Rogue Ideas

[Canzah]

I like the idea of a stealth bonus around like 2/2 hide/ms when in the City, that kicks in at a reasonably high rogue level. Maybe even a minor speed bonus in the same fashion? Even if only minor, that would certainly be helpful if you're trying to stalk someone.

Also, I haven't really looked around at the server lately, but I remember on EfU we had a good few alley walls that could be passed with a tumble check. I liked how that gave you a sort of urban le parkour-ish advantage if you were trying to escape from someone/something or whatever.

So maybe throw in a tumle bonus in the City as well? And make those alley wall DCs pretty high so it's more of a path just available to high level rogues.

[Mort]

I enjoyed playing my Rogue for other reasons. All these little mechanic bonuses dont really make it appealing for me to play one for they weren't what drew me to the class. I think they divert attention from the important factors.

The fact that only a few people are playing pure rogues at the moment is really not evidence, at least for me, to modify the class. Very few people play pure class. While a party of fighters can be functional on a quest and a party of rogue cannot isn't really ground for modification either. This uniqueness or weakness of certain class is what makes it fun and quirky to play.

Having a Rogue on any type of DM quest is usually a MAJOR boon because they have the skill points for all these requested checks. They'll spot and disarm these deadly traps and so on. They are usually smart, wise, have the stats to solve puzzles, good diplomats to negociate extra rewards, bluff way out of sticky situations, etc. A pure rogue diplomat will always be more influential to NPCs than a Rogue / Fighter who maxed his social stats (in DM quests). This is unwritten but it's there.

[derfo]

i liked the idea of using deadly traps

[Drakill Tannan]

Some suggestions of my own:

Disguise skill

Allow all characters to be able to disguise themselves, and give rogues a mayor bonus in this. Visually it can be a polymorph-self spell-like ability that transforms the character into another humanoid of the same size but with a diferent model. Maybe even allow at high skill levels disguise into totally diferent creatures (a halfling disguised as a goblin, for instance, or a goblin disguied as a halfling)

Any creature that comes nerby the disguied PC makes a spot check or something against a DC set by the disguised dude, and if he succeds a small message appears in his bar "You notice "XXX" guy is disguised" or something.

Give rogues an edge in this, perhaps giving them more models to chose from, and a greater DC. (Efuss skill + INT modifier + Rogue levels maybe?)

This encourages rogues to become spyies, criminals and the like, wich they should, IMO.

And it is just plain awsome too.

Diablo 2-like traps

Have some merchant PC sell items that can be carried and droped like the rune stones in the SoU OC, and when dropped they become placables. This palcables can be activated using the set trap skill to do various neat things.

Say for example, a small landmine wich when the enemy comes near it, will cast balgarian iron horn + a level 1 fireball and self destruct. Or a pocket balista that shoots arrows automatically at the enemies untill it is destroyed or runs out. A placable than casts a constant gresse spell arround it, etc.

[Semli]

Tumbling over barriers is pro. More tumble barriers within the ruins please.

[MoonlitNight]

Disguise skill
 
Allow all characters to be able to disguise themselves, and give rogues a mayor bonus in this. Visually it can be a polymorph-self spell-like ability that transforms the character into another humanoid of the same size but with a diferent model. Maybe even allow at high skill levels disguise into totally diferent creatures (a halfling disguised as a goblin, for instance, or a goblin disguied as a halfling)

Love that idea, its rp trigger. Unless the Stygg who is after the hin rogue bashes him down saying; ' you hins look all alike to me anyway'

[SkillFocuspwn]

imo, seeing some pure Rogue only UMD, stealth and social skills loot would be v. cool, allowing them to really excel in what they should.

[Drakill Tannan]

Love that idea, its rp trigger. Unless the Stygg who is after the hin rogue bashes him down saying; ' you hins look all alike to me anyway'

That sir would be metagame, since you need to beat the DC to realize it's a disguise. Unless the stygian had bashed down any other hin he had seen prior to this event.

[Listen in Silence]

I am in favour of small bonuses to the Rogue class, tumbling checks in city areas, and the plans to randomly smack down halflings. Good thought, Drakill.

[Disco]

IMO the rogue is a great class and is fine the way it is.

[Capricious]

Most of the suggestions here actually don't change the class at all. They give ways to make the skills the rogue already does have become useful ingame.

[derfo]

quite negative

[Lulzebub]

After running into some difficulties I have never encountered with any other character, I propose the following suggestions.

1. Make UMD apply to the herbalism, alchemy, consecration, and cooking EFUSS skills. It doesn't make sense that a properly skilled rogue can't do any of these things effectively, and UMD bonuses aren't really all that big. It might also be nice to add rogue levels to these skills if the PC has some investment in UMD.

2. Remove the "Do not use UMD" restriction for some common druid- and ranger-only stealth equipment, or at least let rogues get in on the loot that's already there. It doesn't make sense that these classes get special H/MS loot when they already have a much better native H/MS than a rogue. Druids can't even use their equipment bonuses while wildshaped, so what is the point of a druid-only cloak with 4 to hide when they can get far beyond that in certain wildshapes? Rangers don't need any help with stealth whatsoever.

3. Fewer monsters with immunity to sneak attack. The server is already crawling with undead in all the places where rogues want to go, there's no need to add snakes to the list. At the very least, if you're going to have a high AC boss with big HP and DR who drinks heal potions, let the rogue get in that odd 20 damage, just for kicks.

4. Do something about assassin vines. Rogues can do nothing against them on EfU, but dealing with a living trap like that is practically what a rogue is -for- in pen and paper. The description says, "Tentacled vines that sprout from the soil to ensnare their victims and slowly strangle them." AFAIK, they're supposed to be barely mobile anyway. A paladin should not be the best class to have against some slow, non-holy plants. Why isn't there a reflex save involved in there somewhere?

5. Ropes. Rogues use ropes. Give a rogue-only rope item the properties of a set of shackles. If not that, then leave a few strategically placed locations on the server to get from point A to point B with a rope and a tumble check. Both uses for a rope would be super sweet.

Just tossing suggestions out there. Like all free advice, it's worth what you paid for it.

[Egon the Monkey]

4. Do something about assassin vines.

Just making them a reflex save vs entanglement would balance things, but these have been hated for so long by so much of the playerbas with no change, it doesn't seem likely to happen.

 

5. Ropes. Rogues use ropes.

Alternatively, rogue only rope item that adds +5 Tumble for 2 rounds to let you make the shortcuts that exist more easily.

Also, as an aside, the change to Quarterstaves now means that Rogues have no innate proficiency in any 2-handed weapon unless they are Small characters.

[Lulzebub]

these have been hated for so long by so much of the playerbas with no change, it doesn't seem likely to happen.

Hey, at least I'm making a suggestion that hasn't been made before, i.e., use reflex save instead of or in addition to fortitude save. A high reflex save should grant the ability to outmaneuver a plant. That makes pretty good sense, I would think.