Well hello there, by the smell of you I can tell you're fresh off that turnip farm, I bet you haven't even talked to the Raging Warrior Thrak...What's that you say? You don't want to be a warrior? Well he can still help you. Where is he? Well he owns an Inn in town I'm sure you can find it. Now off you go. I've got to open some boxes from my last adventure. Tell you about them? No I'd just bore you. You better leave now. What's that you say? ... You want to be a Rogue? Well then that changes everything! Have a seat. Don't worry, there is no need to check your pockets, I assure you; that is no way to treat a guest. So you’re thinking about being a Rogue...well listen up! This just might help you out for the first 10 years or so, maybe longer. 

What's that you say? No, no, not at all, I'm no Lord. Yes I've heard all about Lord Quiet and Lord Tymelord...I've sat in Quiet's den and listened; I’ve read Tymelord's manuscripts. So why write this? What makes me qualified? Well I'm no judge of that, I'm just here to give my opinions. If you like them, tell me. If not, do the same. If I got something wrong, by all means correct me, there is no age at which you stop learning. Before we start, let me talk a little about myself. I started life named Kupac, and was a brute warrior. After a few years, (game time) I felt that the life of the rogue was for me. I began a new life under an assumed name (I will not reveal it) and learned all I could from real life experience by listening to the masters. Now returning to my formal identity, Kupac, I once and for all plunged myself into the fray. You're getting bored already? You have no patience! Patience is a virtue... Well, there are some herbs over on that table. Please help yourself; trust me, the wise warrior knows that sometimes herbs alone will sustain a wounded fighter until he can find an empath to heal him. For without them, he might need a Cleric to resurrect him. So take a handful and let's start.

So, thinking about being a Rogue? Hmmm. You like the idea of robbing that Giantman warrior clean after he killed your Kobold? "Borrowing" his pretty coral or pink pearl? (Kupac smirks). Or maybe you like the feeling of power when you can disarm your own chests and open your own boxes without going back to town. Then of course you could be the Rogue more interested in the art of combat, hiding in the shadows and waiting to leap from hiding to attack and remove that poor Orc's leg, or skillfully remove an eye of that troll. Lastly, you could simply be out to be well rounded and have a little of everything, pick a few boxes, steal some coins, and leap from the shadows. A rogue is the most versatile profession for all skills except for magic. If you really want spells work on scrolls or become a Sorcerer. Enough said, now to the good parts: Stats.

The point of Gemstone is role playing if stats were the most important thing them everyone would start with a roll of 700 (the max roll, later on that) and we would all be the same. Simply put GS3 is a role-playing game. If you roll up a 350 (the absolute minimum, as rare as a 700) you could still play this character and have fun with him/her. Simply put the roll is not everything. If you want to spend 3 or 4 hours in front of the Character manager to get the great roll, then do so, because then you will feel better about your character and will have more fun. I personally rolled 10 times and on the 11th (ok I went over a little!) I was lucky enough to get a 631.

What do the rolls mean? What is a 700?

Hold up, I was getting to that. Please calm down I will get to everything, I promise. The rolls work like this:

I rolled a 100,90,90,90,60,55,48,42,36,20 VERY LUCKY!

Wait where do I put all these stats? This is so confused. HELP!

Ok, first don't scream, I was getting to that part, why don't you have a sip of that... no the one with the smoke coming out of it...What is it? Oh just some Demon-Rum, you'll like it... Ah better, you've quieted down ready to listen, good.

I feel the most important stat is Aura, this determines Spirit points and Mana. Spirit points: Aura/10

Mana: (Aura-70)/10 multiplied by your current Level

Thus a Lord Rogue with Aura 100 would have 10 spirit points and 60 mana. This is important because if you join Voln you will fight with undead and some seem to like to take Spirit points instead of health, and when you run out of spirit points, you bite the dust. If Voln isn't your cup of tea, and you go for the umm. Well you know, the other guys… Oh you don’t know hmm ask around. Mana is used for some of the powers, and spirit points also seem to be needed here, (Kupac grins) if you know what I mean. Finally Aura is used to Determine Mental and Physical Training points.

