Damn, look at all of you playing rogues seriously.

See, what I do is I play the rogue only to be able to pop up out of literally nowhere and do one of the following:

• meme
• meme then kill
• cause a problem/instigate shit
• piss off the local NPCs
• do something extremely f**king stupid and end up causing massive amounts of damage

that last one actually happened, in the case of me single handedly creating a sinkhole larger than most villages.

After wading through all of the 2024 changes to the classes, I think Rogue might be my favorite updated class. Weapon mastery is a game changer. And I also love both the Thief and Assassin subclasses (both have their origins in AD&D). I've built a thief and assassin. Full disclosure: I have not played these PCs, but I have them built and am looking for an opportunity to play either/both of them soon.

Assassin: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/135752007

First off, I couldn't pass up the benefits of Deep Gnomes for my assassin:

• Small (benefits hiding behind cover)
• 120 ft Darkvision
• Gnomish Magic Resistance: advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells.

• Svirfneblin Camouflage: when you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can make the check with advantage. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest

• Gift of the Svirfneblin: starting at 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the nondetection spell without requiring a material component

In combat:

1. Rathbone has many weapons, and will change proficiency on different days (after a long rest)
2. Two-weapon fighting: since I use light weapons, I get a second attack as a bonus action. So my max attacks per turn is: i. Attack with Scimitar (regular attack), which has the Nick property, which allows another attack (on a hit) ii. Bonus attack action with Short sword (I don't add my STR/DEX modifier to the damage roll, unless that modifier is negative), which has the Vex property (gives me Advantage on the next round)

General goals/themes: incorporate as much:

1. INT- & Gnome-based abilities, especially spell, casting, especially illusionism, e.g., wand, etc., which is part of my Gnomish ancestry
2. Poison - use poisoner's kit, find materials (plants, extract from monsters) for making poison, envenoming weapons.

Seeking magic weapons: Baleful Talon, Dagger of Venom, Dancing Sword, Any Enspelled Weapon that enhances flavor (ray of sickness, contagion; Other: darkness, dimension door, maze, poison spray, etc.)

Background: born to parents/community from both the Black Forest (forest gnome) and the Underdark (deep gnome). His childhood was unstable due to local/regional conflicts, and his family was poor. As a result he engaged in crime starting at a young age, then joined an assassin's guild for a little over a year, and just decided to start venturing out. Left behind some enemies but also retained some friends in the criminal underworld.

And here's my Thief: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/135872989

Combat:

1. Zeff has many weapons, and will change proficiency on different days (after a long rest)
2. Two-weapon fighting: since I use light weapons, I get a second attack as a bonus action. So my max attacks per turn is: i. Attack with Scimitar (regular attack), which has the Nick property, which allows another attack (on a hit) ii. Bonus attack action with Short sword (I don't add my STR/DEX modifier to the damage roll, unless that modifier is negative), which has the Vex property (gives me Advantage on the next round)
3. Sneak Attack: extra 2d6 damage when I have Advantage Cunning Action: as a Bonus Action I can Hide, Dash, or Disengage.
4. Steady Aim: as a Bonus Action, I have Advantage only if you haven’t moved during your turn; after you use it, your Speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.
5. Fast Hands: as a bonus action, I can use take the magic action, e.g., use a wand. Zeff will seek out: Wand of fireballs, magic missile.
6. General goals/themes: incorporate as much INT- & Gnome-based abilities, especially spellcasting, e.g., Illusionism which is part of my Gnomish ancestry
7. Backstory: Zeff's mom is a forest gnome and his dad is a deep gnome. For this reason, he has dark features. He spent most of his life in a community of forest gnomes, although he has family in both the Underdark and the forest. He had parents who provided for his physical and emotional needs, but was given a lot of freedom to explore and pursue his own interests, which lead him to hang out with both members of the thief and arcane communities. He has a decent sized family (4 other siblings) and aunts/uncles and grandparent adventurers, thieves and wizards/illusionists. These family members have made a strong impression on his life, interests and values. In short, he sees himself as someone who uses his thief and arcane abilities for good (think ~ Robin Hood).

Seeking weapons: Fools Blade, Baleful Talon, Any Enspelled Weapon that enhances flavor (Illusion: minor illusion, color spray, blur, silent image, mirror image, phantasmal force, fear, hypnotic pattern, greater invisibility, phantasmal killer, mental prison, simulacrum, weird; Other: conjure volley, maze, web). 

Other magic items seeking: Boots of Speed, Flying, Cloak of Invisibility, the Manta Ray, Elvin kind, Arachnida, Mountebank (teleport/dimension door), Staff: Hither-Thither, Defense, Frost, Rings: Invisibility, Protection, X-Ray vision, Free Action, Jumping, Ram (2d10 force damage, push), Stone of Good Luck, Gloves of Thievery, Sword: Weapon of warning, 9 lives stealer, Dagger of Venom, Bag of Tricks, Holding, Tattoo: Ghost Step (passwall)