Subclass Design: How I Did It

Originally named the ‘Doctor’ Rogue during testing, the Stitcher took on new flavor as we began publishing. What originally began as a plague doctor was expanded to encompass the archetype of a back-alley surgeon or a Frankenstein-esque figure. Here’s the details on our thought process surrounding the design.

First Aid is pretty self-explanatory: it’s a sort of ‘Fast Hands’ for healers. Things get more interesting with Patchwork, which uses Hit Die as a resource to heal your allies. We knew we didn’t want this class to ‘magically’ restore hit points, so we decided that the healing needed to expend some kind of resource and not just appear from thin air. Expending the Hit Dice of other creatures seemed to be an elegant way to accomplish this.

Finally, we wanted to be sure that the Stitcher was given some offensive tools from 3rd level. Because we already gave them two additional features, we thought it would be best if their offensive tool ran off of an ability that they already had, in order to reduce complexity. So, we decided that, with the knowledge and precision of a surgeon who knows the ins and outs of the body, Sneak Attack could gain some rider effects to help turn the tide of battle. If Sneak Attack represents an opportunistic attack on a creature’s vitals, Surgical Precision represents the specific implications of that attack on a creature’s vulnerable areas.

Building upon using Hit Die as a resource, Bloodletting allows you to expend Hit Dice to essentially cast Lesser Restoration with the additional benefit of ending an effect that reduces maximum hit points.

Examine Corpse essentially powers up you previous ability against specific creature types, provided you have the care to prepare for situations ahead. Rogue has always struck me, from a broad perspective, as a sort of spelless wizard, since it’s a class that thrives off of proper preparation. I wish we saw more abilities like this from Rogue in general!

Finally, in typical martial capstone fashion, Miracle Worker allows you to perform supernatural feats despite a lack of magic. You essentially gain the ability to cast Raise Dead by performing a life-saving surgery! (which, conveniently, takes 1 hour to cast)

All in all, I do think that Stitcher may be a bit weak on reflection. I’m unsure if two buffs to Sneak Attack, an already powerful ability, are the proper direction to take, though I stand by Surgical Precision as a fun and elegant way to give the archetype an offensive tool. I think, should we produce a remastered Stitcher in the future, I’d like to rework Examine Corpse to give it some more unique perks. I’d also like to reduce the time necessary to use Patchwork and Bloodletting. Conclusively, though, I think the backbone of this class is solid and I’m very happy with the foundation we’ve set!

- Trent, the Sewerman