Next, I believe that Discipline is important simply because it is the only other stat besides Aura that determines BOTH mental and physical points, as I said later on that. Discipline does not afford all the other benefits as Aura, but when you have those 10 extra mental and physical points for that last train in Disarm you and everyone that doesn't get blown-up by you will thank me.

Third most important skill for me was strength, many will argue that Reflexes should be next, yet strength will not increase as rapidly and does not get the +10 bonus that reflexes do. Strength also adds to you AS which will help you hit those Hobgoblins or Frost Giants.

Reflexes are important because it increases your DS and your rogue abilities. You get a +10 bonus just because I like you, actually you do get a +10 bonus to this ability because it is one of the Prime stats for a rogue, and this +10 is added directly to your rolled stat.

Next for me, and if you get good rolls the first roll that is not in the 80's should me Dexterity, this takes RT time off your ambush and when Bows are implemented they will help you with that skill. You also get a +10 bonus that is added directly to the roll.

I feel that if you want to be a Picker, and solely make your money off of opening those chests that everyone brings too you, then Wisdom is important. Wisdom is a rating for luck and that favor in the Gods eyes, (this is not Voln favor) and that type stuff. And when opening a chest, Luck is good. Very good to have, trust me you and everyone that doesn’t get blown up by that chest exploding will thank me.

After these 5 almost anything else is allowed for the next four stats. EXECEPT Charisma, this stat is for dealing with the merchants, put your lowest stat here. Many seem to say that a high charisma will make it harder for you to hide, others say that monsters go after those with the most charisma (i.e. the leader looking like guy), although these are popular belief I have never encountered this, but better safe than sorry. I have also heard the Simultronics was doing something with Charisma to keep from all the Warriors, Rangers, Rogues Clerics, Empaths, and Sorcerers from dumping their lowest stat here, yet this is just a rumor. The other stats, Constitution, Intelligence, Logic are up to you on where to put them. Constitution is your well being and helps with saves versus poisons and the like. Intelligence and Logic tell on how much experience you can hold and store before you have to rest. 

Your skill points get determined in this fashion:

I these points are rounded down. So if you have 45.8 mental points, then you end up with 45, not 46.

Next Major Topic is Race:

Any race is permissible; I say that if you like it, go for it. Each race has bonuses and most, (except Human) have minuses. I haven’t seen Great Axe swinging Giantmen leap from the Shadows and decapitate a Titan in one blow, but who says that isn’t possible. I have seen a Halfling leap out of hiding with the stiletto and skillfully remove a leg (or toe if is the size of a Frost Giant), then the neck and kill it, or just skip the leg part altogether. Each race has it's own skill bonus, here is the table:

Next is training.... What you are still thirsty? Hmmm.... (Kupac takes some cookies from his Troll Skin Boots.) Here, have a cookie, there is some more Rum on that table... Oh too strong for you ok then Helga prepared us some Grog, you can get some of that or the fine wine that is in that pitcher, no help yourself I have plenty (Kupac smiles Slyly).

Ok what was I saying, yes training. Well the main skills of a rogue are Ambush, Stalking and Hiding, pickpockets, Disarm Traps, picklocks, and Perception. With the exception of Ambush and pickpockets, you can triple train in each of these abilities. But which one is up to you. Don't over look Armor use that will help you get that RT sown if you want that Double leather. Your weapon type is also a must to train in, even double train. Which type you choose is up to you, I choose Edged because it was cheaper, more readily available, and I like the crits. I suggest that with the exception of the first year, (maybe the second too) that you train in physical Training only once per year until you reach your max HP's. Other skills not to over look are Swimming and Climbing. I have heard that you should have at least a 50 (10 training’s) in each of these by Level 20 (Lord or Lady). First Aid is a nice thing to have, as well as mana share, those wizards would be more likely to enchant that item if you provided the mana for them. Yet these are more advanced skills and should not be your main priorities. You should have a plan. This is plan that tells you what to train in per year so that you can specialize your Rogue. It is important that you not overdraw your rogue. So many skills are so cheap for us that it is easy to select many of the skills in different areas without becoming very proficient in one or two. This will become apparent at around Level 7 when you are still-hunting Greater Orcs and Cockatrises and all your pals are taking out Titans. Here are the costs for the skills for a Rogue as well as for the other professions so you can see how blessed you really are.

