Tolken wasn’t using D&D to write the Hobbit. Rogues didn’t exist. They used fantasy to inform D&D. Bilbo is a commoner, and just because there isn’t a commoner class in the book doesn’t mean anything. Gary says you can be a dragon if you want to. I would strongly disagree that Bilbo is a rogue. What rogue like qualities does he exhibit?
If you were playing Bilbo in DnD 5e, the class that makes the most sense to give bilbo is Rogue. Commoner isn’t a class; bilbo could only be one if he was an NPC.
Does he exactly map onto the DnD rogue chassis? No, he doesn’t, but he maps worse onto every other class.
I’d argue you could map Bilbo into a multiclass rogue and bard to get spells like Vicious Mockery. Bilbo’s main actions in “combat” include stealth checks, sneak attacks with Sting, stealing items, and using bardic spells to manipulate the situation for his benefit.
That’s more because Rogue is an oversized bucket that too many things fit into. Conan the Barbarian is often called a thief, is he a rogue too? Of course not, but many of his stories involve him sneaking around and stealing things.
Except that no one starts out a campaign as commoner, but as a class. If you are going to put Bilbo into any D&D class, it is rogue.
Tolken wasn’t using D&D to write the Hobbit. Rogues didn’t exist. They used fantasy to inform D&D. Bilbo is a commoner, and just because there isn’t a commoner class in the book doesn’t mean anything. Gary says you can be a dragon if you want to. I would strongly disagree that Bilbo is a rogue. What rogue like qualities does he exhibit?
If you were playing Bilbo in DnD 5e, the class that makes the most sense to give bilbo is Rogue. Commoner isn’t a class; bilbo could only be one if he was an NPC.
Does he exactly map onto the DnD rogue chassis? No, he doesn’t, but he maps worse onto every other class.
I’d argue you could map Bilbo into a multiclass rogue and bard to get spells like Vicious Mockery. Bilbo’s main actions in “combat” include stealth checks, sneak attacks with Sting, stealing items, and using bardic spells to manipulate the situation for his benefit.
Do all hobbits have to be a little rogue? Because in Tolkien’s stories hobbits being stealthy isn’t a skill it’s a species ability.
Kinda like how in early versions of D&D elf and dwarf were classes.
So you think all hobbits have to be lvl 1 rogues?
Not at all, merely sharing a parallel I just realized/remembered.
Sorry, new here. Still having trouble keeping track of who said what, and who I’m quarreling with.
That’s more because Rogue is an oversized bucket that too many things fit into. Conan the Barbarian is often called a thief, is he a rogue too? Of course not, but many of his stories involve him sneaking around and stealing things.