Rogues vs. Thieves

Talamar · Post by **Talamar** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 5:45 pm

I know some people have talked about or tried to rp out playing Rogues as opposed to Thieves. For those of you wishing to do so, and trying to get ideas on how, I HIGHLY recommend you check out:

"The Alabaster Staff"

It's the first book in the Forgotten Realms series devoted to "The Rogues"

It really shows a great emphasis on someone who steals only truly for survival, and much more relishes pitting one's skills of stealth and subtlety against more and more challenging situations.

aka an Adrenaline Junky

*grin*

Just thouht I'd throw that out there, as I'm about halfway through the 2nd book and really thinking this is a fantastic series to help people understand and really get into the Rogue class.

Isaldur · Post by **Isaldur** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:28 am

Good choice of reading Talamar! Pretty much most of the rogue series is dedicated to rogues in general. For bards, there's the Yellow Silk. Alabaster staff is for your good aligned rogue/spy. Crimson Gold is one of my favorites just because it has Tazi from the Sembia series and her escapades as a more combat oriented rogue. Black Bouquet is for the near-do-well rogues that aren't evil, but definately don't mind breaking laws in order to survive or just for a thrill.

Kregor · Post by **Kregor** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:24 pm

The biggest issue I can see in-game with a basic rogue vs. a thief, is that a guildless rogue loses out on a lot of the skills and abilities given to them by a guild.

Granted, membership has its privileges..... but some of the skills.... heck a non-thief can't even pick a lock or disarm a trap. And all the thief hovels I seem to have come across in the game would set someone's waterdeep bracelet beeping overtime.

What does a neutral/benevolent rogue do, to become useful in this realm? With*out* being a bard?

I supppose if prestige classes were in place, something like a duelist, or divine seeker would be a way to utilize an unguilded rogue.

Cyric · Post by **Cyric** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:55 pm

To add, a "chaotic good" person doesn't nessesarily believe in the laws, just the ideals of good. Sort of like a Machieveliasm (sp?) ideal where the ends justify the means. That evil oppressive emporer taxes decent families into poverty and starvation -- As a thief, you could steal from the pockets of the emporer and give it back to the peasents.

Same deal in FK. You see a warrior pounce on a wizard for a magical item and, because your weaker than the warrior, you decide to steal it back and hand it over to the wizard.

So, yea, thieves can be good aligned.

Rotha · Post by **Rotha** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:52 pm

I think the question was a bit more like, if you're modeling your character after the idea of a rogue (good thief), then isn't the unguilded rogue class a bit underpowered? My idea is that you just go ahead and join the thieves' guild, and call yourself a rogue. Who cares what your class in the game is, if you're playing a rogue and need the thief skills, be a thief and roleplay a rogue... what you're presenting yourself as matters a lot more than what it says on your score screen. That's my idea on it, anyway.. Would doing that be wrong? The only reason I could see that being wrong is if you're questing to be a thief, you're questing IC, and it's for the thief's guild, not the rogue's guild..

Maybe there could be another thief's guild in the realms, where you do different questing to become a "rogue", and at the end of it you just technically become a thief skillwise but are part of the rogue's guild?

Sorry my idea is very scatterbrained. I just woke up

Lothigorn · Post by **Lothigorn** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:17 am

I'm glad this was brought up. I kind of just went along with the whole thief class thing, and decided i would give it a charitable "robin hood" kind of feel.
i still get scorned for making mistakes and seeming more of a coniving thief at times.

Alaudrien · Post by **Alaudrien** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 10:11 pm

hrm I would have to agree a thief doesn't have to be evil. As I have heard about some other times that most maskites in the game don't like non evil thieves...that kinda made no sense. Mask is a god of thieves and and not all thieves are evil. Look at the book elminster the makeing of a mage..when he was growing up learning to be a thief as maybe a vocation in life and his friend. He even offered a quick prayer to mask when he was doing a 'job' So I was just saying my two cents..sorry -snicker- But yea and some thieves will steal and perhaps feel remorse later on. But can be relatively nice guy unless they are the cuttthroat types!