#how to rogue

[theoutcastrogue]

Huh. I did not expect this, and now that it happened I don't know what to expect. "Crawford became the company's Game Director while Perkins became the Creative Director which matches their former roles at Wizards of the Coast". Okay, but in WotC that simply meant "they design D&D". Their role was pretty clear.

Darrignton Press has a 5e campaign setting (Mercer's), Candela Obscura and Daggerheart (Spenser Starke's), and for the future they've announced Illuminated Worlds (Candela's system for short campaigns) and Syndicult (a modern magic crime thingy which gave a lot of Blades in The Dark vibes). Announced not very recently, mind you, so I don't know if these two are still happening.

What's a Game Director and Creative Director gonna do here? Oversee everything? Board and card games too? (lol) Is Daggerheart becoming a flagship ala D&D, with lots of adventures and settings? Is there another big system in the works, perhaps a d20 system? Will there be Creative Commons (ahem) material? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

hey, what, absolutely WILD news

the linked article is a piece from the LA Times:

[theoutcastrogue]

"[Dave Arneson] began running a heavily modified campaign about a group of feudal lords charged with protecting their fiefdoms from invading armies. Between battles, Arneson gave his players the option of exploring dungeons to fight monsters and find magical treasures, while he himself took on the unusual role of “referee.” Before long, players had gotten so absorbed in dungeon delving they began to neglect the defense of the realm. “Well, all that running around in the dungeons finally got the castle wiped out while our flock of heroes went looking for adventure and treasure,” Arneson drolly reported in his newsletter. “Our priest got drunk and engaged in a totally debauched orgy in Wizard’s wood while Swenson’s freehold burned to the ground.” Gygax thought this sounded like a game in its own right; his daughter liked the name Dungeons & Dragons.

The game was a massive success, especially among fantasy readers. But there was, as Gerald Nachtwey puts it, an aspect of ludicrousness in the fantasy role-playing game that the fantasy novel, if it could not eliminate it, had tried to discourage. Tolkien, in his 1947 essay “On Fairy-stories,” had written that fantasy was the province of literature, where the natural glamour of the written word could make anything plausible. Dungeons & Dragons was more akin to the Gothic plays put on by the March sisters, whose magical proceedings are undercut by amateur stage effects, collapsing scenery, and unintended farce. Theater, Tolkien felt, had no business with fantasy; the audience was already too busy trying to accept the “magic” by which the players disappeared into the most mundane roles. “It is a world too much,” wrote Tolkien. But this is precisely what Dungeons & Dragons offered that the fantasy novel never could: the chance to enter an imaginary world with one’s disbelief miraculously intact — to be Quixote and Sancho at once."

— Andrea Long Chu, "The Most Dangerous Game" (Vulture, December 2024)

Commentary

I think ludicrousness was very much present if not prominent in Sword & Sorcery, i.e. the sort of fantasy that mostly informed D&D's worldbuilding and overall vibe. "Our priest got drunk and engaged in a totally debauched orgy in Wizard's wood while Swenson's freehold burned to the ground" is from a Dave Arneson campaign, but it could easily be from a Jack Vance novel. (Replace "priest" with "rogue", and it IS from a Jack Vance novel, I'm positive Cugel the Clever did something like that somewhere.)

I also think Tolkien was comically wrong to claim the theatre has no business with fantasy, though I'm sure I'm missing some context on what he meant, exactly. Like, what? Where does that leave A Midnight Summer's Dream?

But the last sentence is REALLY on point. And of course it's not exclusive to D&D, it applies to any roleplaying game with actual rules (as opposed to fully freeform improv, where you can just get absorbed in the performance). You DO get to be Quixote and Sancho at once. Half your brain is immersed IN the story, getting carried away and ignoring reality, while the other half is decidedly OUT of the story, fully aware of the real world because it has to. It's got to operate the story-making machine (the dice, the rules, the math) from the outside. Plus, there are snacks.

[wewererogue]

[Pathfinder 1st Edition] A Guide to the Burglar Rogue

[by kcmorris / HobbyLark]

You’ll never see him coming.

