The Mastermind Would Be The Xanathar's Subclass In D&D

You can preorder Xanathar's Guide to Everything right here goo.gl/SsdyUj on dndbeyond.com
An official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition.

[@JonHerzogArtist]

You get the book, you go through the Rogue section, you only THINK it's the Mastermind you're reading. That's exactly what they want you to think.

[@kabobawsome]

I like that the Inquisitive and Mastermind Rogues appear to be opposites. Bitter rivals.

[@matthewsmith6057]

Sort of a Holmes/Moriarty vibe, if you will...

[@unrealization6478]

Aristotle versus mashy spike plates!

[@yoko3182]

Unrealization I understood that reference.

[@DungeonDad]

The mastermind rogue who played in my game was one of my favourite characters to DM for.

[@Rokkiteer]

Am also intrigued by this as a DM

[@salmffron2003]

Hey! Its Dungeon Dad!

[@captainlcm]

do you mind elaborating? what events happened in your campaign with the mastermind that were interesting?

[@RexOrbis]

I can picture a pair of rogues, one mastermind, one thief, where the mastermind keeps using the bonus action to give the rogue sneak attack. That could be a really fun pair to roleplay.

[@Brelicity]

Changeling mastermind rogue/ college of whispers rogue

[@doctornorth6419]

I got my copy of Xanataher guide to everything today, I'm so happy it a great book!!

[@VioletMoonfox]

I raced to the store when I got off work only to watch them sell the last copy they had.

[@doctornorth6419]

WrittenInShadow Awww that sucks I had mine on pre-order for about 6 months I even got a discount from my store for the speical edition covor from buying all my stuff there instead of Amazon

[@aidanweldon3526]

Currently playing a Changeling Mastermind, and let me yell you that is an amazing combo

[@stripedpolkadots8692]

Same here!

[@tonysladky8925]

"Go for the eyes!" Is Minsc a Master in Rogue now?

[@chasenovak6015]

I was actually thinking of doing what I think to be an interesting idea. A Halfling rogue (mastermind) and wizard (divination) who uses his innate luck and divination magic to gain an edge while gambling. But he also uses sleight of hand and deception to cheat when need be. I imagine he’d use primarily divination and illusion magic (casting minor illusion on his deck to make it look like a full house). He’d also have a few other quirks, like his magic missiles being shaped like playing cards that pop out of his sleeve, or having an extra deck of 52 bladed cards that he uses as a thrown weapon for 1d4 slashing. Basically just a magical con man.

[@redoryx1872]

Love the Mastermind, mine is super super fun to play. It’s fantastic that you have a new way to play a supportive character.

[@zeik101]

Mastermind + battlemaster?

[@okisaan]

The BattleMasterMind. Now... make it a Mindflayer... BattleMasterMindflayer

[@zorkman956]

I think zeik101 is talking about the "insightful manipulator" + "know your enemy." It's basically just asking the dm to see the NPC's character sheet.

[@MisterSmith00]

I like how this Mastermind Rogue can be the shot-caller, kingpin, or ringleader of a criminal group...the bonus action “Help” is really tailor-made for your party’s bruiser. The Mastermind keeps his hands clean. Makes me think of Al Swearengen from “Deadwood”...rarely does he do the deed himself; he usually relies on his close accomplices to carry out theft or murder.

[@SZRLM]

I enjoyed playing my kobold mob boss as a mastermind with an emphasis on Charisma for intimidate and such. Took magic initiate to gain message, vicious mockery, and healing word.

[@marcusblacknell-andrews1783]

The subclass is the “Godfather” of Dungeons and Dragons.

[@DristanRossVII]

Didn't Crawford claim that the Inquisitive was the intelligent one and the Mastermind mostly about charisma?

[@DarkonFullPower]

Yes. Mastermind is manipulating others with charisma. Inquisitive is discovering someone else's manipulation. Think of them as hard opposite rivals.

[@ittyandpocky]

Yep, my mastermind is the master spy: he gathers information, worms his way into the good graces of multiple groups, plays them off each other by spreading secrets and lies, attempts to gain the upper hand without getting his hands dirty (if he can avoid it).

