Fictional Rogues

[satori01]

I think Rogues as a class has really become to mean " stealthy, skilled in Intel and criminal matters, and super warrior".

This is epitomized by such characters as:
The bride form Kill Bill
Riddick from Pitch Black/ Chron. Of Ridick
Any modern Spy Thriller featuring James Bond or Tom Cruise.

Rogue now means Navy Seal, which is just too much IMHO .

I would like to see a Rogue class based off more of these types:

Indiana Jones is a Rogue. Resourceful , smart, a little amoral, sociable, and full of contacts. He is also not the best fighter, a good fighter, but not the best, and he generally uses mobility and terrain to win in hand to hand.

CPT Jack Sparrow is a Rogue. He is flashy, mobile, and does things with panache to large effect, sometimes to his own ill. Again he is not he best Fighter, but capable. Also has a lot of contacts.

Con Men, From the Oceans 11+ movies, to any number of TV shows, con men again generally not the best Fighters, social, skilled with contacts.

Ability/ Power wise I want to see stealth ditched from combat. Just make the Rogue unoticed for a few rounds ,(increasing w/level ?), until they take an overt action. This way you can set up your damage spikes.

I also think Rogues should have the most interrupts. A Fighter may parry a blow here or there, but a Rogue ducks, weaves and then slides underneath the Ogres legs while cutting his coin purse.

A Rogue makes a blow he takes look worse than it is while lessening the damage, then feigns death and comes back or slinks away.


Interrupts are fine when a player can trigger them, whenever and the limit is 1 per turn.

 

[Bungo_Underhill]

I agree with this entirely.

I'd also add Bilbo Baggins, Lara Croft and Tyrion Lannister to your list and at least Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

 

[satori01]

I agree with this entirely.

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion is a Bard, in the ole Sweet Tongued Messenger mode. He expects people to treat him like a Fool, (literal, courtly), and plays off that.


The most recent Sherlock Holmes movies definitely have Holmes as a Rogue, which I find wonderful as well.

 

[Bungo_Underhill]

Tyrion is a Bard

Maybe - I thought about that to, he certainly has elements of bard about him, and perhaps fits what I'd prefer the bard to look like. But I don't think Tyrion fits into the D&D bard - he uses no magic or music and doesn't really "inspire" others.

Glibness of tongue and presenting yourself as less than you are to gain an advance seems very firmly in the Rogue's territory to me.

Perhaps he is a Rogue with the Noble Background and "Freak" Theme. His rogue class gives him the ability to be a master of manipulation, able to talk his way out of almost anything - His noble Background strengthens this in courtly intrigue situations. The "Freak" Theme (for want of a better word) grants skills learnt when over compensating to fit in and/or to live up to the role life has cast him in (tumble/entertain).... ?


Also Dr. Who is probably a rogue.

 

[Minigiant]

Riddick and the Bride were multiclassed with fighter.


Reese and Finch from Person of Interest are rogues. Reese has a few fighter levels and Finch is some sort of spellcaster via The Machine but they are rogues.

Scry, Disguise, Lurk, Bluff PoI, Scry, Disguise, Lurk, Gather Info, Scry, Disguise, Lurk, Stealth, Scry, Disguise, Lurk, Diplomacy to PoI, Scry, Disguise, Lurk, SNEAK ATTACK ON KILLER, Roll Credits.

 

[amerigoV]

When Tyrion was escaping the dungeons and decided to "visit" his father, they talked for 3 rounds (study) and he killed an incredibly high level character with one shot.

Tyrion is clearly an assassin in D&D terms.

(at least pre-4e - I do not know the 4e version of the class).

 

[trancejeremy]

I'd be more inclined to think that Riddick is a Barbarian.

Yes, he's a criminal, but most of his abilities are physical, not so much social.

 

[Bungo_Underhill]

When Tyrion was escaping the dungeons and decided to "visit" his father, they talked for 3 rounds (study) and he killed an incredibly high level character with one shot.

Tyrion is clearly an assassin in D&D terms.

(at least pre-4e - I do not know the 4e version of the class).

Well that's later on in the books when he has taken a prestige class He can still be a rogue first of all...

 

[Mattachine]

I would definitely include Gray Mouser. Though he is from an older source (The Lankhmar stories of Fritz Lieber), and he knows a bit of magic, he really epitomizes the D&D rogue: dextrous, skilled, dabbles in a bit of everything, part of a thieves' guild (at times), sly, clever, and skilled with blades.

 

[Piratecat]

I think the Mouser was one of the models for the D&D rogue. Cugel the Clever from Jack Vance's books was as well.