Darrin McPherson, Game Designer and “The Classes Guy” of Sigil Games Online, thinks rogues are “lame”. Wait…what was that? Darrin corrects himself since not only myself but his co-worker and rogue gamer, Nick Parkinson, are in his office cubicle giving him nasty looks. “The word ‘rogue’ is lame. I mean really, what does ‘rogue’ mean? Now, ‘thief’ or ‘ninja’ – if we were to have them in the game – those are names…” Darrin trails off with a nod and a hand gesture accompanied by our laughter.

With this start I wondered just what this designer would have in mind for the “formerly known as rogue” class. I decided to test this with some questions I had prepared with the help of my fellow Safehouse staff members:

Safehouse: Will rogues get to pickpocket?
Darrin McPherson: It’s not something we’re focusing on.

SH: Will rogues get to climb?
DM: Climbing is on hold for the game.

SH: So there won’t be something like a “rogue’s highway”, a network of travel paths over rooftops?
DM: Now that’s an interesting idea. [Props to Safehouse Moderator, Ruccus for the question].

SH: Are there any plans for a “passive bonus” to having a rogue in your group? Such as increasing the amount of loot a group receives?
DM: No

SH: Will rogues get a utility skill like disarming traps which will be rogue class only?
DM: Anybody will be able to open traps and locks but the rogue will get a bonus. A Large bonus.

Hmm, so…so far we have a rogue that won’t be called a rogue, may or may not be able to pickpocket, won’t climb (at least not at release), won’t give a passive bonus to a group, and won’t be the sole possessor of utility skills such as disarming traps and locks.

Now let’s see what rogues *will* do…

SH: What do you see as the Vanguard rogue, describe him to me
DM: “I wanted the rogue to be stealthy. Stealth will play a major role for a rogue.” Darrin said, using the word he purports not to like, “I’m totally excited about stalking and stealthing so far.” He sees rogues as the stealthy fighter who will be able to exploit “weaknesses” and “states” in their opponents which will naturally happen during combat. An example of a “state” is being in “mid-cast” or in the middle of casting a spell. The rogue will essentially be “stalking” their opponent, learning their weak spots and then, say, jumping in at the right time for a massive attack. During the time they are stalking their prey they will be building up a damage multiplier. This will prevent them from losing dps while stalking. The rogue will also have the ability to distract an NPC during combat and then go back into stealth mode after performing an attack.-- IF there is at least one other person in the party. When solo fighting, the rogue will be able to stealth but then won’t be able to go back into stealth mode during the rest of the combat.

SH: What kind of attacks will rogues get?
DM: “There will be a handful of special attacks (aside from auto attack) that the rogue can execute at any time. Some of these attacks will open up attack chains. Conditional effects will also allow us to add more utility to an attack. Let’s say that the rogue gets the attack: Slice at level 10. It does good damage normally and great damage when it is used from a flanking position. At level 15 they receive a newer version of Slice that is the same in all ways, excepting that the new version has a conditional effect attached it. This conditional effect requires that the target be in the state “mid-cast”. So, if the rogue uses Slice on a spell caster that is in the middle of casting a spell, Slice will interrupt the casting and deal triple damage. We can add multiple conditional effects as the player levels, so you may not always receive a new ability when the time for an upgrade comes…your attack may just allow for more situational usage. These states can also be applied by your fellow players. Your warrior buddy could set you up for a great attack using one of his own abilities. It will make for some good times.”

SH: How else will a rogue be valuable to a group?
DM: Each one of our classes will want a rogue around. We’ll have class combinations to do sympathetic attacks. Also the rogue will make a good scout and will have inherent bonuses to detect traps and stealthed mobs.

SH: How will stealth work? Will rogues be invisible to other players, what about in PvP?
DM: We’re experimenting on visual stealth.

SH: What will the rogue’s main attributes be? [Now this is a burning a question, during E3 Safehouse staff had asked this of different Sigil folks and received differing answer]
DM: “Dexterity and Strength, depending on what kind of rogue you want to be. Or Agility and Strength, depending. Each level you get additional attributes”. I grinned at his answer, it was similar to the ones we received at E3. Darrin added, “Heh, the optimal build for maximum damage is Strength and Dexterity for a Rogue. If you want more mitigation, you better invest in agility. If you want better perception skills then some points need to be spent in intelligence and wisdom. You will, of course, want to invest in constitution, because more hit points is always good.”

SH: What types of weapons will rogues be able to wield?
DM: One handed weapons: slash, blunt, piercing. Rogues will be able to duel wield and there won’t be any restrictions on attacks due to what is in your main hand. For instance, you will still be able to backstab even if you don’t have a piercer in your main hand.

Darrin expanded on fighting styles, “Rogues will be able to do dual or one handed fighting.” One handed is a defense option for a rogue it specifically means that there is a weapon in the main hand and a small buckler or parry weapon in the off hand.

SH: What kind of armor will a rogue be able to wear?
DM: Medium armor. Medium is a reflection of AC values, not what the armor is made of. There will be Heavy, Medium and Light armor in game. Cloth can be medium armor for instance, monks will wear medium armor.

My time with Darrin was nearing to a close so I gave him the rapid fire drill.

Pancakes or waffles? - Pancakes
Muffins or pie? - Pie, sour cream and lemon
Vanilla or chocolate? - Chocolate

Well Darrin may not like the word “rogue” but I think it might be the waffle, muffin and vanilla folks who might be the one’s he’ll have to watch out for. As for me, I’ll give him a little bit of a break to work on the game -- at least until next I see him. Then we’ll have to have another update on the rogue/thief/ninja class. Whatever name it will go by, I’m sure it will be as sweet.