She stood on the pinnacle of the roof, the moonlight shining in her eyes. A gibbous moon, so they’d think she couldn’t change. There was a little creak from the wind vane beside her as it swung. It was wrought iron, shaped like a rooster, black against the grey sky. She grinned, teeth shining in the light, her canines visible. She could see the whole city arrayed beneath her, but she was only interested in the square below her. The prison yard, where they exercised the prisoners – and executed them. There was to be a shooting tonight, or so her mate down at the pub had said. James Nevis, the leader of the resistance in this town. She couldn’t let them kill him. She’d worked out how they caught him. A bit of charm and that informant had come out of the woodwork. Then she’d ripped his throat out. Least she could do.
Ah, there was movement down below. Two of those guards, in their robes. Then James. Another two. This would be too easy. She snarled and ran down the roof, diving off.
She hit the pavement and silently rolled out of her drop. She drew a dagger in each hand and leapt for the two closest guards, who were still walking behind James, completely oblivious. She threw one of the blades, not even watching the leftmost man fall as she plunged the second dagger into the base of the second man’s neck. He screamed and collapsed to the ground, his blood flowing onto the cobbles. James turned around and grinned at her.
The other two guards turned around. Her two blades gone, she reached to her belt, drawing a revolver, and shot the man on the left through the heart. Then the second guard was on her. She dropped the gun and caught his arm before the sword fell, twisting, struggling with him for her life. She felt him loosen his grip on her, and pushed him away, leaping at him. In the air, she changed form and ripped out his throat, tasting his blood as the screams faded away.

Rogues often bear little resemblance to each other. Some are thieves, focussing on stealth and subtlety. Others are more like confidence tricksters, smooth tongued and guileful. Still others are scouts, spies, diplomats, even thugs. Basically, they are highly skilled individuals who usually focus on getting something others don’t want them to have – information, valuables, or a myriad of other things.

Adventurers:

Most of the time rogues adventure for the sole purpose of gaining things. Loot and treasure, experience, fame, information. Some of them may adventure for moral reasons, but this isn’t really that common, and since they are generally accepted in society, they aren’t often just craving a release. Some do it simply because it offers a challenge that they cannot find anywhere else.

Characteristics:

Rogues are extremely highly skilled, and they can concentrate on developing any of several broad categories. While they are not up to front line combat to the extent of some other classes, they certainly know how to quickly damage an opponent, especially with the use of sneak attacks. They develop what seems to be a ‘sixth sense’, an instinctive knack for avoiding danger. They develop almost magic-like skills at high levels and are able to use both high technology and magic items with great proficiency.

Alignment:

Rogues aren’t likely to set a lot of store by their alignment. They have a tendency towards chaos over law, but, being a very diverse group, they can be of any alignment.

Religion:

Rogues aren’t renowned for their piety, but among them are characters ranging the full spectrum of spirituality. Some are atheist, others strongly worship a variety of gods, most particularly Harajat. Evil gods often worship Karhn or Xin.

Background:

Rogues can come from an extremely wide selection of backgrounds. They could have learned the arts on the street with a gang or alone, thieving for food or for fun. They could be members of a secret ‘thieves’ guild’ or the like. Some rogues learn from a mentor, as an assistant or sidekick. They could come from a myriad of other backgrounds as well. They do not often see each other as any more than competition, though if they are taught by the same teacher they could find some kinship. In many cases, they trust each other even less than anyone else – they’re not renowned for stupidity, after all.

Races:

Rogues are well-represented amongst all the civilised races in the world. Perhaps most common are vampyre, gargoyle and were rogues, whose racial skills and specialities make them ideally suited to this life. Kartika also often become rogues, though they are more suited to an explorer’s life. Humans, mutant and Laborus rogues are also fairly often seen.

Other Classes:

Rogues simultaneously love and hate working with members of other classes. On the one hand, they work best with the might of a warrior behind them, a priests healing and a battle-mage and a gunslinger standing by with the firepower. On the other hand, it becomes frustrating knowing that not everyone in the party is even nearly as stealthy and patient as they. Most of the other classes often have a healthy distrust of them, at least at the beginning of the relationship.

Role:

A rogue’s role in a party is usually dictated mostly by the kind of character she makes. She could be the face of the party, seeking information or conning their way past guards, or she could be the stealthy scout and spy. They all share a few aspects, however: they can’t stay in a mêlée forever, so will focus on sneak attacks, clever tactics or battling from range.

