So, you think you want to be a rogue, do you? Or perhaps you are already a rogue, and want to learn more about the craft. Sit down by the fireplace, let me fill my candy bowl, and let me tell you what I know about rogues. No, don’t sit on the table, sit on that nice soft cushion. There, isn’t that nice? That cushion? Oh - I pick things up here and there.... Where was I?

First, we should begin with what kind of person makes a good rogue. If we look at the statistics that make a person who they are when they are born, we find certain things in common with all the better rogues. For example, rogues will do a lot of sword swinging. So, strength is a requirement of rogues that want to do well. Of course, discipline and aura, being useful for mind and body should also be high. The other statistics depend on your race and your chosen path. However, charisma should be your lowest. Rumor has it that low charisma makes it easier to hide.I didn’t tell you about paths? Hmm, must be getting forgetful in my old age. Quiet whispers to you, I just turned 86 last night. [Editor’s note, this is true hobbit age, he has only trained 52 times as of the time of this writing.]

Ok, I have seen three paths for rogues. Being a rogue is easy the first 20 years or so, just like it is for them sword swinging fighter types. But then it gets harder, so the good rogue has planned out where he wants to be when he, cough or she, is 30 or 40, or even 50 trainings old.

The paths I have seen fall into three categories: Ambushing Fighter, The Locksmith, and The Magical Ambusher

There are features in common to all rogues: Only single in body development. Those hit points will max out soon enough, and those extra development points will be more useful elsewhere.At least single in perception and pickpocket. They are both so inexpensive and useful, find room for singling. The two weapon skill is very costly, considering you are giving up a large amount of defense for that second attack. As you get older, nothing can be killed with two attacks, so spend the points somewhere where it will be useful. When you have left over points, train in climbing (you will be amazed how often this will come up as you get older), a little swimming, mana share, trading, and first aid. Don’t bother double training in any of them. All rogues should double in ambush (the skill that distinguishes a rogue from other professions), and at least single in hide. Always give full training (double) to your primary weapon form. One handed edged is he cheapest, but is by no means the only choice.

The Ambushing Fighter

This rogue doubles in Combat Maneuvers. Some advocate doubling in armor and shield also. I don’t personally think the shield skill is worth doubling in, but other swear by it. Remaining points to be distributed to lockpick, disarm, pickpocket, a second weapon form (like two handers) as suits your personality. Lady Nyte is an example of the Ambushing Fighter.

The Locksmith

This is a rogue that specializes in opening chests. Lock Picking and Disarming get double or triple training, perception gets double, armor and shield get single trained. CM is either single or double trained as points permit. Remaining points to be saved up for magic. Why? the lesser elemental list has some spells that aid the lockpicker, and you get some nice defensive spells thrown in. The spells are expensive, but will pay off all the way down the line. This path has difficulties, but I suspect Lord Auterio follows this path.

The Magical Ambusher

The magical ambusher is a rogue that is somewhat confused if he should be a ranger, bard, or thief. He specializes in magic as an aid to his ambushing. The lesser elemental list has various defensive magic available in addition to various other useful spells. This rogue wants to have spell 425 (True Strike) by 50th level. Note that this is a spell every other level! So this requires allocating 40 mental points per level to magic. You will typically only have 40 mental points, so you will be converting physical points to mental at a two to one cost. This rogue should put high numbers into the mental stats like intelligence etc. This rogue will at most single in armor, no shield, very little lock and trap (if any). Legend Jesh suggests that trap and lock skills are not really necessary, and cost you spells. He recommends training in shields, however, since it is easy enough to train in. You might not even have points left over for combat maneuvers, but this should be given priority to have at least some CM. Strangely enough, this may be the most powerful rogue of all, under the current environment. Not only true strike is available to the legend rogue, but all 24 of the earlier spells. This gives the rogue more flexibility, and the ability to self cast all three guards is hard to ignore. Legend Jesh is an example of the Magical Ambusher

There is a compromise to the Magical Ambusher... This rogue stops at 410 (e-wave) and only tries to get a spell every 3 levels. He gets e-wave at 30th level this way, about the time where the non-magical thief is having problems hunting. E-wave is a great equalizer spell in a large number of situations. The numbers and training path is very much like the Magical Ambusher presented above, but you will have a few spare points to use for locks and CM. After E-Wave has been learned, those points can be applied to picking, disarming, mana sharing etc as fits the personality of the rogue. Legend Aurien and Lord Quiet are examples of the compromised Magical Ambusher

Quiet, stops, drinks from a large mug of steaming chocolate milk, and looks off into the fire. Ambushing. There is a skill for you. I remember the days when... well, Quiet smiles, you don’t want to hear my old stories. Let me tell you about ambushing. Fighters have their method of ambushing. We have ours. They may seem the same to the outside observer, but they are as different as night and day. The fighters gets all stoked up, steam pouring from his nostrils, and aims his sword, or whatever is in his hand, and the head of the poor creature. Poof - no head. Neat trick that, Quiet mumbles.

