Stealing Success

Playing the latest, greatest RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, I am reminded that in nearly every fantasy adventure RPG, the best choice for your hero is the Rogue/Thief/Assassin. He or she may lack the sheer bashing power of a dedicated Warrior, and he or she will never be able to hurl the mininukes that Mages eventually master, but in the opening chapters of any adventure it is the Rogue that almost invariably CAN get the job done.

Theoretically, your choices for hero _all_ have the potential for success. It's just that in my opinion, Rogues have the best chance of reaching the Finish line in fine fashion. You may look at the Rogue and think that he is so weak that he must spend the bulk of his time avoiding any direct confrontation because he will lose -- but that, you see, is exactly why he should be your first choice: he CAN avoid those difficult-to-impossible battles and simply slip by to achieve his goal.

There are other significant reasons to choose a Rogue:

1) Locks. Straightforward mechanisms that basically put something valuable on one side and everybody else stuck on the outside. EXCEPT for a character with the Lockpick skill. Now, anybody that has played any kind of RPG understands that much of success is determined by how much stuff you acquire, sell, and then use the proceeds to buy better stuff. In all of the DA Origins stories, there will be about 20-30 locked chests or doors that automatically stymie any Warriors or Mages. It's not until the Warror or Mage adds a Rogue NPC to their party that those treasures even have a possibility of being acquired. That means that you don't even have the opportunity to go back to access those chests and doors, because as with almost every RPG, the main character is forcibly removed from his starting point by using events to push the party along the story line. The net effect is that unlike the Warrior and Mage, the Rogue will have an increase of purchasing power to the tune of about 20 sovereigns. (Which in DA terms is a LOT of money.)

2) Picking pockets. This isn't applicable to DA because most anyone can choose the Pickpocket Skill, but in most RPGs, the skill is reserved to the Rogue types. The useful thing about Pickpocket is that it is usually an easy way to augment the party's treasury. Over the course of the entire adventure, the party will be encountering hundreds -- perhaps even thousands of NPCs, each of which may have pickable money or items on their person. If you make a habit of picking the pockets of everyone you encounter, that can easily translate into hundreds of currency units worth of improved gear for the party. And as pointed out earlier, more stuff makes for an improved party.

3) Stealth. The next best thing to an Invisibility spell. (In DA, even better because there is _no_ Invisibility spell.) It also has the advantage of not having a limited duration: It lasts until some NPC sees through the veil of shadows that surrounds the Rogue, or until the character does something -- by his choice -- to terminate the Stealth mode. Any RPG that allows a party to break apart and have members go in separate directions means that the Rogue is the ultimate Scout. The non-Rogues can stay in a safe place while the Rogue can map out the terrain, noting enemies to be avoided, alternate routes to be utilized safely, and the opportunity to pick up any valuables lying around unattended. For those games where cutscenes are common, triggering a cutscene usually automatically reunites the rest of the party with the Rogue, effectively teleporting them past any difficult obstacles that might have triggered near-impossible battles. The same holds true for when the Rogue gets to the other side of the encounter area and is about to exit to the next location.

4) Striking from the shadows. Having scouted the opposition, the Rogue allows the player to position each party member in the optimal location for initiating combat. Furthermore, even if the party is massively outnumbered/outclassed, he can whittle down the odds by essentially assassinating any enemies that may be somewhat removed from where the enemy has massed in ambush.

5) Backstab. Enemies are most vulnerable when attacked from behind. Unlike the Warriors and Mages, the Rogue is capable of getting into that position undetected until that magic moment. Furthermore, though nearly every attacker does greater damage when attacking from behind, Rogues score even more damage than non-Rogues when attacking from behind. That can make the Rogue's strike with a dagger just as lethal as a Warrior's mighty blow delivered with a greatsword from in front of the target. And even more delicious, when attacking from the rear, the target can't execute an immediate counterattack; he has to turn around first. (There's something about doing unto others _before_ they can do unto you that appeals to me.)

Given that all characters usually start at zero- or first-level, characters usually are relatively weak powerwise at the beginning of the game. But with experience, their abilities improve. The Warrior, who starts with one or two effective moves, develops an array of powerful damaging attacks. This is why having a fully buffed Warrior at the end of the adventure can be a Good Thing. Similarly, while the Mage at the beginning is downright pathetic in his or her capabilities, at the end they will be like having a mininuke or two in your arsenal that you can lob at the Ultimate Bad Guy. But the Rogue at the end is, in his own way, just as devastating. A backstab by a 20th-level Rogue can be a godkiller of a blow. Add the opportunity to lob Weapons of Mass Destruction like acid flasks and fire bombs from an exposed rear position and the Ultimate Bad Guy is going to have the Ultimate Bad Day.

There's one other very pertinent point to consider in an adventure RPG: The selection of additional NPCs that will join the hero is always well-rounded. That means that you _will_ have one or two Warriors that will join your party that can be buffed enough to serve as your Main Battle Tank for the climactic battle. You _will_ have spellslingers join you that can be developed into characters capable of dishing acre-wide swaths of death and destruction. But it is the lowly, overlooked Rogue that can get you to that final destination faster, AND more profitably.

Starting with a Rogue is the closest thing to a Sure Thing that game designers are likely to ever offer you.