Quintessential II 02: Rogue (d20)
Ironically¸ for a character class that includes so much versatility¸ rogues are all too often pigeonholed into very narrow set roles. For some¸ the path of the rogue is not just a way to make easy money by taking what is not yours¸ or a path to the respect of your peers¸ who learn not to turn their back on you for fear of what you might do. The true master rogue takes pride in his work¸ determined to make more of himself than just another corpse in cheap leather armour¸ and achieving heights of prestige to which no other class can reach. The ideal rogue chooses his fields of study carefully and practices meticulously¸ making sure that his abilities complement one another. With the help of this sourcebook¸ any character choosing the rogue class will find many alternatives and options for expanding his range of abilities. With career paths¸ rogues can customise their advancement with their chosen branch of training; legendary classes offer an expansion of their character features that elevate them to epic levels and beyond. Multiclassing gives advice on to how best integrate two classes¸ while superior tools ensure that his performance is unparalleled. Insights are given into the use of easily overlooked spells and additional magical items are described¸ while the Gizmo is introduced as the last word in rogue equipment¸ along with rules and expansions on criminal rackets¸ confidence tricks and bank robbery.
For rogues at the bottom end of the pecking order¸ the greatest reward is to survive to the end of another hand-to-mouth day with a pocket full of pilfered silvers and a bottle of sour wine. Life on the streets is nasty¸ brutish and short¸ with many fish and not enough pond to go round. Few of these ragamuffins and tatterdemalions give much thought to achievement as rogues. For them¸ the issue is one of survival¸ not of possible eventual attainment. They live on the edge¸ taking ever greater risks until one day the net closes and they are left wriggling on the end of a hempen rope.
There are those who disdain this kind of short-sighted thinking. For some¸ the path of the rogue is not just a way to make easy money by taking what is not yours¸ or a path to the respect of your peers¸ who learn not to turn their back on you for fear of what you might do. Those who take a pride in their work¸ who determine to make more of themselves than just another corpse in cheap leather armour who overlooked one trap too many¸ can achieve heights of prestige to which no other class can reach.
For the rogues¸ too¸ have their legends.
These are not necessarily those who have advanced in experience until they have achieved epic heights¸ though their names are indeed remembered and commemorated in whispers. No¸ the true master rogue can be low in level and poor in his pocket; what matters is that he has the imagination¸ the determination and the information to succeed. Choosing his fields of study and practice carefully¸ making sure that his abilities complement one another¸ he is far from being just another jack-of-all-trades with a nasty sneak attack.
The Collector's Series II takes an advanced look at the whole range of class and racial sourcebooks from Mongoose Publishing¸ all designed to greatly widen a player's options for his character within the d20 games system. More than simple continuations¸ the second series of Quintessential books slot seamlessly into any fantasy-based campaign¸ giving advanced alternatives for characters of one class or race within the game¸ allowing both players and Games Masters the chance to give mid- and high-level characters new options without overpowering or unbalancing the game as a whole. The Collector's Series II will not necessarily allow players to make their characters even better¸ but they will be able