The Rogue has always been a silly character to me. They've really tried to make him combat ready over the years, even though he's supposed to be a stealthy utility piece for your party. The old Bard's Tale was probably the only game to ever get the Rogue just right (and he was called a Thief in the Bard's Tale).

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In this case, the Rogue's core ability is his Backstab (called "Sneak Attack" in later editions). Sure he has all the normal rogue-ish and assassin abilities (Poison, Incapacitate, Stealth), but really the Rogue likes to sneak up and take cheap shot at his enemies with a short sword or dagger.

From wikipedia: Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997.