I rolled up a rogue yesterday in order to experience the game as a silent killer. I have a tank-like character before this, so I thought I'd try the game as a roguish Dragonborn who is no less honourable than my Harbinger; main difference being that he kills quickly and silently, unlike my warrior who charges into the fray with sword raised.

My question is this:

Are there missions that send you to an enemy behind the lines to sabotage their efforts, mislead them, assassinate high-ranking commanders (maybe not that honourable, but an effective war tactic nonetheless) etc? I know that joining the Imperials would involve some of these missions, but besieging a fortified objective as part of an army in a frontal assault isn't my rogue's cup of tea. So, are there any factions that also give out clandestine missions that also help win the civil war and solve other troubles afflicting the land?

I've joined the Thief's Guild, but many of their jobs are about preying on innocent people and extorting their hard-earn gold. The Dark Brotherhood is a no-go either, as killing innocent people for money is abhorrent to my Dragonborn.

Do I have to join the Companions, like my warrior, to make a decent living? I like that they rescue kidnapped citizens, kill violent criminals, and protect villagers from wild animals.

Bounties? Too bad the pay is rubbish...

Depending on your view of the Forsworn, you get several quests from the Jarl of Markarth to "take out" their leaders. :batman:

I was actually thinking the same kind of stuff the other day.. thieves guild just seems like a gang to me so far. I dont like most gangs.

Thieves guild? Innocent people?

Honour is a useless sentiment to base a character's actions on, considering it's linked to the highly subjective and inconsistent concept of morality. I'm pretty sure for example that anyone killing people from behind would be considered dishonourable by any warrior.

'effective' is a better notion.

there are no honorable factions for rogues, there is Thieves Guild but they're more in it for them selves now.

The only honorable factions are the Companions and the Mages Guild but they're for Mages and Warriors though.

LOL...honorable missions for a rogue. seems you are playing the wrong character type. from dictionary.com, the definition of rogue:

1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.

and the synonyms that it lists:

1. villain, trickster, swindler, cheat, mountebank, quack. See knave.


LOL

I've done some of the bounties, like the ones on the Forsworn, with my warrior. I suppose I could do the same with my rogue, but I was looking for something more along the lines of being in a faction, and being given faction missions that involve stealth, but not preying on ordinary folks.

As to definitions of what honour is, I'd say that being a contract killer with no care about who one kills or extorting money from people who are just making an honest living is anything but honourable. While it may be hard to nail down what being honourable means, I think the majority can agree that the activities of the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild are anything but.

Pretty eye-chatching for a title, isn't it?

But I'd have thought that it would be obvious that the meaning of the word "rogue" used here isn't the ordinary, dictionary meaning, but in the RPG parlance of a character archetype that uses stealth and charm to achieve his goals, and eschews the direct toe-to-toe style of a warrior.

How about the Bard's College quests? :shrug:

Playing a James Bond type is hard... but I thought I'd point out a couple of things here:

1st: There are the Civil War quest lines (Stormcloak/Empire Factions) - they can all be performed by the sneaky/stealthy character and both quest chains provide a story where you as an independent auxiliary are required to use your unique skills ( securing the crown was interesting as a stealth type).

2nd: Your use of stealth really is a game-style decision... my DB assassin character used stealth even in non-stealth situations, such as the fort fights, to infiltrate and create mayhem behind lines... while the main-line troops were fighting in the courtyard, I found the keeps/prisons to liberate what i could before the battle ended,,,, indeed in one mission you have to sneak behind enemy lines to free prisoners... this sounds like exactly what you were looking for ...

3rd: specific missions in these chains you can use your stealthy stuff exclusively ... intercepting a courier, or ambushing a weapons convoy, or infiltrating and using blackmail to get info ... all these things I found...

Basically, I found that these different quest-chains have a different feel to them, based on the character and play-style I chose to use.

Yeah, I should give it a shot. Doesn't seem like there's much killing involved, but being able to stealth and retrieve stolen items is much better than the things I have to do for the Thieves Guild.

A rogue can definitely be honorable. Ezio Auditore, Assassin's Creed, is a rogueish assassin type and look at him.

I've been thinking about those "assault the fort" missions. I'd like to be able to stay hidden at a sniper perch and fire arrows and get the 3X bonus damage. Viable?

Yup. In the very first assault in the Empire chain you are defending - and eventually, you are supposed to fall back to more secure spots... i found such an awesome perch that I, alone, was holding back the tide by picking out the Skycloak officers and sniping them. It wasn't until later I realized that the rest of the defenders all fell back and left me alone.

I do suggest that you make sure you have a lot of arrows if you do that thogh... I think i went through 600 of them when all was said and done there.

it's a shame the game can't adapt to your godly bow skill and have your ground troops come back when they realise everyone who was chasing them is dead _

Companions honorable tell it to the HAND lol. Mage guild honorable I guess if using peoples dead corpses to fight for you and svcking out things souls to enchant weapons is honorable sure....

Seriously I have turned into a grave robber nothing more hey they can't use it right??? lol...

Actually Im doing the Companions and of the quests Ive done so far ive done a ton of dungeon runs....killed lots of evil undead and bandits and werewolf hunters which
I feel justified in doing as Im in the Inner Circle which means Im a werewolf. Ive escorted a guy to safety out of a cave too.
Killed 2 witches that froze my horse to death (seriously they did I paid 1000 gold and they killed it / cries)

I did have 2 sort of bad missions...one was to rough up a guy but not kill him and the other was to kill an escaped prisoner (not sure how high they rank in terms of bad)

Over all the Companions is the way to go! You can wear whatever gear you like and you can be a rogue with them if you like.

Havent got far enough with my mage studying at the Mages College so cant tell you what his missions are like

PS you can pick up the Companions intro quest in 2 ways:
1. Escape with Raylof the blonde guy from the very beginning

but if your character is already made...

2. run on the roads from Riverwood to Whiterun and as you approach Whiterun theres a bunch of farms outside the city walls.
You will see 3 characters slaying a giant in a vegetable garden of a farm. No matter how fast you run he dies before you
get there. Talk to Aella she gets snooty with you but she tells you how you can join their Order...

Done a few more Companions quests before stopping for the day and on the way to a quest area I passed some Elves in lovely light Elvish armour so me and Farkis my shield brother from the COmpanions killed them and now Im wearing lovely Elvern armour (light). Only cricisim I have is that the plates over the briasts on female look a bit wierd lol

The reason I haven't managed to play as a sneaky character yet, is that I was hoping to join a thieve's guild that feels more like a Robin Hood fellowship and less as a gang. I really can not beat and terrify shopkeepers, even in a game, it's not my thing.