Han Shot First: A Scoundrel's Guide
A misnomer. Han shot only.
This is a Rogue Handbook that is intended to be a successor to LDB's
Dirty Deeds...Done Dirt Cheap Handbook for Rogues, but with a slightly
greater tilt towards power-playing, intended to be of more use to
advanced players and the char-op community. We're frankly at a stage in
this class's lifecycle that where the discussion no longer revolves
around how to build a successful rogue, but rather how to build a truly
epic rogue that would fulfill and adhere to Charop's lofty standards for
performance. Be warned that some of the evaluations made in this guide
will often appear jaded and cynical, while other ideas might appear
absolutely heretical by conventional Charop standards. I look forward to
discussions regarding these subjects.
Formatting for this guide is mostly a cross between Litigation's Paladin Guide and LDB's previous rogue guide.
Why Play A Rogue?
Strikers are the most prevalent role in the system. Therefore, every Striker has to have a particular niche in order to set itself apart form the rest. Here are a few things that I feel make the Rogue special and thus worthy of consideration:
Rogues are versatile - Rogues have the distinct advantage of being able to switch combat styles essentially on a whim. Additionally, your powers cover a variety of offensive methods, from mobility to heavy damage to status effects. If you like bringing pain to your opponents in a plethora of different ways (sometimes all as part of the same action), this is your class.
Rogues are tactically rewarding - Some degree of tactics is required to play a Rogue because of his focus on being a stealthy, mobile Striker. The better you are at that, the better your Rogue will be. If you enjoy the tactical aspect of the game, the Rogue will not disappoint you.
Rogues are team players - Rogues are iconic in the fact that working with allies makes them a whole lot better, because it makes the conditions they require to thrive easy to achieve. In return, a Rogue in his element takes a lot of pressure off of the rest of the party. If you want to be a character who works in tandem with those around him to devastating effect, this is your stop.
This Handbook will use the following system for ratings:
Red - Garbage, or completely overshadowed by another option.
Purple - Situationally useful, but overall pretty meh.
Black - OK. You could do worse than pick this.
Blue - Good stuff. You probably want this.
Sky Blue - You want this. Period.
Gold - Why haven't you taken this yet? A defining choice for a build, or even the whole class.
References/Related Literature:
[To fill in with links later]