 The nature and training of a rogue is most suited to the mercenary, the thief, the assassin or rabble-rouser. So how might an honorable rogue exist, much less be respected or perhaps even admired as one with honor? The simple answer is, just as anyone else might, by living a humble life, striving through every thought, word and deed to serve truth, one’s fellow man, and one’s chosen deity. The first demand placed upon an honorable life is to accept and abide by the laws of the land, something quite foreign to many of the rogue profession. Now immediately some may object, suggesting that if theft were truly wrong it ought not be a trainable skill. I could neither require nor expect that all rogues would choose honesty, but among those who do, theft is both illegal and wrong, and must be so acknowledged. Life is filled with events that test us, and these tests take two distinct forms, which I shall refer to as trials and temptations. Most rogues, being prone to selfishness and greed by nature, fail at honor under tests more than any other group, making a discussion of such necessary. A trial tests our spirit, our conscience, leading us to stand for righteousness in the face of temporal suffering or inconvenience. The choice in this manner of test is between doing something that we know to be right even though painful or unpleasant, and remaining comfortable in a state of inaction. "Do this good and noble thing, regardless of the discomfort it may bring." A temptation tests our flesh, our appetites, leading us to yield to wickedness for the sake of pleasure or momentary satisfaction. In this form of test we must choose whether or not to obey our lustful desires or passing emotions, which are never truly satisfied. "Do this pleasurable and delicious thing, regardless of the wrong you know it to be." We see that when faced with choices, sometimes inaction is the honorable choice, and sometimes not. When members of a society use only their own wants and needs to decide such matters, honor is never served. We must operate by a standard outside ourselves, a set of convictions whereby all may be judged equally. A code of honor. At the very foundation, a code of honor demands that you do what is right, because it is right. Considerations of expediency, public opinion or peer pressure should be suppressed. Each of us must follow our own conscience when deciding matters that cannot be so clearly defined. As to issues that touch rogues specifically, I offer the following guidelines. HUNTING – Many rogues excel at the art of ambushing, and can consistently deal a fatal blow from hidden against most foes. When hunting alone, this is no issue one way or another. In a group, this can be quite annoying to others of the party who wish to enjoy their own share of the kills. Do not think this makes the ambusher unwanted, for this same skill may be employed to the benefit of a hunting party to stun and/or disable foes, making them so much easier for others to finish off. A stalking rogue who ‘legs’ critters to improve the damage done by the rest of the party is a most cherished hunting partner, and other party members will hardly begrudge such a one a decent share of kills. If hunting undead, the brawling trained Voln rogue can prove even more valuable to a hunting party when facing otherwise uncrittable monsters by the effective use of the throw, punch, and kick. Even the non-corporeal undead with no limbs to sever or stuns to inflict by normal weapons or spells may be dropped and stunned by these brawling attacks, allowing others to more easily overpower and defeat the foe. There will be times when you find yourself the junior member of a hunting party, generously aided by spells or other means. Do not resist or resent such times as though being pitied or shown unwanted charity. Rather, accept gratefully and modestly, understanding that your benefactors enjoy using their abilities for your pleasure and advancement. Likewise, at those times when you are an elder member of a hunting party, take your share of joy in aiding the success of younger adventurers. Teach them the techniques necessary to effectively fight elder critters, and make use of your skills to their benefit. Regarding ambushing, there are a number of issues a rogue must face and accept. When hiding to attack a foe, there will be times when another hunter will enter the room to see only the critter and immediately attack. In most cases, the moment you take your swing from hidden, they will realize the situation, beg your pardon and move on. Unfortunately, there are exceptions, and as I mention them I do not intend to suggest that these are malicious acts, but common hunting practices. The repelling cleric, the bolt-slinging wizard and the D.C casting sorcerer can each deal a deadly blow almost instantly upon arriving in a room, before you can act to make your presence known. Since there is no way to bring back the critter, and there was no intent to poach, the best response I know is to applaud the fatal blow, which will unhide you and show them that they were not the first hunter in the room. Do not express disgust or anger, but ask as kindly as you may if they would in the future pause briefly before employing such a deadly attack, just in case there is someone in the shadows. There are always those few who will continue to swing at a critter even after you have made it obvious that you were there and hidden. Always give the benefit of the doubt, and suppose that they still didn’t realize you were there ahead of them. Shrug and move on. If they repeat the offense with no show of repentance, perhaps it is a good day to hunt elsewhere. Another’s ignorance and your own pride will only add up to making an enemy. Another pitfall to ambushing is being knocked down by an e-wave from a spell caster who never suspected you were there. The same thoughts apply, that perhaps they should wait a brief moment to allow someone in the shadows a chance to indicate their presence, lest they leave you stunned and vulnerable due to their haste. Many a rogue has learned to quickly cough, whistle or snap their fingers when others arrive in the room to let their presence be known. LOCKPICKING – When opening boxes professionally, it is