I wanted to try something new in a Pathfinder campaign, so I created a lawful good cleric/rogue. Problem is, I have no idea how to play a rogue as lawful, due to this:
From the PRD:
Life is an endless adventure for those who live by their wits. Ever just one step ahead of danger, rogues bank on their cunning, skill, and charm to bend fate to their favor. Never knowing what to expect, they prepare for everything, becoming masters of a wide variety of skills, training themselves to be adept manipulators, agile acrobats, shadowy stalkers, or masters of any of dozens of other professions or talents. Thieves and gamblers, fast talkers and diplomats, bandits and bounty hunters, and explorers and investigators all might be considered rogues, as well as countless other professions that rely upon wits, prowess, or luck. Although many rogues favor cities and the innumerable opportunities of civilization, some embrace lives on the road, journeying far, meeting exotic people, and facing fantastic danger in pursuit of equally fantastic riches. In the end, any who desire to shape their fates and live life on their own terms might come to be called rogues.
That does not sound lawful, now does it? Also from the PRD:
A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. She combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. She tells the truth, keeps her word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.
Lawful good combines honor with compassion.
How do I act as a rogue that is lawful?
Best Answer
Check this part:
Class fluff is, for the most part, optional. In the case of core classes, it's often seen as very optional. However, 'rogue' is intentionally a very broad class that can fit a lot of concepts. A by-the-book Special Forces operative might be a rogue; so might a patriotic spymaster, a bought-and-paid-for torturer, a church-sanctioned assassin, or even a special detective working for the City Watch. Law and chaos tend to be about the individual being's attitude about conformity vs. freedom; Lawful rogues sort of naturally fall into the needful, yet underhanded, duties that society requires to function. If your character prefers to honor their promises, uphold order (not necessarily the law, but rather an orderly society), believes in concepts like duty and obligation, and/or swears fealty to a lord or cause to which they display loyalty and service, they're Lawful.
As an aside, the alignment entry under Rogue reads 'any'.
The Lawful Good Angle
There's a lot of definitions of 'honor'. A Lawful Good rogue might not be an honorable combatant, but they can display personal honor by keeping their word, providing true and loyal service to their lord and their friends, supporting honorable causes, sheltering the weak, defending the innocent, and working for the betterment of society. A Lawful Good rogue uses their skills for the aid of others and values teamwork (even if their role in the team ends up being 'lone wolf'), empathy, compassion, justice, and an orderly society. Lawful Good rogues are sometimes called to break laws so that others don't have to, or empowered to do so in the name of the greater good.