The Arsonist Rogue is a master of fire, destruction, and chaos. They excel at setting fires and using flames as a means of achieving their goals, whether it's creating diversions, intimidating foes, or sowing chaos in the heat of battle. This subclass combines the subtlety and precision of the Rogue with the raw power of pyromania, making for a unique character who thrives on incendiary chaos.

What the Arsonist Does: As an Arsonist, you're an expert at manipulating fire and using it to your advantage. Your abilities allow you to set controlled blazes, create explosive devices, and utilize fiery attacks to disrupt your enemies. You specialize in crafting incendiary items, whether it's molotov cocktails, explosive traps, or simply setting everything in your path ablaze.

Your arsonist skills are perfect for:

1. Distracting Foes: Arsonists can set fires to draw the attention of enemies, making them focus on the blaze while you slip past unnoticed.

2. Intimidating Adversaries: The threat of burning destruction at your fingertips can be a powerful tool for persuading or intimidating others.

3. Creating Chaos in Battle: In combat, you become a force of fiery disruption. You can control the battlefield by setting foes on fire or using explosive devices to take down groups of enemies.

Utilizing the Arsonist in a D&D Campaign: The Arsonist Rogue is a versatile and thematic addition to any campaign. They can be master infiltrators, spies, or saboteurs, using fire to their advantage in a wide range of situations. Here are some campaign scenarios where the Arsonist shines:

• Espionage and Infiltration: Infiltrate enemy organizations or gather information by setting fires as a distraction while you sneak in.

• Urban Adventures: Navigate crowded cityscapes using arson as both a tool and a weapon, turning alleyways into infernos or forging escape routes.

• Battlefield Control: As an Arsonist, you can control the battlefield by creating fiery barriers and inflicting area-of-effect damage, making you a crucial asset in intense battles.

Cinematic Reference: If you're looking for cinematic inspiration for the Arsonist Rogue, think of characters like the Joker from "The Dark Knight" or Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. These characters use chaos and fire as tools to achieve their goals, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The Arsonist Rogue captures the essence of such characters in the world of D&D, making them a memorable and formidable addition to your campaign.

Pyro's Cunning (Level 3)

As a Rogue who has embraced the Pyro's Cunning, you have honed your skills in the art of fire manipulation and pyrotechnics. This class feature enhances your expertise, offering both utility and combat advantages:

Utility Benefits:

• Alchemical Proficiency: With Pyro's Cunning, you gain proficiency with alchemical supplies, such as flammable substances, explosive devices, and incendiary tools. This proficiency allows you to effectively craft and handle such items, creating traps, molotov cocktails, and other pyrotechnic devices.

• Arson Expertise: You gain advantage on skill checks related to arson, setting fires, and crafting incendiary traps. This advantage extends to tasks like setting controlled blazes, crafting explosive devices, and using fire to create diversions.

Combat Advantages:

• Sneak Attack Enhancement: Your Pyro's Cunning improves your damage output. You can apply your Sneak Attack damage to fire-based spells and attacks when you have advantage on the attack roll or when another enemy of your target is within 5 feet of it, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll. For example, you can utilize your Pyro's Cunning to add extra damage to a "burning hands" spell or a fiery dagger attack when the conditions are met.

Game Mechanics: The Alchemical Proficiency and Arson Expertise aspects of Pyro's Cunning do not require specific checks but provide narrative and role-playing advantages. You can use these abilities to set the scene, create distractions, and navigate fiery challenges.

The Sneak Attack Enhancement is a combat-focused benefit that grants you additional damage under certain conditions. When the conditions for your Sneak Attack are met, you can add extra damage to your attacks, turning you into a formidable combatant with fire-based spells and weapons.

For example, if you're in a battle against a group of enemies and you have an ally engaged in combat with one of them, you can utilize your Pyro's Cunning to unleash a fiery arrow from your shortbow, dealing Sneak Attack damage on top of the regular attack damage, thanks to the proximity of your ally.

Note: It's important to work with your DM to ensure that fire-based spells and attacks are appropriately balanced in your campaign, as they may vary in power depending on the situation and available spells and abilities.

