Do we really need a rogue?

[molten_dragon]

Our group is going to be starting up Wrath of the Righteous in a month or so, but since this will be the first time most of us have actually played Pathfinder, we started looking at characters a bit early since it will probably take us all awhile to decide what we want.

So far people have expressed interest in:

Cleric or archer of some sort
Barbarian or cavalier
Some type of full caster focusing on battlefield control or summoning
Magus or summoner
Paladin

Rogue is conspicuously absent from the list. A couple of people said they'd be willing to play a rogue if they really need to, but it isn't their first choice.

So is a rogue really necessary for this campaign? Are there going to be a ton of traps or problems that only a rogue can solve? It's been kind of a mixed bag in the past. Way of the Wicked (which we're playing now) LOVES traps, and you definitely need someone to deal with them. Skull and Shackles (our last campaign) had virtually none, and the party got along fine with no rogue.

[captain yesterday]

No single class is necessary to have a successful AP
you should be fine sans rogue:)

[FanaticRat]

As a gunslinger who pumped three different skills and a bunch of money into being able to find and disable traps, I can say, no, you don't need a rogue. From my experience, traps very rarely come up and they can be circumvented.

Besides that, you shouldn't play a class because "we need one!" if you don't want to play that class, because you won't have fun with it. I made that mistake my very first pathfinder game.

[Lochar]

Very early on you find an adamantine weapon.

My party has taken to calling that their lockpick. Take that as you will.

[molten_dragon]

I guess 'Need' wasn't really the right word. I know we can get along without one (or any other class) if no one wants to play that.

Basically I guess I'm looking for whether this AP uses traps enough that we'll get more use than we normally do out of a rogue. But it sounds like the answer is no.

[trawets71]

molten_dragon wrote:

I guess 'Need' wasn't really the right word. I know we can get along without one (or any other class) if no one wants to play that.

Basically I guess I'm looking for whether this AP uses traps enough that we'll get more use than we normally do out of a rogue. But it sounds like the answer is no.

Barbarians make great trap finders, just make sure they open everything and touch it first :)

Traps aren't a big deal so far (just started book 2) but there are a lot of locked doors and the adamantine weapon is great if you want everyone to know your coming it's not so good for a stealthy approach. It can be done though.

[Tangent101]

Traps? Traps? Oh no, there's no traps! None at all! :)

Honest!

That said, seeing you're going for level 17 at most, you could always blow a level or two in Rogue (one if you want to take the Feat for Extra Rogue Talents) and snag the Trap Spotter Feat, just in case the GM decides to put some in. A high Perception score is useful for a number of things so even if you don't know how to disarm any non-existent traps, you will be able to see anything coming. ;)

Of course, there is an alternative: the Ninja. All the benefits of the Rogue with sneakiness, Ki, and throwing stars! :)

[Wiggz]

Our grow consists of a Human Dragon Disciple/Sorcerer, a Tiefling Oradin and two Aasimar Dervishes of Dawn. We also have an Archeologist NPC who spends a good bit of time with our group but I can't recall a time when we wouldn't have made it without him and we're late in book 4 right now.