The Rogue is a great class to try in Dungeons & Dragons. It is beginner-friendly, diverse, and will open many doors (literally) for you. All you need is to be stealthy, sneaky, and slippery. 

While modern stereotypes place Dwarves in Fighter classes, a Dwarf Rogue isn’t a difficult character to bring to life. The race’s resistances and traits can make you an efficient Rogue. Plus, you’ll have fun if you like playing against stereotypes.

The Dwarf race AND the Rogue class can be found in the Player’s Handbook. Click here to pick up your own copy of The Player’s Handbook!

How to Make a Dwarf Rogue

Start your character with a background that will best work with the subclass you’re aiming for. Some of the best character backgrounds include the Charlatan, Criminal, and Urchin.

There are three Rogue subclasses: Thief, Assassin, and Arcane Trickster. These subclasses are for being super stealthy, high-damage hits, and spell-casting as a Rogue.

When you roll a Dwarf Rogue, focus on your Dexterity. Most of your important skills will rely on your high Dexterity. Your second-highest ability score will depend on the subclass that you want to pursue.

The Assassin subclass is the most lethal, achieving one-hit kills and target mimicry. The Thief subclass is great for players who want to focus on finding and acquiring things others can’t. If you want to take the Assassin or Thief route, invest in a high Intelligence score. 

If you want to be a magic-wielding Rogue, balance your secondary stats between Intelligence and Charisma instead. The Arcane Trickster subclass gives you the ability to cast spells like Arcane Hand and Minor Illusion. This subclass is great for players who enjoy deceiving their enemies in and out of combat. 

How to Play a Dwarf Rogue

When you play a Dwarf Rogue, you always need to think ahead of everyone. With your high Dexterity, you’re likely to be one of the first players to make a move in combat. That is unless the dice decide to give you a low roll.

Focus on flanking enemies, especially when you’re using melee weapons to give you that sweet sneak attack. As a Rogue, remember that you have evasion and uncanny dodge. These abilities will help keep your health up and keep you effective during combat.

Also, you have Dwarven Resilience, which protects you from poison damage and attacks. When you open trapped loot after a battle, this resistance can save you from losing health.

How to Roleplay as a Dwarf Rogue

Dwarves are famous for their Scottish accents. You don’t need to follow the stereotype if you can’t do a Scottish accent. Instead, you can use an English accent or any other accent as you play and work it in your backstory.

To explain it, you can say that the mountain dwarf clan, which Rurik Ironfist comes from, hails from the East. There, gold was scarce, and so was their food source. He had no passion for blacksmithing, woodcutting, or mining.

Instead, Rurik learned to hunt. In the neighboring woods, he hunted for meats to eat and furs to sell. In the nearby metropolis, he hunted unsupervised bags and pockets for gold. That’s when he stumbled upon the group that soon urged him to follow the adventurer’s path.