Swashbuckler Rogue: D&D 2024 (5.5e) Optimisation Guide

The most audacious and charming rogue subclass makes a return in D&D: World of Warcraft.

At a glance

What’s changed?

The swashbuckler maintains its best features while overhauling some others. Largely, this boils down to more cunning strike options which I think creates some issues with simply swapping capabilities around rather than building on the things they can do. Ultimately, these are improvements though. These changes include:

• Panache: Now get 2 cunning strike options. You no longer need to take an action to charm, instead, cunning strike combines this with your sneak attack and the charm effect can affect creatures within 30ft, but only for a round and with no disadvantage for being hostile. The save is no longer made against your persuasion. You can also goad, causing disadvantage on attacks against targets other than yourself for a round.
• Dashing strikes: Elegant maneuver has been replaced with 2 more cunning strike options that can either increase your AC for a round or improve attack rolls and saving throws of an ally for a round.
• Master duelist: Instead of turning a missed attack into another attempt with advantage, you get another attack if you land a sneak attack. This has no usage limit either (like the once per rest from before).

Swashbuckler features

Fancy footwork (Lv3) – 4/5

Rogues are already pretty good at slipping in and out of combat, but fancy footwork makes this even easier and importantly, frees up your bonus action for other things. That could be dash or hide, but I’d be more tempted to use it to dual wield.

You could just use nick mastery for a second attack and take the dual wielder feat for a 3rd bonus action attack per turn and 3 chances to land sneak attack. If you land your sneak attack, you could still use your bonus action instead to dash away or hide for more safety.

Rakish audacity (Lv3) – 4/5

Better initiative is good. You’ll need to invest in charisma to take advantage of this which isn’t usually a priority for a rogue, but rogues have extra ability score increases and only 2 ability scores they need to invest in so charisma is an option for them.

Easier requirements for sneak attacks is useful. Sneak attacks aren’t hard to manufacture anyway, but sometimes you can’t get advantage or an ally nearby and this makes that more possible if you’re attempting to duel against a single target.

Panache (Lv9) – 4/5

If you land a sneak attack, you can basically either taunt your target into attacking you or attempt to charm nearby enemies (for a round).

Taunting may be an odd approach for a rogue who usually wants to be evasive, but there are circumstances where this can work. For instance, if you can inflict this and then move past martial allies, you might become inaccessible in melee or force moving past allies who can make opportunity attacks. I think this is difficult to engineer without plenty of movement. Fortunately, you won’t need to usually take the disengage action so can have your bonus action free to dash instead. In this case, you should sometimes be able to move out of range entirely.

One way to make goad work really well is through the Zhentarim tactics feat. Land a sneak attack, goad your opponent, move away from most other enemies, wait for your target to attack you and then use the opportunity attack from Zhentarim tactics to make an opportunity attack which might result in a sneak attack (which can be attempted if only within 5ft of one enemy, which is likely).

Awe kind of causes the opposite effect. You charm nearby enemies so they won’t come attacking you. That’s not bad for a class that wants to evade enemy attacks. I’d say this is better when handling crowds of enemies that are difficult to evade.

Dashing strikes (Lv13) – 4/5

This adds more defensive options to your cunning strikes. Parrying stance’s +1d6 to AC is potentially a fair bit and will help with survivability. Invigorate is potentially even better as it can enhance an ally with +1d6 to attack rolls and saving throws for a round. If you apply this to a high attack class like a monk, that might be 4 enhanced attacks per round which is already likely to be worth more than the 2d6 you sacrifice in damage, and that doesn’t even consider the improved saving throws.

These are both excellent options, but I do have an issue here. You can use 1 cunning strike option per sneak attack which is usually going to be 1 per round. We now have 4 great cunning strike options and so while this feature is also great, taking one of these options basically means you nullify panache. Cunning strikes also diminish the effects of your sneak attack too. More options still means there’s a net gain here, but it’s diminished because you can only use one at a time.

Master duelist (Lv17) – 3/5

Another attack is decent, but the old version of this feature let you attempt a sneak attack again if you’d missed. It was only once per rest, but at least it saved you from a poor turn every now and again.

This won’t help you land a missed sneak attack which is really important for you. You can make more attacks with dual wielding more easily, especially with a swashbuckler, so this is less of a risk now anyway, but the impact of this capstone isn’t going to be huge when a standard rogue attack isn’t that damaging.

How good is the swashbuckler?

The swashbuckler is quite a tricky one to score. It has plenty of features that on their own, are really quite good. But when you combine them all together, they sort of become less than the sum of their parts.

This is mainly because you can’t use all those cunning strike options at the same time. This means one is always taking the place of the other (and your other cunning strikes from the base rogue). I also think the capstone is kind of disappointing.