The Overview

The burglar archetype (Advanced Player’s Guide p.132) is short and simple, but the idea is well-executed mechanically. Some (perhaps too many) of Pathfinder’s archetypes either give too little or give up too much to create a different sort of character, but with the burglar, the designers found that perfect balance between the two. With a bit of specialization, a burglar character can handle just about any trap a Game Master can devise, and, unlike the trapsmith (Advanced Player’s Guide p.135), will be more well-rounded than hyper-specialized.

At 4th level, the burglar gives up uncanny dodge to gain the careful disarm ability, which makes him less likely to set off traps he’s trying to disarm. With maximum ranks in Disable Device, a good Dexterity, and the bonus from trapfinding, the burglar’s likely able to tackle any trap he encounters. Obviously, you want your burglar to have a high Perception score to ensure you’ll be able to find the traps, but since you’re giving up uncanny dodge, you probably want to do that anyway to minimize the times you’re caught flat-footed. Careful disarm goes a long way to make you quite capable of handling any trap-happy Game Master by itself, but you can combine it with rogue talents such as quick disable and trap spotter to solidify your expertise here.

Unlike the large number of highly specialized archetypes out there (such as nearly every fighter archetype), the burglar turns you into more of a generalist character, spreading your talents into two areas, rather than one. Instead of another trap-related ability, the burglar trades improved uncanny dodge for the distraction ability at 8th level. This gem of an ability lets the rogue attempt a Bluff check if he’s ever detected while using the Stealth skill as a way to remain undetected. This can be a life-saver, as sometimes a lucky Perception roll can spell death for your rogue while scouting (and, as good at you are at disarming traps, you’re likely to be doing that often as a burglar!). Combine this with the honeyed words rogue talent to give you a once-per-day +10 bonus to such a crucial Bluff check, and you’ve got a great insurance policy for your scouting missions.

It probably goes without saying that the burglar benefits greatly from the skill mastery advanced rogue talent (you’ll want Bluff, Disable Device, Perception, and Stealth to be your first choices). By 10th or 12th level, you can be a veritable master scout for your party, on top of being able to lighten the local baron’s treasury without breaking a sweat, if the opportunity arises.

This archetype comes highly recommended for any game that features a preponderance of traps, and for a game that doesn’t, the distraction ability is still very solid for any rogue that does a lot of scouting or other solo work that requires a great deal of stealth.

Sample Build

There are a lot of ways to go about playing an effective burglar. Just about anything that would work for a standard rogue should work well for the burglar. You can approach combat however you want because you don’t need specific feats to make good use of the burglar’s tricks. With that in mind, the following foundational build is just one example. I’ve chosen to buck the trend a little bit and go with a half-orc, giving you greataxe proficiency, which keeps your damage high even when you don’t get the opportunity to sneak attack.

Half-Orc Rogue (Burglar) 5 Ability Scores (15 Point Buy): Str 17, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12 Feats and Talents 1 Improved Initiative 2 Rogue Talent: Trap Spotter 3 Weapon Focus (greataxe) 4 Rogue Talent: Quick Disable 5 Power Attack

This is all very basic, but it’ll set you up for success as an effective damage dealer and gives you the edge against traps. Remember, you’ll also want to keep Bluff, Disable Device, Perception, and Stealth maxed out to make the most out of your burglar abilities. This does mean you shouldn’t dump Charisma as you would otherwise like to (leaving Intelligence as your best dump stat—but you’ve got the skill points per level to handle that). With higher point buy, you definitely want to get that Intelligence out of the gutter.

That’s it for the burglar. If you’re looking to create a well-rounded rogue with a focus on traps and stealth, this is one of the best archetypes you can take.

[source]

[theoutcastrogue]

[mrspookyfox]

My only question is. Why would a burglar bother with that pile of trash?

[stealingpotatoes]

are there any of your AUs where the rogue one crew is alive and well?

yes!! the jyn meets cal au is a rogue one lives au purely so i can make them meet again when she's an adult <3

(commission info // tip jar!)

[theoutcastrogue]

Favored Class Shirts from The Order of the Stick

[wewererogue]

27/10/2017 9:16:56

How would you handle a heist getaway in a Pathfinder game? Pathfinder chase rules kind of suck, and even with most people's alternate rule ideas, they all seem to be written around the party chasing someone instead of being chased.

Um, not with extra rules??