Spells you ask? Ahhh a very interesting question, Rogues can cast spells and can become quite adept to picking some locks without picks or reading all those scrolls that every monster seems to carry around. When thinking about doing some spell Research there are many ways to going about it. Some say to become a Lord or Lady first, then dedicate your time to learning a Spell or two. You will probably be able to only learn a spell every two training’s this way and it takes a very long time. Anther option is to Donate the First 20 training’s to learning the first 10 minor elemental spells. This puts you in bad shape I feel because you are pretty much a Lord Sorcerer or Wizard that knows only 1/4 the spells that they would know and you have next to no other abilities to show from it. The third most popular method is to Cut back slightly on your skills and on the 7th or 8th training you will be able to learn a spell with very little compromise in your skills. I believe the way to go is Scrolls, they are easy to find and most warriors don't know what to do with them so you can buy them of them cheap. But if you really wanted to learn spells as your main stay, I suggest being a Wizard of Sorcerer, this is a Rogue guide. Hold up there, I'm almost done ranting and raving, I can see you drooling at the mouth you are probably ready to kill your first giant rat, I know the feeling but there are some things you need to know first.

Some thoughts on the Skills:

Pick Pockets:

Many people tell me there is a 10 second window after you get stolen from where PvP is warranted, I don't know about that. I do know that you should always LOOK at the person you are stealing from. Never Steal from Empath's or Clerics. Get on their bad side and you may be spending more time on that temple altar than you thought. I wouldn’t steal from Rangers either because they usually train heavily in Perception (which helps catch your wandering fingers) I wouldn't steal from anyone that is older than you or that is carrying Metal Higher than you can touch. Lastly I wouldn't steal from people more than once a day simply because it is annoying and you wouldn’t want that done to you. If you are thinking about becoming a full time thief you should toggle your Profession flag so that no one is suspicious of you. With the new steal mechanics you can also steal Small gems from people that have open containers. There is a waiting period from when you can steal from a person if you fail an attempt or succeed, but that only stops you from stealing from that person, not someone else. The Key word here is LOOK.

Boxes, This includes Picking Locks and Disarming Traps:

First NEVER pick in crowded areas, The East Tower is usually the best place for picking, upstairs for harder stuff. When you disarm a box always have the box in one hand, and nothing in the other. you then proceed to DISARM MY BOX the MY is critical. when you are confidant that you have found no traps or have successfully disarmed it. You then take you lockpick put and PICK MY BOX WITH MY LOCKPICK this just gets some of the confusion out of the way, you could also specify what type of lockpick if you feel like typing. When picking for others it is customary to give them the box back (no you can not look in it) and wait hopefully for a tip. (10% if coins 15-20% for items and 30% if you broke a quality lockpick like Mein or Alum) Not everyone tips, so you might have to tip yourself. Lastly don't ever pick any boxes that you wouldn't hunt, if you can only fight Hillies and you can also only pick Hillies and down, then say that you are open for Hillies and Down. And please don’t come into the East tower until you have at least 15 training’s for the sake of all the other rogues in there. If you want to experiment do it alone, or tell the people of your intentions first. Here is how you figure it out:

Lockpicking:

Disarming:

DISARM SKILL + WISDOM BONUS + d100 + MODIFYER ( DISARM LORE, etc. ) - TRAP DIFFICULTY > 100Here is something on the Picks you use:
Trust me, the pick makes the difference. I didn’t put Mithril because it is useless get Mein instead.

Ambush:

If you train heavily in ambush then you might as well use it. I don't know how many countless Rogues I see walk into combat and simply slug away, if you wanted to do that become a warrior. The best Rogues remain Hidden, the monster wastes it's turn looking for you and you have the element of surprise. First Ambush an Appendage preferably a leg because most monsters can't stand on one leg. Next Ambush for the head or neck if the Creature has fallen down. Sometimes, if you are good enough at it you can hide and let the creature try to find you while you recuperate. What you ambush with is up to you, I've seen Troll Swords and Stilettos (I know that some stilettos give you a –2 RT to your ambush time), so that is your preference.

