Rogues with Class

Rogues with Class

A rogue is one of the most versatile characters in the game. Her wide range of skills offers ease of customization,
and her sneak attack ability makes her deadly in combat. But how can you get the most play value out of a rogue
while minimizing the risks to her?

The Pros and Cons of a Rogue

The rogue has more nicknames among veteran players than any other character class. She can be called
locksmith, excellent treasure finder, sneak, just plain "thief," or any of a host of other colorful titles. Depending on
how you create your rogue, any of these monikers could fit your character.

Rogue Assets

The rogue offers a useful array of game abilities that provide lots of room for customization. You can create a
smooth-talking con artist, a cat burglar, a tomb breaker, or almost any kind of character in between. Below are
several assets you have going for you when you choose a rogue.

● Good Initiative Bonus: A rogue should have a high Dexterity score, primarily because Dexterity provides
her first line of defense and governs many of her best skills. But a high Dexterity score also gives her a
high initiative bonus. As a result, rogues can get the drop on their opponents most of the time and are
seldom caught unawares.

● High Skill Points: With a whopping eight skill points per level, even a rogue with a poor Intelligence score
has plenty of skill points to spend.

● Broad Skill Selection: The rogue has a long list of class skills, which enables her to excel at character
interaction, stealth, movement, perception, and more.

● Good Reflex Saves: A rogue uses the best save progression in the game for Reflex saves (see Table 3-1
in the Player's Handbook). This natural grace helps her avoid most effects that deal damage or entrap a
creature, such as area spells, entanglement, and many traps.

● Many Class Features: The rogue gains lots of useful and deadly class abilities. The most infamous of
these is the sneak attack, which allows her to hit opponents where it really hurts.

Rogue Weaknesses

As with any class in the D&D game, the rogue's advantages come at a price. Here are a few of the disadvantages
you should keep in mind if you're considering a rogue character.

● Poor Fortitude and Will Saves: Rogues have the worst progression for Fortitude and Will saves in the
game (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Thus, they aren't good at shrugging off effects that attack
 Rogues with Class

their bodies or minds.

● Fairly Low Hit Points: The rogue's 6-sided Hit Dice give her only a moderate number of hit points. Since
her sneak attack ability is wasted if she doesn't get into at least the occasional fight, death is never far
away.

● Fairly Low Armor Class: The fact that a rogue has proficiency with only light armor and none with shields
leaves her with only a mediocre Armor Class. The combination of modest hit points and middling Armor
Class usually means that a rogue can afford to fight a little, but she doesn't have much staying power in a
pitched battle. A rogue can improve her defenses in various ways, but all of them deplete her resources.

Playing a Classy Rogue

Great rogues usually use the following techniques, so if you're a rogue, try to incorporate them into your strategy.

Stay Near the Action

Depending on what skills you select, your party may call on you to probe the way ahead for danger, pick locks, act
as the group's diplomat, or fill some combination of those roles. And even if you don't have a regular task within the
group, your sneak attacks depend on your ability to strike quickly when the opportunity arises. You can't perform
any of these functions if you're skulking at the back of the party.

Weigh Your Risks

While it usually pays to be bold, avoid taking unnecessary chances and doing things that put the rest of the party in
danger. Even if you're a whiz at opening locked doors or slinking ahead of the party, don't do so unless you have a
pretty good idea of what you stand to gain. If the benefits you can expect from the intended action don't outweigh
the risks, think up something else to do.

Keep Your Options Open

You can't always know what tricks and stratagems will work in a given situation, so always try to have a backup
plan. Likewise, avoid actions that will limit your options in the future. Finally, remember that escape is often the
best option when things go wrong, so always have a plan for getting out of whatever you've gotten into.

Keep Help Close at Hand

Try to avoid situations in which you must face danger alone. Even if you're party's scout, don't range so far ahead
that your friends can't mount a rescue in a round or two. In a battle, consider who your best allies are.

The Party's Main Warrior: This character's combat abilities can often spell success or failure for you. By working
together with him, you can flank your foes and bring your sneak attack ability into play. Likewise, this character is
your best hope when you find yourself in a bind too tough to fight your way out of. On the other hand, your
perception skills (such as Spot and Listen) are likely better than those of any fighter type, and your timely warning
can prevent disaster from befalling this most important ally.

The Party's Arcane Spellcaster: This character is weaker and more vulnerable than you when it comes to
physical combat, so be prepared to come to her aid when trouble arises. If the party's arcane spellcaster faces an
 Rogues with Class

unexpected threat, you might be the only one who can get free to deal with the situation.

The Party's Divine Spellcaster: Get friendly and stay friendly with your party's cleric, druid, or paladin. This
character's healing spells can stave off death, especially when you manage to get yourself poisoned or fall victim
to some other debilitating attack. You may find that divine spellcasters cramp your style a little -- especially if
they're straight arrows and you have a larcenous streak -- but make an effort to stay in their good graces.

Some Key Equipment

The right gear can help quite a bit with a roguish career. The essentials include the following.

● Armor and Shield: You'll probably want to stick with light armor to avoid compromising your rogue's best
skills, but even light armor is better than none. Leather or studded leather offers decent protection without
interfering with your stealth skills. As a rogue, you have no shield proficiency unless you burn a feat to get
it, but a masterwork buckler won't cause you any difficulty even if you aren't proficient. A chain shirt is
generally the best protection available to you, but it's expensive and hinders many of your skills.

● Primary Melee Weapon: Choose a light and handy weapon from among those with which rogues are
proficient. A short sword or rapier is fairly effective, and both of those choices work with the Weapon
Finesse feat, which allows you to use your Dexterity bonus for melee attacks. After all, your most potent
combat ability -- sneak attack -- is useless if you can't hit your foes.

● Backup Melee Weapon: Always have a light weapon -- or two -- handy. A light slashing weapon, such as
a dagger or hand axe, can help you get out of a tight spot (for example, being swallowed whole by a big
monster). It also pays to have a hefty weapon on hand in case you lose your primary weapon or find that it
isn't effective. Make sure this weapon deals a different kind of damage than your primary weapon does. For
example, if you normally use a rapier (a piercing weapon), consider a mace (which deals bludgeoning
damage) as a backup. A sap can also prove handy for subduing foes the party wishes to question later.

● Ranged Weapon: You can greatly increase your survival chances by keeping your foes at a distance
during combat. If you can keep the range down to 30 feet or below, you even retain some ability to use
sneak attack. A heavy crossbow deals excellent damage but has a slow rate of fire. A composite shortbow
offers good range and allows for multiple attacks per round as your base attack bonus improves. And don't
forget that daggers and hand axes can be thrown.

About the Authors

Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies, and he served as the
sage of Dragon Magazine for eighteen years. Skip is a codesigner of the D&D 3rd edition game and the chief
architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his
kitchen or garden (rabbits and deer are not Skip's friends) or works on repairing and improving the century-old
farmhouse that he shares with his wife, Penny, and a growing menagerie of pets.
Rogues with Class

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