I wasn’t familiar with the Pathfinder chase rules, I just looked them up (here they are), and although I haven’t playtested them to give you a good opinion on how they work in practice, they don’t seem strictly… necessary. I very rarely say the words “rules bloat” or complain about too much bookkeeping, because I happen to dig accurate simulations, but this here looks like rules bloat to me.

I’d just use normal rules and a vanilla grid map. Players decide where to go and what to do, and we take it from there.  But this is subjective, of course. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, maybe someone else has an idea. :)

[theoutcastrogue]

"For the past nine months, I’ve heard from a fair number of people, including people close to me and people I’ve worked with, say they don’t want anything to do with Hasbro, WOTC, or D&D. Unfortunately, they’re piling all of 5e in there too. 5e isn’t D&D. Since its release into the Creative Commons by two different companies, 5e is now an open system supported by hundreds of publishers and, in some cases, with whole games built around it. 5e is now and forever an independent tabletop roleplaying platform not tied to any single company. If someone doesn’t like 5e as a system, that’s totally fine. Not every system is for everyone. I know many who love the tactical crunchiness and character customization of Pathfinder 2. I know many others who love the fast and furious grim dark fantasy of old-school games like Shadowdark, EZD6, and Old School Essentials. That’s cool. Likewise, if you’re happy with D&D and don’t want or need anything else, that’s cool too. Most D&D players probably never consider products outside of what WOTC produces for D&D. I definitely recommend looking at the many awesome D&D / 5e compatible products many other publishers have created. Here are ten notable products for 2022 and my YouTube video segment on favorite products of 2023, all from other publishers than WOTC. Check them out. If you enjoy 5e but you’re done with Hasbro or WOTC or the D&D brand, this message is for you. 5e isn’t D&D. You can enjoy the hell out of 5e without having to use any products or pay any money to Hasbro. There are several excellent alternative core books for 5e – my current favorite being EN Publishing’s Level Up Advanced 5e and more on the way like Kobold Press’s Tales of the Valiant. These companies pay no license fees to Hasbro. Their work is completely independent from D&D. In A5e’s case, they have their own system reference document they wrote and released under a Creative Commons license that’s significantly bigger than the 5.1 SRD. These systems and products are completely independent from Hasbro or WOTC or D&D. 5e's rules were built by designers, many of whom aren't at Hasbro anymore, based on principles that go back 50 years and two full company acquisitions ago. Yes, 5e came from the development of the 2014 version of D&D. 5e stands for “5th edition” and that’s the 5th edition of D&D, but that doesn’t matter now. Now, all of the mechanics are released under a Creative Commons license and, as mentioned, there’s a whole separate one you can use instead if you don’t want to use the one published by WOTC. If you love 5e, as I do, don’t throw it out just because you’re mad at one company publishing material for it. 5e is ours and I personally think it’s awesome. You’re not hurting anyone or supporting the wrong group by buing products for it, running it, and playing it. Game on."

(by SlyFlourish)

[theoutcastrogue]

Immune to Murph rolls in skills he's proficient, which is a big deal, because bad rolls can happen at any time, but when they make you suck at the thing you're supposed to be good at it really feels like the universe is fucking with you.

Reliable Talent is such a good feature.

murph has accidentally played the long game by playing a rogue in what ended up being D20s longest running series so that eventually when he reached level 11 his character would be immune to murph rolls. he could not have possibly had that foresight but it’s truly a stroke of genius.

[stealingpotatoes]

Do you have any fix-it AUs for Rogue One? 🥰

i know you asked this a while ago, but i couldn't think of anything UNTIL the other day…

(commission info // tip jar!)

[hegodamask]

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) Andor Season 2 (2025) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

[ffverr]

How to read X-Men?

For the dear X-Men fans that came in through 97 (or the movies) and are confused as to where to start the comics! Don't let the internet fool you, there is only one way and it is by starting with Giant size X-Men #1 (1975). No I am not kidding, it truly is the only right way to get the full story😭 (unless you want to go ALL THE WAY to 1963, I don't necessarily think it's that vital)

This is me trying to keep ppl from making the same mistake I did, starting with wheadon's astonishing X-Men ☠️

Here is a very useful pic of what to read next 💞 good luck!

