hands, a rapier or other
blade becomes a tool for attack, defense, and trickery.
Compared to other rogues, the duelist is better at fight-
ing alone, since the duelist’s exploits allow him or her to
boost defenses. The duelist is also good at isolating and
overcoming a single opponent, since he or she has some
options that grant sneak attack damage without a flank.
Level 1 At-Will Exploits
Duelist’s Flurry Rogue Attack 1
You move your blade quickly, stinging your foe with a series of
cuts and slashes. Each slice does little damage, but when com-
bined, they form a deadly threat.
At-Will ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: Dexterity modifier damage, slide the target 1 square, and
you shift 1 square. You gain your sneak attack damage if
you did not have combat advantage with this attack.
Level 21: 5 + Dexterity modifier damage.
TM & © 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.
Level 1 Encounter Exploit
Opening Move Rogue Attack 1
While your enemies fumble for weapons or stand and gape,
you leap into the fray to score a deadly hit.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
Effect: You gain a power bonus to AC and Reflex equal to your
Charisma modifier until the end of your next turn.
Artful Dodger: The defense bonus equals 2 + your Charisma
modifier.
Level 1 Daily Exploit
Duelist’s Prowess Rogue Attack 1
The way you stand appears to allow a foe an opening, but in
truth your skill is such that you use your foe’s attack to draw it
in for your own quick strike.
Daily ✦ Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal
Effect: Until the stance ends, each time an enemy hits or
misses you, you can make the following attack against it.
Immediate Interrupt Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Trigger: An enemy adjacent to you attacks you
Target: The triggering enemy
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
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Level 2 Utility Exploit
Agile Footwork Rogue Utility 2
Though your foe wants to move in closely, you’d rather keep
your distance, so you nimbly move away.
Daily ✦ Martial
Immediate Reaction Personal
Trigger: An enemy ends its turn adjacent to you
Effect: You shift 3 squares.
Level 3 Encounter Exploit
Strike and Move Rogue Attack 3
You dart in, slash with your blade, and dart away before your
enemy can answer.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Effect: You can shift a number of squares equal to your
Charisma modifier. At any point during this shift, you can
make the following attack.
Artful Dodger: You instead shift 2 + your Charisma modifier
squares.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
Level 5 Daily Exploit
Duelist’s Demand Rogue Attack 5
You hem your foe in with a series of deadly strikes. It cannot
move as long as your weapon is ready to strike.
Daily ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is immo-
bilized and grants combat advantage to you. This effect ends
if the target ends its turn and you are not adjacent to it.
Miss: Half damage, and the target is immobilized and grants
combat advantage to you until the end of your next turn.
Level 6 Utility Exploit
Swift Parry Rogue Utility 6
You deflect your enemy’s attack, causing the force behind its
blow to send it off balance and leaving it vulnerable to your
next attack.
Encounter ✦ Weapon
Immediate Interrupt Personal
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Trigger: You are hit by a melee attack
Effect: You gain a bonus to defenses against the attack equal
to your Charisma modifier, and you gain combat advantage
against the triggering attacker until the end of your next
turn.
Level 7 Encounter Exploit
Lashing Blade Rogue Attack 7
A foe near you feels the sting of your blade as you lash out, but
you attack so with such agility that this enemy has a problem
returning the favor.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Effect: Until the end of your next turn, you can make the
following at-will attack.
Opportunity Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Trigger: An enemy starts its turn in or enters a square adjacent
to you
Target: The triggering enemy
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target takes
a penalty to attacks against you equal to your Charisma
modifier until the end of your next turn.
Artful Dodger: The attack penalty equals 2 + your Charisma
modifier.
Class Acts: Rogue
Level 13 Encounter Exploit
Vaulting Charge Rogue Attack 13
You rush forward and leap into the air, skewering a foe that
thought it was safe behind its allies.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Effect: You shift your speed before making the following attack,
and you can move through enemies’ spaces. You gain a
power bonus to AC equal to your Charisma modifier until
the end of your next turn.
