Playing a Rogue ...

[kalbaern]

After extensive testing ..... rogues are likely the hardest characters to play when you start out. Not just here though. Just about any server, life is miserable when you're a rogue and alone at lower levels. Bards and monks fair little better depending on their builds.

I experimented not just here though. I also made the same two rogue builds I tested here on three other fairly well known PWs the last two days. The results were fairly similar with equally disappointing playability.

So, what's the solution you wonder? Simple. Suck it up. After a few levels rogues quickly become very deadly despite lower attack bonuses. Their extra damage from sneak attacks make even the stoutest dwarf shudder at times. I've played several PCs over the years that were quite successful as rogues, even at low levels. The reason was always quite simple. They hardly if ever went out without being part of a group. Rogues are at their deadliest when you've "friends" to distract your enemies afterall.

What I have noticed here at least is that rogues may not be able to explore much alone, but in a party they can actually gain considerabley more XP than the rest of the group. Most preset traps and several locked items and doors grant you XP for being able to disable or open them. These constant XP bonuses more than make up for a rogues ability to "solo" at low levels here.

General Tips for Rogues:

1) Invest in the following Skills; Open Lock, Disable Trap, Craft Trap and Set Trap.

2) "Tumble". This skill is often misunderstood. It not only helps you evade the effects of most traps ... it adds +1 per 5 points you invest to your "dodge" AC Bonus. It will grant up to a maximum of a +5 Dodge AC Bonus once you meet or exceed 25 points in it. Tumble also allows you a chance to avoid those nasty "Attacks of Opportunity" when moving around in combat or switching weapons in melee.

2) If you've skill points to spare then "Search" is a good investment so you can actually spot those better traps.

3) Hide and Move Silently while useful skills for scouting simply offer little actual benefit once in combat. Laying traps and luring opponents and using terrains contours is more effective than trying to sneak up in plain sight of an enemy most times.

4) Consider Feats like "Weapon Finesse" to allow your DEX bonus to become your attack bonus when using a light weapon. "Pointblank" is a must if you wish to use a missile weapon. There's several other feats and ways to build your PC, but most simply do little good if you travel alone.

5) Other skills should likely be ignored at lower levels. UMD is great .. later. The likelyhood of finding decent magic items the first few levels is too low to recommend investing in UMD as a skill right offhand.

Finally, if you want to play a rogue, make friends and travel with them. If none are online then I suggest either utilising the foraging and fishing systems to make a little XP until companions show up or simply do what I've always done. Play another character that is better suited to soloing until friends log in.

Many of you know of a character I played elsewhere over the years that was quite a successful rogue. What few realise is, he didn't start as one. He was a 3rd level Elven Fighter ... specialising in the Longbow with hopes of becoming an AA one day. His group of regular companions however lacked a rogue to deal with traps and locks. (Mainly for most of the previous stated reasons) So he RP'd tinkering with traps and locks and soon was a 3rd level Fighter/ 1rst Level Rogue. The rest is history as they say.

[Possibly Ten]

Was doing some reading and thought this was a nice find for those playing a rogue. Some good rules to live by here as a rogue.


With her sneak attacks and light armor, a rogue deals out considerable damage in the right situation but suffers a world of hurt if a foe catches her off-guard.

Unlike combat-oriented characters, she cannot just pound away at her foes, hoping she can barter her way past their defenses before they penetrate her own. Instead, she must plan ahead to maximize her results. If a fighter’s tussle with a foe is like checkers, then a rogue’s approach is more like chess—maneuvering rather than
direct attack brings success.

This section offers some pointers on strategy and a few specific tactics to help a rogue make the most of her combat options. The eight axioms listed here are known collectively as Nuth’s Laws.

Nuth’s Law #1:

Develop a fine sense of when to exercise caution and when to take a calculated risk—and try to make all your risks calculated ones. Planning ahead and playing the odds helps you avoid many a
nasty scrape.

Nuth’s Law #2:

Don’t be the first to enter a melee against multiple foes—the last thing you want is to be surrounded. Though you may often have the chance to act before anyone else, resist the impulse to charge in. Let the fighters, barbarians, and monks pin down the enemy
in melee first, so you can see where the flanking positions
are. Then just tumble past and deliver your sneak attack. If that doesn’t dispatch the foe, tumble away if necessary—you certainly don’t want to be flanked yourself. For the rest of the battle, just keep moving into flanking positions and striking home with those sneak attacks. Holding your action until your foe has used up his or her attack of opportunity against a better-armored opponent is also a wise move.

