The following homebrew adds a modern option to the Rogue class in 5E TTRPGs. All of the core Rogue class abilities can stay rules as written; see the official 5E System Reference Document (SRD v5) for details. Note: This subclass has not yet gone through playtesting.
Grifter
You don’t pick locks, you pick people. A grifter lives by wit, nerve, and confidence. You can talk your way past guards, trick marks into handing you the key, and disappear before anyone realizes they’ve been played. Whether as a suave con artist, black-market swindler, political fixer, or digital scammer, you know the first rule of the grift: if they think it’s their idea, you’ve already won.
Level 3: Silver Tongue
You have mastered the art of persuasion, deception, and improvisation.
Bonus Proficiencies. You gain proficiency in Deception, Insight, and Persuasion. If you are already proficient in one of these, you gain Expertise instead.
Fast Talk. You can use your Cunning Action to take the Fast Talk action in place of Dash, Disengage, or Hide. When you Fast Talk, you make a Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check contested by a creature’s Wisdom (Insight). On success, choose one effect:
* The creature becomes distracted or unsure – granting you or an ally advantage on the next ability check, attack roll, or Sleight of Hand check against that creature before the end of your next turn.
* The creature’s attitude temporarily shifts one step friendlier (hostile to neutral, or neutral to friendly) for 1 minute, unless combat begins.
* You can stall or mislead a guard, clerk, or interrogator, buying 1d4 rounds before they act against you.
You can use Fast Talk even in the middle of combat. Your words hit faster than most weapons.
Level 3: Confidence Game
You can improvise a false identity, narrative, or persona on the fly.
As an Action, you can spend 1 minute interacting with a target or group to establish a temporary cover identity. Once accepted, your cover lasts until you do something that clearly contradicts it or until 1 hour passes. While your cover is active, you have advantage on Deception and Persuasion checks made to maintain the illusion.
If you spend at least 10 minutes preparing the con (documents, disguise, props, or digital records), the cover can hold for up to 24 hours or until someone makes a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your Deception DC (8 + Proficiency Bonus + Charisma Modifier).
Level 9: Sleight of Mind
You’ve honed your ability to manipulate emotion and perception with surgical precision.
Cunning Strike Option: Bluff (Cost: 1d6). When you hit a creature with your Sneak Attack, you can forgo 1d6 of the damage to create a momentary feint or misdirection. Choose one:
* You become Invisible to that creature until the start of your next turn.
* You can force the creature to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier). On a failure, it is Charmed by you until the end of your next turn.
Reading the Mark. Whenever you make an Insight check against a creature and succeed by 5 or more, you can immediately learn one of the following:
* A short-term goal (what they want right now).
* A hidden fear or insecurity.
* Whether they are lying, under duress, or magically influenced.
Level 13: Master of the Long Con
You can weave a false narrative so deep that reality itself struggles to catch up.
You can maintain up to two active cover identities at once. Each has its own background, accent, and credentials. Switching between them takes 1 minute (or 1 action with disguise tools or a digital implant).
Once per Long Rest, when making a Deception or Persuasion check, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
If a creature spends at least 10 minutes conversing with you while one of your cover identities is active, it automatically fails the next Insight check it makes to see through that cover.
Level 17: Social Engineer
You are a master manipulator who bends both people and systems to your will.
Instant Cover. When you roll initiative, you can immediately adopt a persona or false identity that fits the situation (a guard, tech, inspector, or official).
Until combat begins or someone sees through the act, you have advantage on Deception and Performance checks, and creatures hesitate to attack you unless you attack first.
The Perfect Con. Once per Long Rest, when you fail a Charisma-based check, you can choose to retroactively succeed instead – revealing that your earlier “failure” was part of a larger plan or misdirection.
For example, a failed lie might have been bait, or a lost deal might have planted your real objective elsewhere.
When you use this ability, describe how the con comes together; the GM resolves the scene with your intended outcome taking effect.