Rogue Class Prestige Ideas?

Classes Rogue
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Hey folks! I’m working on a fan project concept (not an actual private server) that takes us back to EK/Kalimdor 250 years in the future. Essentially, there’s a ton of risen structures by the First Ones. It’ll have a lot of Meditteranean/Greco-Roman inspired ideas. As a Warrior main, I’m not really too sure about the lore surrounding other classes and class fantasies, so I’d like your guys’ input.

I’ve played a rogue before, and I really liked the fantasy behind outlaw in Legion (personally), but I’m not sure how rogues feel about it. The only idea I’ve had thus far is some sort of Western shadow Samurai. However, monks are obviously heavily based in Eastern culture and traditions, and I think they should maintain that distinction.

What would rogues want? I really can’t think of a cool prestige that would maintain the general idea of rogues without being too gimmicky or adding a ton of magic to a cool physical/shadow/poison-based class. I’d love your guys’ ideas, because I certainly don’t have any good ones for rogues.

To give you an idea, here’s my concept for the Warrior’s prestige:

Warrior → Gladiator

The brutalities of war were not of any fear to the fierceless Gladiators of Azotha. Originally hired as slaves to the Prime Augurate, a championship would be held in the Arena of Xaxys (pronounced Zak-zees) once a year. The slaves who survived the nauseating brutalities of this arena would be chosen for an elite group of warriors. The art of this elite lineage, now known as the art of the Gladiator, would play a major role in obliterating all Azothan threats.

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Really cool that you’re doing this.

Rogues are a little bit tricky because we are extremely diverse from a lore perspective.

There are vagrant scumbag pirate like criminals who rove from town to town taking on contracts from scummy locals and killing indiscriminately. Then there are professional highly skilled rogues who belong to actual organizations, take on assassination contracts intelligently and with tact, act as professional bodyguards, and organize rebellions. They are always organized in a hierarchy of leadership, usually with a counsel or an individual leader.

Personally I would create some kind of rogue organization with a backstory. Include some kind of a badass hub where they gather to plan and prepare. Maybe an old mansion with a secret entrance in the basement, a cove, or the sewer system under the city.

The backstory could be based on oppression, revenge, religion (maybe something night magic based), tradition, family, or greed in the form of a criminal organization.

Poisons, weapons, bombs and engineering solutions, potions, shadow magic research, and other implements should be there. Also what rogue hub wouldn’t be complete with a badass tavern… haha

Just make us stealthy, smart, tactical, poisonous, feared, and successful. That will make a good rogue story.

I found your gladiator story interesting. It reminds me of Valeera’s story (a famous rogue in wow lore)

I hope this was helpful :slight_smile:

4 Likes
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Thanks! This was helpful! I actually came up with an idea before you posted this, and I think it’s pretty spot-on with what you were suggesting.

I’m maintaining the Western shadow Samurai idea (essentially an Outlaw Rogue but with bigger swords [or daggers/pistols if they so choose]) and they’ll be called Shadowblades.

The idea behind them is that they were once hired by Azothan bankers and elites in the ancient canyon city of Byn’daal, and they were charged with protecting the city’s Great Exchange (essentially a prestigious trading center bazaar within the city where the rich were protected).

After generations of passing down teachings, one Shadowblade (whose name I have yet to come up with) who became the next leader of the Shadowblades essentially acknowledged elite Azothan corruption.

It was around this time that these elites were funding Azothan military activities such as forcing slaves to build Wall Hadeon. Those who survived were chained to the wall by the Azothan military and had runes burnt into their skin to become weapons for the Azothan Empire (the Death Knight class ascension, Runebreakers).

Other activities included an independent group of engineers who made advanced glaive/blade technology being infiltrated by Azothan military general Atiesh (yes, the demon whose staff is in vanilla! We learn more about how he became a demon in this storyline) and being imprisoned in their own sanctum, having their blades carved into their arms (Demon Hunter class ascension, the Glaivesworn).

The Shadowblades got word of these activities, and they took over the Great Exchange (and thus Byn’daal, as the Great Exchange was Byn’daal’s main center of operations). Before the collapse of Azotha, the Shadowblades were an elite assassin force to be reckoned with, and from Byn’daal, they operated with other like-minded groups to end the Azothan military’s corruption.

The ancient sites of Azotha across the world will serve as ascended class’ ritual sites (essentially class quest hubs), and the Great Exchange, hidden in the shadows of Razorwind Canyon (once Ashenvale, Northern Barrens and the parts of Durotar and Azshara that weren’t sunken) is the Shadowblade ritual site.

Hope you like the concept! Oh, and it’ll definitely have some neat bombs, potions, and a really cool tavern filled with the riches that they inherited when slaying the Azothan elites.

Also wanna mention that some ascended classes are based on organizations that sided with the Azothan Empire. The paladin ascension, Vanguards, were the ardent protectors of Azotha’s major cities, and were essentially the elite royal guard, so they certainly clashed with the Shadowblades. Atiesh and his special ops force were Soulshapers, the Warlock ascension. They experimented on creatures to bind to their will in magical chambers deep beneath Azeroth.

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Honestly, not a fan of anime. At all. I like when supernatural is used in the extension of suspense rather than the defining feature of it. But also, why I don’t play mage.

In terms of how I view the class:

  • Traditional thief and tactician
  • Smart, swift, silent
  • More about efficiency than authority
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Ew no. That’s absolutely awful.

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That phrase didn’t get you a drop of sweat comparing to work of Genegerbread. Instead maybe try to give your idea instead.

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Well considering rogues are more like
Ninjas than samurai anything would be better then that.

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Ninjas, mercenairies, assassins, nimble swordmasters, cheap tricks users, jacks of all trades - it’s how I see it. And if this rogue wanna be a pirate, soldier, spy, blade to hire - that’s another case :slight_smile:

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For some reason I’ve never equated ninjas and rogues in any fantasy or simply fiction setting as being similar to each other at all. Literally speaking, ninjas basically were nothing BUT rogues throughout history, inasmuch as they were spies, thieves, and sometimes assassins. However the fantasy depiction of ninjas is basically nothing like the fantasy depiction of generic rogues.

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rogues are about the most diverse class in terms of fantasy and what the player believes. one of the main reasons I love this class so much.

i didn’t like when they pigeonholed our class in legion and forced a fantasy on us. my combat rogue wasn’t a pirate! he was a thug that worked for the royal apothecaries and died when outlaw was born.

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I personally consider rogues more like assassins and scouts doing the dirty wet work so to speak.

I just felt ninja was miles ahead of samurai considering samurai were all about honor and that’s nothing like a rogue. Rogues are also a dagger class.