Nuth’s Law #3:

Beware of reach weapons—the bane of many an inexperienced rogue. Two good options exist for dealing with a foe who has such a weapon. Remember that most opponents with reach weapons are like knights in chess—they can attack only targets not adjacent
to them. If you think you can tumble past the reach of your foe’s weapon and get in close, go for it. Better still, stand back and pepper the fool with bolts from your crossbow.ıWith a ranged weapon, you can still get sneak attack damage from up to 30 feet away—well beyond the range of any standard reach weapon.

Nuth’s Law #4:

Try using a reach weapon yourself for a sneak attack. Whenever you threaten a foe in melee and have an ally directly opposite you, you get sneak attack and fl anking bonuses. A reach weapon lets you extend the range of that threat, and most foes won’t realize
they’re flanked if there’s no one standing right next to them. A particularly nasty trick is for two rogues to attack with reach weapons from opposite sides of an opponent in the same round. In this situation, both rogues gain flanking and sneak attack bonuses, and neither is adjacent to the foe.

Nuth’s Law #5:

Work with a partner whenever possible. True, you get to keep all the profits from your exploits when you work alone, but there’s no one to pull you out of trouble. If you team up with a combat specialist, your partner can engage the foe while you circle around for a sneak attack. A spellcasting partner can give you lots of useful
magical enhancements, such as invisibility, stoneskin, endure elements, resist elements, spider climb, fly, and aid. A ranger shares some of your stealth skills, but also offers wilderness savvy to complement your expertise with locks and traps. Perhaps the best option of all, though, is teaming up with another rogue. Imagine your foe’s surprise when, after he or she has maneuvered to make sure you can’t flank, your partner sneak attacks! The
thought of two rogues delivering sneak attacks from opposite directions should make anyone break out in a cold sweat. Be wary, though—foes who have seen this trick before may prepare for it by rushing first one rogue and then the other.

Nuth’s Law #6:

Tumble early and often. The more attacks that miss you, the better off you are. If you’re so nimble that your foes give up in frustration and attack other targets, all the better (for you, anyway).

Nuth’s Law #7:

Maneuverability is key to being in the right spot at the right time. Magic items exist that can enhance your speed and maneuverability. Get them, by fair means or foul, at the earliest opportunity.

Nuth’s Law #8:

Don’t be afraid to break off combat and retreat. Those who run away can take on or track down the same foe later, when the odds are more in their favor. Those who stay and die when they could
have gotten away are just martyrs to stubbornness. Should you ever fi nd yourself trapped with nowhere to run (what were you thinking?), don’t forget that surrender may be an option—remember those ranks in Escape Artist you no doubt took? Finally, if you’re trapped by an implacable foe and there’s no way out, hurt him or her as badly as you can before you fall. Who
knows? You may get lucky, and at least that foe will think twice about trying that again.


From Song and Silence source, page 78

[kalbaern]

The following is excerpted from an article in Dragon Magazine, Issue #202 (Feb, 1994). Since this article is fairly long, it'll comprise multiple posts starting here.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Play a rogue PC with style-and live to talk about it

Players of fantasy role-playing games have role models for most classes or kits. The AD&D® game classes match the mythic archetypes of warrior, holy man, wizard, and rogue. The expectations and actions that players possess for the first three are pretty clear: fighters are violent grunts who do the swordwork, priests are pious believers who pray and provide guidance, wizards call on their mystic powers, and rogues.Well, what do rogues contribute to the group? Of the four archetypes, the rogue is the least defined in our myths and legends.

This article reveals the secrets of roleplaying a rogue.without enraging your friends or losing characters. Role-playing scoundrels requires quick wits and a honeyed tongue, but the rewards are fast, swashbuckling play with few constraints. Nothing satisfies quite like out-thinking a dragon who could destroy the entire adventuring company, especially if the rogue can make off with the cream of the dragon's loot as well. (.Oh, sir dragon, that item's cursed. Allow me to take it away and restore your good luck..)

Breeds of rogue

Rogues share a mindset as much as they share a set of skills. The central feature of most rogues is a willingness to ignore the law. They risk the outlaw life in exchange for freedom, riches, and fame.

