fandomhigh | Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

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Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

Hopefully everyone enjoyed playing dressup last week because once again the Danger Shop was set up to look like a giant costume closet. There were fewer clothes for both men and women, because men's costumes seemed to mostly involve long cloaks that could go sweeping behind them dramatically, while women's costumes tended towards corsets. Lots and lots of corsets. He went with fewer costumes in the name of making sure all his students were comfortable with their options. The weapons were also more limited, variations on small blades, knives, daggers, and throwing implements, but there was a whole shelf of poisons they could look through, neat and tidy in small glass vials. Other shelves held alchemical potions with titles like 'smoke bomb', 'toxic cloud', and 'pitch.' The bottommost shelf held jars of bees for some reason, that buzzed angrily whenever anyone came near. In another corner was an armoire filled with blunderbusses and old-fashioned black powder pistols, ranging from the utilitarian to those with elaborate scrollwork and chased with gold or metal.

"'Sup," Hardison said, his greeting period-appropriate. "After last week, it seemed like there were a lot of y'all interested in the kind of class that favors speed an' dexterity over brute strength. So this week, we're learnin' about rogues, a must on any adventurin' party. Now, most rogues ain't big on dealin' out damage or suckin' hits the way your fighters are. Naw, instead, the real value a rogue brings to her team is her ability to get folks into an' outta places they ain't supposed to be in. Your standard rogue can pick locks, disable traps, an' use magic devices when there isn't a mage or wizard around to do the honors. They favor stealth an' cunnin' more than anythin' else an' can do a great deal of damage when they getcha from behind or when you're otherwise unaware. A fighter will wade into battle an' hit an enemy until it stops movin'. A rogue will sneak around, wait for the perfect opportunity to strike, and use whatever nasty tricks they have handy to make their hit count."

And if Hardison sounded a little fond of the rogue archetype, well...one only needed to look at the company he kept to figure out why.

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Sneakily

Tali'Zorah

Cosima Niehaus

Raven Darkholme

Alex Mack

Kira Yukimura

Kaylin Neya

Hanna Heller

Or get changed into your new rogue attire. What awesome ~~moddable~~ weapons will you choose?

Tali couldn't exactly change out of her envirosuit, but she did find a coat she could put on over it, all long, flowing tails and excessive ruffles. Much less utilitarian than she was used to, and definitely not the sort of thing that would be practical to wear on a ship, but swishing around in it was a lot of fun.

She armed herself with a couple of knives (not too unusual, since outside of the dorms she kept one stowed in her boot all the time) and then wandered over to the armoire.

Where she promptly got distracted by examining the primitive firearms in a fit of horrified fascination.

"No mass effect fields, no ammo capacity . . . keelah, how did humans ever accomplish anything with these?"

So white and gold wasn't what most people thought of when it came to sneaking around unseen, but Raven couldn't help it. She loved that outfit. Though it definitely went better with her blue form, than her blonde one.

Yeah, Cosima wasn't up for the corset thing. She went with something more pirate-y instead -- a black frock coat and vest over a white blouse, with fitted leather pants and high boots with silver buckles underneath. She wasn't totally certain how well it would stand up in a fight, but it looked awesome, and that seemed almost as important.

Kira was in much thinner leather this week than last week, and definitely felt better moving around. As for her weapons, she grabbed a bag and filled it with throwing knives and smaller throwing weapons. She eyed the jar of bees for a moment, but then it buzzed at her and she backed away. That was a really weird idea for a weapon.

Mostly dark clothes, NO corset - something not that unlike this - and daggers. Obviously. Her very own, thank you.

Edited 2015-07-15 22:11 (UTC)

An explanation of the various rogue subclasses. Try them all out and see which one works best for you!

Whether truly a wandering minstrel or a specialized spy, bards are the one class of rogue who are welcomed anywhere, even if they're not truly trusted. Usually dressed in bright and flamboyant clothes and carrying their prized instrument, bards are excellent sources for news, stories, and gossip.

Most bards are also swashbucklers, using finesse and agility to fight. They generally fight with rapiers, long daggers, or a combination of the two in the Florentine style. Bards also have limited access to magic, often useable only while performing and can also offer beneficial effects to their allies.

If you enjoy performing, making a spectacle, being the center of attention, or using gymnastics to fight, this may be the path for you.

