Five Stealthy Subclasses for Your Sneakiest D&D Session
Stealth is a powerful tool in any character’s toolbox. And these five class/subclass combos are hiding in plain sight.
When it comes to D&D, sometimes being stealthy is the ultimate weapon. After all, if those marauding ogres can’t find you, they can’t hit you, right? The unseen thief, the assassin stepping out of the shadows—these are tropes that litter fantasy stories.
Little wonder that there are plenty of options for being sneaky in D&D. And if you want to be stealthy, say in preparation for a new heist-themed adventure, here are some great options.
Gloomstalker Ranger
Gloom Stalkers are basically Ranger Batman. They are at home in the darkest places, whether that’s a deep, dark cave, a shadowy alleyway, or an abandoned warehouse. They might not have been born into the darkness, but they adopted it pretty early.
And their abilities make them perfectly suited to stealth. With a list of bonus spells that includes greater invisibility and disguise self, they can blend in anywhere. But it’s their umbral sight feature that makes them especially stealthy. While in darkness, they are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see them.
Trickery Cleric
Trickery Clerics are masters of stealth of a different kind. If you need someone to engage in a bit of social engineering as well as actually moving around unseen, a Trickery Domain Cleric can accomplish all sorts of wonders.
Masters at pretending like they’re supposed to be wherever they are, Trickery Clerics gain powers that make them charming and help them blend in. Starting with charm person and disguise self, so they can appear to be as innocuous as they want.
And at 2nd level, they can invoke duplicity to create a perfect illusion of themselves to find a way to be in two places at once. After all, you couldn’t possibly be guilty of stealing the shard solitaire from under the glass casing if you were also clearly seen by many witnesses in the parlor while it happened. It only lasts a minute, so you’ll want to be quick.
Lore Bard
Bards are masters of skills and spells. And that makes them perfect at whatever they want to do, including and especially stealth. Not only can they take it as a skill expertise, allowing them to have among the highest bonuses to a skill check, but they can also combine that high skill with spells that aid in stealth, like invisibility, or with magical secrets picking up spells like pass without trace to truly disappear if they need to.
And while any bard can do this, the College of Lore is perfectly suited to picking up additional magical secrets. This lets you be sure to always have the right spell for the right situation.
Shadow Monk
Monks who follow the Way of Shadow are a rare breed. But they are masters of stealth and subterfuge. Their skills make them perfectly suited to stealth and espionage, but on top of that, their shadow arts give them a magical boost.
A Shadow Monk can use their ki to cast darkness, darkvision, pass without trace, or silence, as well as minor illusion as a cantrip. And all of this at 3rd level. Meaning that a Shadow Monk can quickly start cloaking their movements or the movements of the party, and on top of that, they’re still a Monk.
At higher levels, a Shadow Monk can teleport from one shadow to another, allowing them to gain entry into places that even natural stealthy might not be able to.
Arcane Trickster Rogue
What would a list of stealthy classes be without a Rogue? And the Arcane Trickster Rogue is a Rogue who has mastered spellcraft. Because, as the Bard showcases, when you’re already amazing at stealth, the only way to get better is to use magic.
Spells like invisibility are a boon. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for an Arcane Trickster, who can also use their special mastery of mage hand to make it invisible and defter than usual. Telekinetically pick locks from down the hall, while you’re busy conversing with the duke you’re about to rob.
Vanish from plain sight in a misty step, then disappear into the shadows. There’s almost nothing an Arcane Trickster can’t do with a bit of time and preparation.
What’s your favorite stealth subclass?
