How do rouges work?

[Xstone]

i'm specifically asking how do they stealth? Do they use magic or are they just super sneaky they become practically invisible? Also can every race techically become rouges if their stealth requires magic?

[Phil29]

They click the button and poof, stealthed. It's not magical, it's not supernatural, it's not demonical. They are super sneaky and all it requires is to not be already in combat.

[Tendies]

Rogues have invented metamaterials with negative electromagnetic refraction coefficients to bend visible light around them.

[Delsin]

I would assume stealth is a mix of knowing how to move quietly and quickly, how to use the terrain and knowledge of enemies to your advantage, and, especially at higher levels, magic. Having a set of rogue tools and accessories that have some enchantments to make you stealthier would be highly prized. For the fourth wall breaking part, game mechanics. Complex stealth mechanics are nearly impossible to implement in an MMO, especially one as old as WoW, so a lot of liberties and hand waving needs to be applied. If something seems weird, a wizard did it. Or a gnome.

[Xudo]

I think it is very important question. If stealth is not only "walk silently", then taurens could be rogues too.

[Sylveria]

I can't remember 'where' specifically i read it, but as far as I've understood it, Stealth is more than just "walk silently" but also "melt with your surrondings", "disappear in the crowds", "hide in the shadows", etc. Nothing magical about it.

So if we want to take that as our starting point, then "Stealth" would be a situational ability. In the middle of the day in plain sight in a region like the Barrens, "Stealth" would be impossible to use. No Shadows to hide in, no surroundings you can hide in/melt with, no crowds you may disappear.

In a city you may disappear in a crowd, especially when you are small (like a gnome, dwarf or goblin) or if you'd be average sized like most others, but don't stand out much (or if you are rather slender like a High Elf and you can move quickly through those crowds). You may also "disappear" in the shadows of an alley if you're clothing might be dark enough.
Night Elves are the perfect rogues when it comes to the night and to woods. Over centuries, the night has been their area of expertise, that's why it's even their racial to "melt" with the shadows of the night.

If we're looking at the Horde regarding rogues.. the "average" guys would propably be the orcs, compared to the humans. Trolls are rather slim, since they're kinda related to elves, they may be silent on their foots as well, so it'd be easy for 'em to get out of sight. Undead, while being a bit smelly in my opinion (lol), they're smaller than the other races (orcs, tauren and trolls), so they can propably vanish in the crowds as well, just the like the goblins who are even smaller.Tauren are so big, they're towering over everyone else. They're strong, but not very agile. They're easy to detect in crowds, they're hoofs are on hard ground rather loud / easy to hear.

Obviously it'd be to complex to make "Stealth" such a situational ability, so I'd say that the decision on "who can be rogue" fell on the most obvious ones.

As said: Tauren are too big, are not very agile.. they just stand out, are easy to spot. So they're not particular rogue material.

[Reploidrocsa]

There's always some form of proto magic in the wow universe. Magic flows there like air and impregnates everything to a certain degree. While mostly physical, it's very likely they learn some techique to be able to harness some kind of magic to reflect light to some degree, while they meld with their surroundings and move quietly. Same concept could be applied to warrior's thunder clap.

And before you dismiss the idea think about someone from the european middle ages witness how a small guy uses the force of a bigger oponent against him trough jiu jitsu or judo, a martial art unknown to him. While nowadays we understand how it works for your middle ages man that would be kinda magic.

TL;DR: a wow rogue would be unable to stealth in the real world, they need magic properties unique on wow universe

[Sylveria]

There's always some form of proto magic in the wow universe. Magic flows there like air and impregnates everything to a certain degree. While mostly physical, it's very likely they learn some techique to be able to harness some kind of magic to reflect light to some degree, while they meld with their surroundings and move quietly. Same concept could be applied to warrior's thunder clap.

And before you dismiss the idea think about someone from the european middle ages witness how a small guy uses the force of a bigger oponent against him trough jiu jitsu or judo, a martial art unknown to him. While nowadays we understand how it works for your middle ages man that would be kinda magic.

TL;DR: a wow rogue would be unable to stealth in the real world, they need magic properties unique on wow universe

Some abilities exist only for gameplay purposes to make the game actually a game and certain classes not boring to play. That doesn't mean that every ability also exists in the inworld-logic/lore/whatever we wanna call it. Cause if we REALLY wanted to be true to the lore and the logic of the world (of WarCraft), we'd all be Hardcore-Characters. Only one try. If you're dead, that's it. No Spirit-Healer or anything. Else you'd have to explain to me, why Grom Hellscream didn't come back from the dead, why Cenarius did not just rose again after he was killed by the Orcs, or why someone just didn't hit the res-button to pick 'em up again. Even the Altars in WarCraft III were purely for gameplay purpose.

I'm trying to find my source regarding the explanation, but I'm pretty sure that it was a WarCraft-Source.

[Pulsebomber]

There's always some form of proto magic in the wow universe. Magic flows there like air and impregnates everything to a certain degree. While mostly physical, it's very likely they learn some techique to be able to harness some kind of magic to reflect light to some degree, while they meld with their surroundings and move quietly. Same concept could be applied to warrior's thunder clap.

And before you dismiss the idea think about someone from the european middle ages witness how a small guy uses the force of a bigger oponent against him trough jiu jitsu or judo, a martial art unknown to him. While nowadays we understand how it works for your middle ages man that would be kinda magic.

TL;DR: a wow rogue would be unable to stealth in the real world, they need magic properties unique on wow universe

Some abilities exist only for gameplay purposes to make the game actually a game and certain classes not boring to play. That doesn't mean that every ability also exists in the inworld-logic/lore/whatever we wanna call it. Cause if we REALLY wanted to be true to the lore and the logic of the world (of WarCraft), we'd all be Hardcore-Characters. Only one try. If you're dead, that's it. No Spirit-Healer or anything. Else you'd have to explain to me, why Grom Hellscream didn't come back from the dead, why Cenarius did not just rose again after he was killed by the Orcs, or why someone just didn't hit the res-button to pick 'em up again. Even the Altars in WarCraft III were purely for gameplay purpose.

I'm trying to find my source regarding the explanation, but I'm pretty sure that it was a WarCraft-Source.

I agree with this. Stealth is a game mechanic and it isn't really woven into roleplaying character toolkits, I mean, unless you want too? No one says you can't be a night elf who has natural affinity to shadows. No one says you can't be a forsaken taught in divine shadow magic by the cult of forgotten shadows, and so on. Maybe you're an arcane trickster who taught themselves to camouflage in broad daylight by stealing wizard tomes as a child. It's all up to you really,how creative you want to be depends majorly on your character and what you have intended for them.

For my character Maelwyn she is of course a night elf and shadowmelding and blending in with the forest is a common ability, so for her being a rogue makes sense to me. I didn't have to get creative that much. I make it a point however to not just be able to dissapear out of nowhere, there always has to be bushes or places of camouflage or hiding for my character to be able to hide in-character. As for OOC it doesn't matter, then I'll just stealth however I want and whenever.

[Redmagejoe]

How do rouges work?

You put it on your cheeks to give yourself a blushing appearance. Don't know what that has to do with World of Warcraft Lore.