The darkest of all rogue paths, the assassin is a dealer of death. She specializes in weapons of all varieties, both of steel and those more esoteric. A garotte to the throat, a pillow over the face, poison in an unsuspecting goblet, or a knife in the back--all of these are the hallmarks of an assassin. Their standard clothing is dark blues, grays, or blacks to help them blend in with the shadows, but assassins are also a master of disguise. The meek servant, the attractive companions, the humble sister of the cloth--any one of these might be an assassin working to get closer to their mark.

Many assassins have some kind of evil alignment, considering they are willing to murder for pay, but there are some who kill for more noble goals. Some are killers with a personal code of honor they do not deviate from, others kill but only specific targets, taking out the dangerous and the powerful. Assassins are masters of stealth and secrecy, the opposite of the bard. No assassin wants to be noticed and remembered; they appreciate diversions, rather than personally causing them.

This subset might be for you if you like causing death from a distance, moving silently, and doing your dirtywork in the utmost secret.

Raven would be hard pressed to explain it, but she kind of loved the assassin description. Not that she liked killing people or anything. . . .

Maybe it was the "master of disguise" bit. Yeah, that must be it.

Plus, you know, the word "assassin" just sounded cool.

On one hand, Kira wasn't sure she'd ever be able to kill anyone, even if she had to. On the other hand, there were an awful lot of bad things out there that might need to be killed, and stealth seemed like a smart way to go. She practiced with the throwing knives, and they seemed fun, but in the end, she kind of missed the sword from last week.

This. Kaylin shot an almost scared glance at Hardison. Was this a real thing? Or had the Hawklord told him?

Whichever, she was more than upset and just went very quiet, unwilling to particpate anymore. She'd just pretend she didn't really care and was too bored - or tired - to do anything.

These are the most adventurous of the rogue sub-types. They have never met a lock they didn't want to pick, a trap they didn't want to understand, or a stone that didn't need overturning. Cautious, yes, but with an enthusiasm to discover what's around the next corner, these rogues are happiest in a dungeon, marking the way on a map, looking for secret doors leading to ancient treasures.

As fighters, they're often sturdy, but with the roguish preference of attacking from behind or from concealment. Their true value comes from the collection of strange devices they often travel with: alchemical powders, magical wands or rings with offensive spells built in, the occasional blunderbuss if the setting calls for such a device. Their nimble fingers open locks and pockets with ease, disarming traps before their compatriots can blunder into them, and can collect strewn gemstones and gold pieces while their friends are still fighting off the treasure's original owners.

This might be the subtype for you if you like picking locks, sneaking around dungeons, and experimenting with inventions and recipes that could blow up a dragon/kill everyone in your vicinity VERY messily.

~~Hacking~~ Picking locks, tinkering with gadgets, and keeping a bunch of tricks up her sleeve? This was definitely Tali's style, much more than the other two. If you counted her scavenging mechanical parts, she even had the treasure hunting aspect down.

Once she finally peeled herself away from gawking at the weapons she went over to look at the various jars and vials. The jars of bees were . . . weird, mostly, but also fascinating, but she'd be staying away from those. The last thing she needed was a suit puncture and a trip into anaphylactic shock.

Treasure hunters seemed like they were the closest rogues came to being scientists, so they made a natural fit for Cosima. She inspected the powders carefully, but then ended up spending more time than she'd meant to staring at the jars of bees. The social dynamics in each jar fascinated her.

Practice picking locks, making black powder bombs, casting bardic spells (they require some kind of performance, whether singing, dancing, recitation, playing an instrument, etc), avoid the traps, and sneaking up on one another to backstab your classmates. Anyone hit with a Danger Shop weapon will turn a bright clolor to show they were backstabbed. So be on guard, unless you want to end the class bright yellow, or pink, or chartreuse!

Edited 2015-07-14 08:43 (UTC)

Perhaps today's lesson is more her style?

Today's lesson had her wondering idly if it was weird how much the assassin type appealed to her.

He's mostly practicing his lockpicking skills. He's pretty good at it--which might be surprising if you don't know much about his past or his partners.

My favorite class, whether we're talking tabletop or video game variety.

This surprises no one, I'm sure.

Mmmmm, rogues. [insert heart-eyes emoji here]

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Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

Sign In Week 3

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Listen to the Lecture

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Rogue Classes

Bard

Assassin

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Treasure Hunter

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Practice Your Rogue Skills

Talk to the TA

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Talk to Hardison

OOC

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