Dungeons & Dragons Online Interview

IGN PC has published a two-page interview with Turbine's Ken Troop, in which the lead designer discusses their highly anticipated MMORPG, Dungeons & Dragons Online. Here we go:
Q: On the subject of classes, rogues in MMOs have traditionally been relegated merely to sneaking and backstabbing. Is D&D Online going to offer more opportunities for rogues to practice their other skills -- things like picking pockets, disarming traps, gathering information, etc?

A: One of the great things about Rogues in D&D is their versatility - there are so many skills that they can master, so many different situations in which they can flourish, that they transcend the common MMP definition of "high damage output with some sneaking".

So we needed to make sure that Rogues will have opportunities to do a wide variety of things - yes, moving silently and hiding are part of that, but so is detecting and disabling traps, finding secret doors, and using position and movement in combat to great effect.

D&D Online is a game that focuses on great dungeon experiences, and Rogues are the key to getting past (or getting past easily) many of those dungeon obstacles - Rogues will be essential and important for D&D Online in an axis unique to the MMP space.