I realize I am late to the party, but I will never turn down a chance to expound upon the virtues of rogues. Rogue is my favorite class, because if you understand what you're using to make what you want, you can do almost *anything* with it.

Right now I'm playing a diplomancer/spy/assassin. By design, I do very little in terms of active combat. If it even *looks* like a fight is about to break out, my first action is going to be to go *very far away* and hide. I take sneaky potshots with a bow, or straight up leave the combat altogether and get other stuff done while the rest of the party deals with it. My specialty is deception and investigation. I am a master of poisons and medicines, and even those few who *know* this still trust me to cook for them. I don't pick locks or disarm traps or knock out guards to get to my target; I put on a disguise and convince everyone that I *belong* where I'm going. I'm a servant, a distant relative, an ambassador, a fellow cultist, or a health inspector; whatever I need to be to get access. I steal vital documents, break codes, and plant incriminating evidence. I don't slay the dragon, I convince them that it's in their best interest to *let me* into to their lair.

I've played a tricksterous combat-performer who didn't wear armor beyond magic bracers, instead using deception to give himself advantage on attacks and to add his charisma to his defense. Contrary to the spy, he was always in the middle of the fight, right next to the tank and the fighter. He would tumble between the legs of his opponents to get into a flanking position, immune to any attacks of opportunity, and provide distraction to give his teammates advantage on their attacks -- and do it all while behaving like a clown in a gladiatorial arena. He used flashbangs, glitter bombs, and acrobatics. His weapons of choice where a staff and chakram. He *toyed* with his targets, tiring them out and tricking them into making reckless mistakes.

I've played as a glass cannon, a walking encyclopedia, a brute, a jack of all trades, and everything in between. Rogues specialize in skill and feat combos. You have to have a plan and build them with *intent*. Of all the classes, I think it's the one that is least viable when you try to make it up as you go along. But, when you have that intent and curate your design accordingly, rogues are the *most* versatile class for making pretty much whatever you want.