Editing Rake

The '''Rake''' is a [[Rogue]] Variant Class in the BECMI edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Introduced in the boxed set "Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia", the Rake is a cultural variation of the thief who possesses "roguish charm", but isn't actually a professional crook.

Mechanically, this works by taking the BECMI Thief class and stripping out the Pick Pockets and Backstab abilities. And that's it. Even the splatbook admits that all the Rake gains compared to the standard Thief is that "your comrades may trust you more than they would a normal thief".

...Yeah, this class sucks and nobody ever used it.

The name is taken from Old English slang, and means "rogue" in the social sense - a ruffian, a rascal, dissolute or immoral person usually driven by vice (especially lust). It originated in England during the reign of Charles II, and was inspired by the king himself and his best buddies, who were notorious for their love of strong drink, sex, and witty conversation. When old-timey stories refer to someone as a "cad", that's a polite way of saying "rake" - which is a shortened form of "rakehell", analogous to "hellraiser". Other equivalent terms would be libertine and debauchee. Often, a rake was also prodigal, wasting his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, and incurring lavish debts in the process. The Rake was a stock character in Restoration-period comedies, but today largely survives in historical romances, where the term is often used to refer to a broad spectrum of loveable scoundrels.

[[Pathfinder]] 1E saw this return as an archetype for the basic Rogue with a similar leaning but without robbing much else. Sneak Attacks here could ''opt to'' replace a die of extra damage to gain a free chance to intimidate someone, and they got a scaling bonus to Diplomacy and Bluff checks. All that got sacrificed was their ability to sense traps, which while inconvenient, can be replaced by a competent enough [[Barbarian]] who didn't also sacrifice their Trap Sense.

[[Mr. Welch]] updated it to 5th edition as a [[Rogue]] subclass focused on the social aspect of the game, so whilst it definitely shines best outside of combat, it can still actually pull its weight competently in battle, and it can still do a decent bit of thievery. It was revised in the last update to provide even more abilities.  Its subclass features by level are as follows:
* '''Courtly Indiscretion (3rd):''' It takes you half the normal time to don or doff light armor (with help, it takes 1 round), and you get to roll twice and choose the result when using the Carouse downtime activity.
* '''Social Butterfly (3rd):''' In a group of 10+ people, add your Charisma modifier as a bonus to Stealth, Perception and Investigation checks.
* '''Extra Panache (9th):''' By spending an Action to engage in a conversation with a creature you can mutually understand, you can force that creature to make a Charisma save (DC 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma bonus). If it fails, the creature is Charmed, Stunned or Frightened (your choice) until either damaged, it successfully makes a save (repeat every minute), or minutes equal to your Charisma modifier pass.
* '''Legend in Your Own Mind (13th):''' You cannot be charmed, and you have advantage on any saving throw against Psychic damage.
* '''Name Level (17th):''' At 17th level your reputation precedes you. Any non-hostile intelligent NPC that comes within 30 feet of you must pass a Charisma save against DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. If the NPC fails they are charmed for a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus. This effect ends if you leave the area, insult or harm the NPC. A creature only has to make a single saving throw once per day.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Classes]] [[Category: Mystara]]