Game Rule Information:

Abilities: First and foremost, a rogue wants a lot of Dexterity, which will increase her proficiency in her ranged attacks, improve a lot of important skills and give her much needed A.C. Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom are also all important for a lot of her skills. Strength and Constitution are both less important, but still useful if the warrior is going to go into close quarters combat.
Alignment: Any.
Hit dice: d6.
Class skills: The rogue’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Demolitions (Int), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Pilot (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Read/Write Language, Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language, Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha) and Use Rope (Dex)
Skill at 1st: (8 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill at other levels: 8 + Int modifier

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort. Save	Ref. Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+0	+2	+0	Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2nd	+2	+0	+3	+0	Combat School I
3rd	+3	+1	+3	+1	Evasion, Trap Sense +1, Sneak attack +2d6
4th	+4	+1	+4	+1	Danger-sense
5th	+5	+1	+4	+1	Sneak attack +3d6
6th	+6/+1	+2	+5	+2	Combat School II, Trap Sense +2
7th	+7/+2	+2	+5	+2	Sneak attack +4d6
8th	+8/+3	+2	+6	+2
9th	+9/+4	+3	+6	+3	Trap Sense +3, Sneak attack +5d6
10th	+10/+5	+3	+7	+3
11th	+11/+6/+1	+3	+7	+3	Sneak attack +6d6
12th	+12/+7/+2	+4	+8	+4	Trap Sense +4
13th	+13/+8/+3	+4	+8	+4	Combat School III, Sneak attack +7d6
14th	+14/+9/+4	+4	+9	+4
15th	+15/+10/+5	+5	+9	+5	Trap Sense +5, Sneak attack +8d6
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+5	+10	+5
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Sneak attack +9d6
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+6	Combat School IV, Trap Sense +6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6	Sneak attack +10d6
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6

Class Features:

All of the following are class features of the rogue:
Armour and Weapon Proficiency: An rogue is proficient with all light and medium non-exotic firearms; light and medium non-exotic mêlée weapons; thrown weapons; light archaic armour and light and medium modern armour.
Sneak attack: If a rogue is able to catch an opponent who is unable to effectively defend himself, the rogue is able to strike a vital area for extra damage. To simplify, a rogue deals extra damage as stated in the table whenever their opponent is denied a Dexterity bonus to A.C. (whether or not the target actually has a Dexterity bonus), or when the rogue flanks her target. Should he score a critical hit, the damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can only count as sneak attacks if they are made within 30’ or using a Sniper’s rifle. With a light bludgeoning weapon or unarmed strike, a rogue can make a sneak attack that deals non-lethal damage instead of lethal damage. Sneak attacks can only be made on creatures with discernible anatomies – undead (not unliving), constructs, oozes, plants and incorporeal creatures lack vital areas to attack. Any creature that is immune to critical hits isn’t vulnerable to sneak attacks. The rogue must be able to see the enemy clearly enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot.
Trapfinding: Rogues receive the Trapfinding feat for free, allowing them to locate and disable complex and magical traps.
Combat Schools: At 2nd, 6th, 13th and 18th level, a rogue chooses a school of combat in which to specialise, giving him or her bonuses as follows:

• Ninja: The rogue has found stealth and subtlety to be the best way to achieve his means. Through refining his skills and speed, he gains a +2 to his base speed and a +2 miscellaneous bonus to all Dexterity-based class skills, including ranged attacks.

• Marksman: The rogue prefers to work from a distance, using pawns or long-range weapons to make his goals. He receives a +4 to attacks using non-automatic rifles and a +2 to all Charisma-based class skills.

Evasion: At 3rd level, the rogue develops the ability to dodge even magical attacks with great proficiency. If he or she makes a successful reflex save against any attack which normally deals half damage on a successful save (such as a fireball), all damage is negated. Evasion can only be used if the rogue is wearing light or no armour. A helpless rogue (paralysed, tied or unconscious) doesn’t gain the benefits of evasion.
Trap Sense: The rogue gains an intuitive sense that allows her to sense the trigger of a trap, giving her a +1 on reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 bonus to A.C. versus traps. These rise by +1 at 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 18th levels.
Danger-sense: At 2nd level, a rogue is able to react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to. He retains his dexterity bonus to A.C. even when flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. He still loses his dexterity bonus to A.C. when immobilised. If the rogue already has Danger-sense from another source – if he has two levels in outcast, or is a mutant – this becomes Improved Danger-sense, see below.