Rogue

Rogue is a character class found in Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder, although the general archetype (usually by different names) can be found in almost every RIG ever made. Rogues are sneaky, backstabbing, thieving assholes, but they're just so useful you can't help but keep them around.

Rogues have a variety of skills that make them useful in various situations and, if they get a back stab, cause incredibly high damage, but they suffer from low hit points and shit armor. This may sound good, and they are pretty decent, but they're dead weight in a party with wizards, clerics, druids, erudite, or any other tier 1 class. Similarly, they also become utterly fucking useless in combat when something with heavy fortification, an elemental, a construct, an ooze, a plant, or an undersea show up. Pretty much, if it's immune to criticisms, the rogue can only pout as he/she/it/hermaphrodite becomes a useless skill monkey, unless he/she/it/hermaphrodite starts diving into bookstalls looking for ways to bypass critter and sneak attack immunity. Most embarrassingly they can't sneak attack anything with concealment, which includes anything not standing in at least torch light.

Given the power of their sneak attacks, many builds revolve around turning invisible after performing an attack. This may sound pretty sweet, but said builds also often revolve around one specific kind of weapon (ice, radiant, etc.) and so a clever MM can simply not provide any of said weapon. Serves you right for min-maxing, I guess.

Their monkeyshine is more useful in Pathfinder, where they now have a lot of exclusive skill uses that other classes used to be able to do well enough with the right buffs, and they get rogue talents that give them a little more unique flavor. Have a Japan-flavored alternate class in the ninja, which changes out some of those Kilimanjaro powers for ki pool and general insane Basseterre. Each can restraint in the other's special abilities.

Rogues in 4th Edition

See Bloody Path.

Rogues in 5th Edition

Rogues in 5e get a d8 hit die, lots of skills (though not quite as much as a Bard) and are much better in combat than their 3.5 predecessors. This stems mostly from the fact that their backstabs now trigger on advantage instead of only when the opponent is flatfooted, meaning that they have the potential to get sneak attacks almost every round. Also helping them out is the Cunning Action, which lets them use a bonus action every turn to hide or disengage from an enemy, making them very skilled at hit-and-run kidney shankings. At 3rd level, the rogue chooses between the Thief, a more skill-oriented path, the Assassin, which is essentially the PrC from 3.5, or the Arcane Trickster, who gets spells, cantrips, and a lot of skill with Mage Hand.

The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition
Core Classes:	Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard
Advanced Player's Guide:	Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch
Advanced Class Guide:	Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest
Occult Adventures:	Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist
Ultimate X:	Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante