Rogue (Dungeons & Dragons)
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| D&D character class | |
|---|---|
| Rogue / Thief | |
| Editions | All |
| Role | Striker |
| Power source | Martial |
| Alignment | Any |
| Stats | OGL stats |
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, rogue or thief is one of the base character classes. A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks. The rogue is stealthy and dextrous, and currently the only official base class from the Player's Handbook capable of finding and disarming many traps and picking locks. The rogue also has the ability to "sneak attack" ("backstab" in previous editions) enemies who are caught off-guard or taken by surprise, inflicting extra damage.
Halflings, Tieflings (humanoids with some limited fiendish heritage), Changelings, and goblins all currently have Rogue as their favored class.
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[edit] Creative origins
The abilities of the thief class were drawn from various archetypes from history and myth, but clear debts from modern fantasy literature can be traced to characters such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins, Fritz Leiber's The Gray Mouser, and Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever.[1]
[edit] Early editions
In the 1st edition the Thief character class was interestingly enough the only character class that any nonhuman type, such as an elf or dwarf or halfling could achieve unlimited levels in. In some lights, it must be stated that thieves can be a very noble class indeed, and this is reflected in the AD&D game rules, permitting thieves to be neutral good or even lawful neutral, but never Lawful or Chaotic Good. Gygax has noted in hindsight that this may have been an oversight, as alignment was never meant to be viewed as an absolute hierarchy of best to worst, and character classes should reflect their medieval fantasy counterparts, even into accurate ethical and moral alignment license.
Before 3rd edition D&D, thieves were swiftest to earn new levels. At the same time, under the 1st edition thieves were sharply limited by having their essential skills (such as Open Locks and Move Silently) defined as beginning at a flat chance of success of perhaps 10-20% regardless of most circumstances, and requiring perhaps ten levels to reach the point where they had much confidence in using them. The 2nd edition altered this by allowing thieves to specialize so that they needed only a few levels to master two skills.
In 2nd edition the term "Rogue" first appeared, used to describe the group of classes made up of those individuals "living by their wits day to day-often at the expense of others." In the core rules, these "rogue" classes were the Thief and the Bard.
The Thief was the robber, the thug, or the "expert treasure hunter". They specialized in the acquisition of goods, stealth, and disarming traps.
The Assassin class, a sub-class of the Thief in First Edition, was excluded from the Second Edition core rules. The Assassin shared the Thief's skills (e.g., Pick Pockets, etc.), also enjoyed expert use of poisons, and a unique game ability to instantly kill surprised opponents.
Bards, a completely revised class for Second Edition, are "glib of tongue, light of heart, and fleet of foot." Merging thieves, musicians and magic-users, bards are the "jack of all trades". Bard share many of the thief's skills, albeit with a smaller pool of skill points, coupled with a limited selection of mage spells and a few charisma-related musical abilities.
[edit] Third edition
The class was renamed "rogue", to reflect the supposed new scope of any skilled and stealthy character. Spies, scouts, detectives, pirates, and sundry ne'er-do-wells, as well as thieves and just about any other character who relies on stealth or a broad range of skills, are stated to fall under the rogue class. In fact, the character class still bears only three large divergences from other character classes, namely their superior aptitude for skills, their capacity to notice traps, and their signature "sneak attack" maneuver.
The rogue class is given 8 skill points per level, higher than any other character class. However, the number of skill points is modified by the intelligence attribute, so it is possible for a very low intellect rogue to be no better off than a particularly bright fighter, although they would still have a broader range of skills to choose from. Also, 3rd edition skills removed the flat percentage rolls that previous thieves had used, using their Difficulty Class mechanic to let a rogue have a better chance against the cheap locks and ordinary guards that might appear in lower-level games.
Modifying the skills system, rogues are normally the only class allowed to search for most traps; nobody else has the training to recognize them. However supplements to core D&D have added a few new classes that can also recognise traps, such as the scout.
The rogue has the ability to deliver a sneak attack whenever an opponent loses its Dexterity bonus to armor class (i.e., when the opponent is flatfooted or flanked or cannot see the rogue). The rogue can then take advantage of this momentary weakness to strike at a vital part of the anatomy (provided the creature has a discernible enough anatomy to suffer a critical hit). This ability was formerly a "backstab," which made it difficult to define when it might be applied in open combat. Allowing flanking (attacking while a teammate is on the opposite side of the target to create a sneak attack) makes the rogue more reliable during simple combat play.
The Iconic rogue is Lidda, a halfling female.
[edit] Party Duties
Rogues are deadly but somewhat vulnerable physical combatants. Their base attack bonus chart is similar to the monk or the cleric, but they have relatively low Hit Points (1d6 per level) and are proficient with fairly low-damage weapons. What advantages they have rely on high Dexterity, which augments their armor class and missile weapon aim, and can apply to such melee weapons as a rapier using the "Weapon Finesse" feat. The bulk of their skills rely on Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma, and as such rogues are advised to invest in one or more of these attributes.
Rogues are not typically intended to act as front-line tanks, but in a support role can be invaluable while flanking or to finish off wounded foes using their devastating Sneak Attack. A well built rogue with the right feats and skills is capable of surpassing many other classes in terms of inflicting damage.
One effective way of using a rogue's combat abilities is to position her in the back of the party, in the shadows at the fringes, or a like position with a bow. Using the hide skill to evade notice, the rogue can then sneak attack enemies within thirty feet and, in theory, not get damaged in the process. Outside of combat, however, the rogue's role is determined largely by their skill selection. For example, although most rogues disable locks and traps, one rogue might be a thug who relies on intimidation, while another might rely on diplomacy.
Quite aside from their combat ability, having a rogue in the party is often essential in order to deal with traps, secret doors, and other mechanical contrivances that may impede the party's progress. Of course, some players can be trapped into believing that this is the sole reason for the class and neglect other benefits rogues can offer. They can be employed in scouting and intel, persuasion and barter (friendly or otherwise), and with a wealth of skill points, high-Intelligence rogues can turn their hand to almost anything. Meanwhile, class abilities such as evasion and uncanny dodge, and skills such as tumble, can leave them unscathed in the face of hazards which would cripple a fighter or other conventional tank.
The value of rogues lies in the fact that they are versatile in numerous situations, including the cunning circumstances other characters may not be equipped to exploit.
[edit] References
Cook, Monte; Tweet, Jonathan; Williams, Skip. Player's Handbook. 2000, Wizards of the Coast.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ DeVarque, Aardy. Literary Sources of D&D. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
[edit] External links
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