Wilderness Runner — D&D 5.5e (2024 Rules)

Wilderness Runners are elusive scouts, trackers, and skirmishers who adapt the deadly arts of ambush to untamed frontiers. Where traditional Rogues stalk crowded alleyways and dimly lit urban rooftops, Wilderness Runners melt into dense canopies, mist-shrouded swamps, and jagged mountain passes. Relying on incredible speed and precise striking, they strike swift, lethal blows before slipping away into the brush without a trace.

3rd Level: Sylvan Mobility

Your training in rugged terrain makes you exceptionally nimble. You gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

In addition, whenever you use your Cunning Action to Dash, your speed increases by an extra 10 feet for that turn, and you ignore difficult terrain caused by nonmagical foliage, dense underbrush, or steep natural terrain until the end of the turn.

3rd Level: Ambush Predator

You hone the art of initiating combat with maximum devastation. When you hit a creature with an attack using a finesse weapon or a ranged weapon, you can deal your Sneak Attack damage even if you don’t have Advantage on the attack roll, provided all of the following conditions are met:

• The target is within 30 feet of you.

• No other creature is within 5 feet of you.

• You do not have Disadvantage on the attack roll.

Furthermore, during the first round of combat, you have Advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn yet. If you hit a creature that hasn't taken a turn yet with a Sneak Attack, the target’s Speed is reduced to 0 until the start of your next turn.

3rd Level: Wilderness Lore

You gain proficiency in the following skill: Survival. If you already have proficiency in Survival, you gain Expertise in it instead, doubling your Proficiency Bonus for any ability check you make using that skill. Additionally, you have Advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track creatures in natural terrain.

9th Level: Canopy Ghost

You have learned to fade into natural surroundings with unnatural ease. You can take the Hide action even when you are only Lightly Obscured by natural phenomena (such as heavy rain, falling snow, mist, foliage, or shadows).

Additionally, while you are hidden in natural terrain, moving during your turn doesn't automatically reveal your position, provided you do not move within 10 feet of a creature or make an attack roll.

13th Level: Predatory Skirmish

Your hit-and-run capabilities are matched by few. You gain two new options for your Cunning Strike feature:

• Evasive Spring (Cost: 1d6): Immediately after applying this Cunning Strike effect to a creature, you can move up to half your speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

• Hamstring (Cost: 2d6): The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your Dexterity modifier + your Proficiency Bonus) or have its speed reduced by half and be unable to take the Dash action until the end of its next turn.

17th Level: Relentless Stalker

You become the ultimate apex hunter of the wild. You gain the following benefits:

• Swift Initiative: While in natural terrain, you have Advantage on Initiative rolls and you can't be surprised unless you are incapacitated.

• Vanish from Sight: When you use your Cunning Action to Hide in natural terrain, choose one creature within 60 feet that can see you. That creature must succeed on a Wisdom (Perception) check against a DC equal to 10 + your Dexterity (Stealth) modifier or that creature can't see you until you attack, cast a spell, or leave its line of sight.

• Deadly Surge: Once per turn, when you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a Sneak Attack, you can immediately move up to your remaining movement and make one additional attack with a finesse weapon or a ranged weapon as part of the same action. You can apply your Sneak Attack damage to this additional attack even if you have already dealt Sneak Attack damage this turn, provided the attack otherwise qualifies.