A LG, LN, or NG Rogue?

[reapersaurus]

What do you guys think of a rogue that is either LG, LN, or NG?

1) Does this kind of get in the way of most of your ideas of roleplaying a rogue?

2) What approach would those alignmented rogues take?
I can see a CG Rogue using his PickPockets, etc to fight against injustice, but how does NG etc feel anything but shame for his stealthy abilities and deceptive ways?

 

[RogueJK]

Keep in mind that a Rogue is more than just a thief. A Rogue might be a scout, a detective, an acrobat, a diplomat, a messenger... the list goes on.

The Rogue class has abilities that a person of any alignment could use. They don't necessarily have to be the typical sneaky, thieving, pick-pocketing rogue.

 

[Zhure]

NG = a nice guy, but a bit of a scamp.

LN = professional with a code of ethics, maybe even a soldier specialized in urban tactics or a non-woodsmen version of a military ranger.

LG: hmm, never seen one. Perhaps a security specialist for the government. He knows the secrets of thievery and theft, but doesn't feel any desire to partake.

Hope that helps,
Greg

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I like the idea of LG and LN rogues. In general, I would play them as vigilantes or dirty fighting punishers of evil. A Dirty Harry type character could very easily be a LN Rogue/Fighter/Ghostwalker.

I play a NG Fighter/Rogue in one campaign--he uses his skills to strike his enemies (ie. the bad guys) before they realize he's there and then fade away before they can catch him. Recently, he's also been learning a lot about finding and disabling traps so that he can catch necromancers in their lairs and dispatch them without the kind of trouble that all their traps and guardians normally cause. (It also helps for removing the treasure from the necromancer's vault without getting killed after his party wins the fight).

Juilin, the thief-catcher from the Wheel of Time series is probably a good example of the LN variety.

Other LG or LN rogues might follow the Mission Impossible script. They're the kind of characters who waltz into the bad guys' organization, get the evidence/ancient artifact and waltz out without the bad guys every suspecting anything happened.

There's nothing unlawful or evil about stealth or sneak attacks (especially when flanking .

 

[reapersaurus]

oh - small wrinkle:
He's been a thief in his past.
How can these alignments possibly steal from anyone who is not evil, or at least a jerk.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Well, I guess he wasn't LG or LN at the time. People change.

oh - small wrinkle:
He's been a thief in his past.
How can these alignments possibly steal from anyone who is not evil, or at least a jerk.

 

[Black Omega]

I'd -so- not call Dirty Harry Lawful, but that's not an arguement I want to start.

I can see a LG Rogue. Say, a spy who works under certain rules layed down by his government, who will try not to kill people and who won't deal with certain types of criminals.

 

[ConcreteBuddha]

Every time I think of a LG Rogue, a dwarf always comes to mind...don't know why...

 

[DM_Matt]

You're stuck in the 2e mentality...This class is no longer called "theif" for a reason.

In 3e, the rogue is an appropriate class for anyone that uses finesse over force and doesnt cast spells. Be it social finesse (lyings, convincing, manipulating, making friends, etc), combat finesse (swashbuckler types are typically mc'd fighter/rogues), or genuine sneakyness (anything from theivery to law enforcement), the rogue class has the right abilities for the job.

 

[Willtell]

NG?

He's an undercover agent for the ruler trying to get enough information to nail the thieves guild/assassins guild/smugglers/etc.

His job is to travel the land finding out what the population think and then tell the ruler whats realy going on, not what his advisors think he should know.

He a serjeant of the watch investigating crime.

He's basically a good person but was born poor - to help his family survive he had to steal. Now he earns, er, steals from those who do not need the wealth they've got, like evil mages, liches, etc.