Rogue

A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks. The rogue is stealthy and dexterous, and often charming as well. Where other characters have the power to defeat enemies, the rogue has the wit to track them down and lead the team past traps and barriers on the way to that fight.

Rogues have a reputation for thievery but not all rogues are thieves. Some are acrobats, spies, or swashbucklers, with complex motivations driving them. Some, however, are in it just for the gold and fulfill their reputation as burglars to the full, be it for good or evil. Many rogues, regardless of motives or morals, worship Beshaba, Cyric, Oghma, Shar, Sune, Tymora, or Waukeen. In days past, before the Spellplague and the god's subsequent disappearance, many also worshiped Mask.

Several well-known rogues of Toril include Imoen, Ravenscar of Baldur's Gate, and Regis of the Companions of the Hall.

Abilities
Rogues are 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 remains more interested in supporting teammates through the harassment of enemies — and slipping around to sneak attack — than in standing up to an opponent with regular blows. Some rogues play against this stereotype however and engage in more brutal attacks, though still lacking the sheer combat endurance possessed by fighters, paladins, or swordmages. Rogues of all kinds are particularly skilled when wielding daggers or shuriken or when they have the opportunity to strike first.

The greatest value of rogues lies in the fact that they are the handymen. Without pure battle or magical power, a rogue can contribute in ways as varied as disarming traps, scouting enemies, and persuading possible allies, using their wealth of skill points and long list of useful adventuring skills.

Rogue Disciplines
Though all rogues retain training in stealth and the art of getting where they're not supposed to be, many also have a varying degree of other skills. These skills may be dependent on the precise training of the rogue in question and most adhere, though not necessarily wholly, to one of the following martial disciplines.

Aerialist Rogue


Aerialist rogues are, compared with other rogues, bold and swift thrill seekers, who deliberately put themselves on the edge of peril in order to test their skills or prove their worth. Like trickster rogues, aerialist rogues prefer to avoid damage, often through witty and distracting reprisals of their foes, rather than deal it. However, like brawny rogues aerialists are more than willing to face danger, if only to move swiftly out of its path as a taunt to their foes. In order to do this, aerialist rogues train themselves to unusual extremes of physical ability, becoming acrobats whose stunts are often awe-inspiring feats of dexterous ability.

Brawny Rogue
While rogues have a reputation for guile and subtlety, fewer rogues subscribe to this philosophy than common perception allows. While brawny rogues, like most of their kind, like to get the sneak on their enemies, they prefer to do things with as much lethality as they can. Unlike other rogues, who might be concerned about avoiding death, brawny rogues are more concerned with meting it out to those whom they feel deserve it. Though these rogues are stealthy, they aren't necessarily agile, charming, or witty.

Cutthroat Rogue


Cutthroat rogues are an unusual variety of warriors. Both charming and deadly, subtle and frightening, cutthroats use their natural charisma in a way far different from most other rogues. A brief and spiteful glance from a properly trained cutthroat can make his or her foe shudder and cutthroat rogues hold to the philosophy that the best method of ensuring one gets their way is through intimidation. But cutthroats also typically believe that the best method for instilling fear is a subtle one, looking down on the more overtly brutal methods of others. Cutthroats strike swiftly, yes, and they are deadly to be sure, but they are also subtle and prefer the fear of force to force itself.

In general, cutthroat rogues prefer the use of clubs or maces over the light blades favored by other rogues. The damage a cutthroat deals is more often long-lasting than immediately lethal, with cutthroats twisting pain and fear into a dual set of weapons that can leave a mark within as well as without. This emphasis on slow and painful attacks comes at the cost of lethality and cutthroats also suffer, due to their often wretched reputation and specialization in spreading fear, the loss of their ability to charm their way out of harm's way, as many rogues do. But for many cutthroats, the trade-off is more than fair.

Trickster Rogue
Trickster rogues prefer to use their charm and wit in concert with their agility rather than relying on brute strength. Subtlety is the mark of a trickster rogue, who finds an affinity for exploits that allow them to trick or misdirect their enemies. All trickster rogues carry this out to some extent in their attacks but a few carry this philosophy on to their defenses as well, and many rogues are adept at using their charm, wit, and ability to skew the perceptions of their foe in order to shift themselves out of harm's way. As a result, trickster rogues tend to be less powerful than rogues of other varying disciplines, but in exchange they gain additional control over the battlefield and how and when they choose to strike.

Behind the Scenes
In the AD&D second edition, "rogue" was a more general term encompassing both thief and bard classes. The thief was the equivalent class to what is here described as the rogue. This usage can still be seen in such contexts as the Baldur's Gate series of computer games.

With third edition the usage was revised to mean, more specifically, the thief variety of rogue, focusing more on maintaining a variety of skills and affinity for stealth than bards, who became a separate, more arcane-flavored class. In the more recent fourth edition the class was revised again to encompass less subtle aspects, expanding to take on qualities of the third edition swashbuckler class.