Shield use:

This gets put into your DS if you carry a shield, so remember that when you've trained up to a 200 and then put away your shield and that Hobgoblin blasts you while you were trying to pick up that pretty gem.

Armor Use:

Every 20 in this skill reduces the RT adder of an armor that you wear by 1 second. So that when you have a 120 in this skill (30 training’s I believe) you can wear that Brigade armor and have -6 to your RT Your RT can never go below 5 seconds so don't try to reduce it below that because it has no effect. There are tables else where the different armors types and the RT that they add, as well as their armor class.

Combat Maneuvers:

I know that every few ranks in this Adds to your AS and DS but I'm not too sure how. Also it is expensive and may take some other skill spots, if you are not to concerned with picking locks then I suggest this skill, I would also train in it at least as a bare minimum once every other year. But other people train in it like a religion.

Physical Training:

Well I guess that this skill gives you all them Health points. Train twice in the first year, then once every year there after, become a good ambushing Rogue and you won't need it at all. Here is the formula for how many health points you get. Additional HP are obtained by Physical Training, you get(Race HPF) + possibly (CO bonus)/10

Climbing and Swimming:

I have heard that a 50 (10 training’s) in each of these skills is adequate by Level 20 but more could never hurt, Just don't overlook these.

First Aid:

Helps you tend those bleeding wounds you have, Also helps you skin creatures, so if you need some pelts for money (or other reasons) then this can be helpful.

Mana Share:

A good way to get more spells cast for you, if you ever get this to 102 that is perfect transfer rate and is the acceptable max, but remember is said IF. This is long term goal here. Remember that this is an expensive skill so don’t put it at the beginning of your list.

Well I guess that pretty much covers all these skills. If you want to talk to me about it WHISPER to me. I suggest that you read all the guides you can as well as the GEMSOTNE 3 Documentation before starting a character. Remember, Role Play, I think that this is a guide, I didn't tell you specifically what I did because I don't need lots of little clones of me running around Elthania. If you want to read other Guides I suggest that you read Lord Tymelord’s guide as well as Lord Quiet's guide. These were the two guides that shaped my life somewhat. You may be wondering, what do I hunt? Well that is part of the reason you are here. If I told you every move to make then that would be my character, a simple guide is If you can kill it in one hit Move on. If it can kill you in Two or less don't fight it. If you can't hit it in Stance offensive, don’t fight it. If you are not going to ambush it, I would not fight anything that can hit me with a roll of 70 or less. But that's me. So what I am saying is come up with your own criteria and stick by it. Before I give you just about every table you might need, I want to give you younger rogues a quick lesson. First respect your elders this especially means those Lords and Lady’s. They can make your life worth not living, and them take care of that problem too. But remember someone who does not have a Lord or Lady in front of their name can still be much older than you, Look at them and determine about how much older they are than you. Next please do not pester the Wizards about enchanting items, it is very costly to them, and they will stop doing it for all of us if people continue to bother them, and no one wants that. If you get injured, and I am sure that you will please go to either TSC (Town Square Central) or Land's End Road (just inside North Gate) Don't Scream or repeat, Also don't sing stuff, think if you're hurt, singing is the last thing on your mind. Simply tell the Empath's that you are hurt, lie down so that someone may tend to you. If you tell the Empath's where you are hurt, then they know where to assist you and can get to you quicker. I believe that if you are bleeding, that saying "I've got a 2 per bleeder" is easier than role playing it out, it is NOT role-playing. (At least not by my standards, I might WHISPER it to them though) I've had a character die because he didn't tell the Empath's that he had a 9 per bleeder. He instead said, "I’m bleeding real bad, My right arm if fractured and is Gushing blood. I feel faint and am about to pass out and Die, please help me" Although I did die because no one helped me, it was a noble death in my eyes because I was able to role-play it out. A few other things that everyone else has told you. First never poach. Never search someone else’s kill even if you did 99 points of damage to it and they did 1 point and killed it. They still killed it and it is their right to search it, A nice adventurer would give you treasure, but then again there are some not so nice people here. If a monster limps in wait about 7 to 10 seconds before attacking maybe longer someone is almost always in pursuit, if you are hidden then there is no worry about the monster finding you so you have all the time you need.