Artful Dodger: The AC bonus equals 2 + your Charisma
modifier.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC, or Dexterity vs. Reflex if the target
has not yet acted in combat.
Hit: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
Level 17 Encounter Exploit
Path of the Blade Rogue Attack 17
You slash at your enemies, forcing them to part before you as
you rush your intended enemy.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Effect: You can shift a number of squares equal to 2 + your
Charisma modifier. Two times during this shift, you can
make an attack, each time against a different enemy
adjacent to you.
Artful Dodger: You instead shift 4 + your Charisma modifier
squares.
Free Action Melee weapon
Primary Target: One enemy
Primary Attack: Dexterity vs. Will
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage and you slide the crea-
ture 1 square.
Secondary Target: One enemy other than the primary target
Secondary Attack: Dexterity vs. Will
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you slide the crea-
ture 1 square.
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Level 23 Encounter Exploit
Shimmering Blade Rogue Attack 23
You stand ready to counter each of your enemies’ moves, your
blade a blur of steel as you strike again and again.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Effect: Until the end of your next turn, you can make the
following attack.
Free Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Trigger: An enemy makes a melee attack against you, starts its
turn adjacent to you, or ends its turn adjacent to you
Target: The triggering enemy
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
Effect: You gain a power bonus to AC and Reflex equal to your
Charisma modifier until the end of your next turn.
Artful Dodger: The defense bonus equals 2 + your Charisma
modifier.
Level 27 Encounter Exploit
First and Final Strike Rogue Attack 27
As your enemy fumbles for its weapon, you stride forward to
deliver a deadly attack.
Encounter ✦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade.
Effect: You can shift your speed before making the following
attack and can move through enemies’ spaces. You gain a
power bonus to AC equal to your Charisma modifier until
the end of your next turn.
Artful Dodger: The AC bonus instead equals 2 + your
Charisma modifier.
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 4[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, or 5[W] + Dexterity
modifier damage if the target has not yet acted in combat.
Rogue Feats
The duelist focuses on the rapier, with some of these
rogues using a dagger or light shield in their off
hands. The following feats allow a rogue to improve
upon the duelist’s fighting style.
Heroic Tier Feats
Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.
Blade and Buckler Duelist
Prerequisite: Rogue, proficiency with light
shields
Benefit: The shield bonus to defenses from your
light shield increase to +2.
Buckler Duelist
Prerequisite: Rogue, proficiency with light
shields
Benefit: If a rogue power gives you a power bonus
to defenses and you wield a light shield, increase that
bonus by 1.
Duelist’s Panache
Prerequisite: Charisma 13, Rogue
Benefit: You gain your Charisma modifier as a
bonus to Acrobatics and Athletics checks.
Class Acts: Rogue
Flash of the Blade
Prerequisite: Rogue, proficiency with rapiers
Benefit: While wielding a rapier, if you and your
target are the only creatures adjacent to each other,
you can deal your Sneak Attack damage to that target
if you do not have combat advantage against that
target.
Irrefutable Blade
Prerequisite: Rogue, proficiency with rapiers
Benefit: Whenever you miss with a rogue encoun-
ter attack while wielding a rapier, you deal damage
equal to your Charisma modifier to the target you
missed.
Versatile Duelist
Prerequisite: Rogue
Benefit: You gain proficiency with all one-
handed, military heavy blades. If a rogue power
requires you to wield a light blade, you can use that
power with a one-handed heavy blade and can also
deal your Sneak Attack damage while using a one-
handed heavy blade with that power.
About the Author
Mike Mearls is found only in subterranean places, as he
detests sunlight. He is greatly evil and considers the bulk of
humanity (and its kin) as cattle to feed upon. He speaks only
his own arcane language and several other weird tongues—
purportedly those of terrible races of things which dwell in
regions of the subterranean world far deeper than mankind
has ever ventured.
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