It's my first time DMing a round for 4 friends with the starter set. I noticed that the "Vex" on the item cards is different from the one in the PHB. In the starter set "Vex" reads:
"If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to the creature, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your turn" (Starter Set Card (Imgur))
In the PHB it's:
"If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to the creature, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your next turn."
So, right now, my rogue has a short sword and a dagger, running "Vex" and "Nick". Moving the bonus action attack of the dagger into the main attack, profiting from "Vex" to get advantage on that attack as it's the only other attack that takes place in that turn and using their bonus action for cunning action. It's the only combination that makes sense.
With PHB "Vex" the rogue could run two short swords and, assuming they keep hitting, have perpetual advantage and 1d6 instead of 1d4 on the off-hand attack, at the cost of losing their bonus action for other stuff due to not having "nick" anymore.
Another effect of this change in the starter set is that the mastery on the shortbow is effectively worthless. They only get one attack per turn so the "vex" advantage on the shortbow never materializes.
I am tempted to change this to PHB to give my rogue more flexibility and have the "Vex" on the shortbow actually do something. But I don't want to modify the starter set rules with "homebrew" in case this was specifically done for some reason I am just not seeing right now.
As you mentioned, the benefit from Vex lasts until the end of your next turn. I'd follow the PHB in this case, since you know the right rule, but I'm not sure if the Starter Set changed it to simplify that Weapon Mastery (?)
It's my first time DMing a round for 4 friends with the starter set. I noticed that the "Vex" on the item cards is different from the one in the PHB. In the starter set "Vex" reads:
"If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to the creature, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your turn" (Starter Set Card (Imgur))
In the PHB it's:
"If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to the creature, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your next turn."
So, right now, my rogue has a short sword and a dagger, running "Vex" and "Nick". Moving the bonus action attack of the dagger into the main attack, profiting from "Vex" to get advantage on that attack as it's the only other attack that takes place in that turn and using their bonus action for cunning action. It's the only combination that makes sense.
With PHB "Vex" the rogue could run two short swords and, assuming they keep hitting, have perpetual advantage and 1d6 instead of 1d4 on the off-hand attack, at the cost of losing their bonus action for other stuff due to not having "nick" anymore.
Another effect of this change in the starter set is that the mastery on the shortbow is effectively worthless. They only get one attack per turn so the "vex" advantage on the shortbow never materializes.
I am tempted to change this to PHB to give my rogue more flexibility and have the "Vex" on the shortbow actually do something. But I don't want to modify the starter set rules with "homebrew" in case this was specifically done for some reason I am just not seeing right now.
As you mentioned, the benefit from Vex lasts until the end of your next turn. I'd follow the PHB in this case, since you know the right rule, but I'm not sure if the Starter Set changed it to simplify that Weapon Mastery (?)
Or maybe it's just a mistake.
It's probably a mistake. At the levels the starter set is running, only characters using two weapons will even get a second attack in their turn.
(Unless the only pregen with a vex weapon is a two-weapon fighter; I don't know how customizable characters are in the set.)
Isn't the only change the actual word "next"?
That sounds like a typo.
Or the starter set is based off some old, outdated version of the rule that got "fixed" before the PHB was published.