It is possible o train TWICE in 10 minutes but you only have one chance to do it in.

Wanna hear more?

Well then listen. To go from level 0 to level 1 you have to just type DIR and visit all the places on the directory get a map if you need one. I hear that a fellow rogue Zepath is quite an accomplished cartographer, he actually wants to be a Ranger, strange. After visiting all the buildings and chatting with the owners of the establishments you can go back to the Inn and learn some more skills. How about that! I also recommend that if you are using AOL that you get the Wizard front End (Keyword AOLWIZARD) for PC's. Well that is just about all I have to say except for, pay your debt's or you can have the Repo man come looking for you. Read as many guides as possible, this is just a few of one narrow minded rogue who has seen a fraction of the real world. Don't take my word for it (remember I'm a Rogue) look it up. Well then if there are no more questions I’ll be heading into the wilds to fight the good fight.

What's that?

A Rogues guild?

Well I'm defiantly the wrong person to ask about that. No I'm not lying, talk to Lord Quiet or someone with more time in the lands than me, my best guess is that the rogues guild, if one exists is so good at what they do that they see you already. They saw you the day you walked in the gate, So make yourself unique make them say, wow, we need your skills, and maybe you will get invited, that is of course if it exists. Don't look at me like that, I don't have the answers, just some ideas. You want answers, you'll have to find them for yourself. Well here you go, here are some sheets that may help you with your day to day life. On your way out I've arranged a job for you, go to the Clerk, yes the one in Moot Hall I got him to give you a job, How? Well he is a friend of a friend. Who is that friend? Just my Pal Sleepy. Well ask the Clerk for work, tell him I sent you. Oh and by the way take these. (Kupac hands you some coins, which you quickly pocket) This is a lesson in keeping your money in the bank, where it is safe, most of the time... One last thing, you ever hear the word Invasion, I would run. I went out to play hero once and met a Massive Troll King, not fun, Later maybe you can tangle with these baddies, but for now stick to them Hobs and Kobs. Also don't go to Icemule for about 5 years (levels) I hear the trip is long and hard. And if by chance you are in Icemule don’t go to the Landing for about the same amount of time, also watch out for those winds, they’re killer. Well time for me to go. my mind is clear as a bell and I need to remedy that, on your way out take some more leaves, they are good for you, Trust me. Now to make this a complete guide here are some tables that tell you how to calculate your AS, DS, and various other things:

Attack and Defense (AS & DS):

Under optimal conditions, not counting Injuries/low spirit, then AS & DS are calculated In the following manner:

When you are young, stay near town or carry herbs. Gaining experience is confusing to many people, yet is very basic. If you kill a creature that is the same level as you, then you get 100-field exp for it. For every level over/under, you get +10/-10 respectively.

Example:

Optimum Mind state for Experience conversion: Numb

Being numb is the point at which you are absorbing and converting Field experience to real experience at the fastest rate. So staying numb is great…but going above numb will slow your conversion rate.

When you are Fried: (Your mind cannot take much more of this, you must rest)

Its time to go lie down at Town Square Southeast or at a node somewhere. The node gives you back your mana at a faster rate. Clerics can meditate at nodes…they absorb Experience faster than any other class and can easily go From fried to clear in a matter of minutes.

Field experience to experience conversion is a big pain sometimes, If you don’t keep track of your mind, and go beyond numb, then all you are doing is sending field experience into your fame points.

Fame:

2 million gets you into Hearthstone. 10 million lets You thump, (even if you are Level 0 and just re-rolled). Gemstone will also start a Fame list (those with the most fame) so look for that soon.

Well I guess that is everything. Also never do Quick Generation, Especially for long-term characters, you’ll end up re-rolling 156% Of the time. Good Luck out there.

Also coming soon: Kupac's Webpage

And more guides

If anyone has any questions or comments Jcasi10232@aol.com lastly you can try jcaques@nh.ultranet.com.