Monday, August 3, 2015

On Choosing Your Poison: Rogues vs. Thieves

Over the weekend I had a chance to play in a game run by a colleague who actually reads my blog.  Very embarrassing, running into these sort of people, but unfortunately it does happen.

Anyway, this dude--we'll call him Carl--runs a Moldvanian Basic game.  When I rolled up my newest character--Cranston the Thief--he offered me an interesting choice: 
Carl the DM:   I know how much d4 hit-diced thieves bother you, so I'll make you an offer: you can roll Cranston's hit points with a sixer if you want, but you'll have to call him a rogue henceforth.

Me:   Hmmmm.  How deep does this rogue business have to go?  Do I just have to write it on my character sheet?

Carl:   Heh heh heh... No.  From now on he has rogue abilities, not thief abilities.  He has to join the Rogues Guild of the nearest city.  He speaks Rogue's Cant--

Me:   STOP!  Stop.  Just... hand me... the 4-sider.

The moral of the story: Blogger beware!  There is a price to be paid for slathering the internet with your self-indulgent drivel.

3 comments:

  1. I am unfamiliar with "Moldvanian Basic." I take it this is a game whereby there are two distinct Character Classes called "Thief" and "Rogue?"

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  2. Although my Spidey Sense says you're goading me into a pedantic tirade for your own amusement, I'll answer anyway on the chance that some kids might wander in here some day in the distant future and have the same question.

    "Moldvanian Basic" refers to Tom Moldvay's version of Basic D&D, published in 1981. In conjunction with Dave Cook's Expert Rules it is commonly referred to as "B/X D&D". Amongst many old schoolers it is the favored version of Big D. And no, there are only thieves in Moldvanian Basic, no rogues. Nor, thankfully, are there any rouges.

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  3. Although, confusingly, the cover of the Moldvanian Basic book is very rouge.

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