This is to get ALL the context and major story arcs still referenced today. So I believe it to be vital for the other eras. (I don't know how you can fully understand jean and Scott's relationship today without having read inferno or dark phoenix for example)

Now, If you just wanna read for one specific character, that's a different story! Character specific reading guides that concentrate on the important issues across time exist! Look for those they're very useful <3

Guide made by: https://www.reddit.com/r/xmen/s/z1xNhqPXtv

https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/s/ChkpOJbXED

[not-a-crow-in-a-hat]

Hell yeah

Dagger gang

[bacchuschucklefuck]

no more fan-ta-sizing about it! everything's already changed~

[deikshen]

One day, Shen Qingqiu comes from the city with a little baby in his arms. He says: "His mother died during childbirth and I am taking care of him." He names the child Shen Yuan when he is old enough to give him a name, and the child grows up in Qing Jing.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, believes that Shen Qingqiu is the biological father of that child. Only have to LOOK at them both and see the resemblance: the same eyes, the same hair, the same facial structure, the same lips, even the same angry pout. Rumors - Shen Qingqiu had a child with a prostitute who died and now he is taking care of him!! - are open secrets.

Shen Qingqiu, as usual, ignores them. He cares for his little one, raising him with the closest thing other Peak Lords can call love. Impeccable robes, the best meals, the best early education. Shen Yuan grows up as a polite, gentle, kind-hearted, sweet-faced child. He frees insects before killing them, isn't afraid to dirty his robes if he must go after someone, and has an avid interest in beasts and monsters beyond comprehension. The Peak Lords jokingly think: this child has taken his father's face and surely the good heart of his mother, may she rest in peace.

When he comes of age, he doesn't even have to dig a hole to be chosen for Qing Jing Peak - everyone knows that Shen Qingqiu has already made a place for him there. However, Shen Yuan insists on doing it on his own! He wants to earn his place. The Peak Lords respect him for it, and there are various interests, but he still ends up in Qing Jing Peak.

And Shen Yuan becomes Shen Qingqiu's clear first disciple. He is a skilled scholar, excellent martial artist who is not afraid to tear someone rude with foul words, but with an almost natural disposition to be kind, sweet and gentle with those who deserve and require it.

It is then that Luo Binghe arrives at Qing Jing Peak.

The Peak Lords hear of the rumors and they spread them like pollen in spring: apparently there has been a HUGE discussion between Shen Qingqiu and his spoiled son! Something involving a child with water burns, a beating, and a woodshed. No one understands what happened, but a day later, Shen Yuan completely disappeared from the Cang Qiong Sect.

And he has taken a young disciple with him.

Shen Qingqiu begins to act as if he never had a son - as if his whole life has been all about him, hostile and unpleasant. His mood is worse than ever and his cruelty is undeniable. No one understands what has happened between father and son, but these are rumors that even if whispered, bring the very bad faces of Shen Qingqiu. And no one wants to be behind Shen Qingqiu's wrath when it is unleashed.

(Shen Yuan had transmigrated. Into a baby! Into Shen Qingqiu's son! Yes, indeed his memories had been gradually unlocked, thank god. It would have been so weird to be a baby with the mindset of an adult... And he had believed, for a long time, that perhaps Shen Qingqiu could change. That loving him and caring for him would make him better when Luo Binghe reached Cang Qiong.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

So, Shen Qingqiu can hate him for this reason if he wants! But Shen Yuan has to leave there and take Luo Binghe with him. He will teach him cultivation and do everything to make him become a powerful cultivator before his demonic seal is unleashed, he will do everything possible to prevent him from the Endless Abyss, and will prevent Shen Qingqiu from being turned into a human stick.

Probably, a single night of punishment and humiliation wasn’t enough for Luo Binghe to want revenge so hard. Actually?? He just would save the lives of all his martial uncles and his father in the process to kindly educate Luo Binghe and make him as powerful yet happy as possible. They should thank him!! He's sacrificing himself, his comforts, and his reputation to save everyone's asses!!!)

...

(Although Shang Qinghua had wanted to give Shen Qingqiu a son - a magical pollen pregnancy between Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu, which Shen Qingqiu would NEVER tell Yue Qingyuan was his child until the very last moment - for the drama and secondary revenge and angst 7/9, that had been a damn draft!!! He didn't even get to develop the background of Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu!!! And now that son ran away with his Protagonist!? System, what's going on!? Why do HE make sure the Endless Abyss arc be completed!? He doesn't even fucking know where the protagonist is!!! System have mercy on AND HELP!!!)