Emberstep (Level 3)

Emberstep represents your exceptional mastery of fire and your ability to navigate through flames with grace. This class feature provides both utility and protection in fiery situations:

Fire Resistance: At 3rd level, you gain resistance to fire damage. Flames that would typically sear and scorch have reduced effects on you, causing only half the damage they normally would. Fire-based attacks, fiery traps, and engulfing flames become less threatening, as their destructive power is mitigated by your resistance.

Moving Through Flames: Emberstep also grants you the extraordinary ability to move through flames without harm. You can pass through an open flame, up to a 5-foot cube in size, without taking any damage or suffering ill effects. However, you can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your proficiency modifier, regaining all uses after a long rest. This feature allows for quick escapes, strategic positioning in fiery environments, and evasion tactics.

Game Mechanics: The Fire Resistance aspect of Emberstep grants you protection against fire damage, reducing it by half. This means that any damage from fire-based sources is halved, and fire-based conditions, such as being set on fire, have reduced impact.

Moving Through Flames is a unique utility feature that allows you to bypass obstacles and hazards a limited number of times per day, as dictated by your proficiency modifier. When you want to pass through a fire barrier or wall of flames, you can do so safely, preserving your uses for other fire-related challenges.

Examples:

1. Fire-Breathing Dragon: In a battle against a fearsome fire-breathing dragon, Emberstep's fire resistance allows you to withstand the dragon's fiery breath attack with only half the damage. This resilience enables you to endure the dragon's assault and continue the fight.

2. Evasion in a Burning Building: When infiltrating a burning building, Emberstep's fire resistance is invaluable. You can navigate through fiery obstacles and burning rooms with reduced harm, making it easier to rescue hostages, retrieve important items, or outmaneuver your enemies.

3. Tactical Escape: Trapped within a circle of fire by your enemies, you can utilize Emberstep to pass through the wall of flames with only half the damage, preserving your limited uses for other encounters. This maneuver creates a gap in the enemy's formation, granting you an opportunity to escape or reposition while minimizing harm.

Emberstep enhances your resilience and mobility in fiery situations, making you a formidable Rogue capable of facing fire-based threats head-on and using the flames to your advantage.

Inferno's Wrath (Level 9):

Inferno's Wrath is a class feature that embodies your mastery of fire and your ability to deliver devastating, fiery strikes in combat. This feature amplifies your critical hits, inflicting additional fire damage and transforming your enemies into blazing infernos:

Fiery Critical Hits: Starting at 9th level, when you score a critical hit with a melee or ranged weapon attack, your flames surge with power. The target of your critical hit suffers an additional 1d6 fire damage on top of the critical hit's damage.

Explosive Fury: Inferno's Wrath is not limited to one target. If your critical hit affects multiple creatures, each of them takes the additional 1d6 fire damage. This ability turns your critical hits into fiery explosions, wreaking havoc on groups of foes.

Game Mechanics: The Fiery Critical Hits aspect of Inferno's Wrath triggers when you achieve a critical hit with a weapon attack. In addition to the damage from the critical hit, you add an extra 1d6 fire damage to your attack.

For example, if you score a critical hit with a longsword, you roll the weapon's damage dice as usual and then add an additional 1d6 fire damage on top of it. This enhancement makes critical hits even more powerful for your character.

Examples:

1. Critical Hit with a Greatsword: Imagine you're wielding a greatsword and land a critical hit against an enemy. In addition to the greatsword's damage, you roll an extra 1d6 fire damage, turning your powerful strike into an inferno of destruction.

2. Critical Hit with a Fire Arrow: You're an archer with a penchant for fire-tipped arrows. When you achieve a critical hit against a group of goblins, each goblin struck takes an additional 1d6 fire damage from your Inferno's Wrath, leaving them scorched and defeated.

3. Dual-Wielding Blades: In combat, you wield two short swords, and your multi-attack ability results in a critical hit. Each attack deals critical damage, and each one is enhanced by the fiery power of Inferno's Wrath, making you a formidable and fiery whirlwind on the battlefield.