Rogues don’t do it that way. Nope. You got to hit pretty hard to smash a head. Rogues do it with skill, not brute force. Finesse! Have you ever seen a rogue ambush? He hides. This takes a while looking for just the right spot where you can do the most good. I have trained a fair touch so I rarely fail in my hiding, but it still takes me at least 3 seconds to hide. Then I carefully pick my target and swing, just after the creature has done something. This is kindof like stance-tagging, but better! You see, after I attack I am really really open to a counter attack for at least 5 seconds. I am hoping the monster will be vulnerable to attack for the same time, or longer so he don’t swing at me. This don’t work so well when there are a group of monsters against you, so be careful.

Oh, I almost forgot, where to aim. I have watched tall rogues, you know, humans and other vertically challenged races, swing directly at the head or neck. Both are good targets for the instant kill. I can rarely reach that high. So I aims for their legs. Funny thing, but when a creature loses their leg, they usually fall down, stunned for a short while, making my next attack even easier. And that attack, I can reach their head. Some creatures don’t lose their leg. For example, some undead don’t have no legs. Seems I am always running into these. Well, many don’t know it, but you can do some extra damage if you aim at some sensitive spots, like the back. The back is nice too, they often fall down.

You want to know details of how this works? Ok. Half your skill in ambush goes towards your targeting. So if you have a 100 skill (say you are 10th level) you would have a 50% chance of hitting where you aim. If you miss, it might hit somewhere else, or it might leave you looking at a creature you have just made angry. The other 50% of the skill is the special part that only works when you hide and ambush. It increases the critical damage of the attack. First, you have to hit hard enough to critical at all. This means you have to do at least 6 points of damage. Then the half of your ambush skill gets added to the combat roll for the determination of the severity of the crit. So you might do 6 damage points with your weapon, but slice off the hand, causing an additional 30, and he drops his weapon! Them smelly fighters can’t do that!

You want to know about lockpicking? Hmm - I have picked a fair pocket, cough, cough, I mean chest in my time... There are two steps to picking a chest: traps (disarming), and locks (picking). You don't want to be opening no chest that you havn't disarmed the traps. Even if your best friend assures you there is no trap on it, it is your face and hands that will get melted off, not his. It is really simple to find traps, too. Not so simple to remove them though, or I wouldn't have made as much money as I did.The first thing you do is disarm the chest. "Disarm my chest", assuming you are holding the chest in your hand. You need good perception and disarm skill to find the trap. When you are young, you donÕt have the skill. Trust me. You will find some. You will miss some. Worse yet, you will fire off some traps right in your face. I suggest waiting till you are at least 5, and perhaps 8. (Assuming you are double training. If you single train, be older. If you triple train, be younger) Then, try to find traps multiple times if you donÕt see them the first time. Not all chests have traps. But if you have tried 3 to 5 times and donÕt see one, then you have a good chance of living through it. This brings up another point. Try to find a place to open chests away from a lot of people. You will occasionally activate a trap. Some of the traps affect everyone in the room. Lots of people in the room, mean lots of people dead or hurt. These people will all know you did it, and will not be happy. Some traps will release a cloud. So, you might even want to be a few rooms away from people until you are very sure of yourself.

Ok, you have found a trap, and want to disarm it. Well, you do the same darn thing again. "Disarm my chest" Sometimes you won't do it. You can keep trying. For those that like numbers: Disarm_Skill + Wisdom_Bonus + Lore (if any) + Trap + d100 > 100

The Disarm_Skill is your skill in disarm that you have trained in. Wisdom_Bonus is the number you see with a + or - when you get ÒinfoÓ on your character after the wisdom stat. Lore is from the dsenhance on the lesser elemental spell list. You get 5+ half your level if someone throws it on you. You get 10+your level if you throw it on yourself. You get 0 if you don't have this spell active. Now, they been talking of changing this, but it hasn't changed yet. You have either removed the trap, or there was no trap to begin with. You are ready to pick the lock. Let me tell you now, you are going to break a lot of lockpicks. Expect it. Don't invest so much money into lockpicks you can't afford to replace them. Them things are worth more than gold. Well, you'll see. Get that lockpick in your hand, and "pick my chest with my lockpick". Again for those who like numbers: (Lockpick_Skill + Wisdom_Bonus + Lore (if any)) * Pick_Multiplier + Lock + d100 > 100 Lockpick_Skill is your trained skill in picking locks. Wisdom_Bonus is the number you see with a + or - when you get "info" on your character after the wisdom stat. Lore is just like disarm, but the spell is pkenhance. Same numbers