reasonable to suppose that you should be paid for your skills and time. It should not, however, be thought acceptable to fix a price or demand payment. A customer who fails to tip may have been pre-occupied, distracted, or simply forgotten. They may also have had no intention of offering payment, either through ignorance or malice. For those who mistakenly failed to tip, they will likely make up for it another time, or perhaps realize the failing and return with tip and apology in hand. For one who is unlearned about tipping, as they visit rogues with their boxes they will notice others paying for service and locksmiths thanking their clients and catch on soon enough. A harsh word from a picker prior to that point may plant a seed of resentment, and possible cause such a one to ever after tip in the most miserly and grudging way. As to the habitual non-tipper, it is acceptable to refuse service and explain why, that this is your vocation and you prefer eating to starvation, that while they are out collecting treasure you are depending on their offerings for your income. You may also inform other locksmiths (in guildspeak) of "stiffers" and let them choose how best to deal with them. While working professionally, do not discuss lock, trap, or lockpick mechanical values in common language. Keep such comments in guild. When you tell another rogue that the lock you just opened was a –600, it is presumed they understand you, but not so for customers. To them, that lock is simply "an extremely intricate lock". You would do well to become familiar with the lock ranges and how they are identified, it will display to others your dedication to your craft, and enhance the respect you are shown. It is critical that you learn the limits of your skills as a locksmith, that you know the high end of your lock opening abilities and which critters tend to produce boxes within and beyond those limits. Avoid offering to open a box from a critter that may exceed your abilities. The customer will lose trust in you, your fellow locksmiths will not respect your work, and you will likely spend more money to repair or replace broken lockpicks than you will earn for you labors. Should you notice a younger locksmith struggling with a trap or lock, do not announce in common that "I can get that if you can’t". Imagine your own response to such a comment. Whisper to them that if need be you are willing to help them out. If you have learned the lore enhancement spells, offer to cast it on them if they wish. More likely they will be encouraged than embarrassed, and respond to you with respect and admiration. THEFT – Clearly one who serves honor would be no thief, but how does such a one respond to theft? This is indeed among the most heated debates in the realm, and I confess that my offering on this topic is opinionated and subject to harsh criticism. What I shall do is give different scenarios of simple theft, that is to say pickpocketing, and what I believe the wisest action to take might be. Being a rogue, with a superior trained perception, you will witness thefts fairly regularly. While working as a locksmith at the East Tower Office, you notice someone continually hiding and unhiding. They are obviously stealing from customers, and perhaps even rogues, but you haven’t actually seen their hand in anyone’s pocket. If I am convinced that I will be unlikely to catch them in the act so that I might accuse them, I will apologize to any waiting customers, explaining out loud that I will not work with a thief in the room, nod in the direction of the thief and walk out. Again in the East Tower, you see another rogue pick the pocket of your current customer. I will immediately say out loud, and using the thief’s name, that it is bad form to steal from another rogue’s customer, especially before they have tipped me. Then I make sure the customer is aware that they were robbed, refuse any tip they offer, and go accuse the thief to the West Gate Guard or the Constable. Still working at the East Tower Office, you see another rogue’s customer getting pickpocketed. In this case, I will whisper to both the victim and the locksmith taking care of that customer of the theft, and then go attempt to accuse the thief. Standing in Town Square, you spot a theft occurring, and notice that the thief has his victim engaged in conversation and is grabbing handfuls of silvers every so often. I would whisper to the victim to check their pockets, and to stop talking to the thief until they have deposited whatever silver they have left. Then once again I would attempt to accuse the thief. For completeness’ sake, here is a list of most of the options available at the moment you notice a theft: Announce the witnessed theft out loud. Inform the victim by whisper of the theft. Inform the thief, by whisper, of having seen the theft. Seek out the town constable or gate guard and accuse the criminal. Attempt to subdue the thief to prevent escape. Attack the pickpocket to prevent escape and/or convince them of the potential consequences of their thievery. Attempt to steal back from the thief and restore the victim’s loss. Take no action, accepting what you witnessed as part of life and not worth your time or trouble. Let me immediately recommend against the subdue or attack options, as this very often leads to an escalation of violence, since many thieves work in teams. This is most undesirable, since you would be judged as the aggressor should a Host or GM choose to intervene, owing to your taking the first offensive action. GENERAL BEHAVIORS – If for no other reason than the sake of appearances, an honorable rogue will always make an offering to healers and clerics for services rendered, always thank customers by name for tips received, and conduct himself with dignity in all matters. It is highly recommended that a rogue learn to share mana so as to provide for the spells so necessary to survival while hunting. If learning mana share will not fit with your training plans, be willing to make other forms of offering when asking for defensive spells, or at the least promise to open boxes for free from those who take care of you in this way. Humbly submitted, Lord Brianus Linenum |
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