In case anyone's curious, I'm in the process of fleshing out rogues. From what you may have heard elsewhere, they're not going to be a social class (that'll be the bard, which probably won't be released until season two). They have lots of single-strike combat maneuvers that can only be delivered from the back, they have lots of stealth-related actions, and they will now be able to mix their own poisons. In addition, I just fleshed out the Seal and Open effects, so they will be the masters of bypassing locks and the like.
Still to come are traps and a few other goodies for the class we all love to hate. If you have any suggestions, now would be the time. I'm also considering changing their name to Thieves or Outlaws. Any thoughts?
Sorry to say but I just hate the fact most rouges are just weak fighters.
Maybe we could work on instead of offense maybe being defensive instead. If a rouge is approached they would more likely cut and run.
abilities like trip and hamstring, cheap shot or sand in face. I'm just saying if the player wants a fighter that only wears leather that's cool. But if I'm only wearing leather and I have to face down 2 orcs I would rather cut and run. The same should be said if I by mistake found myself in someones cabin and the owner came home a little to quickly.
Dropping pieces of cloth could be cal traps. Just one players opinion.
I wouldn't say rogues are weak fighters. They are, however, indirect fighters. In a straightforward fight, I would expect a rogue to do exactly as you say, cut and run. In a fight where they get the jump on someone, however, a well-prepared rogue should likely win every time. That's the point; they're good at fighting dirty. When they have to fight in an honest, mono-a-mono confrontation against, say, a warrior, they're at a disadvantage.
I've been discussing traps with a few people, and the concensus seems to be that the marshalling requirement makes them impossible outside of adventures and cabin setups. If I'm alone and I step on a square of cloth, there's nobody around to tell me so in case I fail to notice, or to hold me accountable in case I conveniently ignore it. Everything requires trust, but traps require a much higher degree of trust that is likely to be abused. As with all mechanics, I'm sure there's a smarter way to do it. I just haven't figured out what that is yet.
"...if I by mistake found myself in someones cabin..." Just explain to them that it's all a big misunderstanding. ;)