The Scion of the Three Rogue out of Heroes of Faerun is a bloody good time in every sense of the word. Teleports, murders, it does it all.
The Scion of the Three Rogue subclass, which you can find in Heroes of Faerun, the new Forgotten Realms player’s guide, might just be some of the most fun you can have as a Rogue. Sure, it requires you to specifically draw power from a group of malevolent gods. And sure, that means that you’ll be forever tainted by their dark power. But remember in 5th Edition when the most popular Warlock was the one that, canonically, required you to sell your soul to a magic sword?
But that’s a small price to pay to try one of the more reactive, dynamic Rogue subclasses in 5.5E. Because this subclass is all about channeling dark power for fell deeds. But it means you have a surprisingly flexible suite of tools at your disposal. Let’s take a closer look!
Scion of the Three Rogue – Tyranny, Murder, and Death all in One Package
The Scion of the Three Rogue blends the powers of the Dead Three into a single toolkit. But who are the Dead Three anyway, you ask? It’s a trio of evil gods who were once mortals that lived in the city of Baldur’s Gate. They ascended to godhood through treachery and have been killed and come back at least a couple of times. Though maybe after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, they will face more permanent consequences.
There’s Bane, lord of Tyranny; Bhaal, lord of Murder; and Myrkul, lord of Death. As a Scion of the Three you’ll use elements of each of them, starting with one of your core level 3 subclass features, Dead Allegiance. This lets you gain resistance to one damage type and also a cantrip at the end of each long rest. What you get depends on which of the Three you pick. Bane gets resistance to Psychic damage and Minor illusion. Bhaal gets resistance to Poison damage and Blade Ward. Myrkul gets resistance to Necrotic damage and Chill Touch. All great cantrips to have on a Rogue.
The other level 3 feature is much more dramatic, however. Bloodthirst is the Scion of the Three’s signature ability that makes it easier for you to cull the weak in the name of the Dead Three. Whenever a creature takes damage and is Bloodied after, you gain a deadly Reaction.
You can teleport to a spot adjacent to your enemy and then make a single melee attack. This can set you up for a deadly Sneak Attack. You only get limited uses – up to your Intelligence modifier times per day, refreshing on a long rest. But still, what an ability!
It sets you up for easy off-turn Sneak Attack, and can even be something you trigger yourself if you really want to pour on some damage. It synergizes well with anyone who can buff your attacks, too. This will have you teleporting around to finish off foes, and that is exciting tech to use in multiclass builds as well.
Hard(er) Targets – Higher Level
At higher levels, you can bring even more of the Dead Three’s dark powers to bear. Thin because you’re a Rogue, and people got too freaked out about subclasses being standardized in terms of progression, you’ll have to wait a while before you get another feature.
But at level 9, you gain Strike Fear, a new iron to use with Cunning Strike. Cunning Strike lets you give up a certain number of d6s from your Sneak Attack damage to instead inflict other effects on your target. In this case, it’s all about the mindkiller – that little death that brings total oblivion, Fear. When you Strike Fear, your target must make a Wisdom save it’s Frightened of you for 1 minute. And while it is Frightened, you have Advantage on attack rolls against the target, making it easier to chain those sneak attacks and crits.
At level 13, your abilities upgrade with Aura of Malevolence. Not only do you “radiate malignant power” you boost your Bloodthirst teleport, so that now when you use it you damage each creature of your choice within a 10 ft radius of where you’re teleporting from or teleporting too. Whatever you decide, you deal your Intelligence modifier in damage (same type as your Dread Allegiance damage), and what’s more, this damage ignores any resistance your target might have.
Finally, at level 17, Dread Incarnate makes sure it’s harder to run out of Bloodthirst uses. Now you regain one use after a Short Rest, so you can top up your killing sprees. And then you also gain a boost to Sneak Attack damage in that you can treat a roll of a 1 or 2 on the die as a 3.
All in all, this is an absolute blast for a Rogue looking to shake things up for their next character. I love the theme and the expression of abilities. It just feels fun.
Check out the Scion of the Three Rogue and seven other subclasses in Heroes of Faerun!
