Rogue

NWN Requirements

• None

Arelith Changes

• Bonus Language: Thieves cant

Tips on playing an Arelith rogue

The strength of a rogue isn't really in their character sheet, it's in the array of options open to them. Rather than tell you 'how to do it', I'm going to tell you about some of the options available to rogues - they're not an easy class to play, but you get many more gameplay options than, say, a battlecleric.

That said, if you're new to NWN, you might want to try something a bit simpler!

So here are some flavours of rogue... a 'good' rogue build will combine several of these.

• Sneak. High hide/ms (and often high dex) mean that a rogue can go to places that, say, a mage of their level wouldn't dare to. A good sneak keeps some items around to let them get away if they're spotted - on Arelith, guaji root, potions of invisibility and potions of haste are all useful things to keep around.

• Dex warrior. High dexterity, high tumble, weapon finesse and weapon focus in, say, rapier give a rogue a decent AC and AB. While they're unlikely to win a stand-up fight with a warrior of similar level, by the time they enter combat a rogue should have many fewer opponents to deal with...

• Archer. High dex, point black shot, rapid shot and weapon focus in a bow can be powerful in a rogue. Complements sneaking very well - sneak up to within sneak attack range of a spawn and fire off several shots in a round. An epic rogue with a bow can take down most of a spawn in a single round, because they don't have to move.

• Pickpocket. On Arelith, you get XP for pickpocketing monsters (though not for pickpocketing PCs; if you take high PP then you should be sparing in its use on other players). Again, you'll want to take good sneaking skills to make best use of pickpocket... but you can make decent gold and XP by pickpocketing creatures much higher level than you are. The risk, of course is if you're spotted... that comment from earlier about potions holds doubly true here.

• Engineer. Search, Disable Device and Open Lock are very useful skills for a rogue, allowing them to turn a tidy profit by opening the various chests around the place. Skilled engineers can also break into players' quarters, which asides from burglary also opens up options like breaking friends out of jail.

• Trapper. Craft and Set Trap give rogues a chance to even the odds a bit against tough opponents. Just as a wizard usually saves their most powerful spells for blasting bosses, so a rogue can save their traps until they're facing a boss, weakening them with deadly devices before closing in for the kill.

• Diplomat. More an RP aspect than anything (at present), a rogue gets all the social skills. High Bluff can also be used to disguise yourself, an aspect that's going to grow increasingly important as more and more systems key off it. If you're planning to play a criminal, high bluff skill will be invaluable.

• Tinkerer. Rogues get Use Magic Device as a class skill, allowing them to use equipment designed for other classes - most notably spell scrolls. Tinkering is expensive - most items are one-shots - but can be invaluable in sticky situations and, like trapping, especially when dealing with bosses and other players.

One final note. Arelith is a dangerous world, particularly because the combination of monsters having critical hits, and bosses being noticeably tougher than the spawns in an area make a character who can comfortably deal with 'regular' spawns likely to have a couple of close shaves in the course of a hunt. A well built character will always have something in their back pocket for when things start going badly. Rogues have plenty of options for this, but it's an aspect that's especially important for them, as they tend to be noticeably weaker once pinned down.

Have fun!

-Mith

External Links

Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.