What are some good reasons for a character to have the skillset of a rogue without their background being super edgy?

...

>Clockmaker
>Scout
>Underdark Commoner
>Innocently Imprisoned
>Justly Imprisoned
>Body Double

No, because I’m not part of the age 45-80+ demographic who watch episodic crime procedurals.

I've got a gnome rogue who was born into a family of professional thieves, her parents died very mundanely (pneumonia) and she was raised by her aunt and uncle. They aren't bad people but she's constantly being compared to her cousin and she has a chip on her shoulder because of it. I'm hoping it comes across as less edgy over time when she figures out that being the best at thievery isn't everything in life.

OP specifically asked for not super edgy, user.

Sort of related, but how do you incorporate rogues into the session. Meaning, they are basically james bond operator types and I feel like I have to make separate little solo missions for them that don't really tie into what the rest of the party is doing. Any advise??

youtube.com/watch?v=RGNHUJt10OY

Listen. When you come from nothing, these are just the skills you need to get by and survive in the city.

this
Just a hobbyist who thinks that being a dashing rogue looks fun and enjoys the thrill and challenge of developing such taboo skills.

Or maybe someone who thinks rules are for fules and likes to figure out ways to bypass barriers as a celebration of human ingenuity and skill.
Maybe even with a religious slant: learning to rise above obstacles physically, mentally AND spiritually. "With god all things are possible! See, I just proved it by infiltrating and then escaping Alcatraz."

youtu.be/pRva7z8pvwc

a weeb with way too much time on their hands as a kid taught himself these skills instead of interacting with his peers Because he had a CHA of 6 and they made fun of him all the time

They wanted to become an adventurer, but were more the brainy than brawny type and had no aptitude for magic. So they trained in many skills they expected to be useful, such as picking locks, noticing and disarming traps etc.

Private Investigator.

Maybe they had a secret place they used to go as a kid and it required some dexterity to reach.

Ran away to join the circus as a kid.

You're not going to find one since you seem to define 'edgy' as playing a rogue.

Some sort of spymaster or intelligence agent for a political household?

Maybe the character is the broke son of a nobleman who thought that being a rogue would be a cool way to pick up chicks and pay off his gambling debt.

Plumber
Locksmith
Sewerworker
Ratcatcher
Delver

Seriously it isn't hard

This actually works really well.

Agility> Tightripewalking, contortionist, tumbler, etc
Lockpicking> Houdini-esque Great Escapes
Charm> hitting on cute girls & wives & setting up deals & good relations , confidence games

so, like a handyman moonlighting to find beer in all colors and trying to slip away from moonpigs and escape from the deadly evergreen?

I dont understand that reference

Circus acrobat

Depending on how you do it, I have always loved the idea they're spies or special forces if they're applied to a more lawful bent.

They're gypsies.

Stage magician. All the tricks are skill-based, no magic involved

Grifter/con-man

Rogue in my party was the member of a ragtag bounty hunter hand (basically fantasy Cowboy Bebop). Their party ended in tragedy, but I wouldn’t say anything about his backstory is particularly edgy.

The classic tomb robber/dungeon delver/trap finder that the adventurer thief usually was.

Policemen need to be fluent int the ways of the criminals to stop them.

A rogue for each alignment:

>LG: Town watch
>NG: Folk hero who fights with a deft blade, but keeps a few tricks up his sleeve
>CG: Robin Hood archetype
>LN: Criminal-hunter (think Judge Dredd, Javert, etc.)
>TN: Charlatan
>CN: Common thief
>LE: Politician
>NE: Criminal mastermind
>CE: Serial killer

A Personal Investigator/crime novel protagonist could also fit the bill for LN or LG

"Look, my uncle was a locksmith, alright? Well, locks and traps. Just shit for nobles and fat merchant's houses. And when my dad was away on trade routes, I'd hang around his workshop, or go with him to installations. He explained stuff to me. Sometimes to teach me some life lesson, sometimes just to help himself think. Anyways, I ended up helping out and tinkering with locks, which ticked off my mom, so I'd have to sneak out and tinker with stuff on the sly.

Eventually, I um...Look, I did a stupid thing, alright? My uncle said a lock was unpickable. Real expensive, top-of-the-line, special made for this paranoid count. And I said to myself, you what would be cool? Picking an unpickable lock."

"You know what's not fucking cool? Being caught failing to pick an unpickable lock."

Being poor in a large city isn't edgy. It's motivation.

Locksmith who learned crime pays better?

Contractor for churches to recover artifacts?

Just happen to be very skillful and lack the fucks to give about the legality of their application?

Being a rogue doesn't force you to be a criminal with some tragic backstory. Having a decent Bab and access to a combat class feature doesn't force you to use it.

Acrobat
Athlete
Magician

By not making it edgy? I learned how to climb well because i did climbing as a sport, i know how to pick locks and steal from stores because i was a peace of shit punk as a teen, not because i come from a super poor alchocholic familly that had to sell our dog into a sex slave just to survive. Most people brought up in a city will get into a few fights and pick up some skills, if a fantasy setting they might seek someone out to teach them, if non fantasy modern they might take some classes. Traps arnt complicated, you need a basic idea of chemestry (once againe, someone can teach you this, it's not that hard) to make basic smoke bombs and tripwire traps and anyone who pokes around in mechanical stuff can make slightly more advanced shit. Plus you can learn how to make basic traps while hunting. All you really need is hanging out in the right crowd

>Not playing a jaded Private Eye.

>I use to be the best guard in this town, until one day I got too close to the Duke's healing potion racket. They threw me out of the force like I was a rust monster in an armoury.

>Now I spend my days knee deep in sewage looking for lost rats and my nights neck deep in a bottle of Rotgut.

Archaeologist that specializes in recovering rare artifacts from ancient ruins.

Being raised by the street - that's not edgy, that's life.
Being a royal spy.
Being a child of a long dynasty of criminals brought up by a thief guild (ugh).

>[sitting at home one day]
>[Dad is a retired adventurer]
>[Uncle Danny (you're not actually related, but he's still your Uncle Danny) is a retired adventurer too]
>"Uncle Danny, Daddy says you were the party thief."
>>"Yes I was, user."
>"Can you show me how to pick a lock real fast? It sounds cool!"
>>"Well, if your father approves..."
>>>"Sure, why not."

E viola.