Rogues fall into one of two categories in most legends, only one of which is fun for everyone in a role-playing group. The group I call "gangsters" are sneak-thieves and backstabbers, the businessmen of crime. They are cold-hearted assassins, mobsters, or professional thieves, motivated by unquenchable greed. For them, too much is not enough. These characters are fun for the player but a headache for everyone else. They are constantly going off on their own, hatching plots against their fellow adventurers, or scheming with seedy underworld elements. They aren't part of a team, and most adventuring groups are better off without them.

Modern times have given us plenty of examples of gangster thieves, those rogues who treat their calling as a business. In this article, I'll argue the superiority of the rogue in the grand tradition over some profit-minded mafioso. Why are gangsters inferior thieves? Let me count the ways.

Loners don't get far in group situations. They don't work or play well with others. Though there may be a certain kick in being the mysterious, silent type, it doesn't give you much room to maneuver as a role-player to influence other gamers. Bighearted, generous, outgoing, freewheeling rogues who laugh at death are more likely to succeed than sulking psychotics who backstab their so-called friends. Why? Simply because loners are unlikely to get any support from their fellow party members. Unlikable, treacherous thieves deserve to be left to the mercies of the nearest monster, especially if they habitually scout ahead of the rest of the party.

The group I call "scoundrels" are merry vandals and ruffians, motivated by a desire for fame and freedom more than mere money. They are the gallant wastrels of any party, always glad for plunder to spend, willing to use stealth as well as steel, playing tricks on pompous burghers, and stealing hearts among the serving maids. Scoundrels are artists, folk heroes, tricksters, and vigilantes. D'Artangan and the Three Musketeers are perfect examples - wenching, drinking, and carousing their way across France. For all these reasons, scoundrel personalities are better choices for successful role-playing in a group.

In short, scoundrels have more fun than gangsters. The trouble is, when you play a character who is a cheat, your fellow players may get a little tense, and bad blood may run between party members and between players. What makes rogues so much fun, and so much trouble? Below is a list of suggested behaviors for rogues who are as much fun to play with as they are to play.

Damn the torpedoes

As a scoundrel, it's your duty to swagger, take daring risks, and damn the consequences. Movie stars such as James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause", or Errol Flynn in "Robin Hood" are good models for scoundrels. Sure, you could play a cautious, paranoid rogue who never takes chances and never gets caught, but fantasy adventure games are about heroes, not about playing it safe. (We'll talk about cheating death later.)

If your character doesn't take chances, you aren't helping your party. Push them a little. Get them into trouble; they'll get you out again. After all, it's easier to get forgiveness than permission.

... continues below ...

[kalbaern]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ... continued

Pay the piper

Nothing kills a rogue's fun faster than facing a rack of blades leveled at his throat, especially if the blades belong to his friends. Unfortunately, rogue PCs annoy other characters just a tiny bit. Rogues get in other people's faces, they push the boundaries, they act like lone wolves instead of members of the pack. The rogue pays a price for his freedom.

Rabelais codified the scoundrel's motto long ago: "Do what thou wilt". Rogues make trouble but must be ready for the consequences. Take a shot at robbing the king, sneaking past Cerebus at the gates of Hades, or pulling a fast one on a demigod, but keep in mind that you're going to suffer some spectacular flops as well as some amazing victories. Revel in your failures and laugh them off; nobody likes a whiner. Rogues should be independent, but they don't have to make everyone else suffer for it.

This pushiness and fondness for mayhem are both the delight and the bane of all rogues. It's okay to annoy fellow players;
sometimes it helps advance the plot (or at least spices up the game). Even getting the PCs in hot water can be fun, as long as it isn' t done maliciously and as long as you know how to get back out.

Besides, what jewel thief can resist prying the enormous black opal from the eye of the statue of Cyric, what spelljamming privateer can resist boarding an elven Man-o-War just to prove it can be done? Rogues are constantly tempted to spit in the face of Fate. As the scoundrel Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist everything except temptation". If roguish destiny calls, go for it. Even if the attempt fails, your character will go out in a blaze of glory, and anyone with him will be enshrined in legends. The other players will thank you for it later.

Lower your expectations

Rogues occupy the moral low ground. This isn't always a bad thing. Paladins can be annoying, especially when they're right. A paladin does the right thing instead of the easy thing, so they makes other characters look sleazy by comparison. By contrast, an annoying thief is usually doing the wrong thing, like cutting a deal with a villain or stealing from someone the party would like to stay friendly with. Players don't expect much from a rogue, so she makes other characters look good.

