Rogue

Signaling for her companions to wait, a halfling creeps forward through the dungeon hall. She presses an ear to the door, then pulls out a set of tools and picks the lock in the blink of an eye. Then she disappears into the shadows as her fighter friend moves forward to kick the door open.
A human lurks in the shadows of an alley while his accomplice prepares for her part in the ambush. When their target — a notorious slaver — passes the alleyway, the accomplice cries out, the slaver comes to investigate, and the assassin’s blade cuts his throat before he can make a sound.
Suppressing a giggle, a gnome waggles her fingers and magically lifts the key ring from the guard’s belt. In a moment, the keys are in her hand, the cell door is open, and she and her companions are free to make their escape.
Rogues rely on skill, stealth, and their foes’ vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, demonstrating a resourcefulness and versatility that is the cornerstone of any successful adventuring party.

Skill and Precision

Rogues devote as much effort to mastering the use of a variety of skills as they do to perfecting their combat abilities, giving them a broad expertise that few other characters can match. Many rogues focus on stealth and deception, while others refine the skills that help them in a dungeon environment, such as climbing, finding and disarming traps, and opening locks.
When it comes to combat, rogues prioritize cunning over brute strength. A rogue would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for avoiding danger, and a few learn magical tricks to supplement their other abilities.

A Shady Living

Every town and city has its share of rogues. Most of them live up to the worst stereotypes of the class, making a living as burglars, assassins, cutpurses, and con artists. Often, these scoundrels are organized into thieves’ guilds or crime families. Plenty of rogues operate independently, but even they sometimes recruit apprentices to help them in their scams and heists. A few rogues make an honest living as locksmiths, investigators, or exterminators, which can be a dangerous job in a world where dire rats—and wererats—haunt the sewers.
As adventurers, rogues fall on both sides of the law. Some are hardened criminals who decide to seek their fortune in treasure hoards, while others take up a life of adventure to escape from the law. Some have learned and perfected their skills with the explicit purpose of infiltrating ancient ruins and hidden crypts in search of treasure.

Roguish Archetypes

Arcane Trickster

Some rogues enhance their fine-honed skills of stealth and agility with magic, learning tricks of enchantment and illusion. These rogues include pickpockets and burglars, but also pranksters, mischief-makers, and a significant number of adventurers. It comes with no surprise that gnomes and other shifty creatures utilize their talents for mischief in addition to larceny.

Famous Guilds: Trickery Arcane or Sometimes Not
Famous Arcane Tricksters: ?

Assassin

Assassins focus their training on the grim art of death. Those who adhere to this archetype are diverse - hired killers, spies, bounty hunters, and even specially anointed priests trained to exterminate the enemies of their deity. Stealth, poison, and disguise help them eliminate their foes with deadly efficiency. Rumour speaks that the drow are trained almost from the moment of their birth to form resilience to all kinds of poisons and horrible tortures - all in the name of Assassin.

Famous Guilds: Drow of the Undertethys or Ivashaar, Masked Ones, ?
Famous Assassins: ?

Inquisitive

An archetypal Inquisitive excel at rooting out secrets and unraveling mysteries. They rely on their sharp eye for detail, but also on their finely honed ability to read the words and deeds of other creatures to determine their true intent. Such rogues excel at defeating creatures that hide among and prey upon ordinary folk, and their mastery of lore and keen deductions make them well equipped to expose and end hidden evils. Many rogues with such abilities are often recruited by churches to root out new heresies.

Famous Guilds: Great Agency of Searching and Finding Missing Items or Ideas
Famous Inquisitives: ?

Mastermind

Masterminds focus is on people and on the influence and secrets they have. Many spies, courtiers, and schemers follow this archetype, leading lives of intrigue. Words are their weapons as often as knives or poison, and secrets and favors are some of their favorite treasures.

Famous Guilds: Wordless of Divine
Famous Masterminds: ?

Scout

Scouts are skilled in stealth and surviving far from the streets of a city, allowing them to scout ahead of your companions during expeditions. Rogues who embrace this archetype are at home in the wilderness and among barbarians and rangers, and many Scouts serve as the eyes and ears of warbands. Ambusher, spy, bounty hunter—these are just a few of the roles that Scouts assume as they range the world.

Famous Guilds: Warrior-clans of Venland, Lands of Seljuk's Sons and many far from civilization places
Famous Scouts: ?

Swashbuckler

Swashbucklers focus their training on the art of the blade, relying on speed, elegance, and charm in equal parts. While some warriors are brutes clad in heavy armor, their method of fighting looks almost like a performance. Duelists and pirates typically belong to this archetype. A Swashbuckler excels in single combat and can fight with two weapons while safely darting away from an opponent.

Famous Guilds: The many nations of Great Loa Island or other island nations
Famous Swashbucklers: ?

Thief

Thieves hone their skills in the larcenous arts. Burglars, bandits, cutpurses, and other criminals typically follow this archetype, but so do rogues who prefer to think of themselves as professional treasure seekers, explorers, delvers, and investigators. In addition to improving their agility and stealth, Thieves learn skills useful for delving into ancient ruins, reading unfamiliar languages, and using magic items they normally couldn't employ.

Famous Guilds: Golden Hourglass, Many smaller Thieves Guilds in major cities
Famous Thieves: ?