I’m trying to create a NWN module based around the Rogue/Shadowdancer/Assassin classes. From what I’ve played and seen so far, Rogues et al are vastly under-represented in modules custom-made for their talents, so I’m gonna try and make my own.
So far I’ve got a few thoughts:
it’s going to be town-based, obviously, since Pickpocket, Hide and Move Silently have little use in a empty contryside. It’ll also be pretty big. Probably something along the lines of four main areas of increasing difficulty (houses, traps, picking pockets become more difficult etc), with a central mansion or maze-castle in the middle (which could double as an end-of-module boss-area). There’ll be the usual Thief-inspired aspects like patrolling guards, two warring factions, taverns and gangs within said town. There’ll also be a two or three level sewer/catacomb system underneath the town filled with monsters of higher challenge as you descend, maybe with some kind of Abbysal beast hiding at the bottom.
The only problem I have is making a convincing backstory. What, besides just stealing for stealing’s sake (which would get pretty boring very fast), would attract a group of low-to-medium level Rogues to a city for purposes other than greed? I’d thought about some kind of tournament, but that just doesn’t fit for a class that tends to avoid direct combat.
Anyway, I want your thoughts on this. Anything I’d need? Any ideas for a plot? Bear in mind this is a Neverwinter Nights + Shadows of Underentide module, not a pen-and-paper one, although if I can work it I’d like it to be both.
Rogues are more likely dungeon dwellers than street muglars, and they have way more capabilities than just pickpocketing In fact, I’d say pickpocket is a goddamn useless skill. Also, I’d suggest not to use the “thief” stereotype, Rogue != Thief, hell, rogues can even be of a lawful alignment.
The “Song & Silence” book talks a bit about motivations for rogues. According to the book, greed works, but there are some niftier motivations you might want to look (Like “Moral imperative” ones, where the rogue wants to recover some ill-gotten goods, or even go on a Robin Hood-like spree and steal to spare the poor :P)
in terms of just of the top of my head stuff. Rogues could be attracted by the discovery of a secret manu script and words gotten around. It tells of a vast trove of riches hidden somewhere in the city.
Or There have been 2 established theif guilds warring it out in the city for a long time but now a new guild of multiclass arcanespellcastingclass/rogues has moved into town and the local guilds have decided to work togethor and are recruiting outside help although they still wouldn’t pass a chance to backstab each other.
Yes they can silly silly booken. They can even go so far as to be Lawful Good. Not all rogue skills involve breaking the law, and none of their class abilities break the law in any way. They jsut have the tendency to sneak a lot and be generally suspicious, or disguised and seem casual.
In fact, I’d say pickpocket is a goddamn useless skill. Also, I’d suggest not to use the “thief” stereotype, Rogue != Thief, hell, rogues can even be of a lawful alignment.