Rogues are elusive and we want to show how talented rogues can be in combat (either in melee or ranged).
At level 1, a rogue can specialize in either melee or bow mastery. You cannot switch without significant training.
Dual Wield Mastery Specialization
Primary weapons that are one handed in nature, may be dual wielded as long as the 2nd weapon is small in nature (dagger, dirk, hand axe).
They specialize in dual wielding, however prefer to utilize their off-handed weapon as a defensive item, similar to a buckler shield. This must be declared at the start of the round, and in this case no special penalty is applied to the primary weapon, and the off-handed weapon adds an additional +1 to the wielder’s AC value against a single melee attacker per round. If the weapon has a magical weapon bonus, it may be applied, but only the base bonus for those weapons with multiple values. If chosen, the thief may attack with both weapons. In this case, they may attack with their primary weapon with a -2 penalty and their secondary with a
-5 penalty to hit. Subtract from this penalty the character’s Dexterity bonus, with a minimum penalty of +0 (so a character with 18 Dexterity does not get a +1 bonus to hit this way).
Poison Mastery
Thieves often prefer poison to do the job verses a sharp blade from the shadows. Thieves are very comfortable around poisons and can function much like an apothecary. As such, thieves are able to craft poisons and elixirs by combining scavenged and procured ingredients. These elixirs and poisons are not magical in nature.
Poisons can be crafted by combining recovered poison sacks, natural herbs, and liquids (simple example). The quality of the poison depends on the recipe and ingredients. Some poisons are incredibly powerful, but require very rare components.
Many a foe have underestimated a rogue with poison tipped arrows…