Lets talk about lockpicks. Lockpicks have two attributes: strength and the multiplier. Notice the multiplier magnifies even the smallest of skills. The common lockpick has a multiplier of 1.0. The alum lockpicks available from the locksmith in the back room, have a multiplier of 2.4. These are the best you can buy over the counter. Sometimes special lockpicks can be found on monsters, or special merchant. I have never seen one better than 2.5, but have hear of one or two in the 2.6 range. The problem is, lockpicks are fragile. And any time you donÕt open a chest, it checks to see if the lockpick breaks. If there is no hope of you opening the box, because the lock is way above your skill, the lockpick has an even greater chance of breaking. Worse yet, 1% of the time, you will fail, even if the chest is a trivial chest to your skill.So what can you do to avoid those chests that are above your skill? As it turns out, this is not that hard. If you know the age (level) of the creature that dropped the chest, you have a fair idea of the hardness of the chest. The hardness goes up every time the creatureÕs age goes up by 10. So all creatures age 0-9 have the same GENERAL hardness. When you are 8, and have double trained, stick to these chests. Creatures 10-19 have the same general hardness. Again, you should be around 12 to 15 before dealing with these chests. It seems that if you are good, you can pick chests from creatures slightly above your age. (And I suppose if you triple trained, you could do this much faster.) Funny thing about picking, you can learn from it, but only if you have a chance of failing. So those easy chests you open in no time? They give you no experience. So the better your skill, the less you can learn. I have heard that kneeling improves your disarm and lockpicking skill. Well, it may be because I am so short, so donÕt need to kneel to get closer to the chest, but I have never seen any advantage to picking with my knees in the cold dirt.

Chuckle, you seem to have dropped your coin purse into my seat. Here, have it back. No, count those coins. I donÕt want anyone thinking I take coins from a guest. No sir! You want to know how I COULD pick your pocket? Hmmm. Tis really easy. I just Òsteal {person}Ó. I have to be in the same room as you. And I think there is some minor advantage if I am hidden or invisible, but not certain. Of course you only get around 120 or so coins. Not much. I know some thieves (and I mean thieves, not rogues) that can clean a pocket in a few seconds by repeatedly taking coins. I donÕt like them people. They give rogues a bad name. Better take a little from many, than a lot from a few. Besides, even if you were as good as me, oh I mean, even if you were very very good, you will get caught 1% of the time with your hand in their pocket. Many people like to kill you over this, especially if you have lightened their pocket by 2000 coins or so. Their perception and pickpocketing skill will prevent you from picking their pocket if they are high enough. I suppose dexterity bonus plays a part too, but I am not really certain, Quiet says rolling a small coin between his fingers. I should add that I never steal from empaths. They heal me so often, and are so poor, I would rather they be happy to see me, than avoid me. Same goes with clerics. It is amazing how many times those that come from the gods have brought me back from that place that dead hobbits dwell. Speaking of dead people; it is really bad form to pick from the dead. It is not like they can do anything about it. Sortof like kicking a man while he is down.

I should mention that I have seen professional thieves and amateur thieves. I think what distinguishes them is, Style. The professionals will do it with flair. They will deal with failure with grace, and according to their personality. Sometimes this can be the only barrier between a quick death of a caught pickpocket, and a future friend. Thieves guild? Yep - there is a thieves guild. I am a member! What is it?

Hmm. Well, we have some informal rules, you know. We want thieves that have honor. So none of those thieves that steal items. None of those thieves that steal chests. Thieves that steal coins are ok, of course. Oh, I have known of some that will steal coins and leave the lands to avoid dealing with the consequences. This is wrong. Period. Take the risk, pay the consequences. If you don't like the consequences, donÕt take the risk. We are not an assassins guild, but there are assassins in our guild. No, we don't do vendettas for guild members, but we have been known, in the past, to band together to stop an invasion of people that demanded we not pick inside the town limits. Yep, *blush*, well that was actually before my time, you know.

You want to know how to join? Oh, well, hmmm. You should make sure you are an honorable thief (not just following those rules I said, but in all ways) and make yourself known by guild members. You don't know any guild members? Sure you do... You know me. You want to know others? I seem to have forgotten their names, sorry. Quiet smiles a sheepish smile.

Quiet looks down at his empty mug of chocolate milk, his empty bowl of candy, and the fire starting to go out. I think it is time for this hobbit to sleep. I should mention that I am the oldest hobbit rogue I know of. [Oldest player hobbit rogue - Editor] Being a hobbit and a rogue is not very easy. Hobbits are not so strong. We are agile and dexterous, but it is easier to be one of the elves or even a human rogue. I read a story once about a Bilbo Baggins hobbit. Well let me tell you, he never existed in this world. Nor did Frodo or any of the others. I have heard being a dwarf rogue is almost as hard. Of course all dwarves are thieves. Have you seen the prices they been charging...That's right. Sorry to have kept you. I know you have to get home. Good Night.

Lord Quiet, Rogue, Voln Master

aka Steven Colborne

colborne@deltanet.com

S.Colborne@genie.com