Paladins are the worst sticklers for doing the right thing, but rangers* and good-aligned priests can be just as bad, if properly role-played. Rogues can't exactly get out from under the disapproval of others by saying that they're just acting the way they are supposed to. Thievery, scams, constant money-grubbing, and treachery are dishonorable by definition. (*In AD&D Rangers could not be Evil - kalbaern)

Unfortunately, nothing strains suspension of disbelief more than when the party forgives a rogue because, "He's one of the player characters". Everyone has seen a paladin turn a blind eye to the crimes of fellow party members (though a good DM won't let the paladin get away with it). This is fine for party harmony, but bad for the credibility of the game world. In the long run, the whole campaign suffers; after all, rogues don't get away with much in front of an NPC paladin.

The better solution is not to force the other players into a situation where the heroes have no choice but to punish the rogue, even though the players don't want to. Give them an out. Lie big, and maybe they'll pretend to believe your character. For example, if your character is caught helping himself to an extra share of the treasure, the proper response is, "I was just saving this for you," or "This share is going to charity," not, "Oops". If the other players eventually make your character face the consequences, they are being better role-players.

Persuasion, not bloodshed

Sure, your rogue character could steal a cherished magical item and make the players howl for his blood, but let's face it; a rogue is not a great fighter and doesn't win barroom brawls. The best way to avoid ugly face-offs is to convince the other PCs that they want to do what you wanted them to do all along. A rogue should respect his fellow party members, and use his wits, skills, and tricks on everyone else. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser from Fritz Leiber's city of Lankhmar couldn't be trusted, but they trusted each other and their patrons, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face. If you don't learn to help and respect the party (or at least amuse them), your rogue deserves what he gets.

... continues below ...

[kalbaern]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ... continued

Swear no oaths

Unlike the Three Musketeers and group oriented gangsters, most scoundrels are freebooters. They have no obligations to church, state, or guild, no oaths to feudal lords or respected archmages.

If you don't make promises, no one can come to collect. Don't owe anything and no one can claim your time, your money, or your freedom. The most important oaths and promises to avoid are not oaths about money; the perpetual war between rogues and creditors is legendary. Sympathies are usually with the rogues, not the usurers and bankers. The oaths to avoid are oaths of loyalty, of good behavior, or of service.

A wise scoundrel values his freedom because he can live better by his wits than by depending on crutches like sworn oaths and settled life. For example, Ali Baba and Sindbad both made their fortunes through wits, trickery, and cunning-without owing fealty to any caliph, priesthood, army, or mage's guild.

Be generous

Life is short and true friends are precious and few, so a smart rogue will grease a few palms and buy as many friends as he can afford. This applies to party members, too! If you are going to make trouble and need help getting out of it, you need to have friends who will come to your defense or rescue you. No one likes a miser.

Bribes are a useful tool for controlling others, and they needn't cost much; bribes can be favors, food, or cash. A kind DM might allow a rogue to bribe underlings with offers of food (for moronic monsters) and cash (for greedy ones). Don't wait until trouble arrives to start paying these bribes. Payments in advance give you an edge. If the captain of the watch is already on the take, he's less likely to arrest a rogue and risk exposure. Think of it as insurance.

Don't rob your friends

The most important rule for cheating death: Don't steal from your own party. It seems obvious, but far too many rogues don't seem to see that there are better ways to get what they want than stealing it.

Beg, borrow, and plead to get magical items when the group divides the treasure; they are the ultimate equalizers to make weak rogues into significant players. Let's face it, fighters need only weapons and armor, and spell-casters will take the items only they can use. This leaves lots of potions, general-purpose wands, and miscellaneous items that rogues can use. Ask for them.

If all else fails, hope that you've sacrificed and been superficially pious enough with the god of thieves to get a break. (Staying on Hermes/Mask/etc... good side is always a good idea.)

Don't cut deals with the enemy unless you think you can use your betrayal now to save the rest of the party later (they'll thank you afterward). Of course, even if the backbiting rascal can't save them, at least he'll be home safe. After all, someone has to live to tell the tale.

Be forewarned

If you play a rogue, you are going to get into hot water sooner or later. By asking questions early, you'll be armed with vital knowledge when the hammer falls. Prepare now and escape the wrath of the injured parties later.

Escapes and contingency plans are vital to a long career as a rogue. Sure, you could just work on a whim, but it's harder to improvise brilliantly than it is to make solid plans at the beginning. The best way to prepare for roguish deeds is to do a little research and planning.

Rogues survive by taking unconventional approaches, such as signing up with the bandits whom the rest of the party wants to fight. These flanking maneuvers may provide valuable information (tell the other players this when you are all making plans), but they can also keep a rogue alive.