Inferno's Wrath transforms your critical hits into fiery cataclysms, allowing you to leave your enemies scorched and smoldering after each successful strike.

Firestarter (Level 13)

Firestarter is a class feature that exemplifies your exceptional pyromaniacal abilities. At 13th level, you harness the power to ignite both your enemies and the world around you with uncanny ease. This feature infuses your fiery spells and attacks with the potential to set your foes ablaze, dealing ongoing fire damage:

Inferno Ignition: Starting at 13th level, whenever you deal fire damage to a creature with a spell or weapon attack, the target must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier (your choice). On a failed save, the target ignites, taking an additional 1d6 fire damage at the start of its turn for a duration of 1 minute or until extinguished.

Ablaze Environment: Not only do your fiery powers scorch your foes, but they can also ignite the environment. When you use a spell or ability to deal fire damage in an area, the affected area remains ablaze for 1 minute, causing 1d6 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn within the fiery zone.

Game Mechanics: The Inferno Ignition feature triggers when you deal fire damage to a creature with a spell or weapon attack. If the target fails its Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, it ignites and takes an additional 1d6 fire damage at the start of its turn for 1 minute or until extinguished.

The Ablaze Environment feature creates a fiery area of effect (AoE) when you use a fire-based spell or ability. The area remains ablaze for 1 minute, dealing 1d6 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn within the zone.

Examples:

1. Scorching Ray: You unleash a Scorching Ray spell on an enemy. One of the rays hits, dealing fire damage. Your target fails its saving throw, igniting and taking an extra 1d6 fire damage at the start of its turn.

2. Fiery Burst: In the midst of combat, you cast Fireball, creating an explosion of flames. The area continues to smolder for 1 minute, dealing 1d6 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn within the fiery radius.

3. Ignited Duel: You face off against a powerful fire elemental. Your weapon attacks are imbued with fire, causing extra fire damage. With each strike, the elemental must make a saving throw to avoid igniting and taking ongoing fire damage.

Firestarter transforms your fiery spells and attacks into infernal agents of destruction, setting your enemies and the environment ablaze. This class feature makes you a formidable pyromaniacal force in both single combat and AoE situations.

Infernal Conflagration (Level 17)

Infernal Conflagration is the pinnacle of your pyromaniacal power. At 17th level, you can unleash a cataclysmic explosion of fire centered on yourself, engulfing your foes in a searing maelstrom of destruction. This feature lets you harness the primal fury of flames to deliver devastating damage to enemies within its radius:

Crimson Cataclysm: Starting at 17th level, as an action, you can initiate the Infernal Conflagration, creating a fiery explosion in a 20-foot radius centered on yourself. All creatures within the area, except you, must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Intelligence or Dexterity modifier (your choice). On a failed save, a creature takes 8d6 fire damage, and on a successful save, it takes half damage. The area within the radius becomes scorched, causing 2d6 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn within the fiery zone for 1 minute.

Devastation Unleashed: Infernal Conflagration is not a subtle ability. It turns you into a living conflagration, leaving nothing but ashes in your wake. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Game Mechanics: The Crimson Cataclysm aspect of Infernal Conflagration is initiated by using your action and creates a fiery explosion centered on yourself in a 20-foot radius. All creatures within the area, except you, must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. The damage dealt is 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The scorched area continues to deal 2d6 fire damage to creatures within it at the start of their turns for 1 minute.

Examples:

1. Final Stand: Surrounded by enemies, you activate Infernal Conflagration to unleash the Crimson Cataclysm centered on yourself, devastating the encroaching foes while leaving you unharmed.

2. Blazing Barricade: In a strategic move, you use Infernal Conflagration to create a wall of fire centered on you, forcing enemies to make Dexterity saving throws. Your explosive barrier thwarts their advance as they face the fiery onslaught.

3. Last-Ditch Effort: Faced with an unbeatable adversary, you employ Infernal Conflagration as a final gambit, setting off the Crimson Cataclysm around yourself. The scorching explosion ensures the enemy's ultimate demise while sacrificing your own safety.