Ironically, the swashbuckler is better than the 5e 2014 iteration, but the problems it solves are less of a problem with the updated rogue. You can dual wield a rogue using nick and have a second attack for sneak attack and still have a bonus action free for dashing or disengaging. Sneak attacks are also easier to land with more advantage handed out and things like steady aim. The swashbuckler still makes these elements better, but the problems have lessened meaning what the swashbuckler does is not quite as potent.

Despite this, the power levels of the features are generally pretty good. This is a really evasive rogue that can save its bonus action for more attacks making it much better at landing sneak attacks, but also staying a bit safer doing so. Ultimately, that still makes it a good subclass, even if there are some design frustrations that make it less powerful than it really should be.

4/5

Building a swashbuckler rogue

While swashbucklers enjoy more evasiveness and easier sneak attacks, this doesn’t particularly change much about how they’re built. They remain dexterity reliant with a bit more focus on melee combat and charisma.

While this is a subclass from the World of Warcraft book, it’s compatible with other D&D releases so I’ve used options from all 5.5e books in my recommendations below. I’ll also add character options from D&D: World of Warcraft once they become widely available.

Ability scores

Recommended options

• Dexterity: Important for AC, attacks, initiative and stealth skills as well as the DC for your cunning strike options. A must have for any rogue.
• Constitution: You might be dodging in and out of danger, but you’ll still likely find yourself regularly getting a bruising. The more constitution you have, the more resilient you’ll be.
• Charisma: The higher your charisma is, the more your initiative is boosted. Rogues can also do a decent job with face skills if they have a decent charisma.

Options to avoid

• Intelligence: This isn’t a bad option for rogues to help with things like investigation, but you don’t really have room for this and charisma. Charisma takes precedent on a swashbuckler though.
• Wisdom: Only useful for skills and saving throws but you’ve got too much else to focus on anyway.
• Strength: Pointless on a rogue. You should dump this.

Ability score	Point Buy	Standard Array
Strength	8	8
Dexterity	15	15
Constitution	15	13
Intelligence	8	12
Wisdom	8	10
Charisma	15	14

Skills

Recommended options

• Acrobatics: Good for any physical activities and works with your dexterity, unlike athletics.
• Deception: Decent face skills if you end up somewhere you shouldn’t.
• Intimidation: Decent face skill, especially for a duelist.
• Investigation: Good option for discovering things, rogues are likely to attempt this a fair bit.
• Perception: Always useful, especially for the guy at the front checking for traps.
• Persuasion: Top face skill, especially if you need to talk your way into somewhere.
• Sleight of Hand: You’ll need this for unpicking locks and disarming traps.
• Stealth: Essential for a rogue as you’ll definitely need to sneak around places.

Species/race

There are a few things to consider when choosing a species for a swashbuckler:

• Safety first: Rogues are not as tough as other martials so anything that can help keep you safe is a good option.
• Resilience: Resilience features can be useful too, especially as you’ll be quite reliant on melee attacks, even if you will duck out of range after your attacks.
• Skill master: Rogues benefit a lot from being highly skillful, especially if you need to play the party face. Some extra skills can be useful here.

Recommended options

• Changeling (FotA): If you want to use a different kind of subterfuge, impersonations and shapechanging can work great on a rogue, especially with those improved face skills.
• Elf: While the spellcasting can be handy from any Elvish subrace, the Wood Elf is excellent when it comes to stealth and moving quickly which suits a rogue nicely.
• Halflings: Much easier hiding is great for a rogue, allowing you to hide behind your wizard (or other ranged character of medium size) and jump out with sneak attacks. Luck is universally great, but especially good for a class with lots of high risk, high reward rolls like being stealthy, disarming traps, trying to deceive others and attempting to land sneak attacks. Brave gives you a little extra resilience which is always handy.
• Human: An extra origin feat and skill proficiency is great for more versatility. Regular heroic inspiration can be useful for those important rolls you make like using stealth and sneak attack.
• Gnomes: A Forest Gnome’s minor illusion and speak with animals actually work really well for a rogue as they don’t require spell slots. Minor illusion is a cantrip that’s great for distractions. Speak with animals can be cast as a ritual for information gathering. Gnomish cunning is an excellent durability feature against some very common saving throws.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are much more important now with D&D 2024 with ability score increases, origin feats and skills all now linked to your background.

Dexterity should be your priority and then constitution or charisma.

