by Jessa and Cai
The word 'rogue' (rôge) is defined in The Macquarie Dictionary as "1 A dishonest person 2 A person who carries out playful tricks; rascal; scam". It is often mistaken with the word rouge, another word for blush (as in women's makeup). In our terms, however, the Rogue is a group of people. The members of this particular group; as George Cooper says in Alanna: the First Adventure "Make a livin' by their wits". A member of the Rogue is a rogue first, a nice guy second.
The Rogue, like all organizations, has a leader. This leader is known as the King or Queen of the Rogue, and sometimes just The Rogue. It is standard to use a lowercase when referring to someone as being a member of the Rogue, and capital when referring to the group as a whole, or to the King/Queen. For example: "Sally wants to be a member of the Rogue, so she talked to Bob, a rogue, who directed her to the Rogue, Jack."
This organization also has a headquarters. When roleplaying, most of the action occurs in a building named The Inn. This Inn, known publicly as The Divine Realms II (the first one burnt down), is the current headquarters of the Rogue. The Inn itself is situated in the lower part of the city, near market gate, with brothels on either side. There is no restriction as to who comes and goes from the Inn (it looks like an ordinary inn, anyone can come and go as they please), but any important Rogue-based meetings and so on will occur here, usually in the basement.
Being A Rogue
Being a member of the Rogue is highly illegal. It is a capital offense to have any affiliation whatsoever with the Rogue. You get hung if you're caught, sometimes without a trial. This is because basically everyone in the Rogue is a criminal, and the main aim of the Rogue is to make as much money with as little work as possible. The reason the group exists is for the added safety of running as a pack. As "payment" for this safety however, the King/Queen of the Rogue will extract his or her share of illegally-obtained money from each member, a tithe which currently lies at 15%.
Becoming King/Queen
It is standard in the books to replace the Rogue when someone wants to take over--whoever can kill the current Rogue will get the title and its benefits. However, for the purposes of staying within the rules of our roleplay, we've altered the process a bit.
When the Rogue King/Queen dies or decides to retire, a new leader must be found. This may or may not be the current Second. If not, the eligible characters will each fight for the top job while their puppet masters will decide which character is most appropriate. Their fighting abilities, their leadership, the amount of time they have been rogues, their experience, their age, and many other factors are all taken into account. It is standard within the role play to only allow established Rogue characters to compete, but this is not a rule of any sorts, and not a certainty. Don't feel left out. The best choice is announced to the Court, and spread by word of mouth to the rest of the rogues.
As is customary, the new Rogue will appoint a new Second. Currently, there are also two positions in the Rogue under the Second: Generals. These have considerable power in the Court of the Rogue as a whole, but also have the ear of the King/Queen and Second. As a whole, these four comprise the Upper Court of the Rogue. A list of the current Upper Court rogues can be found on the Rogue forum. Currently, the Rogue is set up to be centered in Corus, as the capital of the country, with loyal non-played character (NPC) rogue deputies in each major city in Tortall. A list of these Rogue deputies and the Rogue Kings and Queens in other nations can also be found on the forum.
Joining the Rogue
Once your character has entered the inn, there's a certain way one goes about actually becoming a member of the Rogue. Obviously, the first obstacle is determining that the Divine Realms II is, in actual fact, the headquarters of the Rogue, but given the givens, that shouldn't prove entirely difficult.
Once your character is certain that they're in the right place, they then must approach a rogue and get to know him or her. How this happens is entirely up to you; your character might choose another entirely randomly, or based on a shady appearance and/or behaviours, or they might overhear some less than legal discussion. From this point onwards, it's up to your character to gain the trust of the member of the rogue, befriending them and expressing an interest in joining the organisation.
Once this happens, and the rogue your character has grown close to decides to assist your character in their undertaking, your character will be given three things; the name and appearance of either the King/Queen or the Second, a code phrase to use with the aformentioned, and a note that indicates that the rogue in question vouches for your character. If the rogue cannot write, they will accompany your character to find the King/Queen/Second. It's important that the rogue agrees to vouch for your character; without their guarantee your character will not be signed in.
Once you've secured an existing rogue to vouch for your character, it's back to the inn. Going by the description given, your character should seek out the King/Queen or Second, and strike up a casual conversation. At some point, it would be a good idea to bring up the bar, because the code phrase goes as such;
[Your Character] "I would like some ale, served cold. Very cold."
[Rogue or Second] "That's an odd habit."
[Your Character] "I picked it up in the south."
Chances are it won't be word-for-word perfect, but be familiar with this little phrase, because it's what will let the person your character is talking to know exactly what they're after. Immediately after this conversation, the King/Queen or Second will lead your character into the basement, and question your character as to their interest in the rogue, why they want to join, and who will vouch for them. It's at this point that your character will need either the note or their guarantor to prove that your character is most likely not a spy.
From there, your character will be asked to fill out a section in the Book Of Rogues and to sign; if they cannot write, the Rogue/Second will write for them and they will be asked to make their mark at the end. During this process, your character will be informed of the duties and laws of the Rogue to which they must agree before they sign. They'll also be taught the Sign of the Rogue, which is back in use now that the extraneous interest in it has died down.
As a sidenote; there are ways for existing members (people who have been members for longer than six months) to have characters who are already in the Rogue. There are several ways this can be done--a new, foreign character may be a rogue coming to Corus from another country, or they could simply be a local rogue who moved away for some time and is now returning. It's also acceptable for existing members to create characters who are already lower level rogues in Corus, as long as it is done with discretion. Any such characters must be cleared with a Roleplay Head before being put into play.
Things Every Rogue Should Know
The Sign of the Rogue is a hand-signal that rogues are taught upon admittance, inconspicuous enough that normal people won't notice it. When displayed, subtly, a rogue may wait to see if it is returned. If it is, they know the other person they are speaking to is a rogue. Walking around flashing the Sign obviously and willy-nilly is liable to lose your character an ear.
On the other side of things, power and responsibility will be handed to those who do things right. If a person is able and willing to reach out for power, they will usually get it. Characters that successfully manage major operations or earn a lot of money will soon have the power to give orders or express their opinions during meetings. The chain of command is very loose aside from King/Queen, Second, and Generals. There are, however, a number of positions under those; second-tier rogues, if you will. The Lady of the Rogue watches over all women under the protection of the Rogue. The Chief of Persuasions... well, persuades people to do what the Rogue wants. The Spymaster is in charge of all of the spies in the Rogue and the information that gets taken to the Upper Court. There's a few others that fluctuate depending on who's in power.
There are a number of rules that go along with being a rogue. It's a loose organization, but even those have their guidelines. Here's a list of what your character will be told when they're signed into the Book, and what every rogue should know.
- 15% of all takings must be paid to the King/Queen or Second. This doesn't have to be played out in-game, but if it's not, those who play the Upper Court must be notified.
- All large contracts must be approved by the Rogue or Second. Minor things such as burglaries and pickpocketing are fine as long as they're low-profile, but large-scale robberies and most assassinations, especially political, must be run past the Upper Court.
- All major disputes are to be brought before the Upper Court to settle. Minor disputes are to be settled amongst the parties involved; the Rogue is not Judge Judy.
- The Sign of the Rogue is to be used to identify other rogues.
- One mess-up warrants a verbal warning. Two will lose your character an ear. Three will lose your character his or her life.
- Betraying a fellow rogue, to the Provost or otherwise (but especially to the Provost), does not earn your rogue a warning or removal of an ear. Consequence for that is death, no exceptions.
- Don't get killed.
Check out the Jobs and Employment tutorial for a list of the different kinds of rogues that you could play.