I'm playing Neverwinter and I'm stuck on character creation (as always). I know I want to make a Trickster Rogue, but I'm stuck between two cliches: a half-elf and a drow. So, my fellow Escapists, I ask which one is more cliche in your opinions and why?
what's the most cliche rogue race?
- Thread starter Bocaj2000
- Start date
When I think "Rogue", I think Halfling.
If I had to choose another race, Drow seems like a pretty good one as I would expect them to be sneaky and kind of shady.
I wonder why halflings got the rogue stereotype though. Is it just cause they're small and nimble so they can sneak into various places and steal easier? Less capable of fighting because of their size so they sneak around instead? You know...I might have just answered my own question...
If I had to choose another race, Drow seems like a pretty good one as I would expect them to be sneaky and kind of shady.
I wonder why halflings got the rogue stereotype though. Is it just cause they're small and nimble so they can sneak into various places and steal easier? Less capable of fighting because of their size so they sneak around instead? You know...I might have just answered my own question...
Huh... It may have to do with Tolkien making Bilbo a burglar, similar to why dwarves a race of Super McWarrior. That's my guess though *shrug*tippy2k2 said:
That's a good point. A Drow being anything other than a ranger is ground-breaking at this point. I guess I just always thought of rogues as the ranger's angsty cousin.DoPo said:Hands down it's NOT the drow. They have the Drizzt cliche going for them strongBocaj2000 said:
So yeah. Drow being anything else would forever be less of a cliche than that.
Beat me to it. Seriously, if you ever try and run a D&D game, at least 1 person will always try and be a Drow Ranger who has abandoned being evil and likes to fight with 2 swords.DoPo said:
But anyway, yeah Trickster Rogue I always think of a Halfling. If you were aiming for an Assassin I always think of Human, Elf, or even Tiefling (not sure if you can be a Tiefling in Neverwinter).
Be an ogre! They're the most cliched rogue race there is what with their subtly, smarts, and sneakiness! 
Disclaimer: I've never played the game in question and don't know - and even doubt - if Ogre is a playable race. I'd like to see a sneaky ogre, though. They'll never smell you coming! >
Disclaimer: I've never played the game in question and don't know - and even doubt - if Ogre is a playable race. I'd like to see a sneaky ogre, though. They'll never smell you coming! >
The most "cliche" to me would be any race that has "Night" or "Shadow" or "Dark" in their names, or any other word that implies darkness/stealth/sneakiness.
Why not just play a human? They'll never see that coming!
My longest running D&D campaign went through six players (myself included) and used 17 different characters across two years. Through that time we only had one human character and (shockingly!) only one drow character who was, refreshingly, a lawful evil monk/assassin.
So... yeah, be human. Your generic-ness will spell the doom of your foes!
On a more serious note, humans can make any build work and the extra skill points are really useful if you're looking at a sneaking build rogue rather than a backstabber.
My longest running D&D campaign went through six players (myself included) and used 17 different characters across two years. Through that time we only had one human character and (shockingly!) only one drow character who was, refreshingly, a lawful evil monk/assassin.
So... yeah, be human. Your generic-ness will spell the doom of your foes!
On a more serious note, humans can make any build work and the extra skill points are really useful if you're looking at a sneaking build rogue rather than a backstabber.
Halflings/Hobbits are the quintessential rogues, going back to The Hobbit and the dwarves picking one up as a "Burgler" simply on natural talent (albeit following Gandalf's advice). Following that of course you have Kender from Dragonlance which are a race specifically designed to be rogues, Gnomes, and pretty much any kind of feline race. In AD&D Elves were popular for a long time on the merits of being able to have a dexterity of 19.
I loved playing as Kender PC's back in the day. Sadly, my DM's never let me pick fun things out of the pockets of my fellow adventurers, and just gave me money, which I didn't even want. Being the scout was always fun though, I'd get to see all the nasty stuff before anyone else!DoPo said:
You know what? As far as I'm concerned, rogues in general are a cliche by this point and OP's choice thus largely irrelevant. :/
Don't take that as a slight mind you. I feel the same about all the usual classes. The best you can hope for is a rare class/race combo. Though if my MMO experience is anything to go by even that only goes so far as it is those exact combos that become curiously popular after all because "Lolsorandom!" I'd swear there's more gnome warriors in world of warcraft than orc ones, for instance. -.-
So if you want my opinion: play what you want to play and ask forgiveness rather than permission. And by asking forgiveness I mean subverting the usual tropes in other ways, or even just roleplaying the cliche well.
Don't take that as a slight mind you. I feel the same about all the usual classes. The best you can hope for is a rare class/race combo. Though if my MMO experience is anything to go by even that only goes so far as it is those exact combos that become curiously popular after all because "Lolsorandom!" I'd swear there's more gnome warriors in world of warcraft than orc ones, for instance. -.-
So if you want my opinion: play what you want to play and ask forgiveness rather than permission. And by asking forgiveness I mean subverting the usual tropes in other ways, or even just roleplaying the cliche well.