Name	Ability scores	Origin feat	Skill proficiencies	Tool proficiency
Criminal	Dexterity, constitution, intelligence	Alert	Sleight of hand, stealth	Thieves tools
Charlatan	Dexterity, constitution, charisma	Skilled	Deception, sleight of hand	Forgery kit
Dragon cultist (HoF)	Dexterity, constitution, intelligence	Cult of the dragon initiate	Deception, stealth	Calligrapher’s supplies
Guide	Dexterity, constitution, wisdom	Magic initiate (druid)	stealth, survival	Cartographer’s tools
Mulhorandi tomb raider (HoF)	Dexterity, constitution, intelligence	Lucky	Investigation, religion	Mason’s tools
Phantasmic circus trouper (AU)	Dexterity, constitution, charisma	Arcane artist	Deception, performance	Disguise kit
Scribe	Dexterity, intelligence, wisdom	Skilled	Investigation, perception	Calligrapher’s tools
Shadowmasters exile (HoF)	Dexterity, intelligence, charisma	Savage attacker	Acrobatics, stealth	Thieves’ tools

Criminal or Mulhorandi tomb raider are perhaps your best options here with the best ability scores and origin feat combinations with some good skill proficiency options too.

Feats

I’d suggest the following feats for a Scion of the three rogue:

Origin feats

• Alert – Deal damage early in combat. If you’re lucky, you can take someone out of the picture before they can take a turn.
• Arcane eloquence (AU) – The vicious mockery cantrip isn’t much help for a rogue, but improved face skills is great if you’re playing the party face.
• Arcane omens (AU) – Improved skill checks through guidance and some improved saving throws too.
• Familiar friend (AU) – Get an enhanced familiar which is really useful for scouting, investigating and a bit of support in combat.
• Lucky – More ways to be reliable at important rolls is universally beneficial. Especially for when you need to land that all important sneak attack.
• Magic initiate – If you want a bit of spellcasting with things like minor illusion or detect magic to work alongside your stealth, this can be a decent way to do that.
• Musician – A universally great feat for dishing out heroic inspiration. Great for altruistic rogues. Plus you can ensure you have some heroic inspiration available too.
• Skilled – You’re likely to be your party’s skills master, so more skill proficiencies is going to help there. Especially if you don’t have another charisma class for face skills.
• Tough – If you want a bit more durability, this is the way to go.
• Transmuted anatomy (AU) – Swashbucklers are really reliant on speed, this boosts that a little and adds a buff to constitution saving throws too.
• Zhentarim ruffian (HoF) – Great if you intend to grab Zhentarim tactics too as you can easily get lots of opportunity attacks that way and with sneak attack, that’s a lot of damage dice that you’ll want to make sure roll as high as possible. The initiative boost can be good if you have an easy way to replenish heroic inspiration.

General feats

• Defensive duelist – Improved AC when using your reaction can help with your resilience.
• Dual wielder – An option if you want to forego cunning actions for the extra attack when dual wielding instead. You can mix and match and simply using nick is an option instead, but this will give you more chances to land a sneak attack and disengage isn’t as necessary with a swashbuckler.
• Fairy trickster (HoF) – Rogues and monks are the most likely to benefit from the disengage aspect of this. Causing disadvantage on saving throws is universally great.
• Magic connoisseur (AU) – Grab a couple of utility spells you can cast (maybe to enhance your sneaking).
• Purple dragon commandant (HoF) – A great way to get advantage for your sneak attacks. Not that you should aim to be bloodied, but you’ll be more dangerous at that point.
• Skulker – Become really reliable at hiding. Blindsight is also great in certain situations that you could even exploit in combat through things like the darkness spell (if you work with an ally).
• Shadow touched – Invisibility is a great spell for a rogue and another spell with your decent intelligence is a solid option.
• Speedy – Good for hit and run tactics. This is more for getting your speed even higher for getting further from melee after your attacks.
• Warlike familiar (AU) – A battle familiar is great for anyone but can really help a rogue have an ally nearby for sneak attacks. That’s a little less necessary for a swashbuckler, but still useful, even if normally just for the damage boost.
• Zhentarim tactics (HoF) – Goad a creature so they attack you, then use this to make an opportunity attack back. Because sneak attack is once per turn, you can use this on an enemy’s turn building up to 2 sneak attacks per round. Expertise in a changeable skill is also pretty good.

Weapons

You’ll want to go with finesse and ranged weapons that can use your dexterity for attacks. Swashbucklers are best making melee attacks so you’ll want to lean into that. The specific weapons you choose though, will depend partly on how you want to fight and what weapon mastery properties you want to be using:

• A light crossbow is your highest damage ranged option and has long range attacks.
• As landing sneak attacks is so important to your damage output, getting a second attack is quite important to ensure you’re not reliant on a single attack. Weapons with nick mastery will really help here as it leaves your bonus action free for a cunning action or, if you take the dual wielder feat, for a 3rd attack.
• You can grab a shortsword to pair with a dagger or scimitar for easy advantage with vex for your second attack. A scimitar does more damage than a dagger so is a better option for melee.
• If you want 2 attacks at range, you can also grab a bunch of daggers and use their thrown property.

Armor

Your only real option here is studded leather as it’s cheap, easily available and there’s no better light armor anyway.

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