Case the joint, or better yet, get your PC's priest or wizard friends to do it (wizard eye and clairvoyance spells are great for this). This way your rogue can go directly to take what he wants, without a lot of stumbling around. No point in wasting time looking for the crystal of Bethshar if the dragon who owns it is a light sleeper.

Locals know the lay of the land better than any outsider, so ask some pointed questions before moving into unfamiliar territory. (Are those dogs you hear behind the wall dobermans or dachshunds?) This kind of verbal scouting gives the DM a chance to drop in rumors, important local lore, and hints for future adventures. A smart DM will be grateful for the assist. To be a clever trickster, you need to be well informed about your opponents and your options. Many rogues make an entire career out of scouting and reconnaissance.

... continues below ...

[kalbaern]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ... continued

Misdirection saves lives

While you want to learn as much as possible about the enemy, the opposite does not apply. A rogue should never present himself as he really is; people might catch on to what a scoundrel she is. This is especially important after you've acquired a reputation. (If you don't want a reputation, why play a rogue?) The best way to avoid unwanted attention is to pretend to be someone or something else.

Disguises are an important kind of misdirection, and magical deceptions are especially powerful. ("These are not the droids
you are looking for".) Make nice with the mages, psionicists, and other "Force-users" in your group. Theymight come in handy later. Disguises and a stolen set of the proper clothes make it possible to sneak in or out of the best-guarded mints, citadels, and palaces.

Distractions can make a disguise easier to pass off; guards at the gate don't pay much attention to a traveler if there is a fire near the armory. In fact, distractions can make most tough jobs easier, though they aren't much use by themselves. Get someone else to create the diversion, if possible; the real action will be elsewhere.

A splashy entrance can impress a powerful lord who might otherwise ignore a scruffy-looking loudmouth. ("Who's
scruffy-looking?") Throw money around, order a round of drinks for the house, wear extravagant colors and the clothes of a nobleman (literally!).

Deny everything

A smart scoundrel lies his way out when he's in deep. This isn't a matter of morals, it's a matter of survival. The vital importance of stretching the truth cannot be overestimated.

Lies need not be made face to face. Propaganda wars are just as useful, sometimes more so for targets that are hard to reach any other way. If you can't run an opponent out of town, discredit him and exonerate yourself. Start phony rumors, pay a bard to stretch the truth on your behalf. If your opponents are already afraid of you, battles will be easier to win, and enemy morale will break sooner.

If lies fail, bluffs are the next line of defense. The basis of bluffing is sheer brash confidence and a poker face; a mildly plausible story always helps, too. Bluffs work best against stupid foes, but even an intelligent opponent can begin second-guessing himself if you bluff right. Unless your DM is very generous and allows ability checks for bluffs, you'll have to role-play them out. That shouldn't be a problem for a glib-tongued, poker-faced rogue.

One trick is to have a mage friend nearby who can back up your claims with illusion (a form of magical lie, if you will); your story and his magic reinforce each other, because you've paved the way for the enemy to believe the mage's phantasms and those phantasms keep your story from collapsing when challenged.

Get good help

Rogues are products of their environment, and that's almost always an urban environment. As a player, you should
exploit this. Follow up on your DM's hints about possible city adventures and create a list of targets for your character (the local mint, the goldsmith's guild, and the slave halls). You should operate on your home ground if you can. If your group of heroes tends to stay in the same area, prepare emergency supplies and hiding places to lie low. If your characters travel often, get to know each new city and the local black market as soon as possible. If you fence the party's plunder for more than they could get for it themselves, they'll be grateful. Plus, you can skim a little off the top.

Cultivate contacts that could provide useful information and warnings: not just sleazy scoundrels like yourself, but also apprentices from craft guilds, travelling merchants, and even watchmen. Use and abuse these contacts and make new ones through roleplaying. Your DM may decide that your character is such a power-broker and rumor-monger that your contacts come to you looking for help. Your first instinct as a rogue would be to tell them to look elsewhere, but fight that instinct and get your fellow adventurers to help the poor sods out. If your contacts are in your debt, it's harder for them to say "No" when you ask for that big favor (the gate to the treasury left open or a copy of the duke's personal seal). For scoundrels, as for politicians (Is there a difference?), patronage pays.

When a rogue grows powerful, he may wish to serve as a mentor for others. Young scoundrels sometimes need a guiding hand and instruction in the ways of the world, and a real scoundrel will provide one.

