Can anyone think of any reason not to be a Rogue?

[Hypersmurf]

I posted the dictionary definition of rogue, if you're not playing that you're not playing a rogue.

There's a difference between rogue and Rogue.

You can play a rogue with no Rogue levels, and you can play a Rogue who isn't at all roguish.

It's common for Rogues to be rogues, and for rogues to be Rogues, but neither is obligatory.

-Hyp.

 

[Drawmack]

Two things from this,

1) [off topic]If the rogue were a rennisanse (sp) man then he would be hated by the status quoe.[/off topic]

2) In T&T there is a skill called Urban Lore, it's OGC so if you want a copy just email me and I'll email it to you, that is a city version of wilderness lore. I tell rangers that they can take urban lore or wilderness lore whoever the druid is stuck with wilderness lore.

 

[Drawmack]

There's a difference between rogue and Rogue.

You can play a rogue with no Rogue levels, and you can play a Rogue who isn't at all roguish.

It's common for Rogues to be rogues, and for rogues to be Rogues, but neither is obligatory.

-Hyp.

I personally believe it is impossible to play a rogue, or a Rogue, that is not hated by at least some facet of society. That is all that I was saying.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I personally believe it is impossible to play a rogue, or a Rogue, that is not hated by at least some facet of society. That is all that I was saying.

Which facets of society will hate Technik's Athlete or Diplomat archetypes posted above?

-Hyp.

 

[diaglo]

the same facets of society that hate atletes and politicians in our world.

 

[Irda Ranger]

Its probably a bad habit to OT your own thread ...

I personally believe it is impossible to play a rogue, or a Rogue, that is not hated by at least some facet of society. That is all that I was saying.

I would say its impossible to play anyone without being hated by some facet of society. This sure isn't limited to Rogues. I bet plenty of people hate Wizards, and Clerics have all those religious enemies. There are people who see Fighters as just big, stupid, muscle-bound bullies. Ergo, being hated by a facet of society cannot be the definition of a Rogue. Or a rogue.

Please see my earlier comment on Rogues (with a capital 'R'). They not only have lots of skills, they also have trap sense, amazing reflexes and Sneak Attack. Anyone who’s that tightly wound and specializes in kicking people who are down probably qualifies as a rogue, even if they are a Lawful Good one who serves King & Country.

Back on topic ...

Hmmm ... after the suggestions of Ranger and Druid (which I had kind of ruled out since this was a urban campaign) I got to thinking about it a little more. It's not a bad idea. Maybe an urban combination of the two even ...

I kind of like the idea, and you can have "city" animals as your animal companions. Non-modern cities were crawling with animals, so one would have to notice. Ravens, Dogs, Ferrets, Rats ... I like, I like ...

Of course, I also like the idea of a Psion (Mentalist)/Rogue too. Oh, the possibilities.

I think those two are my "finalists" though.

Irda Ranger

Edit: damn english grammar …

 

[Rel]

I feel fairly qualified to address the OP because I am currently playing the Freeport modules as a Rogue (though not as a solo-campaign). Don't worry, I'm not going to post any spoilers or use (too much) metagame knowledge.

I think that a Rogue is a great choice for playing these adventures but there are some possible alternatives. I'd say the best three are:

1) Urban Ranger - This could be a really good choice as it combines good fighting ability with good investigative ability and (eventually) some healing capability.

2) Cleric - Despite the low number of skill points, Clerics can really fit a lot of different roles. In addition to the obvious benefit of being able to heal yourself, the other spells at your disposal as well as some of your social skills (Diplomacy) will all serve you well. Domain selection will be key.

3) Bard - Usually I think of Bards as being a good class to play when you have a larger than average party. But I think that one could work well as a solo character in a city environment. The social skills will be very handy and the array of spells you can cast will be extremely nice too. Being able to cast Cure Light Wounds as well as Sleep would be awesome features for any character in a city campaign.


I think a very important factor is whether this is going to be a "true" solo-campaign (i.e. your character is going to be doing nearly everything all by himself) or will he typically be doing the adventure with one or more NPC's helping him. If you are going to be all by yourself then Rogue has some definite advantages/disadvantages. Namely, you will be able to sneak much better (since you won't have a bunch of clanky Fighter/Cleric types in their plate-mail hanging around) but after the initial sneak attack, you won't get the benefit of somebody to help you flank. Feinting could be the answer to your efficacy in combat.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Steverooo]

Because you don't want to?

There's some other good options out there for an urban campaign: Masters of the Wild has a pretty good alternate "urban ranger" that would be fun in an urban campaign, and Path of the Sword by FFG has an alternate "urban fighter" that gives up a bonus feat or two and some armor proficiencies for more skill points and more class skills. For a solo game, I'd probably prefer the urban fighter, myself. Or maybe a level of urban ranger first to take advantage of the front-loading of the ranger.

IIRC, Urban Rangers don't get Wilderness Lore as a class skill, so their Track is pretty useless... Oops! Just checked; they swap Track for Shadow, so it doesn't matter... I guess they still have WL, but...

 

[Steverooo]

Yet another option

Ranger may have Search, but traps will still be a problem. If you're considering Ranger & Druid, though, take a look at Barbarian/Druid, instead. Ranger/Rogue is also nice, but you won't have the animals. Animal Friendshipped horse?

 

[Irda Ranger]

Re: Yet another option

Ranger may have Search, but traps will still be a problem. If you're considering Ranger & Druid, though, take a look at Barbarian/Druid, instead. Ranger/Rogue is also nice, but you won't have the animals. Animal Friendshipped horse?

Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Clearly having your Awakened Dire Bear following you around is not an option in a city campaign. Plus, as has been noted elsewhere, the Animal Companion is a large part of what makes the Druid a balanced class.

Hey, all kind of races are allowed to walk the streets in Freeport. Just how dumb does on Orc have to be before it can count as an Animal Companion? You could conceivably get an Orc with a 2 Intelligence, the same as a Wolf ...

I wonder, can you "Awaken" humanoids with Int of 3 or less?

By the way, this will probably be a "True" Solo campaign. Wendy (my wife) hasn't DMed a lot, so I don't want her to have to worry about DM-PCs, as well as NPCs and running the quest. I suspect that if I need help I will need to find one-off NPCs to help me in specific situations. I won't be playing 2 PCs.

Really need to look into that Urban Ranger ... I'll take a look at MotW when I get home. Is it a Prestige Class, or a Core Variant? If its a Prestige Class I won't have enough levels starting out to take it.

Rel - thanks for the take on playing in Freeport. Cleric is always a good choice for going solo, with their combat and spells, but this campaign is probably going to be a little more "Cloak & Dagger" than a straight Cleric could handle. Even one of Olidammara (sp?)

How effective do you think your Rogue would be without your back-up from the other players. My concern would be (as you pointed out) Rogues would get a great first round with Sneak Attack, and then not be able to follow through.

Thanks to all,

Irda Ranger