Roguish Archetype: Arcane Trickster 5e

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

When I’m in the mood to play some good old fashioned sneaky and stealy D&D, I first turn to Arcane Trickster. Where Thief and Assassin both sell themselves as iconic roguish archetypes, I don’t think either succeeds in their intended objective. Arcane Trickster manages to get there and offers a better thief fantasy than Theif ever could while also giving you a bunch of nifty bonuses.

What rogue fundamentally needs to keep up with the rest of the party is new stuff to do as the game progresses. While not ideal, being a ⅓ caster with 1st-4th level spell slots is good enough alongside their magical ability suite to fulfill that need for me.

3rd Level: Spellcasting and Mage Hand Legerdemain

Spellcasting is the primary reason to play Arcane Trickster; you learn Mage Hand and two other wizard cantrips (standouts including Minor Illusion and Booming Blade) with three known 1st-level wizard spells out the gate.

This kind of spellcasting comes with some restrictions; two of your initial three have to be 1st level illusion or enchantment spells, with only one being any of your choice. You can only learn enchantment or illusion spells going forward with an exception occurring with the 8th, 14th, and 20th level learned spells being able to be of any school.

Even with this restriction, you’re left with ample opportunity to learn some exceptional effects. Find Familiar is my number one recommendation for non-enchantment/illusion spells, as the rogue fantasy flourishes with a pet scout to navigate the game with.

Charm Person, Silent Image, Disguise Self, and Silvery Barbs all are major standouts as well for your 1st level spell selection. Silvery Barbs in particular is incredible; it's a well-known crazy powerful and cheap effect you’re happy to use in every tier it's available.

Mage Hand Legerdemain takes your Mage Hand and turns its utility up to 11. Mage Hand on its own has always been excellent; now not only is the hand invisible, but you can also discretely stow objects on creatures, pilfer from a passerby, and disarm traps or pick locks at a safe distance away.

What also is important to note is you can now control the hand as a bonus action, making it WAY easier to use in combat effectively. If you act before an enemy, you can draw their weapon before they get a chance to and dangle it a dozen feet above their head. It's a cool trick, and something you can do a lot of tricky things with.

7th Level: 2nd Level Spells

Getting 2nd level spells at 9th level isn’t typically that exciting, but given the pool you’re working with, it can be a huge boon for you that opens up a world of possibilities.

Invisibility easily is my most recommended spell, probably of all spell levels, that any Arcane Trickster should take. Being able to turn yourself invisible for up to an hour makes you uniquely capable in the stealth department alongside your Expertise and Cunning Action. There are few spells that are this thematically appropriate and mechanically powerful.

Crown of Madness and Hold Person are both excellent save or dies that you’ll want in varying situations that get majorly improved by Magical Ambush in a few levels.

Beyond illusion and enchantment effects, picking up Detect Thoughts and Misty Step will give you plenty of fun directions to approach conflict from. Spider Climb also can be a delight to run around with as a rogue, giving you a better version of Thief’s Second Story Work attached to a spell slot. Web is also worth mentioning, as its massive area of coverage can get you and your party out of sticky situations, or just set up debilitating areas of control to lock down threats.

9th Level: Magical Ambush

Typically, half and third-casters like to steer clear of spells that ask an enemy to make a save, as their spell save DCs tend to be lackluster. Most of your character is invested towards your attack rolls which use your Dexterity, making Intelligence a secondary consideration. Magical Ambush mixes your Cunning Action (Hide) with your spellcasting to give you compelling reasons to take spells like Suggestion and Hideous Laughter.

I adore the design of this feature; its simple, empowering, and plays perfectly alongside the base class to make it feel uniquely like a magical rogue feature.

13th Level: 3rd Level Spells and Versatile Trickster

Your 3rd level spell options aren’t as amazing as your 2nd, and come a bit later than I’d like, but can still be used effectively. Fear when cast using Magical Ambush can debilitate an incoming encounter with a mass disadvantage-imposed save that will cause most creatures in the area to drop their goodies and flee. Hypnotic Pattern can be equally, if not slightly more debilitating, and Major Image can be a blast to play with if you’re ready to come up with outlandish solutions involving giant phenomena or creatures.

Even at 14th level, Fireball is still Fireball, and Magical Ambush can similarly empower it when you can successfully hide. Counterspell can be critical in high-magic games, and having it on your rogue as a potential way to deal with high-level spell effects before they happen can save your entire partie’s lives. Haste is also pretty great on rogues for buffing a multi-attacking ally or just for casting it on yourself to run at the speed of sound.

Versatile Trickster gives you Steady Aim with the Mage Hand; you probably don’t need this, especially when you’re playing with a familiar buddy to give yourself Sneak Attack already, but as a backup plan, its fine to have. Third level spells fortunately do a lot of heavy lifting here as far as empowering your character goes.

17th Level: Spell Thief

Spell Thief is SO FREAKING COOL… and not that useful unfortunately. Turns out there just aren’t a ton of creatures flinging out 3rd level spells you’re crazy excited to steal, especially when they have to affect you. It does have a neat interaction with allied spells, as if they cast a spell that affects an area, this can mitigate it just against you and give you a copy of it for later use, but that’s not that amazing. If you consider this an extra third level spell slot, its not all that impressive, and its a bit worse than that most of the time. Still, when you can blank a big bad’s Crown of Madness targeting you and turn it against their scariest liuetenant, you’ll feel embody this spell thief fantasy to its fullest.

19th Level: 4th Level Spells

Turns out 19th level to get access to 4th level spells is basically 12 levels too late; if you do get here, though, Charm Monster and Greater Invisibility are both baller effects to add to your sheet.

All Together

Arcane Trickster would majorly benefit from being a half-caster, but where it is now, its easily my highest recommendation for new rogues looking to do classically roguish stuff. Their spell options embody trickery and deciet, and their features enable those spells further while silumatenously encouraging your sneak and stab roguish play pattern. Mage Hand Legerdemain is a blast to play with, and Magical Ambush and Versatile Trickster empower your regular actions turn to turn in new, interesting ways. I can’t recommend Arcane Trickster enough.

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