[@DristanRossVII]

I was mostly reacting to the way Mearls seemed to push the MM as the intelligent, observant, thinking rogue. But in a second view through it's rather clear that he's discussing mostly emotional intelligence rather than analytical.

[@unicyclepeon]

The weird thing about the Mastermind being "Charismatic" is that none of his special abilities use Charisma other than 1/2 of the ability you get at level 17. I've played a mastermind with a 10 Charisma and a 16 Int and I had a fun time. We never played to level 17 so the Charisma feature didnt enter into anything. So I would say, play it how you want.

[@ittyandpocky]

That would be hard to do since Mastermind gives you infiltration and subversion abilities. How can you convince others you are someone you aren't if you have a charisma of 10? Mastermind is made to go into conversations disguised as someone else, gather information (what their AC is, for instance), and be untraceable since they can't read your mind. Most of his abilities have 0 relation to combat.

[@ralphpena7761]

Little Finger?

[@Kinkotibbar]

Best subclass

[@Danteresurected]

Yes i would like to be Kaz Brekker thank you very much!

[@General12th]

This is really interesting!

[@robertcurtis8585]

It would be the subclass in Xanathars Guide to everything.......?

[@IShallCallHimTaders]

Hey, this may sound odd. But on D&D Beyond, with Xanathar's purchased, you can't actually look up the stat block for Tiny servant. It simply isn't in the digital version. Does anyone have a remedy to this?

[@IShallCallHimTaders]

I mean, this is the D&D Beyond official youtube. If they don't know, then nobody will. But, I'll give it a shot.

[@jacobtakeshita]

Try looking up the spell and seeing if it's there

[@sword7166]

He mentions using the level 3 ability to aid with skill checks, but doesn't the ability specify that it only works on melee attack rolls?

[@leviathan4857]

No, the attacking is in addition to being able to use the 'help' as a bonus-action. From 30ft you can give ppl advantage on almost anything.

[@MrMaradok]

Aw, I thought Mastermind was a magic thing with minions...I miss City Of Villains ; _ ;

[@Quickmind01]

Man, I was thinking the same thing. However, you should do a search for City of Villains now...

[@ShinobiBoyfu]

Uh? Are they going over the mastermind in more detail? The mastermind archetype is already in the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide. Why do they need it in Xanathar's guide to everything?

[@joluoto]

Meh, I think it's good, now I don't really need to buy Sword Coast since the sub classes was basically the only thing really interesting there. Saves me money to buy just one book.

[@richardwarnercool1]

jak11598 a lot of SCAG is fairly fluff related, giving you a setting for your adventures. XGtE seems to be a lot more crunch to build dozens of different types of characters, new spells, feats and mechanics for the party and DM to do in the world.

[@helloworld2848]

In AL play, you can only use one book in addition to the PHB, meaning that a character using a subclass from SCAG couldn’t, for instance, use spells or feats from Xanathar’s

[@Bluecho4]

If you're doing Adventure League stuff, you have to work under the "PHB + 1" rule. That rule limits the number of books a player can use to just the Players Handbook and one other book of their choice. Xanathar's Guide has a lot more character options in it than SCAG does, making it more useful for such a player. Moreover, it's a solid design decision, when one keeps the average consumer in mind. Gaming groups _already_ need to have _at least_ three DnD books - the PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual - in order to run a game (assuming you want more than the Basic Rules). Those three books, bought new, together cost 150 dollars. A consumer on a budget must be selective about which additional books they purchase. While the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is helpful for a Forgotten Realms campaign, Xanathar's Guide has useful information for ALL potential settings. The Class options and expanded Spell lists alone would make it worth the money, and both of these are offered in greater abundance in Xanathar's than in SCAG.

[@SatansWerewolf]

I pity the fool

[@vivusumbra6828]

Rogue support class is what I'm getting from this, why wouldn't people just play an actual support class? It just seems like any other class with high perception and intelligence...

[@DetectiveBarricade]

It's another option for players to make use of to breathe life into a character they have in mind.

[@ryangoepfert9112]

First