Rogue

Description

Pirates, thieves, bandits, assassins. All of these fall under the term “Rogue". These characters are stealthy, with very little regard for the rules that govern civilized society. They may be fiercely loyal to a group or cause, or they may be only in it for themselves. Anyone foolish enough to put their trust in such a vagabond runs the risk of being betrayed. They rely on skill, stealth, and their foes’ vulnerabilities to get the upper hand. 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 Rogue.
As a Rogue, you will be wielding light blades, bows, and a set of thieves’ tools to accomplish whatever devious goals you set for yourself.

Indrid's Information

Traits
Cutthroat
Stealth
Spellcaster
Tactics
Weapon Finesse
Leap attack
Acrobatic Dodge

Starting Ability
Blink

Level 100 Quest Reward
Shadowstep

A Closer Look at 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 perfect their combat abilities, giving them 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.

Culture

Common to most cities across Thuria, rogues were an incredibly diverse group, including burglars, assassins, and con artists as well as more lawfully employed persons, like locksmiths, investigators, exterminators, or treasure hunters. To a large extent, the criminal sort of rogue was considered more typical and both thieves' and assassins' guilds were found widely throughout the world, some of which were incredibly powerful, such as the Shadow Thieves. Regardless of their specific occupation, rogues shared a common affinity for cunning and daring feats of skill, as well as for getting into things others would rather be left unfound or unopened. Rogues of all sorts were resourceful and adaptable, having what could be called a “sixth sense” for avoiding peril, which helped them get out of the dangerous situations they often found themselves in.

Rogues chose their daring lifestyle for a variety of reasons. Some were driven by profit. Others hoped for fame as well as fortune. A few were simply daredevils seeking the thrill of a real challenge. Because of these traits, rogues, although found on both sides of the law and equally as likely to serve good as evil, were often wary of lawfully aligned paladins. Rogues had a variety of secret codes and languages, the most common of which being thieves' cant.

Most rogues were primarily self-taught or learned their skills from a teacher, often a more experienced rogue. These more experienced rogues recruited apprentices as assistants in various jobs and schemes, allowing their students to develop their skills. Partings between mentor and student were rarely clean, however, and as a general rule, rogues felt little camaraderie with other rogues unless they were part of the same guild. In fact, most rogues tended to view one another with even greater suspicion than they did non-rogues and most partnerships were short-lived.

Humans were among the best rogues, in large part due to their natural adaptability, which fit the modus operandi of most rogues to the letter. Elves and halflings due to their physical agility, were also well-suited to the life of a rogue. Among the best rogues were those from the Tiefling race, whose cunning and aura of confidence served them well on such a path. Half-elves also made good rogues, though to a lesser extent, as did dwarves of all kinds and rock gnomes or deep gnomes, many of whom were renowned for their expert skill with disarming traps or picking locks. Half-Orc rogues were not entirely uncommon either, though such individuals tended to use veiled threats and brute strength alongside or instead of more subtle methods. Rogues could also be found among the more “savage” humanoids, particularly goblinoids.

Abilities

Rogues were deadly but somewhat vulnerable front-line combatants, preferring to strike from the shadows and dart back into them, either excelling at ranged or light melee attacks. All in all, in combat the rogue remained more interested in supporting teammates through the harassment of enemies — and slipping around to sneak attack — than in standing up to an opponent directly, as reflected in their choice of armor, which was typically leather or lighter. Some rogues played against this stereotype however and engaged in more brutal attacks, though still lacking the sheer combat endurance possessed by fighters, paladins, or sword mages. Rogues of all kinds were particularly skilled when wielding daggers or shuriken or when they had the opportunity to strike first.

The greatest value of rogues lay in the fact that they were the handymen. Without pure battle or magical power, a rogue could contribute in ways as varied as disarming traps, scouting enemies, and persuading possible allies, using their wealth of skills. And while rogues were more physically fragile than most other adventurers, many possessed an ability to avoid danger that could seem uncannily supernatural at times. Similarly, the mind of a rogue could be described as “slippery” and many rogues were infuriatingly difficult to charm or enchant.

Rogue