Why go to the trouble? Why associate with apprentices, sidekicks, and other characters who are burdens for a footloose rogue? Well, for the same reason that he puts up with haughty wizards, musclebound fighters, and nattering priests: they're helpful to have around. The best example is Fagan in Oliver Twist, a devious old coot who treated his young pupils as cannon fodder. Apprentices are ideal lookouts. They make good spies. (No one suspects the young.) They don't complain much, and they are expendable as scapegoats or lookouts. Certainly worth a little instruction and pocket money to keep around.

... continues below ...

[kalbaern]

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ... continued

Choose your moments carefully

A sense of timing is as important to a rogue as it is to a comedian. Bribes, backstabs, smuggling, break-ins, blackmail, seductions "all the core activities of a rogue"require good timing. Unfortunately, there are no easy ground rules on cultivating a sense of timing. However, one trick that often works in game play is simply waiting. When you are in a pressure situation, don't rush things; the DM will often provide a hint or a clue if you are unsure of a course of action and are patient.

Anticipate "Murphy's Law"

Every rogue knows Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will." Not every rogue draws the obvious conclusion, though: If you expect everything to go wrong, then you're mentally prepared to counterattack. Curling up and bemoaning your fate is a coward's way. (Besides, you sound pathetic doing it.) The better option is to wait for a break, then make the most of the opportunity.

The best break, of course, is for someone to rescue your character. This might seem shameful or embarrassing to some scoundrels (though scoundrels have no shame). Needing to be rescued is not such a bad thing. It gives other party members something to do. (They do so like to be useful.) Likewise, if a rogue needs to be helped out of a jam, it encourages other players to role-play. The lawful characters will say "Let him rot." Others will plead for mercy and intervention. Tell them society made you do it. Their reaction can be quite touching.

Sometimes your rogue character will get a bad idea and not let go, trying to take the whole party down with her. This can easily be overdone, but it is a great roleplaying opportunity for the others to try to dissuade her. Muscle-bound fighters will threaten and try to be physically intimidating; wizards will apply logic; priests will try faith, moral arguments, and persuasion. None of this necessarily affects what the rogue will do, but it does add to the role-playing experience.

Goals

Most scoundrels don't plan much beyond the next hand of cards, the next cut purse, or the next successful smuggling run, but more than most other classes, a successful rogue needs a role-playing hook to define his character. This can be a simple gimmick like an accent or an eyepatch, or it can be a matter of a character's goals or history. Gimmicks are fun for defining a character, (What.s your character like? Well, he's a wood elf with a limp.) but they aren't satisfying for the long run.

For other characters, this is often easier. Warriors want power and personal skill in battle, priests want more power for their god, and mages want access to mystic knowledge. They all have built-in goals: building a castle or cathedral, creating magical items, or ruling a fiefdom. Rogues usually don't share these goals, so all too often they fall into the trap of living for today and never setting long-term goals. Such characters quickly become boring and one-dimensional.

Like others, rogues want either fame or fortune (or both), but they want more of it. A fighter might be content to know his name is heralded in a few songs and sagas. A rogue wants notoriety throughout the land, even if it means being hunted on every street. A priest might be content with enough money to build a fine temple and provide for the congregation. A rogue wants more wealth than a great wyrm.

The easiest goal is wealth; a thief with a smart con and some powerful friends can do wonders. Of course, in a fantasy world, law enforcement has the aid of magic, but that's the risk. Smart DMs will try not to crush these ambitions and will give the player a fair chance to succeed. (After all, a true rogue will try and try again until he dies or the prize is his.) Knock over a few rich merchant shipments, and presto, you're rich. Then what?

Fame can be elusive. Sure, a bard can hang around with a bunch of chump fighters who don't ever think of more than chopping up the next dragon, but stealing the credit from them is almost too easy. After all, the bard is the one who writes the saga that everyone hears! But is this the fame a rogue wants?

Some rogues do get religion. When your PC steals for the glory of a thieving god, she's being pious! For rogues with an edge of darkness, the ideal gods are tricksters and patrons of thievery: Hermes, Loki, or Shar of the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting. Rogues' gods don't always have public temples, accessible priests, and good public relations, but they do have senses of humor, so their worshipers are often forgiven as long as their antics are entertaining. Gamblers and other thieves may want to consider a goddess of luck like Tymora or Beshaba. Your character should be generous in his sacrifices to the powers that be; it doesn't pay to annoy the gods.

... The End ...