I played a thief for a good long time in 1e/2e and as far as permanent magic items went, I think I got my hands on gauntlets of ogre power (18/00) for some amount of time, but potions were another story entirely. Did I get a backstab off every fight? no. Did I make sure to get one off when it was important? heck yes I did. I even remember quaffing both invisibility and giant strength potions at the same time (and rolling on the miscibility table) to ensure the maximum damage possible on a BBEG. Similarly I had a few custom 1-shot magic items after stoneskin started becoming a standard buff all casters seemed to have (in 2e) to circumvent that predictable protection.
That said, my sustained DPS, even at 19th level (when we ended that campaign with several years of play under our belts) was not anywhere near that of the paladin/cavalier (UA style), or the barbarian in the party. I did have an array of magic items including many wands and scrolls accumulated over time and some times at the party's expense... because I deserved a little extra for being the fist one there and disarming the traps (with a little palming action... but never enough to hurt the party as a whole).
In lieu of the high sustained damage output others dished out, I had a little more survivability and skill-based usefulness. One of my biggest disappointments with 5e is rogues (thieves) being the only class capable of disarming magical traps... but they have made up for it in other ways and I do find the overall class enjoyable with both the thief and assassin archetype. I'm not as big of a fan of the arcane trickster, but that may just come down to personal preference.
I could go on ad nauseam (if I haven't already) on this topic, but in the end I think people will play what they want to play and that the rogue is definitely a playable class. I've had fun up to level 5 in a game with one so far and been a top contender for damage, but I see where that is already shifting quickly to a few other classes... and I really don't mind.
That said, my sustained DPS, even at 19th level (when we ended that campaign with several years of play under our belts) was not anywhere near that of the paladin/cavalier (UA style), or the barbarian in the party. I did have an array of magic items including many wands and scrolls accumulated over time and some times at the party's expense... because I deserved a little extra for being the fist one there and disarming the traps (with a little palming action... but never enough to hurt the party as a whole).
In lieu of the high sustained damage output others dished out, I had a little more survivability and skill-based usefulness. One of my biggest disappointments with 5e is rogues (thieves) being the only class capable of disarming magical traps... but they have made up for it in other ways and I do find the overall class enjoyable with both the thief and assassin archetype. I'm not as big of a fan of the arcane trickster, but that may just come down to personal preference.
I could go on ad nauseam (if I haven't already) on this topic, but in the end I think people will play what they want to play and that the rogue is definitely a playable class. I've had fun up to level 5 in a game with one so far and been a top contender for damage, but I see where that is already shifting quickly to a few other classes... and I really don't mind.
