Word: picaro

 

picaro

\ PIK-uh-roh, PEE-kuh- \  , noun;

1. a rogue or vagabond.

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“What can I be?”  Jeff asked.  The nine year old was having immense difficulty keeping his feet planted on the ground as he watched his big brother, Ryan, and his friends play D&D.  He had become even more excited when Ryan offered to let him play.

               “How about a rogue.  Those are always important.”  Ryan said.  The rest of his party nodded in agreement.  They actually needed a rogue for an upcoming dungeon crawl, but had been unable to find more experienced players.  Jeff was just about the only person who was willing to play anywhere around. 

               “Oo, does that mean I get to swing in on vines and rescue damsels and stuff?”  Jeff asked, thinking of the times when their mom had made reference to a ‘dashing rogue’.

               “Uh, no actually.  It means you sneak around, lie and steal, and stuff.” Ryan said.

               “So I’d be a thief?”

               “Pretty much.”

               “But I don’t want to be a thief!”  Jeff shouted.

               “Rogues do a lot of other stuff.”  Said Louis, one of the other party members.

               “Like what?”

               “Well, they can sense and disarm traps, sneak up on people and do really high damage, and can dodge just about anything.  Heck, they can even avoid magic and stuff.”

               “Ok, but I’d still be a thief, but I’d be a really cool one?”

               “Yup.”

               “I still don’t like it.  Stealing is bad.”

               “You don’t have to steal then.”  Ryan said.  “I’ve heard of people that played rogue and didn’t take a single coin from anyone.  And even if you do, that’s not really a bad thing.  You can, like, steal money from an evil nobleman, and then give it to the poor people.” 

Ryan didn’t tell his brother that such an opportunity would probably not come up in their game.  Since they really just wanted him around to pick locks and disable traps, their DM would probably find a way to kill of whatever character Jeff made pretty soon after they finished.  Jeff would no doubt complain incessantly afterward, but it would be worth it. 

“So I’d be like Robin Hood?”  Jeff asked.

“Uh, yeah, like Robin Hood.”  Ryan said.  Jeff’s eyes lit up with joy.  Ryan actually felt a little bad for what would happen once they were finished. 

He was actually starting to think about what it would be like to have his little brother as a permanent party member.  Sure it would be rough at first, what with having to explain the rules several times, but once he got the hang of it, it couldn’t be too bad.  Besides, he liked his brother and didn’t want to upset him outside of the usual sibling teasing.  The other members of the party might not agree with him though.  They liked to keep their gaming sessions fairly close knit.  He could probably convince them by pointing out that they’ll never know when a rogue will come in handy, just as they have no guarantee they’d find another player.

“OK!” Jeff said happily.  “So, how do I do this?”  He said, pulling up a metal folding chair and sitting close to Ryan.  As soon as he was seated, he started picking dice at random and looking at each of them, asking what each one was for.  Most of it he didn’t seem to understand, but he trusted Ryan to show him which ones to roll in any given situation. 

Ryan took his time helping Jeff make his character.  It was a simple thing, with just the bare essentials.  Jeff didn’t really know enough to try and make a fully rounded, fleshed out character yet, but that would probably come with time.  Besides, all the party needed was the skills. 

“So this is it then?”  Jeff asked, holding up the piece of paper like it was the most important thing in the world.

“Yup, that’s it.”  Ryan said.  He nodded to the DM, and the game began.

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Meh, not sure if this is one of my better works or not.  But hey, the word just called out to me, and this was the first idea that came to mind.  So yeah, this is what I got out of it.  Well, enjoy!